davearm2
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Everything posted by davearm2
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Sliding into a base is no more or less necessary than diving/leaping. They're both voluntary.
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And what do we think about Soto blocking the plate like he did in the 9th inning on Tuesday? Should he have gotten out of the way and let that run score? Lots of risk involved in that play. Ask Buster Posey.
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So diving/leaping to make catches is out. Too dangerous, plus non-essential. What about sliding into bases? Is that essential or not? Dangerous or not?
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Because those are essential parts of the game. Flinging out in a dive for a catch isn't. Ideally nobody would have to explain to this to you. Catching the ball is not an essential part of the game, huh? Fascinating.
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What kind of prospects are we looking at getting back in this Soriano trade? In this scenario, we'd be paying $40 million of the $60 million remaining on his deal, so I'd want to get something of value back. I'm more of a Kosuke fan than most on this board, but I'm not sure he'll be all that valuable when he's signed for just under $7 mil a year through his age 37 season. If we got a modest return for Soriano and you could decrease Kosuke's deal to, say, 2/$20, I'd probably take option B. Crap prospects. The question is a simple one. For the same money, would you rather have Soriano or Fukudome for the next 3 years.
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They're not automatons either. Folks act like a guy dogging it has no impact on the rest of the team, as if they're impervious to basic human nature. They're not 8 year old little leaguers. That's what I said.
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How do you reconcile this with the risk of stepping to the plate? His entire season is at risk facing 90+ MPH fastballs. Those have been known to break bones, cause concussions, etc. You could think about it for five seconds and realize stepping to the plate is a necessity while throwing his body around like a moron isn't. So now we've reached the point where an OF diving to catch a baseball is tantamount to throwing his body around like a moron. Should he never slide on the basepaths either? Same basic motion, only more risk, with a fielder and a base a guy could jam into. Jesus jumped up Christ. Really? So I understand you, a guy should go ahead and slide on the bases, but not dive in the field? And it's an obvious no-brainer? So on a 1-10 scale, what's the risk involved in the two activities?
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How do you reconcile this with the risk of stepping to the plate? His entire season is at risk facing 90+ MPH fastballs. Those have been known to break bones, cause concussions, etc. From the Dept. of Things That Should Not Have to Be Explained: The goal is to keep him coming to the plate, because that's where his value to the team is. Not diving or running full-speed unnecessarily prevents him from being hurt so that he can keep coming to the plate. You wouldn't keep him from going up to the plate in order to keep him from being hurt so that he couldn't go up to the plate. Putting your money in the bank keeps it from being stolen. So does putting it in a pile and burning it. That doesn't mean that you have to reconcile doing the former and not the latter. Settle down bud. Just pointing out the slippery slope at work here.
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How do you reconcile this with the risk of stepping to the plate? His entire season is at risk facing 90+ MPH fastballs. Those have been known to break bones, cause concussions, etc. You could think about it for five seconds and realize stepping to the plate is a necessity while throwing his body around like a moron isn't. So now we've reached the point where an OF diving to catch a baseball is tantamount to throwing his body around like a moron. Should he never slide on the basepaths either? Same basic motion, only more risk, with a fielder and a base a guy could jam into.
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How do you reconcile this with the risk of stepping to the plate? His entire season is at risk facing 90+ MPH fastballs. Those have been known to break bones, cause concussions, etc.
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Option A: Keep Soriano, let Fukudome walk. Option B: Trade Soriano, recoup $20M of remaining contract, re-sign Fukudome 3/$20M. Which do you take?
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Why stop there? Going up to bat and running the bases both present a stronger injury risk than playing the field.
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So the better a player is, the more foolish it becomes for that player to give a full effort? Do I have that right?
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They're not automatons either. Folks act like a guy dogging it has no impact on the rest of the team, as if they're impervious to basic human nature.
