Around Baseball 2021

[Spanky__99]

The pitch clock is the single biggest change they can make that will improve the game. If they changed nothing else besides that, they'd still see a dramatic improvement. Hopefully they implement it next season. It might force the Dolis' of the world into retirement, but I'm sure the game will survive without them. I also like limiting the pick off attempts. That will not go over well with the older crowd, but will definitely cut some of the dead time between pitches, and stolen bases are one of the most exciting plays in the game so adding more of that will help.

 

I think all the rules will help the sport become more visually appealing. Baseball doesn't need a huge change, just minor adjustments. None of these changes hurts the "integrity of the game", so even the ones against it will probably get over it soon enough.

 

That takes away the best cat and mouse in the game, pitcher's shouldn't be hurt by a skill set, not ever should that be implemented. Base stealers should deal with it. You want more baserunning, groom them. Teams groom relievers.

[Spanky__99]

Holy s***.

 

"Appeared suspicious"??

 

What the hell? Somebody pushed them maybe?

 

Don't know mate, but that whole story is sad.

[Spanky__99]

I mean LF running over to RF and vice versa

 

They do that? lol... I guess it suspends a few seconds, IDK.

 

I think 15 seconds pick up the pace, but I doubt that'd hurt game time.

[5ToolPhenom]

There's no way Gibby watches Chatwood literally walk a baseball game away because he's too scared to go pull him.

 

That was the worst in-game managerial performance that I've ever seen in 30 years of watching baseball.

 

I was literally yelling at the TV... "PULL HIM!"

[5ToolPhenom]

I really miss that man.

 

 

Honestly man, I say they should bring him back next year. The teams ready to contend, there's a veteran presence back on the team. Gibby's the perfect man for the job.

 

Would be a brilliant PR move too. Get the guy at the helm who managed the legendary 2015/16 seasons. The fans and media would love it. A true win-win situation.

 

They could keep Montoyo on as the bench-coach as I think he's more suited for being a sidekick rather than a true leader.

[5ToolPhenom]

I'm reading Lenny Dykstra's autobiography right now. Great book. In it he raves about Gibby. Says he's just a 1 of a kind guy, the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to marry.

[5ToolPhenom]

He should have been fired as soon as that game was over. Absolutely inexcusable

 

The worst part was his weasel talk after the game. He was trying to justify his decision to the media by by basically saying who cares, "we won 2 out of the 3 games! It doesn't get any better than that!"

 

If we miss the playoffs by 1 game, we can all point to that game as the reason why.

[Olerud363]

Seattle half a game back of us despite having a run differential that is -224 compared to ours..

 

Seattle now ahead of us despite Toronto being 20 games ahead in pythagoran record. Jesus.

 

And people on this thread are complaining about pace of the game and index cards and s***?

 

If the 2021 Blue Jays could have 2 games extra because Pete Walker called the right pitches to a reliever that would change the season

 

If we could have an extra couple of games because of index cards it would have changed the season. s***.

 

And this is why the evolution of the game will always be towards hyper optimizing via analytics... Jays aren't going to just say 'f*** it'. They are going to realize they are losing Ray and Semien, and missed a big opportunity and will try to hyper-optimize everything else to try to squeeze a couple more wins next year, out of a roster that may be less talented.

[Spanky__99]

Honestly man, I say they should bring him back next year. The teams ready to contend, there's a veteran presence back on the team. Gibby's the perfect man for the job.

 

Would be a brilliant PR move too. Get the guy at the helm who managed the legendary 2015/16 seasons. The fans and media would love it. A true win-win situation.

 

They could keep Montoyo on as the bench-coach as I think he's more suited for being a sidekick rather than a true leader.

 

Can't agree more.

[G-Snarls]

Giants Dodgers or Brewers will destroy whatever team comes out of the NL East/wildcard game

[intentional wok]

Giants Dodgers or Brewers will destroy whatever team comes out of the NL East/wildcard game

 

I feel like every year I am unclear on the matchup scheduling. Does the WC winner not play top seed? Seems like the one of the two W-L leaders will be gone by the NLCS if so.

