Jeremiah

It’s being pretty widely called a bad deal for the player. Jeff Passan says he’s hearing from many people in and around baseball calling it the worst contract extension for a player ever. It’s seven years plus two more team options, basically buying out all of his arb years plus three years of FA. https://mobile.twitter.com/jeffpassan/status/1116419435244457984

I’ve read that. Maybe that’s all correct. I’ve also read the reports that he didn’t want to fire someone whom Jeannie regarded as a son. She had given him the power to fire anyone, but felt firing Walton would hurt her feelings too much. From USAToday: https://lebronwire.usatoday.com/2019/04/09/magic-says-potential-luke-walton-firing-played-a-part-in-stepping-down/ He apparently also wanted to fire Pelinka, which became another sticking point. There was a lot going on behind the scenes. Seems none of it was good.

Looking through the press conference quotes, it seems like he missed just being Magic Johnson, retired legend and NBA ambassador. He didn’t like being accused of tampering if he mentioned the name of another player (he specifically mentioned possible mentoring of Ben Simmons and feeling unable to publicly congratulate Russ Westbrook). There was some implication that he was not on the same page as Walton and Jeannie Buss (It was reported that Walton begged the team to keep Lopez and Randle, while Magic didn’t want to do that). He wants to fire Walton but feels Jeannie isn’t inclined to do so. I have loved the Lakers all my life, but I’m not disappointed that Magic isn’t running them anymore. His stewardship was a disaster.

That’s the thing. They’re pretty consistently competitive in a tough division, yet they have pretty low attendance numbers, never averaging more than 1.8 mil over any three-year span. I’m sure that contributes a lot to their relatively low value as a franchise. I guess it doesn’t matter how good they are if no one is coming to see them.

It’s owned by the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. I couldn’t see if any of the Astros principals are part of that organization. The park is also connected directly to Union Station, which is a national historic site, making private ownership of that unlikely.

You can get a discount if you also buy the Rays and give them a good home.

It has gone up quite a bit since Moreno took over. Some of that is the overall growth of MLB’s revenue, but his ownership group really has changed the perception of this organization, I think. It’s a great fan experience. They have the best player in MLB. They’re moving in the right direction after gutting the farm system. All signs point to great things in the future.

1998 Rick Helling, basically. So, no. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/helliri01.shtml

It’s amazing to see how he stacks up against some all-timers there. During his time with the team, he was my favorite player. I loved watching him pitch.

Right? Heaven forbid that people who know baseball have something positive to say about the Halos.

His GRIT stats are really high, no doubt. He’s got nothing on Jameson Taillon. https://deadspin.com/jameson-taillon-somehow-kept-pitching-after-taking-a-10-1833894576

You’re right. Fairly-recent HOF inductee Bert Blylevin is one of the biggest critics of advanced metrics despite the fact that it was those exact metrics that got people to see just how great he really was.

You’re right, there isn’t. And I can agree to a point that sometimes we may be overdoing it statistically, which can sometimes make the game feel too clinical, dispassionate. There are some stats that do belong in the dustbin of history, though: pitcher wins, rbi’s, saves. I think even batting average has outlived its real usefulness. Fletcher has said baseball people don’t even use pitcher ERA anymore as a measure of performance. These are good things to have learned. New stats allow for better comparisons of players across eras. AJ just posted some numbers comparing Trout to many of the past greats. That would be harder to do without the different types of WAR. I think as we’re more exposed to these statistics, the more comfortable we will all become with them. From a nostalgic perspective, it’s fun to compare rbi’s and wins among the greats, though.

I think that’s almost college baseball already.

I understand what you’re saying. As fans we need stats that are easily accessible and understood so that we can discuss them like we do here. WAR isn’t perfect, and I haven’t read anyone saying it is, but it is still a very solid measure of how good players are without park effects, etc. I do think the differences in measuring it, largely due to defense I think, show that people are trying to perfect it.

I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. As the game evolves, statistical measures need to evolve with it so that we can continue to measure players without context and narrative muddying things up.

Davis was a genuine three true outcomes player. He’s now just capable of one of those outcomes. As much as many loathe the AP contract, Davis’s is so much worse.

Dochalo’s old profile pic.

I think they get there, probably by the end of April. Once Ohtani gets back the lineup will solidify a bit. I would like them to get as much playing time as possible for some of the younger guys like Thaiss and Rengifo as soon as they’re ready for it.

Already thinking about their offseason plans. They’re just not gritty enough.

So another seven innings of shutout ball with seven more K’s? ? I'm happy for him. I wish the team would have kept him. He’s a guy who can start and pitch out of the ‘pen as a team needs.

Yes, as @Stradling and @Angelsfan1984 alluded to, it was thoracic outlet syndrome. Luckily the procedure seems to have gone well. https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2019/3/16/18268767/la-lakers-brandon-ingram-injury-update-thoracic-outlet-surgery-blood-clots-information-web-md

Same thing Matt Harvey had been ailed by, IIRC. Same with Markelle Fultz in the NBA. What exactly is that, @Angelsfan1984?

I don’t really see the team committing more dollars or prospect capital for acquiring a stop-gap in a season that is really for rebuilding a bit. And I’m fine with that.

The ones that are believable are the best. Well played.