Around Baseball 2023

[John_Havok]

If I understand this correctly it sounds like they are committing to pitches at the heart of the plate and trying to hammer that pitch and not bothering to try and adjust if the pitch is on the edge of the zone, and willing to take strikes.

 

Instead of adjusting on a nasty pitch they'll take it, or swing as if it's down the middle, instead of adjusting and hitting a weak ground ball. Maybe optimizing swing mechanics for the pitch down the middle, and not worrying if it results in swing and miss at nasty stuff.

 

Probably using advances in pitching machines to train guys to swing down the middle, and take what they can't hit (even if in the zone).

 

Yeah, one consistency with most of their lineup is crushing heart of the plate, and really sucking at the shadow. It’s like if their brain is telling them it’s going to be heart, sell out and yank it. Their pull rate as a team is 41% centre is 36%. Only 23% oppo.

 

Jays as a comparison…38, 36, 26. 3% doesn’t sound like a lot when you’re talking pull rate vs oppo, but when you add that up over even 2 months of a season, that’s quite a few runs., especially hen you add in their 40% fly ball rate vs the Jays 36%.

 

 

Thing is, people are going to look at these numbers and think the Jays are bad when that’s not the case, they’re well above average in nearly all important hitting numbers that are publicly available..it’s just the Rays are in another universe

[Jimcanuck]

Holy crap what a play by Michael Harris

[Pendleton]

[G-Snarls]

Jfc

 

Dodgers hit 5 home runs against Tampa yet the Rays manage to win 11-10

[Spanky__99]

Mike Soroka, Liam Hendriks and Royce Lewis will be activated today, those were some tough roads to come back from, well done men.

[BTS]

[connorp]

He’s officially back, folks.

After tune ups reaching 179 wRC+ getting ready for the season, Royce Lewis will be activated today.

And stfu Spanky because you’ve been stashing him on your roster in Yahoo like a fan girl

[Spanky__99]

He’s officially back, folks.

After tune ups reaching 179 wRC+ getting ready for the season, Royce Lewis will be activated today.

And stfu Spanky because you’ve been stashing him on your roster in Yahoo like a fan girl

 

I own him in 2 leagues, baldilocks, his injury history is worrisome(237 professional AB's since '19) and I don't pump my players like you 2 nimrods do. USTFU!

 

I posted he was back this morning... Derp!

[Spanky__99]

 

1st in over a hundred games I think, or 2nd, he's hit the wall... full splat.

[BTS]

1st in over a hundred games I think, or 2nd, he's hit the wall... full splat.

 

Second in his last 106 games. Slashing 264/324/328 over that stretch.

 

I hope he has something left in the tank, because he's one of the most likeable guys in the game.

[Spanky__99]

Second in his last 106 games. Slashing 264/324/328 over that stretch.

 

I hope he has something left in the tank, because he's one of the most likeable guys in the game.

 

Yes, he's certainly a good dude, but I feel he's done. Helluva career since coming over from Cuba.

 

Get ready for William offers.

[BTS]

I was looking again at the trades Oakland made in 2022, as part of their rebuild. It might actually be the worst year of trades in history.

 

Traded

Sean Murphy

Matt Olson

Matt Chapman

Chris Bassitt

Sean Manaea

Frankie Montas

Lou Trivino

Christian Bethancourt

 

Received

Adam Oller (-1.6 fWAR)

Christian Pache (-1.0 fWAR, waived and traded for Billy Sullivan, a bad AAA reliever)

Luis Medina (-0.6 fWAR)

Zack Logue (-0.4 fWAR)

Ken Waldichuk (-0.4 fWAR)

Kirby Snead (-0.3 fWAR)

Kevin Smith (-0.3 fWAR)

Adrian Martinez (-0.3 fWAR)

Kyle Muller (-0.3 fWAR)

Cal Stevenson (-0.1 fWAR, lost on waivers)

Shea Langeliers (0.0 fWAR)

Manny Pina (injured and hasn't played a game)

Freddy Tarnok (injured and hasn't played a game)

J.P. Sears (0.7 fWAR)

Esteury Ruiz (0.9 fWAR)

 

J.T. Ginn (24, getting nuked in AA)

Joey Estes (21, struggling at AA)

Ryan Cusick (23, struggling at AA)

Gunnar Hoglund (23, has thrown 3 innings since the trade because of arm injuries)

Erubiel Angeles (21, wRC+ of 56 at A+)

Cooper Bowman (23, wRC+ of 97 at AA)

Royber Salina (22, struggling at AA)

 

They gutted a playoff team, selling multiple stars and 8 quality MLB players. And somehow they've received -3.7 fWAR in return, on aggregate. Every prospect that hasn't played in the majors looks like an org guy at best. Every player who has played in the majors has bombed except for Sears and Ruiz. You could make the argument that they nuked their entire team and the only actual assets they have to show for it are Esteury Ruiz, JP Sears, and Gunnar Hoglund if his arm holds up.

