CAG MLB Season Discussion

CaseyRyback said:
How many mirrors did JD break? How many ladders did he walk under? The frikken injury bug has to be a real thing at this point. Two fucking years in a row. Unless they trade for Hamel's I'm already out on the season.
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I just read an article that mentioned that because Darvish is out this year the Rangers get an extra year on his contract. The article pointed out that it works out well for the Rangers since they get another year under contract with him (2017 I believe). Since they aren't competing this year maybe it's a silver lining for them for when they are in competition?

 
Reds303 said:
I just read an article that mentioned that because Darvish is out this year the Rangers get an extra year on his contract. The article pointed out that it works out well for the Rangers since they get another year under contract with him (2017 I believe). Since they aren't competing this year maybe it's a silver lining for them for when they are in competition?
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Almost, but not a certainty. His contract currently covers the 2017 season at $11m, but that season can convert to a player option depending on how he does in Cy Young voting during the life of the contract (1 win + 1 2nd/3rd/4th finish OR 1 2nd place and 2 2nd/3rd/4th place finishes). If he's able to come back next year and win the AL Cy Young, with the runner up finish from 2013, he'll be able to opt out of that final year. Though even if that happens, he'd only have 5 years of service time, so he'd be in his final year of arbitration eligibility.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/al-west/texas-rangers/

 
I know he'll probably be in Iowa to start the season because of club control reasons, but Kris Bryant should be at 3rd on Opening Day for the Cubs. His spring numbers combined with last year's are insane.

 
pitfallharry219 said:
I know he'll probably be in Iowa to start the season because of club control reasons, but Kris Bryant should be at 3rd on Opening Day for the Cubs. His spring numbers combined with last year's are insane.
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Looked up his stats on Baseball Reference and saw that he hit 43 hrs last year between AA/AAA. Even considering he spent half the year in the hitter crazy PCL its still impressive considering he's only 22 and hasn't fully developed his strength yet.

 
Anyone think we will see another 300 game winner in our lifetimes?

If Clayton Kershaw stays healthy and dominant, he has a pretty good shot. He is sitting at 98 wins at 26. Assuming he stays healthy he could pitch another 12 or so years after this one, but I'd think averaging even 18 wins a year is hard to do in this day and age for a decade or more.

Felix Hernandez has 125 wins and will be 29 when the season starts. He might have an outside shot. Greinke is a year older and sitting at 123, so he has a shot too if he gets lucky and the Dodgers stay competitive for the next decade or so. If the Mariners had gotten Hernandez just 2 more wins over the last decade (when their offense could barely score), he'd be almost half way there.

 
We probably will.  People were wondering the same thing back in the early 90s when Nolan Ryan was nearing the end of his career.  After the '93 season when Nolan retired, Clemens was the best bet at 163 through his age 30 season, but had his first down year (and doubters climbed after 3 more).  Maddux was at 115 through age 27 (something a healthy Kershaw should be able to match this coming season).  Glavine had 95 through age 27, but had only been Tom Glavine for 3 seasons and probably wasn't getting calls a couple inches off the outside corner yet.  The Unit was still trying to harness his control.  And Mussina probably could've gotten there with another 2-3 seasons if he really wanted it.

Dark horse - Rick Porcello, 76 wins through age 25.  If he can win 15 in his first season in Boston, 91 isn't that far behind Kershaw's age 26 total.

 
pitfallharry219 said:
I used to think Sabathia had an outside shot at 300, but it seems his body is starting to break down.
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Two years ago I definitely would have thought he had a shot, but you're right he is breaking down now. He seems older than 34 to me for some reason.

Bloomy said:
Dark horse - Rick Porcello, 76 wins through age 25. If he can win 15 in his first season in Boston, 91 isn't that far behind Kershaw's age 26 total.
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Completely overlooked him. He has put up a higher win total by 25 then I noticed, so he has a good head start. You're probably right about us seeing one again in our lifetime. The one thing most of them had in common was they were able to pitch beyond 40, and with the advances in training and medicine it might happen again. The higher usage of relievers these days though does tend to trim a few wins off their totals.

 
Reds303 said:
Two years ago I definitely would have thought he had a shot, but you're right he is breaking down now. He seems older than 34 to me for some reason.
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Just a lot of injuries the past couple years. And he's blaming them on his efforts to get in better shape and lose weight...saying it made him lose strength and durability. So, he came into camp this year with his weight ballooned back up to 305lbs on the logic that it's what he weighed when he was most successful. Last year, he was 275lbs.

Now, of course, this completely ignores the effects of aging and previous injuries...but hey, CC reached a pretty low point last season, and there was talk of him even being forced out of the rotation. I can appreciate a radical stroke of outside the box thinking, but we'll see how this works out, haha.

