#will myers

[stefonshotline]

Finished vol. 2 and I finally believe Byler stands a chance

After Vol. 2, for the first time I believe Byler is headed to... SOMETHING.

Here’s why:

- Vol 2. was overall good but very predictable.

- Eddie died! That was basically telegraphed from the begining with the whole “not a hero” thing.

- Mike made a BIG ROMANTIC SPEECH where finally told Eleven he loves her. Called that out by episode 4.

- Will sorta kinda but not really confessed his feelings to Mike but Mike didn’t get it. Yup, also called it.

What I meant by all is the the Duffer’s brothers aren’t known for groundbreaking, shocking plot twists. So here’s a couple of things I’m counting as foreshadowing for Byler happening in some capacity:

- the close-up on Mike’s rainbow socks. Uh, what’s up with that? 

Couldn’t help but recall how Finn’s character on IT, Richie Tozier, who’s actually cannonly gay, also had rainbown details on his clothes, as a child.

I’ve been informed the sock’s are Argyle’s! Sorry, friends!

- The scene where Will is in the light while Mike is the dark, until he reaches and touches WIll’s shoulder and the shot lingers on them.

I was honestly so distracted by the very pointed symbolism  of that scene that I have no recolection of the content of their conversation. 

- Will and Mike placed close to each other/side-by-side a heck of a lot during the finale, but especially in the last shot where Eleven sort of wanders away from Mike.

Now, am I saying: REJOICE Y’ALL, BYLER IS GONNA BE ENGAME! No, i’m not saying that at all.

There’s so much politics involved with putting together a same sex couple in a hit television series, especially if it involves, arguably, the main boy character... So much can happen from here to when we’ll see these characters again!

So, what I am actually saying is that the things I listed stood out to me to the point for the first time since I’ve started watching ST, I felt the narrative was building something towards mutual Byler.

What’s that something gonna be? Well, my prediction is that next season, at first, we’ll just see Mike and Will super close again, kinda like in S2. Peharps we might get a bit of a twist, and Mike’s is the one chasing Will down a bit and asking to hang out and Will might or might not be available. Idk, we’ll see. The point it is, I feel S5 will focus on their friendship a lot.

People are gonna be shipping it like crazy, the word queerbaiting will be thrown around a lot, we’ll lose our minds thinking Byler is headed for canon. 

This is where things get tricky for me!

What to do with Mileven? Honest, friends, I actually felt their conection for the first time in a long time in Vol. 2, so I’m not hating, but Mileven forever seems like a doomed relationship to me. On a narrative standpoint, it’s just a dudd. Both characters’ development suffer from it and where can they even go at this point?

Regardless of what happens, I think Mileven might take a backseat in S5, and we’ll see much more of the individual characters doing their own thing.

I also predict they’ll toy with the idea of Mike being bissexual. Hell, after Vol. 2, I already feel they’re planting the seeds. It’ll of course be done very ambiguously so those who want do deny it, can still deny it. 

We might get villain!Will and Will dies at the end. Jonathan then tells Mike Will really loved him and WAH WAH WAH. Unfortunately, this one feels very likely.

We might get Eleven dying as a hero at the end. Will and Mike live on after a full season of building them up as endgame and the last shot of them is something vague that can be interpreted as friends or lovers, depending on whatever you want to read on. 

[xodemamp]

I literally love scotland pa so much, and I miss it! If anyone has a video bootleg, please hit me up because it would mean the world to me to see it again!

[soph-okonedo]

Will Venable #25, Wil Myers #4 and Matt Kemp #27 of the San Diego Padres celebrate a win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 17, 2015 in Chicago

[soph-okonedo]

Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, and Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres   celebrate after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 in a baseball game at Petco Park April 14, 2015

[yahoosports]

"I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" ...bounces over...ground rule double.

[thesportssoundoff]

Alex Tells Why The James Shields - Will Myers Trade Isn't Great

Well, we're knee deep in the Major League Baseball off-season, the Winter Meetings have taken place, people are moving east or west depending on their destination and inclinations and so far, some decently interesting signings have happened:

Ryan Ludwig signed with the Reds.

Shane Victorino went to Boston.

Michael Young went to Philadelphia.

Zack Greinke went to Los Angeles because a BRINKS truck show up at his front door and offloaded what was in the back of it.

Still, the move that has the most people talking, especially today is the move made by both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals. Seemingly overnight, both teams swapped players in what they hope to be a culture-redefining swap, the Rays getting younger and hoping that Will Myers develops into the next Ryan Braun, and the Kansas City Royals hoping that they have done enough in the short-term to make them contenders in a relatively weak AL Central division.

I'm no expert, and in reality, I'm just a man who writes a blog as a pastime with his best friend, but in some ways this trade makes sense, and in others this trade could end up being a colossal failure for both sides. The intent is for this trade to make the Rays better by positioning them with a player of the future in Will Myers. The hope is that he becomes someone of the caliber of a Ryan Braun, a Mike Trout or a Bryce Harper. With all the hype behind him, one would think he's already there.

Sadly however, and call me cynical, but what if he doesn't make it to that level? Baseball is riddled with high school and college phenoms who have never panned out or lived up to the potential that they showcased earlier in life. Paul Wilson for the Mets is one of those, Scott Kazmir is another one, and the Rays know all about him all too well.

In all honesty, if Myers ends up even being Josh Willingham, another youngster who was hyped endlessly, than it's a win because Willingham has proven himself to be a capable Major Leaguer and a suitable player. That said, what if he ends up being Rico Brogna? What if he ends up being Stephen Drew?  That would be endlessly heartbreaking for the Rays considering who they gave up.