[Stangstag]

I was looking again at the trades Oakland made in 2022, as part of their rebuild. It might actually be the worst year of trades in history.

 

Traded

Sean Murphy

Matt Olson

Matt Chapman

Chris Bassitt

Sean Manaea

Frankie Montas

Lou Trivino

Christian Bethancourt

 

Received

Adam Oller (-1.6 fWAR)

Christian Pache (-1.0 fWAR, waived and traded for Billy Sullivan, a bad AAA reliever)

Luis Medina (-0.6 fWAR)

Zack Logue (-0.4 fWAR)

Ken Waldichuk (-0.4 fWAR)

Kirby Snead (-0.3 fWAR)

Kevin Smith (-0.3 fWAR)

Adrian Martinez (-0.3 fWAR)

Kyle Muller (-0.3 fWAR)

Cal Stevenson (-0.1 fWAR, lost on waivers)

Shea Langeliers (0.0 fWAR)

Manny Pina (injured and hasn't played a game)

Freddy Tarnok (injured and hasn't played a game)

J.P. Sears (0.7 fWAR)

Esteury Ruiz (0.9 fWAR)

 

J.T. Ginn (24, getting nuked in AA)

Joey Estes (21, struggling at AA)

Ryan Cusick (23, struggling at AA)

Gunnar Hoglund (23, has thrown 3 innings since the trade because of arm injuries)

Erubiel Angeles (21, wRC+ of 56 at A+)

Cooper Bowman (23, wRC+ of 97 at AA)

Royber Salina (22, struggling at AA)

 

They gutted a playoff team, selling multiple stars and 8 quality MLB players. And somehow they've received -3.7 fWAR in return, on aggregate. Every prospect that hasn't played in the majors looks like an org guy at best. Every player who has played in the majors has bombed except for Sears and Ruiz. You could make the argument that they nuked their entire team and the only actual assets they have to show for it are Esteury Ruiz, JP Sears, and Gunnar Hoglund if his arm holds up.

 

Their FO insistence on receiving 3-4 pieces for every trade is the main issue. They prefer having more mediocre pieces instead of 1 or 2 good players, and they haven't "hit" on a diamond in the rough in ages. They really need to change their whole front office mindset on assessing trade pieces coming back.

[BTS]

Their FO insistence on receiving 3-4 pieces for every trade is the main issue. They prefer having more mediocre pieces instead of 1 or 2 good players, and they haven't "hit" on a diamond in the rough in ages. They really need to change their whole front office mindset on assessing trade pieces coming back.

 

That and their focus on proximity to MLB. The seem to prioritize MLB-readiness over upside. Only the mid-20s guys they've acquired all suck and the team might have the worst season in history.

[Laika]

I was looking again at the trades Oakland made in 2022, as part of their rebuild. It might actually be the worst year of trades in history.

 

Traded

Sean Murphy

Matt Olson

Matt Chapman

Chris Bassitt

Sean Manaea

Frankie Montas

Lou Trivino

Christian Bethancourt

 

Received

Adam Oller (-1.6 fWAR)

Christian Pache (-1.0 fWAR, waived and traded for Billy Sullivan, a bad AAA reliever)

Luis Medina (-0.6 fWAR)

Zack Logue (-0.4 fWAR)

Ken Waldichuk (-0.4 fWAR)

Kirby Snead (-0.3 fWAR)

Kevin Smith (-0.3 fWAR)

Adrian Martinez (-0.3 fWAR)

Kyle Muller (-0.3 fWAR)

Cal Stevenson (-0.1 fWAR, lost on waivers)

Shea Langeliers (0.0 fWAR)

Manny Pina (injured and hasn't played a game)

Freddy Tarnok (injured and hasn't played a game)

J.P. Sears (0.7 fWAR)

Esteury Ruiz (0.9 fWAR)

 

J.T. Ginn (24, getting nuked in AA)

