For MLB fans

[Spencer 555]

10-0 in elimination games? Thats not right

[KBHoleN1]

10-0 in elimination games? Thats not right

They had won 10 in a row when facing elimination (their last 3 postseason trips have resulted in a World Series title).

[Gryph]

I dont understand how kershaw sucks in the playoffs.. its baffling

Over thinking probably. There was an article by Jeff Zimmermann (iirc) that had what he called the "post-season factor" where batters and pitchers completely change their approach. It's similar to David Price, you can't pitch in the post season the same as the season. Kershaw might get away with those 50ft curves in the season, but not now in these games, a good example is Murphy, in a regular season game, he'll probably try to pull and loft a pitch upward on a weird launch angle to get a HR, but in the playoffs it's that whole next man up mentality. Instead, he doesn't try to do too much, and instead gets a double.

[Spencer 555]

I agree with you that pitchers should definitely and do change their mixes in the playoffs, but madbum doesn`t and hes usually brilliant. Also, i dont know if i buy into hitters changing their approach for the playoffs, hitting is essentially adjusting to what the pitchers give you and capitalizing on mistakes. Murph has incredible bat control so he can appear shorter to the ball at times, but what made him a great hitter this year was learning about those launch angles and not just relying on his hands to hit the ball.

[I'malive]

Never been to a playoff game before tonight, of course I chose the longest 9 inning game of all time and have to wake up at like 530 tomorrow..

[Serge]

How are you even getting home? It's gonna be a disaster getting out of there.

Kershaw vs Murphy. Let's go.

[Serge]

Fuck everything. 0-10. 0 and fucking 10. What's that you ask? That's this city's record in their last 10 games where a win puts them into a semifinals or better.

[Serge]

1998 was the last time one of the four major sport teams from DC made it to a semifinals. (Caps got swept in finals) I was 10 years old and still living in Pittsburgh. Absolutely ridiculous.

[I'malive]

How are you even getting home? It's gonna be a disaster getting out of there.

Well I was certainly a spirited participant in the "metro sucks" chant when they announced the last train was leaving at 11:39 or whatever it was.. Luckily I tend to have good luck with the walk for a few minutes before calling an uber tactic.

[Da Gyps]

God damn it Cleveland.

[Spencer 555]

Its kc all over again. Cant believe we couldnt hit tomlin.

[Da Gyps]

Really do not want Cleveland to win. Eff them.

[Spencer 555]

We still got a good chance, havent lost at home yet.

[Maverik]

I think Rich Hill has to win the next game or we're toast. Glad our pitching did well in Game 2.

I really hope the Jays somehow beat the Indians. Don't think the Dodgers can beat the Indians in the World Series, if we can manage past the Cubs.

[Spencer 555]

Ur like the only person ive heard say they think the indians have a better team on paper then the jays. Its amazing whay miller is doing for that bp though.

[Maverik]

where did I say the Indians are a better team on paper than the Jays?

[Spencer 555]

I kinda assumed you thought they were better because you want the jays to win in order for the dodgers to have a better chance? What am I missing here.. matchup thing? If so explain? Lol

[Maverik]

of course its a match-up thing

Jays play the long ball, Indians play more short ball

Dodgers give up few home runs and the Jays are reliant on that, so I have faith we can pitch around them. Indians will be a much tougher opponent. If Maeda can't pick up a game, we won't beat them with just Kershaw and Hill.

I don't even watch baseball really and this seems obvious to me.

[Spencer 555]

Haha no it makes sense, but you have to understand baseball is interpretted in many different ways. The fact the dodgers pitching staff doesnt give up homers often doesnt necessarily mean the jays would be a good matchup. Its much deeper then that. But ya, you can look at it like that and not be wrong, id just be nitpicking if I tried to argue that with you (and im sure I could lol). End of the day, I was just asking you why you thought the jays would be a better matchup for your dodgers than the Indians because that is probably (in many basic baseball circles) the contrarian perspective.

[Spencer 555]

Also, I agree with you so I dont want to nitpick lol. If the indians can continue to pick up quality innings from tomlin (he`s very capable of going on a little run of quality starts) that offense is way more balanced then the jays right now and that team can win against any pitcher anytime. That bullpen is just clicking right now on all cylinders.

Last year, the narrative for the jays was that our offense was relient on homers too and that just drove me nuts because we were a team that struck out 2nd least in the entire league so our hitters werent just lumbering mashers. But this year our k rate skyrocketed (age and regression) so I can`t argue that point.

This cleveland team reminds me of a better version of last years royals without the incredible outfield defense and the big name closers. Andrew Miller esque pitchers are the future of our sport :)

[Da Gyps]

welp

[Spencer 555]

Guess thats it :(. 4 game win streak time lol

[Spencer 555]

Momentum shift!

[Hugh]

Not a word about the Indians winning the penant?
Ok.

[Maverik]

where is EB?

I'm glad they won the AL, but sad they'll probably crush the Dodgers 4-1.

[Maverik]

PUT YOUR RALLY CAPS ON BOYZZZq

[Maverik]

fuck me

never posting during a Dodgers game again

[Spencer 555]

Ya im a sore loser lol

[Hugh]

Sorry about your Dodgers, Mav, but I'm really excited for the Cubs. I'm really excited for the series.

[Da Gyps]

Sorry about your Dodgers, Mav, but I'm really excited for the Cubs. I'm really excited for the series.

Yeah I'm gonna watch despite the Rawls not being in it. Usually, I don't. This is must see tv tho.

[Hugh]

Is it possible Theo Epstein sold his soul to the devil? Or maybe he is the devil? He's taken the Red Sox and Cubs to the World Series and ended the 2 biggest droughts in baseball history and he's younger than me.
I didn't even know when the Red Sox hired him as GM he was only 28. Don't know how I didn't know that but I didn't.

[Maverik]

total implosion over the last few games, jesus

will be happy with either team winning it all though, so all good

[I'malive]

Definitely rooting for the Cubs, too many players I like on that team.

The one thing I took out of the Nlcs though is that I may never forgive Red Sox ownership for is not ponying up the money for Lester to stay here his whole career. What a fucking huge mistake, morally and in the reality where he's leading a team to another World Series while David Price looked mediocre at best all year (though I fully expect him to rebound, maybe somewhat because I want it to happen so badly).

[Spencer 555]

This is gonna be a fantastic series. Both teams matchup really well for playoff baseball.

[Hugh]

Weird that nobody has made a single post since the World Series started, especially this World Series.
Well it's definitely living up to they hype. Game 7!

[Da Gyps]

Well no one is a fan of either team here so that's probably why. That said, I've watched every game.

[Gryph]

I've been working most of the WS, haven't been able to watch anything other than highlights

[Spencer 555]

Dont have any vested interest in the series, but its been the best ive seen since the red sox year. Been more focused on hockey and basketball.

[Saint]

Cleveland probably about to get 3-1'd

oof

[Da Gyps]

This game is wild fam.

[Spencer 555]

Rajai!

I cant believe it lol. Guess i wont be seeing history tn live, bed time :(.

[Hugh]

Rajai!
I cant believe it lol. Guess i wont be seeing history tn live, bed time :(.

You're going to bed in the 8th inning of a tied World Series game 7?!?!
You know what I'm going to say, right?
Wait for it...
Fucking Canadians.

[Greendaybum5]

fucking rain delay...this game has been amazing

[KBHoleN1]

Joe Maddon overmanaged his pitchers. Last night he leaned too hard on Chapman and now it comes back to bite him tonight. He gave Hendricks the quick hook to bring in Lester when he said he'd only pitch him for full innings. Then he yanks Lester after one base runner in the 8th and that fucking bites him because Chapman is burnt out. Now who pitches in extras for the Cubs?

[Hugh]

Might be the worst game Madden has managed all season, but it won't matter if they can get 3 outs.

[KBHoleN1]

Holy shit Jason Heyward is so bad. What the hell happened to him?

[Hugh]

Yeah, he's been garbage all year.

[Gryph]

Holy shit Jason Heyward is so bad. What the hell happened to him?

bad hand to bat mechanics.

[Blasphemy]

Indiands will hit a grand slam at the very last second and win.

[rainblade]

Holy fuck what a game.

[Hulky]

Rajae Davis tied it, and might tie it again lol what a night for him

[Hulky]

Sucks the Indians lost, still a hell of a night for Davis. Congrats to the Cubs fans out there like Nightmarez though.

[Gryph]

took em long enough lol.

Man that was awesome.

[Hugh]

Amazing series.

[Sanosuke]

Probably the best World Series I'll ever watch in my life.

[Spencer 555]

You're going to bed in the 8th inning of a tied World Series game 7?!?!
You know what I'm going to say, right?
Wait for it...
Fucking Canadians.

