Hot Carl
| Favorite team: | LSU  |
| Location: | Prayers up for 3 |
| Biography: | |
| Interests: | |
| Occupation: | |
| Number of Posts: | 62897 |
| Registered on: | 12/4/2005 |
| Online Status: | Not Online |
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Have you watched his USC highlights?
No. I wasn’t arguing that he wasn’t awesome. Genuinely admitted I, personally, hadn’t seen it. If there’s evidence out there besides his high school film and rankings, hell yeah. I’m all for it. Hope he wins the Heisman at LSU next year and becomes the #1 overall pick.
I just don’t think hoping he plays meaningful football in ‘26 is in LSU’s best interest. And the OP kinda read like that. But I could be wrong. Maybe that’s not what he meant at all. If so, that on me.
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You do realize if Baldwin is DH, it means an even worse hitter than Dom is in right?
Not just that, but Baldwin actually hits better when he’s catching. I still think they’re doing the right thing DHing him some to keep him fresh for the postseason, though. Still, this team needed a much better option than Dominic Smith.
Did Profar frick us or did AA by not doing his due diligence? Everything’s a secret to the public and fans, but people inside the sport talk. I can’t believe nobody knew he was juicing.
Damn, I’m not watching the game and just looked at the box score. My comment about Dom had nothing to do with his hat trick at the time that just turned into the ol’ golden sombrero. I had no idea what he’d done today.
I know you’ve mentioned this, and it’s no shade on him—he’s doing almost exactly what he’s done his whole career, and has gotten a few big hits throughout the year—but Dominic Smith is slashing .266/.321/.398 with 8 home runs in 265 PAs this year.
Career line is .251/.316/.404 with a career high of 12 home runs. That’s fine, nice for a spot start here or there or a late game pinch hitter. But that just can’t be our every day DH. It shortens the lineup. Or rather doesn’t lengthen it as much as it needs to be.
Career line is .251/.316/.404 with a career high of 12 home runs. That’s fine, nice for a spot start here or there or a late game pinch hitter. But that just can’t be our every day DH. It shortens the lineup. Or rather doesn’t lengthen it as much as it needs to be.
re: Husan Longstreet...Anyone know how he’s been looking?
Posted by Hot Carl on 8/9/26 at 1:16 pm to SimmaDown337
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Maybe reread the OP but slower this time.
I did.
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No one called for the backup to start anywhere in what was posted.
Not exactly. But it was much more than being excited about Longstreet in ‘27 or being thankful he’s here in case Leavett gets hurt. It reads like you think he’s better than Leavett.
Maybe not what you meant, and Longstreet may wind up being great, but you called him “a stud,” and there’s zero evidence to suggest he’s currently a stud, and certainly none to suggest he’s a bigger one than Leavett. Who’s proven he’s a stud.
What is it about Longstreet that has you so fired up besides his 5-star status? (Not being an a-hole, I’m genuinely curious). Reports weren’t great in spring, though got much better toward the end. Appeared to have a “long” delivery and a bit overall awkward motion. Which is fine for a 2nd year guy. He just didn’t appear ready to be the starting QB for NC contending team.
Again, which is fine. But our excitement for him should probably be saved for ‘27. And there’s no guarantee he’ll even be here then. Or just inherit the job. If there’s a guy out there in the portal Lane likes more, he’ll try to go grab him. I’m sure he’d prefer Longstreet to show him enough, but it’s just so hard to compare a guy in practice to somebody else in games. I am certainly curious to see how he plays this year if he has to. Mop up can only tell so much. But I’m not rooting for it, or predicting it, due to poor play from Leavett. Which, while maybe wrong, is kinda a bit how your post read upon my re-reading. :lol:
:cheers:
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We need a 4 man rotation. I think Carpenter can hold down a spot and not be a liability. So to me, it comes down to Ross taking a big jump in his development, and Lamar giving us meaningful snaps and having flashes. We’re definitely way more athletic than we’ve been, but also more unproven. Also really can’t afford an injury to either of the starters.