Joey Estes (21, struggling at AA)

Ryan Cusick (23, struggling at AA)

Gunnar Hoglund (23, has thrown 3 innings since the trade because of arm injuries)

Erubiel Angeles (21, wRC+ of 56 at A+)

Cooper Bowman (23, wRC+ of 97 at AA)

Royber Salina (22, struggling at AA)

 

They gutted a playoff team, selling multiple stars and 8 quality MLB players. And somehow they've received -3.7 fWAR in return, on aggregate. Every prospect that hasn't played in the majors looks like an org guy at best. Every player who has played in the majors has bombed except for Sears and Ruiz. You could make the argument that they nuked their entire team and the only actual assets they have to show for it are Esteury Ruiz, JP Sears, and Gunnar Hoglund if his arm holds up.

 

I kind of still like Waldichuk. Muller and Langeliers I think will be okay long term.

 

But yeah this is f***ing disgusting.

[Jimcanuck]

Their FO insistence on receiving 3-4 pieces for every trade is the main issue. They prefer having more mediocre pieces instead of 1 or 2 good players, and they haven't "hit" on a diamond in the rough in ages. They really need to change their whole front office mindset on assessing trade pieces coming back.

 

Selling point for the casuals. We got 4 players for 1!

[Orgfiller]

Selling point for the casuals. We got 4 players for 1!

 

This is the opposite of how casuals act. Casuals want to be acquiring big names. If you trade your franchise cornerstone (Chapman, Olson, Sean Murphy) for a package deal, then you're getting "4 nobodies" in return for a star. At the very least if you trade them for one or two very good prospects, you can half justify it by saying "okay we traded our best player away but at least we got the #X and Y prospects in the game". In the A's case they quite literally traded their stars for nobodies, not even a single guy with high upside. Just boring near-MLB players with a 2-3 WAR ceiling and as we see, a much lower floor.

[Spanky__99]

Royals have a combined perfect game through 7 innings against the Cards.

[John_Havok]

Stroman just threw a CG 1-hit shutout against the Rays.

 

f*** the Rays.

[Laika]

Stroman is killing it this year. He's just so consistently good.

[wilko]

Stroman just threw a CG 1-hit shutout against the Rays.

 

f*** the Rays.

 

The Stro Show's ratings are blowing up!

[Stangstag]

Stroman just threw a CG 1-hit shutout against the Rays.

 

f*** the Rays.

 

I watched a few clips and noticed a lot of middle-middle pitches that the Rays were just not hitting today.... makes you wonder. They are supposed to be best in the league BY FAR at this.

[Stangstag]

Stroman is killing it this year. He's just so consistently good.

 

Should have just signed him to the 7 year contract we gave Berrios instead of making 2 poor trades

[Laika]

Should have just signed him to the 7 year contract we gave Berrios instead of making 2 poor trades

 

nah, Berrios is years younger and has better stuff + similar results this year against much tougher competition

 

Berrios has returned

[Stangstag]

nah, Berrios is years younger and has better stuff + similar results this year against much tougher competition

 

Berrios has returned

 

Stroman would have helped in 2021 and 2022 though.... and the contract would be nearing its end by now. Ahhh hindsight is wonderful ain't it. Who knows how things would have gone down.

[BigCecil]

Welcome back the MLB bump tonight for Calgarys own Mike Soroka! Been a long road back.

[Jimcanuck]

Nice moment, Liam Hendriks into the game, top of 8th

[John_Havok]

Nice moment, Liam Hendriks into the game, top of 8th

 

Pitch clock violation for too long of an ovation?

 

No ump would be that stupid would they?

[Brownie19]

Pitch clock violation for too long of an ovation?

 

No ump would be that stupid would they?

 

No I think they've worked out those kinks. Speaking of which, it kind of seems like all the kinks have been worked out doesn't it? I wonder how many violations there are on average per game these days. I don't see people bitching about it daily anymore at least....freaking out like Game 7 of the WS is going to be decided on a pitch clock violation. Do people still hate it?

[BTS]

No I think they've worked out those kinks. Speaking of which, it kind of seems like all the kinks have been worked out doesn't it? I wonder how many violations there are on average per game these days. I don't see people bitching about it daily anymore at least....freaking out like Game 7 of the WS is going to be decided on a pitch clock violation. Do people still hate it?

 

Man, the first week of Spring Training was absurd. People losing their minds over every violation, acting like the game was being irreparably damaged.