Jeremiah

FiveThirtyEight ran a story that showed foul balls to be a major culprit in game delays. It never really get talked about, though. Hopefully it isn’t a Craig, but here it is. And, hey, there’s a pic of Ohtani with the headline. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/foul-balls-are-the-pace-of-play-problem-nobodys-talking-about/

First Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years...? Didn’t Fletch say some of us need to re-take our civics classes?

I think the issue is the rule takes away some flexibility in roster construction and usage of players. A player like Cowart is kind of a project as a pitcher. For now he’s probably only be used situationally. If he has to take a designated pitcher’s slot, it can cost the team the opportunity to carry a more established reliever.

And aren’t the Angels trying to make Cowart into a utility INF/RP? Would this mean they wouldn’t be able to do that since he’d likely miss one of those targets per position?

I look forward to Fletch being able to add some insight into this topic. The way I see it, though, a team should get its (proposed) 28 roster spots and be permitted to construct said roster as they see fit, pitchers, fielders, DH’s, have at it. Teams being able to be flexible and try new things is how innovation happens.

The two-way player rule seems like a solution looking for a problem.

I agree. I don’t think it should matter either. I do wonder how that would work for a player like Ohtani who is coming off of a major injury. He will be able to hit, but he will not accumulate the number of innings pitched this season to meet that standard.

I agree with most of the sentiment here. As is often the case, I think it’ll come down to health more than effectiveness. The notes on how good Lucroy has been with pitchers is also encouraging. I just hope they can stay pretty healthy most of the year.

He may see it quite a bit from his own outfield. PHI was 10th in MLB in employing the shift in 2018. FLA is the only other NL East team in the top 10. The team that employed the shift the fewest times in 2018? The Halos. This is from MLB’s Baseball Savant. That being said, hit ‘em where they ain’t.

Pretty sure their answer will be, “Trade Trout before he’s lost with only a comp pick because he doesn’t want to be here anyway.”

Yogi Berra used to say, “Hit ‘em where they ain’t”. Baseball players used to be taught to adjust their approach as the defense and pitching dictate. Maybe they aren’t taught that anymore? I would think people who hit professionally can dump a ball the other way as needed until the defense stops shifting. Or maybe they aren’t as skilled hitters as we think they are.

going through this list, it seems like many of the changes being proposed and tested are directed at pitching and defense. It seems too one-sided to me. One thing that never seems to be proposed or tested is making the batter stay in the box once he gets there. No stepping out between pitches to adjust everything. That would allow pitchers to work more quickly and keep the action moving for the fans. The only changes there I like are the larger base (player safety) and the reduced time between innings.

I think for the most part ST stats are pretty meaningless because of sample size and an uneven level of competition. Things like walk and strikeout rates can be very useful, though.

People and the media get too hung up on the idea that a player doesn’t want to talk about his contract status. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to re-sign with the Halos. It only means he doesn’t want to negotiate it in the media. Trout is a pretty uncomplicated and unassuming superstar. He gets paid to hit baseballs really hard. That’s what he wants to do. His agent and the Angels front office get paid to work out contract details. It’s no one’s business until it’s signed.

No. i think this winter has been more about the fit for the money involved. They bid on the big FA pitchers, and I think that’s where they’re going to bid next winter.

KC won that WS on the strengths of their defense and their bullpen, which was talked about all that season. They were pretty pedestrian on offense overall in the WS, with an OBP/SLG/OPS of .295/.330/.625. The Mets were just worse.

I agree. I think that’s what I was saying, responding WF’s post.

Of course we do. We play fantasy versions of sports and post our Sick Lineups on a regular basis. It’s fun for us as fans. We are also not contractually obligated to follow MLB’s anti-tampering rules.

The Lakers and Magic Johnson have gotten into big trouble for less-direct tampering than this. Different sport, but still.

“The Official Trout Panic Thread”

I like Chuck’s response to the Fabian tweet. I think that it was way out of context, and maybe even a bit irresponsible. I think journos do their best with the information they have, but Ayanda was off-base here.

I agree. I think it’s more Trout’s way to say he’s not going to negotiate this through the media. I think it will get done. We’ve already seen that money and security seem to be more important than location.

That or perhaps he really liked the length of the contract, which takes him through age 39 (?). It’s life/generation-changing money for him and he will never have to go through this process again.

I am often amazed by that too. I am originally from Long Beach and grew up in an Angels family. Somehow, though, I have cousins and friends I went to HS with who are Yankees fans. I also remember going to Game 3 of the ‘02 ALDS with my dad and being very surprised by the number of NYY fans there. Glad the Halos punked them after falling behind that game.

I think the idea that Boras (or any agent) is only looking out for his own interests gets way overplayed. The MLBPA is pretty strong. If any agent was found to not be working in the client’s best interests, that agent would be decertified pretty quickly.