 

Do they re-arrange if top seed and WC are in the same division, or is my brain wasting away? Was that ever a thing?

[connorp]

Giants Dodgers or Brewers will destroy whatever team comes out of the NL East/wildcard game

 

ATL has the pitching to give it a punchers chance against any of them

[intentional wok]

Yeah wild card plays the top seed...so more than likely the Dodgers and Giants (who have the two best records in the league) will be playing in the NLDS.

 

Crazy idea: once a WC team wins the WC game, they should be seeded by record in the postseason. So in this case, Giants (1) would get Braves (4) and Dodgers (2/WC) v Brewers (3). It's ******** that Chicago and Atlanta get to put up modest results over their non-competitive divisions and take higher seeds from better teams.

[BlueJays]

Crazy idea: once a WC team wins the WC game, they should be seeded by record in the postseason. So in this case, Giants (1) would get Braves (4) and Dodgers (2/WC) v Brewers (3). It's ******** that Chicago and Atlanta get to put up modest results over their non-competitive divisions and take higher seeds from better teams.

Or just remove the division entirely and give me the best 5 teams in the conference. That way, we only see the best teams in the playoffs.

[glory]

I don't understand the infatuation with Gibby. He was hired twice when the team was supposed to be a contender and couldn't get them to the World Series either time. You really want him for a THIRD time? Screw that guy. There's got to be better coaches out there.

 

I did not like Gibby at all in 2015, which saw the team ironically underachieve their pythag in a similar manner as the 2021 team, but he got remarkably better in 2016-18. I'd be fine with bringing him back, but ultimately, anyone who can tell the difference between his best players and his worst players would instantly be an improvement over Montoyo. Replacing Charlie is about the easiest improvement the team can make. It can't get worse, and I don't think anyone is as bad as him, so worst case is a minor improvement regardless of who it is.

[intentional wok]

Or just remove the division entirely and give me the best 5 teams in the conference. That way, we only see the best teams in the playoffs.

 

I would like this too because it would also even out the schedule more so we don't see the same four teams in half the games we watch either. I don't see it happening for several reasons, but I wish it would. It might also elbow out a lot of mid-market teams who would then be directly competing with the big boys, but maybe it wouldn't either, I don't know. Owners probably make bank on regional rivalries so I can't see them wanting to drop the division system. Players might not enjoy making more cross-continent trips either.

 

I just think seeding the successful WC candidate by W-L is a nice compromise between the Division/WC system and the no-Division cagematch system.

[BigCecil]

I don't understand the infatuation with Gibby. He was hired twice when the team was supposed to be a contender and couldn't get them to the World Series either time. You really want him for a THIRD time? Screw that guy. There's got to be better coaches out there.

 

I dont either. He is an improvement over Montoyo but Gibby playing ezzzzeekkiiellll and a bunch of stuff he did like bunting Goins in game 5 vs Texas right into wheel play etc etc make me feel like he has been given revisionist deity. We are lucky Andrus just dropped the ball. Some of his pen decisions had this board raging. A lot of it is because of very competitive teams in 15 and 16. I don’t want to belittle him either. He was solid and would be a big improvement over bongo dufus. Just don’t see him as glowingly as many.

[glory]

I dont either. He is an improvement over Montoyo but Gibby playing ezzzzeekkiiellll and a bunch of stuff he did like bunting Goins in game 5 vs Texas right into wheel play etc etc make me feel like he has been given revisionist deity. We are lucky Andrus just dropped the ball. Some of his pen decisions had this board raging. A lot of it is because of very competitive teams in 15 and 16. I don’t want to belittle him either. He was solid and would be a big improvement over bongo dufus. Just don’t see him as glowingly as many.

 

2015 Gibby was borderline Montoyo. Not full Montoyo, because no one is that stupid, but in a similar category. Had no idea who his best relievers were, defensive lineups were bad (pre trade deadline), and the team at the deadline was .500 with a huge positive RD, multiple MVP candidates, etc. The division was much weaker that year so they were able to win the division with their 2nd half run. The 2021 team is in the most stacked division in the league so their 2nd half run is likely going to fall short.

