Now that the season is over

[CSF77]

Line up looks worse than it does this year but that's okay in your books
because they will DEFINITELY rebuild right?

Caratini held a 108 wRC+ AND a plus value DEF at 4.3 vs Contreras who is all bat. And dislike value DEF -.3.

Now it was for a different vibe but from the results Darvish took off in the 2nd half exclusive with Caratini

 

[CSF77]

Switching sports here, so try to keep up, but John Madden once asked "If my players wear sportcoats on the plane and are clean shaven, but jump offsides, is that disciplined?"

Who gives two shits what the players' hair looks like?

Professional appearance reflects your personality.

He is a fringe talent that was motivated and a buzz.

This year grew it out and added weight and his performance tanked.

To me is shows drive and motivation.

 

[Steve_A]

Caratini held a 108 wRC+ AND a plus value DEF at 4.3 vs Contreras who is all bat. And dislike value DEF -.3.

Now it was for a different vibe but from the results Darvish took off in the 2nd half exclusive with Caratini

You have a point there but Nico and Caratini in the 1 / 2 hole just doesn't seem strong enough.

 

[CSF77]

You have a point there but Nico and Caratini in the 1 / 2 hole just doesn't seem strong enough.

That is why I put Almora as a place holder. That is going to be the key decision.

The big name is Jackie Bradly Jr. His bat just sucks and 11M investment would be dumb. A even swap with Chatwood would make sense though and get a strait platoon in CF. Boston will need another arm anyways.

But it is just a push move vs a clear upgrade.

 

[fatbeard]

Professional appearance reflects your personality.

He is a fringe talent that was motivated and a buzz.

This year grew it out and added weight and his performance tanked.

To me is shows drive and motivation.

Almora's profession is a baseball player.

Not a salesman.

Not a lawyer.

Not a Marine.

Not a real estate agent with his face plastered everywhere.

Not whatever it is that you do.

He could show up with a week's worth of stubble, a dirty batting helmet, gloves covered in pine tar, and tobacco spit dribbling down his chin and he would meet the standard for the "professional appearance" of a baseball player. Get over yourself, man.

 

[Castor76]

Almora's profession is a baseball player.

Not a salesman.

Not a lawyer.

Not a Marine.

Not a real estate agent with his face plastered everywhere.

Not whatever it is that you do.

He could show up with a week's worth of stubble, a dirty batting helmet, gloves covered in pine tar, and tobacco spit dribbling down his chin and he would meet the standard for the "professional appearance" of a baseball player. Get over yourself, man.

But if that is radically different than how he had traditionally shown up for work, it is an indication of change in mental approach to that work. You brought up Ruth. Ruth was always slovenly, therefore his sloven ways made no difference. And since it's well known that mental approach to the game is important, that change in Almora's appearance should have been a red flag.

 

[CSF77]

But if that is radically different than how he had traditionally shown up for work, it is an indication of change in mental approach to that work. You brought up Ruth. Ruth was always slovenly, therefore his sloven ways made no difference. And since it's well known that mental approach to the game is important, that change in Almora's appearance should have been a red flag.

We really have no clue what is going on with his real life. I get that he is a dad of 2 boys and was messed up by hitting that kid. So that might have factored.

But honest opinion. Joe was lax. He let his players be themselves. And honestly it works with established players better because they have the talent to play at that level and a comfortable environment will allow them to Excell.

But there is the type 2 that needs the whip because they are not as talented and they have to over achieve their talent to play at that level.

Basically this is Bryant and Baez vs Schwarber and Almora. First 2 are too tier talent that really are self driven and Joe just let them shine.

Then you got Schwarber who when motivated can come in losing 50 LBS this year the taco truck hit on his door step a few times too much and his D took it in the arce. Almora looked sloppy out there with his hair tucked in his hat and honestly he can't afford to be not 110% commited to baseball.

 

[fatbeard]

But if that is radically different than how he had traditionally shown up for work, it is an indication of change in mental approach to that work. You brought up Ruth. Ruth was always slovenly, therefore his sloven ways made no difference. And since it's well known that mental approach to the game is important, that change in Almora's appearance should have been a red flag.

Correlation does not equal causation.

There are reams of data available to everyone on this forum about why Almora was bad this year. Follicle length is not one of the reasons. You can go pour through it right now yourself. Look at his BABIP, K%, and Hard Contact %. He made as much contact as before, hit the ball harder than ever, yet his BABIP was basically 100 points off what it normally is. In short, he got extremely unlucky. Normalize his BABIP and see what happens to his numbers.

 

[CSF77]

Correlation does not equal causation.

