Around Baseball 2022

[Spanky99]

Yeah it can't be the bat. No pine tar, too clean.

 

Yup, this is the bat that hit 700...

 

[G-Snarls]

[Terminator]

 

Ross Atkins has the right approach. Just build a perennial playoff contender and something good will eventually happen.

[BTS]

 

Ross Atkins has the right approach. Just build a perennial playoff contender and something good will eventually happen.

 

It's going to be annoying if a mediocre NL East team wins the WS for the second straight year.

[Terminator]

It's going to be annoying if a mediocre NL East team wins the WS for the second straight year.

 

Yeah I'm going for the Astros.

 

The new playoff format seems to be good for casual fans but it does kind of suck that 85-89 win teams will seemingly be playing deep into the postseason almost every year now. Hopefully the Jays can at least get in on that in the future.

[Brownie19]

It's going to be annoying if a mediocre NL East team wins the WS for the second straight year.

 

3 times in 4 years potentially...

[Jimcanuck]

I don't think the Braves last year or the Phils this year are mediocre. They just gained health and running on all cylinders at the right time.

[Terminator]

I think the Jays might be better than the Phillies in every aspect of the game other than the rotation. Better lineup, defense, bullpen and bench.

 

Rotations are very similar talentwise. Probably have to call that a draw.

 

Nola = Gausman

Wheeler = Manoah

Suarez < Stripling

Gibson = Berrios

[Laika]

I think the Jays might be better than the Phillies in every aspect of the game other than the rotation. Better lineup, defense, bullpen and bench.

 

Rotations are very similar talentwise. Probably have to call that a draw.

 

Nola = Gausman

Wheeler = Manoah

Suarez < Stripling

Gibson = Berrios

 

Hitting and Defense 100% Toronto and not close.

 

SP are kind of close but Philly is better.

 

Wheeler, Nola, Suarez, Falter, Gibson, Syndergaard, Eflin > Gausman, Manoah, Stripling, Berrios, White, Kikuchi

----> In a long series the 5th+ arms might matter.

I also feel like Wheeler and Nola combined are slightly better than Gausman and Manoah

 

RP I don't know how you pick. Two mediocre pens.

[Terminator]

In the regular season I think their better depth wins out. In a 7 game series where you go with 4 starters and you move everyone else to the pen then it's pretty close. Nola and Wheeler probably edge out Gausman and Manoah but it's close. Then it would be Suarez and Gibson vs. Stripling and Berrios. Also pretty close. I guess we can go with the Phillies but it's damn close.

 

EDIT: Wait they are going with Bailey Falter in the playoffs not Gibson. Doesn't change much though.

[Omar]

Hitting and Defense 100% Toronto and not close.

SP are kind of close but Philly is better.

Wheeler, Nola, Suarez, Falter, Gibson, Syndergaard, Eflin > Gausman, Manoah, Stripling, Berrios, White, Kikuchi

----> In a long series the 5th+ arms might matter.

I also feel like Wheeler and Nola combined are slightly better than Gausman and Manoah

 

RP I don't know how you pick. Two mediocre pens.

 

Saw this today

 

 

edit...ah I see Term already posted it.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Omar

[jaysblue]

It's going to be annoying if a mediocre NL East team wins the WS for the second straight year.

 

Was Atlanta really mediocre last season?

[jaysblue]

Hitting and Defense 100% Toronto and not close.

 

SP are kind of close but Philly is better.

 

Wheeler, Nola, Suarez, Falter, Gibson, Syndergaard, Eflin > Gausman, Manoah, Stripling, Berrios, White, Kikuchi

----> In a long series the 5th+ arms might matter.

I also feel like Wheeler and Nola combined are slightly better than Gausman and Manoah

 

RP I don't know how you pick. Two mediocre pens.

 

Defensively, it's not close for sure. Phillies are awful.

 

Offensively, when you have Bryce Harper the way he's hitting, along with some power in Hoskins, Schwarber and if Realmuto heats up, the lineup is actually pretty solid. I still take the Jays lineup on paper over the Phillies, though you probably need one of Vladdy, Bo, Teo or Springer to go on a tear like Harper did.

[Laika]

Defensively, it's not close for sure. Phillies are awful.

 

Offensively, when you have Bryce Harper the way he's hitting, along with some power in Hoskins, Schwarber and if Realmuto heats up, the lineup is actually pretty solid. I still take the Jays lineup on paper over the Phillies, though you probably need one of Vladdy, Bo, Teo or Springer to go on a tear like Harper did.

 

Right but you can't really apply ifs and or buts to it.