Hahaha ya I couldnt handle it anymore, was up at 5am yesterday and 5 today.

[Sanosuke]

I'm genuinely convinced Theo Epstein could win the Stanley Cup with the Cleveland Browns at this point.

[rainblade]

http://nesn.com/2016/11/watch-theo-epstein-spray-bill-murray-in-face-with-champagne-after-cubs-win/

It's funny to watch someone get sprayed in the face with champagne and love it. lol

[KBHoleN1]

get sprayed in the face with champagne and love it

Giggity

[Serge]

Happy for my boy Max for pulling in the NL Cy Young but DAMMNNNNNNN Verlander got whoredddddd.

[Hugh]

He really did. Heard what Kate Upton Tweeted.

[Serge]

I've seen people blaming the 5 writers who wrote in Zach Britton for 1st place votes. Cliche would love these people. They're the baseball equivalent of people who voted Gary Johnson.

[Spencer 555]

Lmfao so true.

[Spencer 555]

I woulda taken sanchez, britton, kluber and verly over porcello. Brutal cy young winner.

[Serge]

I mean, did any of the other finalists even try to lead the bigs in run support by having Mookie Betts and David Ortiz on their team? Like, if you're not willing to put in the effort it takes to lead the league in run support by having Mookie Betts and David Ortiz on your team you can't be mad when you don't win the Cy Young.

[Spencer 555]

10/10

[I'malive]

If you want to make a statistics based argument for al cy young, I will only accept Kluber as superior. Verlander and porcello had extremely similar seasons statistically, and Rick took home big wins in some of the most important categories (wins, k/bb, etc). Obviously I don't think porcello deserves the cy young, but if you're going to make an argument for someone I don't see why verlander is being credited for having a season that is better by any more than a standard deviation in any category.

[Spencer 555]

It was a very very close race ima, the problem for porcello is he wasn't statistically the best pitcher in any meaningful category but wins. And wins are the worst measuring stick for pitchers in my eyes.

[Spencer 555]

only valid argument for porcelli besides wins is his overall dominance, but that just comes back to him not being quite as dominant overall as a few al pitchers.

[Da Gyps]

Pretty epic IRL trolling by the baseball writers iyam.

[Sanosuke]

Trout deserves the past 5 MVP trophies. The other 3 he missed should be taken back and given to him

[Sanosuke]

Also shout outs to people saying Trout shouldn't win because he's not valuable for a team with a losing record. Suck a dick.

[Sanosuke]

They should just change it to the Best Player Award and give it Mike Trout ever year then. Actually they should just call it the Mike Trout Award.

X

[Sanosuke]

This is basically why Trout should be the MVP every year until he stops being the most valuable. You literally can't pay him on par for his performance. He will always be underpaid:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/features/mike-trout-is-the-mvp-and-still-on-track-for-the-g-o-a-t/

[Hugh]

Also shout outs to people saying Trout shouldn't win because he's not valuable for a team with a losing record. Suck a dick.

Speaking if sucking dick, you might want to take Trout's out of your mouth for a minutes. Just come up for air.

[Gryph]

This is basically why Trout should be the MVP every year until he stops being the most valuable. You literally can't pay him on par for his performance. He will always be underpaid:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/features/mike-trout-is-the-mvp-and-still-on-track-for-the-g-o-a-t/

I'm pretty annoyed at the whole "Yankees are packing up to deal for Trout" articles I've been seeing on 538, Yardbarker, and SBNation. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to see him in Pinstripes, but he's never going to get traded, Eppler and Moreno are too egotistical to want to be known as "those guys" for doing it. I do want Shohei Otani (sp? lol) though. He's legit from the film I watched on him.

I'd be happier if the Yankees shed salary and entered full rebuild mode, then in the mega free agent class that will be upon soon, open up the checkbook and sign Machado and Harper. At this point, their farm system is just a dart board full of pitching prospects, even if only 2 out of the 12 or so they have now work, everyone will walk away happy

[Sanosuke]

Speaking if sucking dick, you might want to take Trout's out of your mouth for a minutes. Just come up for air.

Nah man. Much better than David Ortiz's.

[I'malive]

Chris sale!!! wish we coulda pulled this one off at the all star break for Papi's sake, but shit our #3 starter just won the cy young and I'm now officially ready for baseball season. Not sold on trading losing both moncada and kopech but I really hope this edition of Dave dombrowski's prospect hating works out for us..

[Da Gyps]

Good trade for both teams imo.

Wondering if the Royals will start trading off some assets. If they can get a good prospect each for Cain and Wade I'd do it.

[Spencer 555]

I wouldnt be too upset about moncada and kopech, red sox system is still elite and they are world series favourites. Moncada was gonna be blocked by pedroia anyways. Good trade for both teams, but think white sox coulda got more for sale. Their scouts must have been sold on kopech. Im personally never sold on pitchers until they show it in the bigs without getting the injury prone label.

[Spencer 555]

Wow, Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Adam Eaton, the white sox are killing it with this rebuild. Go big or go home!

[The One]

Yay Melancon...Giants actually have a legit closer now. Woo!

[Gryph]

Yay Melancon...Giants actually have a legit closer now. Woo!

thats been dipping velo for the past 2 years lol

[Maverik]

was always a Bagwell fan and I remember being stoked to get his rookie card

I hope its still at my mother's place

[Spencer 555]

Bout damn time raines made it into the hall. If I had a vote, I would have voted only for raines, mussina, edgar martinez and Larry Walker and Hoffman. How pudge and bagwell get in over bonds and Clemons boggles my mind since they were called out as steroid users.

[Hugh]

I don't get it either, but the jump in votes for Bonds and Clemons shows that at least some voters are starting to realize how fucking retarded it is to leave people out for taking steroids or suspicion of taking them or whatever else. Baseball didn't test for steroids until 2006. Lol! Who the fuck knows who was or wasn't taking them? Obviously nobody gave a shit until 10 years ago. Move on.
Hopefully they're starting to.

[Spencer 555]

I read a cool article on fangraphs about hof projections, it looks like their should be some very weak hall classes coming in the next few years so we should see bonds and Clemons for sure. I probably wouldn't vote for any of em.

[Spencer 555]

So pecota just came out with their win/loss projections for the MLB.

What you guys think about the Jays projected to miss the playoffs this year? I personally wouldnt be surprised if they miss out this year, but I think pecota is sleeping on our pitching staff. Not one Jays pitcher is projected to finish with an era below 4 lol.

[Spencer 555]

How I rank each player:

1: below avg MLB player
2: league average
3: above average
4: all star
5: MVP candidate

Toronto Blue Jays outlook: The outlook for the Jays this year is pretty much win or bust. I think as long as we have this core built around Donaldson and a solid pitching staff, the window will remain open. The competition will be much stronger then it was in recent years IMO, but the Jays should be able to squeak into the playoffs again as a wild card team.

Position players: the Jays offense last year regressed quite a bit from the powerhouse we were used to in 2015. A mix of age and health regression along with a little bad luck against lefties really made it clear that we have some holes in our lineup. More or less, the lineup will remain the same, but the departure of Edwin will certainly hurt. That being said, a bounce back year from a few key players is likely IMO and I expect the Jays to be a top 5 AL offense again.

C: Russel Martin. 3.5. Martin had a few prolonged slumps and dealt with a lot of small injuries last year. I think with the departure of RA Dickey and Josh Thole, Martin will bounce back a bit this year and be able to focus more on keeping himself healthy. A healthy and productive Martin would be a massive boon for this team.

1b: Steve Pearce. 2. Pearce is a bit of a wildcard. He is definitely a lefty masher and has shown he can hit righties proficiently enough to play every day, but he has struggled with consistency and health over the years. 1st base could potentially be a real problem for the Jays if Pearce goes down. And he isn't even that great..

2b: Devon Travis. 3. Travis has show that when healthy, hes excellent, but much like Pearce, he has dealt with a few tricky injuries in the past few years. Coming into spring training, Devo has a clean bill of health and I'm excited to see what this kid can do over a more prolonged stretch.

SS: Troy Tulowitzki. 3. The fallen star. I was hoping for so much more from tulo when we acquired him at the trade deadline 2 years ago, but unfortunately, he has been disappointing. That being said, he remains a productive player both offensively and defensively and a bounce back would be amazing to see. However unlikely that is, the upside remains despite the likelihood of tulo missing some time due to injury (100%)

3b: Josh Donaldson. 5. The key to a successful blue Jays season. So far, with the Jays, Donaldson has been nothing but brilliant. He has played almost every game and performed as an MVP candidate almost every day. Based on his improving power numbers and on base skills, I expect more of the same from him to come. Without Donaldson, this team likely finishes at the bottom of this list.

