Astros @ Jays (July 2-4), and Maybe Seattle Too

[JN]

Well, at least we are scoring runs (55 the last 10 games including the 7 tonight) which makes things a bit more entertaining, even as we watch less. But we still have that ability for frustrating "clutch" stinkers like yesterday. We aren't going to win with this pen.

Perhaps some more trade value (even if not huge either way) for certain hitters if they can keep it for a few more weeks like a Turner.

[johanliebert]

Springer stopped listening to the nerds and their 12 hitting coaches.

[JN]

The first base class is really week in the AL. My first thought when i heard Vlad was leading the voting was that somebody might be losing out to the "bigger profile" name, but Vlad is arguably the best 1B in the league along with Josh Naylor.

Ranked by OPS+
1. Vlad 141 (297/375/471, 13 HR, 50 RBI)
2. Naylor 131 (242/321/498, 20 HR, 61 RBI)
3. Mountcastle 124 (273/317/460, 11HR, 40 RBI)

[Randle McMurphy]

Throwing a 3-0 changeup down the middle with two on and two out to one of the best hitters in baseball was a choice

[Ranger One]

Varsho looking as feeble at the plate as new born baby. Might take over Springer's spot as the worst hitter in all of Baseball at this rate.

[Mehar]

Varsho looking as feeble at the plate as new born baby. Might take over Springer's spot as the worst hitter in all of Baseball at this rate.

You cannot criticize the MVP of the team. He is a "Run Prevention Player" by the way, so any offense he provides you is just a bonus. It should not matter that for the months of May and June combined, he is one of the worst hitters in MLB hitting around .181 for those 2 months. Just focus on the solid Run Prevention he provides and not his horrific .195 Batting Average.

[Randle McMurphy]

Varsho looking as feeble at the plate as new born baby. Might take over Springer's spot as the worst hitter in all of Baseball at this rate.

If you think that's bad, check out what the team's leadoff hitter is doing this season.

[Mehar]

Varsho looking as feeble at the plate as new born baby. Might take over Springer's spot as the worst hitter in all of Baseball at this rate.

If you think that's bad, check out what the team's leadoff hitter is doing this season.

When someone posts the facts on how atrocious your hero Varsho has been hitting wise, you always deflect the conversation to something else. The fact of the matter is the guy that you call the MVP of the team Varsho, has been one of the worst hitters in all of MLB for the months of May/June (hitting .181) for those two months. Not even Bichette has been that bad, or has gone 2 for his last 35 like your 5 foot 8 midget hero Varsho. Another brilliant 0 for 3 (3 Strikeout Game) Hockey Hat Trip for the MVP.

You were excited to post all the Varsho projections for the year, during his two week hot streak in April. Just like his two hot weeks in April 2023, when someone called him a Mini Mike Trout. I told you back in April, that his projections for the year mean nothing since we needed to see how Varsho does in the months of May and June. We saw what he did, and he has been flat out garbage hitting wise for two months (below the Mendoza Line of.200) and no amount of deflection by you will change that fact.

[Randle McMurphy]

OPS+ this year:

Varsho 92
Moreno 89

DRS this year:

Varsho 14
Moreno 5

[Mehar]

OPS+ this year:

Varsho 92
Moreno 89

DRS this year:

Varsho 14
Moreno 5

Nice way to deflect again. Now compare the hitting numbers of Varsho vs. Gurriel. You said in April we need to compare Varsho vs. Gurriel, and Kirk vs. Moreno. Now you want to compare only Moreno vs. Varsho, since Moreno has been hurt for a couple of weeks, and has been underwhelming compared to last year. Take out the usual two hot weeks of Varsho in April, and he has been one of he worst hitters in all of MLB since that time (now hitting .195, with an OPS of .674). Forget about what others are doing, but you simply cannot criticize your hero Varsho, even with his god awful hitting statistics. Only can deflect the conversation when I and others point out how Varsho is a disgrace at the plate.

Gurriel has been one of the best hitters for the month of June in the NL after a slow start. I was talking about Varsho's hitting, but the good deflecter you are, you talk about Defense again (DRS). Nobody is arguing about Varsho's defense. It is the fact that your 5 foot 8 MVP and Hero Varsho strikes out like a fool time after time, and is one of the worst hitters in MLB for the months of May/June is what I am discussing (Hitting .181 for the last two months of May/June and him being 2 for his last 35). The man probably could not hit a beach ball right now, but you keep deflecting when I and others point out how much of a garbage hitter Varsho has been for two months.

[Randle McMurphy]

2024 WAR:

Varsho 2.4 WAR
Moreno 0.9 WAR

[Mehar]

2024 WAR:

Varsho 2.4 WAR
Moreno 0.9 WAR

Varsho- .195 BA, On Base (.278), OPS (.674)

Take out the two hot weeks of April, and Varsho's hitting stats are some of the worst in MLB. You can keep deflecting when I talk about your boy's hitting stats, but the facts are the facts on your 5 foot 8 Midget hero- who you refuse to criticize due to your love affair with him (Hitting .181 for the last two months of May/June and him being 2 for his last 35).

[Cyrus]

Maybe Randal should ask to bench Varsho like he did for Springer, seems to have turned springer around (Atleast the last 2 weeks).

