MLB 2019 thread

[Jockey]

When Freddy throws strikes.......

[Anti-Dentite]

I don’t think you ‘give one’ to a .050 hitter.

Then the kid makes a play to end the game, by give one, I meant a teaching moment but I get where you're coming from.

[Anti-Dentite]

When Freddy throws strikes.......

Very good things happen.

[Jockey]

Then the kid makes a play to end the game, by give one, I meant a teaching moment but I get where you're coming from.

No, OI get what you're saying. We pretty much agree.

CC's dilemma is that with Shaw, Moose, and Aguilar, the infield defense leaves a lot to be desired. He has to decide if the sacrifice on offense is worth the extra defense.

[DegenerateDish]

Moncada is on the verge of having a monster year. Ball sounds different off his bat, he's pummeling the ball right now with a slash of .450/.522/.900.

Especially with the weather not warm yet, very encouraging. I love his approach to go after strikes early in the count. This is the guy I had hoped would come out of the Sale trade.

[Benny B]

Now he just needs to learn to run out ground balls. I’ll be shocked if he is in the lineup on Friday.

This. 

[jsglow]

No, OI get what you're saying. We pretty much agree.

CC's dilemma is that with Shaw, Moose, and Aguilar, the infield defense leaves a lot to be desired. He has to decide if the sacrifice on offense is worth the extra defense.

I don't agree with this.  Shaw is a significant plus defender. Aguilar is just fine, especially with a solid glove reflected in his defensive metrics from last year.  And while Moose is certainly below average, he will make the routine play and has a great bat for a second baseman.  Plus the way they move players around, Orlando vacuums the majority of the balls anyway.  Personally, I was skeptical of the Moose/Shaw switch until I researched it.  Seems like the correct move IF Moose can improve his DP turn.  Better to have Shaw back in his natural position where he's a true defensive asset.   

That said, Arcia still has to hit.  He doesn't have to be great but he still needs to produce at a .240 to remain an everyday short for the Crew.

[wadesworld]

https://deadspin.com/good-lord-this-jose-alvarado-pitch-is-nasty-1833786911

What the hell? Is that a wiffle ball?

[Spotcheck Billy]

On sale starting today for Cubs fans 

[Benny B]

https://deadspin.com/good-lord-this-jose-alvarado-pitch-is-nasty-1833786911

What the hell? Is that a wiffle ball?

Holy hell indeed.  Tropicana has become the new Wonder Spot.

[Dr. Blackheart]

On sale starting today for Cubs fans 

The way this season has startered for our Cubs, it will be a short pissing match.  Six errors one game, eight walks the next.

[cheebs09]

Just looking at records, do the Cubs have a disproportionate amount of off days early in the season? I know there was a lot of talk about log stretches last year.

The Cubs have had 2 off days and the Brewers have 1. I haven’t looked at schedules closely enough to see if this will help the Brewers later in the season. Especially, since at least at home, there’s not a risk of a rainout.

ETA: whoops, thought the Cubs were off today. So may not be as big of a deal as I thought.

[Anti-Dentite]

https://deadspin.com/good-lord-this-jose-alvarado-pitch-is-nasty-1833786911

What the hell? Is that a wiffle ball?

Dayumm

[StillAWarrior]

I know that this story relates to a single A team, but this could be a lot of fun.  I'd think that a major league team could raise a lot of money with such a policy.  What walk-up music would you pick for a player on the opposing team?

[Jockey]

Not to change the subject, but wow, has the world of MLB contracts changed in the last year. Partly collusion and partly deciding to start paying guys for their most productive years (at a discount to owners, as always), it looks like this is the new wave.

[Benny B]

Not to change the subject, but wow, has the world of MLB contracts changed in the last year. Partly collusion and partly deciding to start paying guys for their most productive years (at a discount to owners, as always), it looks like this is the new wave.

Anyone who's taken a managerial or forensic accounting class can tell you that collusion between two parties is difficult, let alone 30 different parties.  But honestly, what is there to be gained by MLB owners colluding?  This isn't an oil cartel who shuts off supply, the four major airlines conspiring to raise costs for the third-party consumer, or union and management fighting over a contract.... these are 30 separate owners who are competing with each other to win on the field. 

For collusion to work, the benefit of breaking from the group cannot outweigh the cost of sticking together - for everyone.

Look at the Kimbrel scenario for a moment... do you think the Brewers are better off signing Kimbrel or agreeing with the other owners not to sign him?  The former could make the Brewers a legitimate World Series contender, while the latter, at best, portends that teams like the Cubs and Yankees might be able to shave $10M off their payroll.  In other words, there's no benefit for the small market teams to collude in knocking down the upper-end contracts, because they're not the ones offering those contracts.

NFL is different economics, and so it's a different story that draws no parallel here.  But to think that MLB owners are in any manner colluding to keep contracts at bay could only be borne from ignorance.

[Benny B]

I know that this story relates to a single A team, but this could be a lot of fun.  I'd think that a major league team could raise a lot of money with such a policy.  What walk-up music would you pick for a player on the opposing team?

Make it into an app where you can vote as many times for 10 cents, a dollar, whatever, could raise a lot of money for charity. 

