Since it's the end of another decade for cricket , I thought why not reminisce about they great decade of cricket we had. I would focus on team India as it's the team of which I can claim to have followed the majority of the matches.
2011-12
The first year of the decade , Indian team was the No: 1 test side since 2009 , dominating at home and being extremely competitive abroad winning in NZ , Eng, drawing in SA and fighting well with Ponting's Australia down under all in a span of 3-4 years. To add cherry on top of that winning the World Cup meant this was the peak of Indian cricket and given where we were at the turn of the century it was one heck of an achievement to reach this position.
Note that Ishant Sharma was still pretty shit.
2012-13
As big as the highs were , who knew the lows were going to be just as deep. The no 1 test team team crashed and burned in incredible fashion and got white washed in two consecutive series in Eng and Aus , tons of legends had to retire and if that wasn't enough the nail to the coffin was hit by Sir Alistair Cook and his men when they beat India in their own fortress after 28 years when Panesar and Swann taught Indians how to bowl spin and I think at this point the stumps , bails , bat and ball basically anything to do with cricket should have been burnt and sent to England at that point. Funnily this series was my introduction to cricket as a 11 year old who despite being in india didn't know the name of a single cricketer other than Sachin Tendulkar.
Phew, Anyways the horror show ends here, or does it..? Though it doesn't feel like much now , but at that time when Pakistan was visiting for the first time after the terrorist attack and beat India in an odi series in India , it felt like a huge deal, I guess it was the series where we discovered Bhuvi, and during those days he used to swing like a banana albiet a bit slower, his wickets of the first balls on debut where fucking ridiculous. Regardless we did fine in ODi compared to our standards back then when we never used to win odi series in SENA , and Virat Kohli's thrashing in Hobart stands out even to this day , and to think that his 183 is still his highest after 43 fucking hundreds is a miracle.
Anyways the redemption in test cricket came when Australia visited India. We didn't know at the time , but in retrospect the worst Australian side I have ever seen play test cricket and poor bastards thought they could sneak a victory against this depleted indian side and they rightfully got demolished due their pathetic attitude towards homework and trust me Nathan Lyon back then was so bad that it felt like he was a club bowler , didn't know the dude would develop into the beast he is now. Luckily wade was shit then and now , the loud mouth's constant though.
That 4-0 victory over the fake team which tried to convince us that they were thev real Aussies is what I consider to be the beginning of our journey in becoming one of the best test teams in the world again, though is was not to happen any time soon , still this is where I can trace it all back , this is where Ashwin and Jadeja showed a glimpse of what they were going to do to the poor visiters for the rest of the decade , plus by this point Pujara and Rahane where abvious standouts in the middle order , along with Kohli, even Murli Vijay who a lot of people don't like , which goes over my head as he is unironically the best test opener for us this decade and yeah we were never able to find him a proper opening partner , and by the time he went completely shit , we had zero openers performing well for us in any conditions other than home.
Also who can forget Shikhar Dhawan's debut test century and Dhoni's double century.
Note that Ishant Sharma was still shit.
2013-2014
Now this was the year where we won our last ICC trophy of any kind, it's a shame they scrapped champions trophy after this year.Who knew Rohit Sharma's move to the opening spot would give us one of the finest batsmen in coloured clothing the world has ever seen. By that point even with his ridiculous talent™, it seemed like the final days of him getting anymore chances , if he had failed miserably there.
There was a great odi series against aus at home, Rohit scored the first of his three double hundreds, poor Ishant have away 30 runs off an over to end his loi career forever.
Faulkner was a good cricketer during this time who was supposed to achieve big things , he batted and bowled pretty well in this series.
Sachin played his last series , at the time it was quite a relief , and also very emotional , never seen a test match as jam packed as that in India , maybe the pink ball test against Bangladesh was close. Shami was the revelation of the series , and his reverse swing exploits in his debut match is still the best spell of reverse swing I have seen by any Indian this decade.
Now as the winner of champions trophy which basically means we where the champions among champions at a time when we ourself where the world champions , we went with all our super sayen power to tour South Africa.
This was my first away tour as a fan to any country let alone the land where Steyn breathes fire.
First odi of the match , SA comes wearing pink , I laugh and make a few cringey pink = girly jokes. My first introduction to Steyn on Live telly and bruh the talented Rohit Sharma didn't touch the ball for his first 30 deliveries. I dunno how one can miss so many consecutive edges, maybe the balls where too good to get an edge , in that match Virat scored a four of Steyn with a straight drive when Rohit was being treated as if he was a drunk no 11 , and to this day that reminds me of how Virat is a cut a above Rohit regardless of how many mental gymnastics the mentally challenged brohit fans do to claim otherwise. Anyways we lost 3-0 in that series as expected but during those days even ODIs felt like impossible to win in SA for us. Also de dock announced himself with three centuries in all the matches that series.
That test series was Kohli's first in SA and he had a lot to prove back in those days , and he did and iirc so did Pujara. The second test is what everyone would remember where SA almost chased down the world record total, god the bowling was pathetic then.
During this time an awkward young kid with an even more awkward bowling action bowled for MI on debut , and it didn't seems like much at the time , just that he was awkward.
Note that Ishant Sharma was still pretty shit.
2014- 15
Then we go to New Zealand and baz scores a triple century and makes us fuck off.
The t20 worldcup was pretty good for us we went into the finals , Sri Lanka bowled really good at the death, basically every ball was a wide yorker and this was the beginning of a long stretch of losing on the finals or semi-finals for us in the decade.
Now comes the groups first test series in England , I meant just in essence , dhoni and Ishant had played their before but still this was the India in transition, the first test was a draw all I remember is Murli Vijay had a great knock . The next match at lords is one of the most important matches for us this decade , before this I guess we hadn't won a test match in SENA countries since I guess 2008 when we won in NZ 1-0 , I mean come on , I guess we all should be glad things aren't that bad now and we do win atleast a test in most places we play and other teams have to, lots of the times , work there asses of to win against us in their own backyard. Now Rahane scored probably the Indian test century of the decade according to me , and also his favorite century as claimed by the man himself after his exploits in the Boxing Day test recently.
Now hear me out , Ishant got his career best figures in the second innings here , but this is still a time when he was pretty mediocre, and even though I don't want to take any credit away from him , a lot has to do with a collective brain fade from England while playing the short balls from Ishant. Anyways we won and it was a great day, sweet victory in SENA after a long time after two matches we led the series 1-0 , and tbh if we were Sri Lanka or Pakistan we would be going on home after avenging our home test series loss, but no the big boys have to play 5 test matches FFS, nothing much to say here Bhuvneshwar Kumar was our best batsman and bowler that series , we got fucked really fucking bad by Anderson and yeah 3-1.
But even more than that the series would be known as Virat Kohli's lowest point in his test career [ yet (๑•﹏•)]. The world found out that he is no Tendulkar and does have a severe flaw in his technique playing the out swinger. And to be honest we all know that to some extent he still has that flaw , unlike Williamson and Smith who basically have no major flaws in their technique. Yet I would say he is the second best test batsman of the generation after Smith.
Atleast back in the day England used to be a piss poor odi side who played like it was the 70s , and we won that series , but it was not sweet enough to compensate for the thrashing in tests.
Now next we move on to the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Aus, Dhoni called it quits as a test cricketer and Virat takes the helm ,it was basically a run fest, Virat and Smith both scored tons of runs , and we almost won a test in Adelaide , but it could have been worse given how Mitchell Johnson blew England away and South Africa too, but the pitches maybe weren't that conducive or he declined a bit or both , anyways it was basically chat shit get banged for him that series anyways. We lost 2-0 , but this was a series where we could say we played respectable cricket.
Note that Ishant Sharma was still quite shit.
2015 - 2016
We weren't in great form as an odi side around the time of the world cup as we lost a series pretty badly to Australia , who where eventually the champions , Starc was breathing fire back then.
But we won every match in the group stages , and finally lost to Australia in the semi-finals. Fuck Starc , he's too good. No problem we'll win in 2019.
Now in the test world we have had lots of back to back tough series , all the players where new , but by now lots of them where quite experienced and settled in the squad.
Now many people like to say that Indian wins in Sri Lanka shouldn't be counted as away wins and it's still the sub continent etc etc , but before 2015, the last and only time india beat Sri Lanka in Lanka was in the early nineties. Now during this time Sri Lanka was still a great team especially at home they still had Sangakara , Herath both at their best and on top of that they had Karunaratne , Thirimanne and Chandimal. Also remember the time when Angelo Mathews was one of the best test batsman in the world? Yeah he was the captain. The first test match went to them after a second innings collapse from India , that would be the last test Sri Lanka wins against India and they played 8 more tests after this. Anyways India came back triumphantly to win the next two tests to get only their second ever test series victory in the supposedly easy land Sri Lanka and this was to be the beginning of a very dominant period of test cricket for India after which, eventually they'd become the country with the second most number of months as world no 1 in test cricket after Australia since 2003 when the icc ranking begun.
This was the first series where Ishant Sharma started to show some improvement.
Next , South Africa visits India for a test series. Now South Africa has drawn their last two test series in India and I would even go on as far as to say they were even better than the legendary Australia when it came to test cricket in India. Virat Kohli at this time wanted to get really spin friendly wickets as according to him many teams around the world create green wickets and all to get home advantage , there was lots of complaining from faf , but any ways they got thumped 3-0 for the first time ever in India and that was the beginning of a very dominant home stretch.
One highlight was the blockathon from ABD -Amla and also twin centuries from Rahane in that test which where the only centuries in the whole series iirc.
Now India goes to west Indies and get a convincing test series victory, now WI us still a good test team at home , they have beaten good sides like England and Pakistan but they always fail to show up against India, so that's that.
Note than Ishant was still a bit shit.
2016-2017
Next New Zealand visits India , and get ravaged 3-0 with huge margins , India used to always be a dominant side at home , but this was starting to get scary, Ashwin and Jadeja were unplayable literally every match.
Next comes England , the winners of the last series between the two in India. Oh the revenge was cold and sweet , the way we destroyed them was something else , huge scores , losing after scoring almost 500 runs multiple times , triple hundreds , who can forget the hundred from jayant yadav. This was a massacre, and it was due since a long time.
Now as you know Kohli and Shastri were quite cocky by this time, so were the fans and I mean can you blame us? Australia came after a lot of preparation, fuckers where praising Ashwin as the Bradman of bowling to jinx him. The Pune test was a shock, this was before Steve Smith's redemption in the Ashes and as an Indian fan the only other time I really saw him scoring lots of runs it wasn't really tough conditions and on top of that it was at home. This Pune test changed that, I think I have seen the best test batsman of the generation , and maybe even for the next 30 years. Kohli went fishing for that series , and we were again in the backfoot after the first innings of the second test. But then as Ashwin had warned Aussies didn't get a considerable lead , and Ashwin had them for soup . The last test was again won by India to finish a well fought test series.
We all know what happened in the t20 world cup, we reached the semi , and WI thumped us. Who can forget the Ashwin no ball , atleast I mean maybe it's just an anomaly surely an Indian bowler can't bowl a no ball in another major icc knockout match right? Right?
Note that Ishant is very very slightly shit
2017-2018
Okay I have a confession to make. I may have lied about something , ok I admit there was a champions trophy in 2017. And yeah we got thumped so bad , that idk what to say, fairytale stuff for pakistan though , tbh I don't remember them beating us in any other match since 2013 , but probs to them they won the second most important match between us this decade , after the icc wc semi final.
Atleast after the champions trophy we decided to bring in Kuldeep and Chahal and with the rise of Bumrah and even Shami we started to actually become a good bowling side in one day internationals.
We started to not only win at home in loi but in SA , NZ , Aus and that too convincingly, the only loss I remember during this time was probably against the future worldcup champions England at their home , but then again they are probably the greatest odi side probably only second to the legendary Aussie side.
Now we tour Sri Lanka again and by this time Sri Lanka has detoriated quite a bit , they aren't their previous self and don't have Sanga , Herath and Mathew is not his former self. They get thumped 3-0 at home and it's probably our first overseas whitewash.
Next they tour us and we are arrogant enough to act as if this is practice for upcoming overseas tour and make green pitches and all. I remember the Delhi test with pollution and yeah two matches where drawn rather surprisingly still India won 1-0.
By this time you can see that Ishant is slowly improving and his performances are becoming much better.
Now India visits SA and this time India is an experienced side , they are still not a world class bowling line up , but that was going to change , and that happened here when Bumrah was given his test cap. There were lots of questions about this , people where saying that he cannot get swing or seam and his action was not meant for test cricket etc etc, anyways it didn't even take much time tbh , he was an instant success just like he was in loi and took decent amount of wickets every innings , India lost the first two test matches , but all those matches were close , popular consensus is that ABD was the diffrence , India won the last test match which was on a green mamba of a picth, and Bumrah takes his first fifier in the last test match and rest is history. It's too early , but still he is easily the best fast bowler India has ever had, greatest not yet solely due to the fact that some others have more years of service.
Note that Ishant is finally bowling as one of the best bowlers.
2018-2019
Now we go back to England , all eyes were on Kohli , I think he played one of his best innings that match playing with the tail to keep India in the game. Yeah India was in the game a lot of the times infact , yes the scoreline was 4-1 , but this series was well fought , still England were the better team , but India got one famous victory in Nottingham and yeah that's that.
Pretty disappointing , a similar result was predicted down under. Who knew Warner and Steve Smith had diffrent plans , they did their noble deed and we're kicked out of the sport for an year , and yeah this did play a part in giving India a huge advantage.
So yeah we visited down under and as we all know we thumped Australia , should have been 3-1 if not for the rain in Sydney , it was a historic series win , the bowling we faced was still the best in the world. Pujara played the series of his life , and Indian bowling was as good if not better.
In ODIs we are doing really well but still haven't found a good middle order. And yeah we never found that before the world cup.
Note that Ishant Sharma is one of the best bowlers in the world.
2019-2020
Back to back odi series against Australia , both win one of the series at the opposition's home , but we beat them in the WC. We again reach the semi finals and again just like last time lose in the semi's , at this point if we didn't have a decently stacked trophy cabinet we would be the chokers of the decade.
We visit west indies and I think I see Bumrah bowling the best he ever has , he was literally unplayable before getting a stress fracture , which gave real scares to all of us.
Next South Africa visits India again and if last time was a thumping , this time was a complete annihilation , even the pitches where pretty balanced and our pacer out bowled their pacers , tbh it wasn't even a contest , they looked like club cricketers , except faf, he was the lone warrior. 3-0 , but we all know SA is going through a crisis, so nothing surprising.
Bangladesh visit India for 2 tests and again if SA had one batsman doing well , Bangladesh had zero. The day-night test was the most fun test match in terms of crowd participation since Tendulkar's farewell series. But in terms of cricket it was completely one sided.
Note thatIshant is one of the best bowlers in the world
2020
By this time we have been the world no 1 test side for 4 consecutive years , and rightly so according to me , we haven't been world dominators or something , but we where still the best of the lot.
But the biggest disappointment atleast for me in the decade after the England series in 2012 , came when we toured NZ , yeah Ishant Sharma wasn't available , but the way we got rolled over in both the tests after making so much progress in all these years was very disappointing , but we can consider it of as only 2 off tests but still it was very disappointing.
On top of that being white washed in odi series was also pretty humiliating and one concern has to be the ineffectiveness of the odi bowling side recently. But one thing is the middle order is doing slightly better plus the world cup is in India , so bowling won't be that much of a problem I hope. It's still a long way.
We white wash them 5-0 is a T20 series with two of them in super overs and that was very satisfying.
Then Covid hits and the world goes into a frenzy.
We visit Australia again in 2 years , and start by very poorly losing the first two ODIs , the bowling looks problematic.
We redeem ourself in the t20s though and since the next two world cups are t20s I guess that's good that we are consistently winning.
And at the fag end of the decade we play the first test in Adelaide , we start well considering Ishant isn't available again , we get them quite cheaply getting a handy lead , at the end of day two we where thinking of scoring another 200 runs atleast to get a good enough lead to win the test match. In probably the worst session of cricket India has ever played in their 88 years of playing this game , we get all out for 36 , and rightly everyone starts prediction a 4-0 whitewash , I mean who wouldn't.
I guess one of the best test match victories for the country not just in this decade but in our entire history came as the last test match of the decade.. Coming back from an all time low , not having Kohli , Ishant , Bhuvi , Shami and Umesh getting injured mid game , with two debutants India makes a great comeback coming back from a historic low.
That's that, it has been a great decade , certainly India's best decade in terms of win rates and results and all and even icc trophies , not getting atleast one ICC trophy in the later end of the decade dampens the fun a bit , let's hope that changes in the future. The biggest thing to happen is certainly getting good fast bowlers in the second half of the decade.
Exciting times ahead , we probably have more talent coming through every year in domestic than ever before, especially in fast bowling , currently very excited for Kartik Tyagi , and also hope nagarkoti and Mavi don't get lost , Natrajan , Siraj , Saini are all good. As usual lots and lots of batting talent coming through, also a couple of exciting wicket keepers in Rishab and Ishan kishan and even Sanju , if Rahul can keep well , that's the best case scenario for the loi teams.
All through the decade IPL has evolved into a mature league and is only going strength to strength .
One thing which has detoriated a bit I feel is our fielding which was top notch for a long time from champions trophy 2013 untill recently. Lots of catches being dropped and there's no excuses for that.
I think in the first decade of the century we went from a average team to a good team , this decade after a blip early on , we have transitioned easily into a top 3 team irrespective of the format. Without a doubt the most successful decade for Indian cricket in terms of results , the 2000s died for this.
At the end I want to have a word for Ishant Sharma , for the majority of his career he was the most mediocre cricketer I have ever seen , he was statistically the worst fast bowler to play the number of tests he did with a bowling avg of about 38-40 , I don't think anyone except Ishant himself would have ever thought that he would be averaging around 17-18 accross the world over a 3 year span , and I for one never thought I would say that he is one of the best test bowlers in the world. It's one of the greatest cricket career redemptions ever and I for one respect the hell out of the dude. Being mediocre wasn't his fault , he was still the best the country had produced for a long time and that was probably more frustrating, that we had no choice. Regardless he has 3 tests to go to reach 100 tests and I think he is certainly among the Indian greats and without doubt a vital part of the greatest Indian bowling unit ever.