Left Field: Up for debate. 1.5. This could be a problem for the Jays or a pleasent surprise. A battle between Dalton Pompey, Ezequiel Carrera and BJ Upton for the starting job will be fun and interesting. Pompey clearly has the upside, but he needs to prove himself in order to win this spot. End of the day, this is likely a below average player.

CF: Kevin Pillar. 3.5. Pillar is a defensive whiz and has some upside in his bat. He showed some improvements offensively despite putting up worse numbers offensively then in 2015, so with a little luck, I think pillar could have a mini breakout this year. Not an all-star, but he may be a top 5 defender in the entire game.

RF. Jose Bautista. 3. Another fallen star, but perhaps more likely then tulo to bounce back this season and have a big year. Injuries derailed his year in 2016 and a clean bill of health this year would be huge for both him and the Jays. The all time leader in War for the Jays, I hope for his sake he Jacks 40 bombs and proves all the haters wrong. Bosstista forever.

DH: Kendrys Morales. 2.5. Decent player who has big shoes to fill. I think in a more hitter friendly environment, Kendrys may prove to be a real steal. He has better contact skills then most sluggers in the league and his switch hitting will be a pretty big boost in late situations against dominant platoon relievers.

Bench+minors depth: 1.5. the Jays likely will have a pretty boring bench. Defensive specialists, Justin smoak (1b), Darwin Barney (infield) and BJ Upton (of) are all pretty below average players who can only help out in a pinch, but if given prolonged opportunities due to injury, they could be horrible. The upgrade of salty over Thole will be pretty huge though, and I think the Jays have some intriguing depth in the high minors who could potentially make an appearance at some point if things go really well. (rowdy tellez, Dalton pompey, Anthony Alford, among others)

Position players total: 27.5

Starting pitching:

SP1: Aaron Sanchez. 3.5. coming off a big year, I expect some luck regression, but if he can improve the quality of his pitches, the sky is the limit. Probably the best 2seamer in baseball not owned by a reliever.

SP2: Marco Estrada. 3.5. 2 years in a row among the best pitchers in baseball is no fluke imo. The advanced statistics do not like him one bit, but their is a ton of measurable data that loves his pitch mix and changeup. Estrada is scary to watch because the quality of his pitches is not very good besides his changeup, but he is a wizard and knows how to pitch. Some injuries held him back a bit this year, but I expect him to resume his trend as one of the better pitchers in baseball.

SP3. Marcus Stroman. 3.5. the exact opposite of Estrada, Stroman is loved by advanced stats. With a few minor improvements, Stroman is headed for a major breakout. I believe in this little dude, one of the hardest workers I've seen.

SP4. JA Happ. 3. 20 game winner last year, he is a bit of an anomaly. Much like Estrada, advanced statistics do not like him, but he has learned something about pitching up in the zone the last two years and has been an above average pitcher for awhile now. I like his chances to continue to do so.

SP5. Francisco Liriano. 3. One of the most inconsistent and volatile pitchers I've ever seen. He goes from brilliant to trash game to game. A down year last year may be a sign of bad things to come, but his track record as one of the games better pitchers is pretty extensive despite his volatility. Possibly the best 5th starter in the game lol.

SP total: 16.5. Though still lacking a true ace, I think any of our 5 pitchers will be able to win any day of the week. Our staff was dominant last year and i I would expect it to remain near the top of the AL again in era.

Bullpen:

Closer: Roberto Osuna. 4. One of the best closers in baseball and he's only 22 this year.

Setup man: Joe Biagini. 3.5. Come out of nowhere breakout star last year. He was lights out all year and didn't get much attention doing it. Hopefully he wasn't a one hit wonder

Setup man: Jason Grillin. 2.5. How is this dude still playing? Adrenaline junkie who I hope will remain a good option for the blue Jays late. Scares me though.

Middle relief: Joe Smith. 2.5. Pretty similar to Grilli, I think the Jays are valuing veteran leadership in the bullpen this year. Smith has always been pretty good though, and this could be a quality relief option for the Jays if he works out.

Middle Relief: Danny Barnes. 2.5. Showed he has some interesting upside in the upper minors last year and performed well for the Jays down the stretch. His changeup is pretty nasty. I like him.

Loogy: JP Howell. 2.5. Loogy, what can you say. Hes been a very good option in relief for many years so hopefully he can do his job. The trend of veteran leadership in this bullpen mixed with young nubs is cool.

Long man/spot starter: Mike Bolsinger. 2 Pretty much is what he is. Nothing special with this guy, but has had some success in the past as a starter for the dodgers. He will likely be pretty perfect for the job he's given.

Pitching depth: 2 our starting pitching depth is pretty much 0, which is concerning, but we have a ton of average relief arms in our upper minors. I kinda like the depth we've acquired for this patchwork bullpen.

Bullpen total: 21.5

Sorry for the poor formatting (I'm doing this from my phone) and generally useless information. I just like making these write ups and have had good feedback in the past. Next team will be the Boston Red Sox.

[rainblade]

This is where all your time and effort goes, Spencer? No wonder. :D

[Spencer 555]

More of it goes to banging your mom tbh.

[Sanosuke]

Braves basically stole Brandon Phillips for free. Will take 10/10 times.

[Spencer 555]

Ya I like what the braves are doing. They're not gonna win a ton of games or contend for a playoff spot anytime soon, but they're bringing in vets and mixing them in on the cheap with the young guys. That's the best way to create a winning culture IMO.

[Sanosuke]

BASEBALL SEASON SOON.

The Nashville Sounds (Oakland's AAA team) is a 45min drive from me. Will be watching tons of minor league baseball.

[Gryph]

BASEBALL SEASON SOON.

The Nashville Sounds (Oakland's AAA team) is a 45min drive from me. Will be watching tons of minor league baseball.

I've been holding my addiction of meaningful baseball with some WBC.

#USA

[Hugh]

Love that Kyle Seager ad.

[Gryph]

swashbuckler is pure gold

[Greendaybum5]

swashbuckler is pure gold

I would pay to see someone actually do what's in your sig in a real game lol

[Sanosuke]

they have in the minors.

[Spencer 555]

I wish manon was here. I really think the Rockies have a chance to make the playoffs over the giants this year.

[Hulky]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6bZqu4xjx8

[Hugh]

Mariners were up 9-3 on the Angels in the bottom of the 9th.
They gave up 7, lost 10-9. Off to a 1-6 start.
Here we go again.

[Nightmarez]

Mariners were up 9-3 on the Angels in the bottom of the 9th.
They gave up 7, lost 10-9. Off to a 1-6 start.
Here we go again.


Saw that. Edwin Diaz just had nothing whatsoever.

[Sanosuke]

Braves are in the same boat Hugh, don't worry.

[Spencer 555]

Except the mariners have playoff aspirations :(

[Gryph]

Except the mariners have playoff aspirations :(

Tends to happen when you have a GM who prays to God that it's hit to either Cano, Segura, or Seager every play. Aside from those 3, and the exception of Dyson, that defense is shit tier with low Range Factors, which tends to give up quite a bit of hits. That and their catcher (Zunino) is just JP Arrencibia with even worse contact rate, tough winning games when you have an aging rotation and rolling out 8 guys in a lineup every day praying to god the 9th one decides to show up.

[Hugh]

Can't argue with that.

[Nightmarez]

Tends to happen when you have a GM who prays to God that it's hit to either Cano, Segura, or Seager every play. Aside from those 3, and the exception of Dyson, that defense is shit tier with low Range Factors, which tends to give up quite a bit of hits. That and their catcher (Zunino) is just JP Arrencibia with even worse contact rate, tough winning games when you have an aging rotation and rolling out 8 guys in a lineup every day praying to god the 9th one decides to show up.


Huh? Their OF defense is high level.

[Serge]

@Gryph, since you seem to know your stuff, how bad is our defense? (Washington)

I'm not big into defensive stats and go much more by the eye test but I'm pretty worried. Yesterday all four infielders had an error but I was worried before opening day and am willing to chalk yesterday up as a fluke.

The way I see it Rendon is a potential Gold Glove at 3B. Harper is about average fielding (which is bad because he has above average speed) but with an elite arm. Trea Turner has the talent to be elite eventually, but this will be his first time being an everyday SS at the major league level so I expect him to struggle a bit. Everyone else I expect to be below average. Werth is catastrophically slow. Eaton has been good for stretches but I'd bet he's not good. Daniel Murphy is Daniel Murphy. Ryan Zimmerman makes some flashy plays with the athleticism that let him play 3rd before his arm issues but he just doesn't have the years of experience it takes to be an elite 1B. Wieters is meh.

