mustard relish sauerkraut

Ausmus has some pretty big pants to fill

This will be like the 20th year I've scheduled a PTO day on opening day. Drink my own cocktails and beer, eat my own snacks and watch the game on my 70 incher w/ surround sound. Best seat in town for opening day so I can check out all of the games and not drop $100-$200 at the sports bar.
Just in case you forgot to schedule this day off, MLB's got you.

Bour is as useless as tits on a boar.

But he's lost some weight and looks good.
Three more years.
 
 

I hope Ausmus says something about turning the page.

I almost posted this,  though it wouldn't have been as eloquent. 
Often aging declining superstars have one last monster year.  Like a villain in a horror movie popping up one last time.  Hoping Pujols has one last vintage season. 

@True Grich Check out the stuff that guy has done graphs for on his twitter -- truly cool stuff..   That Ichiro one seemed tailor made for your request!.

If teams are able to successfully extend their homegrown talents at a young age for many years of control and a reasonable comparative compensation, then yes, it will in essence "kill free agency."  But it appears to me that FA is a necessity for players that don't wish to stay with their current organization.  
Take the Nats for example, they offer Harper 10/300 and after months of drama, Harper signs for 320.  All of that to squeeze an extra 20 million in his pocket even though he's already a hundred-millionaire.  I don't think Harper cared one way or another about DC, but he wanted lots of money and be done with it.  
Trevor Bauer is another example.  He's very open about the fact that he has no intention of signing a long term deal to stay in one spot, isn't married to the idea of him being in Cleveland, and is very true to himself which rubbed folks in Arizona the wrong way and hasn't done any favors for him in his relationship with teammates, fans or the front office in Ohio.  He's a man made for free agency.  He'll remain a yearly investment and teams are going to shell out extra money because it's only one year, and if he's bad, the downside of the investment isn't present.  So he's going to make a lot of money in a short period of time. 
But for someone like Trout, who never came within two years of free agency, and didn't care for the attention or theatrics of it, FA isn't for him.  And for all the prospects around the game between ages 20-25 that just want a secure future and to play baseball (90% of them), if a team offers 30 million for all your prime years, you say yes pretty much every single time.  The reason is simple.  Sure you may have made more money going the FA route, but taking the money secures the financial futures of you, your children, grand children and great grand children, all because you happened to be better at playing this game than everyone else you grew up with.  You really don't care about the different in lifestyle behind having 30 million at age 29 and having 150 million at age 30.  All you care about is the fact that if your body doesn't hold up for some reason, then you're done by 25 and will have made nothing. 
And I don't blame the kids for taking the extensions.  Fact is, there's a lot more to life than money, and if you can have enough of it that money is no longer in the equation, then you can go on living your life.  And playing baseball, isn't who these guys are.  It's what they do.  The difference between vocation and avocation. 
And for the owners and GM's, who are constantly accused of being greedy and playing a numbers game rather than treating these guys like actual humans, it's a way of being true to both sides.  They make smart investments that save a hundred million, and secure rights to more success for their team, while at the same time compensating and taking care of their players in a way that is a very human, tangible example of compassion and mercy.  And it might be better this way.  The elite players stay put, the mid-level players sign early and are compensated at a fair but lower level than 10 years ago, and the other guys that do actually reach FA make it into more of a rule 5 draft, where teams are just looking to strike gold on someone that another team hasn't used properly. 
So maybe free agency should die.  

http://philaphans.net/community/index.php?/topic/226243-trout-to-the-phillies/page__st__20
https://www.philly.com/phillies/mike-trout-sign-extension-angels-phillies-20190319.html
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2019/3/19/18272651/mike-trout-makes-curious-decision-to-stay-in-los-angeles
 
 

I thought Ichiro retired last May.

I think it's very cool that he could play his final game as a Mariner and do it in Japan. Truly one of the most entertaining and dedicated baseball players I've ever seen.  His work ethic and prep work for every game is legendary.  More young players should learn from him.  He was always and I mean constantly stretching.  His regimen allowed him to play for a long time.  Phenomenal hitter.  Crazy good defense and a true cannon of an arm. 

Yeah, they really could have, and should have.. he deserved a sendoff worthy of his service, but then again i think this is probably how he wanted it. 

All these tweets about Ichiro in Tokyo and I had no idea it was to play a MLB game.  Thought he retired from MLB and joined a NPB team.
So I guess what I am saying is, they could have marketed this better.

What the hell kind of pour is that? I know you love giving head but come on.