Here's a little bit of info on some prospects in the Red Sox farm system. I organized them based off of proximity for the most part, rather than ranking, and discussed each prospect with a mixture of my personal opinion and consensus takes. These are not scouting reports or rankings. If you want more info, go to soxprospects.com, because it's an awesome resource.
Guys with a chance to start the year in the bigs

• Tanner Houck Houck had a great cup of coffee last year. His scouting report from day one has said he has two pitches that can get righty MLB players out, and that was definitely on display last September. The Sox have tried to mess with his pitches and delivery so that he can walk fewer batters, get lefties out, and go deeper into games. A lot of that messed with his minor league stats quite a bit. It's hard to tell too much from his small sample last year, but it looks like he might be starting to get that third pitch he needs in his new splitter. He's a guy worth getting excited about in my opinion. One thing with Houck to remember is that he hasn't thrown a starters workload in his career yet since last year's MiLB season was canceled. Even if he pitches well enough in ST to break with the team, he won't be able to be a starter all year. That means he may need to spend time in Worcester or in the bullpen.
  
• Bobby Dalbec Kinda gotta respect a guy for knowing who he is and sticking with it. Dalbec is a very patient hitter. Very, very patient. He has a ton of swing and miss but man, is that power exciting. There has never really been a guy with minor league K rates like his that have succeeded in the majors, but there honestly aren't many players like Dalbec. I think his defense is a little overstated at 3B outside of his rocket arm, and I don't necessarily believe he'll end up a better defensive 3bman than Devers. That limits his upside on this team, since he's older than Devers. He'll likely be the starting 1Bman at the beginning of the season at least. I have honestly never been a big Bobby D fan, but he has potential to dream on even at his age.
  

Could help the team later in the year

• Jaren Duran You've probably heard of him at this point. Duran got a lot of hype at ATS for changing his swing and adding some power. Before that, he hit almost .400 in high-A ball in Salem. Duran brings a lot of speed to the table. He came into the system with a slap-happy put the ball in play and get on base with your speed kind of hitting philosophy. But he has always been tall and strong. So the idea here is that this guy who has great contact rates is not tapping into his raw power with his new swing and now he's getting comps to 2011 Ellsbury and prime Grady Sizemore. Obviously, that's a little bit too ahead of things here. He wasn't exactly age advanced in Salem in 2019 and he still struck out a lot. Now, hitting nearly .400 with a high BABIP is a good sign for prospects, but to me it's just as likely his swing change makes his hitting profile just a normal AAAA hitter rather than some untapped upside. I mean look at Benny after he added strength and changed his swing for more power, and Benny was a much, much more highly regarded prospect. The other issue is his defense. He played 2B in college so he's new to the outfield. He's very fast but that's about it. He still needs to improve his jumps and reads and his arm isn't great. Seeing as the Sox could use another outfielder right now, with pretty much only Verdugo out there that you don't have serious questions about, Duran certainly has a chance to break out in the big leagues this year if he plays well in Worcester. I feel like the preference would be to have Verdugo in center and Duran in RF, because the reads in RF are similar to the reads at second. Plus I think Verdugo should be a major league centerfielder, personally.
  
• Connor Seabold Seabold was one of the pitchers Bloom stole from the Phillies in that ridiculous trade where we sent Workman and Hembree for Seabold and Pivetta. Both scouts and analytics love Seabold, he's just never really been that highly regarded and he doesn't have stuff that blows you away. But he's always put up solid numbers and managed to find a way to miss bats, so who cares if he doesn't have great stuff? He has a sexy changeup and I'm a sucker for sexy changeups. Seabold provides depth to the starting rotation, something fans will appreciate considering the last few seasons. If he starts well in Worcester he could easily bump himself up the depth chart.
  
• Durbin Feltman I'm getting on the Durbin Feltman post-hype sleeper train. If you remember from a few years ago, Feltman was supposed to be a fast moving college reliever that could potentially help the MLB club quickly. That did not work out, as Feltman put up some terrible lines and could not control his pitches. Well, going into 2020 he was getting some buzz, talking about how he put too much pressure on himself to rise through the minors too quickly. Then 2020 was canceled. He still has 2 potential plus pitches in his fastball and slider, and that's all you really need as a reliever. He's still pretty young (he's 23). And the Red Sox need bullpen help. Who knows! Maybe he puts it together this year. Honestly, he should barely be on this list I just want to be on the hype train early if it ever leaves the station.
  

Probably want to give them one more year

• Jeter Downs The top prospect coming from the Dodgers in the Mookie trade (if you didn't consider Verdugo a prospect at the time). We haven't seen Downs play in a real game for the Sox yet. Downs is an athletic, all around middle infielder, probably a 2Bman if we're being realistic. Potential above average hitter, potential above average power, potential above average defense. He's put up solid numbers so far in his career and he's highly regarded by scouts. He also doesn't have any glaring ?s at the moment. However, he did not get great reviews at ATS last summer, and he isn't considered an elite prospect or anything. I think the Sox would prefer to go with Hernandez and Arroyo at 2nd base this year and evaluate Downs for the season instead of pushing him to the majors.
  
• Bryan Mata I'm a big Mata fan, I have been for a while. He has 4 or 5 MLB quality pitches right now. He's always been highly age advanced for his level, and he's always been able to put up solid numbers. Scouts have always been worried about the control, but the only season he had a serious issue was when his stuff started getting much better and he added a lot of velocity onto his fastball. Then he started to reign it in a little bit. I think the biggest thing holding him back in national rankings at the moment was that he was a very small bonus IFA sign. He should be on more radars. All non-elite pitching prospects have questions about their ability to be a starter. Mata is no different. But Mata has enough pitches and can miss bats, and he's always been able to perform against batters who are usually much older than him. I've been on this hype train. I think he could see MLB action this season, especially out of the bullpen, but I don't think he'll be forced into the majors considering he's still so young and he has so much upside.
  

Young guns still probably a few years away

• Tristan Casas Most rankings consider Downs or Casas to be the number 1 prospect in the Red Sox system. I personally think that 1b only prospects like Casas are disregarded too quickly. Lots of rankings take it for a given that you can find a plus hitting 1bman. But look at the Red Sox, since Youkilis, have they really had a quality starting 1bman? Now, there are legitimate reasons why 1b only prospects are valued lower, and if they weren't Casas would be a clear top 50 guy. He has an excellent mature approach at the plate, very similar to the previously mentioned Youkilis and Casas himself has said he tried to imitate Joey Votto. That's a great thing to see from a young player, because plate discipline is very much a tool. Casas also has elite raw power than he has been able to show off during games, including ATS this past summer. It's the hit tool of course that's the biggest question mark. Can he make enough contact to show off his discipline and power? Sometimes, it hasn't looked like an issue for him at all, while others he looks like Dalbec with the Ks out there. I love his profile, and I'm very excited for Casas. He should be in Portland this year. He definitely should get at least one full year there before considered at the MLB level, and he probably is a late 2022 ETA.
  
• Gilberto Jimenez Another extremely small bonus signing in the IFA market. Jimenez burst onto the scene, showing off legit 80 speed with batting averages in the .350 range even when he came stateside and was learning how to be a switch hitter for the first time. It was a bit empty, as he was very slap happy (similar to Duran) but it worked for him. Now he's gotten reports that he "looks like a linebacker" now and has only lost a little speed (which he can afford to do) and now drives the ball, tapping into some raw power. Now, he's still very raw, and he's far away from the bigs. He'll play in High A this year. National outlets won't give him too much props considering he was a small bonus signing and took advantage of his speed against poor low minors infielders so far, but he is definitely someone who could break out onto top 100 lists this season if he shows that his added power is for real.
  
• Nick Yorke Yorke is worth mentioning considering how much hate the pick got. Bloom and the rest of the FO raved about his hitting though, and he has gotten great reviews from everyone who has seen him. Scouts and national rankings don't like his 2b only profile, although as stated, I think positional penalties are overrated. I would just be very satisfied if Yorke ends up on a top 100 list, considering how much hate the pick got. He can hit, he can hit for power, and as long as his arm doesn't fall off he'll be a decent defender at 2nd.
  

