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Re: MLB Off-Topic
You don't think a fringy 27-year-old ballplayer refusing a (likely very temporary) minor league option is outrageous? I mean, I think that is actually pretty outrageous. It's not so much anything that he said.
TLS has done nothing in his career to warrant him being among the best 25 players on the Cubs right now or that he deserves getting any sort of special treatment. This might be tantamount to career suicide considering he's a fringy player to begin with and no team will want the hassle of a guy who might not report to his assigned team depending on how he's feeling at the moment. I think it's a total waste especially when he could've been part of something incredibly historic this year if he'd played his cards better. Say he reports to Iowa and Baez gets hurt (God forbid) and there he is right back in Chicago. Taking this route, he probably never plays for the Cubs again.
I will say that if there is something psychological going on with him, I hope he gets that taken care of. But, assuming that there isn't because who really knows, him going all Terrell Owens mode working out in his own driveway and playing roster chicken with Theo Epstein is not going to work out for him.Chicago Cubs | Chicago Bulls | Green Bay Packers | Michigan WolverinesComment
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
Here's the link.
CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs infielder Tommy La Stella has refused to report to Triple-A Iowa after being optioned to the minors nearly two weeks ago, and Chicago placed him on the temporary inactive list Tuesday.
La Stella started at third base for the Cubs in last year's wild-card victory over Pittsburgh. He was optioned to the minors on July 29 when Chicago activated outfielder Chris Coghlan off the disabled list.
The left-handed hitting La Stella is batting .295 with a .388 on-base percentage in 105 at-bats with the Cubs and didn't take the demotion well.
"He's a 27-year-old kid working through some stuff and we're trying to give him time to work through those things," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. "We've had a lot of contact with him and we'll continue to do that."
La Stella told ESPN.com in a phone interview that he's contemplating retirement and doesn't want to play for another team.
"I'm a baseball player by profession," he said. "My identity is not tied up in that."
Manager Joe Maddon said he's communicated by text message with La Stella, who was back home in New Jersey working out.
"He's not angry. He's not upset," Maddon said. "He's just at that point where he doesn't know exactly what he wants to do. That's it."
La Stella will continue to get paid while he's on the inactive list.
Depth has been a good problem for the major league-leading Cubs this season. La Stella was vulnerable to being sent down despite his impressive numbers because he still has minor league options.
"This guy can flat out hit," Hoyer said.
Some Cubs players declined comment about La Stella, saying they didn't know enough about the situation. Others defended him.
"I don't know if anybody would say they saw that coming by any means," outfielder Jason Heyward said. "But at the same time, somebody has got to be at peace with what they're doing."
Outfielder Matt Szczur said he was "sure" La Stella will eventually report to Iowa.
"I'm really close to Tommy and we've been talking back and forth," Szczur said. "He's trying to get in a good place. I can only support him."
Hoyer said La Stella's absence will make the Cubs look for left-handed hitting elsewhere. He said when La Stella returns, it won't be with the Cubs.
"There's no doubt he's going to have to get at-bats and play in Triple-A before he can help the major league team," Hoyer said. "He's going to get at-bats in Iowa, for sure."Originally posted by Gibson88Comment
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
Yeesh, sounds like something more going on than we may know. I mean he's a decent bat but he isn't a game changer. I don't understand the jumping to conclusions by saying "i'm contemplating retirement." and the whole "don't want to play with another team." seems like such an odd thing. Doesn't he realize he could end up somewhere where he gets more playing time and be a part of a good team?
Hopefully, he gets things straightened out.Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
I was asking a few weeks back why he was getting sent down even though his stat line seemed pretty decent.
Interesting he still gets paid while he decides.
Originally posted by Gibson88Comment
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
This question the reporter asks Prince Fielder. Insensitive, Stupid, Idiotic, Pathetic, WTF. Choose one.
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
Hopefully he gets fired.This question the reporter asks Prince Fielder. Insensitive, Stupid, Idiotic, Pathetic, WTF. Choose one.
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
the TLS situation is strange... at 1st I totally get the anger because he was demoted for a worse player. But I mean he was only going to be in AAA for a few weeks and then back up because he was one of the few players that had options and he was also likely to be on the postseason roster. If it's more than that obviously I hope he is alright and get those things taken care of.Wolverines Packers Cubs Celtics
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
Bryce Harper's line since May 1st: .219/.365/.362, 94 OPS+.
He's been a below-average hitter for much of the 2016 season.I write things on the Internet.
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
It's mind boggling...a month in everyone was talking about how he had eclipsed Trout as the best player in the game. I was looking at his line the other day and he's at just over 1 WAR...after posting a near 10 WAR season last year. Pretty amazing how humbling this game is."People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers HornsbyComment
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
So I was reading through my timeline earlier today, and saw a tweet from Baseball ref about how a 0 WAR baseball would fair over a full season. And it turns out the 2003 Tigers are what to expect. So a .294 winning percentage.
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
Right...the whole system is calibrated however they want to (for example, they could make replacement level .400 if they so desired). We need to realize that WAR is really just a reference system. If you click on the WAR definition on either Fangraphs or BBR I think it explains the winning percentage thing (in fact, just a few years ago it was bumped up...I think it used to be .270 or something like that)."People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers HornsbyComment
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Re: MLB Off-Topic
I want to preface this by saying I'm a fan of Harper's. I purchased the MLB.TV package to watch players like him.
But is it fair to start asking if perhaps he's not going to be the next generational talent?
He had a good rookie year and then some mediocre seasons before having an awesome 2016.
Outside of April, he's been basically a bench player.
I wonder what's going on. Sometimes I wonder if he could be older than his age due to the fact he was playing 100+ games every year since he was 12?
I hope he can get out of this tailspin. I hope he can still join this growing list of young stars that are invading the game.
But at this point, is Harper still a top 5 pick of players you'd build your team around right now?Comment
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