 

Harper and Vlad can both be the same dude - the elite hitter who looks like the best on the planet when he is hot.

Toronto and Philly both have a few other really good bats around that guy.

 

But Toronto's lineup is just so much deeper. Like, Toronto's 7th best hitter Danny Jansen is maybe better than Rhys Hoskins. At hitting.

[John_Havok]

Defensively, it's not close for sure. Phillies are awful.

 

Offensively, when you have Bryce Harper the way he's hitting, along with some power in Hoskins, Schwarber and if Realmuto heats up, the lineup is actually pretty solid. I still take the Jays lineup on paper over the Phillies, though you probably need one of Vladdy, Bo, Teo or Springer to go on a tear like Harper did.

 

Jays lineup is definitely deeper though. Like with the Jays at full strength and using an opitmal lineup, there are no easy outs. Philly's bottom 3 are not the least bit scary. The Jays bottom 4 when optimal is probably Chappy, Jansen, Merrifield and either Espinal or Biggio. I guess maybe the case could be made that neither Biggio nor Espinal are scary, but they dont give away PAs very much.

[BTS]

Was Atlanta really mediocre last season?

 

Yeah, I think so. Their playoff rotation was just Morton, Fried, and a pretty lucky run from Anderson. Their offense didn't have Acuna, and was carried by dead cat bounces from Soler and Rosario, who both suck. Will Smith was one of the worst closers in baseball that year, but went 6 for 6 in save chances in the playoffs with an ERA of 0 despite a 4.45 xFIP.

 

Mediocre team that had everything break right and went on a miracle run.

[John_Havok]

Yeah, I think so. Their playoff rotation was just Morton, Fried, and a pretty lucky run from Anderson. Their offense didn't have Acuna, and was carried by dead cat bounces from Soler and Rosario, who both suck. Will Smith was one of the worst closers in baseball that year, but went 6 for 6 in save chances in the playoffs with an ERA of 0 despite a 4.45 xFIP.

 

Mediocre team that had everything break right and went on a miracle run.

 

Yup, they win with an objectively average team, yet get bounced with a vastly superior one. So much of MLB post season comes down to who's hot and who's not.

[Brownie19]

Yeah, I think so. Their playoff rotation was just Morton, Fried, and a pretty lucky run from Anderson. Their offense didn't have Acuna, and was carried by dead cat bounces from Soler and Rosario, who both suck. Will Smith was one of the worst closers in baseball that year, but went 6 for 6 in save chances in the playoffs with an ERA of 0 despite a 4.45 xFIP.

 

Mediocre team that had everything break right and went on a miracle run.

 

There's a lot of luck involved in the baseball playoffs (as much as some don't want to acknowledge this).

[jaysblue]

Right but you can't really apply ifs and or buts to it.

 

Harper and Vlad can both be the same dude - the elite hitter who looks like the best on the planet when he is hot.

Toronto and Philly both have a few other really good bats around that guy.

 

But Toronto's lineup is just so much deeper. Like, Toronto's 7th best hitter Danny Jansen is maybe better than Rhys Hoskins. At hitting.

 

You can apply ifs and buts to both lineups. Pretty much the entire Postseason.

 

Agree, Jays have a better lineup on paper and are much deeper. Phillies lineup does have some serious pop and for whatever its worth they do have some balance between left/right handed bats which is nice, which I know you don't think makes a difference.

 

What you see with the Phillies lineup this postseason is everyone is healthy, they've had some big hits and they have Harper hitting like a beast. So definitely some luck going their way and hitting at the right time. It's worked in a short series thus far.

 

In terms of bats at positions:

 

Kirk/Jansen < Realmuto

Vladdy > Hoskins

Biggio/Espinal < Segura

Bo > Stott

Chapman > Bohm

Teo > Castellanos

Springer > Marsh

Merrifield/Tapia < Schwarber

Jansen/Kirk (DH) < Harper

 

I give the Blue Jays the advantage in 5 of the 9 lineup spots. It's pretty even in terms of catchers and even at 1B (though give Vladdy the advantage still). In terms of disparity, Phillies lineup is weaker 1 through 9 overall. Casty, Marsh, Stott and Bohm are pretty much non-existent.

[jaysblue]

There's a lot of luck involved in the baseball playoffs (as much as some don't want to acknowledge this).

 

There is a lot luck involved in the Postseason. Any team that makes it in can go the distance. Even the Blue Jays could have.

