Brownie19

Exactly. Don't we all remember the people who were losing their minds when we eliminated take out slides at 2nd base? Did they all quit watching baseball? I don't hear anyone talk about that rule change anymore - it all died within a couple of months (except for the s*** at home plate, which I think they could fix really easily - can't ever block any bag - problem solved).

I mean - didn't we always hear about how awesome it was to watch Greg Maddux, Mark Buehrle and Doc pitch? Didn't people love how much more pace the game had because these guys would just get it and throw it and you could have games complete in just over 2 hours? I know we're talking about 3 great pitchers, but I think that's the type of pace we're hoping to get. It keeps the defense on their toes more too. Maybe it's easier to put it this way. I never heard someone complain that the games those guys started "went too fast". I certainly hear LOTS of people complain when the Yankee/Red Sox playoff games go 4+ hours (I complained about those also) and while I know they increase the commercials and such in those games - they still f***ing took forever. Is that the type of game you'd rather see? I sure don't. I fully expect once players adjust, it will be a huge positive for baseball.

Maybe Grant is colour blind.

Can you elaborate? You want to see Judge and Freeman have more time to scratch their balls or "think" about what's coming? Or you want to see Romano or Hader have more time to rub down the ball and 'recover' between pitches? Or you just want to see players step off or step out to throw off timing? I will agree that in tight situations, the time between pitches helps build the suspense - is that what you mean?

We should probably remove balk calls and runner/defensive interference too as we don't want to see games end like that either

[insert Altuve joke here]

No offense, but I'd rather hear that from an expert who studies swings and has reviewed various case studies and such. Everything he does in statcast is elite - except his LA.

That's awesome - I didn't know that. I just expect there will soon come a day where all players are there come January 1st - in the lab, under the guidance and direction of the Blue Jays organization. That's all I'm trying to say. No issue with them taking a few months off from the end of the year until then. I think teams that do this first will gain advantages over those who don't. Is anyone within the organization allowed to do the same? Or would only certain prospects be allowed? Like is Orelvis already there too?

Thank you John - I'm not trying to use race at all FFS. But yes, I would have liked to see Vlad in the lab working with Blue Jay personnel this offseason - using the very best technology possible to ensure he's a 160 wRC+ hitter instead of a 130 wRC+ hitter who leads the league in double plays again. And yes I don't know what he did in the DR this offseason, but all I've ever seen is him flipping some tires, playing home run derby at the sandlot and eating grandma's cooking. He's the example I used because he's a huge key to the Jays success - not because he's from the DR. I also hope Biggio was at Driveline this offseason, working with the weighted bats, trying to increase his bat speed and improve his stroke so he can return to a 15-20 HR hitter with a 120 wRC+

I mean - they need their eyes checked if they can't see that baby. A tad smaller would be nice. I assume there's another clock in the OF that the home plate ump/catcher can see too? Is it only the plate ump who makes calls? or can a base ump call a violation also?

And some of the best players of all time sat around and did f*** all during the offseason. They didn't work out at all (see Kruk, John). But at some point, players realized that if they worked out during the offseason, they could get better than their peers and now that's the norm. Players don't show up to camp 20 lbs overweight and use Spring Training to lose a few lbs. Why do you think we now have stables of pitchers who can throw 95+? Times change and I believe these labs are currently what is producing the very best results for the average player. Sure there are still naturally gifted players who can f*** around on the sandlot and be stars, but if you took 100 player and put them in the sandlot and then took the same 100 players and put them in the lab - I surely expect the lab will produce more great baseball players. Accordingly, I think we'll continue to see more and more players gravitate to these labs to fine tune and improve their games. The players that don't will eventually fall behind and will be replaced by those who are. There's too much money in baseball for people to not take advantage of the resources that are producing the best results. I mean we have players saying they only want to be drafted by the Jays because of these facilities... Do you play golf? Remember when 'lessons' used to be from the pro on the driving range? Sure they produced some results, for some. These days the best way to improve your game is to get into a facility that videos and analyses your swing. It shows you spin rates, axes, contact point, etc. Lessons in that environment are producing SIGNFICANTLY better results and the pro who's telling you to keep you head down on the range. You can see the video and track the results in real time. It's no different in a baseball lab. I understand the need for rest - they can go do that for a few months for sure - but I certainly see more and more labs being created and players routinely using them to train in the offseason. Adapt or die Grady.

I don't have the video, but the first violation was called on Manny Machado (surprise, surprise) for being too f***ing slow getting in the box. The umps points at him and clearly stats the count is 0-1, but of course the broadcasters can't figure out what happened, thought he pointed at the catcher and assigned a ball. IG comment section is going off - most of which didn't catch the violation was on Manny - screaming this is stupid and the catcher didn't do anything wrong. What a s*** show. It's going to take several weeks for players, fans and broadcasters to adjust.