 
Reds303 said:
Anyone think we will see another 300 game winner in our lifetimes?
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I don't see anybody pitching now being able to do it. With all the specialization, pitch counts, bigger rotations in today's game, you really have to stay healthy and pitch on good teams for your whole career.

I wouldn't rule anything out, though. Who knows, maybe there is a young phenom knuckleballer with a rubber arm pitching in little league right now.

 
Reds303 said:
Anyone think we will see another 300 game winner in our lifetimes?

If Clayton Kershaw stays healthy and dominant, he has a pretty good shot. He is sitting at 98 wins at 26. Assuming he stays healthy he could pitch another 12 or so years after this one, but I'd think averaging even 18 wins a year is hard to do in t
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It depends on what they do to tilt the balance back in the hitter's favor. Before Spring Training started they were talking about shrinking the strike zone in 2016. Research has shown that it has gotten bigger over the past few years.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12320861/major-league-baseball-shrink-strike-zone-2016-report-says

How the strike zone evolves is not going to decide a pitcher or hitter's progression by itself, but it has to influence it.

Keith Olbermann had a great segment on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNDnJFxpcMU

 
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Offense has definitely gone down the last few years, mostly from a combination of moving past the steriod era, the expanded use of shifts and the expansion of the strike zone. I'm not sure if it's a bad thing or not, but I'm sure that clubs would love to see more offense to put fans in the seats. Shrinking the strike zone is a more reasonable way to achieve that then banning shifts so that probably will happen soon enough.

 
Damn...how the mighty have fallen. "Even the Yankees could score runs hitting off a tee...well, the ones who didn't hurt themselves." Oh, it burns, lol. Just hoping the team gets back to its roots and stops giving out these monster contracts.

It doesn't take a genius to notice that the group that brought them all the success and they clung to so desperately for 20 years was homegrown. You can't expect them to produce another Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera. But there's no reason they can't produce another Jorge Posada or Andy Pettitte.

At least they did make this hilarious video:

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v53162883

 
Everyone ready for the show next tues ?

I only got to check out a little bit of a game earlier. The O's vs pirates
Pretty good game since I'm an Orioles fan .
 
I haven't been paying too much attention to this team, but from the reports and articles I have seen . The Red Sox might be having another season like last year. Any thoughts on this ?
 
No way. Their pitching staff isn't the best ever, but their offense is very good and they will contend for a division title if they stay healthy.
 
squishface said:
I haven't been paying too much attention to this team, but from the reports and articles I have seen . The Red Sox might be having another season like last year. Any thoughts on this ?
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Weakest AL East in recent memory. Depending on what they do at the deadline, they could contend.

 
pitfallharry219 said:
I'm seeing reports that the Braves have traded Kimbrel to the Padres. I haven't felt gutted like this since David Justice was dealt to Cleveland.
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They're rebuilding. It's an excellent move to get rid of a terrible contract in Upton, and it's not sensible to pay double digit millions for a guy who will throw 60 innings per season on a non-contending team. Maybin's young enough and has been serviceable in his career recently enough to potentially be a viable CF for the next few years.

 
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Feeding the Abscess said:
They're rebuilding. It's an excellent move to get rid of a terrible contract in Upton, and it's not sensible to pay double digit millions for a guy who will throw 60 innings per season. Maybin's young enough and has been serviceable in his career recently enough to potentially be a viable CF for the next few years.
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You're looking at it from a baseball perspective. I'm looking at it as a Braves fan. I know it makes sense in the long run, but it still kills me to see a player I love leave.

As for who closes now, they've got Grilli for the moment. Juan Jaime has electric stuff, but who knows if he'll ever put it together. I think Shae Simmons can be a fine closer if he can make a successful return from TJ surgery next year.

 
pitfallharry219 said:
You're looking at it from a baseball perspective. I'm looking at it as a Braves fan. I know it makes sense in the long run, but it still kills me to see a player I love leave.

As for who closes now, they've got Grilli for the moment. Juan Jaime has electric stuff, but who knows if he'll ever put it together. I think Shae Simmons can be a fine closer if he can make a successful return from TJ surgery next year.
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The Braves have a really good farm system, arguably one of the top five in baseballl. I think the Braves will be in pretty good shape by the time their new stadium opens up.

 
If the Cubbies had Kris Bryant, they would be winning 15-0 right now.

EDIT: Man, this game is hilarious. Cubs can't do anything on offense, Lester can't get through 5, they apparently ran out of hot dog buns, the bathroom lines are apparently long as hell, and that 7th inning stretch was pain inducing.

https://twitter.com/chachkevitch/status/584913098982690817?s=09
 
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Good start for the Cardinals. Would have liked to see them taking better ABs with RISP, but a win is a win. Also nice to see Heyward get off to a good start.
 
