jessecrall

If Shapiro's someone who conservatives prop up as an entertaining thought leader, it gives me hope for the left's future.

Money Quote: "But I can’t tell you I know Bauer. I spoke with Bauer one time, and I said, 'I’ll never do that again. I’m good. I got my fill for a lifetime.'"

According to Bauer, Cole told him at UCLA that he had no future in baseball. Then again, Bauer had zero friends in high school which is astonishing considering he would have been a star athlete so I think he's just a douche. 

Small sample size alert, natch, but Fletcher's chase rate this year has dropped from 28% to 21% and his contact rate's gone from 91% to 96%. And based on his plate discipline and contact quality, he's been UNLUCKY this year so...I don't think it's crazy for him to end up with an average OPS+ along with his plus defense. 

If Ohtani's healthy and hitting anything close to what he did last year, he's starting every day. You can take Bour & Pujols' attitudes about playing time into account when there's a 10 point difference in OPS+ or there are distinct platoon advantages or disadvantages. But when you have someone coming off a season where he was 50% better than the average hitter AND he can run AND he improved significantly against lefties as the season went on AND he puts asses in seats, there's just no way he's sitting unless you want to give him rest for physical preservation. 

If three men don't reach base ahead of Trout, it's a solo shot. And if Skaggs gets bombed out of the game early and the bullpen doesn't step up, 5 runs might not do it. Trout deserves about $430 million worth of credit for what he does but I think his WAR is generally accurate.

Bill James ran a simulation in his revised Historical Abstract in which he took peak Babe Ruth and put him in a lineup with 8 deadbeats and had a season where he was pitched to and a season in which he was intentionally walked every single time. The team where Ruth was walked every single time scored more runs. It's just rarely a good percentage play to intentionally walk someone even if Trout's hitting ahead of someone who's scuffling. He'll STILL draw intentional walks anyways but managers aren't operating on the same default that they were 15-20 years ago.

If three men don't reach base ahead of Trout, it's a solo shot. And if Skaggs gets bombed out of the game early and the bullpen doesn't step up, 5 runs might not do it. Trout deserves about $430 million worth of credit for what he does but I think his WAR is generally accurate.

It's entirely reasonable for Trout to wait another year to see how the Angels look moving forward. The Angels will be competitive financially and they have a strong fan base/market. If the Angels look like a strong team with a young core by the end of 2019, I'd be surprised if he didn't sign. 

Seeing Kate Bush live
Watching GOODFELLAS for the first time
Having Megan Ellison back a dump truck full of money to my door so I can direct an over-budgeted adaptation of Richard Yates' THE EASTER PARADE with Saoirse Ronan

A Salma Hayek/Penelope Cruz threesome.

He stays within his game, doesn't try to do too much, that's what gets him into trouble, just trying to go out there, do the interview right and uh, yeah.
*Alex Curry beams*

Considering a scout last year was quoted as saying Ohtani had a high school bat, I wouldn't bet against him defying expectations once again.

I agree with Ohtani's comment; in the end, he made it abundantly clear that he could adjust to lefties and belonged in the lineup everyday. That's pretty important considering he knew he was only going to have value as a hitter in 2019.

I agree with Ohtani's comment; in the end, he made it abundantly clear that he could adjust to lefties and belonged in the lineup everyday. That's pretty important considering he knew he was only going to have value as a hitter in 2019.

I agree with Ohtani's comment; in the end, he made it abundantly clear that he could adjust to lefties and belonged in the lineup everyday. That's pretty important considering he knew he was only going to have value as a hitter in 2019.

I agree with Ohtani's comment; in the end, he made it abundantly clear that he could adjust to lefties and belonged in the lineup everyday. That's pretty important considering he knew he was only going to have value as a hitter in 2019.

The point of ZIPS is to project how people would do with regular playing time as opposed to projecting roster decisions and coming up with essentially useless predictions like "What would Rengifo do if he got 47 plate appearances at the tail end of the season?" Obviously, Brennon Lund isn't going to play 106 games unless multiple team planes crash but it's more helpful and interesting to see what he'd do if given the chance.

The point of ZIPS is to project how people would do with regular playing time as opposed to projecting roster decisions and coming up with essentially useless predictions like "What would Rengifo do if he got 47 plate appearances at the tail end of the season?" Obviously, Brennon Lund isn't going to play 106 games unless multiple team planes crash but it's more helpful and interesting to see what he'd do if given the chance.

I've been an Angels fan for 20 years. Ohtani's 2nd start against Oakland is the most dominant performance I've ever seen from a Halo. If he can give you 20 starts a year without screwing up his swing, you run with it. Plus, the Angels have talented outfield prospects coming out of their ears.

I've been an Angels fan for 20 years. Ohtani's 2nd start against Oakland is the most dominant performance I've ever seen from a Halo. If he can give you 20 starts a year without screwing up his swing, you run with it. Plus, the Angels have talented outfield prospects coming out of their ears.

I've been an Angels fan for 20 years. Ohtani's 2nd start against Oakland is the most dominant performance I've ever seen from a Halo. If he can give you 20 starts a year without screwing up his swing, you run with it. Plus, the Angels have talented outfield prospects coming out of their ears.

It's true. No open heart surgery can begin without the patient watching a 5-hour-long long video detailing the procedure in all its gruesome details. It's kinda cool, actually. The patient is Ray Liotta and he narrates the whole thing. 

I've been an Angels fan for 20 years. Ohtani's 2nd start against Oakland is the most dominant performance I've ever seen from a Halo. If he can give you 20 starts a year without screwing up his swing, you run with it. Plus, the Angels have talented outfield prospects coming out of their ears.