But seriously, Good thing they didn't listen to the whinning, and kept playing Springer, and he somehow he doesn't look like corpse in the last little bit, maybe just maybe jacked up his value even slightly. Certainly more than it would been 2 weeks ago, if he was glued to bench. They should do same with Varsho, play him in lost season, maybe he'll figure it out to become a .240 hitter or something.

It shall be interesting to see if old man Springer, who by all counts is washed, is gonna pass varsho in all offensive stats - it won't take long at the rate varsho has hit in the last 6-7 weeks.

In the end, we gonna need more from OF version of Matt Chapman, strikeouts/and occasional bunt singles, and HR isn't enough, especially on this team.

[PowerPlant1]

Cyrus was somehow right about Springer. At least temporarily. He did look like a corpse with no signs of life until recently. Whether it continues we will see. If it was just a matter of him going for the fastball, that seems like an annoyingly simple fix to a problem that lasted way too long.

As for Varsho, the WAR stats are ridiculous as in not believable. In oWAR alone he is at 0.9> Gurriel at 0.7. This despite the fact Gurriel has a much better BA, obp, ops, ops+ and similar HR to Varsho.

This is because oWAR relies too much on baserunning (yeah, for a guy with a 278 obp he barely gets on base for that to make a difference) and WAR overall relies too much on defense in the final tally for me to take it seriously.

Also, I hope Varsho is just on a slump. If he figures it out similarly to last year, the final stats could be respectable. Nonetheless, his offense moving forward is still a concern.

[Randle McMurphy]

Maybe Randal should ask to bench Varsho like he did for Springer, seems to have turned springer around (Atleast the last 2 weeks).

Using your same logic for continuing to start Springer over superior options, shouldn’t we be benching him now that he’s hitting so that we can properly tank? Varsho is still contributing way too much value defensively too, so he should clearly see the bench as well if we want this team to get where it needs to go.

Kevin Kiermaier, come on down.

[dagger]

The nice story is Horwitz turning into a good starter and decent 2B. You can plug a high OBP batter like him in front of Vlad and it makes both of them better.

Springer finally finding himself offensively could re-establish his value at the deadline, or next offseason.

The guy who concerns me most is not Varsho, but Bo. WTF is up with him. He looks lost and disinterested half the time.

[Mehar]

Cyrus was somehow right about Springer. At least temporarily. He did look like a corpse with no signs of life until recently. Whether it continues we will see. If it was just a matter of him going for the fastball, that seems like an annoyingly simple fix to a problem that lasted way too long.

As for Varsho, the WAR stats are ridiculous as in not believable. In oWAR alone he is at 0.9> Gurriel at 0.7. This despite the fact Gurriel has a much better BA, obp, ops, ops+ and similar HR to Varsho.

This is because oWAR relies too much on baserunning (yeah, for a guy with a 278 obp he barely gets on base for that to make a difference) and WAR overall relies too much on defense in the final tally for me to take it seriously.

Also, I hope Varsho is just on a slump. If he figures it out similarly to last year, the final stats could be respectable. Nonetheless, his offense moving forward is still a concern.

Very well said, I agree with all your points, especially when talking about WAR and oWAR. WAR does rely too much on defense stats. Nobody is arguing about Varsho's defense, but when I and others point out how much a terrible hitter he is (arguably one of the worst hitters in MLB for the past two months), the response should not be to simply post his WAR stats. I judge hitting by metrics like BA, SLG, On Base, and OPS. Varsho has been atrocious in those metrics (except for his two hot weeks in April).

Any great defense Varsho provides is mitigated by how awful he has been hitting wise. A player still comes to the plate 4 times a game. A player like Varsho is still counted on to get on base and hit with RISP once a while. However, more often than not, Varsho strikes out like a fool time after time. Varsho would be great on a legitimate contender where he can bat 9th, not worry about hitting, and simply worry about playing great defense. This team is far from a contender. Give me an average defender and a good hitter in CF/LF, and I would take him over Varsho any day of the week.

[johanliebert]

They need to move Varsho down in the order.

[Cyrus]

Maybe Randal should ask to bench Varsho like he did for Springer, seems to have turned springer around (Atleast the last 2 weeks).

Using your same logic for continuing to start Springer over superior options, shouldn’t we be benching him now that he’s hitting so that we can properly tank? Varsho is still contributing way too much value defensively too, so he should clearly see the bench as well if we want this team to get where it needs to go.

Kevin Kiermaier, come on down.

He's hitting but team isn't winning a ton, cause you got varsho striking out a bunch, so I say play both, it's a lost season anyway. I would also play kk, might as well see if he can contribute more offensively than varsho in the coming weeks.

[Randle McMurphy]

Maybe Randal should ask to bench Varsho like he did for Springer, seems to have turned springer around (Atleast the last 2 weeks).

Using your same logic for continuing to start Springer over superior options, shouldn’t we be benching him now that he’s hitting so that we can properly tank? Varsho is still contributing way too much value defensively too, so he should clearly see the bench as well if we want this team to get where it needs to go.

Kevin Kiermaier, come on down.

He's hitting but team isn't winning a ton, cause you got varsho striking out a bunch, so I say play both, it's a lost season anyway. I would also play kk, might as well see if he can contribute more offensively than varsho in the coming weeks.

No way you’re walking back on your initial position that easily. Neither Varsho or Springer should be playing right now given how much they are contributing to winning. We need to tank and tank hard.