Worth mentioning

• Aldo Ramirez - RHP (High A)
  
• Thad Ward - RHP (AA)
  
• Noah Song - RHP (TBD)
  
• Brainer Bonaci - SS/3B (High A)
  
• Jeison Rosario - CF (AA)
  

BASICS:
Born: February 3, 1994
Jersey Number: 73, then 12
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Position: 2B
Drafted: 2011 by the Rangers as an international free agent
MLB Debut: May 8, 2014 for the Rangers
Teams: Rangers (2011-present)
2020 STATS:
Games: 38
Batting Average: 0.167
OBP: 0.209
SLG: 0.413
OPS: 0.623
Runs: 15
Hits: 23
Doubles: 4
Triples: 0
Home Runs: 10
RBIs: 30
Stolen Bases: 0
CAREER STATS:
Games: 858
Batting Average: 0.237
OBP: 0.289
SLG: 0.439
OPS: 0.728
Runs: 429
Hits: 749
Doubles: 146
Triples: 26
Home Runs: 146
RBIs: 458
Stolen Bases: 62
CAREER AWARDS:
AL Player of the Week - 7/27/15, 9/4/16, 7/22/18, 8/5/18
Rangers Rookie of the Year - 2014
Rangers Hardest Working Man Award - 2015
MiLB All Star - 2013
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW:
He was on Team Venezuela in the 2017 WBC.
He led the AL in caught stealing in 2018 and strikeouts in 2019.
He played in all 162 games in 2017.
He likes to ride horses.
He has a daughter.
His brother, Rougned Jose Odor, is in the Rangers farm system.
He was a player in the 2009 World Youth Baseball Championship.
His uncle played for Cleveland and the Brewers and is the manager for Cleveland's AA team.
HIS BEST 2020 MOMENTS:
He got two homers, including a three-run homer, on the last day of the season
That wasn't his only three-run homer in 2020
There were actually three of those
He broke up a no hitter
OTHER GREAT MOMENTS:
He did well in the 2017 WBC
He got two home runs on opening day 2017
His first grand slam
WHY I LIKE HIM:
He seems to have a good sense of humor (some of his nicknames are Stink and Stinky) and he's shown potential.
PAST PLAYERS:
11/9: Mike Trout 11/10: Clayton Kershaw 11/11: Shane Bieber 11/12: Trevor Bauer 11/13: Freddie Freeman 11/14: Francisco Lindor 11/15: Jose Abreu 11/16: Kyle Lewis 11/17: Devin Williams 11/18: Randy Arozarena 11/19: Framber Valdéz 11/20: Rhys Hoskins 11/21: Kris Bryant 11/22: Willians Astudillo 11/23: Carlos Carrasco 11/24: Anthony Rizzo 11/25-11/27: Break 11/28: Mike Yastrzemski 11/29: Chris Taylor 11/30: Josh Naylor 12/1: Stephen Souza Jr 12/2: Joc Pederson 12/3: Hanser Alberto 12/4: Wil Myers 12/5: Christian Yelich 12/6: Nick Ahmed 12/7: Franmil Reyes 12/8: David Fletcher 12/9: Max Muncy 12/10: Mookie Betts 12/11: Brandon Nimmo 12/12: Chadwick Tromp 12/13: Corey Seager 12/14: James Karinchak 12/15: David Peralta 12/16: Sean Doolittle 12/17: Trey Mancini 12/18: Cody Bellinger 12/19: Nolan Arenado 12/20: Juan Soto 12/21: Aaron Civale 12/22: Rich Hill 12/23: Xander Bogaerts 12/24-12/26: Break 12/27: Jeff McNeil 12/28: Zach Plesac 12/29: Matt Chapman 12/30: Ke'Bryan Hayes 12/31-1/1: Break 1/2: Adam Wainwright 1/3: Joey Votto 1/4: Jordan Luplow 1/5: Alex Gordon 1/6: Miguel Cabrera 1/7: Jesús Aguilar 1/8: Joey Gallo 1/9: Vladimir Guerrero Jr 1/10: Aaron Judge 1/11: Oscar Mercado 1/12: Ronald Acuña Jr 1/13: Buster Posey 1/14: Stephen Strasburg 1/15: Joe Kelly 1/16: Seth Lugo 1/17: John Means 1/18: Adam Plutko 1/19: Anthony Santander 1/20: Mike Moustakas 1/21: Whit Merrifield 1/22: Walker Buehler 1/23: Josh Donaldson 1/24: Miguel Rojas 1/25: Triston McKenzie 1/26: Trevor Story 1/27: Matt Olson 1/28: Tim Anderson 1/29: Kiké Hernandez 1/30: Cole Tucker 1/31: Dexter Fowler 2/1: César Hernández 2/2: Andrew McCutchen 2/3: Kyle Seager

Catch up: Initial Setup, 2020 Season Report, 2021 Season Report, 2022 Season Report, 2023 Season Report, 2024 Season Report, 2025 Season Report
Let's take a look at the award winners from 2025 to wrap that year up and then get into the moves made and the season recap for 2026!

2025 Offseason News

League News:

• The NL RPotY is Javy Guerra of the Padres, while the Yankees' Trevor Gott wins in the AL.
• SS Luke Leto wins the AL RotY while 3B Pedro Martinez puts up 7.6 WAR and wins a SS on his way to NL RotY for the Cubs.
• Mackenzie Gore wins the NL CYA to no surprise following his unbelievable season. In the AL, Detroit's Kumar Rocker is named the AL Cy Young! Casey Mize and Matt Manning finished 2nd and 3rd.
• Vlad Guerrero Jr. wins his 2nd MVP (back to back) and in the NL, Juan Soto unseats Cody Bellinger to win his 1st MVP. Soto/Bellinger voting finishes 367/350.

Detroit Achievements:

• C Christian Vazquez wins his 2nd GG
• 2B Willi Castro wins his 1st SS
• RF Yaya Chentouf wins his 2nd SS
• Brett de Geus & Levi Kelly receives RPotY votes
• DET's Varitek wins 2nd MotY
• SP Kumar Rocker wins his 1st CYA
• Casey Mize finishes 2nd in CYA, Matt Manning finishes 3rd in CYA
• Yaya Chentouf finishes 3rd in MVP, Willi Castro finishes 5th in MVP
• Kumar Rocker, Ryan Mountcastle & Evan White receive MVP consideration

Offseason Transactions

Owner gave us a $12,000,000 budget increase.
League News:

• SP Freddy Peralta extends with Milwaukee for $151M/6
• SP Corbin Burns extends with Milwaukee for $109M/5
• SP Casey Mize signs with Boston for $275M/7
• RF Mookie Betts signs with New York (Mets) for $155M/5
• SS Fernando Tatis Jr. signs with Philadelphia for $409M/8
• LF Joey Gallo returns to Texas for $106M/6
• C Willson Contreras signs with Washington for $35M/2
• C Tomoya Mori, from NPB, signs with Portland for $116M/7
• SP Dylan Cease signs with Kansas City for $66M/7
• RP Edwin Diaz signs with Milwaukee for $17M/2
• SP Michel Baez signs with Washington for $91M/4
• RF Kyle Tucker signs with Portland for $151M/5
• SP Andrew Heaney signs with Washington for $91M/4
• 3B Eugenio Saurez signs with Atlanta for $71M/4
• SP Eduardo Rodriguez signs with Chicago (Cubs) for $68M/4
• SP Luke Weaver returns to Colorado for $78M/5
• SP Luis Patino signs with Portland for $254M/7
• SS Xander Bogaerts signs with Arizona for $53M/4
• RP Emmanuel Clase signs with Milwaukee for $18M/2
• SP Kyle Wright signs with Minnesota for $24M/2
• LF Eloy Jimenez signs with Chicago (Cubs) for $144M/5
• SP Max Fried signs with Houston for $70M/4
• SP Masahiro Tanaka signs with Atlanta for $35M/2
• 1B Ryan McMahon signs with Arizona for $35M/2
• SP Trevor Baeur signs with Boston for $52M/4
• SP Shoto Imanaga, from NPB, signs with Portland for 68M/5
• Albert Pujols (98.8) and Miguel Cabrera (96.7) are inducted to the HOF on their 1st ballot

Detroit Departures:

• RP Jorge Alcala
• SP/RP Sandy Alcantara
• SP Luke Weaver
• SP Casey Mize - I just couldn't afford him and had to let him head into free agency. If I can get him back for a reasonable cost, I will, but I'm not too hopeful. Boston signed him for 40M/yr over the next 7 years. There is no way this ends well for them (I hope, for my sake).

Detroit Trades:
Trade #1
Detroit receives: LF Nick Pena, RP Joe Clark, $1M
San Diego receives: RP Jack Little, RP Jonathan Bowlan
I move two RPs that weren't useful to me and take a chance on some prospects. Easy.
Trade #2
Detroit receives: LF Freddy Valdez, $10M
New York receives: RP Connor Jones, SP Ridge Chapman
Chapman is useless to me, was filler for my A- staff. Jones is a great reliever, but didn't perform like I wanted. Valdez I'm taking a flier on, looks like he can hit a little. The real prize is the cash. The Mets have 121M in budget space, so they're willing to part with it and I need it.
Trade #3
Detroit receives: RP Jared Johnson, $5.5M
Atlanta receives: CF Kyle Isbel, SP Daniele Di Monte
Di Monte I think is a career minor leaguer. Isbel might be great for Atlanta, but I've seen enough of him in Detroit. Johnson will go to AAA for me and the cash is needed greatly.
Trade #4
Detroit receives: 2B Connor Norby, $3M
Cincinnati receives: RP Gerson Moreno
Moreno just wasn't used enough in his specialist role and I don't see him going back to a larger role for me, so grabbing some cash and a potential power bat is nice enough for me.
Trade #5
Detroit receives: CF Christian Pache (ATL retains 60%)
Atlanta receives: LF Riley Greene, 3B Jordan Diaz, 2B Fernando Hernandez, C Joe Dunse
Dunse hasn't had it in my minors. Hernandez has a horrible personality profile. Diaz might end up being a really solid player for the Braves, but I have some options as backup infielders and a couple of targets that I might grab in the Rule 5 to replace his role, so he felt expendable. Greene is going to continue to be good, but my issue is that I have a plethora of good corner outfielders and I've never had a capable CF. Pache fixes that issue right away. He's a stellar defender and a capable bat. I couldn't be happier to bring him in.
Trade #6
Detroit receives: C Ali Sanchez (MIL retains 60%)
Milwaukee receives: CF Parker Meadows, SP Thomas Hart
Milwaukee made us an offer that was actually intriguing. Hart isn't an important piece for me and Meadows hasn't cut it in the majors and is fragile. Sanchez is a third catcher for Milwaukee, so I guess this is win-win. Sanchez will replace Romo as the backup/possible starter against lefties. I noticed that Vazquez's catcher ability slipped just a hair, so Sanchez is as good as both he and Romo - so the bat upgrade makes sense.
Trade #7
Detroit receives: SP Kerry Wright, RP Starlyn Castillo, SP Kevin Bruce, $3,000,000
Cincinnati receives: RP Kyle Dohy
Cincy was high on Dohy, who was a lockdown reliever for me not that long ago, but struggled in brief outings last season. He may return to form and be worth it, but I'll always take the chance on three prospects and cash for a nearly 30 year-old reliever.
Trade #8
Detroit receives: SS Bobby Leighton
El Paso receives: 1B Bryant Packard
Packard is a DH only on my team, and isn't good enough to crack our lineup. I think he'll hit well for someone else. Leighton hasn't exactly torn it up in the minors, but looks like a great defender, great runner and has an interesting hitting profile that needs some discipline but could work.
Detroit Additions:
SP Matt Manning - I extended Matt for $39M/3 years.
SP German Marquez - Marquez was considerably cheaper than the comparable talents in free agency due to missing some time with injury the last two seasons. My scout loves him though and I was willing to take the chance that he bounces back. It's a two-year deal for about 28M, but the 2nd year is a team option for us.
SS Rikelvin De Castro - He's only played in AA, but he looks like he could be serviceable at the plate already. More importantly, his defense is solid enough to play everywhere in the infield and be a much better utility player than Jordan Diaz was.
SS Izaac Pacheco - Another utility option, he's never played high minor league ball, but the bat looks like it could be there soon anyway. He's also a capable fielder, and I think he might make a great future Mountcastle replacement.

Spring Training

We have $5M available for the season, $12,000,000 for the draft and $5,500,000 for international amateurs. We're spending the maximum allowed on development.
2B Addison Barger visited the guru. He's probably not going to last.

Regular Season

First Half
They project we'll win 100 games and the division. I'd be fine with that. Into May we go 22-12, losing Genesis Cabrera for the season in the process. We have a two game lead on the Twins.
Into June we sit at 38-25, now 4 games ahead of the Twins and Indians. We allow the least runs, but our starter's ERA is 6th. Our bullpen is 1st and out staff as a whole leads in FIP, WAR and Strikeouts. We have a great hitting team, but we produce the 4th most runs. The staff is led by German Marquez and Jackson Phipps right now, with Rocker a close third. Offensively, Isaac Paredes and Hayes aren't hitting that well, nor is Pache but his defense has been solid.
We hit the all-star break at 45-29, still holding onto 1st place and playing pretty well, though it could be better.
Second Half
The team plays well throughout July and into August. We lead the division slightly. However, major news happens on August 9th. In an announcement that stuns Angels fans and Major League Baseball as a whole, Mike Trout, who tore a back muscle early in the season, has a setback that forces him to retire from professional baseball. At 35 and before the injury Trout was still one of the best players in the league, having been named a Silver Slugger in 2025. It's a huge loss for professional baseball and cuts short a Hall of Fame career.
On September 5th, we dropped a game to the Athletics while the Twins won a matchup that moved them into a tie for the division with us. The fight is now on. On September 13th, we clinch a playoff spot - so do the Twins. The Indians are still in the fight as well, holding the 2nd wild card spot over the Rangers/Rays/Red Sox/Yankees. We match up with Cleveland and take two from them, knocking them down a rung. We drop two to the Astros to find ourselves back in a tie on September 19th. We win the final game of the season but so do the Twins - so we're playing a game to decide the division!
We drop 5 on the Twins in the first and end up winning the game 6-3, taking the division for the second year in a row. The Twins and Rangers clinch Wild Card spots, meaning the Indians miss the playoffs! Everything is looking good.