 

Definitely some revisionism with Gibby, but in 2016-18 I thought he was a perfectly competent manager, and really that's all the team needed in 2021. Put Gibby on this team this season and it's leading the WC right now. No question in my mind. But they could definitely do better, and the job is much more appealing now than it was when Buntoyo was hired.

[connorp]

I dont either. He is an improvement over Montoyo but Gibby playing ezzzzeekkiiellll and a bunch of stuff he did like bunting Goins in game 5 vs Texas right into wheel play etc etc make me feel like he has been given revisionist deity. We are lucky Andrus just dropped the ball. Some of his pen decisions had this board raging. A lot of it is because of very competitive teams in 15 and 16. I don’t want to belittle him either. He was solid and would be a big improvement over bongo dufus. Just don’t see him as glowingly as many.

 

Gibby = grass is greener philosophy. That’s about it

[Deadpool]

I don't understand the infatuation with Gibby. He was hired twice when the team was supposed to be a contender and couldn't get them to the World Series either time. You really want him for a THIRD time? Screw that guy. There's got to be better coaches out there.

 

He didn't call for sac bunts often, he generally used the correct relievers, his lineups were generally good... He was, on average, a positive manager who didn't make a lot of (glaring) mistakes. This is also known as a ridiculous, phenomenal, enormous improvement over Chuckles.

[Krylian]

Gibby = grass is greener philosophy. That’s about it

 

But we've already been on that side of the fence so we know his lawn maintenance program.

[John_Havok]

He didn't call for sac bunts often, he generally used the correct relievers, his lineups were generally good... He was, on average, a positive manager who didn't make a lot of (glaring) mistakes. This is also known as a ridiculous, phenomenal, enormous improvement over Chuckles.

 

All of that, and if given the chance, would quite likely not be wearing pants behind his desk for post-game interviews. That's 5 WAR on it's own.

[Brownie19]

I don't understand the infatuation with Gibby. He was hired twice when the team was supposed to be a contender and couldn't get them to the World Series either time. You really want him for a THIRD time? Screw that guy. There's got to be better coaches out there.

 

Gibby was incredible. Show yourself out.

[G-Snarls]

Brewers Devin Williams broke his pitching hand punching a wall and is out for the season

 

Wow

[John_Havok]

Brewers Devin Williams broke his pitching hand punching a wall and is out for the season

 

Wow

 

[G-Snarls]

Brewers bullpen suddenly a little less lethal

[connorp]

 

Brian Taylor would’ve made a good real life meme there as well

[CrackerJack]

Congratulations to AA for working for a division winning team for 7 consecutive seasons.

[Virgil_Hiltz]

I did not like Gibby at all in 2015, which saw the team ironically underachieve their pythag in a similar manner as the 2021 team, but he got remarkably better in 2016-18. I'd be fine with bringing him back, but ultimately, anyone who can tell the difference between his best players and his worst players would instantly be an improvement over Montoyo. Replacing Charlie is about the easiest improvement the team can make. It can't get worse, and I don't think anyone is as bad as him, so worst case is a minor improvement regardless of who it is.

 

Not sure if Gibby would be the type to take directives from the FO on who to play though.....but I would still love Gibby back.

[Olerud363]

He didn't call for sac bunts often, he generally used the correct relievers, his lineups were generally good... He was, on average, a positive manager who didn't make a lot of (glaring) mistakes. This is also known as a ridiculous, phenomenal, enormous improvement over Chuckles.

 

Chuckles only sacrificed 10 times this year I think. One of the lower totals. Gibby was in the 25 range 2015 and 16 I think.

 

Chuckles has been OK with the relievers since he got better relievers though I heard last night he did something stupid. Gibby used Latroy Hawkins a few times in close games in 2015. If Latroy had shown his age (he did not) Gibby would have been roasted.

 

Gibby played Dionor Navara at first base because he felt bad they signed Russ Martin.

 

He played Eziquiel Cabrera over Smoak at times... which in retrospect was horrible.

 

This stuff happens. Doubt Gibby is a ridiculous improvement over chuckles.