MLB 2018

[Tequila Cowboy]

Joe Maddon gave his thoughts on a possible lineup against RHP to ESPN:

1) Kyle Schwarber, L
2) Kris Bryant, 3B
3) Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4) Ben Zobrist, 2B
5) Addison Russell, SS
6) Jason Heyward, RF
7) Willson Contreras, C
8) Pitcher
9) Jon Jay, CF

Obviously this is Joe Maddon and both Javy Baez and Albert Almora are going to see some playing time against righties but damn. I don't know if my boys will repeat but it is going to be fun.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Tyson Ross inks a 1 year deal with the Rangers. Too bad I had hoped he would be a Cub.

[Zip City]

Tyson Ross inks a 1 year deal with the Rangers. Too bad I had hoped he would be a Cub.

Let him prove that his arm isn't destroyed then look at him next winter

[Tequila Cowboy]

Tyson Ross inks a 1 year deal with the Rangers. Too bad I had hoped he would be a Cub.

Let him prove that his arm isn't destroyed then look at him next winter

Absolutely. The skuttlebutt has been all along that he wanted a 1 year deal and the Cubs insisted on 1 and an option. I can't blame the guy. Curious on the money though as it hasn't been announced. I'd probably guess around $8 mil.

[Tequila Cowboy]

White Sox prospect Michael Kopech, acquired in the Chris Sale trade, hit 110 mph in velocity trials today.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Hall of Fame voting results

[worrierking]

I was rooting for Bagwell and Raines. Glad they made it.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Sad news

https://www.google.com/amp/www.si.com/m ... %3Famp%3D1

[Zip City]

Sad news

https://www.google.com/amp/www.si.com/m ... %3Famp%3D1

Andy Marte died as well

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

The Surprising Way Jet Lag Impacts Major League Baseball Games

no idea if this is good "science" but still thought it might be an interesting read for some

[beantownbubba]

no idea if this is good "science"

The National Academy of Science is no joke. I don't know if "proceedings" are peer reviewed (as opposed to full journal articles) but the approach taken seems to be fairly rigorous and to account for at least the most obvious "false positives" such as relative team winning percentage, park effects and inherent home field advantage. In any case, it's something I've long believed, even back before sabermetrics. When I was first getting interested in sports betting, I thought there was money to be made in identifying favorites favored by about the amount of "inherent home field advantage" who had the disadvantage of traveling further or under worse conditions than their opponents. I didn't have the discipline or long term interest to follow it through but I did win a couple of bets based on the theory and I believe it's still a useful tool (though betting lines themselves are much more sophisticated now).

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

no idea if this is good "science"

The National Academy of Science is no joke. I don't know if "proceedings" are peer reviewed (as opposed to full journal articles) but the approach taken seems to be fairly rigorous and to account for at least the most obvious "false positives" such as relative team winning percentage, park effects and inherent home field advantage. In any case, it's something I've long believed, even back before sabermetrics. When I was first getting interested in sports betting, I thought there was money to be made in identifying favorites favored by about the amount of "inherent home field advantage" who had the disadvantage of traveling further or under worse conditions than their opponents. I didn't have the discipline or long term interest to follow it through but I did win a couple of bets based on the theory and I believe it's still a useful tool (though betting lines themselves are much more sophisticated now).

assume you've read this

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

This is SO fucked up

[beantownbubba]

This is SO fucked up

Yes. Yes it is.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I’ll Be Damned. Baseball Pitcher Barry Zito Is Not Half Bad at the Music Thing (from Saving Country Music.com)

[LBRod]

I’ll Be Damned. Baseball Pitcher Barry Zito Is Not Half Bad at the Music Thing (from Saving Country Music.com)

Nice shout out to my friend Willy Tea.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I’ll Be Damned. Baseball Pitcher Barry Zito Is Not Half Bad at the Music Thing (from Saving Country Music.com)

Nice shout out to my friend Willy Tea.

you know Willy? Nice.

[tinnitus photography]

some Cards fans are the fucking worst.


https://twitter.com/BestFansStLouis/sta ... 5553498114

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

some Cards fans are the fucking worst.


https://twitter.com/BestFansStLouis/sta ... 5553498114

BFIB always do things the white way

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

what say y'all regarding the proposed change to the intentional walk?

[Zip City]

what say y'all regarding the proposed change to the intentional walk?

It's a solution looking for a problem

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

what say y'all regarding the proposed change to the intentional walk?

It's a solution looking for a problem

Pert near my exact thought

[beantownbubba]

what say y'all regarding the proposed change to the intentional walk?

It's a solution looking for a problem

Pert near my exact thought

Yup.

It's also a perfect example of the bureaucratic mindset: If we pretend to do something by doing something pointless and inoffensive, we can avoid doing something useful and bold, saving our jobs until the pension kicks in.

[Tequila Cowboy]

So game 1 of the WBC is in the books with Israel defeating South Korea 2-1 in 10 innings on a 2 out RBI single. That's not the whole story though. In the WBC there is now a rule that in extra innings the team at bat starts with a man on 1B and a man on 2B. These are the men who would have made the last 2 outs in the previous inning. This extra inning rule, in some form, is being toyed with in MLB circles with wholehearted support from Commissioner Manfred. In a global exposition I think it's fine. A lot of these players have to play baseball in their various leagues this summer and fatigue is a factor. In MLB I think it just might ruin the game. Thoughts?

