TheHurl

Done and done!

It's worked splendidly for me for the past 5 years.

Ang is bred to hate Cubans though.

The Montreal comment sounds so much like Stroman.

18. Who is the dirtiest player in the game? Top result: Manny Machado, Padres (64.8%) Runner-up: Chase Utley (9.3%), “even if he is retired” Also receiving multiple votes: Bryce Harper, Jenrry Mejia, Rougned Odor In their own words: “It’s not how it used to be. There’s not many.” 19. (For pitchers) Who would you least like to see charging the mound? Top result: Aaron Judge, Yankees (33.8%) Runner-up: Giancarlo Stanton (19.5%) Also receiving multiple votes: Yasiel Puig, Mike Trout, Eric Thames, Jesús Aguilar, Justin Bour, Evan Gattis, Carlos Gómez, Miguel Sanó In their own words: On Judge: “He’s the biggest dude. He’s massive. But I think I could outrun him.””He’s a good guy and we’re friends, so I don’t think — I don’t think — he’d charge me. But if he was going to, I’d rather not face someone who’s 6-7, 280.” “That wouldn’t be a lot of fun.” 20. (For hitters) Who would you least want to charge the mound against? Top result: Aroldis Chapman, Yankees (15.6%) Runners-up: Madison Bumgarner (12.5%), Michael Lorenzen (9.4%), Chris Sale (9.4%), Max Scherzer (7.8%), CC Sabathia (7.8%) Also receiving multiple votes: Dellin Betances, Noah Syndergaard, Craig Kimbrel In their own words: On Bumgarner: “I’ve got Bumgarner being like a Nolan Ryan and just getting you in a headlock and start upper-cutting you.” On Lorenzen: “Have you seen him? That dude is jacked. I’d probably have to take my bat with me to have any chance.”

15. City you most enjoy visiting on road trips? Top result: Chicago (23.7%) Runners-up: Seattle (18.9%), San Diego (16%), New York (7.1%) Also receiving multiple votes: Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, Denver, Miami, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Pittsburgh In their own words: On Chicago: “It’s a good town for restaurants — and with all the day games, you can go out to lots of restaurants.” On Seattle: “I can’t even explain why, there’s just something about Seattle that I love.” On Toronto: “Most diverse city in the world, over 200 cultures represented and very friendly.” 16. City you least enjoy visiting on road trips? Top result: Cincinnati (21%) Runners-up: Oakland (17.2%), New York (12.7%), Cleveland (7.6%), Detroit (7.6%) Also receiving multiple votes: Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Kansas City, Miami, Denver, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles In their own words: On San Francisco: “It’s too damn cold.” On Kansas City: “Just not much to do there.” On Chicago: “When I say Chicago, I mean the White Sox. Chicago as a city is fine, the Cubs are fine.” 17. Which city would you like to see add an expansion team? Top result: Las Vegas (21.4%) Runners-up: Montreal (20%), Nashville (18.6%), Portland (15.2%), Charlotte (12.4%) Also receiving multiple votes: Indianapolis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Austin, San Antonio, Santo Domingo, Vancouver In their own words: On Montreal: “It would be sick, bringing baseball back there. Canada is sick.”“I think adding another Canadian team would be good for baseball. I know when baseball went back to Montreal a few years ago, the reception was very good. I’d think the fan base there would support baseball better this time around and give the Jays a good, natural rival.” Notes: Also receiving one vote: Australia, which is not a city.

14. Should the DH expand to the National League? Yes: 37.7% No: 58.6% Don’t know/no opinion: 3.5% In their own words: Players who said yes: “It would make for a more enjoyable game.” “It’s coming. Everybody wants it, the owners and the players. We’d probably already have it if it wasn’t such a negotiating chip.” “No question. Nobody comes to the ballpark wanting to see the double-switch.” “Yes. I think the risk of pitchers hitting is too high. For the few great highlights you see with pitchers hitting, the risk of injuries is more.” “You guys get it too, how about that? You get to face Miggy Cabrera.” — an AL pitcher Players who said no: “Because it will hurt jobs for utility players. Guys who make their living playing off the bench and playing multiple positions will drop.” “That’s stupid. If you’re a pitcher and you don’t want to be considered an athlete, OK, but we consider ourselves athletes. We take pride in it. We work on it every single day. If we didn’t have hitting or base running to do, I’m not sure what I’d do with my day.” — an NL pitcher “I would say they take our rules.” — a National Leaguer “Absolutely not.” — a National Leaguer “I like facing pitchers.” — an AL pitcher “Pitchers should hit in both leagues.” — an American Leaguer “That’s the difference between the leagues. Get rid of that, might as well have one league.” — an American Leaguer Notes: As you might expect, there was a significant AL/NL divide here — American Leaguers were split almost 50-50 in our sample, while the National League hates this idea, opposing it nearly two to one. And naturally, pitchers are much more likely than hitters to oppose expanding the DH. Many of them like hitting … and almost all of them like pitching against other pitchers.

