Around Baseball 2022

[Laika]

He's one of the best hitters in baseball this year v. LHP. It's really incredible and heartwarming to see. I hope the Cards do some damage in the playoffs and that Pujols provides us with some fireworks. You have to wonder if the Cards can talk him into playing 1 more year. 700 is staring him square in the face and it would be amazing to see it happen. What's another year when you're 48 anyway?

 

It would be cool to see a contract where they basically say... okay we will pay you $5M pro-rated to the actual amount of games you play, but once you hit HR number 700 we expect you to just retire lol

 

Like if he ends this season at 697 homers or something it would be visually and aesthetically painful

[BTS]

It would be cool to see a contract where they basically say... okay we will pay you $5M pro-rated to the actual amount of games you play, but once you hit HR number 700 we expect you to just retire lol

 

Like if he ends this season at 697 homers or something it would be visually and aesthetically painful

 

I hate when that happens. Like Jason Spezza just retired with 995 points, and I’m sure he could have found a job for one more year.

[Laika]

I wonder what the top 10 would be for this

 

retiring just shy of a milestone

 

A Rod 696 Homers

 

Jaromir Jagr 1921 points

Jason Spezza 995 points

Gretzky for goals, assists, and points (894, 1963, 2857) could have ended up at 900 and 2000 and maybe even 3000 points!

Glenn Anderson 498 goals

Keith Yandle 989 consecutive games played, streak ended when an interim coach made him a healthy scratch!

 

Steve Larmer - From 1982 to 1993, Larmer played in 884 consecutive games for the Blackhawks, an NHL record for most consecutive games played with the same team, and the third longest consecutive-games streak in league history at that time. He had a chance at breaking Doug Jarvis' (then) record for consecutive games played but a contract dispute at the beginning of the 1993–94 officially ended his streak.

 

I don't know about any other sports

[Horses Fart]

Love it!

[BTS]

I wonder what the top 10 would be for this

 

retiring just shy of a milestone

 

A Rod 696 Homers

 

Jaromir Jagr 1921 points

Jason Spezza 995 points

Gretzky for goals, assists, and points (894, 1963, 2857) could have ended up at 900 and 2000 and maybe even 3000 points!

Glenn Anderson 498 goals

Keith Yandle 989 consecutive games played, streak ended when an interim coach made him a healthy scratch!

 

Steve Larmer - From 1982 to 1993, Larmer played in 884 consecutive games for the Blackhawks, an NHL record for most consecutive games played with the same team, and the third longest consecutive-games streak in league history at that time. He had a chance at breaking Doug Jarvis' (then) record for consecutive games played but a contract dispute at the beginning of the 1993–94 officially ended his streak.

 

I don't know about any other sports

 

The Gretzky one always got me. He was still a 60-70 point player. Imagine walking away from a chance at 3000 points. It would have taken two more years.

[Omar]

I wonder what the top 10 would be for this

 

retiring just shy of a milestone

 

A Rod 696 Homers

 

 

 

Steve Larmer - From 1982 to 1993, Larmer played in 884 consecutive games for the Blackhawks, an NHL record for most consecutive games played with the same team, and the third longest consecutive-games streak in league history at that time. He had a chance at breaking Doug Jarvis' (then) record for consecutive games played but a contract dispute at the beginning of the 1993–94 officially ended his streak.

 

I don't know about any other sports

 

The one that kind of breaks my heart is Fred Mcgriff. Crime dog just shy of 500 home runs. 493:(

[wilko]

Canseco with 462 dingers.

[Orgfiller]

We're all forgetting Barry Bonds, who much like A-Rod got blackballed out of baseball. He conceivably could have pushed for 800 HR. Retired at 1996 RBI, 2935 hits. He had wRC+ of 146 and 157 in 130 games each season in 06-07 as a 41 and 42 year old. Put him in Tampa as a DH on that 08 team and they possibly win the World Series with Barry Bonds eclipsing 3k hits and like 5 HR shy of 800.

