GT: Jays @ Red Sox / Aug 4 - 6

[tripa]

Saltics fans in shambles as usual

What a satisfying win. Its about time we get lucky and win in a weird fashion.

[Mehar]

Holy **** Mcguire. That was dummer than getting caught jacking off in a Florida parking lot.

LOL. It is embarrassing for any pro athlete making 7 figures a year, to resort to jerking off in a Florida Parking Lot. If you are making 7 figures a year, you should have no problem in selecting some dime pieces to have fun with. Mcguire with one of the dumbest baserunning moves I have ever seen, and I have been following baseball for over three decades.

[SharoneWright]

Is there a plan to get Swanson right?

[TOStateofMind]

lets all enjoy the red sox broadcast of the moment

Read on Twitter

[tripa]

Is there a plan to get Swanson right?

Nope. With Romano hurt we have to ride Swanson and Mayza for the most important innings.

Also losing Richards at this point would be a bit of a nightmare if our pen wasnt already dominating.

We need Romano back ASAP.

[JN]

Taking 4 out of 7 this week would be a major win for the team (even with how we played against the Orioles)
Let's hope we can complete the sweep tomorrow.

[hyper316]

Surprised about the ending, too many times Toronto teams are on the losing end of these types of game ending plays

[JN]

Watching Vogelbach at the plate a few minutes back.
Who wins a home to fsecond dash between him and Kirk?

[Ranger One]

Way more than 30% chance that throw is off-line or whatever. Way better chance than a base hit with 2 out.

I mean we can talk all we want about fat shaming, but you play a sport that requires some semblance of athleticism. Idk why baseball players are allowed to be fat.

How do you disallow them from being fat? If they are good at baseball, you're going to play them. It's not like Kirk is playing because the Blue Jays are big supporters of body positivity, they're playing him because he's been a great hitter to this point in his career, despite his struggles this season.

How do you disallow them from being fat? is that a serious question? My god man. How about having professional standards and accountability towards physical fitness? If you're gonna pay these guys millions of dollars a year, you expect them to take their profession seriously enough by staying in shape in order to perform that profession at the highest level. Doesnt every other professional sports league have physicals every year and fitness evaluations to make sure that players not only perform at their highest but to also keep them from getting injured? I dont understand why Baseball has been exempt from this concept, or why players dont take more pride in staying in shape so they can..you know..play better?

Now, is Kirk a decent hitter? Sure. But how much better would he be if he was actually in shape? Just look at his pathetic downwards spiral in performance this year. How much of that do you think goes back to him being out of shape? I highly doubt his struggles are purely mental. Maybe if he didnt have a giant spare tire around his waist he could maybe speed up his swing? maybe get his arms to come around faster? i dont know man. Im not a fitness expert, but i do know that being even slighly out of shape when playing any sport will negatively affect your performance all around.

[Schad]

Holy **** Mcguire. That was dummer than getting caught jacking off in a Florida parking lot.

LOL. It is embarrassing for any pro athlete making 7 figures a year, to resort to jerking off in a Florida Parking Lot. If you are making 7 figures a year, you should have no problem in selecting some dime pieces to have fun with. Mcguire with one of the dumbest baserunning moves I have ever seen, and I have been following baseball for over three decades.

He wasn't making seven figures or anything close to it at the time.

[dagger]

Holy **** Mcguire. That was dummer than getting caught jacking off in a Florida parking lot.

McGuire raised his hand in celebration running from second to third but video also shows the third base coach sending him home until Reese had rounded third.


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[Schad]

How do you disallow them from being fat? is that a serious question? My god man. How about having professional standards and accountability towards physical fitness? If you're gonna pay these guys millions of dollars a year, you expect them to take their profession seriously enough by staying in shape in order to perform that profession at the highest level. Doesnt every other professional sports league have physicals every year and fitness evaluations to make sure that players not only perform at their highest but to also keep them from getting injured? I dont understand why Baseball has been exempt from this concept, or why players dont take more pride in staying in shape so they can..you know..play better?

Now, is Kirk a decent hitter? Sure. But how much better would he be if he was actually in shape? Just look at his pathetic downwards spiral in performance this year. How much of that do you think goes back to him being out of shape? I highly doubt his struggles are purely mental. Maybe if he didnt have a giant spare tire around his waist he could maybe speed up his swing? maybe get his arms to come around faster? i dont know man. Im not a fitness expert, but i do know that being even slighly out of shape when playing any sport will negatively affect your performance all around.

So, you would do what, exactly? Demote him to the minors until he lost 100 lbs? Even though that would make the team significantly worse over the past couple years?

