This Forum Is Boring This Week !!

[Draft Crazy]

Meh, while Portland is a little lost in the woods in the front office I am not upset about not trading him two years ago. They were lucky they locked him up without a "no trade clause" Grant's deal is a little puzzling as they are truly rebuilding now and really have been for the past year. However, it was one of the requests Lillard had if he was to return to Portland. That one was sort of bad luck for them. If they don't re-sign him when they did someone else signs him and Lillard asks for a trade following Grant leaving. They took a chance to keep Lillard around on Grant's deal and while it doesn't make as much sense without Lillard he is still a very good player. Probably good to have a guy like Grant around to help take some of the pressure and give guys like Sharpe, Simons (who is pretty well developed by now), Henderson and guys like Keon Johnson and Kris Murray time to develop. Obviously, they paid a lot for him so that wasn't the intention here but I am look at the positive aspect of the contract.
I really have no issue with Portland not trading Lillard until this year but what I would have probably done different is not re-signed Grant (even though he is very good) and just planned on moving Lillard the minute you drafted Scoot Henderson.

Portland is actually set up VERY good for the future assuming Sharpe and Henderson are as good as they appear to be. It's just going to take them awhile and they probably need to move Nurkic and bite the bullet on Grant's contract for a few years until they can move him. Long term it looks bad but they will end up trading him before he plays the full 5 years so it just depends on how long they end up hanging onto him.

I get the notion of trading Lillard two years ago and getting every penny out there you can for him on the market but I am also glad they didn't. Hard to trade a star who is wanting to stay loyal to the team that drafted him. That is still two more fun years of Lillard and quite frankly you probably lose the fanbase and put butts out of the seat if you do that. They are set up way better now with Scoot and Sharpe becoming the future and giving fans something to come fill the seats for. Would have been nice to get Victor but what a year to have the 3rd overall pick. Getting a guy who would go #1 overall in most other years draft. Portland has very good depth. Their front court is really lacking especially since Nurkic can't stay healthy and really now he needs to be moved and likely will be. This is the time to trade Lillard though.. As sad as it is for me, it makes too much sense. Two years ago I wouldn't have said that. You have to now though. His value is still very good. You got 11 years out of him and he has been a great role model for the community and has stayed loyal to the organization. It's too bad he never got that extra "STAR" player to come join him in Portland but he does deserve to go to a contender. He did have the one year where Portland went to the Western Conference championship but never got back there.

 

[Draft Crazy]

I just wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of everyone.

 

[Draft Crazy]

The birds fly at midnight.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Cardinals are winning.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Guardians choking on my bet.

 

[LGM]

Guardians choking on my bet.

Should have bet on blue.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Should have bet on blue.

Should have bet on the Cardinals but I am too afraid to get the double whammy. They are RED Hot! Now they will probably lose 4 to the Cubs.

I will probably bet on the Cubs tomorrow with 0-7 Matz vs Stroman but everytime I bet on the Cubs they lose.

 

[LGM]

Should have bet on the Cardinals but I am too afraid to get the double whammy. They are RED Hot! Now they will probably lose 4 to the Cubs.

I will probably bet on the Cubs tomorrow with 0-7 Matz vs Stroman but everytime I bet on the Cubs they lose.

Stroman has been really good this year. One of the best ERA's in the NL last I checked... Admittedly around the All Star break. Combined with hot bats, I'd bet on them vs. Cards.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Stroman has been really good this year. One of the best ERA's in the NL last I checked... Admittedly around the All Star break. Combined with hot bats, I'd bet on them vs. Cards.

I would bet on them today for sure. Cardinals have beat Storman twice this year but Steven Matz has only had one quality start this year. He was removed out of the rotation after going 0-7. Added back in after Wainwright and Woodford both went on the DL. Pitching matchup is a big mismatch today for the Cardinals. Their best bet is to get to Storman early and hope Matz can hang in there for 5 innings. My money is on the Cubs today. Tomorrow's game should be a pretty good pitching matchup. The next two games are about even. I am going to guess they split the series 2-2.

Cardinals lead the series this year 3-2. Feels weird to think of the Cubs and Cardinals only playing 5 times so far this year and only play on series in STL this year. I don't mind the new format but I had no issues with the old ones too. I think the MLB made some nice changes, the pitch clock is the best one, IMO. I'm not really one to rush a game or change a lot from the way the game has always been played (Wasn't the biggest fan of the new schedule format but it also doesn't bother me either but I DO like the pitch clock. That one had to be made. I was tired of watching 60 seconds between every Giovanny Gallegos pitch in the 7th and 8th inning

 

[Draft Crazy]

I will also say this again. Everyone thinks the NL central is horrible. That is far from the truth. The fact is the NL central has no "elite" team in it. The division itself is good, competitve. No horrible teams. People look at the record and see now eye popping record out of the division. Every team is decent. Even the Pirates who have struggled as of late started off good, have good young talent and have a pretty bright future with two of their better players locked up in Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds.