We’re gonna need more than 4 over the season. Cobbins could help. And didn’t the South Carolina coach bring a transfer with him? Maybe not in that order. But didn’t we get an edge from USCe? Don’t remember his name or anything about him. He may not exist.
Ruffino, grain of salt, thinks Lamar Brown is at Edge mainly for depth purposes.
Posted by Hot Carl on 8/8/26 at 7:05 pm
But his natural position is going to be in the interior. I always thought he was an interior guy myself—he’s just got such a different body type than Prince and Ross. Which could give Baker some versatility in different packages.
Also said Jaidan Braker was moved from off ball LB today to edge, and that his move and playing Brown at his “not best position, but position he can certainly play,” both suggest the staff’s initial concern with edge depth. (He didn’t say it, or hasn’t yet, but that Reliford injury was way worse than we’ve told ourselves. His versatility in the run and rush game would have been extremely beneficial. Oh well. Next man up. Looks like today it was Braker.(
Also said Jaidan Braker was moved from off ball LB today to edge, and that his move and playing Brown at his “not best position, but position he can certainly play,” both suggest the staff’s initial concern with edge depth. (He didn’t say it, or hasn’t yet, but that Reliford injury was way worse than we’ve told ourselves. His versatility in the run and rush game would have been extremely beneficial. Oh well. Next man up. Looks like today it was Braker.(
re: 1998 West Monroe recruits
Posted by Hot Carl on 8/8/26 at 6:43 pm to Lester Earl
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didn't hurt that he turned 20 a few weeks after graduating west monroe
Not sure if you’re exaggerating, but you’re off by a year. He turned 19 a couple weeks before graduation. But he was just as good his junior year, just didn’t have the supporting cast.
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I want Whit to stay healthy and prove that he’s a 1st round LB.
I haven’t seen any projections, but I don’t think even a 100% healthy Whit is a 1st rounder. Only 2 LBs went in the 1st round this year, and one was a physical freak. I think he’s a Day 2 guy if he does stay healthy. Not a knock on him at all, that position just isn’t valued that much for whatever reasons.
I wasn’t watching, but following on the mlb app. Why didn’t we run Dodd back out for the 10th?
Has Murphy ever in his career hit a ground ball to the right side?
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He’s dedicated his entire life to posting on TD
What’s scary is that he hasn’t. But he’s still probably the most ubiquitous poster in site history with the longest reach over both time and space (number of boards). If this place closed and they did a “Rewatchables” episode on it sometime in the future, “Who won the site?” would obviously unanimously be Chicken. But SFP would get some votes.
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He was super lucky with a .260 babip, 85% LOB percentage, and a HR rate over half his career averages, none of which are sustainable. He has a career 4.19 ERA, that's what he is. We gave up nothing for him so it's no big deal, but he's a 5th starter if we are lucky.
Certainly not arguing with any of that. Can’t argue with any of that. But here’s what AA has to say about him:
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“I know on the surface, you look at the ERA and say, ‘well,’ but obviously we're trying to dig a little further into some of those things,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “We like what he’s done of late and we think there’s still some room for improvement with some other tweaks.”
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So, how might the Braves help Mahle? He has had trouble against right-handed hitters much of his career, but he limited them to a .658 OPS while producing a 2.18 ERA in 16 starts for Texas last year. Right-handed hitters have a .849 OPS against him this year.
Righties hit .255 with a .255 slugging percentage against his cutter (12.5% usage) last year. They have hit .269 with a .403 SLG against the same pitch (17.4% usage) this year. They hit .195 with a .295 SLG against his splitter (27.7% usage) last year. They have hit .259 with a .384 SLG against it (25.1% usage) this year.
I know the Braves have really focused lately on guys developing cutters or sinkers to throw as their primary fastballs if they don’t have super high velo with their 4-seamers (everyone but Sale) or can’t paint both blacks with it or a 2-seamer.
I know this was a big deal for Waldrup, Elder, Strider when he came back earlier, and a couple of other younger guys. Lindsay Crosby does a good job taking about this stuff if you wanna nerd out a bit.