[John_Havok]

We're all forgetting Barry Bonds, who much like A-Rod got blackballed out of baseball. He conceivably could have pushed for 800 HR. Retired at 1996 RBI, 2935 hits. He had wRC+ of 146 and 157 in 130 games each season in 06-07 as a 41 and 42 year old. Put him in Tampa as a DH on that 08 team and they possibly win the World Series with Barry Bonds eclipsing 3k hits and like 5 HR shy of 800.

 

Bonds could probably outhit Pujols right now.

[glory]

Bonds hit .276/.480/.565 in his final MLB season at age 42 (477 PA). He could have probably played another 2-3 years, especially on an AL team. Shame he was basically forced out of the game. Roids or not, he was still an elite hitter.

[Brownie19]

The Gretzky one always got me. He was still a 60-70 point player. Imagine walking away from a chance at 3000 points. It would have taken two more years.

 

Paraphrasing Wayne..."I told my Dad, I only scored 9 goals this year. That used to be a good weekend for me. I think it's time to hang them up."

 

He was 62 pts in 70 games his last year...but people forget the previous 2 years before that he had 97 and 90 points! That last year was the only year where he was less than a point per game player. Unreal.

[Orgfiller]

Bonds could probably outhit Pujols right now.

 

He straight up outhit Pujols as a 42 year old in 2007 when Albert was "27" lol. Obviously being a bit unfair here as the latter would then post back-to-back 180+ wRC+ seasons. But yeah, old man Bonds outhit one of the best hitters ever in his prime lol, roids or not he was just built different.

[John_Havok]

Paraphrasing Wayne..."I told my Dad, I only scored 9 goals this year. That used to be a good weekend for me. I think it's time to hang them up."

 

He was 62 pts in 70 games his last year...but people forget the previous 2 years before that he had 97 and 90 points! That last year was the only year where he was less than a point per game player. Unreal.

 

Yeah guys like him i think it's better to go out before the true decline. Wayne was pretty beat up later in his career and you just knew he didn't have the "elite" left in him. Sure, he could still go through the motions and probably still be average to above average, but... to a guy like him, being average to above average was like being 50% of himself.

[jaysblue]

if this old f***er goes on a heater for 6 weeks and hits 10 more homers it will be so cool

 

just let him take greenies and roids to get it done

 

Would be nice to see both Pujols and Wainwright back again next season with the Cards.

[Stangstag]

Bonds hit .276/.480/.565 in his final MLB season at age 42 (477 PA). He could have probably played another 2-3 years, especially on an AL team. Shame he was basically forced out of the game. Roids or not, he was still an elite hitter.

 

Insane numbers lol

[G-Snarls]

Oh no! Whatever will we do without him?

 

Pocket a few hundred grand in cash!

 

I presume he'll be dealt for cash. He's not worth a player in return.

[Spanky99]

Would be nice to see both Pujols and Wainwright back again next season with the Cards.

 

Waino will be back, as long as the Cards are game, I doubt he leaves the way he's pitching and doubt the Cards don't want him back. 1 year at a time.

[Spanky99]

Cubbies beat the O's, cool beans!

[Laika]

Max Castillo 5 innings 1 ER

 

Sigh

 

Merrifield blows

[Terminator]

We're all forgetting Barry Bonds, who much like A-Rod got blackballed out of baseball. He conceivably could have pushed for 800 HR. Retired at 1996 RBI, 2935 hits. He had wRC+ of 146 and 157 in 130 games each season in 06-07 as a 41 and 42 year old. Put him in Tampa as a DH on that 08 team and they possibly win the World Series with Barry Bonds eclipsing 3k hits and like 5 HR shy of 800.

 

There was always speculation surrounding Bonds continuing to play after 2007 and I remember in 2008 there was some very mild scuttle about the Jays signing him. Some reporter even asked Jeremy Accardo about it who had played with Bonds previously in San Fran and Accardo said he was a good teammate and would be all for the Jays signing him. Would have been so awesome to have him for 2 or 3 years to close out his career.

[Stangstag]

Max Castillo 5 innings 1 ER

 

Sigh

 

Merrifield blows

 

Still struggling to understand why they had Hatch and Lawrence higher than Max on the depth chart

[Laika]

Still struggling to understand why they had Hatch and Lawrence higher than Max on the depth chart

 

Well they didn’t

[MikeM3]

Got traped by Dayton Moore

[glory]

The Jays lack SP depth in the minors so even though Castillo might seem like marginal SP depth, he'd still have value. They could have traded for White and kept Castillo, and probably saw no difference with Biggio playing instead Merrifield.

