Moose Milligan

I think I'd have to go with keep Cruz, let Davis walk. I think we'd be in a much better place right now. That *might* have let us keep Machado, too.

The one thing that keeps me from writing Stewart off is the separation between his batting average and on base percentage. I don't want to see him in the outfield, he turns flyballs into adventures. That said, I agree he's on the outside looking in. The only thing that keeps him in the picture is the OBP for a lineup that lacks it. I'm fine with Mullins in CF as a 4th outfielder until Hays suffers his inevitable injury.

Thank you, wildcard. Yes, I do believe I deserve a good shot but for some reason the Orioles haven't called me yet. I'm flummoxed as to why they don't want a 39 year old who hasn't pitched since high school but I feel I can do menial tasks like keeping the bat rack in order and the clubhouse tidy, too.

I'd like to see ownership as being better since they hired Elias, adopted analytics and have allowed him to work in the international markets. It seems like Elias has been able to hire the people that he's wanted to hire, too. The Davis thing is the only thing that holds me back from feeling that they've turned a corner and are headed in the right direction. At the very least, it's perplexing. I think we know what Mullins is, he's like Corey Patterson. Fast, decent defender, can drop a bunt and you have to account for him on the bases once he's on. @Sports Guy, but this is what I'm talking about. As surprising as Mountcastle was in LF, I want him at 1st base with Mancini DHing. I want LF open for Diaz, Hays in CF and Santander in right. I'm really not concerned about Stewart, either but whatever. Davis holds all of this up and it's terrible.

Don't get me wrong, I want to see him. But I agree, we have a few guys that fall into that category. Davis needs to be dealt with, IMO. That would free up some more flexibility that could allow Diaz some time in 2021 in Baltimore. You get Mancini/Mountcastle at 1st base/DH, frees up an outfield spot.

Am I the only one who thinks Diaz won't amount to anything? Not really a reach for me as I've conditioned myself to think none of our prospects will amount to anything. But still.

A good autopsy, yet nothing really earth shattering.

Not enough to make people think he's trying to compete. I'm not wrong. Therefore I win

Off topic, but kinda on topic... Anyone have any idea on how many of Tony's top 30 over the years have made the majors? Wondering the percentage. Probably would be a bit of an undertaking to figure it out but I'm curious. I saw Tony said he could put him on the back end of the list, IMO that means anywhere from 25 or later. Would be curious to see how many of the players over the years from 20-30 have made the majors.

Hmmm. I have to register to see it. I might consider joining. I need another time suck/distraction.

Link or it didn't happen!

This. I will say that if Elias and Sig see something that they think they can fix, fine. Maybe they can. But that's not totally certain that they can.

Small sample size. And Coors, in 2017.

Oh come on. Now you're just being silly.

I don't think the sign of Valaika being on the roster is a ringing endorsement that he's a better player than Iglesias and Alberto. He's not.

Thanks, SG! Love your warmth and compassion.

Yep, I don't think this team is ever competing again. It'll be interesting to see if they can figure it out though, but I don't think they can. I'm really here hoping Angelos sells sometime, then I'll have a bit more hope. Nunez, has not shown over a larger SS that he can basically be an OPS guy. He's never OPS'd .800 for a full season. If you're going to round up .771 and .781 to "basically .800" (as I know you will) then fine. I'm taking the Valaika position here not because I think it's a good one, but because it's obviously getting under your skin and I'm bored. Again, the roster is full of go-nowhere players, fringe prospects and quad-A guys. If Elias can't produce a significantly better player to start every day at SS for this season, I certainly don't care which mix of go-nowhere guys is out there, so long as there's a plan in place to get a long term solution. I don't really care if one go-nowhere player is 28 and one is 23, especially if that 28 year old hasn't been given consistent at bats throughout his career when we can all agree that getting consistent at bats is paramount to a players development. Give the 28 year old half a season to see what he can do, if he's not producing it's not like the 23 year old has gone anywhere. For the record, if Valaika is traded or cut tomorrow, I'm not whining about it.

Both guys are imperfect players with similar profiles. Mediocre to bad defense, some pop, low on base percentage. Again, some players need consistent at bats to get better. It's the same argument people love to make against yo-yoing players up and down to the minors. If we're going to argue about how it's bad for players to be jerked up and down between the minors and majors, what are we arguing against Valaika for? Don't get me wrong, I see the issues with his game. I get where you're coming from, raging every day about the players we have and the players we don't have. I'm expecting this team to lose between 85-100 games. Who they do it with, I really don't care, so long as there's a plan in place to have an every day SS in 2022 and beyond. Quite frankly, I don't care who they trot out at SS this year. I'd like it if they'd be able to get a future SS in place before OD 2021 but I don't think that's going to happen.

I like his attitude, even though there's a good bit of fluff in there. But I think Elias is usually as transparent as he can be without giving things away. My suspicion is that we won't have an everyday SS. It'll be a rotation and people here are going to haaaaaaaaaate it.

I'd give him the chance because, as you noted, he's got some pop in his bat. And he's making the league minimum. If you're going to complain about Nunez and 2 million, I don't see whopping difference in giving a guy who's 2 years older a shot when he's ~1.5 million cheaper. Now, Nunez is the better player but it's not like he's not much more than a .750 OPS guy. And please, let's stop acting like 28 years old is over the hill. He's a baseball player, not an NFL running back. Don't get me wrong, I see the flaws in Valaika too. But as this roster is currently constructed, I don't really care too much. I don't think someone like Bannon is a significantly better option. Maybe Valaika is a guy that can produce if he gets steady, consistent at bats. If Elias and Sig seem to think there's something they can do to coax out better performance, by all means go ahead.

He's got 36,000 posts (probably closer to 150,000 from his first username) of being impolite and brash. Bro, he ain't about to stop. You're not the first one to recommend it to him.

On the flip side, the SSS doesn't let us know if he's NOT an every day player. If you think he's not an every day player based on the SSS, the possibility exists that he could be an every day player, too. I personally don't think he is but on this team I don't mind giving the guy half a season of at bats to see if there's something there. I'm not impressed at all by his defense but if Elias sees something in his bat, it's not like there's a clearly better option on the roster right now. All of these guys have holes in their games.

Fair enough and I don't disagree. FWIW, I'm fine with anyone/everyone being traded on this roster, maybe except Mountcastle. But even if he was packaged with others for a good return, I'd be fine with it.

If you were the GM of a different team, what would you give to get Santander? And do you view him as a piece you absolutely have to have?

Yeah, it's bad and that wasn't a defense of Sanchez's weak bat. I'm assuming that Elias isn't done yet, or he values Sanchez's glove a whole lot more than Alberto which is a bit puzzling but whatever. I liked Alberto, too. Fun player.