And you mentioned Mahle’s home runs given up being anomalously down last year and way up this year. (I think he gave up 5 last year and has given up like 24 this year so far in pretty much the same amount of innings, but pitching in a more pitching friendly park). He’s obviously catching way too much of the plate without the stuff to get away with it.
Maybe they see something they can tweak with his cutter and/or splitter that can potentially recapture the magic of last year in Texas. Or at least split the difference (pun intended). Who knows how much a new organization and pitching coach can affect fringe guys like him.
Maybe some of our guys have relationships with some of the Rangers guys. (Scouts, analysts, etc…). AA did say he called to ask about DeGrom last week. Maybe he asked them about Mahle too, and what they thought about his regression this year.
Maybe our philosophy is just aligned with Texas’ more than San Francisco’s. Maybe he’s already figured something out since coming off the DL:
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Mahle missed a month with a strained left hamstring he sustained in late May. He returned from the injured list on June 24 and posted a 3.06 ERA over his next six starts. The righty’s strong run ended Saturday night, when the Padres tagged him for five earned runs over 5 2/3 innings. But he did register nine strikeouts in the outing.
Maybe him going 5 2/3 instead of 4 2/3 (I heard some crazy stat about how few of our starts this year haven’t made it out of the 5th) at his current pace is just enough to help save our pen to get them refreshed for the postseason (along with the other starter and reliever I’m convinced we’ll have by 6 today).
Or maybe he’s just unpitchable and we DFA or straight up waive him in a month and have to eat the bucket of balls he cost to acquire.
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But Mahle can’t either
He’s had a pretty mid year this year, but last year, in 16 starts, he had an ERA of 2.18. 86.2 innings. Only 69 hits and 29 walks. WHIP was 1.13. Opponents B.A. only .218.
Not sure why his numbers are so much worse this year, but he’s battled a hamstring injury that it seems he may be past. (Knock on wood).
Is he gonna be some savior? Of course not. Might not even make the postseason roster. Are we better with him than Anthony Molina? Yes.
There’s still 2 months to play, and these slight upgrades could potentially go a long way to saving some arms and legs in the dog days of August and September to be ready to go in October. I just don’t see how these moves can be judged without the context of what happens in the next 20 hours.
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Mahle doesn’t help that.
Yeah he does. Because:
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We’d be better off giving those starts to Murphy and Ritchie
One of those 2 are probably gonna be the centerpiece of the Mize trade. Check out Mize’s stats. Dude has been really good the past 2 seasons after getting his velo back—even higher—since he had Tommy John. He was an all-star last year but has taken an even bigger jump this year. He’s a rental, but….
Born and raised in Alabama. Went to Auburn. We are going to extend or re-sign him and he’s only 29. AA probably talked to Tigers GM about Skubal a week or so ago, felt like it was gonna be more than he was comfortable with, and then pivoted to Mize and got a good idea of what it would take. Maybe he’s got another guy or 2 ahead of Mize in mind, but he just makes so much sense to me.
And we’ll grab a reliever or 2 that we’ve never heard of, but who throw 97.
To me, these 2 underwhelming trades we’ve made almost guarantee we’re gonna go get a legit #2 and at least a reliever. Otherwise, you’re right, there’s no point in even having made them.
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Dodgers get Skubal
Of course they did. :lol:
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AA needs to make a splash.
Who are the splashes realistically available? I agree with you, I just don’t know who would qualify. Is Mize a splash? And how does Skubal going before him affect what Detroit is willing to take for him? Probably increases his value, gives them more leverage, and fricks the rest of the league even more than traditional Skubal to L.A.
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Basically this. Hopefully we can grab Mize for a reasonable deal.
He’s having a really good season, really good last couple of seasons, but has been hampered a bit by groin and hamstring injuries? And he’s a rental. So no idea how much all of that will affect what he’ll fetch.
Still think Wacha is not totally out of play. They no doubt talked about him today, maybe AA felt price was too steep currently since he’s still under control for 2 more years, but to hit him up and give him a chance to match their best offer before they pull the trigger. Or whatever. Who knows how the market will fluctuate in the next, what, 44 hours? But it seems like he has at least a good working relationship with the Royals’ GM. But if he’s wanting to add multiple more pieces, it makes sense to pivot to more rentals.
