4 runs in a single game? Whooooooa Bundy!

It depends on what/how much Cashman the Hypercritical Asshole/Liar spends.

Won't matter. The free agent market sucks. There's nothing out there. The only way the Yankees could make a huge splash is to trade all the prospects they just got.

They also replaced David Ortiz .315/.401/.620 with Mitch Moreland (moving Hanley to DH) .233/.298/.422

Trumbo to Seth Smith is somehow worse than that

Plus their starting 3b played 3 games last year and even in a full season prior he hit .245/.292/.366 with 10 hr

If you can't see their offense isnt going to be close to what it was in 2016 (#1 with 5.36 rpg, .282/.348/.461 ) then I don't know what to say. They scored 101 runs more than the next best AL team and you expect that to not change with Mitch Moreland and Pablo Sandoval in the lineup..

The Red Sox scored 134 more runs than the Orioles and 119 more than the Jays and it only got them 4 games up on them. Just imagine what happens when they score fewer runs. They're going to need the better starting pitching..

Their offense is going to take a hit next season for numbers but still should be pretty good overall. Maybe fewer games where they can bail out the pitchers compared to last season.

Ever since 2011, Sox's rotation is going to determine if they succeed or not. Too many years where on paper they had high expectations and ended up being terrible instead. Sale is an improvement over Buchholz but if Price can rebound and Porcello has a decent season, they should be in good shape.

You're a dope. Nobody said that Trumbo to Smith was worse. You're just now bringing that up. The argument here is you think team is somehow better despite making no moves to improve while the team you think they're better than improved.

Of course their offense is going to take a hit. Nobody argued that.

What you're ignoring is that they've added one of the best pitchers in the league to prevent giving up runs, so that they don't need to score as many runs as last year to obtain the same or more success.

In other words, instead of trying to replace the runs created by David Ortiz, they decided to improve the about they gave up instead to make up for it.

What people are saying is they're still good. Their outfield is absolutely stacked. Their middle infield is stacked. Moreland had a down year based on balls in play. He's actually a good bounce back candidate. Of course you would've actually had to have looked up numbers to know that.

The only blip on the radar is Sandoval and whether or not he'll bounce back. That's it.

The rotation is ridiculous.

Baltimore meanwhile has an aging first baseman, and mediocre at best second baseman, a mediocre shortstop who can't hit anymore, a centerfielder who can't get on base or field and is declining offensively, a platoon right fielder who can't field, and a left fielder who might be an everyday player but know one knows because his manager benched him half the year.

Then you get to the patch job rotation who's number one starter isn't as good as 3 of the other 4 division rivals' number one.

Followed by one more solid guy, then 2 scrubs who haven't been good in years and a walking dead shoulder who sucked as a starter and gave up 1.5 runs more as a starter than a reliever.

Lol. You just don't have ability to be objective. You try to find ways to upsell your team even when the writing is on the wall.

Lol if Chris Davis is "aging" I guess Mitch Moreland who is a year and a half older found the fountain of youth.

Excellent way to deflect Droford. Guess it means you're done trying to look dumb by arguing your team is better than the team that's actually trying to get better.

lol all the points he listed and that's your takeaway?

Its the first one I thought of because the article I read said Moreland was older than Chris Davis

Chris Sale is use to winning games with 1 or 2 support runs. So maybe they score less runs but they received CHRIS FUCKING SALE.

The need to score is offset when your rotation features arguably the best lefty in the league

I will admit it is pretty unfair to the rest of the league, but Price will still suck in the playoffs.

You can pitch Sale 3 times in each series. Fuck Price.

I think Price will eventually be fine. Not to mention, the goal is to get there. That rotation should do at least that.

Boston is head and shoulders above the rest of their division at this point.

As a Jays fan, it hurts me to admit it, but it is true.... Boston should be heads above the division, Toronto/Baltimore/New York will battle it out for second and Tampa, who will be better than 2016, will bring up the rear in the division.

Manny Ramirez is back playing baseball, this time in Japan.

Here's the catch. He signed a deal with the Kochi Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku Island League Plus, an independent league. This league only has 4 teams, and has no ties to NPB.

I'd like to know how much he's getting paid. And if this interferes with Hall of Fame voting since he's about to go on the ballot.

Which is funny because that's roughly what the Red Sox scored in 3 games of the ALDS (7 runs in 3 games). Even the AL Cy Young couldn't win with that lack of support.

Yup. So bad they beat the O's for the division.

Hey Droford, how many runs did the O's score in the ALDS? I know the Red Sox only scored 7. Wondering who scored more though.

By 4 games
Same number as how many games the Red Sox won

Did Baltimore win the division Droford?

Oh, so they scored 0? Damn. Must suck to be worse than those shitty Red Sox. Does that make the O's extra shitty? Guess so.

Only if the O's could have won more games.