13. Do you think MLB should ban the shift? Yes: 17.4% No: 77.2% Don’t know/no opinion: 5.4% In their own words: Players who said yes: “Ban the shift against guys batting .180 with three home runs, but keep the shift for guys like Miguel Cabrera and Big Papi.” Players who said no: “No, because it gets me a lot of outs. I don’t throw very hard.” “Learn to hit the f***ing ball the other way.” “No, but I think infielders should stay in the infield and play on the dirt.” “It helps teams win ballgames and every team can do it.” “I think they should stop shifting and do more shading.” “No. But I’d limit it to two batters you can shift against per game.” “The game has evolved and we have to evolve with it. And I want to do it, because I want to take hits away.” “You can’t ban a shift. Shifting has been going on since baseball started. If you want to regulate it, sure, but you can’t ban a shift. Is it because you want more offense? No.” Notes: Even among hitters, only a small minority want to see the shift legislated out of the game — though more of them were open to regulating or limiting it in some way.

11. Do you think there has been collusion among teams that has affected free agency? Yes: 40% No: 17% Don’t know: 43% In their own words: Players who said yes: “A thousand percent.””I would’ve said I don’t know, but then the Mark Reynolds thing came out, where he got no calls, and then in the span of a week he got five with the same offer. How does every team view him in the exact same way?” “My gut says yes. When you see a bunch of teams doing the exact same thing … I mean, if we all walked in here wearing pink nail polish, you’d think something was up.” “Definitely. I’ve heard that from several players.” Players who said no: “I don’t there’s direct (collusion). I don’t think they’re that stupid. Is there like eye contact and decisions being made that are very clearly easily made without even talking? Absolutely. That’s been happening. It’s astoundingly clear now because of the way teams are giving contracts. You see a bunch of guys getting minor-league contract offers on the exact same day. It’s not just a coincidence all over the place. You’re naive if you think it’s a coincidence, but you’re also naive if you think there’s a secret Slack channel with all the owners.” “Collusion is a strong word. I don’t think the owners are going that far; they’re too smart for that. I think it’s more like there’s a gentleman’s agreement about things.” “Guys are still getting paid.” Players who said they don’t know: “‘Collusion’ is a very intense word to use. I think just the way the numbers are used and age is used, it’s hindered free agency a lot. Now 30 or 31 is old, which doesn’t make sense. If you want to call 35, 36 old, fine. Steroids aren’t around anymore, which is why you had someone hit 70 home runs at age 36. No one wants to pay attention to that, but that’s why they don’t want to give away these 10-year contracts that ‘don’t work’ on the back end. Steroids is really what hurt the long contracts.” “It’s hard to prove.” Notes: As multiple players told us, collusion is indeed hard to prove — and so is its absence. Nevertheless, fewer than one in five players we polled felt confident that owners were not colluding. 12. Do you think there will be a work stoppage when the current CBA expires? Yes: 28.6% No: 25% Don’t know: 46.4% In their own words: Players who said yes: “One hundred percent.” — multiple players”If it stays like it is.” “There is too much ground that still has to be covered. It might not be a long one, but I do think there will be a stoppage.” Players who said no: “No, only because I don’t think enough guys will band together. You have guys at different points in their careers with different priorities.” “Both sides know what’s at stake, and a work stoppage is not good for anyone. Maybe I’m just an incurable optimist, but I don’t think things will break down to that point.” “I know we’re prepared to. Will it actually happen? I’m going to say no, because nobody wants to do that.” “It would not be good for the game. If it does come about, everyone has a lot to lose. I’d like to think in the spirit of respecting the game we love, there is going to be some give and take.” Players who said they don’t know: “If the CBA expired today, I’d say there would be a work stoppage. But who knows what can happen in a year or two?” “I hope not.” — dozens of players

10. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being excellent) rate the job the players’ union has done over the past few years. Average answer: 2.5 Median and mode: 3 In their own words: “Zero. Or 1 if you need 1 to 5.” “Three. I wish I had more information from them.” “Five. I think they’re doing a great job of keeping us in the loop.” “One of our guys told them when they visited camp that they should have delegated the negotiations. The last CBA was terrible. MLB has all these MIT guys; we have the money to hire those people, we just haven’t.” (No rating) Notes: This was a fraught topic, and some players declined to answer — often from a stated desire to defend the union, or at least not criticize it.

8. Which manager (aside from your own) would you least want to play for? Top result: Gabe Kapler, Phillies (18.3%) Runners-up: Joe Maddon (16.1%), Buck Showalter (7.5%), Mike Scioscia (6.5%) Also receiving multiple votes: Andy Green, Don Mattingly, Dave Roberts, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Banister, Bruce Bochy, Aaron Boone, Mickey Callaway, Kevin Cash, Terry Francona, Joe Girardi, Clint Hurdle, Mike Matheny In their own words: On Kapler: “I’m not a fan.” On Maddon: “His glasses weird me out.” On Cash: “Nothing personal against him. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and they’ve done some good things there. But, I’m a (starting) pitcher and he’s all in with the opener, which I don’t like.” “They do too much experimenting with their pitchers.” On Bochy: “He’d probably try to take me out in the fourth inning.” — a starting pitcher On Boone: “I was a Sox fan in ’03 when he hit that home run off Tim Wakefield.” Notes: Once again this year, for understandable reasons, lots of players wanted nothing to do with this question. But plenty did answer, and once again, Maddon just barely missed coming out on top for the manager players most wanted to play for and the manager they least wanted to. We can only hope he finally gets this double crown next year. For now, it seems the Phillies’ second-year manager has some work to do this season. Receiving one vote: Rocco Baldelli, but “only because we’re almost the same age.” 9. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being “not at all,” 5 being “extremely”), how upset or frustrated are you with the current labor and free agency situation? Average answer: 3.94 Median: 4 Mode: 5 In their own words: Players who said “3”: “I think the large deals are overshadowing the middle-market stuff.””People are still getting paid. It’s just taking a little bit longer than normal.” “The thing is, everyone gets upset that they’re using a system we implemented against us. We can sit here and be as upset as we want, but they’re running a savvy business and it pisses us off. So, I’ll give it a 3. Yeah, it sucks because it sucks, but if it was reversed, at the end of the day, we would do the same thing.” Players who said “4”: “The top-end guys are still getting their money, but there are a lot of guys who should have jobs or major-league jobs. Bud Norris had a pretty good year last year. The fact he had to sign a minor-league deal is absurd.” “There’s no reason why all that talent should be sitting out there.” Players who said “5”: “It’s kind of hard not to be upset. … It used to be you’d get to free agency and you could cash in and set up your family. It’s hard to watch. It’s scary. I’ve got two years. What’s going to happen? … The common theme now is it’s better to be in arbitration. At least you get to keep your job and you’re probably going to get a fair deal. It’s just frustrating to watch. There are so many one-year deals.” “There’s so many guys out there. There shouldn’t be that many guys out there.” Notes: Only one player said he was not at all upset with the current state of free agency and labor relations in the game.

7. Which manager (aside from your own) would you most want to play for? Top result: Joe Maddon, Cubs (21.7%) Runners-up: Bruce Bochy (15.2%), Terry Francona (9.4%), Alex Cora (6.5%), A.J. Hinch (5%), Bud Black (5%), Dave Roberts (4.3%) Also receiving multiple votes: Kevin Cash, Ron Gardenhire, Andy Green, Bob Melvin, Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa Jim Leyland, Torey Lovullo, Mike Shildt, Buck Showalter, Brian Snitker In their own words: On Joe Maddon: “He’s so Hollywood.” “It seems like Joe Maddon does a good job of letting the players police themselves. That’s appealing to me.” “Played for him once, would definitely again.”