Playoffs

The Twins take the Wild Card game, so they'll be our first opponent.
Division Series
The Twins were a very good team this year, leading the AL in runs scored, but their weakness was pitching, where they rank in the bottom 5 of the AL in most categories. Hopefully we can take advantage of that. Their staff is anchored by Charlie Barnes, Justus Sheffield and Kyle Wright. Royce Lewis is the clear star on offense, posting an 8.9 WAR with a .312 batting average, 34 homeruns and 117 RBI. Luis Arraez's .342 average led the AL.
Game 1 - Tigers defeat Twins, 7-4
We jumped on them early and often and Marquez led the way on the mound. Ryan Hagenow gave up some runs, we'll want to limit his appearances.
Game 2 - Tigers defeat Twins, 7-4
Deja vu? Rocker was solid through six and then the bullpen kept us in charge heading to the final. Yaya drove in a pair of runs and Morel brought home three.
Game 3 - Twins defeat Tigers, 5-4
A sweep would've been nice, but we just dropped this one in the 7th. We've got Manning scheduled for game four, so I'm feeling good about it.
Game 4 - Tigers defeat Twins, 6-5
Well, it was closer than I wanted and required extras, but a win is a win. Isaac Paredes' solo shot ends up being the deciding run. Manning wasn't good, but the bullpen was awesome, which we needed. We're moving on to face the Mariners.
Ryan Mountcastle was named series MVP.
League Championship Series
The Mariners have the 2nd best pitching staff and the 9th most runs scored in the AL. They're led by Dawson Merryman, Jose Corniell and Jake Andrey in the rotation, while Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez lead the way on offense.
Game 1 - Tigers defeat Mariners, 7-6
It's a close game that wasn't as close as it looked, as the bullpen gave up four runs in the 9th. Marquez was solid and Merryman wasn't.
Game 2 - Tigers defeat Mariners, 7-6
Deja vu again? This is weird, except this time we had to battle back and get four in the 8th. Willi Castro drove in three for us, Rocker wasn't the best and the bullpen was serviceable. This series is close.
Game 3 - Tigers defeat Mariners, 6-5
Wow this series is a nail-biter that looks like a blowout. We're up 3-0 and have won by a combined 3 runs. This one we take in extras with a Castro RBI. Phipps was bad, bullpen was good. I can live with that.
Game 4 - Mariners defeat Tigers, 8-0
Oof! The Mariners beat up Manning and Sirit in this one, with the catcher, Bailey, driving in four runs. Jack Leiter was lights out. We need to not let them take momentum.
Game 5 - Mariners defeat Tigers, 6-2
Marquez stayed in too long, giving up five. Kelenic got us, which was expected. Let's not let them come back...
Game 6 - Tigers defeat Mariners, 6-1
Rocker was awesome, closing it out for us. We got on Corniell and Gilbert and never looked back. We're going back to the World Series!
Yaya Chentouf was Series MVP.
World Series
The San Diego Padres eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series - again. The Padres were the 3rd best pitching staff and 7th most scoring offense in the NL. CJ Abrams put up 7.9 WAR for them this season. Gore gave them 6 WAR. The Padres lost Luis Patino and Fernando Tatis Jr. and still made the World Series. They're looking to repeat, I'm looking for my first. Let's go!
Game 1 - Padres defeat Tigers, 5-2
Gore is just too good, he shut us down. Marquez got chased early. We need to battle back.
Game 2 - Padres defeat Tigers, 3-2
We've gotta have these games. Phipps wasn't bad, Lawson was better, but we just couldn't get the offense going. We have to have runs.
Game 3 - Tigers defeat Padres, 2-1
Well, we didn't score much, but Rocker was awesome and Kelly slammed the door shut out of the pen. We need that if the offense is going to play like this.
Game 4 - Tigers defeat Padres, 5-2
Finally got some offense, all in one inning, which was enough to hold them off. It's a brand new series! Manning gave us what we needed and the bullpen was great once more. If we hand it to them with a lead I feel good about our odds.
Game 5 - Padres defeat Tigers, 8-2
What can we do? Mackenzie Gore is unstoppable on the mound and the Padres continue to blow up German Marquez who was one of the AL's best all season. This is what got us here and it isn't helping us now. We're on the ropes.
Game 6 - Padres defeat Tigers, 5-0
Well, this hurts once again. Shutout to go home. We survived an extra game this year, but the Padres really have our number. They're a damn good team and it shows. They jumped on Phipps and we never stood a chance.
Full Playoffs
Detroit Achievements

• RP Brett de Geus, 2B Willi Castro and RF Yaya Chentouf are named to the MLB All-Star Game
• SP Justin Powell, C Dale Burton and RF Ronnie Ruth are named to the Prospects All-Star Game
• RF Ronnie Ruth is the MVP of the Prospects All-Star Game
• SP German Marquez is named Pitcher of the Month for June
• RP Brett de Gues is named Pitcher of the Month for August
• SP Jackson Phipps is named Pitcher of the Month for September

Season Recap

Back to back division wins and World Series trips. Back to back World Series losses. It feels good to make it, but damn if it doesn't hurt to lose it. We need to get it done when it matters.

Hitters

Starting Lineup
C Christian Vazquez
Vazquez had a decent year once more, actually hitting a bit better for me again. While he's still a solid defensive option, his catcher ability fell off by 10 points this season and he'll be let go. We'll look for better defense, but Christian was awesome in that department for us for six seasons.
1B Ryan Mountcastle
Not only was it back down to Earth for Mountcastle, it was his worst season as a pro for us. The bat fell off to slightly below league average and as a first baseman his defense isn't going to save him. With an arbitration estimate of 9M, and my finances being in the hole, I believe it's the end of the road for Mountcastle.
2B Willi Castro
For the first time as GM of this team, Willi Castro didn't improve upon his previous season. It was a tough ask with his 8.2 WAR last year, but he was a solid player once again. He was above average at the plate by a good margin and played good enough defense. He has four more years on his deal and I'm still happy to be paying it as of right now.
3B Isaac Paredes
I thought that Paredes was on the up trend the last couple of seasons, but he didn't come back from the injury playing as he had been before it. He's not old, but he's approaching 30 and doesn't have a good personality set. With an arbitration estimate of over 10M, I might see what cheaper options are in play for his position as well.
SS Ke'Bryan Hayes
Hayes' BABIP dropped back down to more reasonable levels and with it went his WAR and production. He was an above average defender and gave us 2.6 WAR. His estimate in arbitration is nearly 9M so he may also be on the chopping block due to the financial situation. With all of my early players nearing 30, I'm hitting a time where I may be fielding a largely new team next season.
LF Evan White
My dude Evan White returned to reasonable BABIP levels as well, but was still a really great player for us. He put up over 4 WAR with solid defense (granted, at left field) and was good at the plate. We'll pay him about 6.5M next season, so he's still a great value. It remains to be seen if he will stay in LF or if he'll move back to 1B if Mountcastle isn't on the team.
CF Christian Pache
I actually failed my owner goal of upgrading at CF with Pache. I did not expect that. His hitting fell off quite a bit, which is manageable, but I didn't expect his defense to not be nearly as good either. I'm hopeful that it's just a result of being in a new place - we'll see if he bounces back next season.
RF Yaya Chentouf
While Castro's streak is over, Yaya continues his - improving his WAR once more. He was our best hitter, led the league in walks and was solid in right field once more. It was his best season at the plate yet. He finally enters arbitration and it's going to cost us - he's estimated at 13M, but I can't bear to let him depart just yet. He'll be far more expensive, but he's been the most cost efficient star in the league up until this point, so it's only fair.
Bench/Replacements
C Ali Sanchez
Sanchez was pretty decent at the plate and gave us serviceable defense as well. Like Vazquez, his defensive ability also dropped off some this season and I won't be giving him his arbitration estimate. I'll look at other options in the system and in free agency.
IF Izaac Pacheco
Pacheco was a great defensive first baseman in limited opportunities, which isn't that valuable, but when you also compare his hitting to Mountcastle's, he had a case as our better first baseman. He's much cheaper as well, so he may be in-line for the starting job next season. If not, he will learn some more positions and be even more of a utility fielder. The hit tool may develop further as well and I love that he's a captain.
IF Rikelvin de Castro
He only played about half a season's worth of games, but he was a +8 ZR at shortstop and held his own at the plate. That helped him get 2.1 WAR in limited appearances. He should be starting next season at one of the positions that I don't extend a starter at, I just don't know which one yet. He had a phenomenal development year.
3B Christopher Morel
Morel came up and was decidedly "okay" at 3B/DH in limited time. He was solid in AAA and earned the shot, even if it was highly BABIP driven. I'm not sure if he'll be sticking around longer or not, he may be a AAAA guy.
CF Jairo Pomares
Pomares has been a criminally underused 4th or 5th outfielder for us. He probably deserves more, but we haven't had the room and he isn't that great of a defender. The bat, in limited appearances, had been good though. He should feature more next season.
RF Luis Matos
I don't know what I have with Matos. It looks like I've got a solid hitter and yet he continues to not come through at the plate - but his BABIP has been wildly inconsistent. He doesn't mind being a bench player though and he's a better fielder than Pomares, so maybe he stays as a fourth outfielder - but I need the bat to perform like my scout thinks it should.
DH Joseph Kalafut
Kalafut was serviceable in limited time despite a super low .229 BABIP. I think he might be able to hit in the bigs, but he can't play anything besides DH. Lucky for him, I may need a DH, so he might finally get a real shot. He's hit at every level.

Pitchers

Rotation
SP German Marquez
Marquez stayed healthy after the long injury and was worth every penny. He was actually an improvement over Casey Mize (for about 1/4 the price Boston paid). He didn't really see any ratings dip this season and was my best starter - he'll likely contend for the Cy Young - so I think I'll execute his option year and run it back with him.
SP Kumar Rocker
Rocker was 0.1 WAR better than his Cy Young campaign from last season and was overshadowed on the team by Marquez. He was better this year than last, but was a bit more unlucky this season. He's still a key piece.
SP Matt Manning
He didn't replicate the 4.5 WAR season, but he got close and is now a third SP, so that's perfect for me. He was basically as good as he was last season, threw one less game and led the league in wins. His contract is still friendly for us.
SP Jackson Phipps
Phipps was much better in his second shot in our rotation and kept the spot all year, putting up 3.2 WAR and being a more than serviceable fourth starter. He's cheap and will return.
SP Ryan Hagenow
Hagenow was incredibly unlucky, posting a 4.63 FIP and 93 FIP- but a 86 ERA+ with his 5.76 ERA. He ended up moving to the bullpen later in the season due to this, but was a 1.5 WAR player as a 5th SP and reliever. He'll get another shot next season.
Bullpen
RP Justin Dunn
Dunn is who replaced Hagenow in the rotation and he was serviceable as well. He was better in the bullpen than he was in the rotation, but he was better in the rotation that Hagenow in limited appearances. He's still cheap and still a solid arm, so he'll be back as a 5th/6th starter or LR.
RP Brett de Geus
Brett led the league in appearances again, wasn't nearly as productive as last year, but was still an awesome reliever. He put up 1.3 WAR and was reliable most of the time he was out there. He's due to make about 2M, but I think he's worth it.
RP Levi Kelly
Kelly, like Brett, wasn't quite as good but was still great. He gave us 2 WAR and led the league in holds. He was solid and will return.
RP Isaiah Magwood
I needed more arms with some injuries and Magwood wanted to be up. He deserved to be, giving us nearly 2 WAR as a rookie and being a relied upon arm. He'll be back.
RP Rolando Sirit
Sirit was another above-average reliever for us and is cheap. He'll return. There is a possibility he competes for that 5th rotation spot.
RP Bryant Salgado
Salgado was called up for a bit and was solid in 16 appearances, he'll likely get more looks next season.
RP Ricky Tibbett
Ricky was average in his limited call-up, but was great in AAA. He'll probably get more chances soon.
RP Stephen Gonsalves
Gonsalves came up at the end of the year and got very limited looks. He's a 32 year-old that is fragile and has been in AAA since 2019. He might get some more looks next year, because he's been good in the minors but I've just never had room for him.
RP Kerry Wright
Wright came up and was bad, but was solid in AAA. He might get more chances next season.
RP Austin Bergner
Bergner's FIP- is decent, FIP leaves some to be desired and in 26 appearances didn't produce much WAR. He got sent down and might be back and forth all of his career.
RP Michael Bienlien
Short note: he was bad and went back to AAA.
RP Antoine Jean
Was serviceable in short appearances, could see looks next year.

