Around Baseball 2021

[Spanky__99]

My buddie's podcast with AA...

 

STORMIN NORMAN TAKES THE WHEEL TODAY, AND BY POPULAR REQUEST A...

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM

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A REPLAY OF ALEX ANTHOPOULOS INTERVIEW AND MORE

 

He's a decent follow, he always has great guests.

 

Played ball with him at EYCI a year or two, lol.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Spanky99

[Brownie19]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2140335/report-mlb-to-begin-using-statcast-to-catch-cheating-pitchers

 

That's interesting...

[saskjayfan]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2140335/report-mlb-to-begin-using-statcast-to-catch-cheating-pitchers

 

That's interesting...

 

If you take balls to a lab there's no real way for players to get around this. It should be fun to see who's spin rate falls 10% this year.

[saskjayfan]

Twice during the offseason, the results of Kirby Yates’ physicals raised red flags.

 

The first time, the Braves declined to finalize a one-year, $9 million agreement with the free-agent closer, according to major-league sources. The second time, the Blue Jays reduced a proposed one-year, $8.5 million guarantee for Yates to $5.5 million, believing his upside was high enough to justify the risk.

 

It's probably unfair to speak in hindsight, but if there were issues with the medical having him start late and targeting a mid May start date may have been the better route. Nate Pearson gets hurt and days later he's throwing and re-injures his groin. Springer strains his oblique and we're talking about an opening day start. Maybe our medical team is over aggressive in getting guys back.

[saskjayfan]

My buddie's podcast with AA...

 

STORMIN NORMAN TAKES THE WHEEL TODAY, AND BY POPULAR REQUEST A...

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM

---

A REPLAY OF ALEX ANTHOPOULOS INTERVIEW AND MORE

 

He's a decent follow, he always has great guests.

 

Played ball with him at EYCI a year or two, lol.

 

Good for AA going on a small podcast. A lot of GMs wouldn't do that. I always enjoyed AA's accessibility. He's got a lot of charisma and I always enjoyed listening to him. I might check your buddy's podcast out now.

[Ray]

Jeff Mathis has been released by the Phillies.

 

I’m thinking we should extend him a minor league deal if/when McGuire gets traded or DFA’d.

[Orgfiller]

Fangraphs added some nice quality-of-life features to their player stat pages. xStats are now available in the statcast portion, with xwOBA appearing in the default player dashboard for hitters, replacing avg EV (not sure if I love this but nice to have regardless). Importantly, and I can't believe this was only added just now, they've finally included player season ages in the main dashboard. Long overdue addition.

[BTS]

Importantly, and I can't believe this was only added just now, they've finally included player season ages in the main dashboard. Long overdue addition.

 

Finally. I've been wanting this for years.

[King]

 

Lol @ MLB

[Jays24]

Jeff Mathis has been released by the Phillies.

 

I’m thinking we should extend him a minor league deal if/when McGuire gets traded or DFA’d.

 

Remember this when Reese goes 4/4 today with 4 HRs.

[Orgfiller]

 

Lol @ MLB

 

I don't really get the ownage here. It's not like the statcast data is the only thing they're using according to Passan's tweet. So if your spin rate suddenly jumps up by 10% on all your pitches from one year to the next, like it did for Bauer, then that would raise a red flag. Otherwise they'll just use the other random sampling methods to find the foreign substances. I'm sure those using pine tar or other substances will simply learn to hide it better.

[max silver]

I don't really get the ownage here. It's not like the statcast data is the only thing they're using according to Passan's tweet. So if your spin rate suddenly jumps up by 10% on all your pitches from one year to the next, like it did for Bauer, then that would raise a red flag. Otherwise they'll just use the other random sampling methods to find the foreign substances. I'm sure those using pine tar or other substances will simply learn to hide it better.

 

If you're doctoring the ball with foreign substances I'm not really sure how you can go about removing the evidence afterwards though. Especially given how many balls are utilized in a typical MLB game.

[Brownie19]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2140159/servais-after-mariners-hit-3-hrs-off-bauer-our-guys-werent-trying

[saskjayfan]

This is a very crude way to do it but I like that MLB is going to try and do something. The advancement in pitching is so far ahead of hitting. That's the main reason you're getting no pace of play.

 

They are also randomly taking balls thrown and testing them at a lab. This is anything but crude, and anyone trying to use substances will get caught. The best pitchers in the league will be the one's who randomly have their balls tested.

