MLB Off-Topic

[Sportsforever]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

So there is another women coming forward about Addison Russell's behavior. Doesn't look good for him or the Cubs.

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/12/19...n-you-thought/

Sounds like he has anger issues and is unstable. I'll be surprised if he plays another game in the majors; his stock was already down and I don't see any team willing to put up with this baggage for what he brings to the table. Cubs should have traded him and gone with Baez at SS back in 2017.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

So there is another women coming forward about Addison Russell's behavior. Doesn't look good for him or the Cubs.

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/12/19...n-you-thought/

She adds that Russell once paid his child support with $600 worth of quarters and dollar bills despite the fact that he has made millions playing baseball.

This might be the worst detail of all. "She" is Addison Russell's ex-girlfriend (who gave birth after he started seeing his soon-to-be ex-wife).

If he's not released in 24 hours, my view of Theo Epstein sinks another level (from god to mere king).

[Sportsforever]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

This might be the worst detail of all. "She" is Addison Russell's mistress (who conceived and gave birth while he was still married to his ex-wife).

If he's not released in 24 hours, my view of Theo Epstein sinks another level (from god to mere king).

I'm not even sure how he is only paying $600 in child support...that alone is probably way less than he was ordered to pay and grounds for legal action.

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I know no one is nearly as bad as they're made out to be when they're a public figure but when you have multiple people reporting on this guy's behavior and it being consistently ugly like this than you have to know that Russell has serious issues. If he's still on the Cubs roster by the new year (I can see the Cubs acting slow since it's the holiday season) then Theo Epstein should be ashamed of himself.

The anecdote about the child support money is indicative of a man who doesn't give a damn and has little to no maturity. If you're fine with swinging your baby maker all over the place than at the very least offer financial help when the consequences arises.

Addison Russell may be a great ballplayer but he's a greater douche.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Interesting article, how broke teams are ruining everything and how old school stats still have too much power. Bonus quote from my favorite player to hear from, Greinke.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/ther...to-the-opener/

[QUOTE=Zack Greinke] “[The opener is] really smart, but it’s also really bad for baseball,” Arizona starter Zack Greinke says. “It’s just a sideshow. There’s always ways to get a little advantage, but the main problem I have with it is you do it that way, then you’ll end up never paying any player what he’s worth because you’re not going to have guys starting, you’re not going to have guys throwing innings.

“You just keep shuffling guys in and out constantly so nobody will ever get paid. Someone’s going to make the money, either the owners or the players. You keep doing it that way, the players won’t make any money.”

[/SPOILER]

Rays are the real evil empire.

SPTO, this one my assuage your worries about Bryce and Manny:

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/what...ok-like-today/

10/310 would be nothing. A-Rod's first contract in today dollars is 10/592 lol. Really shows how salaries have stagnated and why the 30 million dollar number that some people are turned off by is not what it looks like.

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

[QUOTE=DieHardYankee26;2049641479]Interesting article, how broke teams are ruining everything and how old school stats still have too much power. Bonus quote from my favorite player to hear from, Greinke.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/ther...to-the-opener/

“[The opener is] really smart, but it’s also really bad for baseball,” Arizona starter Zack Greinke says. “It’s just a sideshow. There’s always ways to get a little advantage, but the main problem I have with it is you do it that way, then you’ll end up never paying any player what he’s worth because you’re not going to have guys starting, you’re not going to have guys throwing innings.

“You just keep shuffling guys in and out constantly so nobody will ever get paid. Someone’s going to make the money, either the owners or the players. You keep doing it that way, the players won’t make any money.”

[/SPOILER]

Rays are the real evil empire.

SPTO, this one my assuage your worries about Bryce and Manny:

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/what...ok-like-today/

10/310 would be nothing. A-Rod's first contract in today dollars is 10/592 lol. Really shows how salaries have stagnated and why the 30 million dollar number that some people are turned off by is not what it looks like.

1. I think Grienke has a point here to some degree. analytics is going to kill earning potential for starters in a lot of ways especially guys in the middle to near the end of their careers when they're squeezed out and having to sign short term deals.

2. GOOD LORD! A-Rod making 10/592....I think if that happened today i'd blow up in classic Lewis Black style.

[Blzer]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Ah!

