MLB 2018

beantownbubba · Post by **beantownbubba** » Sun Aug 27, 2017 8:46 pm

Panic grips Hub!!

Post by **Tequila Cowboy** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:21 pm

beantownbubba wrote:Panic grips Hub!!

It's a little tighter than you might like but your boys are going to win that division. Cubs fans are panicked as well for maybe a little more reason but not much.

That brings me to another point. I have been critical of the Wild Card system for some time and to me this years AL race illustrates the positives and negatives about as beautifully as one could hope for. On one hand you have 7 (!!) teams legitimately vying for that second WC card spot which is no doubt good for broadcasters, sports radio and the like. On the other hand 3 of these teams are below .500 and pretty much all of them are absolute crap. Two of them, TExas and Minnesota, were actually deadline sellers so their FO themselves know they are crap. Are their fanbases really excited about this? I mean I don't know but in Chicago people are absolutely disgusted at a team 9 games over .500 with one fan on a Cubs site this morning saying that this has been the worst Cubs season in his lifetime. Now if this guy is two years old I can buy that and really appreciate how advanced he is is for his age, otherwise that's clearly a hot, stinking pile of dung. Of course that said what are the fans of these crappy teams saying? Are they pleased to have their teams in the race or is it just giving them more to talk about on the radio and social media? I honestly don't know the answer. People, it seems to me, want winners and nothing but winners and yet that WC race is a clusterfuck of bad and it's being touted as a validation of the WC system. Does anybody really know what they want?

Clams · Post by **Clams** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:39 pm

The kid's off to a pretty good start

Sterling Bigmouth · Post by **Sterling Bigmouth** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:47 pm

Clams wrote:
The kid's off to a pretty good start

One of the few kids the Phillies have that semi-worries me as a Braves fan. Philly has been rebuilding about as long as we have, but they haven’t seemed to find anyone who could be “the guy”. This kid definitely has the tools.

Post by **Tequila Cowboy** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:47 pm

Clams wrote:
The kid's off to a pretty good start

Yep, he's pretty impressive and considering he's the Phillies 6th best prospect has to have y'all excited. With the likes of Hoskins, Mickey Moniak, Sixto Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro and J.P. Crawford all of whom are 55-60 grade prospects The future looks pretty damned bright. Crawford has some work to do but he's too good not to get it done. Not to mention the fact that your team obligations for 2018 are something like $9 mil and less for 2019 means you can spend money on some real talent to augment the youngsters. I'm pretty high on Atlanta too but with so much of that young talent being pitching it's harder to project.

Zip City · Post by **Zip City** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 3:42 pm

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
beantownbubba wrote:Panic grips Hub!!
It's a little tighter than you might like but your boys are going to win that division. Cubs fans are panicked as well for maybe a little more reason but not much.

That brings me to another point. I have been critical of the Wild Card system for some time and to me this years AL race illustrates the positives and negatives about as beautifully as one could hope for. On one hand you have 7 (!!) teams legitimately vying for that second WC card spot which is no doubt good for broadcasters, sports radio and the like. On the other hand 3 of these teams are below .500 and pretty much all of them are absolute crap. Two of them, TExas and Minnesota, were actually deadline sellers so their FO themselves know they are crap. Are their fanbases really excited about this? I mean I don't know but in Chicago people are absolutely disgusted at a team 9 games over .500 with one fan on a Cubs site this morning saying that this has been the worst Cubs season in his lifetime. Now if this guy is two years old I can buy that and really appreciate how advanced he is is for his age, otherwise that's clearly a hot, stinking pile of dung. Of course that said what are the fans of these crappy teams saying? Are they pleased to have their teams in the race or is it just giving them more to talk about on the radio and social media? I honestly don't know the answer. People, it seems to me, want winners and nothing but winners and yet that WC race is a clusterfuck of bad and it's being touted as a validation of the WC system. Does anybody really know what they want?