[jaysblue]

Yeah, I think so. Their playoff rotation was just Morton, Fried, and a pretty lucky run from Anderson. Their offense didn't have Acuna, and was carried by dead cat bounces from Soler and Rosario, who both suck. Will Smith was one of the worst closers in baseball that year, but went 6 for 6 in save chances in the playoffs with an ERA of 0 despite a 4.45 xFIP.

 

Mediocre team that had everything break right and went on a miracle run.

 

Morton and Fried were very solid last season lmao. They're not the best #1-2 punch obviously, though they were solid all season. Anderson was always a solid young arm coming up and held his own last season. Braves actually had a solid rotation.

 

As for their bullpen, agreed it was pretty mediocre and had question marks. A lot of their arms strung together good outings in the Postseason.

 

In terms of their lineup, they still had Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies (who was healthy). AA made some solid under the radar trades and guys like Soler/Rosario produced for them down the stretch. Even Joc Pederson. They did a solid job at replacing Acuna.

 

Based on their record in the 162 game season, yes they were one of the weaker teams in the 2021 Postseason, though they had a solid roster built for October and it's not like they completely fluked it.

[Laika]

... yes they were one of the weaker teams in the 2021 Postseason...

 

just say this? that was his literally his point.

 

Atlanta didn't even win 90 games in 2021. 11 other MLB teams won more games so they were fairly described as mediocre.

[jaysblue]

Yup, they win with an objectively average team, yet get bounced with a vastly superior one. So much of MLB post season comes down to who's hot and who's not.

 

Was there a huge difference between the 2021 and 2022 Braves Postseason teams? Other than the bullpen, though the lineup and rotation IMO were close. Over the 162 game season, sure the 2022 Braves were vastly superior though come Postseason I don't think there was a huge disparity between both rosters.

 

The 2021 Postseason team was without Acuna.

 

The 2022 Postseason team was without Albies and Strider pretty much. Strider wasn't going to be utilized fully coming back from an injury and had no impact at all. They still had Fried, Wright and Morton, which is no different than last years rotation when you think of it (swap out Anderson with Wright).

[Laika]

Wright and Swanson are completely different players, they became stars.

Strider and Harris II are also new and borderline superstars.

They beefed up the pen too with two closers.

They have a stud like Vaughn Grissom on the freaking bench.

 

The teams are very different.

[BTS]

Wright and Swanson are completely different players, they became stars.

Strider and Harris II are also new and borderline superstars.

They beefed up the pen too with two closers.

They have a stud like Vaughn Grissom on the freaking bench.

 

The teams are very different.

 

All of this, plus Acuna was healthy

[Laika]

All of this, plus Acuna was healthy

 

The 2022 Braves had a good argument for being The Best Team in Baseball.

[jaysblue]

just say this? that was his literally his point.

 

Atlanta didn't even win 90 games in 2021. 11 other MLB teams won more games so they were fairly described as mediocre.

 

Other than the bullpen, was there much of a difference between the Braves 2021 and 2022 Postseason roster?

 

BTS said the Braves didn't have Acuna, which yes hurt and impacted their success during the regular season, though AA made some solid trades who paid off. This 2022 team was without Ozzie Albies. As for the rotation, I don't see much of a difference between Fried/Morton/Anderson from 2021 versus Fried/Morton/Wright in 2022. Spencer Strider was a big part of their success this season, though he was not relevant in the Postseason unless the team was going to move on.

[Terminator]

The 2021 team was relying on turds like Soler and Duvall too. It's night and day.

[jaysblue]

Wright and Swanson are completely different players, they became stars.

Strider and Harris II are also new and borderline superstars.

They beefed up the pen too with two closers.

They have a stud like Vaughn Grissom on the freaking bench.

 

The teams are very different.

 

Yes the 2022 team was far superior during the regular season than the 2021 team and moving forward they will continue to be one of the best teams in baseball possibly for the next decade. A lot of their young guys took the next step forward which you expect with that talent and Strider/Harris became superstars when they were called up. They also beefed up the bullpen like you said.

 

The 2021 team still had Freeman, Albies, Swanson, Riley as an infield, all who were still solid during the regular season and peaked at the right time in October. In terms of their rotation, Fried, Morton and Anderson were still pretty solid. Sure they were underdogs, though they had young elite talent on the upswing along with some solid veteran pieces they acquired at the trade deadline who were productive. I don't consider them fluking it.

[jaysblue]

The 2021 team was relying on turds like Soler and Duvall too. It's night and day.

 

Those turds actually produced though and that's all the matters haha.

 

Soler actually hit well once he was acquired by the Braves and held his own during the Postseason. Also, that turd hit 48 HR's in 2019 so it's not like he was a nobody.

 

Long term, obviously it's night and day.