MLB Offseason Thread

howard · Post by **howard** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 12:37 pm

I just like to imagine a world where there is a better LF option. You might say I'm a dreamer…

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 11:36 pm

Detailed, damning article on what a dysfunctional clusterfuck is the Seattle Mariners' organization.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Sun Dec 08, 2013 2:18 pm

Scottie wrote:Well, yeah. If it wasn't about marketing and everybody went where they best fit, as it were, Ichiro would have been a career National Leaguer.

I'd like to see him on the Giants.

howard wrote:I just like to imagine a world where there is a better LF option. You might say I'm a dreamer…

I meant the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 12:02 pm

Coming this summer. Longest. HOF. Ceremony. Evah. (Tony LaRussa joke.)

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-bas ... ll-of-fame" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 12:04 pm

…for one day.

Roy Halladay retiring, sources say

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 12:27 pm

howard wrote:…for one day.

Roy Halladay retiring, sources say

with how shitty the Jays pitching is, I'd sign him for a year. Let him come to training camp and see what happens. Can't be worse then what they have now.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 1:05 pm

My guess is that his arm is shot and he knows it.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 3:47 pm

Arizona gets Trumbo...which begs the obvious question of where is he going to play?

Seems odd to get a guy who is clearly inferior to your current starting 1B when there's no DH. I guess they figure he can play decent corner OF?

Post by **brian** » Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:21 pm

This is the funniest thing you will read all month.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:07 pm

Bruce Jenkins is a pompous, old-school ass of a columnist at the SF Chronic. He takes great pride in his knowledge of the history of sports as he talks down to his readers, so when he was invited onto the baseball committee that just chose Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre and others for the Hall of Fame, he had to write a column to crow about it. The part of the column that kind of pissed me off was where he told us all how these 15 committee members were all REAL baseball guys who know what they are talking about, not those "stats geeks" with their worthless, newfangled stats and all. He made a point to lay that on thick. Made me wish that Ken Tremendous and the old Fire Joe Morgan guys were there to debate them (and some of the old Swampers, too) (and, yes, Joe Morgan is one of the guys on this committee)

Here's an excerpt:

...What I realized in Orlando, both in informal settings and the three-hour meeting, is that everyone in the room spoke the same language, far removed from the complex lingo of new-age stat devotees. At one point, someone asked if it was necessary to bring WAR, a trendy new stat, into any discussion. There was a bit of mumbling, mostly silence, and it never came up again.

No, this was a soundtrack from the game I first covered in the early '70s, with the now-defunct Santa Monica Outlook, and as a beat writer for the Chronicle (1977 through '89, when I was given a column). Within that realm, players, managers and writers treated wins, RBIs, batting average and ERA as invaluable measuring sticks - and never really felt compelled to adjust. These categories are widely ridiculed by the modern-day faction known as "stat geeks," many of whom have decided that old-school thought is a bunch of nonsense and that they are the true geniuses of baseball evaluation.

Linky

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:35 pm

Citing WAR as a "trendy new stat" only underscores that he doesn't understand it or its history or its uses. Bill James started using WAR around 1985 while Jenkins was a "beat writer for the Chronicle". At least that is around when I first encountered it; James surely had been using it for ages before first publishing it as measurement data. It's a valuable stat for the here and now. Worth noting that WAR is often used as a projection stat more than a historical barometer. The further back in history one goes, the less relevant WAR becomes given that (among other reasons) the talent discrepancies among players compared to contemporary teams was considerably greater. And HoF voting is, after all, based on history. But to simply dismiss sabermetrics with a broad sweeping hand gesture is foolhardy. Sabermetrics is far more comprehensive and far more relevant to the people directly involved in the game than the so-called traditional stats upon which Jenkins has rested his feet. Clinging to "Wins" as an evaluation of a pitcher's merit, for example, is akin to clinging to the idea that the Earth is flat.

Sabermetrics actually goes back to about mid-20th century. Its growth parallels the growth of computers. It's hardly new-fangled. SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) is over 40-years old. At least.

These categories are widely ridiculed by the modern-day faction known as "stat geeks," Yeah. Except some of those stats geeks go by the title of General Manager of major league baseball teams as opposed to "beat writer".

Baseball is a business. If the game had no use for sabermetrics, it wouldn't use it. Sabermetrics is commonplace now because of its significance. One might even argue that from a managerial perspective its gradual evolution is the biggest revolution the game has ever seen.