Only by 4 games. You know if you don't win by at least 5 it does not count. No matter how shitty the Red Sox apparently are and how amazing the O's are.

But they won the division right?

Ya but you see on August the 5th the Red Sox played a game where the ump made a bad call which allowed them to win the game. If that never would have happened they would have lost 8 more straight and then would lose the division. - Droford logic.

They beat the Dodgers 9-0. They were 2 games behind the Jays and os who were tied..Amusingly with the best record in the AL.

The Orioles might sign Hammel since he's not getting any interest. Perfectly Dan Duquette move

You do realize I made that entire post up right?

I figured you knew something I didn't about august 5th which is why I looked it up

So Droford are you attending the division championship flag raising this year for Baltimore?

I'm going to fan fest on the 28th for the 1st time.

Maybe you can get Buck to sign your 2016 American League eastern division championship banner

or your ubaldo jimenez jersey

Or your Jake Arrieta jersey

The only sports jersey I own is an authentic Joe Flacco jersey I got in January of 2009 after the ravens lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship.

I've never found a baseball jersey that fit

Maybe they'll sign a commemorative 2016 ALCS program.

Britton almost got as much for 2017 in arbitration ($11.4 mil) as Machado did ($11.5)..

Also Trumbo has supposedly come way down on what he wants to the point where he might be able to stay in Baltimore.

And you think they're gonna be able to afford Machado lol.

Trumbo is realizing the jig is up. He's a low on base homerun only bat with no value outside of the batters box and now he's coming back to the one place that makes the most sense.

Padres signed Wil Myers to a 6 year, 84 million dollar extendion. Love it. Locked up thru age 31

The Orioles have shown no loyalty in the past to closers. I figure Britton is on the trade deadline block to be dealt this year unless the Orioles are in first place. I would be upset but its what they do.

I don't know why you'd be upset. Logically speaking, Britton is likely to regress while getting more expensive. They'd be smart to trade him while his value is high.

Britton is getting traded for sure. Most likely to the Yankee's or Nationals. Nationals love trading for closers every years. It's weird.

Why would the Yankees want him?

They just had Chapman, Miller and Betances in the same bullpen. Why do you think they'd want him?

I doubt he goes to the Yankees. He'll go to a team like Washington who needs a closer and has the cash and prospects to get it done.

I don't want the Nats to trade for anyone because I want them to suck this year.

Also I want Daniel Murphy to take a fastball to the ear.

They might suck this year. They're a weird team.

They want everyone

Looks like Bautista back to Toronto will be announced either later today or tomorrow, Marcus Stroman may have revealed his return on Twitter....

If it's short term and on the cheap I guess it's okay.

I read 2 years, somewhere between 17.5 and 20 mil AAV.

Two days until the Hall of Fame class is announced and because I'm a geek for the Hall - 50% of the ballots are now public and, while unlikely, there is still a fighting chance that the BBWAA could elect five players in one class for the first time since the inaugural HOF class of 1936. Raines (91.5%) and Bagwell (89.2%) both felt like safe bets coming in to this year and fans of theirs may very well have booked trips a while ago. But Pudge (78.4%), Vlad (74.2%), and Hoffman (72.8%) are all right there.

Given that the pool of voters who won't announce the ballot early likely trends older and therefore more strict about PED implications, I'm thinking Pudge will end up falling just short this year. A phrase I've read from some voters who did not go for Vlad are that they feel he is worthy of the HOF but not good enough where he should get in first ballot, which is an even higher honor. Seems silly to me, but he'll likely miss out this year because of it. Hoffman might still have the best chance at sneaking in as a third man as older voters tend to favor saves a lot more.

No matter which of the three miss out, they're all very likely to go in someday. Historically once you get to around the 60-65% voting threshold it just becomes a matter of time. Edgar Martinez and Mussina are in that range...and so are Bonds and Clemens. It's going to be such an awkwardly fun ceremony if/when those two eventually make it.

Why is first-ballot "an honor?" Feel like people only say that about active players, not members.

I've thought this for years, but I think I heard Simmons/Cousin Sal discuss it recently.

Technically a #BillSimmonsPost

Not sure I like a 2-year deal unless the second has a team option....

I think it's dumb personally. But for whatever reason people think you can separate the legends for the super legends by who got in on the first try.

To me, a Hall of Famer is a Hall of Famer.

Sources confirmed that if Bautista signs with Jays, it will be 1-year with a mutual option. Not confirmed yet.

Michael Suanders also close to a deal with Philadelphia.... Good signing for them, a cheap-ish power bat with lots of potential

Saunders deal is done: 1-year, $9m. Club option for $11m.

I like it. He can actually hit. And it takes the Phillies out of the Jay Bruce talks (thankfully).

I can't say Sandy fucked up by exercising Bruce's contract, because there was no guaranteed of Cespedes returning and nobody could've imagined the hitters market playing out this slowly.

