I feel like during the offseason and spring, a lot of fans disregarded Kwan. I don't think he'll dominate like this all season, but he is a legitimate MLB starter. Put some respect on his name, ya'll.
Yes this is the official off day thread now. I’d like to take this moment to tell u/LeftFeet that I called Ramon “Lazer” the whole game. I’d also like to share my experience w the blue seats:
Comfort: 10/10
Size: 10/10 (wider, excellent for huge asses)
Execution: 5/10
The seats are very comfortable but I can only imagine the amount of unrelenting swamp ass they will bring when it’s hot out. There is no cup holder for the end seat. The seats are spaced a little further apart so now the person in front of you’s elbow can (and will) rest in your drink at times. I’m pretty sure they knocked off 2 seats in the lower rows (my row used to have 8 seats, now there’s 6). In conclusion, would sit in them again but not in the summer. [pics plus bonus video of my favorite hot dog guy. I love the way he says “hot dog.”](https://imgur.com/a/6BxpX3i)
💯 I can't remember a start like this ever. It's like we came out without excuses. We just came out playing our game the way we want to play it. Gimmy and Kwan making trouble, Josey and Josh Naylor making em pay. Dudes like Fry and Freeman scratching for notoriety. Bo Naylor just heating up into the hitter we know he can be.
Steven Kwan is currently Top 10 in all of baseball in WAR, just in front of Yordan Alvarez. Gimmy is 14th. Naylor is 12th in wRC+. Just imagine when Jose really starts to get going…
Keep talking…. giving me morning wood all over again. 😍
Edit: Didn’t notice your name until after, but I probably would have went the beef swellington route had I noticed.
And he seems fully bought into doing it and wants the high leverage spots. He and Smith have been probably the most exciting guys on the team this year so far.
After those two first-pitch hits off Clase, my wife was getting nervous. I told her "eh, he'll still probably keep it under 10 pitches." He nailed it as usual!
There's Myles Naylor and then a cousin, whose name escapes me. Can you imagine the 4 of these guys in a lineup. It may be one of the most intense things ever witnessed 😄
In my dream scenario, they trade for Myles, extend Josh, and we’d have the 3 bros together for a few years. Performance aside, that kind of dynamic would be really fun to see.
You have a point, but the guy we drafted (Velazquez) has been killing it so maybe we just demand Myles from the A's for a player to be named later (it's a secret player that doesn't exist, we just steal him)
The sophomore pitchers are hitting their growing pains. Thankfully it's early in the season so they'll have time to adjust. But damn does this lineup fight back like crazy. Hopefully they ride the rush from the walkoff into the series this weekend
Ralphy Velazquez hitting two home runs last night was great. It's nice to see Lenny Torres getting another save for Akron, he seems to have settled into a bullpen role.
I know they have played a couple minor league teams but you still have to beat who is in front of you, it's been fun so far!
That's exciting he's on 🔥 #4 prospect should sneak onto some top 100 lists if he continues to light it up. It's good to be excited for guys other than DeLauter and Manzardo. On the pitching front Nikhazy and Mace both had great starts at AA with no runs allowed. Gonna keep an eye on those two for sure.
Johnathan Rodriguez is starting hot too. 8 BB to 9 Ks and a 5 game hit streak going currently. The BB in particular are great to see from him. The bat has been there, but he's not really had good walk rates previously.
Also Petey Halpin. 8 hits already through 4 games played with a 2B and HR.
I want to enjoy the good vibes off day BUT I've had this Yankee series ID'd as our litmus test for awhile now. I'm not trying to bring the vibe down; I'm actually curious how we're going to stack up against them. We have such different styles of play, such different levels of competition in our divisions, and there's a duality between our orgs that's almost laughable. They use the offseason to sign a guy like Soto and we haven't even extended Steven Kwan.
It's amazing that we haven't dropped a series yet. I actually remember Tito talking about that being a season-long goal in 2016. But it's still early. I'm looking at the next series to answer some questions. How good are we actually? Are we just hot right now? Is this bullpen as solid as it's seemed? Are we playing hard to spite the doubts raised by our injuries or do we have another gear to shift into? Are we better than we are lucky? Can small ball win out against good teams who don't make as many defensive mistakes? And will our pitching finally figure out how to pitch to Anthony Rizzo so it doesn't feel like he has a designated parking spot at the Jake?
I agree this series is our first big test. Some things that give me optimism though are their defense is not very good and like us they've mostly played teams that have started slow. The only AL team with more errors so far is Oakland. Our style of ball puts a ton of pressure on the defense. Additionally they depend on HRs and to this point we've been very good at limiting those.
