Rob

Blackouts are the freaking worst. At least MLB.tv hasn't yet started doing that annoying horsefeathers that Amazon Prime and the like are doing and fighting the VPN market. All I had to do tonight was tune in via Brazil.

They have him moving around more than a lot of other 3B. He'd be 7th or 8th playing 3B full time. And that sounds bad too but keep in mind that 3B might be the deepest position in baseball at the moment, like Arenado is 6th and Manny Machado is 8th. What is their top ten? For the Derwoods of the world who can't be bothered to look it up themselves, here's the top 15: Alex Bregman Matt Chapman Anthony Rendon Jose Ramirez Josh Donaldson Nolan Arenado Rafael Devers Manny Machado Yoan Moncada Kris Bryant / David Bote Justin Turner / Enrique Hernandez Eugenio Suarez Brian Anderson Jeff McNeil / J.D. Davis / Jed Lowrie Matt Carpenter / Tommy Edman Everybody ahead of Bryant has significantly more plate appearances projected at their position. For instance, Moncada is projected for 0.1 fWAR more than Bryant, but in 47 more PA. Machado is 0.3 fWAR more, but in 70 more PA, etc...

Grimm's stuff is entirely too good for his terrible results. I fully anticipate the Brewers making one minor tweak to him and turning him into an All-Star.

Didn't we have him in camp or on a minor league deal or something one year?

I saw a poll on twitter a while back that asked whether it was worth it to have a baseball season was worth it if just ONE person was going to die as a result. Most people, including myself, said no. Of course, there are fatalities that happen due to baseball. A fan might fall trying to catch a ball (or after having too much to drink). Somebody might get hit in the head with a bat or a ball accidentally. These things happen, and it's just the risk we take by going out the door every morning. By going to these places, we are accepting the 1 in a million possibility that it might be us that gets hurt. If it's just a matter of accepting that risk, I'm okay with having a baseball season. My issue is that most of the risk isn't being shouldered by the coaches, players, and fans. Most of the risk is that somebody will get sick at one of these events, and then come home and spread it to their families, their coworkers, etc... and those people will spread it as well. People far removed from the chain of decision-making will be the ones bearing the brunt of the cost. Something about that doesn't sit right with me. I hate this entire line of arguments because everyone *knows* they don't really live their life by the "if there's even a chance one person could die, we must shut it all down" standard, and they're just *daring* me to be the never-diagnosed-but-everyone-knows aspie who points that out. Again, that's not the part that bothers me. The part that bothers me is the one where the people taking the risks aren't necessarily the same people paying the price. I dunno. I'm fully willing to admit that I may be wrong about this one. But as I said, the whole situation just doesn't sit right with me. Maybe that's normal for a pandemic? This is my first, so I'm not entirely sure how I'm supposed to feel.

I saw a poll on twitter a while back that asked whether it was worth it to have a baseball season was worth it if just ONE person was going to die as a result. Most people, including myself, said no. Of course, there are fatalities that happen due to baseball. A fan might fall trying to catch a ball (or after having too much to drink). Somebody might get hit in the head with a bat or a ball accidentally. These things happen, and it's just the risk we take by going out the door every morning. By going to these places, we are accepting the 1 in a million possibility that it might be us that gets hurt. If it's just a matter of accepting that risk, I'm okay with having a baseball season. My issue is that most of the risk isn't being shouldered by the coaches, players, and fans. Most of the risk is that somebody will get sick at one of these events, and then come home and spread it to their families, their coworkers, etc... and those people will spread it as well. People far removed from the chain of decision-making will be the ones bearing the brunt of the cost. Something about that doesn't sit right with me.

I've come to like the Posey rule, and the DH sucks. But I generally agree with the premise that the playoff format and one game play-in was solid and I'd hate to see them ruin it.

For the record - with the way 2020 has been going, I’m just happy not to see Luke Heimlich reappearing and inexplicably going #1 overall.

The normal % of most prep kids picked in the 1st round, close to 0%. 0% chance he signs, or 0% chance he opts for college? Teams have a pretty good idea what players will sign for before they draft them in the early rounds. Usually it’s all but agreed to already. The only real chance he doesn’t sign is if his medical comes back with some new info and they can’t renegotiate.