Baseball has had a long and colourful tradition of fat players, because it's one of the few professional sports (outside of curling or OL/DL in the NFL) where you can be both good and fat. That's not to say that being fat isn't an impediment, because of course it is. But you'd rather have a good fat player than a bad slim one.

John Olerud wasn't fat, but he was incredibly slow. Like, not far off Kirk levels of slow. It was always baffling how slow he was, as a tall and relatively svelte guy. Would you bury him in the minors until he learned to run properly? Of course not, that would be silly.

[dagger]

I get why Kirk didn’t bolt for home on that play, and built like he is, there might not be a faster version of the man if he drops a few pounds, but his propensity of late to hit into double plays is becoming as issue. Anyway, weird offence, four hits for Springer and three for Schneider.

That brings up an interesting thought exercise. Who gets DFA’d or optioned when Bo returns. At that point, we will have either three or four backup middle infielders on the active roster, depending on whether Merrifield is an infielder or outfielder on a given day. De Jong probably stays for his D and because Atkins won’t admit the trade was unnecessary. Schneider is easiest to send down y seniority but holy crap, not when he is the most offensively talented of that group. Biggio couldn’t even start today against a righthander and Espinal should’ve been traded on Monday for a sack of balls. I hope Schneider keeps the pressure on Atkins, just to see him squirm.


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[JN]

Holy **** Mcguire. That was dummer than getting caught jacking off in a Florida parking lot.

McGuire raised his hand in celebration running from second to third but video also shows the third base coach sending him home until Reese had rounded third.


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I have seen a few different viewpoints as to what Robles was doing as I read a Red Sox message board.

1) Robles (the third base coach) was circling him home (indicating a homer of some sort)
2) Robles was doing a circle back signal to McGuire... i.e go back half way.
3) Robles was doing a signal for the runner leaving from first (and not for Mcguire who should have known to go half way) and was indicating to the runner leaving first that he thought it would at minimum hit the wall.

I see 1) and 3) as the most plausible.

[Mehar]

Holy **** Mcguire. That was dummer than getting caught jacking off in a Florida parking lot.

LOL. It is embarrassing for any pro athlete making 7 figures a year, to resort to jerking off in a Florida Parking Lot. If you are making 7 figures a year, you should have no problem in selecting some dime pieces to have fun with. Mcguire with one of the dumbest baserunning moves I have ever seen, and I have been following baseball for over three decades.

He wasn't making seven figures or anything close to it at the time.

That is correct, since he came off a year in 2019 when he made more than 193K a year, and is making 7 figures (over 1.2 million) this year. A pro athlete even making close to 200K should not have any problem getting any attention from ladies, and should not have to resort to what Mcguire had to do in the parking lot.

[JN]

I get why Kirk didn’t bolt for home on that play, and built like he is, there might not be a faster version of the man if he drops a few pounds, but his propensity of late to hit into double plays is becoming as issue. Anyway, weird offence, four hits for Springer and three for Schneider.

That brings up an interesting thought exercise. Who gets DFA’d or optioned when Bo returns. At that point, we will have either three or four backup middle infielders on the active roster, depending on whether Merrifield is an infielder or outfielder on a given day. De Jong probably stays for his D and because Atkins won’t admit the trade was unnecessary. Schneider is easiest to send down y seniority but holy crap, not when he is the most offensively talented of that group. Biggio couldn’t even start today against a righthander and Espinal should’ve been traded on Monday for a sack of balls. I hope Schneider keeps the pressure on Atkins, just to see him squirm.


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I think it has to be Espinal.

Does Espinal have any options?If so you would think it has to be him.
Even if he has no options, is it a major loss if he gets claimed?

They have zero trust in him - traded for De Jong instead of playing him. Now are playing Schneider instead of him. At least Biggio has some uniqueness as a lefty bat and may have a tad more versatility. I'm not sure what Espinal's role on the team is right now.

[Schad]

I get why Kirk didn’t bolt for home on that play, and built like he is, there might not be a faster version of the man if he drops a few pounds, but his propensity of late to hit into double plays is becoming as issue. Anyway, weird offence, four hits for Springer and three for Schneider.

That brings up an interesting thought exercise. Who gets DFA’d or optioned when Bo returns. At that point, we will have either three or four backup middle infielders on the active roster, depending on whether Merrifield is an infielder or outfielder on a given day. De Jong probably stays for his D and because Atkins won’t admit the trade was unnecessary. Schneider is easiest to send down y seniority but holy crap, not when he is the most offensively talented of that group. Biggio couldn’t even start today against a righthander and Espinal should’ve been traded on Monday for a sack of balls. I hope Schneider keeps the pressure on Atkins, just to see him squirm.

