MLB 2019

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by SoCalJoe, Mar 28, 2019.

  1. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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    Happy Opening Day!!! Hope springs eternal. My Halos maybe can challenge for the second Wildcard, but at least the dark cloud of Mike Trout’s free agency has been lifted. The Astros will win the division, but the Angels have rebuilt the farm system and help is finally on the way for the best player in the game.
     
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  2. encorespanish

    encorespanish Active Member

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    Spring has sprung! My one baseball hope is that the Indians rotation, arguably one of the best rotations in baseball, falters enough to leave a crack in the door to a relatively weak division for my Twins. Oh, and that Buxton and Sano actually stay healthy and finally play to their potential. I won't be holding my breath on either one of those though. Sigh, another season in the life of a Twins fan.
     
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  3. stlouisbrad

    stlouisbrad Well-Known Member

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    Nov 24, 2007
    The addition of Goldschmidt and a full season without Mike Matheny should earn the Cardinals a ticket to the post-season.
     
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  4. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    Ouch!

    I'm looking forward to the season, for sure, but I dread the inescapable Yankee love that dominates the media.
     
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  5. nevzter

    nevzter Well-Known Member

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    A City by a Bay
    Giants 0-162!!
     
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  6. timmyg

    timmyg Well-Known Member

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    Nov 20, 2006
    Somehow my Orioles, who've been playing for 5 days and were supposed to be terrible, almost have as many wins as Fulham, who've been playing since August and were supposed to be okay!
     
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  7. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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    RIP Bill Buckner, dang good hitter (over 2700 hits). I remember him from when my family just moved to Chicago in the early 80’s and he was the Cubs first baseman. Sadly he’s remembered for something else (even though the Mets had already tied the game before his error). His return to Fenway over 20 years later to throw out the first pitch was powerful. There is an E60 story that is also a great watch (talks about forgiving the media).

     
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  8. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    Okay, this is MLB2019 rant #1: I was watching a Cardinals game and this "expert" and two other folks were talking about Yadier Molina's credentials for the HOF. This guy was saying that his WAR was too run of the mill to be a first or second time HOF inductee.

    Now, I know what each of the three words that make up WAR are, but they make no sense to me when put together. Perhaps someone could explain it to me, but even if they did and could convince me that it's a meaningful statistic, it wouldn't override the most obvious credential for Molina being a first or second time HOFer. What's that credential, I hear you ask? Well, for the last 10-12 seasons, he has been the best defensive catcher in the game. His offensive statistics are excellent for a catcher, but not so exciting had they been earned by an outfielder. The thing is, what real baseball fans know is that catchers sacrifice all other aspects of the game if they devote themselves to handling pitchers and throwing with accuracy. So, which current catcher has an argument being the best defensive catcher for the last decade or so?

    Which leads me to MLB2019 rant #2
     
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  9. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    MLB2019 rant#2

    Home run numbers for the entire 2019 season should have an asterisk next to them. Some dimple dip decided that homeruns are exciting so lets have a lot of them. Instead, we live in a world of homers and strikeouts. We're told that 150 strikeouts a season aren't negative statistics. We're told that going for an opposite-field single is not contributing to the team as much as trying to hit a bases empty homer.

    But that's not what I came here to talk about [thanks, Arlo]. I'm talking about the juiced baseball. AAA is using the same ball as MLB for the first time. My last visit to a AAA game in San Antonio, included four home runs over the berm well clear of the left field wall. One of those homers was an opposite field bomb by the Missions shortstop. I couldn't remember that many homeruns in that area over the last 50-75 games I watched in that park over the last decade or so.

    If MLB doesn't wake up and get situational hitting back into the game, it's going to be boring and will probably kill the sport. I'm already sick of hearing that starters only need to pitch 6 innings, to be followed by three relievers each of whom only has one pitch.

    Baseball is a brilliant game when the point of the offense is to put the ball in play and the point of the pitcher is to fool the hitter [rather than overpower him].

    There's another rant to come, but HatterMom is ready for dinner, so ... .
     
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  10. MicahMan

    MicahMan Administrator

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    Mar 4, 2014
    I'm not a baseball fan, I don't know what WAR is, but I think I'm catching your drift...
     