Prospect Watch

SP Justin Powell - I didn't like the offers I had for him, so I decided to wait a year. He's the 2nd ranked prospect and dominated A-. He'll go up to at least A+, if not right to AA. Don't get me wrong, the Fragile injury proneness and low work ethic scare the heck out of me, but he continues to be so damn good. I'll try moving him again this next season.
RF Ronnie Ruth - Ronnie Ruth is starting to be pretty exciting. He looks like he could hit in the majors right now. He'll go to AA next year, but he may not even need AAA, who knows. He can't field at all, and he also doesn't have the best personality profile, but he looks like he will be able to tear the cover off of the ball. He'll probably just slot in at left field for me in the long run.
SP Zach Stephens - Last year's 1st round pick was good again and will go up again. He's got four pitches and if the changeup comes along that's even better. I hope he pans out and is a solid starter for us down the line.
2B Connor Norby - He looks like he can hit some longballs. He had a terrible BABIP and was still a positive hitter in AAA. He's another one that can't field, but might fight for some DH time.
3B Alex Santa Cruz - It looks like I somehow missed moving him up this season, which is unfortunate, but he killed it and will move up now. He looks like a solid IFA signing.
CF Petey Halpin - He was rough in super limited major league time, but killed AAA. He deserves a shot somehow.
RP Mel Rodrigues - Mel is probably in the bullpen for the Tigers next year, he was awesome in AA.
LF Cole Wagner - I gave up on the two-way dream, but Wagner looks like a decent hitter.

Future Outlook

We're getting another slight budget bump, but our salaries are trending upward. I think we're going to be moving on from a lot of familiar faces this season, but giving a lot of our youth some bigger chances. It should be an interesting transition in the team's history and I hope it pans out.

Today's player of the day was requested by u/LucasDudacris. Feel free to send me any requests!
BASICS:
Born: March 27, 1993
Jersey Number: 9
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Position: Outfield
Drafted: 2011 by the Mets, Round 1, Pick 13
MLB Debut: June 26, 2016 for the Mets
Teams: Mets (2011-present)
Twitter: You_Found_Nimmo
Instagram: bnimmo24
2020 STATS:
Games: 55
Batting Average: 0.280
OBP: 0.404
SLG: 0.484
OPS: 0.888
Runs: 33
Hits: 52
Doubles: 8
Triples: 3
Home Runs: 8
RBIs: 18
Stolen Bases: 1
CAREER STATS:
Games: 365
Batting Average: 0.258
OBP: 0.390
SLG: 0.448
OPS: 0.838
Runs: 182
Hits: 276
Doubles: 59
Triples: 13
Home Runs: 39
RBIs: 121
Stolen Bases: 15
CAREER AWARDS:
Mets Heart and Hustle Award - 2018
Futures Game - 2013, 2015
MiLB All Star - 2014, 2016
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW:
He played baseball for Post 6 in high school because his high school didn't have a baseball team.
He was 4th in the NL for triples in 2020.
He was Santa at the Mets' Christmas party in the past.
His brother was an outfielder for University of Nebraska.
Before getting drafted, he planned to play baseball at University of Arkansas.
He was the first ever first round draft pick from Wyoming, and only the 16th MLB player from Wyoming ever.
Growing up, he wanted to be a bullrider.
HIS BEST 2020 MOMENTS:
He got a game-tying two run triple
This was a good catch
He had a 34 game streak of reaching base
Here it looked like he almost got the ball off the wall
OTHER GREAT MOMENTS:
He had a five for five game in 2018
It was unlikely he'd make this catch - but he did
WHY I LIKE HIM:
This year was a great year for him and I hope it continues! He seems like a cool guy too.
PAST PLAYERS:
11/9: Mike Trout 11/10: Clayton Kershaw 11/11: Shane Bieber 11/12: Trevor Bauer 11/13: Freddie Freeman 11/14: Francisco Lindor 11/15: Jose Abreu 11/16: Kyle Lewis 11/17: Devin Williams 11/18: Randy Arozarena 11/19: Framber Valdéz 11/20: Rhys Hoskins 11/21: Kris Bryant 11/22: Willians Astudillo 11/23: Carlos Carrasco 11/24: Anthony Rizzo 11/25-11/27: Break 11/28: Mike Yastrzemski 11/29: Chris Taylor 11/30: Josh Naylor 12/1: Stephen Souza Jr 12/2: Joc Pederson 12/3: Hanser Alberto 12/4: Wil Myers 12/5: Christian Yelich 12/6: Nick Ahmed 12/7: Franmil Reyes 12/8: David Fletcher 12/9: Max Muncy 12/10: Mookie Betts

Recently nmom cut up my favorite comforter. In short form, the story almost has the effect of, "Oh haha, guess what wacky thing she did this time. My favorite blanket is just an unfortunate but otherwise insignificant casualty." But that isn't at all how I feel.
She had all my stuff in her house but wouldn't let me in since February due to her fears of Covid. My husband and I have strictly quarantined since lockdown, but no dice.
Recently husband has been really wanting to move out of the area and the comforter was the one thing I really wanted to retrieve to bring with us. Not even my brand-new and yet-unused wedding dress, just that comforter.
So imagine my dismay that before I even get a chance to ask to retrieve it, my mother announces proudly to me that she had already found it... and cut it into small pieces for my baby.
"What..?! I need that blanket to sleep under once we move and was just about to ask you for it. Please sew it back to the way it was. Besides, babies can't use comforters, it's a suffocation hazard."
She refuses and tries to pivot. "It's already cut to pieces! And I've carefully hand-stitched it back up so it's much much thicker. You'll love it, just try it. You can use it too."
"THE ENTIRE POINT OF THAT COMFORTER is that it is light and thin!! It is a SUMMER comforter. And did you not hear me JUST say that it is a suffocation hazard for an infant..?? Also how the heck can I use it myself if it is baby sized..?!"
Now she REALLY tries to pivot.
"It's not even your blanket, it's one of mine."
"But you've never owned anything like that.“ I remembered back to when I first got it. I had spotted it in my cousin’s house and became childishly fixated on it. It had been a gift to her, but she very kindly regifted to me after noticing how much I seemed to like it. At the time, my mother chided me for accepting it, saying something along the lines of it being a worthless product because of how thin it was, and how she could easily get me something much better. But I didn’t want something “better”. I wanted that exact product and was thrilled to be holding it in my hands. “You wouldn't have bought a thin blanket like that. This has to be the one my cousin gave me, " I said.
"No, it's mine, it had my cover on it."
"Right, you GAVE me the cover for it because you said you had extra when I moved out. You insisted. What else would it have had on it?! I'm not gonna use it without a cover."
"Well it's definitely not yours, yours is somewhere else. I'll find it for you. Even if it were yours, it was all ratty and damaged from years of use. There were holes where the filling didn't cover. And it was tiny to begin with, not an adult-sized blanket."
At this point I start to doubt myself. My comforter was brand new when I got it, still vacuum-sealed, and I remember being shocked that the manufacturers had managed to fit an entire full size comforter into such a small box. It should still be in perfect condition as it had been stored for years. I take extremely good care of my belongings. I had used it for two years, but only in the summer, so only for about 3-4 months total. Since I only ever washed the cover, the filling definitely was never bunched up nor did it have holes. It was clean, no stains, no sweat, no smells. No one else had used it. Maybe she really was talking about a different comforter..? But from her initial description, it had to be mine.
I guess I'd just have to see.
She stops by and shoves a bag of her mis-sized "hand-sewn baby comforters" in my hands. I immediately recognize the logo of my long loved comforter peeking through the cover she had sewn to it.
She is driving away, not giving me a chance to put a mask on, or clothes, or shoes. It is wet and freezing cold, at night time. I am in a t-shirt and shorts, since I was just in bed nursing the baby.
I frantically grab the comforter and wave it from the doorway, hoping to signal her to stop so I can put clothes on. She stops, sees me.. and continues driving away.
So I run outside, barefoot. Half naked.
"What are you doing back outside..?" That's right, she hadn't given me a chance to put on a sweatshirt for the initial handoff either.
"This is my blanket! I'm freezing and you didn't even give me time to get my mask or sweatshirt on." My teeth are chattering.
She ignores the first part. "You could've just stayed inside."
"I ran back out because this is mine. Please fix it."
"Well, I can't. I've already spent hours sewing this for the baby. This is better anyway, you'll see. So just enjoy it as-is."
And drives away, leaving me holding up the chopped up comforter.
I can't bear to look at it. There's some other random stuff in the bag. I carefully shove it back in the bag and stick it all in the garage.
That was on my baby's hundredth day and she had insisted on shopping in-store so she could hand deliver a "gift". She initially asked me if I needed anything. We sorely needed a warm sleepsack so I sent her a link to one that was beautiful and on sale earlier in the day. She scoffed and said it was way too expensive (it was a little under $50), that we didn't need it and then chewed me out for not helping her online shop sooner on TJ Maxx. She had previously texted me a blurry photo of some impractical novelty outfit she found on their website for $16. She had wanted me to order it for her in time. But she sent that text only 2 days prior, and I had no idea it was somehow connected to her request that I find her a gift to buy. The photo had cut off the url so I also had no idea what store it was. Even if I had known, TJ Maxx also doesn't allow product search so I would've needed the direct link. Also the minimum order for free shipping is like $90 or else you pay a hefty shipping charge, with no guarantee of it arriving in time. It was an online-only product but she had gone into the store to search for it. But she had hand picked it, therefore it was the best, and now, thanks to me, our baby wouldn't be receiving the fruits of her efforts.
I had found some beautiful but inexpensive little rompers earlier that day that we loved and was planning to buy myself, but had held off because she had wanted to get something. So I sent her the link to those. It said online-only so reluctantly, she agreed to order them through the store website, but for whatever reason she still needed to gift an item THAT day so back in the store she went, saying that she bet they had the rompers there too (they didn't). I explained to her that the store also had same-day pick-up which is much safer due to Covid, and she could just check what was in-stock online but she told me I was wrong and the store is safe and she had to leave right then to get it in time.
I was really confused. In time for what? I wasn't celebrating our baby's 100th day and neither was anyone else. I had a friend whose family had held a huge gathering for her baby’s 100th day, pre-covid. I admittedly had felt a twinge of envy, seeing her beautiful photos from that day, knowing that I would never have anything like that, a loving, warm celebration with family and friends gathered. And, of course, I didn’t have anything like that, no calls or well-wishes from my family. My dad hadn't even spoken to me since way before the baby was born. And while my sister was apparently making us a cake the day of (at nmom’s suggestion) she usually made it a point to ignore my texts. (She had made a tart previously for our baby’s one month that I couldn’t eat because I was allergic to the main ingredient on it.) My mom, who delivered the cake, kept ranting about how kind my sister must be that she had so very generously decorated the cake with “the good strawberries” that were supposed to have been for my sister and not me. There were maybe about 7 or 8 strawberries on top of the cake, cut in half. The way she kept going on about it made it seem like she couldn’t stand that my sister would give me the “good” strawberries, whatever that’s supposed to mean. (They weren’t particularly tasty, but that’s probably just because the season has passed. When I had gotten actually good strawberries in my grocery deliveries over the summer, I always offered them most of them, but nmom always rejected the offer, saying my strawberries had Covid from being delivered.)
Maybe the 100th day meant something more to my mom..? I wasn't sure why she was fussing over it so much. As the sun went down, I frantically went outside to take some family photos, to a much chagrined husband and baby (it was freezing) in order to commemorate the day, thinking that that would make my mother happy. The next morning, as I reviewed the roll, I saw that there were several serviceable shots. Excitedly, I called, offering to email them over. But she didn't want them, didn't even want to see them.
What she did want was to know how much I liked the gifts she had haphazardly stuffed in a used shopping bag and shoved in my hands the night before. After all, she had toiled for so long in order to create our baby a "beautiful hand-made quilt". Did I like it..? Did baby try any of the items yet? After all, she had made a herculean effort to get it to us "in time", so it was quite rude of me to just leave it laying in the garage.
I hadn't looked at the contents of the bag. It was too painful to examine my cut up comforter.
"Don't be ridiculous. Turns out, I found your comforter. It's right here. I'll get it to you next time. See? I told you, the one I sewed you is mine. Enjoy it. Now go check the gift and tell me if you like it."
...Was I mistaken..? Did I run outside last night hysterically, barefoot, for no reason..? I tentatively retrieve the bag from the garage, carefully avoiding looking at the comforter stuffed on top.
Stuffed in a clear plastic grocery bag are three pajamas. Two sizes two big.
"You... went into the store for these..?"
"Don't you like them..? You SAID you needed pajamas. If you don't like them, I'll have to go back in to return them so tell me ASAP."
Yes, return them. They're way too big. Baby pajamas have to be tight or they're a safety hazard. By the time these fit it will be summer again. But I can't send her back into a store during Covid, she is in her 60s and terrified of catching it.
"They're nice.. so big.. " I say awkwardly. I'm mostly relieved she found my comforter.
"She'll grow into them," she replied, unconcerned.
The next time she leaves me things to pick up from her house, my comforter is conspicuously missing.
I try to ask her for it on the phone, wondering whether she kept it inside because of rain. She deflects, saying she'll bring it by next time or something.
I am suspicious. She finally acknowledges it was a different one that she found. It is also mine. But much larger and thicker, brand new, unused. "Wouldn't you like that instead..??"
Uh.. no...? I need something thin, light, and packable. So where is it..?
She doesn't have it.
Because she gave it to me. It's the one she cut up and shoved in the bag. The logo that I recognized.
"Fine, you can just open it up and see for yourself."
I have to tear apart the tiny stitches she made to sew the cover shut, and then rip the seam that attached the cover to the blanket. Here is half the blanket, carefully hand-stitched back together. The other half is frankensteined to itself, hand-stitched tightly on an outer edge while the inside is gaping, filling spilling out. I rip the covers off to inspect the damage.
I can't fix it. She sliced it straight through the center, even after ripping her stitches out this would take hours to hand sew back together and it would never again be in remotely the same condition. It is otherwise perfect, clean, smooth, and fluffy, just as I remember it. Even if I had the tools, I don't have the time, not while breastfeeding a demanding infant.
My husband finds me standing in the living room, staring at the pieces in my hands, in tears.
What I hated the most was how I was the one forced to destroy her hours of loving handiwork, all because she refused to take it back and fix it herself, because she refused to just explain to me what she did and lied about it being a simple and easy fix to put it back together. But of course she wasn't willing to fix it, saying it wouldn't be fair to her to be reversing the hours of hard work she had put in. Nevermind that I can neither use this nor take it with me as-is.
She was furious with me for "overreacting" and "hurting her so much over a simple mistake". After all, she mistakenly believed it was her own comforter. How could I be so hurtful to her over her innocent error? Over something as small as a blanket? She is devastated that I would be so cruel to "crucify her over her act of love", that I would destroy her hours and hours of dedication and labor. "I pricked my fingers so many times! How could I have known, going through your suitcase, that it would all go down so badly like this..?"
Seriously..? You're calling it a case of mistaken identity, but the fact that it was apparently inside MY suitcase didn't give you a clue..? Oh, right, because it was in your house, wearing your cover, it's obviously yours. Nevermind the fact that you told me it was mine in the first place, before you changed your mind and claimed it was yours once it became obvious that I was not pleased. A text asking me if it was mine would have sufficed. But why should she have to ask? Her house, so everything in it belongs to her, just as it has always been.
She had not given me any modicum of control over the situation at any point. Yet somehow it got turned into me being the one "choosing" to behave monstrously.
She did not once acknowledge my feelings. "Fine, sorry already, what do you want from me..!? Don't do this to me, I have to go to work. Unlike some people."
I didn't want an apology, heartfelt or hollow.
I wanted the destruction to be undone.
Not of the blanket.
Of my mind.
Of my spirit.
But once something is cut apart it can never be restored fully to its whole, original state.
I had a visual reminder of this last night as I frantically tried to run it through the sewing machine so its guts weren't spilling everywhere. I closed it up somewhat successfully, but it looked terrible. When it came time to rejoin the two pieces, I realized I was not any closer to regaining my blanket back, as the sewing machine I borrowed could not stitch through the batting.
As I was concentrating on the sewing, I ignored the cries of my hungry infant, screaming to be fed.
I had to do this. I had to fix it. If it could be restored, then maybe so could I.
And yet I was nowhere closer to restoring it than if I had done nothing at all.
I was devastated.
I was broken.
It sounds silly and melodramatic, and maybe people without nparents will never understand.
It isn't about the blanket.
Of course, that part is disappointing too. But I can handle that.
It's everything else.
The complete disregard for my feelings. The lack of empathy. The lack of respect for my belongings. The prioritization of her saintly image. The clear message that her choices were a foregone conclusion, that my view did not matter, would never matter, and therefore there was no need to ever communicate with me. The complete theft of control over my own life. The constantly making me out to be the villain, the terror, the monster. The self-victimization; after all, no one made her do it. Other than for her own hurt feelings, no genuine remorse. The lies. The gaslighting. How her gifts centered around her self image, rather than our actual needs. The expectation for me to be grateful and appreciative. The expectation that I should endanger my own child just to satisfy her ego.
But worst of all is the invisible psychic damage I must continue to live with. The incompetent, hysterical, traumatized, easily fixated, anxious mind I now have. The one that leaves me unable to react appropriately, catatonic and unable to interface with the rest of the world over what should have otherwise been the slightest bump in the road. The way I cannot regulate my emotions well enough to act my age. My tendency to hoard and cling to items to derive comfort, making it exponentially harder to move. My compulsive avoidance of the unknown. That in that moment of mental anguish, I would neglect my own child.
For all those things, I am devastated beyond repair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyTWPWojuQA
I'll post updates here, I might not be able to get every little detail but I'll do my best!
Dick Monfort:

• Everyone is limited to one follow-up question, already off to a great start.
  
• "Closure to something that's been going on for over a year"
  
• "Numbers reported in media aren't complete story"
  

Thomas Harding: "Where are you guys right now?"
Bridich: "This is not a total teardown and rebuild. If that were the case, certain players would have already been traded."
Harding: "Where does Trevor Story show up in the thought of improving the club vs. holding on, and can the decision be now or at the deadline?"
Bridich: "His situation is separate from Nolan's situation. Can't answer that question directly. Difficult to predict how this is going to look for Trevor, in the near future and other players. Will start the season."
Patrick Saunders: "Is this primarily a financial consideration as Dick mentioned or was it more that you had the sense that Nolan didn't want to be a Rockie?"
Dick: "A year ago, we tried to find out whether there was a fit for Nolan quietly and it got out. We shut it down because there wasn't anything that there wasn't a fit. If it were my choice, I'd want Nolan Arenado, but he wanted to move on. The fact remains that he felt that it was time for him to try something else out. What else can you do besides wait, opt-out/draft choice, or talk to other teams for a better deal."
Saunders: "Nolan has told us his side of the story with his comments to the media. Bridich, you haven't responded. Would you like to respond?"
Bridich: "I've known Nolan & his family for over a decade from Tulsa to big-leaguer. When you, in this chair, recommend signing him to a quarter of a billion dollar contract, you don't sign it unless you believe in that player and the future of the org. Over time, relationships change, this isn't an easy industry to be in. People get frustrated, feelings change. At the base of all this, this relationship was a strong belief in Nolan ever since I got to know him. We wish him nothing but the best, he'll do great at STL."
Nick Groke: "You signed him to an 8 year deal, and then 9 months later he's asking for a trade. What was the instigating fact for him to want to leave, and what kicked you into agreeing to it?"
Dick: "I have anguished for many sleepless nights wondering why that happened. It seemed mutual. I have speculated why that happened. Bad year in '19 after playoff years in '17 and '18. If I were Nolan, I would have felt like I didn't get enough love for people who decide MVPs etc. In our conversations he never just said what it was. I just felt it out. Why do it now? We had two choices: wait until the end of the year and let him opt-out, and that probably would've been the popular decision and I could cleanse my hands of it, but the results would be the same. We tried to get the greatest return possible. Talked to many teams. There were 10 times over the last 2 weeks where I thought the STL deal didn't make sense."
Groke: "Did he tell you that he would definitely opt-out at the end of the year?"
Dick: "He told us he wanted to be traded so yes that was our assumption."
Pat Graham: "How hard was it to do this deal and get the criticism?"
Jeff Bridich: "It's part of the job in a public organization. It's for the fans, not a private venture. I think in interviews I try to stay off of social media as much as possible, but it's just part of the job."
Graham: "The backlash from fans, how do you handle that and what's your message to them?"
Dick: "I actually see some of it, not on purpose, but I see it. I mentioned I'm a fan. I understand how they feel. To be honest, I would probably feel the same way and maybe I do feel the same way. We tried to keep Nolan for rest of his career but things do change. Nobody will believe this but I believe this is a very talented team that underperformed, the last few years. I believe we're shorter talent than we were a year ago but we've got a lot of guys where it's time to cut bait, a lot of guys will rise up to the challenge. These days come and these things happen in time. The organization has to step up. We're gonna face issues with our fans and we'll deal with it. Hopefully we'll start playing well in time and the fans will understand."
Mark @ Denver Post: "Dick, you mentioned Covid-19, this had an obvious financial impact. You have the Square at the ballpark. How did this influence this and other projects, and do you feel you won't own this team forever?"
Dick: "You'd like that, wouldn't you? yes, yes I would McGregor Square is a separate entity, they pay rent to the Rockies and that's used to update the stadium. I'm an investor in that, but they're their own operation. Difficult financial times. The decision to do this trade with Nolan, there were some financial ramifications going forward but we were dealing with this before the pandemic. Nolan's desire to move on didn't change. We just continued what we started a year ago."
Mark: "You've clearly stated that quarter billion $ is more money than we can comprehend. Do you think Nolan would still be a Rockie if you had a better personal relationship with him and if you had done a better job of building a winning team in the last couple years?"
Bridich: "You're asking me to speak for Nolan directly."
Mark: "I'm asking you to speak for yourself."
Bridich: "I don't want to speak for a player regarding how they feel about the team or us or anybody else. The relationship wasn't always peaches and cream. Could I have done a better job in certain areas? You betcha. I can always do a better job in certain areas of my job in this org, I don't think I'm blind to that. But I can't sit here and speak for how Nolan feels right now. I've never gotten in a public conversation with a player and I try to keep those things private."
Mark: "He was clearly upset and you two were with losing 90 games, what responsibility do you take for that?"
Bridich: "I take a ton of responsibility. '15 and '16 are building towards playoff teams, '17 and '18 some of those were realized, expected that we'd take steps towards more playoff success in '19. '20 caused a lot of complications but every team in sports was dealing with that. We started real well and then struggled. Want to change that but it hasn't always been struggle all the time."
Michael Spencer CBS4: "Have you guys talked to Charlie or Trevor, what has their reaction been?"
Bridich: "We've talked, not since the trade, but talked over time. Haven't spoken since trade."
Spencer: "Things haven't worked out in the past (DJ), what gives you confidence that this team and people in charge are the right people for the job?"
Dick: "In hindsight, we should have tried to keep DJ. We wish we could redo that. The confidence in me is that over the last 20 years, one of our goals was always to grow enough pitchers to compete. We've done it internally. We had a lot of quality starts. if Oberg wasn't hurt we would have had a good bullpen. Bridich has done a good job of getting pitchers. We've never had a pitching core and in our minor leagues we have more guys coming, so that's a real positive. If anything, where we were hurting in past two years is offensively, some of it might go back to DJ. We have a lot of kids we've developed and believe in. If we offensively can get to where we should be, we'll have a good year. I understand Nolan thing doesn't help our offense, but we have the nook-i-lus of players.
Mark H mlb.com: "When you look ahead at FA, do you worry about how FA will look at this situation - signing big deal and then leaving so soon?"
Bridich: "That's where conversations come in, conversation with agents and players. If there's any true interest, you try to explain the vision and reality and the organization, but that's an individual thing that we take seriously."
Blazer Baseball America: "What ultimately pushed you to do this deal?"
Bridich: "STL has good players, the lack of MiLB this past year has caused issues. Blame pandemic. When you go back and look at some of these guys and their history and the way we evaluated them as amateurs, there are a lot of positives. Austin Gomber has good experience, he will add a lot in whatever role. For minor leaguers, Montero, strong corner bat and power, 22 years old. Mateo Gil, Tony Locey, Jake Sommers, limited experience because of 2020. Felt good about going back to their amateur days, strong potential."
Blazer: "Was there one player in particular who pushed it over the line?" Bridich: "No"
Sean Denver Post: "Jeff, there have been published and unpublished anon reports of former players questioning the culture and commitment to winning especially financially, can you address this? Players want to go somewhere else to win"
Bridich: "Difficult to directly address anon reports. This is an org that has recently been to playoffs. Strive for WS. It is a challenge that lots of teams face. Making it a reality year after year is complicated."
Sean: "Dick, what would you say/what have you said to fans that are pouring their hearts out to show you care?"
Dick: "The fact is, we put out our highest contract to Nolan, that's an indication that we care and we felt we were close enough that this was not a guy we wanted to use. If we hadn't done that in '19, he would have been FA. We've committed to other players in the past. We tryyyyy. We're not gonna ever get out there and go after Gerrit Cole & other FA because we're a mid-market team and can't take that risk, have to sign the next level down. We can't make up for Nolan not being here other than trusting our young players. Tulo leaving was another tough day and fortunately Story came in the next year and played incredible. We just have to keep bringing gifted players and hold on to them."
Tracy Ringolsby -> Bridich answer: "Other players stepped up after former veterans left. Infield playing time. Story good example, we didn't know he was going to shoot out of the gate like he did. Now other kids have to step up."
Mark from The Athletic: "Team hasn't won division. You've misread talent last few years. You lavished a giant expense on someone that didn't stay. Is there any way to see that as anything other than an organizational failure? It's a real problem."
Bridich: "If we're looking to pass blame, you can blame me. The word human is an important one. There are relationships that last for ever but we're humans in a business where nothing lasts forever. Nolan's desire to move was something we honored. If you want to blame anyone, blame me."
Mark: "Is this a one-off thing with a relationship gone sour or is this an indication of your leadership and how you treat people? This club hasn't won a division, team wasn't of a certain talent level."
Bridich: "Don't know how to call it a one-off but I do take great responsibility in trying to make sure we are as competitive as we can be. Every decision that comes in every season, you take risks at times and certain things don't always work out. Gotta take best risk we can."
Ed Henderson KOA: "We all know that there's a significant number of FA, is it possible that some of the $ relief from this could have you consider looking at other FA?"
Bridich: "There are certainly a lot of agents that have checked in since the news broke. There will be discussions I'm sure, especially with spring training coming up. We'll see where it goes."
Henderson: "Have Cardinals' medicals been completed? Will Gomber be in rotation or bullpen?"
Bridich: "Medicals are clear. We'll get to know Austin as best and quickly as we can. He's gonna prepare himself as a starter coming in. Lots of conversation and relationship building. We'll take time to evaluate."
Jacob Tobey 9news: "Jeff, do you see one of the 5 in this package with potential or hoping for the grouping to shine?"
Bridich: "Gomber has already been in the majors and established himself, the other guys we feel like have legitimate chance to impact at MLB, but they're just young players with interrupted development and lack of experience because of 2020. We feel good about them hitting the majors with us at some point."
Drew Creasman: "You mentioned DJ, Dick elaborate on your role on making baseball decisions and if you've evolved at all over last couple years."
Dick: "i'M a FaN, I hate getting rid of players. I go to every game and I try not to get involved in decision process. Nolan deal was a little different because it was a large contract. Had to figure out $ details with Jeff."
Woody Paige, Gazette: "Based on the performance of your GM couple of years prior, did you consider whether or not he should be fired, given the fact that your pitcher deals, your minor league system is considered by all media to be one of the worse, and his relationship with Nolan and other players, did you consider firing him and why didn't you, and why didn't you fire yourself? No GM has ever been brought from outside the Rockies. You're the owner. OH YES
Dick: "Answer to all those are no. Other players we got were never top 100. I try not to listen to stories about our minor league team. If I can, I'll disagree with some of those comments. I have not thought about firing Jeff, but have thought about firing myself but not Jeff."
Vic Lombardi: "We knew of trade but when we heard of all the money going to Cards, can you explain why we didn't just keep Nolan and save that money?"
Dick: "If we kept him, we'd have paid Nolan $35m and gotten one draft pick this year. What we ended up doing was deferring money, paid money over time, and were able to pick up 5 players."
end of conference