I'd expect a trade. As bad as Espinal has been (very), I have little doubt that he could be moved. He was a 2022 All-Star and he theoretically has three years of team control remaining...shouldn't be difficult to find a taker, albeit with a very prosaic return.

Edit: never mind, completely forgot that you can't do waiver trades anymore.

[Boogie!]

How do you disallow them from being fat? is that a serious question? My god man. How about having professional standards and accountability towards physical fitness? If you're gonna pay these guys millions of dollars a year, you expect them to take their profession seriously enough by staying in shape in order to perform that profession at the highest level. Doesnt every other professional sports league have physicals every year and fitness evaluations to make sure that players not only perform at their highest but to also keep them from getting injured? I dont understand why Baseball has been exempt from this concept, or why players dont take more pride in staying in shape so they can..you know..play better?

Now, is Kirk a decent hitter? Sure. But how much better would he be if he was actually in shape? Just look at his pathetic downwards spiral in performance this year. How much of that do you think goes back to him being out of shape? I highly doubt his struggles are purely mental. Maybe if he didnt have a giant spare tire around his waist he could maybe speed up his swing? maybe get his arms to come around faster? i dont know man. Im not a fitness expert, but i do know that being even slighly out of shape when playing any sport will negatively affect your performance all around.

So, you would do what, exactly? Demote him to the minors until he lost 100 lbs? Even though that would make the team significantly worse over the past couple years?

Baseball has had a long and colourful tradition of fat players, because it's one of the few professional sports (outside of curling or OL/DL in the NFL) where you can be both good and fat. That's not to say that being fat isn't an impediment, because of course it is. But you'd rather have a good fat player than a bad slim one.

John Olerud wasn't fat, but he was incredibly slow. Like, not far off Kirk levels of slow. It was always baffling how slow he was, as a tall and relatively svelte guy. Would you bury him in the minors until he learned to run properly? Of course not, that would be silly.

Being slow is what it is. people can't control that. Some people are faster, taller, can jump higher, are more agile. But being in shape is a choice and I completely agree with the sentiment that professional athletes should have higher standards in regards to physical fitness. Just because there's a history of fat baseball players doesn't mean standards can't change. These are athletes, physical fitness should be the norm. It's not like they're mailman or plumbers, they get paid to play a sport that requires physical activity.

The general population benefits from being in shape and physically fit, if you're playing a sport it should be a given you are in shape. I'm not sure why excuses should be made for being an obese athlete. Again, this is not hate on kirk, this is more a comment on baseball and why they allow athletes to get away with this. They can absolutely hold a player and only promote him once he gets in shape. If a player really wants the job, he should be willing to earn it and do whatever it takes.

[Randle McMurphy]

I get why Kirk didn’t bolt for home on that play, and built like he is, there might not be a faster version of the man if he drops a few pounds, but his propensity of late to hit into double plays is becoming as issue. Anyway, weird offence, four hits for Springer and three for Schneider.

That brings up an interesting thought exercise. Who gets DFA’d or optioned when Bo returns. At that point, we will have either three or four backup middle infielders on the active roster, depending on whether Merrifield is an infielder or outfielder on a given day. De Jong probably stays for his D and because Atkins won’t admit the trade was unnecessary. Schneider is easiest to send down y seniority but holy crap, not when he is the most offensively talented of that group. Biggio couldn’t even start today against a righthander and Espinal should’ve been traded on Monday for a sack of balls. I hope Schneider keeps the pressure on Atkins, just to see him squirm.


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Espinal should have been sent down weeks ago and certainly will be once Bichette returns. The only thing that is keeping him on the roster right now as far as I can tell is that he’s the backup SS. That will cease to be the case soon enough.

The DeJong trade was also absolutely necessary for two reasons, Bichette’s injury (there has been no timeline given for his return and it could conceivably be weeks still) and the fact that Espinal was gonna play every day if he wasn’t here.

[Schad]

The general population benefits from being in shape and physically fit, if you're playing a sport it should be a given you are in shape. I'm not sure why excuses should be made for being an obese athlete. Again, this is not hate on kirk, this is more a comment on baseball and why they allow athletes to get away with this. They can absolutely hold a player and only promote him once he gets in shape. If a player really wants the job, he should be willing to earn it and do whatever it takes.

So, you should deliberately weaken your team to Make A Point, without knowing whether losing close to 100 lbs will even make him a better player (it's not exactly safe for him to lose that in short order), and guaranteeing that you'll face and lose a grievance from the Players' Association? Stellar management.