I'm pretty confident in my assessment that Werth, Murpy, and Zim will be below average but am I selling Wieters and Eaton short? Will they be decent?

[Sanosuke]

Wieters is average defensively as a catcher. The Nats got him for his bat at the catching position though in my eyes since the market is so small for good hitting catchers. He's also not that bad of a framer iirc. He'll be a 15-20 HR guy for the Nats and that's what they needed. Adam Eaton is average defensively as well. Same situation for him though is that he's on the team because of his bat. Front office philosophy for the Nats is probably "we have a great rotation, won't need the defense as much as other teams so lets get bats at value prices."

just my 2 cents

[Spencer 555]

I know you asked gryph, but I also wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

I think washington overall is either awful to slightly below average defensively. Harper is about as average as they come defensively in right field, Eaton Is a below average cfer but an elite RF like Heyward on the cubs. However, If you take werth out of the lineup, play taylor in centre, move harper to left and Eaton to RF, you would be well above average defensively in the outfield, but you have dusty baker managing so that isn't happening... also taylor has a hard time hitting the ball lol.

Infield might be an unsolvable problem though. At 1st, Zimmerman is below average for sure as a converted 3rd basemen with a long list of injuries. At 2nd base Daniel Murphy is known to be one of the worst in the league. At ss, Turner is debatable. He is not known for his defense at the position and advanced metrics didn't like him last year, but a lot of scouts think he can stick at ss. And finally, Rendon is probably you're only saving grace defensively if he stays healthy. Rendon is not necessarily known for his defense, but advanced metrics liked him last year at 3b, it's his natural position (I think) and last year was the first time he's had a really healthy year.

As for wieters, he's pretty average, but he isn't the best pitch framer.

Overall, you're definitely bottom ten defensively, with potential to be top 15 if taylor replaces Werth. Luckily that nats pitching staff is so good, and the bats are really really good if Harper can get back to being a stud.

[Nightmarez]

Wieters is average defensively as a catcher. The Nats got him for his bat at the catching position though in my eyes since the market is so small for good hitting catchers. He's also not that bad of a framer iirc. He'll be a 15-20 HR guy for the Nats and that's what they needed. Adam Eaton is average defensively as well. Same situation for him though is that he's on the team because of his bat. Front office philosophy for the Nats is probably "we have a great rotation, won't need the defense as much as other teams so lets get bats at value prices."

just my 2 cents


Wieters is average for arm and base running related reasons but I'm pretty sure he's a negative for pitch framing.

If you want to watch the Nats defense go ugly, I didn't see a ton of it but I know Roark started three consecutive innings with a lead-off infield error.

[Gryph]

Wieters is average for arm and base running related reasons but I'm pretty sure he's a negative for pitch framing.

If you want to watch the Nats defense go ugly, I didn't see a ton of it but I know Roark started three consecutive innings with a lead-off infield error.

It's because Wieters can't catch breaking balls or two seamers, he'll stab catch them. Maldonado and Ramos did that for a while to. As for the older post (sorry was working) i say the Mariners defense is bad at times cause I watch some of their games when I get the chance like I do all teams, the problem with them is I notice they are slightly out of position at times and their OF tends to wander a little in random directions, which tends to screw with Range Factors and Catching%. Jarrod Dyson does that a lot, it's not entirely their fault though, that falls on the manager and scouting department, once April ends we'll be able to see if they fix the problem.

[Nightmarez]

It's because Wieters can't catch breaking balls or two seamers, he'll stab catch them. Maldonado and Ramos did that for a while to. As for the older post (sorry was working) i say the Mariners defense is bad at times cause I watch some of their games when I get the chance like I do all teams, the problem with them is I notice they are slightly out of position at times and their OF tends to wander a little in random directions, which tends to screw with Range Factors and Catching%. Jarrod Dyson does that a lot, it's not entirely their fault though, that falls on the manager and scouting department, once April ends we'll be able to see if they fix the problem.

Yeah I think the thing tho with the Mariners is that right now they have three guys who can probably play CF right now in that OF.

[Spencer 555]

I think defensive metrics are eventually going to find that LF and RF are different beasts then CF and not all elite CFers can play the corners at the same elite level. Having 3 CFers isn't what it's hyped up to be really imo.

[Hugh]

The Mariners outfield has been subpar defensively for a while. They tried to address it this season by adding Dyson and Haniger, but we'll see. Haniger should definitely be an upgrade in right over we've had since Ichiro left, but he's pretty raw. The other day he literally lost the game by dropping a ball with the bases loaded. He was on the run but it bounced right out of his glove. It was a pretty routine play that cleared the bases. And Gryph is right about Dyson. They say he's out of position a lot but makes up for it with speed.
But the Mariners are 3-8 because of bullpen struggles and inability to hit with runners in scoring position. That's been the story early, but it's still early.
I was just hoping I wouldn't be saying "it's still early" this early. :)

[Hulky]

"Unbelievably classy move here by Greg Bird paying tribute to Jackie Robinson with his batting average. h/t @McCartyConnor"
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9eWeKmXsAAJH4m.jpg

lol'd he's my 1B in fantasy and it's been tough so far

[Gryph]

He'll come around. He needs to take a lessen from this years chase headley. If they throw outside, go outside, throw inside, move dem hips. He looks like he's up there pressing trying to pull one to the short porch to get himself started. It's weird, i don't know where this little hand hitch thing he's been doing has come from, but hopefully someone notices it and fixes it, cause he didn't have that last year. Last thing I want is Heyward 2.0 with the whole batting crap.

[Sanosuke]

braves. ijs. 2-3 more years and we'll be playoff bound

[Spencer 555]

Hard to say, if probably give it 3-5.

I think the jays should tank this year. If we can get good value for Bautista and Martin at the deadline, this could be a quick turnaround for the franchise. Really confident with some of our low minors prospects, vlad Jr and bo bichette appear to be superstars in the making.

[Sanosuke]

Hard to say, if probably give it 3-5.

I think the jays should tank this year. If we can get good value for Bautista and Martin at the deadline, this could be a quick turnaround for the franchise. Really confident with some of our low minors prospects, vlad Jr and bo bichette appear to be superstars in the making.

Our FO has nailed the offseason and rebuilt our farm from the ground up. SUPER OPTIMISTIC result of this season is Wild Card. Realistic result is probably finishing around 75-87. Dansby won't breakout for another couple years but the experience he's gonna get this year will be super valuable, especially with Freeman looking out for him since he was in the same boat. I kinda hope we keep Inciarte, can deal with us trading Markakis for some great farm talent but I don't think they will. Ozzie Albies needs more ABs but will be the 2B of the future. Swanson, Ablies, and Freeman is a stellar infield. We have Kemp for two more years and will be done with him, which is good to have a nice power bat if the team inexplicably comes around ahead of schedule.

Kobly Allard will be ready in about 2-3 years and projects to be a very strong #2 guy. Have another 3 arms in the minors that project to be starters in the next 3 years as well.

I expect us to start contending in 2019 with some offseason moves with all of our farm talent. I don't think the FO wants to squander Freeman's prime years. We have him signed through age 31(2021). I'd imagine they extend him through age 34 though.

[Serge]

For as long as the Braves' new stadium exists you must live with the knowledge that Bryce Harper hit the the first Grand Slam there.

[Sanosuke]

Bryce Harper makes Teheran his bitch. I don't hate the Nationals like I hate the Phillies, if anything I respect how the Nationals have built - good pitching and good offense and slightly below average defense. The Nationals will probably go deep in the playoffs this year imo.

[Hugh]

Ichiro homered in the 9th inning yesterday in what was probably his last at bat ever at Safeco. I was watching it and fans were giving him a standing o before he hit it. Definitely got chills. He turns 44 this year so chances are he's done.
What a player.

[KBHoleN1]

I saw the highlight of that. He walked back to the bench like he didn't believe it really happened. Didn't even look happy, just confused, haha. What a player, indeed.

[Sanosuke]

ichiro is a treasure tbh

[Hugh]

Harper is a monster. What happened to him last year? I know it's a silly question but I actually can't remember. I know he started last season just like this one, then either got hurt or started slumping because of an injury or something.

[Gryph]

Harper is a monster. What happened to him last year? I know it's a silly question but I actually can't remember. I know he started last season just like this one, then either got hurt or started slumping because of an injury or something.

neck / shoulder injury

[Hulky]

Kluber had a CG shut out

[Hugh]

This shit with Eric Thames is pretty funny. I remember him in Seattle 5 years ago, the last time he played in the majors. Looked like a textbook career minor leaguer. A softball player. It's incredible to come back after 5 years and do this, even if it's just a hot start and he turns back into a pumpkin in May.

