I didn't realize that he was still playing?

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Dusty seems to be obsessed with batting terrible hitters in the 2 spot. He did it with Niko, now Gurriel.

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The 'old Derrick Bell honey hole when he would bat between Biggio and Bagwell.

I'm sure Dusty is trying to get these guys to see more fastballs with Alverez protection behind them.

I will watch the games when I am at home, but normally following from a kid's practice or game. Try to clear the calendar for post season games to watch the entire thing.

If I go out for dinner I will try to get a table with a view of the game if it is available.

Harry Dunne said:

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Singleton!

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=single001jon

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Haha nice. I also did not realize he's still playing.

Looks like he hung him up for a while and then did a Kenny Powers in Mexico.

Anyone remember Japhet Amador, the Mexican Babe Ruth and one-time Astros farmhand? Looks like he is still playing too…

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=amador001jap

That lineup seems to be an invitation for a sweep.

Losing 5 out of 6 against Oakland is inexcusable. Between the **** lineups, subpar performances, constant drum noise and late starts I have watched less of this series than any other this year. The series against Oakland right before the all star break was equally unwatchable.

bearkatag15 said:

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For reference

OPS vs <.500 vs OPS vs>.500
Maldonado +.349
Altuve +.098
Gurriel +.067
McCormick +.065
Alvarez +.014
Brantley -.034
Pena -.061
Tucker -.062
Bregman -.247

— Full Seam Ahead (@FullSeamAhead) July 27, 2022

Good thing playoff teams all have winning records

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you know...somebody has to say it...

this almost seems like a professionalism thing.

i.e. not giving the same level of effort / same amount of preparation or study when playing a bad opponent

Or it's baseball and thing fluctuate. Not everything needs to have a root cause analysis (Yes, Famer said that). Are we going to say Bregman sucks on the big stage? If Maldonado was just more professional he'd be an All-Star with that kind of split, right?

Yankees are in on Frankie Montas as well as Luis Castillo (and others). Starting pitching a priority. Nothing known to be close.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 27, 2022

On @JunksRadio, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said that “we’re not going to dilute the return for any player by including a bad contract.”

He later added: “We are in conversations with several teams that I think have real interest in (Juan Soto).

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) July 27, 2022

Sounds like the rumors about taking on Corbin may be unfounded

My point stands. Seems like we're looking for a problem that isn't there.

Teams OPS vs winning and losing teams are a whole .005 difference in OPS.

Josh Bell market has been all over the place. Causing me to be hesitant to tweet about it. Looks like #Astros and #Brewers are the 2 finalist.

— MLB Leaks (@MLB_Leaks) July 27, 2022

No points for 2nd place. Go get him, Click.

#Mets and #Orioles are really close to a deal for Trey Mancini. #Orioles are feeling offers from other teams still. None of them have real traction but probably won’t happen till the deadline, if I had to guess. #Mets seem like a lock at this point

— MLB Leaks (@MLB_Leaks) July 27, 2022

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Yankees are in on Frankie Montas as well as Luis Castillo (and others). Starting pitching a priority. Nothing known to be close.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 27, 2022

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Yankees getting smart, see that Montas has our number. Should probably bring him in to be the Astro killer

Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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Yankees getting smart, see that Montas has our number. Should probably bring him in to be the Astro killer

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We did dust up Montas for 5 runs in 3.2 innings last time we saw him in the playoffs

3B Paul 97 said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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Dusty seems to be obsessed with batting terrible hitters in the 2 spot. He did it with Niko, now Gurriel.

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The 'old Derrick Bell honey hole when he would bat between Biggio and Bagwell.

I'm sure Dusty is trying to get these guys to see more fastballs with Alverez protection behind them.

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Speaking of....

If we sign Bell we might as well get Benintendi to pair with Bregman so we have the new age Killer B's or Killer B's Light if you will

To me Bell is the one we need, and Contreras is icing on the cake (that may not be worth it, depending on what they require)

If we get both, I really like our odds for this year

Harry Dunne said:

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Looks like he hung him up for a while and then did a Kenny Powers in Mexico.

Anyone remember Japhet Amador, the Mexican Babe Ruth and one-time Astros farmhand? Looks like he is still playing too…

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=amador001jap

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Holy **** that's a name I haven't heard in forever... I wanted that guy to get the call to the big leagues so bad.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Deluxe said:

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Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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Yankees getting smart, see that Montas has our number. Should probably bring him in to be the Astro killer

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We did dust up Montas for 5 runs in 3.2 innings last time we saw him in the playoffs

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It was strategic to lose last night. Fool the Yankees into trojan horsing him into the Bronx.

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Yep. We didn't use Maldy's custom-made playoff strategies last night anyway.

I’d rather promote Diaz than trade minor league talent to get Josh Bell in the midst of his extreme career year, personally. I get that bell is almost certainly better right now and the goal is to win the WS, but a meaningful offensive upgrade over Gurriel is the goal here, and https://t.co/x53zi0Y3ow

— Kylah Tuckergaard Supports Labor Not Capital (@Rhyme_W_Karbach) July 27, 2022

Yeah I get that about the jump from AAA to MLB. Sure wish we were getting a chance to see Diaz a little with the parent club to get a better idea.

— Kylah Tuckergaard Supports Labor Not Capital (@Rhyme_W_Karbach) July 27, 2022

I really don’t think it would take much to be an upgrade over Gurriel at this point, though. Weighing the difference between the upgrade (Bell v Diaz) is difficult, but weighing the difference between having Hunter Brown and/or Pedro Leon still in the system vs. not is easy.

— Kylah Tuckergaard Supports Labor Not Capital (@Rhyme_W_Karbach) July 27, 2022

Not great

Michael Brantley has still not swung a bat, Dusty Baker said today.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 27, 2022

#RedSox and #Phillies conversations regarding Xander Bogarts have really gained a lot of traction in the last 24 hours. #RedSox are still discussing internally if they want to sell off Xander.

— MLB Leaks (@MLB_Leaks) July 27, 2022

If the Red Sox are selling, we need to look at their catcher (Vasquez).

I don't think anyones expectation is or should be for Bell to come in and be a perennial all star slug machine. The goal here is to upgrade that position from where it currently is which is worst in MLB.

I love Diaz, I think he may be the prospect I'm highest on or least willing to give up in a trade. However, he's only been at AAA since June. The likelihood of him translating to MLB so quickly and so consistently is not high. It works sometimes but it more often doesn't happen like that.

My ideal situation is trade for Bell and in the off-season explore options but probably re-sign him to a 2-3 year deal and let him man 1st until Diaz or Matijevic is ready for it.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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#RedSox and #Phillies conversations regarding Xander Bogarts have really gained a lot of traction in the last 24 hours. #RedSox are still discussing internally if they want to sell off Xander.

— MLB Leaks (@MLB_Leaks) July 27, 2022

If the Red Sox are selling, we need to look at their catcher (Vasquez).

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Maldy and Vasquez would make a peary interesting combo.