General Baseball Chit-Chat Thread

[Bertz]

 

Good replies here and interesting conversation topic.

 

I do think building from the bottom up is underrated. I think broadly depth gets you to the playoffs, and stars win once you're there.

[Backtobanks]

 

Good replies here and interesting conversation topic.

 

I do think building from the bottom up is underrated. I think broadly depth gets you to the playoffs, and stars win once you're there.

 

Well maybe the Cubs are doing it right because we have a lot of 21-26 players.

[cl smooth]

[imb]

 

that sounds really dramatic but im guessing its a game of telephone and he just doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. no way mlb is gonna tell them to stop testing.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

that sounds really dramatic but im guessing its a game of telephone and he just doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. no way mlb is gonna tell them to stop testing.

It was an old voicemail referring to steroids

[CubinNY]

 

Good replies here and interesting conversation topic.

 

I do think building from the bottom up is underrated. I think broadly depth gets you to the playoffs, and stars win once you're there.

I kind of think that idea is too smart by half, as they say. There are a lot more 20-26 types than there are 1-5 types. If you make a mistake with a 20-26 type, the penalty is not as large as a 1-5 type (See, Jason Heyward). If you hit on all or even some, the reward is not as great.

 

But there is a theory in sport about building a team. It's called weak link/strong link theory. In sports like soccer and hockey, a team with a few stars and a bunch of weak players will lose more often to a team with no stars, but few weak players. In basketball, it's just the opposite. So team-building is much different in those sports.

 

I think baseball is much different. With a pitching staff, you may want to go soccer mentality. With position players, you may want to go basketball.

[squally1313]

I got drunk last night and figured out how to fix baseball. Now that all the stadiums have the netting extended (if they don't, make them)....why not move the diamond back towards the backstop so home plate is like, 10 feet off the backstop? Cuts down on foul territory/foul outs, increases balls in play, home runs will be less frequent, but the ones we have will be much more impressive, and most importantly puts the action a lot closer to a majority of the fans. Might have to fix some outfield corners, but shouldn't be a big issue. Someone tell me why I'm an idiot.

[jersey cubs fan]

I got drunk last night and figured out how to fix baseball. Now that all the stadiums have the netting extended (if they don't, make them)....why not move the diamond back towards the backstop so home plate is like, 10 feet off the backstop? Cuts down on foul territory/foul outs, increases balls in play, home runs will be less frequent, but the ones we have will be much more impressive, and most importantly puts the action a lot closer to a majority of the fans. Might have to fix some outfield corners, but shouldn't be a big issue. Someone tell me why I'm an idiot.

geometry

[Bertz]

 

Good replies here and interesting conversation topic.

 

I do think building from the bottom up is underrated. I think broadly depth gets you to the playoffs, and stars win once you're there.

I kind of think that idea is too smart by half, as they say. There are a lot more 20-26 types than there are 1-5 types. If you make a mistake with a 20-26 type, the penalty is not as large as a 1-5 type (See, Jason Heyward). If you hit on all or even some, the reward is not as great.

 

But there is a theory in sport about building a team. It's called weak link/strong link theory. In sports like soccer and hockey, a team with a few stars and a bunch of weak players will lose more often to a team with no stars, but few weak players. In basketball, it's just the opposite. So team-building is much different in those sports.

 

I think baseball is much different. With a pitching staff, you may want to go soccer mentality. With position players, you may want to go basketball.

 

For sure, calling those spots more important is definitely silly. But after sitting through the last ~3 years of Cubs baseball I do believe they're much closer to even than conventional wisdom? I like your soccer/basketball analogies. And I think it's especially complicated because IMO it flip flops when going between the regular season and the playoffs.

 

Like on pitching, I think my mind is pretty made up. I think soccer is clearly the right approach in the regular season, and basketball is clearly the right approach in the playoffs. The latter especially I'm not even sure is up for debate.

 

Position players are a lot harder. I lean toward it being the same as pitching? In the regular season, you need that depth to avoid the inconsistency the Cubs have had over the last few years. Teams routinely exploited the two or three holes in the lineup (whichever stars were injured or struggling plus Heyward/Almora), and also some pitchers were able to attack the lineup nearly with impunity because a number of the guys have the same strengths and weaknesses. Good depth, plus I guess versatility of that depth, would help alleviate both of those issues.

 

Hitters in the playoffs I feel least confident about. I tend to think you need a few really good hitters, because you need guys who can hit all that premium pitching. This might be leaning too hard on anecdote though? Maybe if you have a handful of guys who can REALLY hit velocity and a handful who can REALLY hit spin then that's plenty?