[Gryph]

This shit with Eric Thames is pretty funny. I remember him in Seattle 5 years ago, the last time he played in the majors. Looked like a textbook career minor leaguer. A softball player. It's incredible to come back after 5 years and do this, even if it's just a hot start and he turns back into a pumpkin in May.

I think he will soon honestly. I mean, the dude couldn't hit offspeed, went to Japan, learned how to do it there and returned. The problem is he's absolutely MASHING inside pitches / high / low middle, and is pretty ineffective on pitches low and away so far this season (i think his contact rate on low and away is like under .100 and he's chasing them to), so it's only a matter of time until the memo is out and they start pitching him low/away.

It's either one of two scenarios :

A - He starts crowding the plate ala Rizzo and changes his stride and continues mashing
B - He start getting pitched around if no one is on base or 2 outs, his OBP will climb, but his avg will dip cause he'll see junk city until he can learn to hit it

[Spencer 555]

Pitchers have been trying to pitch around him already actually. I'm believing the hype man. Dude has a great approach and big-time power.

[Gryph]

Pitchers have been trying to pitch around him already actually. I'm believing the hype man. Dude has a great approach and big-time power.

I believe it to. But he has a legit weakness low/away, he can still drive it from there, but not as effective as what the Reds "Just keep jamming him" approach seems to be lol

[Spencer 555]

Lol true the home run pace is obviously unsustainable. What u think he finishes with avg/obp wise and homer wise if u had to guess?

I think 260/350 with 30 bombs by the end of the season is his floor at this point honestly.

[Hugh]

I saw Trea Turner for the Nats hit for the cycle. That's awesome. For some reason that's always been one of my favorite things in baseball.

[Sanosuke]

the cycle is a great feat, probably one of my favorites too other than seeing guys stuff the stat sheet with something like 4/4, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 SB or something like that

[Gryph]

Lol true the home run pace is obviously unsustainable. What u think he finishes with avg/obp wise and homer wise if u had to guess?

I think 260/350 with 30 bombs by the end of the season is his floor at this point honestly.

If he adjusts to low and away and can drive it, I'd say .280-.300 / 40 HR / .330-.360 OBP

If he can't, probably .260-.270 / 25-30HR / .300-.310

[KBHoleN1]

Read an article on ESPN about Heyward's good start to the year. He said that he traced a lot of his struggles at the plate back to being a leadoff hitter in Atlanta. He said he wasn't used to being a leadoff hitter, and going up there first made him more passive, trying to work the count and see pitches and get on base, and he lost his aggressive, middle-of-the-order-hitter mindset that he brought into the bigs. Here's hoping he has his groove back and mashes it all season long. And fuck Fredi Gonzalez.

[Gryph]

Read an article on ESPN about Heyward's good start to the year. He said that he traced a lot of his struggles at the plate back to being a leadoff hitter in Atlanta. He said he wasn't used to being a leadoff hitter, and going up there first made him more passive, trying to work the count and see pitches and get on base, and he lost his aggressive, middle-of-the-order-hitter mindset that he brought into the bigs. Here's hoping he has his groove back and mashes it all season long. And fuck Fredi Gonzalez.

His problem wasn't a leadoff hitter at all, it was this :

2012 : https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/TenderSplendidAfricanelephant (Firm and balanced)

2016 : https://gfycat.com/ifr/InsistentFlawlessJellyfish (Brings hands down, then back up creating more motion and a longer swingtime)

Get rid of that extra motion, I don't know where, when, why, and how it came about, but it pretty much ruined him for about 3 years. I kinda find it horseshit Heyward would attribute his crappy mechanics to batting leadoff in Atlanta. Instead of simply saying "Yeah, I had a hitch and was getting massacred on inside pitches. I think its time I stop moving the bat away and back before starting a swing"

[Spencer 555]

Same thing happened with Brett Lawrie. Stupid hand motion lol.

[Serge]

I saw Trea Turner for the Nats hit for the cycle. That's awesome. For some reason that's always been one of my favorite things in baseball.

Coors Field is such a mess. Murphy also hit a triple that game.

[KBHoleN1]

There are currently 8 major leaguers who have a higher batting average than Dansby Swanson's OPS (.357). His slash line is .138/.169/.188. The worst qualifying hitter in the majors. He hit .302/.361/.442 last year in 38 games. The kid is struggling big time. I hope he turns it around soon.

[Gryph]

There are currently 8 major leaguers who have a higher batting average than Dansby Swanson's OPS (.357). His slash line is .138/.169/.188. The worst qualifying hitter in the majors. He hit .302/.361/.442 last year in 38 games. The kid is struggling big time. I hope he turns it around soon.

Keeper dynasty I've been in for the better part of 8 years on CBS had a thread about him that's carried over for a while (mostly because I sold him off the second I won the bid for him in the league) :

Swanson was mostly the babip, that should come back.

However going just by offense I’m not sure I love his profile. A lot depends on his power. Last year his line was good but on the strength of a 380 babip.now I think he has a good hit tool and could maintain a 310 to 315 babip but for a guy with not terrible but limited power he also strikes out quite a bit (last year 23%). Now low 20s are basically almost average in these days but if he strikes out 23% with a 310 babip and 13 HR (used to be okay for a ss but in a league where Freddy galvis hit 20 it is well below average) or so with average to slightly better walk rate you have probably like a 95 wRC+ or so. That plays of course with his defense and he could still be a 3 win player but if he wants to become a real star what some hope for him he either needs to lower his Ks to 15 to 16% or get his HR up at least to average (18 to 20).

Those adjustments are not unheard if at his age and even if he doesn’t do them he can be a productive regular but he has to do them if he wants to become a real star. It's just a fastball - Slider adjustment. Cause they are eating him up at this point.

^ Bout sums up my thoughts on him.

[KBHoleN1]

Good post, thanks.

[Sanosuke]

Dansby Swanson is a lot better than what his stats dictate. He's no gonna be a world beater but he'll get more power later in his career and he was brought up for his bat first and glove second.

[Hugh]

Nats are fucking killing it at the plate. Wow.

[The One]

I went to the Giants Dodgers game Wednesday night - hell of a fucking game. Christian Arroyo is already looking like a potential stud. Michael Morse getting called up and pinch hitting a homerun that would eventually allow the Giants to win in extras was thrilling. I got flashbacks from the 2014 postseason when he went yard against the Cardinals.

[Serge]

Nats are fucking killing it at the plate. Wow.

Ryan Zimmerman hitting .387/.439/.800. That's beyond belief. He usually starts slow and only gets hot 3 weeks before the injury that derails his season.

Also, remember how hot Harper started the season the year he won MVP and everyone said he would come down to earth because no one can do that for a whole season and then it was Septemeber and he was wrapping up the best offensive performance since Barry Bonds was in his prime? Well, don't look now but Harper is currently on a pace that no one could possibly sustain for a whole season.

[Hugh]

Aaron Judge is an absolute freak. What the fuck with this caveman? 6'7" 280 lbs? Wow.

[Gryph]

Aaron Judge is an absolute freak. What the fuck with this caveman? 6'7" 280 lbs? Wow.

I'm loving every minute of it.

[Gryph]

SUCK IT BALTIMORE!

hyped as fuck about that game, came back down 11-1 in the 7th to win.

[Spencer 555]

Damn that's impressive, Baltimore's pen is really damn good

[Spencer 555]

I don't think I've ever seen a team score 20 runs in a game, holy crap

[Serge]

Is there like, a banking system we can use? Store these runs for September?

Rendon 6/6 with 3 HR and 10 RBI.

[Hugh]

That's incredible. What a game.

[Hugh]

The Nats have scored 170 runs in 25 games. That's 6.8 runs per game, which is just fucking ridiculous.

[Sanosuke]

Hats off to Ian desmond

[Hugh]

What did he do?

[Sanosuke]

I'm an idiot. Used to Desmond playing for nats. Saw the rendon line and confused the two.

Oh well. I'll hold the L

[Hugh]

Mike Trout is a Terminator. Cyberdyne Systems model 101. Living tissue over metal exoskeleton. I'm convinced of it.
Nothing else makes sense.

Edit- Aaron Judge is one, too.

[Maverik]

don't tell that to Wizzy

[Hugh]

Serge, when is this Ryan Zimmerman joke going to be over? He's a good player and all but this shit is ridiculous.

[Spencer 555]

Ya I don't think anyone saw this one coming.

[Gryph]

Welcome back Aaron Hicks. I hope the Yankees get Aaron Altherr from the Phillies, then we can sell shirts that say

NICE HIT AY-AY-RON

I'm sorry. I'll go home now.