Post by **brian** » Thu Dec 12, 2013 8:44 pm

Yeah what most of these dinosaurs don't realize is just about EVERY MLB team has a stat guy in the front office doing proprietary stat research. The GMs don't come out and say it but they do.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 7:59 am

"Accountability? Fuck that!"

But not RBIs...not your sweet, precious RBIs.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:24 am

It's so lazy. These dudes just don't want to have to think a little bit outside their box.

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 1:56 pm

sancarlos wrote:Bruce Jenkins is a pompous, old-school ass of a columnist at the SF Chronic.

I first moved to San Francisco in 1980. This clown fit the description above at that time. He has only gotten worse with the decades (unlike myself). A complete waste of time.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 2:05 pm

http://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/rudolph.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 2:08 pm

The similar batters is hilarious.

kranepool · Post by **kranepool** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 2:09 pm

Shorter than Patek!

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 2:15 pm

When he broke the Rednose Barrier in 2009 was truly inspiring.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 2:30 pm

Antlers: 10 points Very nice. Should have had Buck O'Neil as a similar batter. Or Torii Hunter.

kranepool · Post by **kranepool** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 2:59 pm

Enos Slaughter

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 3:05 pm

Max Butcher
Scott Winchester
Stew Brase

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 3:28 pm

John Axford reaches agreement with Cleveland Aboriginals.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 3:33 pm

Guess they feel they didn't give up enough late game HRs last year.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 4:25 pm

Matt Albers returning home to Houston. Grew up in Houston and broke into the bigs with them before being traded to the O's.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 4:27 pm

Nice move by the White Sox to trade Addison Reed for Matt Davidson

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:05 am

Brian Roberts replacing Cano at 2nd for the Yankees.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:10 am

wlu_lax6 wrote:Brian Roberts replacing Cano at 2nd for the Yankees.

Who's replacing Brian Roberts at 2nd for the Yankees?

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:58 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote:Matt Albers returning home to Houston. Grew up in Houston and broke into the bigs with them before being traded to the O's.

It's like 2006 up in this bitch with the addition of Albers and Qualls. I like their moves so far even if they did overpay for Feldman. They're rumored to be in the hunt for Shin-Soo Choo as well. We should finally start seeing some of the bigger prospects make their MLB debuts this year. While not saying much, this should be the most exciting season in recent Astros memory.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:37 pm

Astros signing Choo is a dumb, dumb move. If you're going to overpay for a good player like that who is past 30, you need to be in a situation that's not the Astros' one.

kranepool · Post by **kranepool** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:40 pm

I love the Balfour and Colon pickups for the O's and Mets, respectively, and I'd like for one or more of you to validate my feelings on the matter.

Post by **Sabo** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 6:23 pm

kranepool wrote:I love the Balfour and Colon pickups for the O's and Mets, respectively, and I'd like for one or more of you to validate my feelings on the matter.

I wish the Indians had signed Balfour instead of Axford. Balfour's been pretty rock solid for the A's the last two years. Until I looked up his stats on Baseball Reference, I didn't know he was 35.

As for Colon, well ... it's good (for his check book) to see some team is willing to give him a two-year deal.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:02 pm

Balfour is good but he's so annoying to watch with his screaming and everything.

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:08 am

Looks like we might need to resurrect the "More Wang Headlines" thread.

Post by **brian** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 1:09 pm

The Alaskan Gascan signs with Pittsburgh.

(Daniel Schlereth.)

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 1:14 pm

Now it looks like Tanaka is staying put with Rakuten Golden Eagles. Too bad. It's not his call, of course.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:19 pm

Brontoburglar wrote:Astros signing Choo is a dumb, dumb move. If you're going to overpay for a good player like that who is past 30, you need to be in a situation that's not the Astros' one.

Choo. 7 Years. Rangers.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 4:14 pm

Choo is an awesome hitter and his eye should remain good as he ages, so that team may be interesting for the next couple years. Unless he has to play centerfield again. That experiment in Cincinnati was a nightmare.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 4:15 pm

Also, Orioles nixed the Balfour signing based on the physical, and Balfour responded that it's too bad for them because he was planning on leading them to the World Series for the first time in 30 years and now, well, he's obviously not. Because that's what their problem was, no Grant Balfour closing.

Even if he's in the right about the physical, I cannot stand Balfour.

Post by **brian** » Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:05 pm

The ballpark of the Tigers Single A affiliate in Grand Rapids is burning down. From most reports looks like the stadium might be a total loss.

Huge bummer.