MLB Off-Topic

[Qdiddy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I would say either expansion or Rays if their new stadium deal falls through


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ShowTyme15]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Nah, probably expansion.

Could definitely be expansion, but wouldn't be surprised if a team like Oakland relocated here. If they can't find a new stadium deal in CA. Some think Las Vegas becoming the A's AAA affiliate might be a precursor to something bigger. Wait and see I guess.

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I hope it would be expansion that way you can have the Vegas team and Montreal come into the league at the same time.

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I saw a segment on MLB-N tonight where they talked about Angel Hernandez and Al Leiter admitted that he HATED him. It seems the major issue is not just the fact that he has the most inconsistent (and terrible) strike zone known to man but also if a pitcher looks at him and goes "where was that?" Angel would laugh at the pitcher and be all "LOL you wanted THAT to be a strike?!"


Jeez...No wonder he's up there as the most reviled umpires in all of baseball not just to fans but to players alike. I mean, the guy has no professionalism and doesn't give pitchers an even break at all.

[Qdiddy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I saw a segment on MLB-N tonight where they talked about Angel Hernandez and Al Leiter admitted that he HATED him. It seems the major issue is not just the fact that he has the most inconsistent (and terrible) strike zone known to man but also if a pitcher looks at him and goes "where was that?" Angel would laugh at the pitcher and be all "LOL you wanted THAT to be a strike?!"





Jeez...No wonder he's up there as the most reviled umpires in all of baseball not just to fans but to players alike. I mean, the guy has no professionalism and doesn't give pitchers an even break at all.

He actually thinks the games are about him, no guy your not the talent on the field people came to see. Look how many of his calls were overturned by replay just in this past series, crazy he’s not graded and released by the league.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I saw a segment on MLB-N tonight where they talked about Angel Hernandez and Al Leiter admitted that he HATED him. It seems the major issue is not just the fact that he has the most inconsistent (and terrible) strike zone known to man but also if a pitcher looks at him and goes "where was that?" Angel would laugh at the pitcher and be all "LOL you wanted THAT to be a strike?!"


Jeez...No wonder he's up there as the most reviled umpires in all of baseball not just to fans but to players alike. I mean, the guy has no professionalism and doesn't give pitchers an even break at all.

Angel Hernandez, CB Bucknor...they are examples of people at work that you don't understand how they can keep a job when they are visibly horrible at what they do.

[CMH]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Umpires union. They can't be fired. They leave when they retire.

It's the best union in the world.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[KCowse]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Umpires union. They can't be fired. They leave when they retire.

It's the best union in the world.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

But how do they get assigned to postseason games? Surely the union can’t guarantee everyone who wants a postseason assignment gets one, right?

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Umpires union. They can't be fired. They leave when they retire.

It's the best union in the world.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

The only comparable I can think of are some of the public sector unions in Canada and i'm sure there are some in the US just as bulletproof.

[areobee401]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

A Modern Proposal to Save Baseball.

Spoiler

Regardless of where one sits on the political spectrum, the events of recent weeks have driven home a point no one can argue with: Baseball games are too damn long. Last season, the length of the average postseason game was over 3.5 hours, and the games played thus far this October have been no different.

Whatever else you might say about baseball, you certainly can’t say you’re not getting enough of it.

Hence, the debate over how to pare down the length of games so as to ensure that they end before the rooster crows. Pitch clocks, limiting the number of pitchers per game, eliminating defensive shifts: All of it is on the table.

The solution is staring us right in the face, and I’m surprised nobody has thought of it yet. It involves another hot topic in baseball: analytics. Simply by applying what we know about the game thanks to the Sabermetricians, who have worked tirelessly to transform our national pastime from a pastural endeavor into something that more closely resembles an IRS audit, we can trim the length of the average baseball game down.

Down to zero. You want a quick game? How about one that lasts 0:00? How? By thinking big. Forget the cosmetic changes, that tinkering around the margins that, at best, will cut a couple of minutes here and there. No, my suggestion is the ultimate solution to the problem: eliminate the games entirely.

Don’t laugh. Because thanks to analytics, I’m not so sure we even need the games themselves anymore. We have the metrics. We have the spray charts. I’m pretty sure that’s all we need.

We have so much accumulated data with regard to batters’ and pitchers’ tendencies, along with park factors and other niceties, that we can safely predict the outcome of most at-bats anyway. Why do we need to see what we already know? To the extent that an at-bat comes out contrary to expectations, we know that that at-bat was flawed in many ways so, really, we were worse off for having seen it in the first place.

My suggestion also solves the ancillary gripes surrounding the postseason (you’re welcome!). Rather than complain about a particular playoff format that might lead to a less deserving club advancing over one that looks better on paper (I’m looking at you, Yankee fans), we avoid that problem altogether by not actually playing any of the series at all.

Of course, by not playing the games there will eventually be a time when the data becomes stale. My suggestion, however, accounts for this by contemplating actually playing a smattering of games every few seasons or so — on real fields, with grass and everything. Just enough for us to get a baseline on the new guys so that we can plug them into our formulae (no need for the older players to ever play again because we know precisely how and when they’ll regress and to what extent).

Contrary to the bleats and moans of the so-called purists, analytics hasn’t ruined baseball; it has provided a tired game with its salvation. On Sept. 28, 1919, the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies in 51 minutes, the quickest major league game to date. Thanks to Sabermetrics, I believe we can beat that record by a full 51 minutes.

Now, who wants to computer-animate all this data?

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-a-fail-safe-way-to-speed-baseball-20181010-story.html

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

That's some good satire.

If it was all just analytics driven mathematics we wouldn't have had the Royals in 2 World Series.

[CMH]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I want to hate it because it's the Daily News but I can't.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Cubs fired Chili Davis today

Sent from my SM-G920V using Operation Sports mobile app

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Cubs fired Chili Davis today

Sent from my SM-G920V using Operation Sports mobile app

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24961564/chili-davis-fired-chicago-cubs-hitting-coach

You figured someone had to be the sacrifice. Boston's offense got better (+91 runs) after he left (not totally fair, b/c J.D. Martinez) and Chicago's offense got worse (-61 runs) after he arrived (not totally fair b/c KB's shoulder was beef jerky)...seems pretty damning to me.


Some flavor from the article:

The Cubs slightly improved from 2017 to 2018 in getting a man home from third with fewer than two outs, ranking 20th this season after finishing 28th in 2017. But the drop in power combined with the second-half collapse probably did in Davis. The Boston Red Sox also had a precipitous drop in power when Davis was their hitting coach until the end of 2017.

The Cubs did lead the NL in opposite-field hits this year, something Maddon was seeking more of. Also, Davis might not have connected with Cubs players in the same way Mallee did, according to a source close to the situation.

"We weren't looking to sacrifice power and walks in exchange for ground balls and opposite-field hits," Epstein said. "But in the second half, that's what the results were. That's not what we're looking for."

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Really interested to see who they hire. With so many guys entering or in their prime, this should be a highly-sought-after job