Those traps

James will be back <60 games.

Farmer1906 said:

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I wouldn't call Castro the backup catcher. I would call him the co starter or platoon mate. Both make 3.5 M a year.

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K well guess I'm wrong.

Abreau would be huge. He's got electric stuff.

Farmer1906 said:

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Abreu would be huge. He's got electric stuff.

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There's a reason he was on the playoff roster in 2019 and it's easy to forget that he was dominant in spring training last year (10 IP, 15 k, 5 BB, 0.90 ERA). Looking forward to his breakout season being overshadowed by the emergence of Luis Garcia.

Abreu was noticeably overweight last year. He was a cut specimen in 2019. He could be really big this year as far as pitching depth goes.

Betting the over on 88 seems like a good way to make some money

I kind of shocked the NL West isn't #1. I guess all the money was just 2 teams and the rest just sat on their hands.

That graphic is the most simplistic and telling thing I have seen in a long time regarding the competitive imbalance baseball has regarding team level revenue. I know it's says it's money to contracts but you can't tie players up like that if you aren't bringing it in on the revenue side.

I'd take the Rays at that payout. Still have the best pitching in that division.

Astros and Twins look like the best bets to take advantage of.

Both had statical projects around 62-67% to win the division with implied odds in the 40-45% based on the +120 & +140.

Whats the payout for a Rays-Astros-Twins parlay?

+2200 ish

Bovada

Astros to win AL West +150
AL Pennant +1000
Win World Series +2500

Projected Line Up

I am going to say there is no way there is close. At all.

I don't see us going with back to back lefties regularly. My guess is uncle Mike in the 2 hole:

Altuve
Mike
Bregs
Yordan
Carlos
Tucker
Yuli
Machete
Straw

MaxPower said:

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I don't see us going with back to back lefties regularly. My guess is uncle Mike in the 2 hole:

Altuve
Mike
Bregs
Yordan
Carlos
Tucker
Yuli
Machete
Straw

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This. Or switch TED and Brantley.

The only other realistic option would start with a lefty.
Tucker
Altuve
Yordan
Bregman
Brantley
Correa
Gurriel
Maldonado/Castro
Straw

Farmer1906 said:

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MaxPower said:

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I don't see us going with back to back lefties regularly. My guess is uncle Mike in the 2 hole:

Altuve
Mike
Bregs
Yordan
Carlos
Tucker
Yuli
Machete
Straw

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This. Or switch TED and Brantley.

The only other realistic option would start with a lefty.
Tucker
Altuve
Yordan
Bregman
Brantley
Correa
Gurriel
Maldonado/Castro
Straw

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I'd like to see something close to that, except swap Brantley and Yordan. I think there would be more RBI opportunities out of the 5 spot for Yordan, whereas the 3 spot's job is to keep the line moving. I think Brantley fits that role best.

Tucker
Altuve
Brantley
Bregman
Yordan
Correa
Gurriel
Maldonado/Castro
Straw

If Bregman's OPS can get back what it was in 2019, he's the ideal 4th hitter. However, if it slips and Yordan is back to his 2019 level, I can see the lineup switching to this:

Altuve
Brantley
Correa
Yordan
Bregman
Tucker
Gurriel
Maldonado/Castro
Straw

Everyone's favorite prospect did an interview with fangraphs.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-conversation-with-forrest-whitley-who-feels-that-right-now-is-the-right-time/

Of course our team is stepping up.

Farmer1906 said:

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Everyone's favorite prospect did an interview with fangraphs.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-conversation-with-forrest-whitley-who-feels-that-right-now-is-the-right-time/

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Not my favorite prospect

Farmer1906 said:

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Everyone's favorite prospect did an interview with fangraphs.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-conversation-with-forrest-whitley-who-feels-that-right-now-is-the-right-time/

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Interesting. I don't know that Bauer is someone I recommend emulating but I get you have to be who you are. I'm just glad to hear he sounds motivated and driven (losing weight, diet, sleep, using data to gameplan and develop). He certainly sounds more mature, which was a concern a few years ago.

He's no one favorite anymore. We've all turned on him. Might as well trade him for a journeyman 5th starter.

the Cubs and Cardinals should be crushing the NL Central...on and off the field.

but both have been misfiring on contracts lately

Honestly though...What pitcher doesn't?

I've been trying to read up on the AAV calculation for luxury tax calculation purposes and, if I'm reading it correctly, it seems a contract extension for Correa is much more likely mid season. I've included the lawyer speak from the CBT below but basically his AAV calculation is based on days in the season after opening day under the new contract vs the old. Let's assume he gets 8 for $240 million. That means his AAV before the start of the season is $27.96 million ($240 + $11.7 this year divided by 9 years). If you sign the same deal mid season then the calculation is:

(($240 + $5.85) divided by 8.5) x 50 %

+

5.85 (50% of current year base)

That totals $20.3 million, which is nearly $8 million lower for tax payroll calculation purposes and likely the difference between being over vs under. Here's the language from the CBT:

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Multi-Year Contract is signed after Opening Day of the championship season, the: (i) Base Salary in the first Guaranteed Year for purposes of the AAV calculation shall be determined by multiplying that Base Salary by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of championship season days that the Player was paid the Base Salary, and the denominator shall be the number of championship season days in that championship season; and (ii) the first Guaranteed Year shall not be considered a full Guaranteed Year for purposes of the AAV calculation, but shall be considered a partial year equal to the fraction described in subsection (i) above.

You lost me after the first sentence so I'll take your word for it.

I'll stick to the 6-4-3=2 math in baseball.

I never really considered that, but it makes a ton is sense.

Farmer1906 said:

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Is it gay that I watched this more than once?

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Only 8?

Quote:

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if a Multi-Year Contract is signed after Opening Day of the championship season,

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What does that part mean?