[Shakespeare]

its terrible. i try not to overreact to every rule tweak (the automatic IBB, for example. its pointless and wont save enough time to justify introducing it, but does it radically change the game? ill save my outrage)but thats borderline not even baseball anymore.

what baffles me even more is manfred committing to do it, players be damned. im on board with his general plan to speed up the games but extra innings are a rare treat, and why would he willingly alienate the players like this?

especially when the painfully obvious solution to slow games is to enforce the rules about players wasting time between pitches. i get why limiting commercial time is a nonstarter but why that?

[Tequila Cowboy]

its terrible. i try not to overreact to every rule tweak (the automatic IBB, for example. its pointless and wont save enough time to justify introducing it, but does it radically change the game? ill save my outrage)but thats borderline not even baseball anymore.

what baffles me even more is manfred committing to do it, players be damned. im on board with his general plan to speed up the games but extra innings are a rare treat, and why would he willingly alienate the players like this?

especially when the painfully obvious solution to slow games is to enforce the rules about players wasting time between pitches. i get why limiting commercial time is a nonstarter but why that?

Agreed. what really bugs me though is that all this is being done in a supposed effort to bring more younger fans with shorter attention spans into the game. If that really is the goal shouldn't they be looking at marketing first and foremost before any radical changes? Because of licensing disputes there is currently only one MLB video game and it's only on Playstation. That's crazy. Plus the NFL and NBA both sponsor off season video game expos where players make appearances and these expos sell out basketball size arenas. Why can't baseball do this? Why don't people know what Mike Trout looks like? Why isn't he, and other stars of the game, on billboards all over his home market? The last time MLB put a single player's image on a billboard it was Derek Jeter in 1999. Meanwhile the NFL and NBA takes out billboard ads with their stars all the time. When I was in the Tampa/St. Pete area last year I counted 7 billboards from the NFL and TB Bucs featuring Jameis Winston. Why isn't Chicago covered with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo? They barely try to market the sport and then try to change the game to appeal to casual fans. Screw that.

[Shakespeare]

youre right about that but i think the lack of baseball marketing permeating the landscape has so many wide implications to consider its well beyond even manfreds pay grade. its a shame at any rate

i think what mlb should do (and i swear ive seen rumblings about just that) is package and market "condensed games" the morning after, or even within an hour or so of the ending. take a hint from the way most late night shows are consumed now. show all the highlights, none of the leisurely pace. bring in the impatient crowd without alienating the older one

[Zip City]

youre right about that but i think the lack of baseball marketing permeating the landscape has so many wide implications to consider its well beyond even manfreds pay grade. its a shame at any rate

i think what mlb should do (and i swear ive seen rumblings about just that) is package and market "condensed games" the morning after, or even within an hour or so of the ending. take a hint from the way most late night shows are consumed now. show all the highlights, none of the leisurely pace. bring in the impatient crowd without alienating the older one

NFL network does this. It's snap, play, tackle, and cut to the next snap

[beantownbubba]

I think that's my bottom line: Why even think hard about the extra inning change when there's so much that should be done before that rather extreme step? It's just another example of baseball's half assed approach to pretty much everything.

But if there's gonna be a rule like that, a couple of questions: You start w/ runners at 1st AND 2nd? If you're going to do this why not just a runner on first? Starting w/ someone in scoring position hardly seems like a balanced approach to the issues. And why start w/ the 10th inning? Just like college football, have the requirements change progressively. At the very least, leave the 10th inning, have a man on first in the 12th and a man on 2nd in, say, the 14th. Or whatever, it's the progressive aspect that I'm talking about not the details.

Re condensed games: The red sox have been doing this for years: It's called "red sox in 2" and it's a 2 hr version of the game replayed later the same night (or the next morning depending on scheduling).

[Tequila Cowboy]

I think that's my bottom line: Why even think hard about the extra inning change when there's so much that should be done before that rather extreme step? It's just another example of baseball's half assed approach to pretty much everything.

But if there's gonna be a rule like that, a couple of questions: You start w/ runners at 1st AND 2nd? If you're going to do this why not just a runner on first? Starting w/ someone in scoring position hardly seems like a balanced approach to the issues. And why start w/ the 10th inning? Just like college football, have the requirements change progressively. At the very least, leave the 10th inning, have a man on first in the 12th and a man on 2nd in, say, the 14th. Or whatever, it's the progressive aspect that I'm talking about not the details.

Re condensed games: The red sox have been doing this for years: It's called "red sox in 2" and it's a 2 hr version of the game replayed later the same night (or the next morning depending on scheduling).

The Cubs have been doing the condensed game thing for the last couple of years as well.

I guess I'm just frustrated with Manfred and MLB right now because they seem fixated on finding solutions where there aren't any problems. I mean the intentional walk thing is fine, I don't love it but it's fine. I get that they aren't trying to reach guys like me that have been following the game for close to 50 years, they've got us already and we'll all be dead soon, but the problem is that I don't see a clear message on who they are trying to reach. Kids learn to love baseball before the age of 12, after that getting to them is tougher but it's doable with some of things I mentioned, but they're probably never going to love the game. So what are they doing to appeal to 8-12 year olds? Looks like nothing to me and that's among the many things that are so frustrating.