What does that mean? Taking a guy who takes more than the slot amount to sign Or somebody related to Daryl Hannah

Just joining in and completely uneducated on this year's draft class. What are the best case scenarios for the Cubs? Any big guys dropping?

Try getting drunk with a friend and playing. Winner has to chug. It equalizes skill levels pretty quickly.

We're using Chess Time, which I'd never heard of before. I play on chess.com and lichess, most of the time. Limehouse on lichess and Limehouse2 on chess.com. Cubbieblue66 on lichess. I just pulled your profile and holy hell are you better than me. I just started learning last year.

What chess app are you guys using? I usually play through lichess.

Free Da Bum?

Yeah, that strikes me very much as one of those "throw a bunch of rumors out there and if I get close enough people might think I'm legit" sort of accounts. That said, I'd love an opportunity to buy "low" on Austin Riley and get a bunch of other pieces too.

Since every discussion about the Super Bowl needs one of those guys... I don't even know when it is or who's playing. Football is stupid.

Kill the draft and arbitration. They just exist to suppress salaries so that billionaires can pocket more money. Free agency for everybody.

Yeah, I'm under no illusions. It's coming sooner rather than later. Honestly, the writing was on the wall as soon as the AL adopted it. Both leagues couldn't keep different rules forever, and the union would never agree to give up a well-paying job like the DH. And once interleague play became a thing, that really speed up the process. Still, I'm allowed not to be happy about this. It's a dumb change.

If every DH were David Ortiz in his prime, this might be a different story. But that's not how it works. The average DH hit .252/.339/.467 for a line just 10% better than league average. But we're not talking about having them replace a league-average hitter. They're replacing guys who are lucky to hit .150. For like 2 AB. By the 7th inning or so, they're often just replacing the pinch hitter, who is probably the same person that is now DHing. I don't care enough about that one AB the pitcher takes in the 3rd inning enough to justify giving up the strategic decision of whether to let them bat in the 5th or 6th.

For decades, the single most important decision that a manager has to make during a game has been what to do with his starting pitcher coming up to the plate in a close game. There are plenty of actual things that go into the decision of whether or not to pinch hit for the pitcher, and with whom. What is the score? How is my pitcher performing? How fatigued are they? How many more batters can they face? Who is coming up in the opponent's order in the next couple innings? Are those players good or bad matchups for my starting pitcher? Who do we have available in our bullpen today? How are they pitching? Do we have runners on base currently? How is our offense performing? Which batters are available off the bench? What are their matchups against this pitcher? Is the other manager warming up guys in his bullpen? Are those other pitchers good or bad matchups for our pinch hitters? Etc... It is just about the only time that a manager can make a real strategic difference in a game. The rest of the in-game managing could be done by a drunken monkey. If every DH were David Ortiz in his prime, this might be a different story. But that's not how it works. The average DH hit .252/.339/.467 for a line just 10% better than league average. It's just the place you shove rehabbing and past-their-prime players who can't hack it in the field anymore, and guys who probably will be retired in a couple years. I think that's boring. I enjoy the strategic side of it much more than watching geriatric players pad their numbers without making a meaningful impact.

Ugh, the DH is gross and stupid. Oh great, instead of thinking about interesting strategic decisions I get to watch some 36 year old former All-Star with 2 years remaining on his megadeal put up an incredibly mediocre offensive performance.

This move is fine. Lucroy was showing a few signs of life at one point this season. Worst case scenario, he spells Caratini for a month or so until Contreras comes back. Then we cut him. No risk, and some slight potential for a mild surprise.

Wow, he's about the last sportswriter I would have expected that from. Except for maybe Dave Cameron, whom I doubt has the requisite physicality to actually lift his arms above his waist.

I haven't been paying attention the the minors much the last few years. I'm in NC for a funeral and a bunch of as are going to catch the Myrtle Beach game in Winston-Salem tonight. Which prospects should I be keeping an eye on?