6. Who is the funniest teammate you’ve ever had? Top result: (Tie) Kiké Hernández, Dodgers; Gerardo Parra, Giants; Derek Holland, Giants; Stephen Vogt, Giants (3.1% each) Runners-up: (Tie) Eduardo Escobar, Peter Moylan (2.5% each) Also receiving multiple votes: Jett Bandy, John Brebbia, Ji-Man Choi, Mark Lowe, T.J. McFarland, Dustin Pedroia, Edgar Santana, Brandon Workman, Lance Berkman, Alex Bregman, Andrew Cashner, Tim Dillard, Jonny Gomes, Carlos González, Wade LeBlanc, Javier López, Brian McCann, Miguel Rojas, CC Sabathia, Jeff Samardzija, Jimmie Sherfy, Mike Zagurski Notes: Humor being even more difficult to measure than defense, it figures that there was no agreement whatsoever here. But their current and former teammates claim that the above players could try for comedy careers when their playing days are over.

5. Who is the most overrated player? Top result: Bryce Harper, Phillies (62%) Runners-up: Marcus Stroman (4.1%) Also receiving multiple votes: Giancarlo Stanton, Jayson Heyward, Kevin Kiermaier, Manny Machado, Noah Syndergaard, Gary Sánchez In their own words: On Harper: “Especially now.” “It’s marketing. It’s star power. But what has he done besides have one year?” Notes: The results here are unsurprising, considering that players overwhelmingly voted for Harper last year as well … and that was before he signed a $330 million contract. Also receiving single votes: “All the prospects” and “Bernie the Brewer” (no explanation given).

4. Who is the most underrated player in the game? Top result: Anthony Rendon, Nationals (11.4%) Runners-up: Paul Goldschmidt (8.9%), DJ LeMahieu (5%), Nick Markakis (4.4%) Also receiving multiple votes (three or more): Mike Trout, Blake Snell, Khris Davis, Eugenio Suárez, Eddie Rosario, Whit Merrifield, Nolan Arenado, Matt Chapman, Mitch Haniger, Freddie Freeman, Marwin González In their own words: On Rendon: “Every time we play the Nationals, he makes every single play. I think he’s a superstar.” On Goldschmidt: “He does it every year. Even last year when he started a buck-90 and everyone was like, ‘Watch at the end of the year, he’ll be .300 with 20 homers.’ He’s a quiet superstar.” On Trout: “Can you be underrated after that contract? Probably still.” Notes: Another category with little consensus, and where players were likely to vote for current or former teammates — though Rendon transcended that. Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (Steve Mitchell / USA TODAY Sports)

3. Who is the best defensive player in the game? Top result: Nolan Arenado, Rockies (35%) Runners-up: Andrelton Simmons (15.8%), Freddy Galvis (6.6%), Francisco Lindor (4.9%) Also receiving multiple votes (in descending order): Javy Báez, Jackie Bradley Jr., Kevin Kiermaier, Matt Chapman, Nick Ahmed, Byron Buxton, Brandon Crawford, Yadier Molina, Manny Machado, Ender Inciarte, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout Notes: Arenado, fresh off his eight-year, $260 million extension, took the crown from Simmons, last year’s winner. (For what it’s worth, FanGraphs’ Defensive Runs Above Average stat thinks Simmons was robbed.) Below those two, there was little consensus — but then, defensive skill is notoriously difficult to measure.

2. Who is the most intimidating hitter in the game? Top result: Mike Trout, Angels (40.2%) Runners-up: Aaron Judge (12.6%), J.D. Martinez (7.5%), Giancarlo Stanton (6.3%) Also receiving multiple votes (in descending order): Mookie Betts, Joey Votto, Bryce Harper, Miguel Cabrera (“still”), Nolan Arenado, Nelson Cruz, Freddie Freeman In their own words: On Trout: “He just has this incredible presence every single time he’s up there.” “He’s going to end up being the best player ever, and we’re watching him, taking him for granted.” “I know it might be cliché, but the guy’s got no holes. He’s an all-around great hitter.” “It’s boring, but it’s gotta be Trout.” On Puig: “Crazy AND big.” On Carlos Gómez: “I’ve heard some crazy things about him.” Other quotes: “Don’t care. Bring it on.” “I don’t give a f***.””I’m not afraid of nobody.” “There’s a lot of big dudes. I’m not that big. There’s a lot of them out there I don’t want charging me.” Notes: Nobody wants to start anything with the Yankees this year. Also receiving one honorary vote on the eve of his retirement: Ichiro. 20. (For hitters) Who would you least want to charge the mound against? Top result: Aroldis Chapman, Yankees (15.6%) Runners-up: Madison Bumgarner (12.5%), Michael Lorenzen (9.4%), Chris Sale (9.4%), Max Scherzer (7.8%), CC Sabathia (7.8%) Also receiving multiple votes: Dellin Betances, Noah Syndergaard, Craig Kimbrel In their own words: On Bumgarner: “I’ve got Bumgarner being like a Nolan Ryan and just getting you in a headlock and start upper-cutting you.” On Lorenzen: “Have you seen him? That dude is jacked. I’d probably have to take my bat with me to have any chance.”