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and Reed Johnson has the luxury of only playing a couple of times a week. I think a lot people don't realize how exhausting a 162 game schedule over the hottest months of the year is for an everyday player. If not playing balls to the wall all the time means they can play a couple of extra games a year (not even factoring risk of injury) i'm all for it. Every player needs to find a balance. The better you are the more valuable to the team you are so it's less important to run out every routine grounder or pop out for the .1% chance of an error that is difference between being safe and out or getting an extra base. Of course there's a balance. I'm not saying a guy needs to full-out sprint to first on an infield popup, or go crashing headfirst into the dugout chasing a foul popup. IMO Soriano hasn't struck that balance. He's got plenty of room before he's approaching "balls to the wall at all times" territory, and he could stand to move in that direction a bit.
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By regularly not hustling, a player contributes to an environment where giving less than 100% effort is acceptable. Other players notice, and they notice how the coaches react. So yes, to the extent that other players adopt this same mindset, because they see other guys do it and get away with it, it leads to them performing worse. This is the problem right here. The entire premise is, Soriano would be a better player if he hustled more. The comparison to Reed Johnson is not based on absolute production, but based on production relative to potential. Johnson is playing to his potential, maximizing his talents, etc. Soriano is not... or at a minimum, creates that perception by his body language and the way he plays.
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2011 Cubs picks and signings thread
davearm2 replied to imb's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
I've been wondering this very thing for some time. You've got a whole bunch of elite players anxious to get their professional careers started off on the right foot (not to mention paid their bonus $$$), and yet they're being held off the field by the commissioner. It's not unrealistic that missing these 100 or so ABs could delay a guy's ETA in the bigleagues by a year. Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. And given that many agents are attorneys, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. -
Hendry's Worst 10 Moves (Non including draft)
davearm2 replied to apete6's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Perfect. Folks can go ahead and whine about the Cubs not drafting Hamilton for themselves if they wish. It's cake to dispute that argument (as several have done already), but at least it's something vaguely valid. Whine about the Cubs trading Hamilton, though, and you sound like a complete dope. -
Hendry's Worst 10 Moves (Non including draft)
davearm2 replied to apete6's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Bugs me too. -
2011 Cubs picks and signings thread
davearm2 replied to imb's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
It's kinda hard for me to imagine it coming down to money for Gretzky, given who his parents are. Either he wants to go pro now, or he doesn't. A few 100K seems unlikely to sway him. -
Seriously. Amazing that Hendry simply ignores all of those young, unemployed former Cy Young winners that are just looking for a team, and signs Dave Bush instead.
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Hasn't LaRussa been making noise about retiring? Seems like the smart play for the Cards' GM is to hold Rasmus, wait out LaRussa, and see what Rasmus does with a different manager running the show.
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That would be much worse. What part would be much worse? Starting players based on performance instead of popularity? Playing it more like a "real" game rather than one where everyone plays an inning or two? Or having to do without a Pirate, Royal, and Astro being there every year? Not understanding what you'd miss if these changes were made.
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Could he be worth a flier? I know he was a biggish deal at one point. I think wed have 2nd crack at him on the waiver wire behind th Astros, if thats how it works. The Cubs would be 15th in line: the other 13 AL clubs, then HOU, then CHC.
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It just alternated, right? It alternated prior to 2003. that's what i thought. so how is that better than letting the ASG determine it? i don't really understand that gripe. It's a gripe because people really hate Selig. There really is no perfect way to do it. The all star game is a pretty dumb one though. It's dumb in its current formulation. It could be great if it was done right. As is, the ASG is trying to be both an exhibition game and a serious game at the same time, and it ends up being neither. If they were to drop the exhibition game elements by letting the most deserving players start (not just the most popular), playing the starters like a normal game, dropping the every-team-gets-a-representative rule, etc... then maybe they'd have something they can legitimately tie HFA to. Of course in the end, you might not ever be able to get the players and coaches to buy into it being a serious game with something important at stake.