I think that, given the crap-shoot nature of baseball playoffs, that getting in any way possible is paramount, regardless of the team's record. So yes, if my team was hovering around .500 but had a chance to make the playoffs, I would be rooting for that outcome 100%.

Post by **Tequila Cowboy** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:33 pm

Zip City wrote:I think that, given the crap-shoot nature of baseball playoffs, that getting in any way possible is paramount, regardless of the team's record. So yes, if my team was hovering around .500 but had a chance to make the playoffs, I would be rooting for that outcome 100%.

I absolutely agree with you that the playoffs are a crapshoot, but seeing how most Cubs fans are saying shit like they don't deserve to be in the playoffs and they hope that the team doesn't make it I have to wonder if these fans do care, or if they assume their team will lose so why bother.

Zip City · Post by **Zip City** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:41 pm

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Zip City wrote:I think that, given the crap-shoot nature of baseball playoffs, that getting in any way possible is paramount, regardless of the team's record. So yes, if my team was hovering around .500 but had a chance to make the playoffs, I would be rooting for that outcome 100%.
I absolutely agree with you that the playoffs are a crapshoot, but seeing how most Cubs fans are saying shit like they don't deserve to be in the playoffs and they hope that the team doesn't make it I have to wonder if these fans do care, or if they assume their team will lose so why bother.

Those aren't fans. Those are meatballs who call talk radio or post on Facebook to complain about everything. There are some of those on the Cubs site I frequent (they go into game threads and gnash their teeth every time the Cubs give up a base hit....it's exhausting). These types of people should be ignored, because they have no idea how sports work

And I'm record saying that the first half of the season stunk and was frequently not fun to watch, but the Cubs are leading the league in offense post-ASB and have gone from 5.5 down to 3 up.

beantownbubba · Post by **beantownbubba** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 5:53 pm

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
beantownbubba wrote:Panic grips Hub!!
It's a little tighter than you might like but your boys are going to win that division. Cubs fans are panicked as well for maybe a little more reason but not much.

That brings me to another point. I have been critical of the Wild Card system for some time and to me this years AL race illustrates the positives and negatives about as beautifully as one could hope for. On one hand you have 7 (!!) teams legitimately vying for that second WC card spot which is no doubt good for broadcasters, sports radio and the like. On the other hand 3 of these teams are below .500 and pretty much all of them are absolute crap. Two of them, TExas and Minnesota, were actually deadline sellers so their FO themselves know they are crap. Are their fanbases really excited about this? I mean I don't know but in Chicago people are absolutely disgusted at a team 9 games over .500 with one fan on a Cubs site this morning saying that this has been the worst Cubs season in his lifetime. Now if this guy is two years old I can buy that and really appreciate how advanced he is is for his age, otherwise that's clearly a hot, stinking pile of dung. Of course that said what are the fans of these crappy teams saying? Are they pleased to have their teams in the race or is it just giving them more to talk about on the radio and social media? I honestly don't know the answer. People, it seems to me, want winners and nothing but winners and yet that WC race is a clusterfuck of bad and it's being touted as a validation of the WC system. Does anybody really know what they want?

This is one of the biggest reasons my interest in pro sports has waned over the years.

That 2 yr old cub fan (good line btw) cracks me up. Why do people insist on proclaiming "look at me, I'm a moron" as often and as loudly as they can? Did he at least take a virtual beating for that one?

Sterling Bigmouth · Post by **Sterling Bigmouth** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:55 am

Just got back from a day trip to Chicago, have to say Wrigley Field was a blast! Even happier that I was able to catch my Braves the one time they found a way to beat the Cubbies this season

whatwouldcooleydo? · Post by **whatwouldcooleydo?** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 3:20 pm

Albert Pujols Is The Worst Player In Baseball

But this season, a new title can be assigned to Pujols: He’s the worst player in baseball.