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I'm guessing (hoping) that is KC saying "fine we won't take any of your prospects, but you will eat this money."
If so, that's good news where AA's head is at in terms of making win-now moves.
Totally agree. 1) eating money is always a good a sign of “win now.” 2) if he did that to get Thomas without giving up any valuable assets, it would indicate he’s wanting to save them for more flexibility for bigger deals in the next 2 days.
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We just got Lane Thomas (good call Hot Carl)
Sweet. :cheers:
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No word on what we gave up, but I doubt much of anything considering Thomas has been very meh this season
His overall numbers look that way, but I just got onto him in the last day or 2 because somebody mentioned him as RHH who had crushed LHP his whole career. And he got off to a slow start this year, but has heated up:
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The Royals signed Thomas to a one-year, $5.25 million contract this past offseason as a bounce-back candidate. This followed an injury-riddled 2025 with the Guardians, which culminated in him undergoing right foot surgery to address a nagging case of plantar fasciitis. Thomas began the year as mostly a platoon player and pinch-hitter, but the Royals always maintained he could play his way into an everyday role.
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That happened out of necessity when center fielder Kyle Isbel went on the injured list in June. But Thomas has taken the role and run with it. In his first 147 plate appearances of the season, from March 27 through June 7, Thomas slashed .225/.354/.308 with four doubles, two homers and a 92 wRC+. Once Isbel was placed on the IL on June 10, Thomas seized his opportunity and hasn’t relinquished the starting job. He enjoyed a particularly hot 34-game stretch from June 10-July 20, slashing .262/.331/.524 with 12 doubles, seven homers and a 133 wRC+.
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Thomas isn’t the prototypical impact bat some teams might have been seeking during this Deadline. But he can hit, and he flashes solid power. He’s particularly valuable against lefties, with an .850 OPS against southpaws in his career and .800 OPS this season. He’s also instinctual on the bases and in the outfield, with the ability to play all three spots in the outfield.
But I agree on Falter. No idea what that’s about. Anxious to see what we gave up and what they’re going to do with Falter. And Sean Murphy. If we don’t move him in a package, when he comes back, that’s 2 RHHs we’ve added that are at least threats to do damage. And we needed a RHH to be able to come off the bench in the playoffs to face a lefty with a chance of at least running into one.
I think I want Wacha and Lane Thomas from the Royals. Fill 2 huge holes, and Wacha has 2 more years of potential control. Thomas crushes LHP and would be a nice platoon piece with Yaz, but hits righties well enough to start against them, too. Great athlete. Rental, so shouldn’t take much to get him. Depends on what they’d want for Wacha, but the names I’ve read are Owen Murphy, JR Richie, or Hurston Waldrep and position player prospect, but no names were mentioned.
Both fill holes that would make us better this year, and shouldn’t cost so much that we still couldn’t add a lesser name high leverage reliever or 2. Or 1, and another MOR rotation guy that could be a rental and should lower his team’s ask.
Thoughts?
Both fill holes that would make us better this year, and shouldn’t cost so much that we still couldn’t add a lesser name high leverage reliever or 2. Or 1, and another MOR rotation guy that could be a rental and should lower his team’s ask.
Thoughts?
re: Starting slot receiver this year
Posted by Hot Carl on 8/1/26 at 2:30 pm to paper tiger
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Kiffin is the master of the hurry up offense and punishes defenses with it. It takes palyers with discipline to do it, there’s no time to linger on the ground, no time do celebrate, its all about lining up and being ready to go for the next play faster than defense to get set, recognize the offensive formation, and call their defense.
One of the ways they take advantage of this is by lining guys up in different places all over the field. So I don’t know how much they’ll use a 5’9,” “fast twitch,” “prototypical” slot guy. Some, sure. But the guys who’ll get the most snaps are going to be the versatile ones that can line up in the slot AND out wide. Trey’Dez might wind up with the most snaps from the slot of anybody all season. It will be fascinating to see who emerges.
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