I'm not here to diminish the knowledge of our manage in relation to the game of baseball, but here to point of some observations.  We drafted Niemann several years back and its taken him some time to arrive into the majors with any consistency.  His velocity is not where it needs to be in comparison to his college days of 97 mph FB and 86-88mph slider.  I understand pitchers hit a prime in speed and break on the curveball-slider etc..but I'm seeing things with these two guys that are way off.  Niemann was consistent on Saturday with 89 mph FB's and 75-78 slider or curves one reached as low as 73.  I'll now throw in Kaz, first came up with us throwing 95 with a hard slider and dominating hitters...Ok, you can say that the coach advises them accordingly in relation to remaining in the league, arm delivery and future and so on...yada yada.  On to the hitters, many complain of the days off and resting guys that most teams wouldn't normally sit down.  Why does the 2b need a break or the SS (outside of Barty being hurt) he's been very solid all year.  Navarro is not included, he's showing some very scary characteristics in catching or blocking the ball and hot/cold hitting fluctuation trends.  Someone needs to sit him down and have a "LONG" talk about work ethic and staying on the team. He's got some talent to be in the league for a long time.  Simply put..... We're more concerned now about the future of the players than winning baseball games and its causing inconsistency in the development of our young players.  Yes, we want to have them around for a long time but we need to win and in horse racing its turning the horse loose and that goes for the manager, pitchers, and position players.  When we're dominating teams as we should consistently based on our talents alone, then start to rest those players.   Sometimes we put more faith in the curvatures of graphs than we do in the individual wearing the cleats.

I think Joyce would be a good option to start the season in CF with his tools.  No offense to Gabe Gross, but I want Joyce in RF when B.J. returns.  Gabe G is a solid fielder with a great arm and seems to be a good teammate, but I like Joyce's  AB's more than I like Gabe's and Joyce can have the same fielding impact with playing time.  I know people like the Gabe rotation but I think in our league and division, the bat has to life and not crazy sporadic life. Yes, Gabe was clutch in a few games last year, but I just wasn't impressed with the consistency. My vote goes to Joyce in CF now and when BJ returns, with more playing time we could have a threat in RF with Joyce. Only an opinion....

Although I'm sick of hearing about this with the team winning, ironically, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times has come up with the answer to B.J.'s initials.

Last week's ranking in parentheses

What are the possibilities of obtaining Huff through a waiver deal if Baltimore cuts him loose?  I think he would fit in here being that he's been here before and at the start of this season he wanted out of Baltimore.  I'm just throwing some things around because I'm really concerned about this Ruggiano thing. I know his numbers are impressive in AAA, but how much can you really read into that at this point?