Monkeyboy wrote:The weird thing for me is that I have trouble believing that we are up against the cap. We don't have a ton of expensive guys and we have a lot of younger players. Harper is expensive, but there are more expensive players after this offseason. We have arrieta and wheeler and cutch and segura, but everyone seems to have a few players like that. I feel like we should have more money to spend. Maybe they are just bad at math. Someone recheck their numbers!

Recheck to your heart's content...

viewtopic.php_f=1&t=19199

Yeh, I didn't really think their numbers were wrong. But thanks for the info, Phillychuck, and thanks for compiling all that data, Lasttrain.

I would like to think we can field a champion under the cap, but the years of poor development and drafting have made that much tougher than it should be (it's already pretty dang hard). Of course, anything can happen if you make the playoffs. Still, I don't think I've ever said before this season that they should go over the cap, but I think they should go over the cap. If the Yanks are 50 M over and we have all this comcast money, let's go after Bryant or Donaldson and try to get another number 2 or 3 pitcher. I'm willing to roll the dice with the BP as it is to start the season. We can always add there later.

I'm not a big fan of pursuing either Donaldson (age, inconsistency) or Bryant (contract, K-rate, hard-hit-ball-rate (lowest 25% in baseball), and injury history), but I agree that we need one more very good bat in the lineup. I don't know who is available throughout the majors, but a ~800-900 OPS infielder or CF would be useful if we could get him. Another solid starter would relieve some of the pressure on the VV/Pivetta/Eflin/AAA-guy crew. I don't know that we have much to trade that would be attractive to teams with decent guys under contract.

Or we count on our top 2 prospects to deliver those things mid-season.

gr wrote:Or we count on our top 2 prospects to deliver those things mid-season.

I personally fully support this approach. Manage Howard's innings early, get him sharp in AAA in late May, and bring him up. Give Bohm two months in AAA if he needs them, and work him in to the IF rotation. Boom--championshipz.

I would love for that to happen. That would be best case scenario. But again, what is the likelihood that they will both be the players we hope they will be? We haven't had a lot of guys in recent memory come up and produce. I'm a little down on our player development and I think for good reason.

But I do think this is the approach we are taking. If it doesn't work, Klentak is probably toast.

You can't actually count on it, but that's what needs to happen, realistically. Seems unlikely they can just find that level of production on the market and still keep any sort of flexibility.

phillychuck wrote:I'm not a big fan of pursuing either Donaldson (age, inconsistency) or Bryant (contract, K-rate, hard-hit-ball-rate (lowest 25% in baseball), and injury history), but I agree that we need one more very good bat in the lineup. I don't know who is available throughout the majors, but a ~800-900 OPS infielder or CF would be useful if we could get him. Another solid starter would relieve some of the pressure on the VV/Pivetta/Eflin/AAA-guy crew. I don't know that we have much to trade that would be attractive to teams with decent guys under contract.

Any chance Drew Smyly comes back? He was as good or better than VV and Pivetta after he came to town.

MattFoley wrote:

phillychuck wrote:I'm not a big fan of pursuing either Donaldson (age, inconsistency) or Bryant (contract, K-rate, hard-hit-ball-rate (lowest 25% in baseball), and injury history), but I agree that we need one more very good bat in the lineup. I don't know who is available throughout the majors, but a ~800-900 OPS infielder or CF would be useful if we could get him. Another solid starter would relieve some of the pressure on the VV/Pivetta/Eflin/AAA-guy crew. I don't know that we have much to trade that would be attractive to teams with decent guys under contract.

Any chance Drew Smyly comes back? He was as good or better than VV and Pivetta after he came to town.

I hope so

Looks like Zack got married in NYC last night

He had a good run

BigEd76 wrote:Looks like Zack got married in NYC last night

Dominique Rizzo? The instagram model he was dating?

I’d be so annoyed if I got invited to a wedding in NYC on NYE.

I probably just wouldn’t go, but still.

Eh, why not? If they’re getting married and you are invited, you’ve gotta give a gift anyway, and so now I’m exchange for that gift you’ve got New Years plans are an open bar.

phillychuck wrote:

BigEd76 wrote:Looks like Zack got married in NYC last night

Dominique Rizzo? The instagram model he was dating?

yup. Check out her IG story
https://www.instagram.com/stories/dominiquerizz/

Now, I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger...

Bill McNeal wrote:Eh, why not? If they’re getting married and you are invited, you’ve gotta give a gift anyway, and so now I’m exchange for that gift you’ve got New Years plans are an open bar.

NYC is an epic shitshow on NYE. I’d hate to have to go up there, much less get a hotel or something too.

Gimpy wrote:

Bill McNeal wrote:Eh, why not? If they’re getting married and you are invited, you’ve gotta give a gift anyway, and so now I’m exchange for that gift you’ve got New Years plans are an open bar.

NYC is an epic shitshow on NYE. I’d hate to have to go up there, much less get a hotel or something too.

I thought this as well until someone pointed out that everyone who is going to Times Square is already there and not going anywhere.

I left my house for the UWS yesterday around 2:30, and I was parked and at my friend’s house by 5. I left his place around 11 today and was home by 1:30. Literally no slowdowns of any kind.

Times Square sucks, sure, but there’s plenty of other places to go.

Now hotels on the other hand...

I've never had any issues with NYE in NYC other than overpacked NJ Transit trains. Really seems no different than any other Friday night in the city.