[BTS]

I don't really get the ownage here. It's not like the statcast data is the only thing they're using according to Passan's tweet. So if your spin rate suddenly jumps up by 10% on all your pitches from one year to the next, like it did for Bauer, then that would raise a red flag. Otherwise they'll just use the other random sampling methods to find the foreign substances. I'm sure those using pine tar or other substances will simply learn to hide it better.

 

Luba has settled in on Twitter as someone who tries to push people's buttons and create controversy. I found her a breath of fresh air a few months ago, but she mostly just comes off as petty and annoying lately. In this case, there's nothing wrong with what MLB is doing - they're looking at data to flag people with spikes in spin rate, so that they can investigate further. There's not really anything to criticize.

[wilko]

luba has settled in on twitter as someone who tries to push people's buttons and create controversy. I found her a breath of fresh air a few months ago, but she mostly just comes off as petty and annoying lately. In this case, there's nothing wrong with what mlb is doing - they're looking at data to flag people with spikes in spin rate, so that they can investigate further. There's not really anything to criticize.

 

LOL - Rachel Luba

[Deadpool]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2140335/report-mlb-to-begin-using-statcast-to-catch-cheating-pitchers

 

That's interesting...

 

Bauer contract looking even worse now...

[max silver]

They are also randomly taking balls thrown and testing them at a lab. This is anything but crude, and anyone trying to use substances will get caught. The best pitchers in the league will be the one's who randomly have their balls tested.

 

I lol'd at pitchers having randomly having their balls tested.

[BTS]

 

edit: I guess all 5 years are FA years, as the deal runs 2022-2026. Pretty fair IMO.

[Ray]

Lance McCullers Jr. signs a 5 year, $85M extension to stay with the Astros. He was set to be a free agent at the end of this season.

[Orgfiller]

Fair deal. I think I like it more for McCullers' side given his previous durability concerns. $85M guaranteed when he's probably one more injury away from potentially not cracking $20M in career earnings is a deal he should take every time. On the other hand, I'm sure the Astros will gladly live with him topping out at 125-150 very good innings a season at $17M per as long as he's healthy for the playoffs.

[Brownie19]

Looks like Andrew Vaughn is going to make the White Sox and serve as their DH.

[Jimcanuck]

Looks like Andrew Vaughn is going to make the White Sox and serve as their DH.

 

According to Nightengale's sports gut.

[Laika]

Looks like Andrew Vaughn is going to make the White Sox and serve as their DH.

 

Needs to work on his Spanish for like 2 weeks at the alternate site though, unless he signs that team friendly extension wink wink fart

[Brownie19]

According to Nightengale's sports gut.

 

Nah - Kenny Williams came out today and said they wouldn't manipulate his service time. If he's ready, he plays. Said something about how Tony has the final call on whether he makes the team or something.

[Ray]

Why would they even give a s*** about the 7th year of a DH?

 

You're selling Andrew Vaughn short. He thrashed college pitching more than most top draft prospects do and has a legitimate chance of becoming one of the better all-around hitters in the majors. He's basically not that far off from Spencer Torkelson.

[Brownie19]

You're selling Andrew Vaughn short. He thrashed college pitching more than most top draft prospects do and has a legitimate chance of becoming one of the better all-around hitters in the majors. He's basically not that far off from Spencer Torkelson.

 

I mean...we manipulated service time for our 1st base man/DH didn't we?

[Orgfiller]

I mean...we manipulated service time for our 1st base man/DH didn't we?

 

Vladdy was touted as a generational hitting prospect though. He's also a year younger than Vaughn lmao and entering his third season of MLB baseball. Vlad was putting up all-time great comparable minor league performances while Vaughn was in his senior year of high school.

[Ray]

Ya but they're also trying to win now.

 

For the record, I do think they should break camp with him, but I can also understand why they would hold him down from an asset management perspective.

 

That lineup doesn’t really need Vaughn anyways. Scoring runs isn’t going to be a problem for them, especially if it’s only for two weeks.

[Jimcanuck]

Why would they even give a s*** about the 7th year of a DH?

 

"The biggest adjustment for Vaughn will be learning to handle being a primary DH. He’s a solid defensive first baseman, but first base belongs to reigning MVP Jose Abreu. The hope is for Vaughn to play in the field around two days a week, and he has also worked out this spring in the outfield and at third base."

 

He can play the field, but is blocked by other Chisox.

Edited March 25, 2021 by Jimcanuck