Pujols has flat-out stunk up Angel Stadium. He’s hitting .230 (79 points below his previous career average) with an on-base plus slugging 26 percent worse than league average. Even in an age of ineffective designated hitters, Pujols has easily been the worst hitter at the position that provides the least defensive value (i.e., zero value). As a result, no player has been less valuable than Pujols this year: His -1.99 WAR ranks dead last among all players (including pitchers).

If he finishes the season in last place — which seems quite possible, as L.A. continues to pencil him into its starting lineup, day after day, despite his poor numbers — Pujols will become the first modern position player ever to be both baseball’s best and worst player at various points in his career.

njMark · Post by **njMark** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 11:02 pm

So the Yanks are going to once again this year get hot, win games they need to win, and what? Do they continue the winning ways or do they go back to not scoring and losing games they should win? Judge got a HR last night but what does that mean? Considering I didn't think they would be a playoff team this year Ill take this season as a success but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get excited about winning #28 after the first half of the season.

Post by **Tequila Cowboy** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 10:31 am

njMark wrote:So the Yanks are going to once again this year get hot, win games they need to win, and what? Do they continue the winning ways or do they go back to not scoring and losing games they should win? Judge got a HR last night but what does that mean? Considering I didn't think they would be a playoff team this year Ill take this season as a success but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get excited about winning #28 after the first half of the season.

Hey, the fact that your team has a chance to win that division is nothing less that incredible. They're not a WS team unless something weird happens but of course its baseball and weird things DO happen. Chris Sale has decided to descend from Mt. Olympus and be a human being and lord knows what the rest of that Boston team is doing so there is an opportunity. I'm really starting to think that no one beats Cleveland in the AL though.

The NL is getting a little interesting too. The Cubs have never pulled away and the Brewers come a callin' on Friday. If Arrieta isn't badly injured I still thing the Cubs winn the Division by five games but the Brewers catch the Rockies and make the WC. Of course that game is a coin flip but I really think if Arizona wins it they beat the Dodgers in a five game series.

Current prediction:

Cleveland vs. Arizona in the WS.

Post by **Tequila Cowboy** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 2:58 pm

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:Albert Pujols Is The Worst Player In Baseball

But this season, a new title can be assigned to Pujols: He’s the worst player in baseball.

Pujols has flat-out stunk up Angel Stadium. He’s hitting .230 (79 points below his previous career average) with an on-base plus slugging 26 percent worse than league average. Even in an age of ineffective designated hitters, Pujols has easily been the worst hitter at the position that provides the least defensive value (i.e., zero value). As a result, no player has been less valuable than Pujols this year: His -1.99 WAR ranks dead last among all players (including pitchers).

If he finishes the season in last place — which seems quite possible, as L.A. continues to pencil him into its starting lineup, day after day, despite his poor numbers — Pujols will become the first modern position player ever to be both baseball’s best and worst player at various points in his career.

I saw the piece when it came out, and I saw your post the other day and have been mulling over a response. Casey Stern did nearly an entire radio show on MLB Radio the day after this article was posted. He called it disrespectful and emblematic of fandom in 2017. I've given it a lot of thought and I have to agree with him, at least for the most part. Albert Pujols, although he pained my ass as a Cardinal, is one of the all time, ALL TIME, greats. A complete player in the waning days of the juicing era and a legitimate power threat every trip to the plate. He's since fallen off hard and is ridiculously overpaid, but I'm not sure he deserves a guy pointing out just how far he's fallen just for clicks, and make no mistake adding "seriously, the worst" to the headline is just crying out for clicks. It's pretty shameful for a guy of his accomplishments. On the other hand we should be talking about how guys fall off after huge deals and how teams need to be smarter so that much I get, but I'm not sure being mean about it is the way to go.

