MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

[Kepler]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

Yaz at 80 sounds right. He was in his mid 40's when he retired (and looked like it too) and that was a lifetime ago.

Yaz was the one from Eastern L.I. who hated Boston, right?

Sounds legit.

 

[Swansong]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

That is one of the products of the "stat" era... The guy who hits 50HR, 95 RBI but strikes out 150+ times is more valuable than a .325 hitter with 5 HR, 85 RBI and 20 K's....

I think you have this exactly backwards. A .325 hitter with 200+ hits and 20 Ks is going to have crazy good advanced stats unless they never ever walk. Advanced stats pretty much ignore RBIs and while Ks are less bad than traditionally believed, 150-200 Ks better come with a TON of other positive stats. The "three true outcomes" philosophy is even newer and is somewhat less stat-reliant that you seem to think.

Smart teams would take a 4-4 night of four singles from a "slugger" pretty much any day of the week.

Angel Hernandez runs AJ Hinch....one pitch into a spring training game.

Worst umpire in the league? He's got to be close to it if not the outright worst. He stinks.

 

[Rover]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

The shift has been employed as far back as Ted Williams, and likely prior to that. Why people think it's some new thing is mystifying to me. It's used more because people finally figured out that data has value and tendencies are real and measurable, but like several stated, overcome or they'll find someone who will.

Gotta disagree here. It makes for boring a ss baseball. I get its been around for awhile and Williams used to basically push the ball over to third base for an easy single, but really do we want the best hitters bunting all day? B-O-R-I-N-G. Its something that's getting way overused to the detriment of making the game interesting and it needs to be addressed.

 

[French Rage]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

Gotta disagree here. It makes for boring a ss baseball. I get its been around for awhile and Williams used to basically push the ball over to third base for an easy single, but really do we want the best hitters bunting all day? B-O-R-I-N-G. Its something that's getting way overused to the detriment of making the game interesting and it needs to be addressed.

You know what would make baseball less boring. If the batter went out with a blindfold and twirled the bat around his head like a helicopter. Therefore, anything that stands in the way of this less boring thing must be removed.

 

[Kepler]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

Gotta disagree here. It makes for boring a ss baseball. I get its been around for awhile and Williams used to basically push the ball over to third base for an easy single, but really do we want the best hitters bunting all day? B-O-R-I-N-G. Its something that's getting way overused to the detriment of making the game interesting and it needs to be addressed.

But that isn't what happens. And if it was what happened then teams would abandon the shift.

I have no problem with super shifts. I actually think they're the opposite of boring -- they sure make scoring a game an adventure. Plus I think they are monumentally stupid and then the hitters are even stupider for getting beaten by them, so the whole thing works on the level of farce which is always fun.

I really think we can fix baseball with just 5 rule changes:

1. Pitch clock.
2. Hitter can't step out once he's in.
3. 3 PA min for pitchers.
4. No warm up pitches on the mound.
5. No visits to the mound -- signal any change from the bench.

Another thing we could do is 60 seconds between innings because f-ck advertising, but I would also ban all advertising (visual and aural) from all spaces as a fundamental civil right so I may not be the guy to ask.

 

[Rover]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

You know what would make baseball less boring. If the batter went out with a blindfold and twirled the bat around his head like a helicopter. Therefore, anything that stands in the way of this less boring thing must be removed.

That makes about as much sense as a Flaggy post, Frenchy.

Regarding hitters just going the opposite way, I've never tried to hit a 100 mph fastball, but I imagine trying to push one the opposite way that's on the inside of the plate is extremely difficult.

 

[joecct]

Yaz was the one from Eastern L.I. who hated Boston, right?

Sounds legit.

79. 8/22/39 Bridgehampton,NY

Potato farming family. Merrimack grad.

 

[SJHovey]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

But that isn't what happens. And if it was what happened then teams would abandon the shift.

I have no problem with super shifts. I actually think they're the opposite of boring -- they sure make scoring a game an adventure. Plus I think they are monumentally stupid and then the hitters are even stupider for getting beaten by them, so the whole thing works on the level of farce which is always fun.

I really think we can fix baseball with just 5 rule changes:

1. Pitch clock.
2. Hitter can't step out once he's in.
3. 3 PA min for pitchers.
4. No warm up pitches on the mound.
5. No visits to the mound -- signal any change from the bench.

Another thing we could do is 60 seconds between innings because f-ck advertising, but I would also ban all advertising (visual and aural) from all spaces as a fundamental civil right so I may not be the guy to ask.

The MLB Network occasionally runs some "classic games," usually it seems from the 1970's. Watching them I am struck by the difference in the length of each inning and each game, but it is also apparent that it is due almost 100% because of the actions of the pitcher and batter. Batters almost never stepped out of the box, and as soon as the pitcher got the ball within 10-15 seconds he was throwing the next pitch.

All of the other crap is a red herring. No stepping out of the batters box, and maybe a 10-15 second pitch clock from the time the ball is returned to the pitcher and we'd be back to 2:25 games.

 

[burd]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

Yaz was the one from Eastern L.I. who hated Boston, right?

Sounds legit.

79. 8/22/39 Bridgehampton,NY

Potato farming family. Merrimack grad.

My boyhood hero. Slept with his bat at one point.

No baby chopsticks, though. So much I didn't know.