A friend of mine and his wife are big Braves fans . I have been hearing about that trade since it was announced . They are not too happy, even more so that he just bought her an authentic kimbrel jersey . I told them that at least they still have Markakis from my favorite team lol.
 
pitfallharry219 said:
You're looking at it from a baseball perspective. I'm looking at it as a Braves fan. I know it makes sense in the long run, but it still kills me to see a player I love leave.

As for who closes now, they've got Grilli for the moment. Juan Jaime has electric stuff, but who knows if he'll ever put it together. I think Shae Simmons can be a fine closer if he can make a successful return from TJ surgery next year.
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Just glancing at the stats the pitcher they got in return could be a decent player for them, plus the 41st pick in the draft is a pretty good return. Who knows maybe he signs back with the team when they contend in a few years.

 
Is Gameday not working for anyone else? At least for this Orioles game. It still looks like the game hasn't started yet, but the game is going to to the bottom of the first.

 
Ok, this is sort of funny. The game is in the top of the 2nd, but Gameday just started showing the top of the first. Talk about a delay!

 
Crunchewy said:
Is Gameday not working for anyone else? At least for this Orioles game. It still looks like the game hasn't started yet, but the game is going to to the bottom of the first.
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BOS/PHI had been stuck at the start of the bottom of the first for me, but as I was typing a reply, it caught up and is showing live data.

 
Bloomy said:
BOS/PHI had been stuck at the start of the bottom of the first for me, but as I was typing a reply, it caught up and is showing live data.
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Yeah, it just warped to the bottom of the 2nd in the Orioles game. The audio is in the commercial break so I'll find out how up to date it is once they get back. Looks like it's delayed, but not too bad with the delay on the AtBat audio.

 
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They still need to improve audio overlays in MLB.tv premium.  They ditched that Nexdef plugin that was required for overlays, DVR functionality and HD feeds in prior years, and the plugin would glitch out often and drop into the regular broadcast.  Would require refreshing the browser window to get those functions back.  The streams still drop the radio overlay frequently and switch to the TV audio, but at least it's just a matter of picking the radio feed again vs. having to reload the tab.  Maybe it's just an Opening Day issue and things will be better in the coming week.

 
Man that was a disappointing opening loss. Stanton tries to take third and gets thrown out in the 4th, we load the bases in the 7th with no outs, and then fail to score. The worst was when Dee Gordon laid down a perfect bunt and fell down going to first in the 8th inning. 

Also, yikes at the Phillies, they are going to be in the cellar this season. I feel bad for their fans, because it's going to be a long season for them, if they are going to get destroyed when Hamels pitches.

 
Was rough seeing Kemp in a Padres Uni today and doing some damage against the Dodgers and Kershaw. But J-Roll delivering the big hit in the 8th. Nice to see him kill someone else besides the Dodgers.

 
Orioles had a great game and Buck proved smart with his challenges as Pierce managed to sneak in tagging home plate despite the catcher waiting for him.

Two more preseason hyped teams floundered today as the Nats and White Sox both lost.
 
First game of the season and Braun is already down with an oblique strain. He had the same injury last season, in addition to his thumb and ankle injuries.

Whoever his trainer is should be fired, since this is probably related to Braun not swinging a bat most of the offseason due to recovering from thumb surgery. As most of us who play adult leagues/over the line/hit in the batting cages, the first muscle to get weak/tired/sore when swinging close to full intensity is the oblique. His trainer should have had him conditioned and ready to go.

 
Feeding the Abscess said:
First game of the season and Braun is already down with an oblique strain. He had the same injury last season, in addition to his thumb and ankle injuries.

Whoever his trainer is should be fired, since this is probably related to Braun not swinging a bat most of the offseason due to recovering from thumb surgery. As most of us who play adult leagues/over the line/hit in the batting cages, the first muscle to get weak/tired/sore when swinging close to full intensity is the oblique. His trainer should have had him conditioned and ready to go.
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Man if there was only something Braun could take to make him recover quicker and be a better player, any ideas???

 
vrs1650 said:
Man if there was only something Braun could take to make him recover quicker and be a better player, any ideas???
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viagra.jpg


 
The Braves are up 7-0 on the Marlins in the 1st. This is already more run support for Alex Wood than they gave him in all of his 2014 starts combined.

 
Hopefully Staunton does not end up with any further injuries after getting beamed in the head .

Nice to see Gausman bring the heat to the Rays earlier.
 
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squishface said:
Hopefully Staunton does not end up with any further injuries after getting beamed in the head .
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It was a shame when Stanton got hit with that fastball last year, he had missed some time the previous years with nagging injuries and he was finally healthy and then that happens. I don't know about that new helmet he's wearing though, you'd think that would take some getting used to.

 
Tough game for the O's. Matusz was awful, but not as bad as the offense. Ever since the 2nd inning of last night's game they have only had about a half-dozen hits and no runs. Hopefully the offense comes back when they leave the landfill known as Tropicana.
 
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