Brownie19

Whit's wRC+ with RISP 2023 - 115 2022 - 90 2021 - 85 Looks like Whit should listen to the coaches more, and talk less? Joking aside, Whit has been better with RISP over his career (112 wRC+) from a career 101 wRC+ hitter - he was just really s***** in 2021 and 2022. The reality is NOBODY should draw any conclusions from this statement from Whit. Hitting is so individual that I remain convinced there are no 'universal team philosophies'. That is f***ing stupid. You don't tell Bo and Danny Jansen to hit the same way. Even if the general philosophy was to "wait for your pitch" with RISP (or otherwise), it seems highly unlikely that all players were forced to comply with this. Was Whit punished for swinging at "whichever pitch he got to try and hit it somewhere"? Seems unlikely. It also seems unlikely the team would preach some team philosophy without having the data and information to support this approach. It isn't 1987. Even if the team was trying to suggest some minor tweaks to the approach by some players - they'd probably have to show them the information that supports the recommendation to get any type of buy in. Finally - the team was SIGNIFICANTLY better in the 2nd half with RISP. Did this magical team philosophy that fans are referencing change? Or did players finally buy into it and start executing it better? Or you know, was all that talk about the impact of a hitting coach and this team philosophy all just ********? This feels like something Steve Simmons would write a fluff piece about. Let's do better.

You'd almost think that Whit was Vlad's own personal hitting coach this past season.

I don't think the Jays view any of those players as real 3rd base options. They'd be better to trade for JD Davis or Polanco and try internal options for 2nd (Biggio, Schneider, Barger, Orelvis, etc.). Barger could also be an internal option in LF I believe.

That's a good question. To be honest, he was just kind of the best SP left who wasn't going to command a 5-6 year deal in the $100M+ range. I mean we could go after Montgomery or Snell I guess - I'm just not convinced that any of the remaining FA's are worth that type of $$ or years of commitment. If you trade Kikucci, I think you do need someone reliable, simply because we don't really know what we have in Manoah.

Polanco and Kepler for Kikucci, Pearson, Prospect Sign Stro (3 years $60M), Soler (2 years $36M) and Duvall (1 year, $8M)

his WHIP was still 1.19. Wheeler and Strider were 1.08 and 1.09. He didn't limit base runners more than the top pitchers in the NL.

People still love ERA.

I suspect they need to give Bobby Witt Jr a reason to want to continue playing in KC...

Nobody said they were, or should be happy with it. Nobody said that trying to built and improve your team is a bad thing. It's simply a reality that the playoffs are a crapshoot. The better your team, the more likely you'll have success, but the odds of winning a 5 or 7 game series are still a lot closer to 50% than the top teams would prefer. If it was Dodgers v. Philly last year, what are the odds that the Dodgers win? is it 55-60%? What were the odds that the Dbacks beat the Phillies? 40%? Maybe the separation is a bit more, but it's not like the top teams have a 90% chance of winning most 5 or 7 games series and 84 win team that limped into the playoffs only has a 10% chance of winning the series. This isn't the first round of the NBA playoffs.

That's a solid deal for a 3rd or 4th OFer.

He's only good twice through the lineup. Not the type of ace you want in the playoffs.

I did listen to the interview. It sounded like standard media talk to me. Dodgers told him they were committed to trying to win a World Series, weren't satisfied with just making the playoffs every year and that they needed him to put them over the top. What an incredible, ground breaking pitch by LA. Just because that was his chosen answer doesn't mean any other team told him anything different. But maybe they did? Maybe Ross told him they were stoked that they made the playoffs in 3 of the last 4 years and couldn't be happier. He must have told him their philosophy is simply to get into the playoffs and hope for the best - don't really care if they win the World Series. Must have told Ohtani that they just want him to help fill the new corporate boxes and make the team a f***ton of money - that baseball results don't matter. I could totally see him saying that. Fire Atkins for such a s***** pitch and believe everything you hear in an interview at face value.

What the FO says to the public and what they actually believe to be true can be 2 very different things. This is why media talk is f***ing useless.

You have no idea what Mark and Ross told Ohtani in a closed door meeting. This is also lip service from Ohtani. He isn't going to come on and say "I always wanted to play for the Dodgers for obvious reasons - I just needed to make them sweat until they gave me all the money"

That's all just lip service though man. Teams that get eliminated will ALWAYS tell the fans/press that this season was a failure and they need to work hard to get better. You really think a major factor in Ohtani's decision was the scripted BS they tell the media and fans? You can complain how fans on this board talk....but the Jays FO didn't declare 2023 to be a massive success because they made the playoffs. They said they need to learn and do better (same as the Dodgers and every other f***ing team not named the Rangers).

Could the Dodgers land more likeable superstars? Hard to cheer against Betts, Freeman and Ohtani. They will all be players we're still talking about, telling our grandkids in 30-40 years.

It's almost like the playoffs are a crapshoot...

JDM was a lot better offensively last year (135 wRC+) than Turner (114 wRC+) last year. However, both project poorly this year (107 and 105 wRC+). Big changes in JDM's approach last year, which is worrisome. I agree that Turner is a good option also if we want a short term, relatively cheap veteran bat.

Also - attendance was up 14% last year. 3rd highest since 1993. Must more nonsense from him.

I don't think our "turf" a deterrent anymore. It's not 1995.

Everything looks ridiculous. Poor guy is going to look back at some point and think "WTF was I doing?"

There are some cracks in the armor man. I know it's only 1 year, but I can't see this being priority #1.

Has there been anymore leaks on what Perry did? Is the money on him Louis CK'ing a young female staffer?

That was my point. Although your suggestion also works (just give them $$$ in the trade to increase his value). I don't know how that works v. the luxury tax. In my scenario, if you signed him for 8 years $180M, the AAV for luxury tax is $22.5M annually. If you paid him $100M in the first 2 years, then traded him - would the team receiving him have to pay him 6 years $80M in real money ($13.3M AAV), but would $22.5M go against their luxury tax calcs? I never thought that far down the line.

Nobody should wear a suit jacket with shorts. It looks ridiculous. But yes, the shoes that don't match anything he's wearing makes it even worse. Just screaming for attention because he's so self conscious. I feel bad for the guy.