Around Baseball 2023

[Grant77]

Good for him. He'll probably be playing just about everyday considering what the Red Sox are rolling with this year.

 

He might even play some CF, considering they are starting Adam Duvall there.

[Spanky__99]

He might even play some CF, considering they are starting Adam Duvall there.

 

Hahaha... Zing!!!

[BTS]

Christian Pache apparently getting DFA'd by Oakland a year after he was the main piece in the Olson trade. Trade is now Olson for Shea Langeliers and a couple of dime-a-dozen pitching prospects.

[Spanky__99]

Christian Pache apparently getting DFA'd by Oakland a year after he was the main piece in the Olson trade. Trade is now Olson for Shea Langeliers and a couple of dime-a-dozen pitching prospects.

 

Late to the Party^^^^

[Stangstag]

Christian Pache apparently getting DFA'd by Oakland a year after he was the main piece in the Olson trade. Trade is now Olson for Shea Langeliers and a couple of dime-a-dozen pitching prospects.

 

Gotta wonder if Oakland is ever actually going to “win” one of these trades. Pretty big list of solid/all-star caliber major leaguers they’ve traded over the past few years and they have almost nothing to show for it.

[BTS]

Gotta wonder if Oakland is ever actually going to “win” one of these trades. Pretty big list of solid/all-star caliber major leaguers they’ve traded over the past few years and they have almost nothing to show for it.

 

You have to wonder what's going on in their front office. All of these trades looked bad at the time, and nothing has really changed over time.

[Grant77]

I'd take Pache over Lukes.

[Spanky__99]

I'd take Pache over Lukes.

 

Yes, RHB, we get it.

[Spanky__99]

You have to wonder what's going on in their front office. All of these trades looked bad at the time, and nothing has really changed over time.

 

Prospect porn man, it's how you'll get nailed rolling with Volpe over Turner.

[BTS]

Prospect porn man, it's how you'll get nailed rolling with Volpe over Turner.

 

But most of the prospects they acquired seemed s***** at the time, and have played s***** since being acquired.

[Stangstag]

Prospect porn man, it's how you'll get nailed rolling with Volpe over Turner.

 

They never trade for the elite prospects though. Its always 1 borderline MLB/AAAA guy, 1 good but not great prospect, and then 2-3 meh prospects.

[L54]

The A’s are a joke. The sooner they move the better. Plant them in Las Vegas and call it a day

[Spanky__99]

But most of the prospects they acquired seemed s***** at the time, and have played s***** since being acquired.

 

Wasn't Pache a top 20 spect? Regardless they were taken to the cleaners lol

[G-Snarls]

The A’s are a joke. The sooner they move the better. Plant them in Las Vegas and call it a day

 

Even Billy Beane gave up

[L54]

Even Billy Beane gave up

 

It was a good run

[L54]

Have the A’s won a trade in the last 5 years?

[BTS]

Have the A’s won a trade in the last 5 years?

 

Literally no. I just locked through their trade history on Spotrac and it seems their last trade win was acquiring Ramon Laureano in 2017.

[Carlos Danger]

Have the A’s won a trade in the last 5 years?

 

Too early to tell on Montas

[wilko]

Too early to tell on Montas

 

I'd say they won that one. The Yanks will get 1 year and change for the trade.

[L54]

Literally no. I just locked through their trade history on Spotrac and it seems their last trade win was acquiring Ramon Laureano in 2017.

 

Holy yikes. They legitimately can’t do anything right.

[Laika]

Too early to tell on Montas

 

probably gonna win that one but mostly because Montas died

 

i guess cole irvin, getting him for cash is a small win haha

[The Cats Ass]

 

Didn’t see this posted yet. Umps are really getting out of hand and power tripping.

[Stangstag]

 

Didn’t see this posted yet. Umps are really getting out of hand and power tripping.

 

It was posted in the GDT. But yeah f***ing lunatic, dude should be legit fired for that. Imagine having such a small penis. Literally doing it to the highest paid C in the world too

[Brownie19]

Evan Drellich of The Athletic reports Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have reached a tentative deal on a Collective Bargaining Agreement for minor league players.