[John_Havok]

The Jays lack SP depth in the minors so even though Castillo might seem like marginal SP depth, he'd still have value. They could have traded for White and kept Castillo, and probably saw no difference with Biggio playing instead Merrifield.

 

Disagree completely on the Merrifield/Biggio comparison. It’s not even close defensively

[Jonn]

The real question is…. Is Max Castillo better than Mitch White?

[Spanky99]

The real question is…. Is Max Castillo better than Mitch White?

 

Who knows, the Jays didn't think so? If ifs buts were candy and nuts... at the deadline, they thought as much.

[Spanky99]

Disagree completely on the Merrifield/Biggio comparison. It’s not even close defensively

 

Not at 2B? I'm assuming you mean CF?

[Ehjays]

AA is at it again

 

Braves Have Opened Extension Talks With Dansby Swanson

By Darragh McDonald | August 18, 2022 at 7:55pm CDT

 

The Braves have opened extension talks with Dansby Swanson, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. At this point, there’s nothing to indicate that talks have moved beyond the initial stages, though Heyman adds that there is “less whispered negativity” with these discussions than there was with Freddie Freeman a year ago. Swanson is represented by Excel Sports Management, who also represented Freeman until he reportedly dismissed them in June.

 

How far the talks with Swanson have progressed isn’t clear, though it’s noteworthy that they have begun, with Swanson just a few months away from reaching free agency. The Braves have been the most aggressive team in baseball when it comes to locking up their star players. All of Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Michael Harris II have agreed to lengthy pacts in recent years, with those latter two just coming in the past month.

 

However, Swanson’s case is a bit different than those other players, as none of them were on the verge of reaching the open market. The 28-year-old is just a few months away from having multiple teams bidding for his services, which likely means it will take a significant payout to prevent him from taking that opportunity. Furthermore, the timing of his free agency could hardly be any better from his perspective, since he’s having easily the best season of his career.

 

Swanson has hit .292/.348/.455 this season, coming into tonight’s action. That offensive production is 22% better than league average, as evidenced by his 122 wRC+. Outside of a cup of coffee in his debut season and a strong showing in the shortened 2020 campaign, his previous high in that department was the 98 wRC+ he registered last year. He’s also added 15 steals already, eclipsing his previous personal best of 10.

 

He seems to have taken steps forward on the defensive side of things as well, depending on which defensive metric you trust the most. Outs Above Average is the most bullish, giving Swanson 14 on the year already, doubling his previous personal best, which was a seven back in 2018. Runs Above Average is also impressed, having never given him better than five but setting him at 10 so far this season. Defensive Runs Saved also likes his work, valuing him at six so far, on pace to get near his previous high of nine. Ultimate Zone Rating appears to be the outlier here, rating Swanson’s glove work at -0.7 after having him at 1.1 last season.

 

All told, FanGraphs calculates Swanson to have been worth 5.1 wins above replacement so far this year, easily eclipsing his personal record, the 3.4 he accrued last year. That total is also good enough for Swanson to be seventh in the majors among position players.

 

If an extension were not reached, Swanson would surely find no shortage of interest in his services based on this excellent platform he’s putting together. This coming offseason figures to feature another strong class of shortstops, with Swanson likely to be joined by Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Trea Turner at the top of it. In the most recent edition of MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings, all four shortstops cracked the list, with Swanson taking the seventh slot.

 

Whether the Braves can tempt Swanson from forgoing that opportunity remains to be seen. The aforementioned Freddie Freeman was in a similar position at this point last year, with many around the industry assuming the two sides would reunite. That didn’t end up happening, with the Braves instead acquiring Matt Olson to play first base and Freeman joining the Dodgers. If the Swanson situation were to go a different route and he did end up agreeing to stay, Atlanta could pencil him into the infield next to Olson, Riley and Albies for years to come.

[G-Snarls]

I can see now why there was no way Freddie Freeman was staying in Atlanta

 

AA just won't pay open market prices hardly ever. Most of the team is nicely cost controlled.