Everyone has to pitch like Mark Buehrle, so they may in fact need to pitch to contact a bit more.

Yes - I'm aware. I'm just baffled that every team hasn't invested in these types of facilities - especially the Dodgers. I still find it bizarre that guys like Orelvis (and Vlad to be honest) don't spend all winter in the Dunedin area - working in the facility to make them better players. Kirk's still in Mexico and I suspect hasn't set foot in the facility since last spring. I'm going to let this go. I guess it is what it is. Teams just have to hope players get the right training, coaching and advice all offseason.

If you wait until spring training to analyze and make adjustments - it's going to already be too late IMO...

What's ROR going to cost in the offseason? Surely the Leafs won't sign him if it's significant. He's 32 and likely declining.

Did Kirk go home then for the birth of his child? Or has he been in Mexico all offseason? Has Orelvis been in Dunedin since just after New Years, working to improve his bat path? I mean I hope the answer is yes, but I doubt it is. I think this started with the observation that the Dodgers sent players to Driveline, which suggests they don't have those types of facilities - which I thought was odd. Do the Jays? If so, seems odd the Jays do and the Dodgers don't (seeing how advanced the Dodgers are).

I guess so - but I just can't imagine in this multi billion dollar industry that the response of "oh well - we can only do so much - you can only lead a horse to water" is an acceptable answer.

Sorry - I'm stuck on this a bit. Let's take Robbie Ray as an example. After the 2019 season - what happened? I assume they have exit interviews with each player and I think we'd assume in that meeting, they identify that control held Ray back this year. So he comes back in Spring 2020 with a drastically different/shorter arm path. Do we think the team suggested that's what he should try? Or did Ray and the people he trains with or whomever he met with that offseason simply decided a shorter arm path would improve his command? If it's the latter, does Ray call the Diamondbacks and explain his plan? Or does he just wing it? I mean the results were awful - so does the team just accept they have little to no control over what a player does in the offseason and accept that? or are they pissed that he did this? Maybe in this case, both Ray and the team were on board with the change and who was going to work with Ray to implement it. And if all parties agreed to the changes - does this mean when the Jays do an exit interview and talk with Vlad about his launch angle and leading the league in double plays and how far he fell off last year - we think Vlad says piss on you guys - I don't care. I'm going back to the DR this offseason to eat Grandma's cooking, flip the odd tire and taking BP in the sandlot from one of my 17 brothers and that's going to prepare me for the 2023 season? If so - trade his ass. And if the Jays aren't raising these concerns and asking him to go to Driveline or the equivalent to fix it - then fire those in charge of that message.

So give them 7 weeks off at the end of the season to make up for those 48 extra vacation days. Then back to work They also get paid a wee bit more than I do too...

That's true. I just find it all very bizarre. The only time players can make tangible improvements is typically the offseason. You can't change your bat path, arm path, etc. in-season. You're not going to change/improve foot speed, develop a new pitch or find efficiencies in your delivery mid-season. Players then go off and do whatever they want in the offseason with little to no monitoring or control by the team.

I wonder if we'll see a day where this gets added to contracts and becomes the expectation. If teams want competitive advantages - here is an obvious one IMO. I mean - most (all?) players do work out in the offseason anyway. They just do it privately in different settings with different people and I have to imagine that some of that offseason training is significantly more beneficial than others.

Unless you're a teacher, the rest of us are expected to work year round and I too have a family. For some of them, this better training could net them millions, upon millions more money (which is why some pay for it and go do it themselves). Do we think Orelvis is oblivious to the holes in his swing and doesn't realize that without fixing them, he may never make the majors or earn any real money? You think he's just like "f*** it - I need 5 months off this offseason to go spend time with my family". Or he thinks "I'll just do some at home workouts and have the boys toss me batting practice on the sandlot and I'm sure that will fix the problem?" In the LONG history of baseball - it's never been easier for top athletes to identify and fix their flaws. I understand the season is a grind and I'm sure the high performance team would want to structure in rest for their bodies, but I don't think it's unrealistic for a team to expect them to spend portions of the offseason working to improve their game. LA sent Mookie Betts - why isn't Toronto sending Vlad?

At what point do teams simply want to put all their players and top prospects in the lab all winter to analyze and improve their players? I think it's pretty evident that Vlad would get a f***TON more value out of working with Driveline (or the Jays equivalent) all winter to fix his launch angle than just trying to launch home runs on the sandlot in DR with his buddies throwing BP to him and eating grandma's home cooking...