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THE FIRST TRADE THAT I SAID I WON’T REVIEW:

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WOOD traded Dominic Smith, NYM 1B to BBS
BBS traded Antonio Senzatela, Col SP to WOOD

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POLL RESULTS:  Did people actually vote on this thing? TURNS OUT THEY DID. 3-3 which is the proper way to vote here, we all lost for it happening.

AGAIN……I will not review this travesty.

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THE SECOND TRADE THAT I WILL ACTUALLY REVIEW:

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RRF traded Matt Kemp, Atl RF to rmac
RRF traded Yu Darvish, Tex SP to rmac
rmac traded George Springer, Hou RF to RRF
rmac traded Yasiel Puig, LAD RF to RRF
rmac traded Rafael Devers, Bos 3B to RRF

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POLL RESULTS:  5-4 Say RRF “Won” The Trade

MY VOTE:  Went to the Toms River Titans

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Let’s go back to what works here……

THE RENEGADE FORCE RETURN:

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RF/CF George Springer – 27.66 year old RF for the Astros, and a HELLUVA young player. .318 OBP, 7 2Bs, 9 HRs, 28 Rs, 24 RBIs in 158 ABs thus far this season. 29 HRs last season with a .359 OBP, has really been maximizing HR output given his low fly ball rate. Pulling the ball just about 50% of the time this season, which might further maximize HR output but can also lead to him rolling over more grounders hence a lower OBP. NITPICKING here though, he is an excellent OF with eligibility at 2 spots and will likely continue to be excellent for the forseeable future.

RF Yasiel Puig – 26.4 year old HEADACHE/RF for the Dodgers, about 3 years removed from his last standout season. .320 OBP, 4 2Bs, 8 HRs, 21 Rs, 24 RBIs, 5 SBs across 149 ABs thus far in 2017. The steals and HRs uptick has to be considered encouraging, as Puig ended up with 11 HRs and 5 SBs in 334 ABs last season. Not a bad buy low candidate but also not a sure thing to be any better than some of the pieces already present amongst the Renegade Force (Aaron Hicks, Aaron Altherr, some other Aaron). There’s a reason the Cuban Missiles turned their back on the face of their franchise folks.

3B Rafael Devers – 20.5 year old Dominican prospect 3B in the Sawks system, their best non-Benintendi prospect according to Baseball America and everyone else (#18 overall BA, #14 MLB.com, #13 BP). Already has 7 dingers in 128 ABs in his first taste of AA this season. “Elite bat speed” as I hear it, and raw power that should play even when he is forced to transition to first base. As I also hear it. The comp I kept seeing due to the nature of the swing is Robinson Cano (RUDE). Soooo….. Major League Comparison:  Robinson Cano ASSUMING HE PUTS IT ALL TOGETHER WHICH IS ALWAYS A BIG ASSUMPTION FUCK THE RED SOX.

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THE TITANS RETURN:

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SP Yu Darvish – 30.75 year old righty pitcher for the Rangers, and likely the “best player in this deal” so if that is how you judge all trades stop here. “But but but George Springer is really good too!” YEA I KNOW I JUST FIND YU SLIGHTLY BETTER AND GOOD PITCHING IS GETTING HARD TO COME BY. Ahem. 5-2, 2.83 ERA (3.80 FIP), 68 Ks in 63.2 IP (9.61 K/9), 7 QS thus far. The FIP says there will be ERA regression mostly because the walks have ticked up a bit and the BABIP is down, but contact wise everything else looks pretty much in line with the sameee Yu as always. If he stays healthy he should give top 10 #s to the Titans, who already have plenty of pitchers that should give top 10 numbersgood BUT THAT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING, as Taillon has been through just about every injury imaginable so he has been working his way back a bit. This year he’s given up 2 ER in 20 IP and I expect a helluva year, he’s not 0.90 ERA good but he is very good.  I SUSPECT the Bad Dudes put him out there as available but credit to the OTD for picking him up and instantly improving a rotation in need of it.

RF Matt Kemp – 32.66 year old RF for the Braves who feels about 10 years older than this and whom I have always been an outspoken critic. FUCKING .378 OBP currently which is something else, 13 2Bs, 8 HRs, 21 Rs, 25 RBIs, across 135 2017 ABs. Look what can I say here, the guy is hitting the ball pretty well. He has a .404 BABIP which is fourth highest in all of baseball and almost certain to drop, taking a lot of OBP with it. BUT he is also hitting the ball rather hard and seems relatively healthy. A healthy Kemp likely outperforms a healthy Puig YEA I SAID IT. Who knows what the Braves plan on doing with him but for now he is raking to the point that you can’t just call him a throw in, which is unfortunate because now it seems like I was only criticizing him when he was on Rojo’s team. HEY MATT KEMP IS GREAT NOW EVERYONE USE A FIRST ROUND PICK ON HIM IF YOU GET THE CHANCE.

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RETURN SEAN LIKES MORE:

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TITANS! I already cast my vote above. I don’t need to justify this for you. The fact of the matter is in spring training Yu and Georgey boy would likely have been drafted right around the same time, so it comes down to personal preference and maybe how you see Darvish aging there. I can certainly see the argument for both sides and I s’pose if Devers becomes A GUY it could swing more in the RRF’s favor but right now I see the Titans added another top 10 arm and if you are going to commit to a gimmick this is how you wanna do it. The loss of Springer hurts, the loss of Devers might eventually hurt, but Puig is so MEH that I would rather have Matt Kemp. And I hate Matt Kemp. Or something.