OffThePost.org

Braves win. Meh.

My favourite ballplayer Buster Posey calls it a career. Did everything you could do in a career before turning 35. Oh, and a few days ago Coke bought the energy drink he invested in for 5 billion. Cooperstown next.

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I much rather would have had the Braves as opposed to the Asterisks win (Houston shouldn't be there at all) but there was simply no good option among the likely finalists this year. Either the racist chop-chanting asswipes from Atlanta, or the Cheaters, or the team that signed Trevor Bauer.

Shocking baseball news, Rays star Wander Franco signs a 12 year / $223 million extension. Rays plan on being in Tampa for 12 years?

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No just shoring up contracts for when they move to Montreal.

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Montreal Wander(ers) Franco

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I like that!

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Even though I knew they wouldn't resign him, it was sad to see Matz go. He battled and had some pretty nasty stuff at times. St. Louis has a great #4. (And Stevie Cohen...seriously? You, of all people, are going to complain about the honesty and/or business practices of anyone else?)

I had really hoped that they were going to keep Semien, but losing two strong lefties - I'm now wondering if they should focus on Ray, even though I fear he might be Dickey v2.0. Ray doesn't rely on a trick pitch and his track record is a little better than Dickey's was, but the similarities are strong imo.

In any event, I think the focus needs to be pitching for the Jays this offseason. They have a competent D even if they replace the losses internally and their offense will be fine without Semien, but I'm not sure about the bullpen and they don't have internal replacements for lefties Ray and Matz. Pearson will probably take one of the spots, but....

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What would Mad Max be like with EVs?

Teams throwing crazy money around with CBA Armageddon imminent.

Giants lost SP Kevin Gausman to the Blue Jays: 5 years, 110million. SF wanted him back and he wanted to come back, but something stopped them from going five years.

In the first half, his splitter was unhittable and he kept throwing it for strikes. Batters were hopeless. In the second half, he lost the feel for it, threw it less and got hammered around. Delivered some gutsy performances late in the season with subpar stuff, so he's a gamer.

You'd think his splitter stopped splitting because of the sticky tack ban, but he actually pitched well for a while after the ban until his wife gave birth and had some complications, so I wonder if it's more sleepless nights that knocked him off his game. Either way, he lives and dies on one pitch and Legendary Pete Walker can work to keep it going. Gausman has been durable, which is nice.

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Slightly less $, the comp pick, and no optout for Gausman which Ray got. So if Gausman pitches well, Jays have him for longer.

It stinks to see all of Matz, Ray and Semien leave at once. But it was going to be likely some or all would. Good move to get Gausman as a replacement.

The Berrios contract is fantastic. Nice bit of work to get him signed long-term when it was thought that he was definitely going to market.

Berrios, Gausman, Manoah and Ryu. That's pretty damn good.


There's some who feel that Jose Ramirez to Toronto is a foregone conclusion. It'd be amazing. Jays have lots of catchers to deal.

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

If another lockout is what it takes to save me from having to sit through another goddamned Rockies season, I'm more than okay with it. May you all suffer as I have.

The rumours of them being interested in Bryant are hilarious. I call bullshit!

The Giants let Gausman walk for 110M, but signed DeSclafani for 36M, Wood for 25M and Cobb for 20M. That's 81, so still another 30M to go before matching Gausman. That's what they do: load up in bulk and spread the risk around.

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The Yankees have named a woman, Rachel Balkovec, manager of their Low A team, the Tampa Tarpons. Very cool, except the team name makes low brow jokes possible without any effort at all.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Oh shit, seriously? THAT’S the name of the fucking team to hire the first ever woman manager????

Yep. Couldn't be the Tampa Yankees, like most of their minor league teams? Even then some dolts would call them the tampon Yankees. But Tarpons?

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

First North American interview with Japanese slugging phenom Seiya Suzuki in the Athletic, from the Giants beat reporter, of course.

Giants desperately want him, but all signs point to Boston at the moment. He's a thick dude, so I think capable of withstanding the rigours of a Major League season. That being said, the article comes with a warning that without proper spring training in North America, he will probably suck for a while until he catches up to MLB fastballs. Another reason to end the lockout and sign a deal!

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MLB put the kibosh on the TB/Montreal sharing plan.

Oakland approved plans for a Howard Terminal revamp with a new ballpark. Still has stages to go but should happen.

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So is the Rays moving to Montreal postponed or is it now not going to happen at all?

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When the lease in St Pete is up in 2027 or so, the Rays need a new place to play. Tampa, Montreal, Nashville, Vegas etc are now competing for the team outright.

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Ah, ok, I wonder if Vegas would now get the nod, even though they are a western area with Tampa being in the east.

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Ortiz enters the Hall. Bonds/Clemens/Schilling/Sosa snubbed in their last chance before the vet's committee. ARod starts his road slowly.

The Hall voters continue to be selective about steroid cheats. It's a tough question if they should all be let in or all be rejected.

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