2026 Regular Season Thread

WhoAzcue said:
Then you don't understand baseball. At all.

I've never believed that there's virtue in activity. Only wisdom. So I wasn't clamoring that something had to be done, because I never know what's available or the cost.

But when you're a few games out of a playoff spot, it doesn't matter what you've done recently, there is opportunity. And this team would have been crucified (correctly) were it not willing to take advantage of reasonable opportunities to improve the team.

I'm a prospect hugger, so I'm reluctant to take wild swings, and I'm not a champion for lost causes, but I sure as hell am not running up the white flag when a team is in contention. You may be able to tell what's around the corner, but I sure can't. I guess you would have had the Red Sox unloading everything not nailed down a month and a half ago.

Hey, if we're not in sport to compete, then we really are losers. Far worse than on-the-scoreboard losers.
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Did you feel this same way when the team became sellers only just an 1/2 game back in the division at the trading deadline a few years back?

I’m not implying how you felt back then one way or the other…. But I am genuinely curious to how you did react to that back then, or at least how you felt, back in that similar scenario the Guards were up against too.

All I know is I sure as hell don’t have the vigor nor the energy to go back and look for myself, that’s for certain lol…
 
Niklex316 said:
Did you feel this same way when the team became sellers only just an 1/2 game back in the division at the trading deadline a few years back?

I’m not implying how you felt back then one way or the other…. But I am genuinely curious to how you did react to that back then, or at least how you felt, back in that similar scenario the Guards were up against too.

All I know is I sure as hell don’t have the vigor nor the energy to go back and look for myself, that’s for certain lol…
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The situations weren't at all similar, and I've been on record many times on how the front office dealt with that deadline.

In 2023, there was no semblance of a rotation on the ball club. None. Contrast that with today. And instead of the easiest schedule remaining, we unquestionably had one of the most difficult. There was only one playoff spot available--the division--and a more formidable club in front of us with a far easier schedule than any in our way now.

Having said all that, I was extremely disappointed Cleveland traded its one remaining stable rotation piece without any reasonable replacement. The front office badly erred in that respect. The trade itself wasn't an issue--it was a great opportunity to take advantage of Tampa's desperation for once-but the casual way the front office dismissed the remainder of the season by not addressing the rotation with some sort of decent proxy--even a rental--for Civale was a grave mistake. And the front office admitted as much when it claimed not one, not two, but THREE accomplished veteran pitchers off waivers (at a substantial cost) a month later for one last run at the Twins. Alas, this last gasp effort was far too late to make a real difference.

I truly believe the organization learned a lesson from that deadline, not only by the reaction of its team, but the poor signal it sent about what it believed the team's chances were. There was a way to make that Civale-Manzardo trade without selling the team short. I think that was one reason the team didn't throw in the towel last year and the organization was rewarded. I think this year's deadline is further evidence that lessons were learned from 2023 as well. You can't always operate like the smartest guy in the room; you have to realize you're in this business to compete, first and foremost, and your clubhouse has to believe that.
 
The Twins roared back to beat the Orioles this afternoon, smashing Shane Baz and winning 7-5 because every hard hit ball the Orioles hit at a critical juncture went straight into a Minnesota glove.

Conversely, the Twins are one of the best teams in baseball hitting with runners in scoring position. Today they were 7-15 with RISP.

Now, do you seriously believe the Twins are that much better a lineup than we are? A team that has been without Buxton for weeks and is anchored by Josh Bell should be hitting that much better with RISP?

Please.
 
American Hero said:
They were 3GB of the white sox when they made the trades. Did they make a sober, honest assessment of Jose's health when they made these trades? Because without a Jose playing at an all star level, this team was going no where as a buyer
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We were 3 games back... But we barely gave up anything to get the guys we did...

We didn't give up any top prospects to go get these guys... Cozart was the best prospect and honestly I don't see him being anything but a backup MLB catcher at best... Dion is okay, but was passed by in the Rule 5 draft, so the demand for him was just a placeholder/someone who can fill innings from the left side...

