MLB 2018 Season

[TallTitan34]

David Bote is playing his ass off when he got his shot.  Pretty special.  That was unreal last night.

Already has a higher rWAR than Rizzo.

[buckchuckler]

I've been wondering if the Yanks, Sox, and Astros are really that great or just playing an overall weak AL.  Probably a mixture of both.

Getting back to this just for a minute, the AL West has really played pretty great since this (and were pretty strong before as well) but as of right now, the 3rd place team in the AL West (Mariners) would be leading the NL West by 4 games. 

[buckchuckler]

Yeah, but did anybody douse the 3rd base coach with the gatorade cooler?  No?  Didn't think so.  Boring. 

Really though, just a catastrophic loss for the Nats.  They can't be giving away games they have won, especially when Scherzer completely dominates.  They are chasing 2 teams and their margin for error is pretty razor thin with 44 games left.  That one has to hurt. 

[DegenerateDish]

David Bote is playing his ass off when he got his shot.  Pretty special.  That was unreal last night.

Arguably the coolest moment of the baseball season. Every kid in his backyard playing ball has wanted to hit a walk off grand slam in the 9th. Wasn't a cheap one either, that ball was crushed.

[TallTitan34]

Arguably the coolest moment of the baseball season. Every kid in his backyard playing ball has wanted to hit a walk off grand slam in the 9th. Wasn't a cheap one either, that ball was crushed.

Adam Engel robbing three homeruns in a week isn't too shabby.  Each one better than the previous.

https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1028989745374871553

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I’m not sure how far back we’re going here, but Fisk and Belle immediately pop to mind. On the night they honored Thome, the story of Thome asking the Phillies to trade him to the Sox also sticks out.

Good call.  I'm curious to see how it will work out.  The main reason the Cubs were able to get Lester coming up another last place finish was the relationship that already existed with Epstein and Hoyer. 

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Already has a higher rWAR than Rizzo.

I was lucky enough to be there last night.  Took some friends instead of selling well below face value so that outcome made eating some $ a lot easier to swallow.  I'm sure some of the folks who took off after the Nats put up two in the 9th regretted it. 

[DegenerateDish]

Lost in the Bote heroics last night, Hamels pitched his butt off. He’s only had a couple starts, but he’s their anchor right now.

[JWags85]

Lost in the Bote heroics last night, Hamels pitched his butt off. He’s only had a couple starts, but he’s their anchor right now.

3 starts, 2 ER, and a 20/4 K/BB.  He's been a machine.  Apparently a change of scenery was needed.

[Plaque Lives Matter!]

Adam Engel robbing three homeruns in a week isn't too shabby.  Each one better than the previous.

https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1028989745374871553

If only he could hit. All the hitting for the Sox is sitting in AAA still

[buckchuckler]

Good call.  I'm curious to see how it will work out.  The main reason the Cubs were able to get Lester coming up another last place finish was the relationship that already existed with Epstein and Hoyer.

Well, that, and 150 million dollars. 

[buckchuckler]

If only he could hit. All the hitting for the Sox is sitting in AAA still

And AA, and A+ and A...

Really the only real hitting talent in AAA is Eloy and Zavala could be an impact hitter as well.

AA has Collins and a couple of potential impact players in the OF but, the most talent in the system in still is A+, in Winston Salem, so while Kopech and Jimenez will (hopefully) make an impact, it could still be a while.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Well, that, and 150 million dollars.

Well sure but that wasn't the biggest offer he had.  Signing with a team that had been in last place for 5 straight years when you want to win takes some faith.  If it's not Epstein and Hoyer I think it turns out differently.  Otherwise, a team in that position would likely have to extend an offer that blows away the competition. 

[buckchuckler]

Well sure but that wasn't the biggest offer he had. 

I could be wrong here, and you are certainly correct about the other part, but I didn't remember him having higher offers, so I went and did a quick check on trade rumors, and it looks like, according to that, that he had several offers around 130, and maybe one around 150, Cubs gave him between 155-170 (depending on the option the last year)

Also ran a quick google on it, didn't scan through all the articles, but it seems like his next largest offer was 150 from SF.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I could be wrong here, and you are certainly correct about the other part, but I didn't remember him having higher offers, so I went and did a quick check on trade rumors, and it looks like, according to that, that he had several offers around 130, and maybe one around 150, Cubs gave him between 155-170 (depending on the option the last year)

Also ran a quick google on it, didn't scan through all the articles, but it seems like his next largest offer was 150 from SF.

