MLB 2019 thread

[jsglow]

Brewers are probably hoping Shaw starts hitting and then they can peddle his heine and bring Hiura back up, hey?

They're not trading Shaw.  Moose is here on a one year.

[Pakuni]

Yeah there's no way Alex Colome is fetching a prospect in any organization's top three.  If the Sox can get anything in a club's top five, they should pull the trigger immediately.  Colome will get an arb raise to between $8.5 - $9 next year which aint cheap. And his numbers right now are completely unsustainable. His groundball percentage is down more than 10% and yet his BABIP against is .130! That's like, unbelievably, hysterically low - for comparison, among qualified pitchers (starters, so not a perfect comp but good luck sorting nonqualified pitching stats) Verlander leads at .163 and only 14 other guys are below .250.  And the flyball percentage suggests Colome's low babip isn't necessarily on the back of soft groundball contact. His ERA is 1.52 and his xFIP is 4.20.  His K/9 are also down significantly. His strand rate is at 90%.  The second half is not going to be kind to old Alex Colome.

Thanks much for the jinx.

[buckchuckler]

Yeah there's no way Alex Colome is fetching a prospect in any organization's top three.  If the Sox can get anything in a club's top five, they should pull the trigger immediately.  Colome will get an arb raise to between $8.5 - $9 next year which aint cheap. And his numbers right now are completely unsustainable. His groundball percentage is down more than 10% and yet his BABIP against is .130! That's like, unbelievably, hysterically low - for comparison, among qualified pitchers (starters, so not a perfect comp but good luck sorting nonqualified pitching stats) Verlander leads at .163 and only 14 other guys are below .250.  And the flyball percentage suggests Colome's low babip isn't necessarily on the back of soft groundball contact. His ERA is 1.52 and his xFIP is 4.20.  His K/9 are also down significantly. His strand rate is at 90%.  The second half is not going to be kind to old Alex Colome.

Not that you are totally wrong here, but comparing a closers numbers to starters numbers seems to be, well incongruent.  Again, not that I disagree with your premise, but I would guess that the BABIP numbers for relievers, and especially closers are a bit different from that of starters.

And I think if they get even a back end top 100 guy you make that move.  Anything higher than that and you do it before the other team can change their mind.  They should also sign Kimbrel, and trade him.

[TallTitan34]

Kimbrel to Cubs pending a physical.

[GB Warrior]

Kimbrel to Cubs pending a physical.

Finally a dominant reliever that doesn't beat his SO but hey he got them a championship so second chances are good, right?

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Finally a dominant reliever that doesn't beat his SO but hey he got them a championship so second chances are good, right?

[buckchuckler]

Kimbrel to Cubs pending a physical.

Idiotic that they didn't do this in March.

I know, they wanted the draft pick, which they used to take a that was projected as a 3rd round pick.  And likely a reliever to boot.  Makes no sense.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Idiotic that they didn't do this in March.

I know, they wanted the draft pick, which they used to take a that was projected as a 3rd round pick.  And likely a reliever to boot.  Makes no sense.

You think Kimbrel's demands in March might have been a little bit different than they were today?  There's a reason not a single team signed him before the season started and it wasn't only the draft pick and pool money tied to him.

Additionally, this may point to it being unlikely that Zobrist returns and that's where his money may be going. So it actually makes quite a bit of sense.

[MU82]

I wonder how the Cubbies found the money to pay Kimbrel. Always so tough for them to make ends meet.

[Dish]

The Cubs having the money to sign Kimbrel because Zobrist's wife was banging one of his teammates and now Zobrist doesn't want to return is...interesting.

(I don't blame Zobrist for not wanting to come back)

[Pakuni]

Additionally, this may point to it being unlikely that Zobrist returns and that's where his money may be going. So it actually makes quite a bit of sense.

It would be stunning (and stunn8dumb, given his circumstances) for Zobrist to walk away and leave some $10 million on the table.
And who cares? Not like they need to fit Kimbrel under the cap.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

The Cubs having the money to sign Kimbrel because Zobrist's wife was banging one of his teammates and now Zobrist doesn't want to return is...interesting.

(I don't blame Zobrist for not wanting to come back)

Ah yes, a self-described "American Christian musician".

[Vander Blue Man Group]

It would be stunning (and stunn8dumb, given his circumstances) for Zobrist to walk away and leave some $10 million on the table.
And who cares? Not like they need to fit Kimbrel under the cap.

Zobrist is set for life.  I agree it's a lot of money to walk away from but it's not completely shocking to me.

I believe it would have impacted the luxury tax. The Cubs obviously set some money aside for the trade deadline but the front office clearly didn't have the green light to do much of anything during the offseason.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

The Cubs having the money to sign Kimbrel because Zobrist's wife was banging one of his teammates and now Zobrist doesn't want to return is...interesting.

