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Tracer Bullet

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Everything posted by Tracer Bullet

  1. Tracer Bullet
    Can I just voice my displeasure over the waiver system? If someone picks up a player and drops them on the same day, that player still sits on waivers for the whole week, unusable by any other team. It's stupid. Especially for SPs, which can be changed at any time during the week.
  2. Tracer Bullet
    He's actually gone too far the other way. He has just 6 pitchers in the lineup, so he could carry a 4th bench player. He just needs to get 19 non-DL, non-prospects.
  3. Tracer Bullet
    Looks like Straily got called up on 4/30. Maybe he brought him up without dropping anyone? Only has 9 prospects and no recent adds, so that's my guess. ETA - yup, had straily in the minors in week 4. Brought him up Week 5 and didn't drop anyone. He lost last week anyone, but should lose all his points for the last 2 weeks.
  4. Tracer Bullet
    Some are UDAs and some won't get another contract after their first one. Most could give a [expletive] about finishing college but it's [expletive] stupid to make those that care choose between the two. What's so stupid about it? They let them choose between staying in school or coming out early. I think it's stupid to have a catch-all rule like this to treat paid professional adults like 8th graders, but only have that rule affect those whose schools choose to operate on a different schedule than most. If the choice is take finals and graduate or skip finals to attend mini camp it's stupid.
  5. Tracer Bullet
    Some are UDAs and some won't get another contract after their first one. Most could give a [expletive] about finishing college but it's [expletive] stupid to make those that care choose between the two.
  6. Tracer Bullet
    Old rule that's just never been changed. Really? Seems to make sense so the kid isn't in the position of picking exams or a team requirement. So change the rule that it only applies if you're enrolled that semester/quarter. It doesn't make sense for a kid that finishes school in December (like the vast majority of draftees tend to do) not to be able to workout with his new team. I don't think we should change a rule to encourage kids to drop out at the end of their college careers. It would only seem to effect those that attend schools on a quarter system. Sucks that we drafted such a kid but I don't think it warrants changing the rule. It would make sense to allow kids that have already graduated to attend whatever camps the team has (not quit but actually graduate). I'd be a little surprised if the rule prevents those kids from attending team camps.
  7. Tracer Bullet
    Every time I see Headley's age I'm surprised at how old he is.
  8. Tracer Bullet
    Was someone else warmed up when Russell came in? If the SP was done and Russell was the only warm arm bc there was a guy on and a LH and Beltran due up, it makes it pretty defensible to me.
  9. Tracer Bullet
    Drop Stanton; add Encarnacion
  10. Tracer Bullet
    Old rule that's just never been changed. Really? Seems to make sense so the kid isn't in the position of picking exams or a team requirement.
  11. Tracer Bullet
    That is not a fast man
  12. Tracer Bullet
    Oh wait, that group doesn't exist. I wasn't big on pujols. I knew about the PF though who knew it would make him basically incapable of running so quickly. I thought his PF and other health issues were discussed during the pages of debate about whether the cubs should sign him. Maybe I'm making that up though.
  13. Tracer Bullet
    Guess all of us "never sign any FAs ever" guys are looking pretty smart now.
  14. Tracer Bullet
    Pagan is set to play tomorrow, so he's back in. BJ the K machine to the bench.
  15. Tracer Bullet
    So Fregosi is a good comparison or isn't a good comparison? He didn't get most of his value from his defense, which was your immediate point that I was responding to. On your larger point, he was a great offensive shortstop through his 20s, but his progression wasn't linear. After that age-23 season in which he showed progress, he regressed the two years before having returning to +5 oWAR for the next four year (we'll ignore defensive metrics). So that would support those concluding that there's no reason to freak out about Castro's progression to date.
  16. Tracer Bullet
    Castro isn't so bad he would have to be moved from SS barring injury or something. That isn't to say someone better may come along and end up moving him. What I'm saying is that those players he is being compared to who ended up having amazing careers (like ARod, Ripken, and Trammel), were really good fielders and, as such, their long term viability at the position wasn't very much in question. Castro's is. If he has to move off of SS (which is much more likely than it would've been for those guys), his offensive production wouldn't seem to be nearly as valuable. Just wondering what he looks like if you compare him to guys who played other positions further down the spectrum (I'm sure it's still a pretty solid list, given the fact that there has to be some selection bias when a player is even good enough to be in the Majors at those ages). And nonetheless ARod moved to 3B. I get your question, but if the Cubs or another team move Castro off SS and that harms his value, it's not likely going to be b/c he's a butcher at SS that he forced their hand. So I don't see why it isn't fair to compare him at the position he currently plays and plays at least adequately.
