And perhaps this also changes opinions---I could see this changing your view both ways---when you look at how many of this team's better performing players are old, headed to free agency, or both.

Any idea how much the Rangers owners are willing to spend to ensure a competitive team that will draw fans to the new ballpark?

I keep reading articles about how no one will touch Verlander without making Detroit eat a huge chunk of his remaining contract. If JD will agree to absorb the entire albatross, any chance we can snag him without forking over our best prospects?

I think a Darvish-Otani-Verlander-Hamels rotation might create some interest. What's a few extra million dollars to these guys, anyway?

I'd say 5 is the magic # in the wildcard race.

If we're <5 games back, Lucroy will be the only significant piece dealt.

If we're >5 games back, we'll try and move Cashner and possibly Gomez (depending on where we view him beyond 2017).


Very much doubt any other significant pieces get moved.

I have a hard time getting excited about the two wild card slots considering that it leads to a one game playoff. I liked it better when there was only one wild card.

If we are >5 games back I would trade Yu as he would be a hot item for a contender who is going "all in" this year. That being said, I hope we resign him, but trading him would help get some value back in the event he goes elsewhere this winter.

bigcat22 said:

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If we are >5 games back I would trade Yu as he would be a hot item for a contender who is going "all in" this year. That being said, I hope we resign him, but trading him would help get some value back in the event he goes elsewhere this winter.

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I think we all agree -- watching Yu pitch out the last few months of a lost season really isn't that much to get excited about. But I think the idea is if the front office isn't willing to deal him in a lost season, then they must have pretty good reason to believe that not dealing him significantly increases their chances of resigning him.

Now that's not to say the front office hasn't had some major blunders when it comes to free agency/contracts -- Prince Fielder's seemingly "we'll take your word for it" physical being high on the list -- but they took this franchise from a regular 75-win-ish team to a 90-win-ish team... so I'll still give them the benefit of the doubt that they aren't clueless in regards to what helps us retain Darvish.

Good grief, what a snowflake.

Bregman made progress in the sense that he didn't blatantly misspell anything!


True story: One day on twitter I came to discover that I was blocked by RG3. I found that hilarious and strange because I didn't think I ever tweeted directly at him. Sure enough, I went back and looked and I only ever tweeted about him, not directly at him. It's great when athletes have such fragile egos like that, or can't just let fans talk and be above all of that. Hilarious.

Saw that earlier. He really is a pansy ass. Maybe he should act like he's been there before....

Nope. The genius misspelled fleas.

That is unbelievable.

The fans have infected the team

Even most of our Astros buddies think he was being a d****e.

"most"

Really wish Gallo would've accepted his invite to this. Would've been cool to see him go against Judge.

Bet the rest of baseball wished they had a do over on the 2013 draft. 31 players taken before Judge....including Chi Chi Gonzalez and Travis Demeritte.

At least I have a new player too hate for a long long time!

gigem1223 said:

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Bet the rest of baseball wished they had a do over on the 2013 draft. 31 players taken before Judge....including Chi Chi Gonzalez and Travis Demeritte.

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Not me.

MLB has no credibility, until they release the names of people with "PED Exceptions."

And that's pretty much been born out with a lot of guys across the league. Chirinos being another. Marisnick in Houston is suddenly mashing. Either the ball changed or baseball just said screw it and decided to let everybody cheat. But seeing as they just handed down a suspension that's unlikely.

Marisnick always had power, it was the actual making contact and hitting a ton of ground balls (likely taught to him as 'gotta use your speed!') that kept his homeruns down.

I doubt a ton of players in unison all decided to start cheating this year - something has changed with the ball (whether purposely or just by chance).

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/it-looks-like-the-baseball-is-behind-mlbs-power-surge/

gigem1223 said:

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Really wish Gallo would've accepted his invite to this. Would've been cool to see him go against Judge.