(I don't blame Zobrist for not wanting to come back)

Where'd you hear this?  Which teammate? Obviously it's happened before but seems hard to believe.

[Dish]

Where'd you hear this?  Which teammate? Obviously it's happened before but seems hard to believe.

I have a friend who works for a different team in Chicago, and this person is also a big Cubs fan. I had casually asked if this person knew anything about why Zobrist was gone so long, and that's where I had heard the rumor. I totally get that divorce is brutal, especially out of state, with kids, and you play pro ball, but it seemed odd that Zobrist was gone so long. I didn't want to recklessly speculate on it here, but the media in town is for sure dancing around the subject now, and the Cubs have done a good job to bury it as much as possible.

I think I know who it is, but I'd rather not give the name.

In all fairness too, it's a crummy way for Zobrist to go out. He was a gigantic part of them winning the WS, and by all accounts a good dude. Hopefully time heals things, and I'm sure folks at Wrigley would give him a good and proper send off.

[Pakuni]

Zobrist is set for life.  I agree it's a lot of money to walk away from but it's not completely shocking to me.

I believe it would have impacted the luxury tax. The Cubs obviously set some money aside for the trade deadline but the front office clearly didn't have the green light to do much of anything during the offseason.

The guy's getting a divorce, which means that no matter how set he may or may not be, there's a reasonable chance the soon-to-be ex is getting a big chunk of his earnings (and history shows that plenty of athletes aren't "set for life" regardless of career earnings).
On top of that, family court judges don't look kindly upon spouses who choose not to work. It would not be a surprise if a court includes the money Zobrist chose to walk away from in any distribution of assets and child support calculation.
Like I said, walking away from $10 million would be dumb, and not just because it's foregoing $10 million.

[Cheeks]

At the Angels game tonight with two sports pros, all of us think the net thing is ridiculous....but whatever.

#BuildtheNetWall

[wadesworld]

At the Angels game tonight with two sports pros, all of us think the net thing is ridiculous....but whatever.

#BuildtheNetWall

Just drop the damn names already.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

At the Angels game tonight with two sports pros, all of us think the net thing is ridiculous....but whatever.

#BuildtheNetWall

This is an example of the appeal to authority logical fallacy. This is when someone cites an authority figure even though they aren't actually experts on the subject matter.

Keep it going Chicos. You already knocked off slippery slope,  whataboutism, and weak analogy so appeal to authority makes 4. Work in 5 logical fallacies into one argument and you get a set of steaknives.

[Pakuni]

This is an example of the appeal to authority logical fallacy. This is when someone cites an authority figure even though they aren't actually experts on the subject matter.

Keep it going Chicos. You already knocked off slippery slope,  whataboutism, and weak analogy so appeal to authority makes 4. Work in 5 logical fallacies into one argument and you get a set of steaknives.

You're forgetting reductio ad absurdum.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I have a friend who works for a different team in Chicago, and this person is also a big Cubs fan. I had casually asked if this person knew anything about why Zobrist was gone so long, and that's where I had heard the rumor. I totally get that divorce is brutal, especially out of state, with kids, and you play pro ball, but it seemed odd that Zobrist was gone so long. I didn't want to recklessly speculate on it here, but the media in town is for sure dancing around the subject now, and the Cubs have done a good job to bury it as much as possible.

I think I know who it is, but I'd rather not give the name.

In all fairness too, it's a crummy way for Zobrist to go out. He was a gigantic part of them winning the WS, and by all accounts a good dude. Hopefully time heals things, and I'm sure folks at Wrigley would give him a good and proper send off.

If true that's horrible. Zobrist also took a leave in spring training but returned.  Why would he return once if this player was still on the team?  Definitely a possibility but still hard not to be skeptical. Without naming names, is the alleged player on the current active roster?

Regardless, he does seem like a good guy and Cubs fans love him. I hope he figures it out and does come back.

[tower912]

There was a similar rumor in Detroit a few years ago.  All involved, the husband with the cheating wife, the alleged philanderer, and the teammate who spilled the beans, were playing elsewhere within a year.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

If true that's horrible. Zobrist also took a leave in spring training but returned.  Why would he return once if this player was still on the team?  Definitely a possibility but still hard not to be skeptical. Without naming names, is the alleged player on the current active roster?

Regardless, he does seem like a good guy and Cubs fans love him. I hope he figures it out and does come back.

Addison Russell the one banging the wife?  Lmao.

[4everwarriors]

Just drop the damn names already.

Mite bee Kerr and Nurse, aina?

[StillAWarrior]

At the Angels game tonight with two sports pros, all of us think the net thing is ridiculous....but whatever.

#BuildtheNetWall

Had breakfast this morning with three people who have had concussions.  We all think that they should extend the nets.  My logical fallacy beats your logical fallacy by a score of 3-2.  Game.  Set.  Match.