 

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

But that isn't what happens. And if it was what happened then teams would abandon the shift.

I have no problem with super shifts. I actually think they're the opposite of boring -- they sure make scoring a game an adventure. Plus I think they are monumentally stupid and then the hitters are even stupider for getting beaten by them, so the whole thing works on the level of farce which is always fun.

I really think we can fix baseball with just 5 rule changes:

1. Pitch clock.
2. Hitter can't step out once he's in.
3. 3 PA min for pitchers.
4. No warm up pitches on the mound.
5. No visits to the mound -- signal any change from the bench.

Another thing we could do is 60 seconds between innings because f-ck advertising, but I would also ban all advertising (visual and aural) from all spaces as a fundamental civil right so I may not be the guy to ask.

Bolding mine.

1. Pitch clock. Never been a fan of this idea, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world
2. Hitter can't step out once he's in. Agreed, unless avoiding getting HBP
3. 3 PA min for pitchers. Only one pitching change per inning, unless pitcher gets injured
4. No warm up pitches on the mound. I like this idea, with the caveat that a relief pitcher can warm up if replacing an injured pitcher
5. No visits to the mound -- signal any change from the bench. 1 visit per inning, between hitters, pitching change must be made

Commerical breaks only between innings, not at the half inning. Rule 4 still applies.

 

[Hammer]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

The MLB Network occasionally runs some "classic games," usually it seems from the 1970's. Watching them I am struck by the difference in the length of each inning and each game, but it is also apparent that it is due almost 100% because of the actions of the pitcher and batter. Batters almost never stepped out of the box, and as soon as the pitcher got the ball within 10-15 seconds he was throwing the next pitch.

All of the other crap is a red herring. No stepping out of the batters box, and maybe a 10-15 second pitch clock from the time the ball is returned to the pitcher and we'd be back to 2:25 games.

You're not getting back to a 2:25 game as long as there's 50 minutes of advertising every game, between innings. You can scale that back and take 15 minutes out of each game right off the bat by selling advertising during the game instead of every half-inning. Every game has a little scoreboard in the corner, at the top, or on the bottom of the screen. Sell screen time there in lieu of a couple 30-second commercials per half inning, and you're there. You're down under 2:50 right there, and if you add a 20-second pitch clock and force the hitters to stay in the box, you're pushing 2:40, and call it a day.

NFL games run north of 3:30 now, NBA is around 2:15, and NHL is over 2:30. You're fairly in line at that point in the low 2:40's. We're not going back to 1966, and frankly, I don't think people would want that. That **** near killed the game in the 1st place.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

Bolding mine.

1. Pitch clock. Never been a fan of this idea, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world
2. Hitter can't step out once he's in. Agreed, unless avoiding getting HBP
3. 3 PA min for pitchers. Only one pitching change per inning, unless pitcher gets injured
4. No warm up pitches on the mound. I like this idea, with the caveat that a relief pitcher can warm up if replacing an injured pitcher
5. No visits to the mound -- signal any change from the bench. 1 visit per inning, between hitters, pitching change must be made

Commerical breaks only between innings, not at the half inning. Rule 4 still applies.

The RP spends an inning usually getting warm. To hell with that, get out there and throw the d-mn ball.

 

[Hammer]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

The RP spends an inning usually getting warm. To hell with that, get out there and throw the d-mn ball.

The difference is, the mound is always a little bit different. Even the batters probably want the pitcher to get used to it, for their own safety. I'd rather they cut the number of warm-up pitches in half, to 4 instead of 8.

 

[JF_Gophers]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

Radio comm between catcher, manager and pitcher solves a lot of the slow downs. No going through signs or running out to chat.

 

[joecct]

Radio comm between catcher, manager and pitcher solves a lot of the slow downs. No going through signs or running out to chat.

The Future:

Patriots will be selling intercept technology to MLB clubs by May.

NSA employees will be making prop bets based on intercepted signals

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

The difference is, the mound is always a little bit different. Even the batters probably want the pitcher to get used to it, for their own safety. I'd rather they cut the number of warm-up pitches in half, to 4 instead of 8.

I’m sure some nerd is going to tell me that half an inch in the mound is an ocean of difference. Hogwash. These are the best in the world. They shouldn’t need it. Build the mound in the same way in the pens and be done with it. It’s not hard.

 

[The Rube]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

I’m sure some nerd is going to tell me that half an inch in the mound is an ocean of difference. Hogwash. These are the best in the world. They shouldn’t need it. Build the mound in the same way in the pens and be done with it. It’s not hard.

A half an inch IS a difference, BUT, I agree, make the warmup mounds the same. Even at amateur levels, measurements cause a difference. One can tell.

 

[burd]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

A half an inch IS a difference, BUT, I agree, make the warmup mounds the same. Even at amateur levels, measurements cause a difference. One can tell.

Half an inch is not going to make a meaningful difference to these guys for this purpose. The wind speed and angle probably affects their pitches far more than half an inch of mound height would, and the pens are always different in that regard.

That said, I'm sure there was a time when teams allowed their visitor's bullpen to slide out of compliance.

 

[SonofSouthie]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

Trout staying with the Angels.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26306935/sources-angels-trout-430m-extension

 

[Kepler]

Re: MLB 2018.2: Postseason, Free Agency, and Awards

He's probably underpaid.

VERY nice to see he won't be in pinstripes, though.