The Cardinals have a top 5 offense but a bottom 5 pitching core. They are the 4th youngest team in MLB which I think most people think they are old because of the Yadi, Pujols, Waino thing. 2 of those guys are now retired. They are very young and their hitting is very solid. Inconsistent at times but has been consistent the past month. Their pitching is bad but they do have 3 SP's who can be very good. Only Montgomery has been consistent this year but Flaherty and Mikolas are starting to get more consistent. The Pen sucks.

The Cubs don't have as good of hitting as the Cardinals but they have a very capable lineup. They have better hitting then people realize. They have a pretty solid lineup, 2 all start pitchers and an overall decent pitching staff. Tallion is a stop gap.

The Reds are falling a bit after a hot streak but if you follow baseball you know the Reds are going to be up and down this year with the youth they have. Very talented hitting and for once they have some solid young P headed by Andrew Abbott and Hunter Greene. They are scary in a few years if they can keep it together. My fear for them if I am a Reds fan is that in about 4 or 5 years they are going to have to start trading players away because they have so much young talent and can't afford them all with a lower market team especially.

Brewers are the most balanced team. They have young talent and seasoned vets. They have two really good SP's and their Pen is solid especially on the back end with Devin Williams. I don't think they have the hitting the Cardinals or Cubs have but they have the overall best balance in the division which probably leads them to win the division this year but not do much in the playoffs.

Bunch of decent teams in this division, no elite teams, no horrible teams.

Pirates ace Mitch Keller from Cedar Rapids, IA (other then last start) has been fantastic.

 

[Draft Crazy]

I love @Mingo I really don't care what anyone else around here says about him either.

 

[LGM]

You mentioned a few weeks back how young the division was, and I was surprised when I checked. Cubs are much younger than they've been in the past, and deeper especially in the bullpen and outfield. Seeing this years draft and then Hoerner hitting his first grand slam last night makes me feel good about the future of our infield as well.

 

[Draft Crazy]

You mentioned a few weeks back how young the division was, and I was surprised when I checked. Cubs are much younger than they've been in the past, and deeper especially in the bullpen and outfield. Seeing this years draft and then Hoerner hitting his first grand slam last night makes me feel good about the future of our infield as well.

Yes.

The entire division has a lot of young talent in it. People won't be laughing for long.. It's simply that there is no elite team. Last year the Brewers and Cardinals were in a dog fight most of the year with pretty good records with the Cardinals ending hot and the Brewers ending cold. The Cardinals have been one of the more consistent winning teams over the past 20 years. The Cubs won a WS and went through a little era not too long ago of success. Sure, they have had their ups and down the past 15 years or so. The Brewers have really been a competitive team the last 15 years. The Pirates have been horrible at times but you also remember a stretch where they were making the playoffs not too long ago and then dropped quickly when they had to trade players off. Now they are young and they have locked a few of those guys in. The Reds are littered with young talent. This division honestly isn't HORRIBLE and it is set up for the future well. It's just that with the Cards struggling this year to start. The Cubs going through a mini rebuild yet being competitive and the Brewers sorta being average with the Reds and Pirates needing more time with their young guys, we just don't have an elite team this year. But many of these teams are not far off from being REALLY good.

 

[LGM]

The Rockies though are just a dumpster fire.

 

[Draft Crazy]

The Rockies though are just a dumpster fire.

No argument there.

The Cardinals really have Stroman's number. I decided to put my money on the Astros over the A's last night and that worked out well for me. I had 3 straight loses prior to that bet so I made a bigger bet and it paid off.

Lost on the Red Sox, Yankees and Guardians prior to that.

Cubs will win today.

 

[Orange Crush77]

Boring

 

[Draft Crazy]

Boring

Boeing 747?

 

[Draft Crazy]

George should've been a Cowboy.

 

[Draft Crazy]

LGM is a barbie girl in a barbie world.

 

[SpringStein]

Sad news: Shaq Barrett's two year old daughter drowned in the family's swimming pool.

From today:
Buccaneers edge rusher Shaquil Barrett and his family suffered a terrible loss in May when Barrett’s two-year old daughter Arrayah drowned in the swimming pool at the family’s house.

Barrett joined the team for minicamp in the spring and spoke to reporters for the first time since Arrayah’s death on Monday. Barrett said his daughter was “everything” to him and that it remains difficult to get through each day without her.

“This is a daily battle. Tough battle,” Barrett said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “Today I felt it heavier today than I did the last couple days. Her smile — I just miss her so much. Her energy, just like putting her to bed every night, reading stories. She just brought so much brightness and wholeness and completeness to our lives. And we most definitely have a big, big, big, big, big hole in our hearts and our lives that we won’t be able to fill.”

Barrett and his wife Jordanna are expecting another child, which Barrett calls “bittersweet” because Arrayah would have been “the best big sister.” They are also starting a foundation called Arrayah Hope that intends to provide free swim lessons to children in the Tampa area in hopes of avoiding other tragedies in the future.

That was from PFT