Result: RR win by 5 wickets (1 ball left)
MOTM: Lord Tewetia for 0/35 with the ball and 45*(28) with the bat
Hyderabad innings:
Pandey 54(44)
Warner 48(38)
Archer 1/25
Tyagi 1/29
​
Rajastan innings
Tewetia 45*(28)
Parag 42*(26)
Rashid Khan 2/25
Khaleel 2/37
Interviews (couteousy ESPN Cricinfo)
Warner (Sunrisers captain): "Couldn't get across the line there but it happens in cricket. [Holding Rashid back] We've done it in the past, we've held him back and tr and nullify some runs, but these two played exceptionally well. Tonight we probably - we didn't mis-execute, but some of the decisions at the top of the mark weren't there. And we probably bowled the wrong ball at the time. Lots of positives coming out and we'll take it on to the next game. We need to work out as these wickets get tired, how to bat through the first 6 and the middle, and then assess with our bowling. [Middle-overs batting] Yeah I've got some power there! But I'm obviously cooked in the middle. Look obviously Samad's one of those guys. We thought bringing in Vijay today, playing in the middle and with long boundaries we thought that Vijay would probably give a bit more with the ball. "
Smith (Royals captain): " I thought Rahul and Riyan as a young kid showed great composure. Stokesy obviously didn't come off tonight. Or top four didn't fire, but today showed our depth. With Stokesy back it brings a nice balance to us. He's been impressive, hasn't he? Just thrives in pressure situations. You bring in his bowling and fielding to it and he's a terrific player for us. I don't think it was the easiest wicket and the square boundaries are quite big too. So great composure from Parag. Proud that he could come back in and score some runs straight up."
Tewetia (Man of the match): " This was the role given to me and it was clear from a long time. I was batting well for a while and I was confident and was hitting them well when we played practice games. So it's easy when you know your role. The wickets were falling so I just wanted to hold one end up and wait for the boundary balls. I knew if I keep my self-belief and take it deep, I could pull it off. I told Riyan that the wicket was playing slow and the deeper we take it, the better our chances, even if we needed 50 off the last 4 because we have the shots. Riyan asked me what to do - I told him to respect the good balls and take singles, and I could take on the attack. Against Rashid I saw the opportunity to play the reverse sweep and took it. [The Khaleel incident] No big deal, we just got taken away in the heat of the moment. "
Well, what a cracker of a game. I have nothing much to say apart from: All hail Tewetia!

I hope everyone had a safe, happy and healthy Thanksgiving! Today's player of the day was requested by u/Oilsathewheel...
Mike Yastrzemski!
BASICS:
Born: August 23, 1990
Jersey Number: 5
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Position: Outfield
Drafted: 2013 by the Orioles, Round 14, Pick 429
Teams: Orioles (2013-2019), Giants (2019-present)
MLB Debut: May 25, 2019
TwitteInstagram: mikeyaz18
2020 STATS:
Games: 54
Batting Average: 0.297
OBP: 0.400
SLG: 0.568
OPS: 0.968
Runs: 39
Hits: 57
Doubles: 14
Triples: 4
Home Runs: 10
RBIs: 35
Stolen Bases: 2
CAREER STATS:
Games: 161
Batting Average: 0.281
OBP: 0.357
SLG: 0.535
OPS: 0.892
Runs: 103
Hits: 158
Doubles: 36
Triples: 7
Home Runs: 31
RBIs: 90
Stolen Bases: 4
2020 AWARDS:
Giants' Willie Mac Award
CAREER AWARDS:
MiLB All Star - 2014, 2018
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW:
He led the NL in triples in 2020.
He played baseball at Vanderbilt with Tyler Beede, Dansby Swanson, Walker Buehler, Tony Kemp, Bryan Reynolds and Sonny Gray.
His grandfather, Carl, is in the baseball Hall of Fame and has been described as "the greatest living Red Sox player." Carl is a former AL MVP and 18-time all star.
His dad played in the minor leagues.
He likes hockey, golf, hunting and biking.
HIS BEST 2020 MOMENTS:
The August 18 game was a good one for him
He got a home run on his birthday
This was a good catch
He got a triple that became a three-run homer
OTHER GREAT MOMENTS:
His grandfather got to see him play last year. Carl threw first pitch to Mike at Fenway.
He broke up a no hitter last year
WHY I LIKE HIM:
He had a great year this year and it should be good to see what else he can do! I think it's cool that he's a bit of a late bloomer and that he's the third generation in his family to play pro baseball.
Feel free to send me any requests you might have for future players to feature!

Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and opted to bat
​
SRH - 142/4 (20 overs)
Warner 36(30), Pandey 51(38), Cummins 1-19, Russell 1-16
KKR - 145/3 (18 overs)
Gill 70 (62), Morgan 42(29), Rashid 1-25, Natarajan 1-27
KKR won by 7 wickets
​
Shubman Gill, Man of the Match: I think the ball wasn't spinning much and was easy to hit down the ground. I have practiced power hitting in the last couple of years. I think it was important for us to win. We bowled really and we had to back it up with a good performance. There weren't any long conversations with Morgan. We were just trying to anticipate what the bowlers can try and do. As an opener it is my duty to see my team through.
Dinesh Karthik | Winning captain: Always good to get on board. We have been working really hard. I think one of the advantages of having all-rounders and it is a privilege to use them whenever I can. The fact that we have been able to groom the youngsters is pleasing. It feels good to see the youngsters doing well. I want Gill to enjoy his journey in cricket. One duck doesn't make you a bad player. I need to probably up my game and get a few runs.
Eoin Morgan - Nice feeling to get a win under our belt. It's a long tournament, but obviously this win helps us get some momentum and confidence going. We were a bit rusty in our last game against MI, but we won this match with our bowlers, they did a great job restricting a very strong Sunrisers batting line-up. Wickets of Bairstow and Warner at the top put us in a good position. They put them on the back-foot and we knew we didn't have to put ourselves under pressure in the chase. I didn't have to tell him a great deal to be honest, he's beautiful to watch on the eye, good bat swing, very languid style, magnificent to watch, he's good kid, very hungry to learn and I would love to bat with him once again. I think he deserves all the success (when asked about Shubman Gill). The pitches have been a bit different, you can't be fixated by one pitch, but with the nature of the heat, it should change considerably as the tournament wears on. You should take each game as it comes and try to adapt, stick to your game plan and hopefully it works.
David Warner | Losing captain: I think I got my decision right. For us, our strength is death bowling. I thought it was actually a difficult wicket to accelerate on. The Kolkata boys showed us that if you can keep wickets at the end, that's what wins you games. I don't regret what I did at the beginning of the game and I stick by my decision. Patty Cummins, as he does, (bowled) Test match line and length. There was a little bit of movement here and there. All in all, it got harder through the middle. We went four or five overs for 20 and coming back with three wickets in hand at the end probably killed us a little bit there. An extra 30 or 40 runs would have been great. We have to try and go harder at the top. Can't help if the bowlers are bowling good lines and lengths. We need to push as hard as we can. You can see from our running between the wickets, we do do that. But, we got to improve our boundary percentage. I saw, I think 35 dot balls, which not acceptable in T20 cricket on a wicket that was actually nice to bat on. We just mis-executed in the middle. Not sure (when asked about Manish Pandey's injury), hopefully, bit of a cramp.

I don't know if you've seen this excellent modern retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories - each episode is the length of a feature-length movie (is that the right way to say that??) - but I decided to rewatch the very first episode, "A Study In Pink" (here but all the text is backwards).
For background, for this incarnation of the classic literary character, Dr. John Watson is a medical doctor recently returned from active combat duty with a raging case of PTSD. In his sparse room, we see that he's set up a blog but has yet to write anything in it. In his therapy session, his therapist strongly encourages him to blog:

Therapist: John. You're a soldier. And it's going to take you a while to (re)adjust to civilian life. And writing a blog about everything that happens to you will honestly help you.
Watson: Nothing happens to me.

Now back to us. Many of us were good soldiers of Soka, noble Bodhisattva-of-dee-Erf warriors for peace, putting our lives on the line for kosen-rufu, devoting ourselves mind, body, soul, and life to the noble cause of Soka.
Now we're out. A great many of us come out with our own cases of raging PTSD, particularly the "(mis)fortune babies" who had the dubious "honor" of being born and raised in the Ikeda cult.
But, as Dr. Watson realizes, writing about oneself - ONLINE! - can be a daunting task. How many of us, upon exiting the Society for Glorifying Ikeda, even had the vocabulary to describe our experiences??
SGI members, especially SGI leaders, will condemn and ridicule us just for having left. They will not tolerate our discussion of our experiences, our feelings, our reactions, our processing of what happened to us in the Ikeda cult. We'll get no understanding, no empathy, no compassion, and definitely no help THERE!

Of course I have always been opposed to SGI Whistleblowers, what they try to do, and the ways they try to do it. Little they do surprises me. Source

Without even knowing us, he knows everything that needs to be known about us, because his CULT has told him everything he needs to know. That's how culties roll. Take a look.
And, per that low-level SGI leader's comments, little that comes out of SGI cult members surprises me, either. So here we are. WHERE is my motivation for interacting with them when the effort is guaranteed to be worthless? They keep wondering why we won't participate in their discussions, exhibiting an impressive degree of cluelessness.
While not a few people feel intimidated by the prospect of 1) setting up an independent blog, and 2) putting their innermost thoughts and feelings out there for anybody to see and perhaps 3) find the prospect completely daunting, there's something about an established group who are going through and have gone through the same thing who are open to new people and welcoming that makes this process of "discarding the transient and revealing the true" easier. We have heard several times from people who tell us they "lurked" (read) our site sometimes for years before making an initial post. Some argue that reading other people's experiences" is inferior to *exploring your own, and I don't deny that's true, but reading others' similar experiences has the benefit of providing people with vocabulary, putting words to concepts and contexts, so that they can have an easier time expressing what they experienced.
That's what we provide here - a supportive and welcoming community of ex-SGIers who have first-hand experience with SGI (some of us for decades!) AND who have had the benefit of seeing SGI from the other side, having realized it's a huge steaming mess that we could no longer be a part of in good conscience, and who speak freely about what we experienced and observed and thought about our time associated with SGI. We speak the language; we've done our time.
SGI members and SGI leaders reveal the cultish nature of their belief system when they issue blanket condemnations and judgment toward us, without providing any evidence to back up their verdicts:

Baltimore is derailing the conversation by changing the subject. Some call it whataboutism. They can't really defend the putrid behavior of that sub so changing the subject is all they have.

Actually, we stay on topic here. That's what we're here for; that's what we do.

Please edit or remove this comment. No personal attacks are permitted here. I am very sorry you have been attacked and that we moderators haven't been proactive enough. But that does not give you the right to engage in the same type of behavior. Source

Ooh, real tuffguy talk. And apparently "personal attacks" are just FINE if they're BY SGI members and directed at FORMER SGI members.