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  11. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    brilliant
     
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  12. encorespanish

    encorespanish Active Member

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    I, too, like the fine gentleman from South Texas @HatterDon , know what WAR is but to say I have a complete understanding of it would be a lie. In theory, WAR should capture Yadi's defensive prowess and ability to throw runners out. I have no idea how they capture that "data" and insert it into the calculation though.

    WAR wouldn't, however, capture his ability to call a game, at least to my knowledge...and that's one of Yadi's strong suits. For my money, I'd rather have Yadi behind the dish rather than someone like Gary Sanchez that just hits bombs, strikes out a ton and can't throw anyone out. And this is coming from a guy who's team (Twins) is about to (or already did) demolish the single season home run mark set by the Yankees...they could have 8 players with 20 or more HRs! 8!!

    Which leads me to, wholeheartedly agreeing with @HatterDon that something needs to be done about the current direction of baseball, which I blame on trying to "shorten" the game for the waning attention span of people nowadays. Get the most bang for the buck...shorter games with bombs and fastballs...power on power.

    One more example from something I read today...we have two pitchers for the same team that might reach 300 strikeouts this season, which hasn't been done since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did it in the early 2000s. Now don't get me wrong, Verlander and Cole are fantastic pitchers, but the article said Cole is striking out something over 38% of the batters he faces! 38%!! That's absurd! The last one to do something similar to that was Bob Gibson...and Cole is no Gibson.

    I could rant on for a while as well, but alas, things won't change until people stop going to the ballparks and by that time, it'll be too late.
     
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  13. timmyg

    timmyg Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2006
    But people are no longer going to the ball parks. Its when the TV money dries up and Manfred isn't the Commissioner that things will change. Craig Calcaterra had a good piece on this last month.

    Also, Another issue that is related to previous points are the three true outcomes. It's been going up every year since about 2010 and is now hovering at 35%. Absurd.
     
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  14. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    huh?
     
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  15. BarryWhite

    BarryWhite Well-Known Member

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    Location:
    Newburgh, IN
    Growing up baseball was my second favorite sport behind NCAA basketball. Every morning I would get up and scour the box scores in the newspaper and as I got a little older when I came home from work there was almost always a baseball game on. Typically it was either the Cubs or Braves (thank you WGN and TBS). Now, I don't even watch when my wife is watching baseball. I find something to do on the computer or around the house. It's not the same game I grew up with any more. If someone would reinvent the 80's Cardinals I might find time to watch again. I miss players like Willie McGee and Vince Coleman. By the way, stolen bases was my favorite season stat to follow.

    I think this is possibly the first of many "Get off lawn rants" that I so frequently feel coming on.
     
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  16. astroevan

    astroevan Well-Known Member

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    https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/09/0...60-this-season-thanks-to-the-juiced-baseball/

    I also don't fully understand the WAR statistic. When did baseball get so complicated? There are at least a handful of stats that I don't get. I'm simple. I like to see my team get hits and runs and the other team not. Thankfully I'm an Astros fan, and they are doing good at that these days (though I'll be honest and admit to zoning out for a number of years when they were "rebuilding"). I don't quite get though, the constant shifting on defense. The Astros are one of the teams that shift the most, and I guess it's working - though I feel like I see it backfire at least once per game.

    While I realize that things change, like @BarryWhite, I'm starting to feel like the old guy on the block. Though I still enjoy baseball more than most of other American sports.
     
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  17. timmyg

    timmyg Well-Known Member

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    Nov 20, 2006
    Don, are you asking what the three true outcomes are?
     
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  18. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    yes; sorry, I was just confused about how else to respond.
     
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  19. timmyg

    timmyg Well-Known Member

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    Nov 20, 2006
    No worries! Basically the three true outcomes are a walk, strikeout or home run. Not sure why they are called this, but they're events that do not involve the defensive team (other than the pitcher and catcher).

    It dovetails with our lamenting of the rise of home runs and strikeouts. Currently ~35% of all at bats are resulting in either a walk, strikeout, or a home run. It'll be 40% (or 2/5ths) in a few years. Here's a better explanation: https://sabr.org/research/growth-three-true-outcomes-usenet-joke-baseball-flashpoint
     
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  20. sacffc

    sacffc Well-Known Member

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    Mar 19, 2010
    Location:
    Sacramento, California
    I was so disgusted by both the players and the owners during the mid-90s baseball strike that I decided to stop watching baseball and watch more soccer instead. The last time I watched a baseball game was Madison Bumgartner's World Series.
     
    #20
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