Btw, in no means am I trying to disparage you, WWCD, for posting it. Just my thoughts.

njMark · Post by **njMark** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:40 pm

I agree with you about Cleveland TC, with a healthy Andrew Miller they are better than Boston or the Yanks. The Yanks pitching will get them through the WC game but having either Cleveland or Houston waiting later on in the playoffs is not a recipe for a long playoff run.

whatwouldcooleydo? · Post by **whatwouldcooleydo?** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:57 pm

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:Albert Pujols Is The Worst Player In Baseball

But this season, a new title can be assigned to Pujols: He’s the worst player in baseball.

Pujols has flat-out stunk up Angel Stadium. He’s hitting .230 (79 points below his previous career average) with an on-base plus slugging 26 percent worse than league average. Even in an age of ineffective designated hitters, Pujols has easily been the worst hitter at the position that provides the least defensive value (i.e., zero value). As a result, no player has been less valuable than Pujols this year: His -1.99 WAR ranks dead last among all players (including pitchers).

If he finishes the season in last place — which seems quite possible, as L.A. continues to pencil him into its starting lineup, day after day, despite his poor numbers — Pujols will become the first modern position player ever to be both baseball’s best and worst player at various points in his career.
I saw the piece when it came out, and I saw your post the other day and have been mulling over a response. Casey Stern did nearly an entire radio show on MLB Radio the day after this article was posted. He called it disrespectful and emblematic of fandom in 2017. I've given it a lot of thought and I have to agree with him, at least for the most part. Albert Pujols, although he pained my ass as a Cardinal, is one of the all time, ALL TIME, greats. A complete player in the waning days of the juicing era and a legitimate power threat every trip to the plate. He's since fallen off hard and is ridiculously overpaid, but I'm not sure he deserves a guy pointing out just how far he's fallen just for clicks, and make no mistake adding "seriously, the worst" to the headline is just crying out for clicks. It's pretty shameful for a guy of his accomplishments. On the other hand we should be talking about how guys fall off after huge deals and how teams need to be smarter so that much I get, but I'm not sure being mean about it is the way to go.

Btw, in no means am I trying to disparage you, WWCD, for posting it. Just my thoughts.

No problem, my job is to shed light, not to master

I really hadn't given the article much thought in the first place, just shared it because I know how important some here see WAR. That said, I don't see anything mean about it. I love Pujols, think he's fucking amazing, but you live by the stat, you die by the stat. If Pujols wasn't so (rightfully) beloved, I doubt too many would have issue with what the writer pointed out

beantownbubba · Post by **beantownbubba** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:24 pm

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:I don't see anything mean about it. I love Pujols, think he's fucking amazing, but you live by the stat, you die by the stat. If Pujols wasn't so (rightfully) beloved, I doubt too many would have issue with what the writer pointed out

Thus neatly sidestepping the issue. Which may well be the right move, I think it's a really difficult topic as to Pujols specifically and more generally.

Not that it's a major part of the discussion but it really annoys me when DH's get hit w/ "zero WAR points" for not fielding. Generally by not fielding they're helping their teams, sometimes considerably and totally w/in the rules and they certainly do more for their teams just defensively than some of the worst defenders do for theirs. OR IOW I don't buy that the worst thing one can do defensively is not play.

whatwouldcooleydo? · Post by **whatwouldcooleydo?** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:30 pm

Edwin Starr had the right idea

whatwouldcooleydo? · Post by **whatwouldcooleydo?** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 7:23 pm

Fenghazi

we would also allow Dirty Watergate

wonder how many games Goodell will suspend Brady for this

njMark · Post by **njMark** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 7:53 pm

I just read this, I love/hate that the Yanks were the ones to bring this up. On one hand, it's Boston so by all means but on the other side, is this going to be another deflated footballs thing that just becomes a sideshow?

beantownbubba · Post by **beantownbubba** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:29 am

No I didn't stay up for all 19 innings but I did see Jackie Bradley's superb game saving throw to the plate and, much earlier, Mookie Betts's routinely excellent diving catch. Those guys can go get it for sure.

