March 29-Apr 1 - Yanks vs Jays - let 'er rip

[Schad]

Vlad Guerrero Jr. is the best hitting prospect in baseball over the past decade and could likely enter the majors right now and hit just fine. Follow him in AA for the first three months if you want to follow a high level prospect, but he'll be up soon enough.

He'd probably be an average major league hitter this season, as Trout was at 19. Wouldn't expect him to be good, though; the list of guys who have been above average hitters as teenagers in the past century could be counted with Mordecai Brown's pitching hand. Nor do I think they will/should be calling him up in 2018.

[vaff87]

The Royals won a World Series. Greatness isn't a necessary threshold to any kind of success in this league.

Yeah, and one of the worst hitters in all of baseball won the ALCS MVP. Smh.

Imagine Gift Ngeope winning ALCS MVP. That's our future. You just have to believe.

The guy’s name is Gift. Of course I believe.

[The_Hater]

So is it going to be funny this year watching all these first time managers fall flat on their face?

Meh. Managers do so little to effect the outcome in baseball.

[rotty]

Smoak is carrying the team right now. Everyone else needs to step up. It feels like this team just does not like april, and would eventually get it going in may, june.

Maybe they are missing the Florida weather

[Fairview4Life]

Smoak is carrying the team right now. Everyone else needs to step up. It feels like this team just does not like april, and would eventually get it going in may, june.

Maybe they are missing the Florida weather

Did you cut and paste this from last year?

[rotty]

Smoak is carrying the team right now. Everyone else needs to step up. It feels like this team just does not like april, and would eventually get it going in may, june.

Maybe they are missing the Florida weather

Did you cut and paste this from last year?

yes

[Schad]

So is it going to be funny this year watching all these first time managers fall flat on their face?

Meh. Managers do so little to effect the outcome in baseball.

Unless they're Gape Kapler. First game of the year, he lifted Aaron Nola, who had thrown just 68 pitches through 5.1, giving up three hits and no runs. Last batter he faced flew out. Even weirder: Nola was the final batter in the previous inning, striking out with two runners on.

Second game, he lifted his struggling starter after 4 IP, then replaced the reliever after getting two outs in the fifth. That pitcher was then pinch-hit for, and the fourth reliever was allowed to face one batter in the sixth, before being replaced. By the end of the 9th, they had burned eight pitchers.

So it is possible for a manager to have a major, tangible impact, but they really have to work at it.

[vaff87]

So is it going to be funny this year watching all these first time managers fall flat on their face?

Meh. Managers do so little to effect the outcome in baseball.

Unless they're Gape Kapler. First game of the year, he lifted Aaron Nola, who had thrown just 68 pitches through 5.1, giving up three hits and no runs. Last batter he faced flew out. Even weirder: Nola was the final batter in the previous inning, striking out with two runners on.

Second game, he lifted his struggling starter after 4 IP, then replaced the reliever after getting two outs in the fifth. That pitcher was then pinch-hit for, and the fourth reliever was allowed to face one batter in the sixth, before being replaced. By the end of the 9th, they had burned eight pitchers.

So it is possible for a manager to have a major, tangible impact, but they really have to work at it.

Didn’t he also make a pitching change without having anyone warming up in the bullpen?

[Schad]

Didn’t he also make a pitching change without having anyone warming up in the bullpen?

Yup! And the pitcher he brought in was pitching for the third time in three days. Gape Kapler is special.

[And1Skip]

Solarte is hilarious. He does that dance waving his hands above his head...my 4 year daughter does that dance in her dance class all the time. Could it be that the Jays acquired a Kawasaki-type for the locker room but can actually hit? ( at least he has power where as Muni provided nothing on the field)

[dagger]

Boy does Gibby get a free ride here from the Sportsnet brown nosers

Read on Twitter

[Schad]

Yeah, that's a wee bit much. It was a bad decision, but like almost all managerial decisions it only moved the needle by a few points, if that. However:

Boone added that Aroldis Chapman wasn't available for a lefty-lefty battle with Smoak in that spot, saying about his closer "not more than three (outs) right now for Chap," who had finished each of the first two games of the series.

Do they not know that Smoak is a switch hitter?

[vaff87]

Yeah, that's a wee bit much. It was a bad decision, but like almost all managerial decisions it only moved the needle by a few points, if that. However:

Boone added that Aroldis Chapman wasn't available for a lefty-lefty battle with Smoak in that spot, saying about his closer "not more than three (outs) right now for Chap," who had finished each of the first two games of the series.

Do they not know that Smoak is a switch hitter?

And is much better from the right side.

[vaff87]

Didn’t he also make a pitching change without having anyone warming up in the bullpen?

Yup! And the pitcher he brought in was pitching for the third time in three days. Gape Kapler is special.

He has now guaranteed the Phillies will make the playoffs.