2021-22 MLB Offseason Thread

[tennbengal]

THEY CANNOT HIT. THEY DO NOT WANT TO HIT. THEY BARELY TRY TO HIT. THEY GET HURT HITTING. THEY GET HURT RUNNING. THEY DO NOT CARE. IT'S BEEN HALF GONE FOR 50 FREAKING YEARS. IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU ARE WRONG AND BAD.

Co-sign

[Brontoburglar]

the strategy argument for the pitcher hitting continues to be a fun one when baseball games have way more strategy than they did a decade ago.

[HaulCitgo]

Computer algorithms aren't strategy. NL baseball has more strategy than AL baseball and it's not debatable. Mostly I just miss the hit and run and the 85 cards.

[Rex]

They should have ripped off the DH band aid years ago.

Pitcher PAs have been steadily going down anyway. Anyone who would bat a pitcher in a close game past the 3rd inning is nuts.

[HaulCitgo]

Thing is pitchers are the best players on most teams at any age before pros. It's the DH that justifies their non hitting. Pitchers can hit dammit. Just in their interest not to have to.

[mister d]

Do you really think that 9/10 NL pinch hits / pitching changes or sac bunts aren’t the same “computer moves” as shifts or whatever else?

[sancarlos]

fwiw, I’m with Steve and Citgo on this. Fuck the DH. (shakes fist at cloud…)

[Brontoburglar]

next we'll have people in here saying the three-point line and shot clock are bad for basketball!!!!

[tennbengal]

Four corners was the only pure basketball. Everything shit since then.

[HaulCitgo]

The three is bad. But only cause it should be 2.75.

[EnochRoot]

next we'll have people in here saying the three-point line and shot clock are bad for basketball!!!!

This analogy would work better if MLB adopted a rule where you could replace your three weakest hitters with more designated hitters.

The NBA is basically unwatchable now compared to what I consider its prime (1980s).

[Rex]

Four corners was the only pure basketball. Everything shit since then.

Should still have to climb a ladder and get the ball out of the basket

[Brontoburglar]

next we'll have people in here saying the three-point line and shot clock are bad for basketball!!!!

This analogy would work better if MLB adopted a rule where you could replace your three weakest hitters with more designated hitters.

The NBA is basically unwatchable now compared to what I consider its prime (1980s).

lol the NBA is so much better than it was 30-40 years ago

[EnochRoot]

next we'll have people in here saying the three-point line and shot clock are bad for basketball!!!!

This analogy would work better if MLB adopted a rule where you could replace your three weakest hitters with more designated hitters.

The NBA is basically unwatchable now compared to what I consider its prime (1980s).

lol the NBA is so much better than it was 30-40 years ago

Hell no it isn’t. Longer and faster =/= good basketball.

[mister d]

The reason people love Jordan is because he was unique. Teams have multiple Jordans now. (Every other team just punched each other over and over.)

[Brontoburglar]

it's way more than "longer and faster"

nearly every sports series is better than it was 40 years ago. anyone who says it is blinded by nostalgia. the only major league that the argument isn't as good for is baseball with the rise of strikeouts. but players are also way better than they were in 1982.

[EnochRoot]

it's way more than "longer and faster"

nearly every sports series is better than it was 40 years ago. anyone who says it is blinded by nostalgia. the only major league that the argument isn't as good for is baseball with the rise of strikeouts. but players are also way better than they were in 1982.

Nonsense. And frankly, you come off condescending. To be honest, there’s an entropy affecting professional sports (NBA, MLB, NFL), and it’s likely analytics that causes it.

[Brontoburglar]

it's condescending to say that nostalgia affects people's perceptions? what data do you believe best reflects how basketball was better in the 1980s compared to now? or is it simply your personal preference?

NBA averages by year

1981: .486 FG%, .245 3P, .491 2P, 18.7 TO, 108.1 PPG

1991: .474 FG%, .320 3P, .488 2P, 16 TO, 106.3 PPG

2001: .443 FG%, .354 3P, .461 2P, 15 TO, 94.8 PPG

2011: .459 FG%, .358 3P, .487 2P, 14.3 TO, 99.6 PPG

2021: .466 FG%, .367 3P, .530 2P, 13.8 TO, 112.1 PPG

I think everyone is in agreement even before reading these stats that the NBA was really in an offensive muck in the 90s and early 2000s. this proves that point. but it's rebounded big time.

In 1981, teams were averaging 2 3PA per game. They're now averaging 35 because they have the data that helps show what shots are the best to take. If that data was easily accessible and available in 1981, the game would have been played differently and, I believe, the love of the midrange jumper would have disappeared long ago. Citing "analytics" is simply a different way of complaining that teams are maximizing their ability to win in different or unconventional ways simply because of the trove of data now available to them.

As far as per 100 possession stats go, in 1981, the top scoring team per 100 averaged 109.4 p/100 and the lowest-scoring team averaged 98.1 p/100. In 2020-21 that was 118.3-103.5. Teams are shooting better from the field and turning the ball over less ... all while defense is as advanced as it's ever been thanks to the tracking data and other points of reference we now have accessible.

[Rex]

The NBA is killing it right now. The Knicks are 7 games below .500 and they would kill 95% of teams from the 80s glory years.