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It's funny because I still think that Gallo has more pure power than Judge does. Gallo's swing is just much longer, and Judge is about 100 times better of a batter. Still though, it wasn't that long ago that Judge was viewed like how we view Gallo now. Not at all saying Gallo will reach Judge's level by any means. Just an impressive player transformation.

gigem1223 said:

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DallasAg 94 said:

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gigem1223 said:

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Bet the rest of baseball wished they had a do over on the 2013 draft. 31 players taken before Judge....including Chi Chi Gonzalez and Travis Demeritte.

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Not me.

MLB has no credibility, until they release the names of people with "PED Exceptions."

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Yea you're full of ***** Just because he's a monstrosity of a man doesn't mean he's juicing . I mean he was 6' 7 233 in high school. Judge is the best player in baseball as a rookie and he's never failed a test that we know of. I know you're one of the bigger homers on this board DA but this takes the cake.

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Meh...

I've been very outspoken against PEDs in MLB for decades.

Last report I saw had over 115 MLBs with a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) from the PED ban. Adderall, AFAIK, is the biggest use. Take Chris Davis., who failed a PED test and got a 25 game suspension. In his case, he forgot to submit his TUE and still used Adderall, got caught and was supended.
His numbers:
266G, 42 HRs, .248 BA with Texas through 2011. Important: 50 Doubles, 42 HRs

2011 (Tex): 28 G, 3 Dbls, 3 HR, .250
2011 (Bal): 31 G, 9 Dbls, 2 HR, .276
2012 (Bal): 139 G, 20 Dbls, 33 HR, .270
2013 (Bal): 160 G, 42 Dbls, 53 HR, .286
2014 (Bal): 127 G, 16 Dbls, 26 HR, .196
2015 (Bal): 160 G, 31 Dbls, 47 HR, .262
2016 (Bal): 157 G, 21 Dbls, 38 HR, .221
2017 (Bal): 61 G, 7 Dbls, 14 HR, .226

Let's see if you can tell me which year with Baltimore, Davis did not have an exemption for Adderall.

You got it. 2014. And he likely felt the pressure of his performance drop and decided to try to take it and get away with it.

He is now 31, and father time has caught him. His career has a similar pattern to most players, and unless he finds the fountain of youth that A-Rod, Bonds, Bartolo Colon and Clemens found... he is likely going to continue to downward trend.

A-Rod won the MVP with Texas, even though he had failed a drug test by MLB.

MLB absolutely needs the Yankees to emerge from the ashes, and even if Judge fails multiple tests, there is no way he will be exposed.

I believe Bonds and Aaron were the only 2 guys with over 450 HRs who have more HRs than Doubles.

Aaron Judge has 13 Doubles and 30 HRs... and he is hitting .329.

At 6'7", players develop differently. Yes, they have an incredible ability to generate torque and bat speed... but it is also very difficult to create a consistent, repeatable and replicatable swing.

As long as MLB keeps private those that have an exemption... you have to assume he is taking something. Rumors are at least 1 out of 3 MLB players have an exemption.

free_mhayden said:

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I doubt a ton of players in unison all decided to start cheating this year - something has changed with the ball (whether purposely or just by chance).

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It isn't just this year... it has been a progression over the past couple years and is a bit more dramatic this year.

I'd like to see the TUE numbers. Chris Davis' admission had to have created a wave of abuse. Kids these days are more apt to be on Adderall, which IMO, makes it more pervasive in society. And if you can benefit from it and get paid MILLIONs to do something you love... it is an easy decision for some.

DallasAg 94 said:

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free_mhayden said:

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I doubt a ton of players in unison all decided to start cheating this year - something has changed with the ball (whether purposely or just by chance).

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It isn't just this year... it has been a progression over the past couple years and is a bit more dramatic this year.

I'd like to see the TUE numbers. Chris Davis' admission had to have created a wave of abuse. Kids these days are more apt to be on Adderall, which IMO, makes it more pervasive in society. And if you can benefit from it and get paid MILLIONs to do something you love... it is an easy decision for some.