We lost nothing by buying... We have a deep farm system so trading Kwan may net us prospects, but with JRams age, id rather at least go for it, while never giving up top prospects... We had to cut some guys anyways to add the new draftees... These moves created some space for us...

Props to Antonetti for improving the team this season without sacrificing the future...
 
Angel Martinez has hit in all 8 games he's played in this month. He's hitting .394 with 10 RBI's. His 13 hits include 5 doubles and a home run. He started 0-for-18 but has since exploded.

DeLauter is hitting .333 in August with an OBP of .440.

Kwan is hitting .395 in August with an OBP of .477.

Just need to get Jose going and Rocchio to stop totally sucking.
 
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The Real Mott the Hoople said:
Hakim's razor is an informal, modern variation or alternate colloquial phrasing of that same concept—essentially meaning "the simplest answer is probably the most right"
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Interesting! Seriously, do you have link for it? All I found in a search for it is that is WAS used as a crossword puzzle clue: it’s in use somewhere.
 
American Hero said:
They were 3GB of the white sox when they made the trades. Did they make a sober, honest assessment of Jose's health when they made these trades? Because without a Jose playing at an all star level, this team was going no where as a buyer
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If JRam is the reason for us not competing, we have a lot more problem than just JRam.
 
Obscured By Clouds said:
If JRam is the reason for us not competing, we have a lot more problem than just JRam.
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Vogt says Jose is getting closer to getting back to normal. The last two Septembers his OPS was .889 and .947. If he can get his wrist back to 100% in the next 2-3 weeks he could have a great final month.


Nathaniel Lowe is hitting .288/.886 against right-handed pitching this year. Jo Adell is hitting .300/.920 against lefties.

In 48 combined at-bats with Cleveland Lowe and Adell have 3 doubles, 3 HR's, and 10 RBI's. If Vogt continues to play Lowe against right-handers and Adell mostly against lefties (with an OF of Martinez, Kwan, and CDL) those guys should provide a lot of run production the rest of the way.

Bazzana is hitting .265/.806 against right-handed pitching and .192 against lefties. I expect that when a lefty starts Vogt will put Genao at 2nd like he did last night against Framber Valdez.

In 27 plate appearances Angel Genao has struck out 2 times. That's 7.4%, best on the team. Kwan is next lowest at 10.7%. Tiny sample, of course, but we're talking about his FIRST 27 plate appearances in the majors. He's hitting .333 so far.

The addition of Lowe, Adell, and Genao in place of Arias, Manzardo, Fry, and Schneemann should really improve the offense. Angel Martinez is hitting .394/1.048 in August after getting his timing back after missing six weeks. DeLauter is hitting .333/.964 in August. Kwan is at .419/.995 in the last 30 days; by far the best 30 days of his career I have to believe.

This offense is poised to take off; we're averaging 5.0 runs per game the last 10 games. The last element we're still waiting on is Jose. And Rocchio who is hitting .168 the last 30 days. I don't know what happened to him except he looks like he's trying to hit home runs.
 
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PPark said:
Interesting! Seriously, do you have link for it? All I found in a search for it is that is WAS used as a crossword puzzle clue: it’s in use somewhere.
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From AI
"Hakim's razor" is typically a slight mishearing, misspelling, or colloquial play on Occam's razor (sometimes humorously phoneticized or mixed up with the Arabic name Hakim or Hakeem). Occam's razor itself is the famous philosophical problem-solving principle stating that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
(Note: On rare occasions, commentators have used "Hakim's Razor" as a rhetorical spin on Occam's razor to describe favoring straightforward political or geopolitical motives over complex conspiracy theories, but it fundamentally roots back to Occam's law of parsimony). [1, 2, 3]

Whatever.
 
I think even if Grant Fink was fired today, it would not change the offense's outlook. There is clearly a flaw in the team-wide hitting approach at the major league level.
 
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