There are reams of data available to everyone on this forum about why Almora was bad this year. Follicle length is not one of the reasons. You can go pour through it right now yourself. Look at his BABIP, K%, and Hard Contact %. He made as much contact as before, hit the ball harder than ever, yet his BABIP was basically 100 points off what it normally is. In short, he got extremely unlucky. Normalize his BABIP and see what happens to his numbers.

Scouting and pitching to location.

The book is in on Jr. He doesn't spit on enough pitches and take first base. So with that in mind now the pitcher can set him up to hit it where the D is aligned. Because he is a swing first type and if you pound a spot over and over he will swing and the ball is going to go where the pitch was pitched.

So the whole BABIP is an excuse for luck. It really is not looking at scouting and defense alignment.

If anything BABIP signals unadaptable behavior from the hitter.

 

[anotheridiot]

I dont agree with that. These teams are shifting to the pull side and pitching the ball outside, which is the easiest ball to hit the opposite way. All you have to do is not try to pull everything and hit 95 with movement.

All these stats were just thought up by a bunch of men who were not good enough to actually play baseball and found a way to change the game to their favor. What has it really done but add billions to payroll

 

[fatbeard]

I dont agree with that. These teams are shifting to the pull side and pitching the ball outside, which is the easiest ball to hit the opposite way. All you have to do is not try to pull everything and hit 95 with movement.

All these stats were just thought up by a bunch of men who were not good enough to actually play baseball and found a way to change the game to their favor. What has it really done but add billions to payroll

LOL

Almora went up the middle and to the opposite field more than any other season, notably so. His problem wasn't pulling into a shift.

But why let facts get in the way of another rant against analytics, right?

 

[anotheridiot]

LOL

Almora went up the middle and to the opposite field more than any other season, notably so. His problem wasn't pulling into a shift.

But why let facts get in the way of another rant against analytics, right?

The shift comment was not directed towards Almora, it is the entire team. Does the opposition even shift for Almora like Heyward, Rizzo, Bryant, Zobrist?
Maybe I am just prejudice because I was able to play baseball at a high level and was not sitting watching with my slide rule.

 

[fatbeard]

Maybe I am just prejudice because I was able to play baseball at a high level and was not sitting watching with my slide rule.

All the eyerolls.

 

[Steve_A]

The shift comment was not directed towards Almora, it is the entire team. Does the opposition even shift for Almora like Heyward, Rizzo, Bryant, Zobrist?
Maybe I am just prejudice because I was able to play baseball at a high level and was not sitting watching with my slide rule.

No one cares about you and your stupid little self esteem ok?
Pitch lab and analytics created guys like Ryan / Wick and Wieck.
It can work.
You just don’t have the brains to understand the science.

 

[CSF77]

I dont agree with that. These teams are shifting to the pull side and pitching the ball outside, which is the easiest ball to hit the opposite way. All you have to do is not try to pull everything and hit 95 with movement.

All these stats were just thought up by a bunch of men who were not good enough to actually play baseball and found a way to change the game to their favor. What has it really done but add billions to payroll

This is the way I view your statement.

1. When you scout you are looking at a hitter's strengths and weaknesses.
2. A hitter will most likely attack at strength vs a weakness.

Now with this in mind if you have your pitchers attack a hot zone. Say outside middle. and the hitter is strong going the other way. Then align the D that way so counter this. Which leads into more higher % outs. We know it is not fool proof but it is a plan of attacking a hitter that will trigger.

Most of the time a pitcher will make a mistake on location and a good hitter will take advantage. Simple as that.

 

[CSF77]

Japanese Center Fielder Shogo Akiyama Adds To Open-Market Options
By Jeff Todd | October 21, 2019 at 8:58pm CDT

You may have noticed that this winter’s slate of free agents isn’t exactly teeming with high-end center fielders. That state of affairs led us to examine recently what could be a robust trade market for Pirates star Starling Marte. With so much demand and so little obvious supply, the timing may be just right for a relatively unknown option up the middle.
Center fielder Shogo Akiyama is known well to fans of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 31-year-old, a left-handed hitter, has starred for the Seibu Lions since a breakout 2015 season. He’s a .301 lifetime hitter with strong plate discipline. More recently, his power has been on the rise, with a total of 69 home runs over the past three seasons.
Akiyama has long carried an excellent reputation for glovework up the middle, veteran NPB scribe Jim Allen observes, though it seems that his prowess may have taken a bit of a downturn more recently. No doubt MLB scouts have taken a close look for themselves already. Akiyama isn’t exceptionally youthful, but he has been quite durable, so that’s another feather in his cap.
NPB recently confirmed that Akiyama is an international free agent, meaning he’s free to sign with any team in any league in the world without going through a posting system. The lack of a transfer fee certainly increases the appeal. MLB teams can approach Akiyama more or less as they would any other available player.
As a recent Yahoo Japan report covers, the Seibu Lions have made clear that they intend to pursue Akiyama with a long-term offer. Other NPB clubs may also be involved, that report indicates. But MLB outfits have been tracking him as well. The report suggests that at least four teams — the Mariners, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Cubs — have at least taken a look at Akiyama.
Akiyama is not the only intriguing Japanese player who’ll factor in the offseason market. Fellow star outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo has already indicated a clear interest in coming over via the posting system; it remains to be seen how his market will develop.