102 is a good, long run. She had a lot of interesting stories to tell about her father.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/aviatorsbaseball/babe-ruth-daughter-julie-ruth-stevens-dies-at-102-1614724/

Well then, in 2021 Trout will be playing for the Phillies and Albert will still be playing for the Angels.
Feel better?

In another thread there was some conversation about Albert Pujols' decline, and whether or not (or to what degree) it is historic, with names like Miguel Cabrera and Mo Vaughn cited. While this has been discussed to death, I thought I'd actually check out the stats. I've done this before, but not for a year or two, so consider this a bit of an update.
There are several ways to do this. Albert is a first baseman, which means his primary value is as a hitter - moreso than, say, a shortstop or centerfielder (as a general rule). So it may be that an offense-only stat like wRC+ is more meaningful than WAR.
So let's take a look at wRC+. First of all, here is a list of the top 30 hitters through age 31 via wRC+. Why age 31? That was Pujols' last year (2011) as a Cardinal, and also represents the down-turn in his career. 2010 was his last truly great year but at the time, 2011 looked like an off year rather than what it turned out to be: the beginning of his decline (technically 2010 was down from 2009, but he was so good in both years that it is hard to see it as decline).
As you can hopefully see (assuming the link works), Pujols has a wRC+ of 167 through age 31 which is good for #10, right between Johnny Mize and Frank Thomas (interestingly enough, neither Mize nor Thomas aged well). In other words, through age 31, Pujols was the 10th best hitter in major league history (Trout at 172 is 8th).
We all know he's been comparatively bad since then, but how bad? Well, from age 32 on, Pujols has a wRC+ of 110 - which is above average. In major league history  that is 380th all time. Similar players from 32 on include Yunel Escobar, Adam LaRoche, and Cecil Cooper.
To put that another way:
Through age 31: Pujols was one of the best hitters ever, comparable to Hall of Famers Johnny Mize and Frank Thomas through the same age.
From age 32 on: Pujols was an above average hitter, comparable to solid hitters like Yunel Escobar, Adam LaRoche, and Cecil Cooper.
OK, not so good but at least he's been above average as a hitter, right? What about other greats?
Going back to the original top 30 in wRC+ through age 31, here is that same list but from age 32 on. You might notice that there are only 27 players; this is because three of the original list either never (Joe Jackson) or has not yet (Mike Trout, Aaron Judge) played at age 32 and older.
If you either refuse to look at the link or it isn't working, the main takeway is that Albert Pujols is #27 of 27. In other words, of the 30 best hitters through age 31, Albert has been the worst from age 32 on. And it isn't super close. #26 is Mike Piazza at 120. 
So what about Mo Vaughn and Miguel Cabrera? Well, of the two only Miggy is truly comparable to Pujols. He didn't quite make that top 30 hitters through age 31, but wasn't far behind at #33 with a 152 wRC+. Vaughn, while a very good hitter, is in another category: his 134 wRC+ through age 31 is 163rd all-time.
But for comparison's sake, where Pujols had a 167 wRC+, Cabrera 152 and Vaughn 134 through age 31, from age 32 they were at 110, 137, and 112, respectively. In other words, Cabrera has been a lot better (so far, at least), while Vaughn was similar or a hair better. So Vaughn is a good comp...for how they both hit from age 32, but obviously Albert was far, far greater earlier on.
Looking at WAR instead of wRC+, the results are very similar, with a slightly different group of players. No need to make this longer than it needs to be.
Conclusion
Albert Pujols' decline is historical. It is the worst decline among the 27 best hitters in major league history through age 31 - and significantly worse than everyone else. Through age 31, he was similar to Frank Thomas, who early in his career Bill James put in a trio with Babe Ruth and Ted Williams as the "three greatest hitters God ever made" (to paraphrase from memory of one of his publications from the mid-90s). Thomas didn't age all that well, but much better than Pujols: his wRC+ from age 32 on was 136.
Part of the problem is longevity: Albert is continuing to play as a below average player, years after he would have normally retired. In each of the last two years he was arguably the worst player in baseball, or at least second worst after Chris Davis. Davis and Pujols share long guaranteed contracts, which is the only reason they still have major league jobs.
 

I love a good butthurt thread as much as anyone

I won't hate Trout if he leaves. We had him for 8+ years and he always gave us his best.
I have no reason to hate the Phillies either, although it would be a bummer if they won the WS with Trout while the Angels still suck.
 
 

We can't quit you, KC

"Why are we here?"
"We're waiting for Albert."
"Why?"
"He'll have a bounceback season."
"Again? We've been waiting for seven years."
"He's had more surgeries. He feels really excited about where he's at."
"Where is he, I'm getting tired of waiting."
"You shut your mouth."