Long Elias Interview Today (1/25)

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Tampa should get better just by being healthier.

In general or are we talking about specific players/pitchers?

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

In general or are we talking about specific players/pitchers?

In general.

 

[RZNJ]

16 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I agree on Tampa and Toronto, but I think the Red Sox have definitely improved their offense quite a bit. Getting full seasons out of Story and Duran should give them a boost and I think O'Neil and Grissom are better than the offensive players they lost and/or traded. I acutalll like their lineup quite a bit. Their starting pitching though, not so much. 

Duran never hit before last year and had a .429 BABIP in a career first half.  Back to a .669 OPS in the 2nd half.  Guess we’ll see.   Tyler O’Neill had a career year in 2021.  Otherwise he’s been a light hitting corner OF.   They lost Turner and get Story back, presumably at full strength.    I see a lot of chairs moving around but that’s about it.   

[Orioles0615]

52 minutes ago, interloper said:

Such as... Adam Frazier? Can you imagine the state of the message board if that were to happen... Lol

Hey Hyde only has 1 left handed infielder right now, you know he won't like that

[RZNJ]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

In general.

 

Ok.  Cause the 3 starters, Springs, Rasmussen, and McLanahan are down for awhile.  Springs had his TJ last April, Rasmussen in July, and McLanahan in August.   The last two might not pitch at all this year.   I’m not sure which position players missed significant time last year so I’m not exactly where the big boost is coming from better health.

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, Orioles0615 said:

Hey Hyde only has 1 left handed infielder right now, you know he won't like that

Two if you count Holliday.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Ok.  Cause the 3 starters, Springs, Rasmussen, and McLanahan are down for awhile.  Springs had his TJ last April, Rasmussen in July, and McLanahan in August.   The last two might not pitch at all this year.   I’m not sure which position players missed significant time last year so I’m not exactly where the big boost is coming from better health.

Who said big boost?

They won 99 games last year.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

Ok.  Cause the 3 starters, Springs, Rasmussen, and McLanahan are down for awhile.  Springs had his TJ last April, Rasmussen in July, and McLanahan in August.   The last two might not pitch at all this year.   I’m not sure which position players missed significant time last year so I’m not exactly where the big boost is coming from better health.

Yeah I don’t expect these guys all back or necessarily pitching well, and Franco is gone. That said, they are an incredibly effective org at developing pitching and picking up scrap heap to fill positional needs, and coming off a 99 win season.

The Yankees getting healthy is the bigger risk, and the Blue Jays have been good  for a few years now and could finally roll off a luckier year, imo

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Who said big boost?

They won 99 games last year.

Well, about 11.5 war from last years team is either out for the year, on the Dodgers, or in jail, so they probably do need a boost from somewhere. But they are good at filling gaps out of thin air.

[RZNJ]

9 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Who said big boost?

They won 99 games last year.

Ok.  You said better.  They won’t have their ace, another key starter in Rasmussen, and Glasgow which all helped them win those 99 games plus it looks like Franco is gone for the foreseeable future, plus Stephenson, who was lights out in the bullpen.  Caminero looks like a potential ROY and impact bat.   I’m not sure how that all adds up to better.  Seems like they lost more than they gained.

[RZNJ]

9 minutes ago, brooooksy said:

Yeah I don’t expect these guys all back or necessarily pitching well, and Franco is gone. That said, they are an incredibly effective org at developing pitching and picking up scrap heap to fill positional needs, and coming off a 99 win season.

The Yankees getting healthy is the bigger risk, and the Blue Jays have been good  for a few years now and could finally roll off a luckier year, imo

Anything can happen and the off season isn’t over.  Pennants aren’t won on paper but Toronto looks weaker right now.   A lot depends on which version of Vlad Jr. shows up this year.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Anything can happen and the off season isn’t over.  Pennants aren’t won on paper but Toronto looks weaker right now.   A lot depends on which version of Vlad Jr. shows up this year.

They’ve got a lot of variables there, including Manoah. They just haven’t all aligned yet and they’ve been hanging around 90 wins

[interloper]

6 minutes ago, brooooksy said:

They’ve got a lot of variables there, including Manoah. They just haven’t all aligned yet and they’ve been hanging around 90 wins

They have a pretty bad manager who is doing a nice job limiting their overall potential.

[Gurgi]

If Manoah can get back to like 260 and get his speed and confidence back he would be a massive infusion for them.  I wonder what his body looks like in spring training.   If not he might be on his way to becoming the next Sydney Ponson.

Edited January 26 by Gurgi

[NCRaven]

If the Rays can be better by staying healthy, the Orioles can be better since their young players have another year of experience.