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Adderall is great.

Adderall is great. It isn't going to triple your home run numbers.

Lebreton resigns from FWST:

For one of the few times in these past 37 years, I feel the prudent thing to do is to write this lede straight:
I have resigned my job as sports columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
I'm leaving, not retiring. The decision was mine, not somebody's with a pistol to my head. Or an hourglass.
I wasn't forced to resign. Nobody caught me sloshed during a rain delay at Colonial, or hording porn on a company laptop or even colorfully enhancing the agate from the John Jay Christmas Basketball Classic. [Fates that all befell former colleagues].
No, I'm quitting the Star-Telegram because it's the right time. There is a revolution afoot. The newsroom, they have announced, is about to be "reinvented."
And though the tools of this revolution are simple enough iPhone videos and Google algorithms are not brain surgery I have arrived at the realization that there is no defined place for a sports columnist of four decades in the newspaper's makeover that lies ahead.
It's not the technology. Videos? Did I ever tell you my degree from LSU was in broadcast journalism?
It's a resignation, though, not a retirement. Writing is what I do, and I feel I can still do it well. I may have lost a mile or two off my fastball, but I think I still know how to get people out.
If you're interested, email me. I'll come cheap.
There are so many people to thank for these past 37 years, I don't know where to begin, except at the beginning when Galyn Wilkins, Mike Blackman, James Walker and Henry Holcomb hired me to cover Tom Landry's Cowboys. And at the end, to thank Celeste Williams, whom God took from us to oversee His garden.
I owe so much to so many others over the years for your guidance, your help and your friendship that trying to list all of you would be futile. If I have your email address, trust me, I intend to personally thank as many of you as I can.
My career bucket list is completely filled. I was blessed to have the Star-Telegram send me around the world 16 Olympic Games (nine summer, seven winter), soccer's World Cup, the Tour de France, Wimbledon. I got heat sickness in China and frostbite in Norway, and I never regretted a minute of it.
But it's time to find a new happy place. My pilot light hasn't dimmed. I could retire, I suppose, but I would prefer to spend my remaining work years doing what I think I still do best writing, telling stories, making people laugh or think, and sometimes both.
God bless you all.

Quote:

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I believe Bonds and Aaron were the only 2 guys with over 450 HRs who have more HRs than Doubles.

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You are mistaken in your belief, in fact of those with 500 or more HRs only Pujols, Palmeiro, Ortiz, Williams and Murray have more doubles and only Ortiz and Murray have a significant gap in favor of doubles.

Bonds: 601 - 762
Aaron: 624 - 755
Ruth: 506 - 714
A-Rod: 548 - 696
Mays: 504 - 660
Griffey: 524 - 630
Thome: 451 - 612
Sosa: 379 - 609
Pujols: 611 - 604
Robinson: 528 - 586
McGwire: 252 - 583
Killebrew: 290 - 573
Palmeiro: 585 - 569
Jackson: 463 - 563
Ramirez: 547 - 555
Schmidt: 408 - 548
Ortiz: 632 - 541
Mantle: 344 - 536
Foxx: 458 - 534
McCovey: 353 - 521
Thomas: 495 - 521
Williams: 525 - 521
Banks: 407 - 512
Mathews: 354 - 512
Ott: 488 - 511
Sheffield: 467 - 509
Murray: 560 - 504
Gehrig: 534 - 493
McGriff: 441 - 493
Musial: 725 - 475
Stargell: 423 - 475
Delgado: 483 - 473
Jones: 549 - 468
Winfield: 540 - 465
Canseco: 340 - 462
Dunn: 334 - 462
Cabrera: 538 - 457
Beltre: 601 - 452
Yastrzemski: 646 - 452

Every time I look at Judge's stats, it blows my mind. Someone with 30 HRs at the all-star break should not have as high an average as he does, or walk as much as he does as well. He's the complete package offensively. There's really not anything he does poorly.