SF reportedly offered him $168 million although there was an extra year and there apparently were some tax implications, if this is accurate.

https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Why-Cubs-Lester-turned-down-a-bigger-offer-7882890.php

https://www.talleynco.com/sf-giants-168-million-pitch-to-jon-lester-comes-up-short-after-ca-taxes/

[buckchuckler]

Ok then.  Contradicts a couple of other articles here

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/12/10/jon-lester-signs-chicago-cubs/20110533/

and here

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/cubs-agree-to-sign-jon-lester-to-6-year-155m-deal/

but it hardly matters.  Maybe the 180 was the "final offer" alluded to in the article. Even if he doesn't win another game, it is a deal the Cubs would take every single time.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Ok then.  Contradicts a couple of other articles here

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/12/10/jon-lester-signs-chicago-cubs/20110533/

and here

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/cubs-agree-to-sign-jon-lester-to-6-year-155m-deal/

but it hardly matters.  Maybe the 180 was the "final offer" alluded to in the article. Even if he doesn't win another game, it is a deal the Cubs would take every single time.

Absolutely.

[DegenerateDish]

Back to back brutal losses for Washington.

[dgies9156]

Back to the real show: The Cardinals are coming! The Cardinals are coming.

The Devilbirds have looked good as of late. A new manager and pitching help from Memphis is making this team look absolutely good.

And, if anyone would wake up, Matt Carpenter would be MVP.

[buckchuckler]

Back to back brutal losses for Washington.

They're pretty much cooked.  Braves won 2 today.  That's a big swing. 

Kershaw and Bumgarner faved off for the 11th time.  Their teams had been 5-5.  Kershaw pitched to an ERA of 2 even and Bum to 2.56 in those games.  Dodger's pen blew up in the 9th, but a magnificently pitched game. 

Also the BoSox have lost 6 games since the beginning of July. 

[JWags85]

They're pretty much cooked.  Braves won 2 today.  That's a big swing. 

Kershaw and Bumgarner faved off for the 11th time.  Their teams had been 5-5.  Kershaw pitched to an ERA of 2 even and Bum to 2.56 in those games.  Dodger's pen blew up in the 9th, but a magnificently pitched game. 

Also the BoSox have lost 6 games since the beginning of July.

That was an absurd implosion by the Dodgers.  Had Slater down 0-2 before falling apart and then hitting him.  Hung a pitch to Hundley on the very next pitch to give the Giants 2 runs.  Then had Hernandez down 0-2 before letting him back in the count and giving up another hit.  Crazy how rickety some of these bullpens are.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Back to the real show: The Cardinals are coming! The Cardinals are coming.

The Devilbirds have looked good as of late. A new manager and pitching help from Memphis is making this team look absolutely good.

And, if anyone would wake up, Matt Carpenter would be MVP.

14 of the games during this hot streak have come against the Reds, White Sox, Royals, and Marlins.

[buckchuckler]

That was an absurd implosion by the Dodgers.  Had Slater down 0-2 before falling apart and then hitting him.  Hung a pitch to Hundley on the very next pitch to give the Giants 2 runs.  Then had Hernandez down 0-2 before letting him back in the count and giving up another hit.  Crazy how rickety some of these bullpens are.

Especially when you remove the anchor and put guys into different roles.  Kenley probably gets a different result there, similar to how Doolittle likely takes care of business for the Nats.

[MU82]

Crazy how rickety some of these bullpens are.

A lot of relievers are probably getting tired.

While more and more teams save the arms of their starters by not letting them throw more than 90 pitches, they are marching out relievers 3, 4, 5 days in a row, or 7 out of 8 days.

The relievers have to warm up, sometimes more than once, and then they often enter in very stressful situations. The 6th, 7th and 8th inning guys often enter in far more stressful circumstances than the closer does.

That's the crazy thing. Let's coddle the starter, give him an extra day or two, give him a week off, limit him to 5 innings. But the 7th inning guy? We need him Thursday ... even if he also pitched Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

[buckchuckler]

14 of the games during this hot streak have come against the Reds, White Sox, Royals, and Marlins.

Ok, just because I have to.... How have the Cubs fared against the likes of the Reds and Marlins?