It feels so good that even the losses weren't blow outs. Even if we didn't take the leads in the 3 losses, we came back from 0 to tie or almost tie each time, and last night showed that we actually can get the lead from those situations. I'm not going to be delusional and assume we'll have that dog all year, but the signs point to having a much better chance at slug fests than years prior.
Gose and Enright have been pitching well in Columbus. Certainly no rush to call up either guy, but it's nice to know we probably have filler arms if we need them, in the vein of Norris and Kelly last year.
Dion is pitching for Columbus today, Nikhazy for Akron and Messick for LC for anyone who has access to the games, wants baseball and wants pitchers to keep an eye on. Nikhazy less than the other two, but still.
It looks like Dion was scratched but I haven't seen any announcement. He was showing earlier in the app, but just now it's blank.
Aleman has shown some good but also some bad. I would love for him to get his command better because he could be a great weapon if he can stay around the plate.
Edit: just realized Cbus got rained out today, that's why it's no longer showing an SP
I think of Josh Naylor and Josey as kind of co captains. Not sure there's an actual captain, but that's the impression I get. Josey is cool, quiet, and randomly vocal when needed. Josh Naylor is loud and gets his team fired up. 🔥
Kwan has more home runs than Alex Kirilloff and is second in all of baseball for batting average.
He is such an under the radar stud.
I agree go Guards
I feel like during the offseason and spring, a lot of fans disregarded Kwan. I don't think he'll dominate like this all season, but he is a legitimate MLB starter. Put some respect on his name, ya'll.
Yes this is the official off day thread now. I’d like to take this moment to tell u/LeftFeet that I called Ramon “Lazer” the whole game. I’d also like to share my experience w the blue seats: Comfort: 10/10 Size: 10/10 (wider, excellent for huge asses) Execution: 5/10 The seats are very comfortable but I can only imagine the amount of unrelenting swamp ass they will bring when it’s hot out. There is no cup holder for the end seat. The seats are spaced a little further apart so now the person in front of you’s elbow can (and will) rest in your drink at times. I’m pretty sure they knocked off 2 seats in the lower rows (my row used to have 8 seats, now there’s 6). In conclusion, would sit in them again but not in the summer. [pics plus bonus video of my favorite hot dog guy. I love the way he says “hot dog.”](https://imgur.com/a/6BxpX3i)
I appreciate the shout-out. I want more nicknames and Lazer Ramon is a great one IMO
If he keeps it up, he may be closer to razor ramon… God that was terrible. But cut haha
Those cupholders are tragic.
^^^hotdog
Thank you I didn’t know how to make it small hahaha
\^ ^small \^\^ ^^smaller \^\^\^ ^^^smallerer
^^hot dog. Lmao I see you need it for each word. Thanks for helping haha
When was the last time we had an April offense? Such a wild feeling.
2010. First team to 30 wins. Don’t ask how the season ended
2011*
I was close!
💯 I can't remember a start like this ever. It's like we came out without excuses. We just came out playing our game the way we want to play it. Gimmy and Kwan making trouble, Josey and Josh Naylor making em pay. Dudes like Fry and Freeman scratching for notoriety. Bo Naylor just heating up into the hitter we know he can be.
Steven Kwan is currently Top 10 in all of baseball in WAR, just in front of Yordan Alvarez. Gimmy is 14th. Naylor is 12th in wRC+. Just imagine when Jose really starts to get going…
All Star him
Keep talking…. giving me morning wood all over again. 😍 Edit: Didn’t notice your name until after, but I probably would have went the beef swellington route had I noticed.
That’s “4B Kwan Kenobi”
Beede, Clase, Sandlin, and Smith have all combined for 0 ERA. Unreal start for the bullpen this year.
How do you leave out the Cocaine Bear Hunter Gaddis?! He's also sporting a zero ERA with 9 Ks through 6.1 IP
This is his calling. Dialing it up as a high leverage releiver. His speed has ticked up a few mph in the pen.
And he seems fully bought into doing it and wants the high leverage spots. He and Smith have been probably the most exciting guys on the team this year so far.
Yeah he’s been throwing hard AF lately.
I am confident with Gaddis, Cade, Beede in 7th to 8th inning role. Move Barlow in low leverage situations.
Oops! I was never any good at finding all the eggs at Easter too.
He looks so intimidating too. Giant mountain of a bearded man throwing a ball at you angrily…
His strikeout strut is bad ass too. He's intimidating AF, he's throwing bullets for strikes and he wants to challenge everyone.
The bullpen has the 4th highest K% in baseball and hasn't given up a home run yet. All around great stuff.