I waited a week to see whether you eould edit your comment so it respects our guideline about no cursing. You haven't done so and you are no longer welcome on this sub. Banned. Source

"No cursing", eh? Apparently, "cursing" is FINE when it's an SGI member doing it:

Holy fucking shit, these fucks are toxic trolls SGI member Gary

No warning, no threat for THAT post. However, THIS post got threatened as follows:

You are welcome to participate in our sub as long as you adhere to our guidelines. No f-bombs here or other curse words, please. You can either edit the questionable word out or I will remove your comment. Source

HERE is the "offending" post:

Boring fuckin general meeting. Same every cult year. Source

Notice that isn't even a personal attack against anyone on the site, whereas "one of their own" described specific persons as "fucks"!
RANK hypocrisy.
Clearly, "the rules" only apply to us "outsiders" (not the tribalist "themselves") and "the rules" exist for them to use to beat us over the head with whenever it suits them. And hypocrisy is of no concern, because they're superior to us, which means "the rules" don't apply to THEM.
Oh, they talk about lofty, noble-sounding concepts, but it soon becomes obvious they have a twisted, self-serving view of these:

Yes! And I find that when I feel this indomitable sense of self, I can be more generous, more empathetic, more understanding, of others. https://www.reddit.com/SGIWhistleblowersMITA/comments/irh69j/burning_with_an_invincible_spirit/

Funny how these fine characteristics manifest themselves through the SGI membeleader's behavior. Didn't Nichiren say, "The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behavior as a human being” Source?
I know - hilarious, right?? The authoritarians and authoritarian followers who gravitate toward SGI and stick around only want the power and status to vent their frustration and cruelty on powerless others. The pecking order

How good, how moral are you, compared to other people? (You get to say what is “good” and “moral.”) As I mentioned in chapter 1, if you’re an average human being, you’ll think you’re a better than average human being. Almost everybody thinks she’s more moral than most. But high RWA (right-wing authoritarians)s typically think they’re way, way better. They are the Holy Ones. They are the Chosen. They are the Righteous. They somehow got a three-for-one special on self-righteousness. And self-righteousness appears to release authoritarian aggression more than anything else.

What you need to keep in mind is that "right-wing authoritarian followers" doesn't necessarily track with "conservative politics", though it's easy enough to find in that happy hunting ground. Someone's "fit" into that "right-wing authoritarian followers" category depends on how they evaluate specific questions about statements on a survey (at the download below), such as:

• The established authorities generally turn out to be right about things, while the radicals and protestors are usually just “loud mouths” showing off their ignorance.
• It is always better to trust the judgment of the proper authorities in government and religion than to listen to the noisy rabble-rousers in our society who are trying to create doubt in people’s minds
• The only way our country can get through the crisis ahead is to get back to our traditional values, put some tough leaders in power, and silence the troublemakers spreading bad ideas.

Here is a statement from a Nichiren follower:

"I'm not sure what you base your conclusions about what a "Buddhist attitude" ought to be is based on. Buddhism is tolerant, but it is not accepting of wrong views. Wrong views cause suffering. By eliminating wrong views, we bring about happiness."
"There are some ideas that are just bad and even harmful. If we disagree on that, that is the end of the discussion. Clearly, I do not think that restraining bad and harmful ideas is a bad thing."
"If I could protect impressionable people from hateful ideas, I would."
"Does that make me a fascist in your book?"
"I well understand the ideals embodied in contemporary theories about free speech. I'm not convinced that free speech as a value in and of itself is a categorical good. Some speech is harmful. Some ideas cause pain and suffering. Some more directly than others. Bad ideas ought not spread." Source

See what I'm talking about? Of course these types will couch their toxic, hateful views in the nicest, most responsible verbiage they can imagine. That doesn't change what it is.

Chronically frightened authoritarian followers, looking for someone to attack because fighting is one of the things people do when they are afraid, are particularly likely to do so when they can find a moral justification for their hostility. Despite all the things in scriptures about loving others, forgiving others, leaving punishment to God [or "karma"], and so on, authoritarian followers feel empowered to isolate and segregate, to humiliate, to persecute, to beat, and to kill in the middle of the night, because in their heads they can almost hear the loudspeakers announcing, “Now batting for God’s team, his designated hitter, (their name).” from the download-for-free book, "The Authoritarians", by Bob Altmeyer, available here

Or, in SGI-speak, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth who have come to save the day, who "feel ROYAL" basking in the praise-filled institutional love-bombing of the cult that will use that to exploit them:

Just made me feel ROYAL! Source

And isn't someone "royal" inherently BETTER than everybody ELSE? The elite of the elite?

Believe me, nothing that you say gets beyond the epidermis of my skin. But who are you to understand what I do or do not do in my brain? Who are you to judge me? You know absolutely nothing about me or what I have been through in my life. Source

Yeah, you're not going to get very far, dialogue-wise, with THAT kind of attitude! Telling people how irrelevant you think their perspectives are is NOT the way to build "heart-to-heart connections" - just sayin'...

I'm just saying the Guest shows us the way. We may not always listen -- but we should at least try, don't you think?
I think the guest contributed to "the orchid room" by listening. Despite his initial antipathy, he listened without preparing his next point in his mind, without repeating prepared statements, without adhering to dogma over reality. Dialogue is impossible without listening. [Source](ttps://www.reddit.com/SGIWhistleblowersMITA/comments/i8zm0a/on_establishing_chapter_two_the_orchid_room/)

It is clear that this person believes it's other people who owe him that "listening" stuff:

Unfortunately you’re the one known for keeping people out who don’t agree with you. You’re reputation precedes you and makes it tough to spend time attempting a discussion since you getting upset and on the attack is quite predictable. Source
If that’s the case: Sorry, Ms. Fromage. If that’s not the case - you really need to remove your malignant post. Source

The "malignant post" that was on our own site - completely separate from these low-level SGI leaders' site; they had to actively go over there to even see it. But THEY claim the right to dictate how we run OUR site, as you can see.

But I see. You guys can come over here, tell us how many comments, and what kind of comments, we should allow, inform us that we should NOT "correct" Whistleblowers, and otherwise generally try to moderate our sub (as Gary has pointed out) -- but if we ASK for a week of mutual civility in our criticisms of each other - and ask here, on our sub, not there on yours --we're invading your house to dictate the tone. Got it. Source

But...but...isn't that just what HE tried to do?? Dictate my tone (by "asking for" [demanding] "a week of mutual civility") and "generally try to moderate our sub" for us by "instructing" me to remove my post on OUR site? What else can that "you really need to remove your malignant post" command mean??

I don't come into your house and do your dishes. If you want to set the tone of the conversation over here, that's your decision. It isn't fare to insist we maintain a certain tone that isn't offensive to you over on WB. Stay in your lane. Source

Exactly. They're alla time demanding that everyone ELSE "stay in your lane", but they routinely overstep and overreach and that suddenly means we're the bad people.

Both MITA Maids and WBers should help by putting forth visions about how to approach this crisis. Source

Why do these low-level SGI leaders think they have any right to assign us tasks?? Dictate what we "should" do"? Why should they think that ASKING us to do something somehow OBLIGATES us to OBEY?? Despite their conviction to the contrary, they are NOT the boss of us.

You are personally attacking me right now and that is unacceptable. You even deny me the permission to have my own well-founded beliefs.

Geh - the lack of self-awareness. It's staggering.

Please don't post here until you can be civil. You may, of course, continue to post on Whistleblowers. Source

BREATHTAKING hubris. That wasn't even on that poster's site. It was supposed to be a neutral site for dialogue, except she and her SGI pals refused to officially participate. Notice that didn't stop her from trying to throw her weight around. Where's her crown??

You may be of the opinion that I did not respond to the substance of this post, but I feel I did. What is the appropriate way to respond to this? This post and almost all of the posts that Jessica makes are nothing but an appeal to pathos. As such, the defense against criticism is built in. "I am upset about this thing, you think differently about this thing, that upsets me more." It is a positive feedback loop, you either agree with the hypothesis that WB is mean spirited and vile, or you end up reinforcing the opinion that WB is mean spirited and vile.
Who is the audience for this post? It's very structure does not welcome discussion. It assigns a judgement upon WB that is nothing more than one person's opinion that disregards the majority of WB's words and actions and instead focuses exclusively upon a very narrow slice of the activity within WB and assumes that all WB persons and activity of are exemplified by this cherry picked example.
MITA never makes posts about people struggling with falling out of SGI, their personal dilemmas, or feelings of loneliness and confusion. Those posts display kindness and sensitivity among the members of WB that do not conform to the stereotype of WB you have chosen. MITA never addresses the abuses or trauma that SGI inflicts upon human beings that are discussed on WB beyond the patronizing statement of 'I feel sorry you experienced that, I will chant for you'. No, we do not want your chants, we do not want your pity, we want your actions to change the bloody system that enables the abuses to occur.
This post and many others like it is an insincere attempt to garner sympathy and solidarity among the in-group of those who agree with it and to dehumanize those who disagree with it as universally detestable people. WB rarely responds to these types of posts because it is pointless to do so. There is nothing to be gained from attempting explain a differing point of view when you have already made up your mind that SGI is the best thing ever and anybody who disagrees with that opinion is a monster because SGI is obviously the best thing ever.
Always can tell when you hit a nerve with a troll when they make two comments with one being a long diatribe of nonsense. You can old Baltimore here was shook.

...wut?

Thank you so much for informing me about my own thoughts and opinions. If it weren't for your guidance in this realm, I wouldn't ever know for certain what I believe or what my intentions are.

& etc.:

Your comment is being removed for violation of a rule of the sub. The Rules are posted on the right side of the page. No personal attacks. Source

...yet clearly "personal attacks" are just FINE so long as they're directed toward "outsiders" (EX-SGI members) - as above and below:

Garyp714altaccount is a fake account. I believe the owner of the account has used it to discredit a valued contributor to this sub. I simply cannot imagine why the owner of this account feels he or she is doing anything worthwhile.
The account is permanently banned.
Valued contributor? I saw very little difference in quality of comments between garyp and garypalt.
You are a valued contributor here. So is he Source

Notice how that "response" didn't even address the question? Also, notice that the person being described as also "a valued contributor" has ROUTINELY posted content that violated their subreddit's rules - that others were punished for:

Holy fucking shit, these fucks are toxic trolls SGI member Gary

That one didn't warrant the slightest "correction" of any kind, yet THIS one merited a threat - because it was by a NON-SGI member:

You are welcome to participate in our sub as long as you adhere to our guidelines. No f-bombs here or other curse words, please. You can either edit the questionable word out or I will remove your comment. Source

SGI is clearly a hypocrite factory.

Please edit your comment. You can make the same point without using the "S" word. Thank you. Source

So prudish. So prissy. Barf.
And so hypocritical:

I can't imagine what goes through your head to make you believe I give a darn about your half baked, anti-SGI opinion. Save it for someone that hasn't been shit on by you and your group of cult members. Source
Way to defend shit behavior. Well done. Source

NO COMMENT on those usages of "the 'S' word" because it was a fellow SGI member dropping the SHIT bomb.

...research reveals that authoritarian followers drive through life under the influence of impaired thinking a lot more than most people do, exhibiting sloppy reasoning, highly compartmentalized beliefs, double standards, hypocrisy, self-blindness, a profound ethnocentrism, and--to top it all off--a ferocious dogmatism that makes it unlikely anyone could ever change their minds with evidence or logic. These seven deadly shortfalls of authoritarian thinking eminently qualify them to follow a would- be dictator. As Hitler is reported to have said,“What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.”

One of the main factors that soured those from our commentariat from participating on those low-level SGI leaders' copycat troll site they set up to ridicule, condemn, and sneer at ours was the fact that the interactions over there were so pointless. Over and over, the SGI-influenced would twist very clear general statements into personal attacks; put their own words into the non-SGI participants' mouths (despite repeatedly being asked to STOP DOING THAT); refused to provide documentation - even just a link to what they were criticizing! - and delete others' comments without compunction and without any transparency. It quickly became obvious that interacting with them was nothing more than a waste of our time (at best).

So you're just going to delete everything that I said because....why? Source

Just as SGIWhistleblowers is not the place for SGI "Troo Boodists", so their site is not the place for SGIWhistleblowers or any sort of actual "dialogue". Though SGI talks ad nauseum about "dialogue" and how wunnerful and ESSENTIAL it is, they won't do that. They don't dare. To successfully engage in actual dialogue, the participants must always be open to being influenced by the other and willing to change their perspectives. But that's not how SGI promotes "dialogue":

...dialogue means standing up to resolutely assert our fundamental beliefs and convictions as leaders of the SGI. It does not mean compromising those fundamental beliefs and convictions. Any claim that these fundamental beliefs and convictions are wrong should be challenged through confident dialogue. SGI national leader

That's NOT "dialogue". That's "dogmatic assertion" or "lecturing".

Please keep your drivel on your side of the hedges. Just don't come here anymore. SGI member

Yay dialogue, I guess O_O

Religious people who think we need more open dialogue and discussion about faith among the general public often change their minds when they find out that it’s called “faith” because it can’t really do that. Real nonbelievers in real life don’t do and say what we’re supposed to do and say. They get crushed. And then they retire back to their faith communities sniffing and sniveling about why can’t they just be left alone like they want? Source

LOOK AT IT.

PAY ATTENTION.
You know how the saying goes, "When people show you who they are, believe them the FIRST time?" (Maya Angelou?)
THAT's what we have here. Our "good friends" over at the SGIWhistleblowersMITA (real creative, luzers) site are SHOWING us the reality of SGI's "vision" for "world peace".
And it is HIDEOUS.
Remember.