 

Drellich adds that it's a five-year deal and is the first-ever labor deal for minor league players in baseball history. The tentative agreement more than doubles salaries for players at all levels of the minor leagues from Triple-A to complex league and Rookie-level affiliates. Jeff Passan of ESPN adds that players will be paid almost year-round moving forward, eliminating a prior six-week break during the winter. It's an extremely positive development for the future of the sport and long overdue.

 

This seems like fantastic news. Progress!

[John_Havok]

Manfred on the automated strike zone via The Athletic:

 

“I do think that improved application of technology in the calling of balls and strikes over the long haul is a really good thing,” Manfred said.

 

He then spoke about 2 main issues they see with ABS

 

No. 1, there is a body of the MLBPA unit … they refer to them as ‘framing catchers,’ that kind of make their living in the major leagues on their ability to frame pitches,” Manfred said during a luncheon hosted by the Paley Center for Media. “And you know, unions are kind of one for all, for one, I like unions, it’s a good thing, and it’s sort of a nice concept. And you have to understand that when you’re making a change, and it arguably could eliminate a certain kind of player — not a guy or two, but a certain kind of player — that’s an issue.”

 

The second issue is that ABS, at least thus far, interprets the strike zone differently than umpires.

 

“(Umpires) are really skilled and dramatically more consistent than 15 years ago as a result of the application of technology in the training process,” Manfred told moderator Tom Verducci. “Literally after every game, they get an email with the pitches they missed. They must log in and look at the ones they missed. And there’s commentary about how they missed, and why they missed.

 

“But what they call — you know, the rulebook strike zone’s a rectangle, above the middle of the plate — they call an oval. So they don’t call that inside corner, and that outside corner. There’s a reason they don’t call it: because you can’t hit that. Okay, so while we have the technology, it’s kind of right — accurate — there are issues that we need to work through before it’s ready for prime time.”

 

MLB is testing two applications of ABS in the minor leagues. With one, the umpire is told on every pitch what to call. The other is a challenge system, where a team has three challenges to an umpire’s call per game.

 

He says the one where ABS calls everything is less liked.

 

“In the minor leagues, we have tested the umpire using (ABS) for every pitch in the game,” Manfred said. “Players know these things because they’re players — it does cause a problem with these corner pitches … because nobody has ever been trained to treat those as strikes, or hit them.”

 

But the challenge system, meanwhile, carries an appeal that’s similar to instant replay.

 

“The theory of instant replay was: fix the big miss,” Manfred said. “And we decided, well, why don’t we try the same theory? We’ll give pitchers, catchers, and hitters all the right to challenge a pitch, certain number per game. … It’s a very appealing way to correct a problem, or a miss, in a game where it can be a high-leverage situation.”

 

But I think it’s an example of players … become more accepting of technology on the field, and then dictating how and when it’s going to be used.

 

“The automated strike zone, this is another place: you know, you whiff sometimes. I held this belief for a really long time: if we could get a system that was … accurate to a tenth of an inch on every pitch, that everyone would carry us around on a big gold chair. We know that every pitch was right. It has not been received that way by players, and there are actually good reasons for it.”

 

Manfred said the system is today actually accurate to a tenth of an inch. Although ABS has been referred to as the “robo ump,” Manfred emphasized Wednesday that it’s a misnomer.

 

“I get emails from fans talking about the robot,” Manfred said. “There’s no robot. The umpire has an earpiece, it tells him what to call, he calls it just like he calls it today. It looks the same for the fan.”

 

So, is ABS going to arrive in 2024?

 

“The short answer is, I don’t know what’s going to happen going forward,” Manfred said. “I’m trying to get through this year’s change. We have some work to do, I think, on ABS.”

[John_Havok]

Evan Drellich of The Athletic reports Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have reached a tentative deal on a Collective Bargaining Agreement for minor league players.

