Abomination

How insane is it that JPA has a higher walk rate than Machado does this year?

Sure did (for the whole week actually). Nova also has only given up 1 home run in his last 6 starts, and none in the last 4.

Nova has only given up 4 in 87 innings. The odds of us hitting one off him aren't good.

If that had knocked Nova out in the 2nd inning of a double header, it would have been a huge break for us.

You're slipping fatcow... this is game 1&2 of 4

I'll elaborate a little on a few of the points (I think it's a very interesting topic). 1. I knew a lot of people here wouldn't like expanded playoffs, but it would cause fan interest to jump significantly. Smaller market teams would also be much more likely to re-sign their stars I think - and the star players would be more likely to want to re-sign with the smaller market team. I also think it counters some of the payroll disparity to a larger degree. 2. Generational talents like Harper aren't generally going to get gobs more under the current system anyway, simply because they have no real advantage (but a ton of risk) for not coming to an agreement if they are one of the first few picks. What this would do is make the whole process go much smoother, and allow teams to get players into their system immediately and give them an extra 1/2 year of development (which is good for the players too). I'm not sure more players going the college route is a bad thing at all. They probably get just as much playing experience and instruction (if not more) than they do in short season anyhow. It would also increase signing bonuses for a lot of later round college guys with no leverage who teams currently abuse to free up money. 3. I agree the players union would never agree to it, but I think it would improve the game. Guys would be more likely to get more money if they stayed healthy and productive, and less if they didn't which is how it really should be. It would also keep guys hungry, rather than seeming to just sit back and veg after they get their mega contracts. 4. The clause may not be necessary (can't recall exactly what I was concerned about when I added it). I like the rest though, as I think it would provide much more fair compensation over a much larger range of players. 5. Parity hasn't seemed as big a deal the last few years (and expanded playoffs would make it MUCH less of a concern imo), but in reality the firm cap would probably only affect the upper limit on 2 teams this year. In fact a higher floor might affect more teams next year than a lower ceiling would. I don't really agree that the difference in general is front office intelligence, but rather teams being forced to operate in that manner based on their payroll limits. I honestly think that if you gave Beane or Friedman a boatload more money that they'd make the same kind of moves other larger market teams make. They might be a little more successful at it (especially Beane), but I think the type of moves would be the same. The exception imo is the Cards front office, who I don't think would significantly change their habits. 6. The devil would certainly be in the details, but currently it seems that a lot of the load for new stadiums comes from a city's tax payers. This would shift the load specifically to baseball fans. Teams would no longer need to worry about stadium leases or debt, and all stadiums would be baseball stadiums rather than needing to be multi-use facilities. I don't think there'd be an increase in infighting for stadium slots. There could be a simple initial lottery, after which the slots continually rolled over. Alternatively, equal amounts could go into each teams stadium fund each year, and teams could choose when to pull that money out and have the stadium built once sufficient funds were built up.

I'm not convinced d'Arnaud long term is going to stay healthy or walk at a significantly better rate than JPA (although he sure has so far this year). I think I'd keep Bogaerts in a heartbeat.

No worries at all (although you could state why). World would be pretty boring if everyone thought the exact same.

Honestly I think most bad contracts we could exchange would be far worse for us than just eating Rickey's. Pagan, possibly Ludwick or Maybin. McCarthy? Most of the other possibilities (like Mike Adams or Broxton) are relievers, and we really can't use more of them. May as well keep Rickey for depth of that was the case. Laroche or Uggla would probably give us a worse situation than we have now.

Did you get my picks for tomorrow? Want to make sure I submitted them correctly.

Is that really a bad thing though? I mean the high school players taken late usually end up spending a few years in short season anyhow. This way teams get a better evaluation of their true talent.

I'd suggest we have a locked stickied thread that is only updated with the points and people's picks after each game has started. (one post per day basically). All other bragging and stuff can be done in this thread. I'd also suggest a no home runs option.

I really think Boras would destroy the game if he was commissioner, but I think there are a lot of things that need to be changed and the league would be smart to consult with him frequently to get an additional viewpoint. Things I would like to see changed or restructured (probably missing a lot): Schedule, Playoffs -> Knock the regular season down to 150 games and expand the playoffs to 16 teams. (I know a LOT of people here are against that). Restore a balanced schedule. Playoffs are simply top 8 teams from each league, no divisions. All series best of 7. Draft -> All players under a certain age subjected to single mlb draft. Fixed slot bonuses, and players must declare whether to enter the draft or not. All players must undergo full standardized league medical tests made available to all teams. If a player is chosen, they automatically become property of the team and can not choose to go to college or play in independent leagues. All draft slots tradeable. Free agency, contracts -> No penalties for signing free agents. Free agent contracts limited to a maximum of 4 years. Players without enough service time to qualify for free agency or players who have been with their current team for at least 4 years can sign a contract or extension for more than 4 years, but can not be traded until they have less than the 4 years remaining. No back or front loading contracts. Value is the same for each year. Free agent compensation -> Teams automatically compensated for losing players to free agency based on the AAV of the contract the players signs. However, the team can not trade back for that player until his contract expires. Compensation awarded via draft picks at the end of each round. Which round the pick is given to depends on the AAV of the contract. Salary Cap -> Slightly more aggressive (and firm) salary cap and floor system (just to stop ridiculous excess rather than have all teams within a few percent of each other). Teams receive an extra 5% allotment a few weeks before trade deadline to help facilitate trades. Teams can not receive more than 100% of their teams payroll in revenue sharing. Stadiums -> Special 10% MLB tax on all baseball revenue. When teams wish to build a new stadium, they can request one be built. The new stadium is owned by MLB, but teams receive all baseball related revenue from the stadium above general operating costs. MLB receives all other event revenue. If a team wishes to build something fancier or that costs more than is available, they can choose to delay the construction until sufficient funds have built up. At current baseball revenue, a $750 million stadium could be built each year. Umpires -> As soon as the technology is mature enough, give umpires the ability to augment their natural ability. Some kind of google glass technology for balls/strikes for example and tennis style fair/foul/home run/catch system. I'm sure I'm missing a lot, these are just a few of my ponderings.

It would be nice if we could set the competition up on a website or something, to relieve the overhead and stuff. Not sure what the rules are for using mlb player names for something like that though, even if there's no prize or advertising.

Will the points for each player change daily, or will they be fixed for each round?

Interesting, very interesting. This home run will probably stand because it won't be definitive to overrule it.

Bautista if it's not too late

If Boni could only have learned to bunt like Davis did this inning...

Bautista

Atta-boy Lind!

Looks like Atlanta is getting desperate for a 2nd baseman too. Combine that with Izzy starting tonight (against the righty, so Kawasaki isn't benched for a lefty starting) and after I believe it was said Kawasaki would get most of the starts, and you have to wonder if something may be up.

Bautista

Reyes

For fair/foul calls and possibly home runs, if they use the Hawkeye system then all plays that are close should automatically be reviewed since it would only take about 10 seconds. Kind of adds to the excitement too.

Depends on how they implement it. If most of them (with obvious exceptions) are similar to tennis in/out calls where it only takes a few seconds, then I love it. If it means the umpires disappearing for 10 mins and looking at it on crappy equipment, then I dislike it.