[Brontoburglar]

The NBA is killing it right now. The Knicks are 7 games below .500 and they would kill 95% of teams from the 80s glory years.

the process Sixers would beat way more 1980s teams than people I think would want to admit

(semi-related, started blood in the garden a couple days ago and it's very good. I say that not as a Knicks fan but simply as someone who was aware of them as the Jordan foil in the 90s)

[mister d]

Very interested to know if that book confirms or denies “I Got a Story to Tell”.

[Giff]

Can’t wait to get to the part about the bed of the ‘93-‘94 season!

[mister d]

I know you aren't supposed to treat athletes as real people, but I hope Matt Harvey has a solid support system because this is a mess ...

[mister d]

NY Post:
Harvey was so despondent at times that he openly talked about killing himself, according to a source. Collins acknowledged Monday that Harvey’s behavior was erratic enough to warrant counseling with the Mets’ mental skills coach.
“Certainly, that was addressed,” Collins said. “Again, it’s Matt, and one time he talked about, ‘I should just kill myself.’ That’s kind of a common excuse. You try to deal with it the best you can. We certainly tried to get him help, get him some assistance.”

[A_B]

If anyone needs an outfielder to dive and catch one (1) sinking line drive this season, I have a guy. He's below a marginal outfielder in terms of ability, but what if that one sinking line drive gets you to the World Series?








;)

[mister d]

I'm trusting this isn't a lacerated kidney joke but I also don't get what it means.

[A_B]

I'm trusting this isn't a lacerated kidney joke but I also don't get what it means.

[Steve of phpBB]

If anyone needs an outfielder to dive and catch one (1) sinking line drive this season, I have a guy. He's below a marginal outfielder in terms of ability, but what if that one sinking line drive gets you to the World Series?








;)

If it's hit exactly eight feet to my right, I'm all over it.

[mister d]

Are you lefty or some freak who would find it easier to reach across your body?

[mister d]

Also, competent MLB LF is probably the right answer for an actual sports position.

[Ryan]

I played intramurals in college after not having played anything other than catch for about 5 years and it took me 20 tries to catch a fly ball. Point is, it’s doable.

[Steve of phpBB]

Are you lefty or some freak who would find it easier to reach across your body?

I'm righty ... but I think it's easier to make a catch if I'm diving to my right. Maybe because I don't have to worry about landing on the arm with the mitt?

[mister d]

I played intramurals in college after not having played anything other than catch for about 5 years and it took me 20 tries to catch a fly ball. Point is, it’s doable.

TO BE CLEAR ... I'm not saying anyone could go out and do this, just that its not a pro-skill-or-bust role. There are HS players who will never play in college but could be fine for a MLB game as long as they didn't have any 50/50 plays or throws to make from the corner. With enough repetition, routine flyballs are the same for everyone. Non-routine flyballs will make amateurs and Kyle Schwarber alike look silly.

[Steve of phpBB]

I played intramurals in college after not having played anything other than catch for about 5 years and it took me 20 tries to catch a fly ball. Point is, it’s doable.

TO BE CLEAR ... I'm not saying anyone could go out and do this, just that its not a pro-skill-or-bust role. There are HS players who will never play in college but could be fine for a MLB game as long as they didn't have any 50/50 plays or throws to make from the corner. With enough repetition, routine flyballs are the same for everyone. Non-routine flyballs will make amateurs and Kyle Schwarber alike look silly.

I think I'd also have a problem with popups that go up really really high - because they come down really really fast and are scary that way.

[A_B]

SteveofPHPBB Scouting Report:

Hit Power 10
Speed 10
Contact Rating 10
Chainsaw Handling 30
Legal Acumen 80
Hockey Faceoffs 10
Catching a sinking liner one time 70
Fear of popups 80

Steve is a great guy to have around. Great at handling bulletin board material. Can provide legal advice in the following states: UT, probably Colorado or some shit, maybe Idaho, I don't know. Quite possibly delusional.

[mister d]

This is fun because my HS friend who played D1 and then semi-pro for a quick second (manager: Ron Kittle) also had a crippling issue with popups for over a year. Not the scary speed them come down with, but just couldn't trust himself to find the peak. It was funny except in games.

[Rams Fanny]

I normally avoid the talk shows but just caught two minutes of Around The Horn and everyone positively had the vapors about there being readily available painkillers and other drugs in the Angels clubhouse. Do the majority of fans think these athletes get through grueling regular seasons simply on sports massages and ice baths? Yes, I'm condoning the use of drugs but think there must be some controlled way to dispense them (oh, like acceptable prescriptions) and have a program for those who do get addicted. The pretending it doesn't exist is astounding to me. To be clear, the pretending is by some segment of fans and journalists, there is no way MLB and their security teams did not know this exist(s)ed.

[A_B]

SteveofPHPBB Scouting Report:

Hit Power 10
Speed 10
Contact Rating 10
Chainsaw Handling 30
Legal Acumen 80
Hockey Faceoffs 10
Catching a sinking liner one time 70
Fear of popups 80

Steve is a great guy to have around. Great at handling bulletin board material. Can provide legal advice in the following states: UT, probably Colorado or some shit, maybe Idaho, I don't know. Quite possibly delusional.

Looks like we got a real defensive specialist here, guys.

[mister d]

Otherwise known as "The Biggio Conundrum".

[tennbengal]

Of all the major sports, dating from when this website that morphed into a really fun and meaningful forum (for me anyway) was started in 2003 until now, baseball is easily the one that has suffered the most erosion in terms of what I care about. Just a constant gutting and attack from the owners. It's so feckless that I am almost in awe.