Which leads into a few questions answered in the Players poll. Sorry it's a lot of text. The 2019 MLB Poll: Who’s the funniest, the best, the most overrated? How tense are labor relations? And who’s afraid of Aaron Judge? The Athletic Staff 2h ago 70 As​ we​ did​ last​ season,​ this​ spring The​ Athletic had​ our​ beat writers ask​ as​ many players as​ they​​ could — about a third of the league overall, including players from all 30 teams — about a wide range of topics. We covered the best players in the game, managers they would and would not want to play for, their feelings on the current labor situation, and more, from the silly to the serious. Before we get to the answers, note that these results are not entirely scientific. We divided the questions below into two sets, in order to cover as much ground as possible; some players answered every question, others answered only one set. And, even when granted anonymity, some players declined to discuss a few of the more controversial topics, so the players who did answer had a bigger say in the results. We have a much broader selection of players than we did last season, since The Athletic is now covering all 30 teams, but we still were able to get to more players from some teams than from others. With all those caveats, the results are once again an interesting look at players’ off-the-record opinions on the current game — and on each other. The good news is that the game is full of talent (and comedians). The bad news is that tensions between owners and players are high, and no one wants to go to Cincinnati. 1. Who is the most intimidating pitcher in the game? Top result: Max Scherzer, Nationals (38.7% of the vote) Runners-up: Chris Sale (18.5%), Aroldis Chapman (11%) Also receiving multiple votes (in descending order): Madison Bumgarner, Craig Kimbrel, Blake Snell, Noah Syndergaard, Dellin Betances, Jacob deGrom, Corey Kluber, Josh Hader In their own words: On Scherzer: “I would not want to face that guy.” “Just nasty. Nasty, nasty.” “The motion, the way he gets after it. He’s got that game face.” “I don’t think there are many of them left that will throw at you and don’t give a s***.” On Sale: “Two weeks before we even played the Red Sox, (teammates) were looking to see if Sale lined up against us. I’m like, ‘I’ve never seen that.’ These guys were like, ‘s***.'” On Chapman: “He’s 6-6 and throws 105.”

Worth noting is that Stroman only got 4.1% of the votes. Kevin Keirmeier getting votes pretty much means that there are many jealous men in baseball 5. Who is the most overrated player? Top result: Bryce Harper, Phillies (62%) Runners-up: Marcus Stroman (4.1%) Also receiving multiple votes: Giancarlo Stanton, Jayson Heyward, Kevin Kiermaier, Manny Machado, Noah Syndergaard, Gary Sánchez In their own words: On Harper: “Especially now.” “It’s marketing. It’s star power. But what has he done besides have one year?” Notes: The results here are unsurprising, considering that players overwhelmingly voted for Harper last year as well … and that was before he signed a $330 million contract. Also receiving single votes: “All the prospects” and “Bernie the Brewer” (no explanation given). It's a fun poll I will post into the Around Baseball thread.

There was a nice rant about various platforms on the group chat this morning after CBS totally f***ed up our draft (they counted minor league players and draft picks as assets towards the budget and our max bids were messed up). Fantrax truly does stand out as the best.

Don't suspect it will be overly active this year but...bump

it was an interesting time, and I could be wrong but 1879 might have still been the underhand era

Bob is just not going to understand spending as a percentage of revenue. With the new TV deal they will gradually go up in payroll (I guarantee it).

Sounds like the same argument people had over the DH coming in.

I was going to post the whole thread but it's too much work. Do yourself a favour and read the whole thing to put yourself in a Sens fans shoes.