9 of Kansas City's 17 wins have come against the White Sox & Asstros...their second half schedule is a lot tougher, especially Sept where they have to play at NYY and ATL.

I don't see a world where the AL central gets two teams.

Like I said, I don't know how sustainable what Cleveland and KC are doing, but they are improved and the AL West has been dog water to start the season.

On the sustainability front, I don't think KC will pitch THIS good all season, but I do think they will pitch well. They have a good blend of savvy vets and mid-20's homegrown talent that is putting it together. The one area for KC in particular that would worry me is being so reliant on like 2-3 dudes. What is Bobby Witt Jr. or Salvy Perez go down for a month? I am going to say not good things. For Cleveland, their hitting has been maybe the best in baseball, which again idk if they will continue doing what they have done, but they have a lot of really good players that I think will keep them in the drivers seat in that division.

Eovaldi's option is a player option with 150 IP. He will not opt in to 1/$20M and will hit the open market. We can probably get him back but he'll be looking for another 3-4 years guaranteed.

It's really hard to say. I thought Heaney was gone with a $13M option that didn't vest to $20M.

There are a TON of high-end SP that are FAs after the season. Add in that guys like Snell, Monty, and Lorenzen could be back out there... add the Japanese kids, and the fact the market didn't meet expectations this past off-season, and you have to wonder.

I mentioned this a week or so ago... some of these guys are likely to get extensions before the end of the season. Teams will be aggressive early knowing the market may show that SPs who wait get low-balled.

The Cards acted quick, last year and took SPs they could sign quickly. Rangers look like they didn't want to get stuck desperate.

Eovaldi is 35 and made over $100M. Scherzer is like 39 and made over $300M. I don't think Eovaldi gets a long-term deal for a contender... and has never made over $17M/yr.

I could be wrong.

Down East Wood Ducks Update:

Down East stands at 10-10 on the year and 5-5 in their last 10. They're right in the middle of the pack in the Carolina League. Full disclosure, most of these guys I don't really know or know much about, but nonetheless I think some color with stats helps. On the mound the standout performers so far this season have been Kolton Curtis, who's a big ole 19 year old right-hander with a 1.59 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 15 SOs to 6 BBs in 17.0 IPs, and Wilian Bormie, a 21 year old right-hander from the DR, sporting a 1.98 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 17 SOs to 5 BBs in 13.2 IPs. There's honestly a whole host of other guys who are pitching really well for Down East this season, so following what that staff might be fun for the future (especially Curtis).

Hitting is where Down East is really struggling (which again, is not all that surprising given that most of these guys are 18-22 years old. Most of the guys numbers aren't worth posting, but I'll give you two: the best overall hitter so far this season has been Jesus Lopez, an 18 year old catcher from Venezuela, who's slashing .276/.354/.431/.785 with a really solid 12 SOs to 7 BBs in 58 at-bats; and Gleider Figuereo, a 19 year old third baseman from the DR, who's slashing .197/.346/.439/.785, which isn't all that great except for the power numbers. He's got 4 homers, 1 triple, 2 doubles and 13 RBIs in 66 at-bats. Danyer Cueva, probably the most known guy at Down East, is currently on the 7 day IL, but he's really struggled at the plate, to the tune of 16 SOs to only 2 BBs. Long way to go for Danyer.

The pitching looks really promising with Down East, so hopefully some of these young guys start to really develop under a new regime and philosophy.

I wish they would give us injury updates on offdays to give us something to talk about.

I'm still nursing a non-throwing elbow injury. Slept on it wrong and feels like it was hyper-extended. I was thinking 10IL... but I may need to go in for testing and it is starting to creep into my forearm.

And I've got tightness in my throwing shoulder from my flight last night. Extends up to my neck.

Knights' goalie Saturday was standing on his head. 4 breakaways in the 2nd and turned them all away.

I feel like if the Stars can win tonight, they'll be smooth sailing.

I THINK we are the better team, it just needs to show itself over the course of a series.

Just a cursory look but Rangers opponents combined record is 116-108. Might not have added correctly.

Garver walks it off last night for the Mariners.

Watching the replay... man it sure would be nice if we had a TV guy who injected some life into HR calls.

https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=40054315

I kinda like the "That ball is history!" call. But yeah, we've had better.

EastSideAg2002 said:

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FORE!!!

gigem1223 said:

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That's Nadel (radio broadcast)

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My bad

Just want to add I really miss the green font of "VIDEO 1" on the TV

The TV broadcast is a really tough listen. So bad in fact that I listen to the radio broadcast with the TV turned on and muted. Even if I don't have it synced it's better that way.

Flounder Dorfman said:

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You mean you're not a big fan of the announcer yelling "GONE!!!" after the ball has bounced off of several fans and settled under someone's seat?

I always hate myself for being critical of Dave Raymond because he's a really good dude, but man his announcing…

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THIS! We do have a dude that yells. He just has crappy timing. Also, needs to learn to dial back the yelling of GONE when we are down say 9-0.

It truly is pretty awful. I can't help but think they're just treading water until the Bally deal expires or gets straightened out. I would hope that after either of those things happens, there'll be changes made.

A WS champion organization should do better than what we have.

Marc Church has a strain in his rotator cuff, Chris Young said, and is out indefinitely. #Rangers

— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilsonTXR) April 30, 2024

Wow...

Jose Abreu, a 36 year old former MVP making $19.5 million this year, is being optioned by the Astros to West Palm.

Wild.

— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 30, 2024

lineup and quick comment from Evan:

Third straight game vs lefty starter without Evan Carter https://t.co/HWQgyYi5Bm

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) April 30, 2024

Grapesoda2525 said:

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Earlier today MLB Central through up this graphic comparing Julio Rodriguez's first 27 games to Wyatt Langford's. Pretty interesting. Both guys got raw ump treatment. Langford still leads MLB with 23 called strikes on pitches out of the zone. pic.twitter.com/5RHdCWc8os

— Jared Sandler (@JaredSandler) April 29, 2024

Umpires need to give the rookie more respect.

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They just need to make correct decisions

KT 90 said:

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Wow...

Jose Abreu, a 36 year old former MVP making $19.5 million this year, is being optioned by the Astros to West Palm.

Wild.

— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 30, 2024

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That's crazy but at the end of the day it's a sunk cost.