[Serge]

Serge, when is this Ryan Zimmerman joke going to be over? He's a good player and all but this shit is ridiculous.

He's making up for lost time due to injury. Also, he must have known he was about to go off this year because he took that reporter to court over the whole Al Jazeera report that said Peyton Manning was on HGH and included Zimmerman in its list of names. He wanted the world to know he was doing this clean.

[Hugh]

That and he stripped naked under a fool moon, sacrificed a goat, covered himself in its blood and then danced around a baseball diamond singing Take me out to the Ballgame in Haitian Creole.

[Blexican]

Zimmerman will slow down and slump hard.

And by slow down and slump, i mean he will get injured.

Again.

[Spencer 555]

I'm having deja vu blex lol

[Elphaba]

Went to a padres dodgers game last weekend. Score was 10-2, it rained a bit, and the sun was in my eyes for a good 30-45 minutes.
But we were floor level and 13 rows back from the field by first base for 30/ticket. Had a great time.

[The One]

Giants currently the worst team in baseball...bullpen is looking like trash. Bumgarner can't get back healthy fast enough.

[Greendaybum5]

Giants currently the worst team in baseball...bullpen is looking like trash. Bumgarner can't get back healthy fast enough.

Don't worry it's an odd year. They'll win the World Series next year.

[The One]

Don't worry it's an odd year. They'll win the World Series next year.

I sure hope so, but I doubt it. If the Giants can make it to the playoffs I'd be more than happy.

[Sanosuke]

Freddie Freeman is going to win MVP on a team that'll have 90+ losses.

[Spencer 555]

I pegged Freeman for a breakout this year in the smaller ballpark. Turner field was a shit hole. He's been even better then I expected.

Other guys i pegged for big "breakouts":

Dj Lemahieu
Matt Carpenter
Christian Yellich
Bryce Harper (lol)
Kevin Pillar
Kevin Kiermaier

[Gryph]

I pegged Freeman for a breakout this year in the smaller ballpark. Turner field was a shit hole. He's been even better then I expected.

Other guys i pegged for big "breakouts":

Dj Lemahieu
Matt Carpenter
Christian Yellich
Bryce Harper (lol)
Kevin Pillar
Kevin Kiermaier

So basically, the "easy ones" :P

CMON MAN GIMME DEM ALONSO'S AND THAMES

[Hugh]

Anyone who says he picked Thames to have a breakout season is completely full of shit.:)

[Spencer 555]

So basically, the "easy ones" :P

CMON MAN GIMME DEM ALONSO'S AND THAMES

Haha I dunno man, it's not that easy to pick big-time breakouts from already established guys. I usually try to focus on that and then the big-time sleeper types. I didn't have time to get a read on the deeper sleepers this year honestly. Suarez, Story and Miller (brad) were all guys I had pegged last year. Alonso and Thames are completely random to me though, I'll be honest I never would have expected anything much from either. That being said Thames shouldn't really have been that surprising, he completely destroyed the Korean league.

[Gryph]

Haha I dunno man, it's not that easy to pick big-time breakouts from already established guys. I usually try to focus on that and then the big-time sleeper types. I didn't have time to get a read on the deeper sleepers this year honestly. Suarez, Story and Miller (brad) were all guys I had pegged last year. Alonso and Thames are completely random to me though, I'll be honest I never would have expected anything much from either. That being said Thames shouldn't really have been that surprising, he completely destroyed the Korean league.

Yeah, I feel ya. I pegged Alonso early on for a uptick in power (not by that much though), a lot of the rumors from Fangraphs and A's had him retooling his swings and the reports from ST and Camp have been he's been almost methodical in his approach to fixing it.

[Spencer 555]

Ya he's always been a skilled contact guy with a little pop. It'll be interesting to see how this all turns out for him. Definitely trust in Thames more then the Alonzo thing right now, probably cause I'm a bluejay homer and I used to call Eric Thames, EpicTaymez (like epic times with a borat accent)

[Hulky]

I picked up both Yonder Alonso and Ryan Zimmerman in fantasy to start over Greg Bird at times but cut them pretty fast after finding zero info that supported they were going to be good.

It kinda sucks to have actually done the dope move and gave up on it. Twice. At my weakest position.

[Spencer 555]

They both could be potatoes soon and you'll have kicked yourself for nothing ;).

[Gryph]

I picked up both Yonder Alonso and Ryan Zimmerman in fantasy to start over Greg Bird at times but cut them pretty fast after finding zero info that supported they were going to be good.

It kinda sucks to have actually done the dope move and gave up on it. Twice. At my weakest position.

Yonder is here to stay. Eno Sarris pegged his ass back in Spring Training and he was absolutely right. : http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/yonder-alonso-has-changed-his-mind/

He's on pace for 66. But realistically I can see a .270 / 16 rest of the way, which I'm cool with.

[Spencer 555]

Love Eno lol

[Gryph]

Eno is the man, everytime he's on the Sleeper and the bust podcast I immediately tune in

[Spencer 555]

I haven't listened to fangraphs audio in so long lol

[Gryph]

Eno is the sole reason I went 12-0 last year in that league. I helped out Mistretta with his team on the waiver wire cause he got stuck at work (because I felt bad and left early forcing him to stay and miss the draft) but I passed up on Rick Porcello and Kyle Hendricks and keyed him in on them. Just imagine that for a second, I would of had like...7 out of the top 10 Cy Youngs on that team lol.

2016 : Carrasco, Quintana, Kershaw, Duffy, Skaggs, Porcello, Hendricks. mmmmmmhm

We should find some people and do an Ottoneu league lol.

[Spencer 555]

It's hard to disagree with anything eno ever says about pitching. Those tasty pitcher rankings lol. I was pretty in on Hendricks last year too, but porcello I would probably not have jumped on unless he fell to me. Stroman and Estrada were guys i was high on this year along with urias. I'm extremely high on urias but I think I'm a year early based on the early takeaways (2 starts lol)

[Gryph]

Dodgers do a better way than the Reds when it comes to service time and call-ups.

Like, take Amir Garret for example, he had one bad start, does exceptional, then gets "sent down to limit his innings" if you wanted to limit his innings, they wouldn't of left him in there to get shellac'd. It's them saying "Service time for an extra season" type crap. The Dodgers on the other hand use them for organizational depth even the highest prospects. And they call them up later on in the season to get those "limit innings" it's a shame that it takes young kids 4 years to ever truly become a pitcher, unless you're a once in a generation arm like Kershaw.

Urias will be quite serviceable this year, didn't he take a no hitter into the 5th last start? Urias is an all over right now when it comes to his advanced metrics, low babip, high strand rate, but a 1:1 k/bb ratio. However, what contact he does give is either GB (37%) or FB (32%), he's yet to give up a homer, I don't get Dodger games, but just looking at that, having a young guy like that who can pound both high and low quadrants effectively like that at such a young age, 1/5th of his K's are looking and the rest are swing and miss, so the stuff is obviously there as is the deception in the looking department, I'm more concerned on why he's not throwing that curveball anymore. Hopefully he's not shying away from the Rich Hill disease.

Matt Moore had an interesting comment when it came to the blister thing, that the meaty part of their fingers press on the seams, pitchers who throw a fuckton of curveballs tend to develop them at a younger age, but Rich redefining himself by almost exclusively throwing them at this point keeps putting him on the shelf. Matt Moore mentioned he's pitched through it until it turned into a callus. I wonder if Rich said something to Urias which is causing him to shy away from it at times. He's only throwing it 6% of the time this season, compared to 16% the year before. That's a pretty deep drop in %

[Spencer 555]

I don't get how having a blister would even stop you from pitching. I used pitch at a pretty high level (in Canada) and I've gotten plenty of blisters that didnt prevent me from pitching. I'd love to see what hill is dealing with.

[Gryph]

I don't get how having a blister would even stop you from pitching. I used pitch at a pretty high level (in Canada) and I've gotten plenty of blisters that didnt prevent me from pitching. I'd love to see what hill is dealing with.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/you-can-probably-blame-rich-hills-blisters-on-his-curveball/

Eno to the rescue brotha lol

[Spencer 555]

Lol ya I dunno. Just play through the pain.

[KBHoleN1]

Lol ya I dunno. Just play through the pain.

lolwut?

[KBHoleN1]

Pitching is an act of extreme and violent athleticism. But it is also one of extraordinary finesse, especially at the point where the baseball departs from the hand. In order to pitch effectively, you need to be able to release the ball off your fingertips in a specific place, and with a specific amount of pressure, over and over again. When you have a blister, you can't.