Personally, I might spend several hundred voting for Wing anytime the Cubs are in town.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/XqBWvmhS-AY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/XqBWvmhS-AY</a>

[Jockey]

Anyone who's taken a managerial or forensic accounting class can tell you that collusion between two parties is difficult, let alone 30 different parties.  But honestly, what is there to be gained by MLB owners colluding?  This isn't an oil cartel who shuts off supply, the four major airlines conspiring to raise costs for the third-party consumer, or union and management fighting over a contract.... these are 30 separate owners who are competing with each other to win on the field. 

For collusion to work, the benefit of breaking from the group cannot outweigh the cost of sticking together - for everyone.

Look at the Kimbrel scenario for a moment... do you think the Brewers are better off signing Kimbrel or agreeing with the other owners not to sign him?  The former could make the Brewers a legitimate World Series contender, while the latter, at best, portends that teams like the Cubs and Yankees might be able to shave $10M off their payroll.  In other words, there's no benefit for the small market teams to collude in knocking down the upper-end contracts, because they're not the ones offering those contracts.

NFL is different economics, and so it's a different story that draws no parallel here.  But to think that MLB owners are in any manner colluding to keep contracts at bay could only be borne from ignorance.

I don't think there is an agreement to not sign Kimbrel, but, rather a loose agreement on what he can be paid. There were numerous instances this year where a free agent did not get a single offer for months and then received offers for the same amount of money on the same day from several different teams. Coincidence? I don't think so. They are not being obvious about it like the last time, but it is still there. To think that no team needs guys like Kimbrel or Keuchel seems ludicrous.

[Benny B]

I don't think there is an agreement to not sign Kimbrel, but, rather a loose agreement on what he can be paid. There were numerous instances this year where a free agent did not get a single offer for months and then received offers for the same amount of money on the same day from several different teams. Coincidence? I don't think so. They are not being obvious about it like the last time, but it is still there. To think that no team needs guys like Kimbrel or Keuchel seems ludicrous.

I think it's much more likely that Kimbrel and Keuchel are asking for Harper money than there being the semblance of an agreement among 30 owners.

And the reason FA's don't get anything for months and then all the offers "coincidentally" come in on the same day is because of non-tampering rules and "quiet periods" where you can't negotiate with a FA-to-be from another team.  That's not collusion... that's written into the CBA.

[Jockey]

I think it's much more likely that Kimbrel and Keuchel are asking for Harper money than there being the semblance of an agreement among 30 owners.

And the reason FA's don't get anything for months and then all the offers "coincidentally" come in on the same day is because of non-tampering rules and "quiet periods" where you can't negotiate with a FA-to-be from another team.  That's not collusion... that's written into the CBA.

That’s not what I was talking about. There are no non-tampering rules or quiet periods in December, January or February.

[GB Warrior]

I think it's much more likely that Kimbrel and Keuchel are asking for Harper money than there being the semblance of an agreement among 30 owners.

And the reason FA's don't get anything for months and then all the offers "coincidentally" come in on the same day is because of non-tampering rules and "quiet periods" where you can't negotiate with a FA-to-be from another team.  That's not collusion... that's written into the CBA.

How long until the Cubs start getting desperate and consider breaking rank to sign Kimbrel? I thought they might be a dark horse to keep him away from the Brewers, but holy hell their BP has been baaaaad.

[jficke13]

Anyone who's taken a managerial or forensic accounting class can tell you that collusion between two parties is difficult, let alone 30 different parties.  But honestly, what is there to be gained by MLB owners colluding?  This isn't an oil cartel who shuts off supply, the four major airlines conspiring to raise costs for the third-party consumer, or union and management fighting over a contract.... these are 30 separate owners who are competing with each other to win on the field. 

For collusion to work, the benefit of breaking from the group cannot outweigh the cost of sticking together - for everyone.

Look at the Kimbrel scenario for a moment... do you think the Brewers are better off signing Kimbrel or agreeing with the other owners not to sign him?  The former could make the Brewers a legitimate World Series contender, while the latter, at best, portends that teams like the Cubs and Yankees might be able to shave $10M off their payroll.  In other words, there's no benefit for the small market teams to collude in knocking down the upper-end contracts, because they're not the ones offering those contracts.

NFL is different economics, and so it's a different story that draws no parallel here.  But to think that MLB owners are in any manner colluding to keep contracts at bay could only be borne from ignorance.

Yup, it's game theory that rules out collusion.

The better question is to interrogate what the expected ROI on signing Kimbrel is for the Brewers, and to determine what the cost of NOT signing him is.

Attanasio expects to earn $X this season. His payroll costs $Y. Is $Y + Kimbrel > $X? If no, how much does that margin compress?

Regardless, what is the delta for $X with WS contention vs $X narrowly missing the playoffs?

[DegenerateDish]

At this point, no team is signing Kimbrel before the draft. It’d be stupid at this point to give up a draft pick when you can sign him mid June and not worry about it.

[🏀]

At this point, no team is signing Kimbrel before the draft. It’d be stupid at this point to give up a draft pick when you can sign him mid June and not worry about it.

Bingo bango.

[Jockey]

Chris Davis is 1 for his last 52 ABs.