Pickles

I was able to buy two tickets to game 1 of the ALDS. Had me on hold for about 10 minutes. Not too bad. Will be the first time in Baltimore in almost twenty years. Pretty excited.

It would be interesting to review the grades people gave for the overall offseason at the time. It would be hard to give anything below a B+ overall.

He looks good. But we shouldn't be exalting anybody over their first 13 plate appearances nor burying anybody over their first 50. But this kid looks the part for sure.

I love what I've seen from the kid. The easy power, especially to LF, is so obvious Stevie Wonder could see it. But let's be real: It's been 13 plate appearances. The "adjustment" period" refers to a much longer period, and it's likely that some struggles await Kjerstad.

This boy good.

Eh. A distinction without a difference imo. While I agree with Malike's larger point, I just want to point out that while you will need to acquire pieces from outside the organization, they won't necessarily need to be expensive, costly, or in demand.

Yeah it was clearly the instruction of the Royals that led to O'Hearn's success. Santander owes it all to Cleveland.

While those guys came from out of the organization, only Frazier has had any major league success anywhere else, and had any cost to acquire.

Says who? The fact is, we're going to win 100 games this year without a serious FA acquisition, and our biggest one has been our most maligned player, and hardly instrumental to our success. While I totally agree with you that not all prospects will succeed, and we're definitely going to have some bust out in our current crop, that doesn't mean the solution will require expensive FA or even modest FAs.

Agreed with this as well.

I agree with all this. It takes all kinds, and if Cowser had hit .330, he could do it in a rainbow wig and I'd be thrilled. It was just an observation I made about their temperaments.

I mean Adam Frazier is our big out of house addition. Somehow, I think that kind of acquisition is sustainable.

I know I'll get killed for this but I'll say it anyway: The attitude and the way they carry themselves couldn't be more different between Cowser and Kjerstad. Cowser always looked like he as in a comedy club and having the time of his life without a care in the world. Kjerstad looks like he's engaged in something serious. I found Cower's demeanor a little offputting to tell you the truth.

We do. Like right this second.

Getting vindictive now.

Don't provoke Sports Guy.

So John Means is done for the night. Solid start. 5 IP 1 ER 4 H 3 BB 1 K Was heavy on the breaking ball. An observation I made and am wondering if anyone else shares it: He's doing that "flutter" "play" with the ball in his glove prior to starting his windup. Does anyone else agree/disagree?

To comment on Frobby's post without quoting it: I think he made a real good point that is often overlooked: Yeah the 2012 team overperformed their Pythagorean record significantly, but they were a legitimately good team once McClouth and Manny were in the lineup. There was nothing "fluky" about that team's success, which is precisely why they would go on to have the best record in the American League over the next five seasons.

I'm almost certain the Mark Reynolds meme thread was from 2011.

Great memory.

He's been shut down. Correct?

The batting eye in Camden is literally ever-changing.

It's a smart thing to do, which is exactly why they did it, and exactly why we did something similar but much more significant.

I really could care less.

I was just cracking wise. We're uniquely not in a position to criticize other teams for adjusting their stadiums in pursuit of a competitive edge.