Apparently Nat's Superstar Juan Soto Is Afraid of Not Making Their Opening Day Roster
This quote isn't too big of a deal at all, but at the same time it really irked me. Like... Soto could go 0-fer spring training and he'd be penciled into left field and the top half of the lineup on opening day. I know that, you know that, Dave Martinez and Mike Rizzo know that, and Juan Soto himself knows that.
I hate when people are so "humble" that they're actually cocky as fuck. That's exactly what we have here with Juan Soto. Oh really Juan? Your goal is to make the team a year after slashing .282/.401/.548/.949 with 34 dingers in your age 20 season? Fuck outta my face. There's being a cock sucker and there's being a cocker sucker, and we have a classic case of Juan Soto being a cock sucker here. The bad kind, not the good kind. In baseball, the good kind is the kind that other teams despise playing against the moment he's between the white lines, the bad kind is the kind that is annoying in the media, a bad clubhouse presence and shit like that.
And I have just decided whilst writing this weblog that I will now be doing baseball news and notes this year, and that's because I didn't have anything else left to say on Soto's annoying comment. Notice I said "baseball" and not "MLB". I said "baseball" because there is a ton of talent in the college ranks this season, starting with two players: Spencer Torkelson of ASU and Kumar Rocker of Vandy. Their seasons started this weekend, and they both got off to stupid starts:
Torkelson:
Dude drilled 2 dingers, including one that went 429 feet and 111 off the bat. His swing draws comps to Mike Trout. Dude fucking rakes and is could very well be the first pick in June's draft. Mark his name down now because he's going to be a perennial all star in The Show.
And then we got Kumar Rocker:
Kid's only a sophomore, though he was previously selected by Colorado out of HS. Once he's draft eligible, he'll cruise to a top 5-10 selection assuming he stays healthy. He's best known for his 19 strikeout no hitter against Duke in the super regionals last year:
That breaking pitch is lethal and his fastball an easy mid to upper 90s. I don't see a ton of effort in his delivery so I'm of the opinion he could eventually be a 200+ IP workhorse and there aren't many pitchers of that ilk anymore. Kid's electric.
And moving on to MLB, we have more Astros players running their fucking mouths this morning, this time Carlos Correa:
Dude.... shut the fuck up. You looked like a total dickhead in your interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic over the weekend and this doesn't help either. The sign stealing scandal is baseball's biggest storyline going into the season. There's no avoiding it. It's going to weigh on the conscience of you and your teammates all goddamn year. Cody Bellinger called them out last week, and Kris Bryant did this weekend too:
They're speaking for all of us when they say they embarrassed baseball. Fucking scumbag cheaters. Kris Bryant nailed every single word that came out of his mouth right here. But Kris Bryant speaking on the issue is one thing. Today the unanimous, inarguable best player in baseball also spoke on the subject:
Trout is kinda boring off the field which is whatever, so for him to chime in here is a big deal. He doesn't pipe up unless he feels really convicted in what he says.
I cannot wait to see how the Astros perform this season. To Correa's defense, yes, they almost did win it all again in 2019. But nobody on the planet would be shocked if Luhnow and his minions cheated their way to that pennant too. Every fanbase on the planet is going to try to mentally dismantle them this year. I have had about a half dozen people ask me to set up a tailgate for the White Sox vs. Astros series in August so we can shit on them for 9 straight innings via boos and chants.
Oh, and other teams are gonna be head hunting. Even Vegas knows it:
It's gotta be Bregman though, right? Dude's an uber douche. The MLBPA and Manfred are going to protect Astros' hitters like crazy but there will be intentional drillings. It's all but guaranteed. Everyone on earth is pissed off at them.
Nevertheless: it's going to be a fun fucking season, especially in Chicago with both teams ready to win at all costs, depending on whom one asks. The White Sox have a Transformer ready to take the CF reigns for them, too:
Steamer, PECOTA, and just about every other protection system loves Robert and oddly enough, your's truly is the only one not extremely bullish on him. I think he's going to struggle a bit from the jump, but once he figures out how to lay off breaking shit out/off the plate the kid is going to be a super star. Like... one of the best players in baseball type super stars. That's a promise from me to you.
38 days until opening day. See ya'll there.