 

Drellich adds that it's a five-year deal and is the first-ever labor deal for minor league players in baseball history. The tentative agreement more than doubles salaries for players at all levels of the minor leagues from Triple-A to complex league and Rookie-level affiliates. Jeff Passan of ESPN adds that players will be paid almost year-round moving forward, eliminating a prior six-week break during the winter. It's an extremely positive development for the future of the sport and long overdue.

 

This seems like fantastic news. Progress!

 

Under the CBA, minimum annual salaries would be as follows:

 

At the complex league and rookie ball, $19,800, up from $4,800; Single A: $26,200, up from $11,000; High A: $27,300, up from $11,000; Double A: $30,250, up from $13,800; Triple A: $35,800, up from $17,500. The salary increases are estimated to cost MLB around $90 million annually.

 

Other changes:

 

• Players who sign at age 19 or older are going to be under club reserve for six years, rather than seven, which is the blanket number that previously applied to all players. This policy is not retroactive to players who previously signed at age 19 or older.

 

• Some improvements to MLB’s housing policy. Players will have their own bedrooms at home at Double A and Triple A. Players are going to either receive a bedroom or be allowed to opt out and instead receive a stipend at Low A and High A. Spouses and children are going to be accommodated in club-provided housing. Housing is free for players except those who make a higher amount.

 

• One of the elements MLB pushed hard for in the deal, and an issue the MLBPA gave some ground on, was the right to reduce the size of the maximum amount of players that can be carried on the domestic reserve lists. The union agreed to allow MLB to trim the maximum to 165 during the season, down from 180; and to 175 in the offseason, down from 190. Those cuts, however, cannot take place until 2024 at the earliest. MLB looks at this as right-sizing rosters, believing that if it were starting the minor leagues over today, there wouldn’t be as many spots as there are now. MLB initially wanted a blanket right to downsize rosters as the owners saw fit, which the MLBPA did not allow.

 

• Transportation: For rookie ball, Low A and High A transportation to and from the field is guaranteed to players. At Double A and Triple A, issues are to be addressed as they come up.

 

• The creation of a joint clubhouse nutrition committee to oversee meal quality, and increase in per diem.

 

• A committee for feedback on rule changes that MLB implements in the minors.

 

• A joint drug agreement and domestic violence policy.

 

• Players receive their NIL rights, and the MLBPA plans to do group licensing.

 

• With medical issues, players in certain circumstances will have rights to second opinions.

 

• Different training periods: The fall training period lasts from the end of the season until the Friday before Thanksgiving. A dead period follows from the Saturday before Thanksgiving through Jan. 1. Then there will be a winter training period from Jan. 2 until spring training. During the training periods, players are to be paid at one rate if they’re home, and if they’re called into the complex for instructional leagues or other work, they’ll be paid at a higher rate. The minimum salaries listed above assume players are at home during those training periods, so players can make more money than those minimum salaries listed.

 

• MLB formally agreed that there would not be contraction of minor league teams during the life of the CBA.

[Brownie19]

I don't understand this notion that umpires call an oval and "they don’t call that inside corner, and that outside corner. There’s a reason they don’t call it: because you can’t hit that."

 

Can someone slow this down for me or something? They're suggesting they don't call the up and in pitch, or the low and away pitch because you can't hit those? WTF?

[Stangstag]

I don't understand this notion that umpires call an oval and "they don’t call that inside corner, and that outside corner. There’s a reason they don’t call it: because you can’t hit that."

 

Can someone slow this down for me or something? They're suggesting they don't call the up and in pitch, or the low and away pitch because you can't hit those? WTF?

 

Tbh the strike zone probably SHOULD be more of an oval instead of a square/rectangle.

[Virgil_Hiltz]

Tbh the strike zone probably SHOULD be more of an oval instead of a square/rectangle.

 

if we think the umps dont get calls right now an oval makes it that much more worse IMHO.

[Deadpool]

I'd prefer a system telling umps what to call 100% of the time, the challenge system doesn't really fix any of the problems in any substantial way (particularly if you have a limit on how many challenges you're allowed).

 

If they don't want that, I will also accept a giant flashing ***WRONG*** on the video screen, with mocking laughter piped through the sound systems instead whenever they miss a call.