But man....it sure looks like the Mets are gonna be stuck playing Bruce over Conforto, and that really fucking sucks.

Saunders is a worse version of Jay Bruce, Screech

At least he's cheaper

Baseball Writers' Association of America recently approved to make Hall of Fame ballot voting results public starting next year. Writers will no longer be allowed to be anonymous on who they pick.

Could have started this year but the voting for the rule change occurred after voting for the 2017 class started.

Maybe not. I don't know. I didn't want Jay Bruce, and just about anybody would be an upgrade at this point.

So Bautista's deal ended up being 1 year, $18 million. Different vesting options and performance escalators could potentially turn it into 3 years, $60 million.

BAUTISTA COMING BACK TO WIN THE RUMBLE!

White Sox prospect Michael Kopech, acquired from Boston in the Chris Sale trade, is now hitting 110 MPH on the radar gun.

They should pull him over for speeding

*rimshot*

I saw where he's coming off a broken hand when he punched a teammate. Maybe that makes him sorta like Henry Rowengartner.

Bagwell, Raines, and Pudge to the HOF.

Wooooooooooo!

All deserving but it's about damn time for Raines and Bagwell.

Raines and Bagwell were locks based on votes but the difference between Pudge and Hoffman was really close.

Hoffman missed joining the class by 5 votes while Pudge's win total was only 4 votes higher than the amount needed.

Probably a safe bet Trevor Hoffman is joining next year and maybe Vlad Guerrero since he missed getting inducted by 15 votes. Chipper Jones should be a lock based on the new guys for next year's ballot

Yeah it'll be at least a 4 man class next year: Hoffman, Vlad, Thome, Chipper

I gotta say though, Hoffman getting 74% and Wagner only 10% defies logic.

The disparity in the polling from a couple of days ago vs. the final numbers is astounding. I thought Edgar and Moose were going to finish mid to high 60s and be safe for next year but nope, both saw a 10% drop from the group that didn't reveal their ballots publicly. I still think they could go in someday but 20-25% for next year would be a huge jump. All ballots will be public next year so that could force some of the more crotchety members of the BBWAA to change their strategy.

Really think that next year might be my favorite class of all time. Love Thome, Rolen, and Vizquel.

It's because writers still believe in TEH SAVEZZZZ. Wagner was better last time I bothered to check.

Bro, how many times have you faced a team's 3 worst hitters in the 9th inning of a 3 run game?

Curt Schilling is one of my favorite Phillies ever.

But goddamn, he is not smart.

Lol that was a fun read

Baltimore to lock up Trumbo for 37 mil over 3 years. He gets twice as much as his qualifying offer but over 3 years.

Decent sign fit Baltimore assuming he only hits and stays off the field.

Ponson was my favorite fat Judge beating Orioles pitcher from Aruba

Supposedly DHing with Seth Smith in RF

Man I hope their pitches get ground balls galore because that outfield sounds pretty dire

How did they ever manage to win 89 games last year? Right? Basically the same team as last year..+Castillo -Wieters

Well it's not. The guy in left didn't start last year, and Seth Smith wasn't on the team. So no not the same. They also haven't gotten any better.

I don't think they're any worse either

So they're spinning their wheels while the division winner from last year got even better? Yeah they'll be fine.

We went over how the Red Sox didn't get any better. Sheesh
And don't even get me started on the Blue Jays. Lol

Lol no you tried to bs your way to short changing them and when presented with facts you tried to move on to some irrelevant point about Davis being younger than Moreland.

The Blue Jays are better. The Baltimore rotation couldn't luck the gum off the Toronto rotation's cleats.

No doubt Boston got better and Jays got worse.

Hey remember that time the O's lost to the Jays in the Wild Card game :lol:

The Jays got worse but not by a significant margin. A full year of Devon Travis will help. A full year of Aaron Sanchez will help.

I don't think Morales will be very good but I don't think he'll be useless either. They still have a very good roster and that pitching tho

Please stop badly about the team who won it all last year. Can't wait for the O's to repeat.

Significant enough in my eyes. EE was the key piece, without him batting cleanup, pitchers have to be less careful with Donaldson & Bautista and they'll get less fastballs to mash with runners on base knowing that Morales is hitting cleanup opposed to Edwin.

I'd don't care how much of a step down Morales is from EE, its a clear step down when a pitcher gets down 3-1 and has to groove a strike down the plate and he's not facing Edwin.

It depends on what kind of year Tulo and Bautista have.

Lineup protection is largely a myth. Losing Encarnacion will likely net them, give or take, 3 additional losses. However, I don't expect Bautista to be horrible assuming he's healthy, and that could help offset their loss.

They're still a very good team and very much in the hunt for a playoff spot as it stands.

Edittttt

Just popped up on my twitter that Yordano Ventura died in a car accident . Not sure how accurate this is.

wtf