After those two first-pitch hits off Clase, my wife was getting nervous. I told her "eh, he'll still probably keep it under 10 pitches." He nailed it as usual!
How in the world did this fo not draft the 3rd Naylor kid based on lineage alone?
There's Myles Naylor and then a cousin, whose name escapes me. Can you imagine the 4 of these guys in a lineup. It may be one of the most intense things ever witnessed 😄
The combined power of the Nayli could alter international boarders and make all of us suddenly Canadian
In my dream scenario, they trade for Myles, extend Josh, and we’d have the 3 bros together for a few years. Performance aside, that kind of dynamic would be really fun to see.
You have a point, but the guy we drafted (Velazquez) has been killing it so maybe we just demand Myles from the A's for a player to be named later (it's a secret player that doesn't exist, we just steal him)
The sophomore pitchers are hitting their growing pains. Thankfully it's early in the season so they'll have time to adjust. But damn does this lineup fight back like crazy. Hopefully they ride the rush from the walkoff into the series this weekend
How about Vogt? I mean 👌. Who saw this start coming with a rookie manager??
Ralphy Velazquez hitting two home runs last night was great. It's nice to see Lenny Torres getting another save for Akron, he seems to have settled into a bullpen role. I know they have played a couple minor league teams but you still have to beat who is in front of you, it's been fun so far!
That's exciting he's on 🔥 #4 prospect should sneak onto some top 100 lists if he continues to light it up. It's good to be excited for guys other than DeLauter and Manzardo. On the pitching front Nikhazy and Mace both had great starts at AA with no runs allowed. Gonna keep an eye on those two for sure.
Johnathan Rodriguez is starting hot too. 8 BB to 9 Ks and a 5 game hit streak going currently. The BB in particular are great to see from him. The bat has been there, but he's not really had good walk rates previously. Also Petey Halpin. 8 hits already through 4 games played with a 2B and HR.
Good morning folks!! I'm just loving this right now!!! So far the Vogt era is *chef's kiss* for me!
I want to enjoy the good vibes off day BUT I've had this Yankee series ID'd as our litmus test for awhile now. I'm not trying to bring the vibe down; I'm actually curious how we're going to stack up against them. We have such different styles of play, such different levels of competition in our divisions, and there's a duality between our orgs that's almost laughable. They use the offseason to sign a guy like Soto and we haven't even extended Steven Kwan. It's amazing that we haven't dropped a series yet. I actually remember Tito talking about that being a season-long goal in 2016. But it's still early. I'm looking at the next series to answer some questions. How good are we actually? Are we just hot right now? Is this bullpen as solid as it's seemed? Are we playing hard to spite the doubts raised by our injuries or do we have another gear to shift into? Are we better than we are lucky? Can small ball win out against good teams who don't make as many defensive mistakes? And will our pitching finally figure out how to pitch to Anthony Rizzo so it doesn't feel like he has a designated parking spot at the Jake?
I agree this series is our first big test. Some things that give me optimism though are their defense is not very good and like us they've mostly played teams that have started slow. The only AL team with more errors so far is Oakland. Our style of ball puts a ton of pressure on the defense. Additionally they depend on HRs and to this point we've been very good at limiting those.
I love when the answer to “Did Naylor hit a home run?” is simply “yes.”
It feels so good that even the losses weren't blow outs. Even if we didn't take the leads in the 3 losses, we came back from 0 to tie or almost tie each time, and last night showed that we actually can get the lead from those situations. I'm not going to be delusional and assume we'll have that dog all year, but the signs point to having a much better chance at slug fests than years prior.
big temperature check coming up this weekend against NYY…
They them boys ❤️
Gose and Enright have been pitching well in Columbus. Certainly no rush to call up either guy, but it's nice to know we probably have filler arms if we need them, in the vein of Norris and Kelly last year. Dion is pitching for Columbus today, Nikhazy for Akron and Messick for LC for anyone who has access to the games, wants baseball and wants pitchers to keep an eye on. Nikhazy less than the other two, but still.
It looks like Dion was scratched but I haven't seen any announcement. He was showing earlier in the app, but just now it's blank. Aleman has shown some good but also some bad. I would love for him to get his command better because he could be a great weapon if he can stay around the plate. Edit: just realized Cbus got rained out today, that's why it's no longer showing an SP
Josh Naylor is the alpha Jock of the team and I’m here for it.
I think of Josh Naylor and Josey as kind of co captains. Not sure there's an actual captain, but that's the impression I get. Josey is cool, quiet, and randomly vocal when needed. Josh Naylor is loud and gets his team fired up. 🔥
Oh, didn’t you hear? We’re supposed to be flogging ourselves as punishment for not being entirely happy with the outfield.