"Have you ever had a blister on your foot, and you don't have a Band-Aid, and you're walking, and suddenly inadvertently you're limping because of it?" said Leiter. "You just can't help it. It's impossible to throw a ball if you have a blister. It hurts, it's sore, it's coming off your finger, it starts to bleed."

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/twisted-blister-rich-hill-and-baseballs-biggest-little-injury

[The Butcher]

I love it when ordinary people wonder why super star athletes do what they do.

[Hugh]

4 of the Mariners 5 starting pitchers are on the DL already. We've got a minor leaguer taking the mound every night
A combination of playing bad teams and suddenly scoring 10 runs a night has allowed them to crawl back to .500, which has been fun to watch, but it sucks that the offense is finally clicking and we have some excitement young talent and no fucking rotation.

[Spencer 555]

Like I said, I'd love to see the blister lol. I used to pitch guys (still do in a men's fastball league every summer) and I've had a blister exactly where they're talking about many times. I used to throw the ball in the low 80s though and I didn't have a curve worth throwing. Still, its hard for me to understand the massive difference between me pitching with a blister at 80mph and an mlb pitcher when I know how easy it was to pitch through the pain (for me). If it's the same kind of blister as the shitty ones I've had on the foot sure, but I haven't seen rich hills finger and I've literally had that injury and pitched at a pretty high level.

[The Butcher]

I think the MLB is a tad higher of a level than your summer league pitching dude.

Just a tad

[Maverik]

I dunno man

you ever played in a Canadian summer rec league? pretty intense

[Maverik]

Canadian *men's summer rec league

sorry, spencer

crucial detail

[Gryph]

Like I said, I'd love to see the blister lol. I used to pitch guys (still do in a men's fastball league every summer) and I've had a blister exactly where they're talking about many times. I used to throw the ball in the low 80s though and I didn't have a curve worth throwing. Still, its hard for me to understand the massive difference between me pitching with a blister at 80mph and an mlb pitcher when I know how easy it was to pitch through the pain (for me). If it's the same kind of blister as the shitty ones I've had on the foot sure, but I haven't seen rich hills finger and I've literally had that injury and pitched at a pretty high level.

Curves are different, you're essentially grinding it across the seams when you throw it. I had a Fb/Splitter/Sinker combo in HS, I was a catcher Freshman year and we lost a lot of guys to injury and asked if I could pitch (used to in little league) so I just kinda went with it and he asked if I wanted to do it regularly the following year cause he liked what he saw (One love, Coach Sicco), but after about a month I started incorporating a screwball because I needed something down or arm side run more than the splitter, I took the Mike Norris approach (it's held with a circle change up grip, and you release it similar to how you turn a doorknob. Hold your hand with the OK hand gesture, and then turn it at a 45 degree angle, that's how I released it) and it absolutely MURDERED the top inside joint of my middle finger.

I can see where Hill is coming from, but I honestly just think he has baby hands at this point. If he's thrown 690 in 2 years and still doesn't have a callus, then his skin is either super soft and made of vagina, or he keeps changing the pressure point on his finger.

[Spencer 555]

I know im in a different universe guys.

[Maverik]

its called Canadia

[Hugh]

Obviously Spencer is a lot tougher and better at dealing with adversity and playing through pain/injury than professional baseball players who have reached the absolute pinnacle of their sport.
Like, duh.

#here2help

[Spencer 555]

That could very easily be true hugh. I've played through a lot injuries in my life. I understand I'm not playing anywhere near the same level of competition, but rich hill could just be a giant pussy with vagina hands. At least gryph understands where I'm coming from lol.

[Hugh]

No, Spencer. It absolutely could not be true. That's why it was a joke.

#here2help

[Spencer 555]

Bartolo colon would pitch through that injury.

[The One]

16 innings vs the Reds and I'm still watching this shitfest. Smfh why?

[Hulky]

A's tickets are now ~$1.33 a game
http://www.sfchronicle.com/athletics/amp/A-s-19-99-a-month-offer-takes-cheap-seats-to-a-11143346.php

[The One]

Giants with a 3 game winning streak, thank god. With a series against the Dodgers on tap, I hope they can let this momentum propel them out of the stairway closet.

[Spencer 555]

Likely. But that division is really tough now imo. The snacks and Rockies are no joke.

[Spencer 555]

Cool article about Miguel Sano. Probably my favourite young player in the league right now. I've absolutely loved his plate approach since he came up and he's the only player I've ever watched strikeout over 30% of the time and look fantastic doing it. Chris Davis is similar, but Sano is going to be hitting 50 bombs a year on the regular in his prime and not have as many batting average concerns because of the quality of his contact. Wish I was as high on him in fantasy this year as I was last year, I didn't expect him to "breakout" so soon. Imagine if this guy figures out how to strikeout somewhere in the 25-30% range...

[Spencer 555]

How do u strikeout 36% of the time and not look like u have any holes in your swing lol

[Sanosuke]

Freddie Freeman is a top 3 hitter in baseball and it's not even really debatable. Other two being trout and harper

[Gryph]

How do u strikeout 36% of the time and not look like u have any holes in your swing lol

I can only assume anyone who has pure ++offspeed stuff and gets him in a 2 strike count K's him because he turns into a guess hitter and sits on something.

[Spencer 555]

Freddie Freeman is a top 3 hitter in baseball and it's not even really debatable. Other two being trout and harper

I'd put Goldie and Betts in that mix too.

[Hugh]

Is Miguel Cabrera out of the conversation already? I know he's off to slow start, for like the first time ever, but still.

[Hugh]

The Astros are REALLY good.

[Spencer 555]

Ya I'd say so. He's not quite washed up, but hes not in that upper echelon imo.

[Spencer 555]

[QUOTE=Hugh;41004]The Astros are REALLY

Scary thing is they have a really good and deep farm system still.

[Hugh]

Ya I'd say so. He's not quite washed up, but hes not in that upper echelon imo.

Maybe. Last season Miggy was .316/.393/.563. He had a .956 OPS? 38 bombs and 108 RBI. Those numbers are almost exactly his career average across the board.
I mean you could be right. This might be the year he lost it. Happens to everyone eventually. But there's been no gradual slide for Cabrera. Last season he was definitely one of the best hitters in baseball. I'm not ready to say he still isn't just yet.

[Sanosuke]

Maybe. Last season Miggy was .316/.393/.563. He had a .956 OPS? 38 bombs and 108 RBI. Those numbers are almost exactly his career average across the board.
I mean you could be right. This might be the year he lost it. Happens to everyone eventually. But there's been no gradual slide for Cabrera. Last season he was definitely one of the best hitters in baseball. I'm not ready to say he still isn't just yet.

I think he's a Top 10 hitter, but not top 3 anymore. Still says a lot considering the number of batters in baseball imo.

[Sanosuke]

That could very easily be true hugh. I've played through a lot injuries in my life. I understand I'm not playing anywhere near the same level of competition, but rich hill could just be a giant pussy with vagina hands. At least gryph understands where I'm coming from lol.

You do understand that there are more important things like long term health and being available for when it counts instead of playing through pain early in the regular season and potentially putting yourself out longer, right? Literally why they made the 10 day DL, so players aren't forced to play through things in order to avoid a 30 day DL stint.

stop being retarded

[Spencer 555]

You do understand that there are more important things like long term health and being available for when it counts instead of playing through pain early in the regular season and potentially putting yourself out longer, right? Literally why they made the 10 day DL, so players aren't forced to play through things in order to avoid a 30 day DL stint.

stop being retarded

This blister thing has been an issue for over a year at this point sano..

[Gryph]

This blister thing has been an issue for over a year at this point sano..

^

Lets face it, he has vagina hands. And he's a puss if he can't get a callus at this point, Lemme throw 68 out of 100 pitches for curveballs, oh got a blister, time to get shut down for a month, lemme throw 65 this time, oh my blister came back, time to get shut down another month.

Vagina hands. Simple as that. Maybe his offseason should include being a man and doing manly things instead of sitting on his ass wishing his hands were better

Lay off the fucking kale chips and yoga and go chop some wood and hang out in cigar bars where the air is so thick your skin will turn to leather.

[KBHoleN1]

http://0.media.collegehumor.cvcdn.com/a/6/collegehumor.b7e560fa71e8651db0503416820dcedf.jpg

[Sanosuke]

This blister thing has been an issue for over a year at this point sano..


^

Lets face it, he has vagina hands. And he's a puss if he can't get a callus at this point, Lemme throw 68 out of 100 pitches for curveballs, oh got a blister, time to get shut down for a month, lemme throw 65 this time, oh my blister came back, time to get shut down another month.