On the other side, I understand what Kansas City is doing. They signed Jeremy Guthrie, they signed Ervin Santana, they traded for James Shields and Wade Davis. Add to that Alex Gordon, Eric Hosner and Billy Butler and this is a team that has the pieces in place to win now in a weak division. If you're Kansas City however, you're just hoping like hell that this team doesn't underperform.

Shields at $9 million in '13 and $12 million in '14 is reasonable, but if this team doesn't win how the brass in Kansas City is hoping that they will, then ultimately this is still a small-market team that lies in the middle-of-the-road. If they're to make use of his skills and what "Big Game James" does best, they HAVE to make the playoffs and they have to do it now.

In a sense, you almost certainly feel for Dayton Moore. He's collected prospects, built up his farm system, yet the fans in Kansas City are so thirsty for victories and for playoff baseball, especially with the prospects they have that HAVE developed into All-Stars, like Hosner and Gordon and Butler...that they no longer have the patience. Moore's hand was forced, so he had to make this move. You only hope as a baseball fan that it doesn't backfire and cost him his job.

Still, assuming that Shields and Davis will do their part is a singular entity. That speaks nothing of the rest of the team. Will Hosner/Gordon/Butler stay healthy after they've already showed signs of being injury-prone? Will Salvador Perez continue to hit like he has over the course of a full-season? Will Mike Moustakas be as good as advertised? What about Lorenzo Cain? There's more questions than answers.

Overall, the Royals have traded three of their top eleven prospects, and four of their top 18, but their farm system is considerably loaded which makes it okay to trade these guys. In that sense, the trade makes sense for the Royals, but are they getting enough back to justify these deals?

The Royals need pitching, but in reality, the people they got in return aren't necessarily any better than people they already other than James Shields, and James Shields isn't necessarily an "Ace" if you look at the numbers. Over the past two years, Shields has 14 complete games and 6 shutouts. The negative to that? He's logged over a thousand innings, and his career ERA is 3.89. He's not as good as David Price and he's probably not as good as Matt Moore will be in the future, so essentially, the Royals picked up the Rays THIRD best pitcher and are hoping for him to be the Staff Saviour. Also, is Wade Davis really that much better than Ervin Santana or Jeremy Guthrie as a starter? That's up for debate.

Given the makeup of the rotation, it's a trade you have to make. Dayton Moore had no choice, and in making the trade, he probably bought himself some time because people will wait to see how Myers pans out before giving him the heave-ho. Still, it's been reported that the Royals pursued other pitchers who are arguably better than James Shields. Brett Anderson is both younger and has better numbers than James Shields but the A's turned Dayton Moore down. The Mets were shopping R.A. Dickey who arguably has had a better last two season than Shields, and worth less money, but somehow that fell through.

Ultimately, there's a lot about this deal that we just don't know as it stands. It's usually said that it takes years to see how trades pan out. Both teams are hoping that this will be culture-redefining, but...if both teams struggle and the people involved underperform? The bloom will be off the rose sooner than you think and both Kansas City and Tampa will be searching for new GMs.

[hardballfanaticblog-blog]

Updates on the Winter Meetings, by December 5th

A lot of things have been going on in the Winter Meetings, from a mega-deal that would involve the 25 year old MVP candidate Justin Upton to the signing of Eric Chavez. In other words, there has been a lot of signings in a short period of time but here is the run down. 

Scutaro and Pagan re-sign with the Giants

I am a Giants fan, and this is great news. Although they are very player friendly deals, they helped the Giants win the World Series. Scutaro has always been a consistant utility player but not a .330 hitter that he was with the Giants. A three year deal would end his career with the Giants and that means Freddy Sanchez is not coming back. Pagan is a stretch. This signing reminds me of the Aaron Rowand deal. A lot of money for a player that just that year had a breakout year later in his career. I like Pagan and fits in well, just think a 2 or 3 year deal would have been better for the Giants. Does this mean they will trade Gary Brown? No idea. 

A lot of utility/platoon players signed

Some players that would be characterized under this describtion that signed include: Jeff Keppinger, Eric Chavez, Nate McLouth, Nate Schierholtz, and Eric Hinske. All of these players are good and are worth noting, but not important enough to write a whole section on. 

Shane Victorinio signs with the Red Sox

This at first glance made no sense, but after some further thinking, makes a lot of sense. With Ellsbury on the last year of his contract, it gives the Red Sox a lot of options. 1) They can trade Ellsbury for a boat-load of prospects. 2) Not trade him and replace him with Victorino in 2014. 3) Sign him to an extension. Any of these decisions can work and will be interesting to see what Cherignton does. 

Dan Haren signs with Washington Nationals

After a somewhat disappointing year, Haren signed a 1 year, $14 million dollar deal that will give him a chance to compete for the championship and an upgrade from Edwin Jackson. At the same time, it shows that Jackson can possibly get a $12 or $13 million dollar deal if he plays the cards right. 

Possible mega-deal that would involve Indians, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and now the Mariners

This deal would send: Upton to the Rangers, Asdrubal Cabrera to the Diamondbacks along with some prospects, Mariners would get Derek Holland, and the Indians would get prospects from the Mariners. The only thing that is uncertain is who are these prospects? Seattle could send Hultzen, a left handed pitcher out of Virginia, as I doubt they would be willing to part ways with Walker. Montero is another option. Olt would probably traded as well. 

Wil Myers may be traded

After winning “Minor League Player of the Year” by Baseball America, the Royals are telling GM’s that they would be willing to trade Wil Myers for a front of the line starting pitcher. Some names that have come up include Jon Lester and James Shields. I personally think Lester for Myers is a great deal for both teams. One is because the team to beat in the Central is the Tigers and they struggle with left handed pitching. Number two is because Myers could fill in at either left, right, 3rd, or catcher as he has experience at all 4 positions. Along with this, he has the potential to become a superstar, a .330 BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI kind of guy if he reaches his acme.