 

This is also why I'm fairly bullish on this team turning around quickly. The Cubs are not going to have much star power next year short of ludicrous luck in free agency (like the Blue Jays this year). BUT, with what guys like Schwindel/Ortega/Wisdom are doing, plus getting Hoerner/Madrigal back from injury, plus having an actual good Iowa team for the first time in ~5 years, plus having nearly 9 figures to throw around this offseason, depth shouldn't be an issue. Like can they be the Dodgers next year? Horsefeathering no. Can they be the A's of recent vintage (the team that most epitomizes this depth approach IMO)? Yeah that's probably doable.

[NOLA]

 

I’m all in on the Blue Jays. That’s a fun team to watch.

[We Got The Whole 9]

 

I’m all in on the Blue Jays. That’s a fun team to watch.

Thinking I have a pretty good shot at seeing Vlad bash number 50 on the 22nd

[UMFan83]

Seattle gets the 2023 All-Star game, so 2024 is the earliest Wrigley can host the ASG. But I get the impression the MLB doesn't want to give the Cubs the game. It's been 34 years...

[Andy]

Seattle gets the 2023 All-Star game, so 2024 is the earliest Wrigley can host the ASG. But I get the impression the MLB doesn't want to give the Cubs the game. It's been 34 years...

Seattle just had the ASG in 2001. I'm sure MLB is going to give one to Atlanta's new park as soon as they fix that voting rights crap too, even though Atlanta's previous stadium had it the year before Seattle last did.

[UMFan83]

Seattle gets the 2023 All-Star game, so 2024 is the earliest Wrigley can host the ASG. But I get the impression the MLB doesn't want to give the Cubs the game. It's been 34 years...

Seattle just had the ASG in 2001. I'm sure MLB is going to give one to Atlanta's new park as soon as they fix that voting rights crap too, even though Atlanta's previous stadium had it the year before Seattle last did.

 

And 2026 is already set for Philly. If they give Atlanta 2024, 2025 is an option but they seem to like alternating leagues (even though they've gotten away from that recently).

 

There was rumors that the MLB doesn't want to give the Cubs the game because they didn't get public money for their renovations. But that seems stupid....think of the spectacle of a Wrigley All Star game in the HD era and a HR Derby with juiced balls (as opposed to the horsefeathers show that was the last HR Derby at Wrigley.

[UMFan83]

Interesting Twitter thread from Mark Appel who is apparently attempting a comeback

 

[imb]

Seattle gets the 2023 All-Star game, so 2024 is the earliest Wrigley can host the ASG. But I get the impression the MLB doesn't want to give the Cubs the game. It's been 34 years...

 

it hasnt been 34 years, we had it in 1990 .... horsefeathers

[Derwood]

Seattle gets the 2023 All-Star game, so 2024 is the earliest Wrigley can host the ASG. But I get the impression the MLB doesn't want to give the Cubs the game. It's been 34 years...

 

it hasnt been 34 years, we had it in 1990 .... horsefeathers

[Bertz]

https://twitter.com/drivelinebases/status/1438981515531079681?s=19

[17 Seconds]

Not sure what the point of this is

 

[Bull]

Not sure what the point of this is

 

The point is, he has only learned two lessons in the last eight years.

[NOLA]

Kyle with two bombs tonight. Against Taijuan Walker he is now 5-10 with 5 HRs.

[PackLandVA]

Adam Wainright is 16-7 with a 2.89 ERA. How is this possible??? Is he a Cy front runner? Certainly he’s a candidate.

[pitchcs]

Adam Wainright is 16-7 with a 2.89 ERA. How is this possible??? Is he a Cy front runner? Certainly he’s a candidate.

 

The betting market isn’t even offering him at 250:1 to win, so I don’t think he’s a realistic candidate. Max Scherzer is -260

[squally1313]

Vaguely related, but is it weird to anyone else that Nate Eovaldi, the AL leader in pitcher fWAR on a team that is now 96% likely to make the playoffs, hasn't gotten a single Cy Young consideration? Asking selfishly because I took him back in June at 40/1 and watched his odds get higher and higher until finally getting taken off the board. I know his basic stats aren't at all sexy, but I thought we had made some strides in how we evaluate these guys.

[PackLandVA]

Adam Wainright is 16-7 with a 2.89 ERA. How is this possible??? Is he a Cy front runner? Certainly he’s a candidate.

 

The betting market isn’t even offering him at 250:1 to win, so I don’t think he’s a realistic candidate. Max Scherzer is -260

 

Forgot about Scherzer, he’s a shoo-in. I don’t think Wainright wins but he would be “a” front runner I’d imagine, along with Max, Walker and Julio. Dodger rotation as usual is pretty filthy.