Vagina hands. Simple as that. Maybe his offseason should include being a man and doing manly things instead of sitting on his ass wishing his hands were better

Lay off the fucking kale chips and yoga and go chop some wood and hang out in cigar bars where the air is so thick your skin will turn to leather.

I think you guys are making this too big of a deal. Someone like Rich Hill, is pretty valuable by providing a few wins over the year even if he doesn't make 32 starts than making him pitch through blisters and making the team take more losses down the long run. I get that it's funny to just say vagina hands over and over, but it's also easy to criticize Rich Hill and any other athlete from an arm chair like we all do. I'm sure the guy is doing everything he can to get through the blister shit, especially if he wants to continue to be employed and enjoy his paychecks.

[Spencer 555]

Dudes got a 3 year contract until he's 40 lol. I don't think he has any delusions of pitching beyond that. I'll put money on this blister being a 36 million dollar problem for the Dodgers. Not that I care about the Dodgers spending habits.

[Spencer 555]

And honestly, this wasn't an argument about rich hill's value. It was more an argument as to whether or not rich hill is a little bitch and whether or not it's appropriate for me to call him one based on my fairly incomparable experience.

[Sanosuke]

aren't you a jays fan?

[KBHoleN1]

The Blue Jays are such a trashy organization. Pillar threw a hissy fit last night because he got quick pitched, called Motte a faggot. Then the next inning Bautista hits a solo shot in a 5-run game and of course he has to stare down the pitcher and flip his bat halfway to the Braves dugout. You're hitting .208/.330/.376. You're playing below replacement level right now. You're losing your third straight game to the basement-dwelling Braves (who have climbed into 2nd place in the East thanks to your garbage team). But yeah, totally show your ass when you stumble into a fastball.

[Spencer 555]

Hard to be a jays fan this year. I'm a big Freddy Freeman fan too so I'm not happy about that outcome. That all being said, I have no problem with Bautista staring down his homers, he needs the drama to get in the zone. Emotional guy, and the game is better when players get heated. We can't all play the game the white way.

[Spencer 555]

You guys should ch3ck out the post game interview for pillar btw. He said he lost control and his behaviour was immature and uncalled for. He's a stand up guy and I'm a massive fan of pillar.

[Sanosuke]

Hard to be a jays fan this year. I'm a big Freddy Freeman fan too so I'm not happy about that outcome. That all being said, I have no problem with Bautista staring down his homers, he needs the drama to get in the zone. Emotional guy, and the game is better when players get heated. We can't all play the game the white way.

No need to flip your bat on a solo shot in a game that was out of hand.

Jays pitchers have hit 7 batters in this series. 7. Including breaking freeman's wrist. Would be the last person if I were you to call any other players bitches like Rich Hill when literally your organization can't handle themselves.

[Hugh]

There's never a NEED to flip a bat in any game. Ever. It's a celebration. A gesture to the screaming fans. They are performers. It's entertainment.
If a pitcher feels insulted or slighted, fuck him. He's on a stage making millions, and it's a competition. If he strikes the guy out next time, scream and fist pump like a motherfucker.
I will never understand why people make a big deal about the tiniest celebration after a home run. A bat flip, hop, slow walk. People act like they're grabbing their dicks with one hand and flipping the pitcher off with the other.

[Spencer 555]

No need to flip your bat on a solo shot in a game that was out of hand.

Jays pitchers have hit 7 batters in this series. 7. Including breaking freeman's wrist. Would be the last person if I were you to call any other players bitches like Rich Hill when literally your organization can't handle themselves.

Ya cause I'm an accurate representation of what my favourite team is putting on the field. Go home dude youre drunk.

[Serge]

Pitchers who don't like guys pimping home runs shouldn't hang sliders over the plate. 🐸☕

[Spencer 555]

I'm with you guys there. Big fan of being entertained. I think people get caught up in the unwritten rules of baseball and fail to remember that in the old days people actually had personalities.

Shocked the jays broadcast tonight praised the braves for keeping it classy (hitting Bautista intentionally). Great game from the boys tonight at least, if anyone kept it classy it was us for not retaliating imo. I definitely see it from the braves side, I just don't see any place in the game for intentionally throwing 90+ mph at someone.

[KBHoleN1]

The Blue Jays hit 7 Braves batters in the first 3 games. Including Freeman who's out for at least 2 months. How the fuck is anything they do in the 4th game classy?

[Sanosuke]

You literally called someone a bitch for not pitching through blisters when your entire time has been scumbags in this four game series. Pretty accurate representation.

[Spencer 555]

The Blue Jays hit 7 Braves batters in the first 3 games. Including Freeman who's out for at least 2 months. How the fuck is anything they do in the 4th game classy?

Instead of retaliating on a blatantly intentional play, they proceeded by accepting the "punishment" and leaving the bullshit off the field. That's class KB/sano. Throwing intentionally at someone isn't classy, especially when the umpire let's you do it twice because you missed the first one lol.

As for the blue jays hitting 7 players in the series and injuring Freeman? These things happen when you're playing against a terrible team. The blue jays are terrible this year. I've already stated that the Freeman injury is horseshit and I'm pissed about it too. But I think it's clear there is no rivalry between the braves and blue jays that would make us want to cause harm to any of you're players. You got you're (classy) revenge by intentionally throwing at Bautista and maybe Devon Travis as well so I hope we can move on and stop having tunnel vision about a bat flipping immigrant who doesn't play the game the way you want him to play.

[Spencer 555]

You literally called someone a bitch for not pitching through blisters when your entire time has been scumbags in this four game series. Pretty accurate representation.

I'm pretty sure the situation is at least somewhat justifiable Sano. What the blue jays are fielding and doing for the first three games of that series was just plain trash.

[Veilmenacex]

I seriously don't get spencer's arguements anymore its just making excuses over and over again... man I am tired of seeing his posts on MLB thread. I put a huge negative value scoring for any pitcher that throws wild pitches and hits batters in my fantasy league and spencer doesn't like it then go home spencer where you belong. If the only way you know how to win a baseball game is to intentionally hit their best batter ie. Freeman then you should go home Spencer where you belong that play was bullshit like you.

I made the scoring like this like it or not you are just bullshit spencer

hit batsman by a pitcher -3.3 points
wild pitch -2.2 points
balk -1.1 points

if you don't know how to pitch in the majors and you hit batters and throw wild pitches then you should go home. Every major league baseball pitcher must be able to throw strikes inside of intentionally hitting batters I think that should be made a requirement.

[Sanosuke]

stop having tunnel vision about a bat flipping immigrant who doesn't play the game the way you want him to play.

literally one of the dumbest things you ever said.

It's not about the bat flip, it's about when he did his bat flip. Y'all were in the process of losing a third game straight to the same team. And it was a solo homer. Stop being retarded. No one even said anything about him being a immigrant.

[manonfire101]

As usual in this thread, I agree with Sano. If you flip your bat, I'm going to throw one in your ear. I hope the fans find that entertaining.

Additionally, go Rockies.

[Spencer 555]

Long time no see buddy.

[Spencer 555]

literally one of the dumbest things you ever said.

It's not about the bat flip, it's about when he did his bat flip. Y'all were in the process of losing a third game straight to the same team. And it was a solo homer. Stop being retarded. No one even said anything about him being a immigrant.

I always just assume it's about race when it comes to a non white player celebrating and a bunch of angry white dudes being rubbed the wrong way because of some made up horseshit respect for the game.

It seems like it's a braves thing to get their panties in a bunch about the unwritten rules too. I remember a Carlos Gomez pimp shot a couple years ago that got the benches to clear in Atlanta for no reason lol. Crybabies imo.

[Veilmenacex]

why are we still talking about the same topic spencer is going on and on about let's move on to a different topic.

I swear if I have to read vagina hands one more time or bat flip being a professional show boat in MLB ... then well yeah someone is going to flip over get it...

[Veilmenacex]

Rockies are doing amazing 2nd in the MLB after Houston Astros oh man I love the Astros right now they are so exciting to watch. Keuchel, Springer, Correa, Altuve bring on the talent

[Spencer 555]

why are we still talking about the same topic spencer is going on and on about let's move on to a different topic.

I swear if I have to read vagina hands one more time or bat flip being a professional show boat in MLB ... then well yeah someone is going to flip over get it...

Cause it's the convo that never ends in baseball.

Is it classy or disrespectful to bitch about people celebrating a home run and intentionally throw a 90+ mph fastball at them because they're playing the game in a way that offends or immasculates you?

Is it classy or disrespectful to completely ignore everyone who insists that you behave a certain way and prescribe to the baseball etiquette, by waving the middle finger at them and playing the game how you want?

Some people on both sides of the argument, I sit more on the ladder and sano sits on the former.

[manonfire101]

Sup Spencer.