  17. Tracer Bullet
    1) I've specifically talked about growth on offense for Castro. Fregosi got a lot of that value from defense. 2) Fregosi showed growth in his offensive game over his first three years in the league, which kind of illustrates what I'm talking about. He did? He had 2 great fielding seasons and they were, not surprisingly, his peak WAR seasons. He also had the confusing run of seasons (fielding runs above - or below - average): 1968: -7 1969: -1 1970: 14 (2nd best ever for him) 1971: -1 1972: -11 1973: -13 (worst ever) So, yeah. When he hit his peak WAR, he had two great defensive seasons. When he had his worst WAR, he had his worst defensive seasons. But wOBA from 25-28? .337, .310, .340, .362. Injuries, including a broken thumb, started taking their toll and he was never a regular again after turning 30. I think it's difficult to justify your statement about his defense, which suggests that he wasn't a true 4-5 win player (at least until falling victim to injuries when he turned 30). Well, specifically I was looking at TT pointing out he peaked at a 7 war season, which was driven quite largely by his defensive performance that year. And a .368 wOBA. So, well, some of that value came from the bat too.
  18. Tracer Bullet
    Any argument using Jim Fregosi and Wil Cordero as shining examples isn't a compelling one. Likewise, you can point to Trammell being right behind Starlin...followed by Templeton and then Chris Speier. It's a mixed bag, this company he keeps. Which is why I'd like to see more progression from year to year. It would be nice to see him on the path to being Ripken or ARod instead of Fregosi or Cordero. Weren't most of the great ones around him on that list much more sure-fire (and really good) long term SSs? I'm not sure what you're really asking here. It's not like Starlin was considered a sure-fire guy until he hit .400 in the southern league at age 20 for a month and a half. I'm saying that those players he's being compared to (the great ones, at least) were, as far as I remember, awesome defensive players. Castro isn't that and really may have to end up moving off the position (and at the very least, doesn't offer great value there from a defensive standpoint). Castro isn't so bad he would have to be moved from SS barring injury or something. That isn't to say someone better may come along and end up moving him.
  19. Tracer Bullet
    1) I've specifically talked about growth on offense for Castro. Fregosi got a lot of that value from defense. 2) Fregosi showed growth in his offensive game over his first three years in the league, which kind of illustrates what I'm talking about. He did? He had 2 great fielding seasons and they were, not surprisingly, his peak WAR seasons. He also had the confusing run of seasons (fielding runs above - or below - average): 1968: -7 1969: -1 1970: 14 (2nd best ever for him) 1971: -1 1972: -11 1973: -13 (worst ever) So, yeah. When he hit his peak WAR, he had two great defensive seasons. When he had his worst WAR, he had his worst defensive seasons. But wOBA from 25-28? .337, .310, .340, .362. Injuries, including a broken thumb, started taking their toll and he was never a regular again after turning 30. I think it's difficult to justify your statement about his defense, which suggests that he wasn't a true 4-5 win player (at least until falling victim to injuries when he turned 30).
  20. Tracer Bullet
    haha. You started this thread with a pretty dramatic, smug post, so...
  21. Tracer Bullet
    I don't remember what the exact projections were at that point. But the list of SS that have been better than Castro at his age is very short and awesome. Maybe someone projected he'd have a better career than ARod. I bet that person feels foolish. But I'm much more worried about 100-loss seasons causing him to drink himself into oblivion than I am about him struggling in April when he's 23. I think it's pretty clear what Tim's original point was. He sort of fessed up with the "don't post at 3am" post but now he's back to defending the original "hey I was right and you were wrong" message.
  22. Tracer Bullet
    Tim if you're asking if people are happy with Castro's first month then that's a ridiculous question. But if you're asking if people are happy with Castro's career to date then that's nearly as ridiculous. If you're not asking either of those questions then what are you after? Did you expect people as smart as SP and TT to look at one month of struggles and lose their [expletive]?
  23. Tracer Bullet
    We could have another Jim [expletive] Fregosi on our hands and you guys can't just sit back and appreciate it.
  24. Tracer Bullet
    Yeah, I wouldn't assume that everyone sees the trade block update and immediately makes an offer.
  25. Tracer Bullet
    ugh
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