The both of ya's, do me a favor... edit both of your posts and change [/spoiler] to [/quote]. Mmmkay thanks.

What we really have to do though is first fix the save statistic, or give the hold a lot more meaning. That'll fix the back-end of things with these overpaid and overrated closers. A team doesn't need to assign a closer, and a closer shouldn't need to only come in what are currently known as save situations (specifically of the one-or-less innings variety).

Assuming five-man rotations will still be a thing, I really want to see a team open the season with their #4 starter. In a perfect world that puts your #1, 2, and 3 against another team's #3, 4, and 5 respectively (obviously it doesn't continue that way for many reasons, but you get the picture). That way you're not messing too much with the in-game formula.

But hey, let teams do their thing. I know NL teams aren't ever going to want to do that because of no DH, yet another reason why they should keep things as is there.

[BigOscar]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

1. I think Grienke has a point here to some degree. analytics is going to kill earning potential for starters in a lot of ways especially guys in the middle to near the end of their careers when they're squeezed out and having to sign short term deals.

.

I think he's wrong tbh, if people discover openers are valuable then they will get paid more and starters will get less. But if it's proven that innings eating starters aren't that valuable, then isn't it right they earn less?

The market will find a balance, it always does. He's getting his panties in a bunch because he's a starter and they're the ones under threat, but the innings eating relievers stand to become more valuable.

It's the equivalent of the base stealers moaning about stolen bases being discovered as overvalued, and the on base guys started getting paid. The money will instead just go to the players who are doing whatever is considered valuable at the time, it's the way it's always been.

Genuinely quality starting pitching will always be valued, but mediocre starters who do little more than eat innings will probably have their money taken away and given to non-closing relievers, who until recently were pretty criminally underpaid.

The only thing that could be a problem is the trend towards younger, hard throwers who will probably get used up and then discarded before they hit free agency. The period of incredibly cheap team control is surely going to shorten a bit soon if baseball continues to trend younger

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

It's not proven that innings eating starters aren't valuable, the opener just allows them to be used as relievers and then arbitration judges them based on statistics that they aren't aiming for. It's not about the market. It's about arbitration, there's really no changing that because the people involved are not baseball people.

[CMH]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I don't see how any team overpays an opener. It would definitely hurt player salaries.

Right now every team struggles to find five reliable starters. But every team has relievers. A lot of relievers. That starter that's shaky is secretly a reliever but your team loves him too much, put too much money into his signing / draft position, or has no other option.

If a team could make him an opener, they would.

Now, I do agree it would raise the median salary for relievers. But relievers are easy to find. You suddenly get one demanding starter money and a team moves on.

This is exactly what every business wants. The most effective way by spending the least amount of money on the most expendable personnel. Nothing more expendable than relievers.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

This is lengthy (just a tad over 12 minutes) but VERY good segment I saw on MLB Tonight with Yankees head doctor Chris Ahmad about Tommy John surgeries and whats REALLY happening out there. A lot of this is information we've known for a while but the context of it all is not good at all. When you start having grade school kids coming in with arm issues than you know things are screwy.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GUOkFyUXR1c" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[BigOscar]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

It's not proven that innings eating starters aren't valuable, the opener just allows them to be used as relievers and then arbitration judges them based on statistics that they aren't aiming for. It's not about the market. It's about arbitration, there's really no changing that because the people involved are not baseball people.

Arbitration is a really odd concept in general and should probably be thrown in the bin tbh.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I don't have faith in the union to make it better so if arbitration went away I'd just assume it would mean players now get 6 years at the minimum salary with no negotiating power.

When's the CBA expire?

[BigOscar]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I don't have faith in the union to make it better so if arbitration went away I'd just assume it would mean players now get 6 years at the minimum salary with no negotiating power.

When's the CBA expire?

I think Arbitration is the obvious thing to give up to take a year off team control. So instead of 3 year minimum, 3 years arb, instead maybe 4 years minimum and one year at some random $ amount, like with qualifying offer.

The amount of years of team control will have to come down at some point if the game keeps trending younger and arbitration seems like the obvious thing for the union to negotiate with imo. No faith they actually would as they seem to be pretty useless, but at least in theory you'd think there is a deal to be made there.

[TripleCrown9]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Benintendi's catch in the ALCS in Houston was named the AP Play of the Year.