Big win, obviously, coming on the heels of 4 straight losses, 3 to the Yankees. Great work by all the pitchers especially the bullpen - 13 innings of shut out ball.

Yes, I heard about the Spygate, Part Deux. My response? Ridiculous and stupid to do it, they deserved to get caught and deserve to be punished (whether the punishment fits the crime will be interesting to see), and I'm just sick of all this distracting and silly surround. Can't we all just play the games?

Bill in CT · Post by **Bill in CT** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:36 pm

Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.

Clams · Post by **Clams** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:48 pm

Bill in CT wrote:Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.

Nothing to see here. Boston fans think cheating is cool. That's just what teams do.

Post by **Tequila Cowboy** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:06 pm

Bill in CT wrote:Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.

Stealing signs is actually not even against the rules but the use of electronics is. Baseball grudgingly allowed one laptop into the dugout a couple of years back but the use of communications devices outside of the bullpen phone(s) are strictly prohibited. Sorry, the Red Sox are my number two team but there has to be punishment or this will get out of hand in a hurry.

Bill in CT · Post by **Bill in CT** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 4:30 pm

Clams wrote:
Bill in CT wrote:Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.
Nothing to see here. Boston fans think cheating is cool. That's just what teams do.

Considering your favorite football teams are Penn State and the Philadelphia Eagles, do you really want to throw stones at other fan bases?!?

Bill in CT · Post by **Bill in CT** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 4:32 pm

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Bill in CT wrote:Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.
Stealing signs is actually not even against the rules but the use of electronics is. Baseball grudgingly allowed one laptop into the dugout a couple of years back but the use of communications devices outside of the bullpen phone(s) are strictly prohibited. Sorry, the Red Sox are my number two team but there has to be punishment or this will get out of hand in a hurry.

So it's okay to steal signs without electronics but with them it is forbidden? That makes zero sense whatsoever.

whatwouldcooleydo? · Post by **whatwouldcooleydo?** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 4:38 pm

Bill in CT wrote:
Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Bill in CT wrote:Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.
Stealing signs is actually not even against the rules but the use of electronics is. Baseball grudgingly allowed one laptop into the dugout a couple of years back but the use of communications devices outside of the bullpen phone(s) are strictly prohibited. Sorry, the Red Sox are my number two team but there has to be punishment or this will get out of hand in a hurry.
So it's okay to steal signs without electronics but with them it is forbidden? That makes zero sense whatsoever.

Since when do ANY of baseball's unwritten rules make any sense?

Clams · Post by **Clams** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 5:03 pm

Bill in CT wrote:
Clams wrote:
Bill in CT wrote:Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.
Nothing to see here. Boston fans think cheating is cool. That's just what teams do.
Considering your favorite football teams are Penn State and the Philadelphia Eagles, do you really want to throw stones at other fan bases?!?

I try to be objective and I'm willing to admit when my teams take a step too far. But there have been several instances of the Patriots and Red Sox getting caught cheating and it seems that the collective fan reaction is always just a yawn and an eyeroll and a victory parade. It would be nice to hear you call a spade a spade and say "Oh wow the [insert Boston team name here] were caught [cheating, doing something unethical, etc]. They shouldn't have done that."

whatwouldcooleydo? · Post by **whatwouldcooleydo?** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 5:10 pm

Bill in CT wrote:
Clams wrote:
Bill in CT wrote:Stealing signs has been part of baseball forever. What a ridiculous "scandal" this is. Yawn.
Nothing to see here. Boston fans think cheating is cool. That's just what teams do.
Considering your favorite football teams are Penn State and the Philadelphia Eagles, do you really want to throw stones at other fan bases?!?

damn Bill, you wasted a golden opportunity for a "rhythmic, slapping sound" reference

Clams · Post by **Clams** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 5:30 pm

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:
damn Bill, you wasted a golden opportunity for a "rhythmic, slapping sound" reference

Not funny. Still an open wound.

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