Sand Diego Padres (27-18) at Toronto Blue Jays (22-24), May 20-22

[Boogie!]

I thought maybe we’ll get back above 500 but Francis is pitching

[Mehar]

Nobody is arguing about his defense. No need to change the subject. When the home runs cool off, Varsho is back to being the Mendoza Level .200 hitter he has always been.

He had a great 2 weeks to start 2023, then was one of the worst everyday offensive players in MLB that year. Last year, he had a great 2 weeks in April/May when he looked like Barry Bonds. Then he hit below .200 for five months after that. Now as the home runs cool off, he is back to being the .200 hitter he has always been.

You probably threw your remote at that grand slam

Imagine continuing to hate the team’s best player despite all evidence just to cling on to some mediocre slap hitting catcher the team away traded 2.5 years ago. Rough indeed.

I will take The Mediocre Slap Hitting Catcher who was a better player (offensively and defensively) in 2023 and 2024 than the guy you worship in Fat Kirk. If Moreno is mediocre- what does it make your hero Kirk? I guess Fat Kirk is beyond mediocre then. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I rather have the mediocre Moreno making $793,000 this year and under team control for three more years after this one, as opposed to paying $58 million over 5 years ($11.8 million a year) for Mediocre Kirk. Almost 11 million a year less for Moreno for the same production Kirk gives you, and Moreno right now in some metrics is better defensively than Kirk (while Kirk is third in pitch framing, and Moreno is fourth right now).

Mediocre Moreno has the same number of Home Runs right now as the so called "Power Bat" of Kirk you repeatedly have mentioned, and Moreno has a higher OPS than Kirk right now. Looking at Gurriel, he has more home runs than Varsho right now, and was a much better offensive player in 2023/2024 than what .200 hitter Varsho gave you. Yet you call the Varsho trade the "best trade by any MLB franchise this past decade". My evidence is the numbers I see on a regular basis, and not based on my imagination where you think .200 hitter Varsho is Mike Trout 2.0. That being said, if Varsho can be a league average bat in 2025, as opposed to a below average hitter he was in 2023/2024 then I will be the first to say so.

[Hottie McShotty]

I can't dispute Mehar's points, they are accurate. The numbers do not lie, and the contracts awarded were terrible. I'm curious to see what Varsho will receive now. I have a feeling that will turn out poorly as well.

[Parataxis]

You probably threw your remote at that grand slam

Imagine continuing to hate the team’s best player despite all evidence just to cling on to some mediocre slap hitting catcher the team away traded 2.5 years ago. Rough indeed.

I will take The Mediocre Slap Hitting Catcher who was a better player (offensively and defensively) in 2023 and 2024 than the guy you worship in Fat Kirk. If Moreno is mediocre- what does it make your hero Kirk? I guess Fat Kirk is beyond mediocre then. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I rather have the mediocre Moreno making $793,000 this year and under team control for three more years after this one, as opposed to paying $58 million over 5 years ($11.8 million a year) for Mediocre Kirk. Almost 11 million a year less for Moreno for the same production Kirk gives you, and Moreno right now in some metrics is better defensively than Kirk (while Kirk is third in pitch framing, and Moreno is fourth right now).

Mediocre Moreno has the same number of Home Runs right now as the so called "Power Bat" of Kirk you repeatedly have mentioned, and Moreno has a higher OPS than Kirk right now. Looking at Gurriel, he has more home runs than Varsho right now, and was a much better offensive player in 2023/2024 than what .200 hitter Varsho gave you. Yet you call the Varsho trade the "best trade by any MLB franchise this past decade". My evidence is the numbers I see on a regular basis, and not based on my imagination where you think .200 hitter Varsho is Mike Trout 2.0. That being said, if Varsho can be a league average bat in 2025, as opposed to a below average hitter he was in 2023/2024 then I will be the first to say so.

Just as a heads up, there's an entire thread for you to argue about this - you dont' have to use every game thread as well.

[Hottie McShotty]

Read on Twitter

[duppyy]

This ump is drunk

[WuTang_OG]

Buck turn off ur ringer

[JN]

Let's rush Rodriguez out of the game.
Hey Schneider there are still 11 outs to go.

Rodriguez looking good ... at some point to we switch the roles with Bowden Francis, and make Bowden the long man... he had some success with that in 2023.

[Parataxis]

Let's rush Rodriguez out of the game.
Hey Schneider there are still 11 outs to go.

Schneider's ability to over-manage the bullpen is second to none.

[Lateral Quicks]

I can't stand these empty-the-bench lineups Schneider puts out there with regularity.

A Clase/Straw/Heineman bottom third? Really? A team that's serious about winning sprinkles the bench guys in here and there, not all at once.

[Randle McMurphy]

Hoffman chokes another one. 4th time this month. Can we use a different guy in the 9th yet?

[Boogie!]

Oy

[COY0607]

Let's rush Rodriguez out of the game.
Hey Schneider there are still 11 outs to go.

Schneider's ability to over-manage the bullpen is second to none.

They’re using him a lot, makes sense to limit him to 3 outs. Especially when he’s at 20+ pitches

[COY0607]

Hoffman chokes another one. 4th time this month. Can we use a different guy in the 9th yet?

Once Sandlin is back, he can take over more of Rodriguez’s role and hopefully free him up to pitch in higher leverage situations. Including in save situations

[Mehar]

Do what the Phillies did with Romano- put him in lower leverage situations for a bit going forward until he straightens thing out. Have Rodriguez as a Closer for the near future. Hoffman cannot be the Closer going forward after blowing 4 Games in a couple of weeks.

[johanliebert]

Varsho for mvp lmaoo

[duppyy]

Varshow!

[JN]

Nice hit Varsho.

Thank you Tatis for lolly gagging out there, to allow Varsho to get to third

[Mehar]

Much respect to Nathan Lukes for the way he has been playing recently. Great clutch hit. Glad to see this team over .500. Hoffman should still take a break from Closing Games for the near future.

[Randle McMurphy]

MVP Varsho with the game tying triple and game winning run. So clutch.