Brownie19

19th in runs scored and 15th in wRC+ after being the best offense in baseball (by a mile) last year.

That's a pretty crazy stat. Man - baseball was so different with steroids. Then again, those f***ing steroid guys forced pitchers to start throwing harder because they couldn't get those f***ing guys out and that's created the game we have today, which isn't nearly as enjoyable as baseball was during the steroid era.

One thing I keep telling myself is that instructions need to be catered to the age group. Things like "squishing the bug" work just fine with 7 and 8 year olds, but you need more advanced movements as you get older. I've literally told kids before "remember what I told you last year? Forget it - you're now strong enough that I can teach you how to do this properly".

Obviously not enough. And yes, perhaps grow up was the wrong suggestion. How about "adapt"

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You actually see this quite a bit. It's called "feel v. real". There are videos of A-Rod doing the same thing. Here's a video of Matt Antonelli explaining it, using A-Rod's swing. I don't actually believe there's anything wrong with teaching "feel v. real" and in fact, I actually use this with some of the 8 year olds I coach. They naturally have large uppercut swings, which don't work well. So before every game, when we do side toss, I tell them to hit the ball off the base of the net and those kids will take some really awkward choppy swings to hit the base of the net. But - we go into game situations, that "feel" has really helped them level off their swings and both of them are performing much better since we made that change. An issue I see is that coaches/instructors should know "feel v. real" and they should know that when they are preaching that old school, hit down on the ball approach - that it's actually just a mentality or feel and that you'd actually never swing like that in a game. That should be explained to people. I'm not so sure A-Rod or Miggy (or Donnie Baseball???) know that.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/maybe-the-launch-angle-revolution-wasnt-really-about-launch-angle/ I found this article kind of interesting...

Who the f*** watches commercials on TV? Grow up and flip through Tik Tok or Instagram like the rest of us between innings.

I do wonder if Turner's track record with RISP was a factor. Let's be honest, there were a lot of DH types that didn't project well that were getting big $$$ Player | Projected WAR | AAV Teo 1.6 $23M Hoskins 1.9 $17M LGR 1.4 $14M Soler 1.8 $14M Turner 1.0 $13M Joc 1.1 $12.5M Garver 1.4 $12M JDM 0.4 $12M And Pham was only projected for 0.7 WAR FWIW. Most of these guys suck.

His Pull% has decreased every single year since his rookie season. There's really nothing to suggest sideburns is having any impact on Bo's approach. Bo seems like quite a study of the game. I think he's in control of his own approach and swing.

Is it really that hard to select another word man?

They don't have a lot of great prospects. Obviously the cost for Robert is going to be sky high and would cost them Painter. Aiden Miller, Mick Abel and Justin Crawford look interesting, although Philly probably views Abel as SPing depth and would want to keep him. Aiden Miller or Justin Crawford, plus a lotto ticket for Jansen and KK? This "soft compete" idea could be a thing. I personally think we're already done, but somehow the Jays are still giving the illusion they are in it. Phillies won't give up any real pieces from their MLB roster, but they may not need to. The Jays just need to fool people until September.

Pretty bleak - especially when you include our -37 run differential. I'm not sure adding a bat or 2 to spark the offense would be enough to true "fix" the team and make a run.

Is it? You think the Jays aren't teaching runners to hold on ground balls hit in front of them when they're on 2nd base? This is a fundamental rule you teach 8 year olds. You think teams have figured out how to eliminate brain farts?

El Capitano! 110 MPH EV

Indeed. Perhaps the heavy workload is wearing him out. He could just be slumping and need a mental break. Either way, this isn't a situation where fans should be questioning management.

It is pretty wild to see a team with three .300 hitters at the top of a lineup. Feels like throwback baseball.

All valid...I just wanted to add that Votto is also one of the best hitters of all time...

The reported injuries were to his shoulder, not his elbow. As someone else said, perhaps this explains why his Stuff+ went to s*** after this first full season....maybe that gives hope that he can return to that level at some point. Maybe not.

Moreno's down to an 82 wRC+. I feel bad for the kid after he was seemingly on top of the world after the WC round last year. Catching at the ML level is seemingly so incredibly hard on players.

It's like Buck Martinez joined the message board

There's often more to stories like this...

There is just so much wrong with this post.

This is sad, but I'm OK with it. I really enjoyed Biggio when he first came up. I loved that keen eye he had and he had enough pop in his bat back when MLB was using juiced balls to do some damage. He's such a smart base runner and a high baseball IQ. Eliminating the juiced balls really hurt him. That uppercut swing no longer produced, but Biggio worked hard to flatten his swing out and to become a more versatile player to try and contribute as much as he could. A player who was easy to cheer for. Wish him nothing but the best. I have no doubt he'll latch on elsewhere and I wouldn't be surprised if he continues to carve out a role at the ML level for several more years.

I think there's some logic in that. Enough that claiming the FO is incompetent seems silly.