 

[Steve_A]

NO he didnt. He copied the original authored article, then passed it off as his own

How do I know? I read the entire article on another site before I saw it here....dumbshit

↑↑↑
Akiyama does fit the contact hitter type this team needs imo.

 

[Steve_A]

Japanese Center Fielder Shogo Akiyama Adds To Open-Market Options
By Jeff Todd | October 21, 2019 at 8:58pm CDT

You may have noticed that this winter’s slate of free agents isn’t exactly teeming with high-end center fielders. That state of affairs led us to examine recently what could be a robust trade market for Pirates star Starling Marte. With so much demand and so little obvious supply, the timing may be just right for a relatively unknown option up the middle.
Center fielder Shogo Akiyama is known well to fans of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 31-year-old, a left-handed hitter, has starred for the Seibu Lions since a breakout 2015 season. He’s a .301 lifetime hitter with strong plate discipline. More recently, his power has been on the rise, with a total of 69 home runs over the past three seasons.
Akiyama has long carried an excellent reputation for glovework up the middle, veteran NPB scribe Jim Allen observes, though it seems that his prowess may have taken a bit of a downturn more recently. No doubt MLB scouts have taken a close look for themselves already. Akiyama isn’t exceptionally youthful, but he has been quite durable, so that’s another feather in his cap.
NPB recently confirmed that Akiyama is an international free agent, meaning he’s free to sign with any team in any league in the world without going through a posting system. The lack of a transfer fee certainly increases the appeal. MLB teams can approach Akiyama more or less as they would any other available player.
As a recent Yahoo Japan report covers, the Seibu Lions have made clear that they intend to pursue Akiyama with a long-term offer. Other NPB clubs may also be involved, that report indicates. But MLB outfits have been tracking him as well. The report suggests that at least four teams — the Mariners, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Cubs — have at least taken a look at Akiyama.
Akiyama is not the only intriguing Japanese player who’ll factor in the offseason market. Fellow star outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo has already indicated a clear interest in coming over via the posting system; it remains to be seen how his market will develop.

Personally like his bat how about you?

 

[anotheridiot]

This is the way I view your statement.

1. When you scout you are looking at a hitter's strengths and weaknesses.
2. A hitter will most likely attack at strength vs a weakness.

Now with this in mind if you have your pitchers attack a hot zone. Say outside middle. and the hitter is strong going the other way. Then align the D that way so counter this. Which leads into more higher % outs. We know it is not fool proof but it is a plan of attacking a hitter that will trigger.

Most of the time a pitcher will make a mistake on location and a good hitter will take advantage. Simple as that.

But you have noticed it, right? Shifting Rizzo, Heyward and Bryant and staying away and this team just keeps trying to hit the ball thru defenders.
I have said it for years, the only way to get a team to stop shifting against you is to hit the ball the other way. Right now the only 2 that seem willing are Baez and Almora.
I agree with the Almora analogy of hitting that kid in the head really messed with his mind. It was basically the same deal as Heyward getting hit in the face and almost taking 3 years to recover from that, still stands far away from the plate, seems like first reaction is get out of the way.

I really thought the sarcasm was defined when I wrote all they have to do is hit a 95 mph pitch with movement.

 

[CSF77]

But you have noticed it, right? Shifting Rizzo, Heyward and Bryant and staying away and this team just keeps trying to hit the ball thru defenders.
I have said it for years, the only way to get a team to stop shifting against you is to hit the ball the other way. Right now the only 2 that seem willing are Baez and Almora.
I agree with the Almora analogy of hitting that kid in the head really messed with his mind. It was basically the same deal as Heyward getting hit in the face and almost taking 3 years to recover from that, still stands far away from the plate, seems like first reaction is get out of the way.

I really thought the sarcasm was defined when I wrote all they have to do is hit a 95 mph pitch with movement.

If the are shifting you to pull and pitch the ball in your natural swing path that it normally will go into the shift. The main counter is a inside out swing and get behind the pitch vs ahead of it.