Transmogrified Tiger

Curious what's meant by a corresponding move. Replies to the tweet suggested a trade of Hoerner or Madrigal, but that seems unlikely(though not impossible). No one else is displaced or becomes too expensive and has to go, so my mind goes to moves where seeing Correa sign is enough proof of intent to make the player interested. Contreras extension? Schwarber reunion? An SP? Is there a trade target with an NTC?

While I know everyone can find the roster, given how many of us tuned out last year and then endured the lockout, maybe it's good to refresh our memories Catchers Contreras and Yan Gomes are the MLB options unless Willson gets traded. Miguel Amaya is the only other catcher on the 40 man and he's recovering from TJS, so I wouldn't be surprised if some minor league FA or internal option gets added at some point. Infielders 40 man: Schwindel, Rivas, Madrigal, Hoerner, Alcantara, Wisdom, Bote, Morel Despite my distaste for his long term prospects, Schwindel has a home on the roster, especially with the DH. Rivas(LH good bat/low power journeyman 1B/LF) and Alcantara(defense-first AAAA SS) probably see the roster at some point as a call-up but further additions keep them off the opening day roster. Madrigal(2B/DH) and Hoerner(2B/SS/OF) will play a lot, Bote is a trade candidate and I don't think is healthy to start the year, Wisdom similarly earned a chance to fail at 3B, and Morel is a prospect who will have to prove it at AAA to be a call up over further additions/minor league FA. Everyone has options. Outfielders 40 man: Canario, Deichmann, Frazier, Happ, Hermosillo, Heyward, Ortega, Ramirez, Velazquez Happ will start somewhere unless traded, Frazier will DH and play corner OF as much as his bat allows. Heyward is still here and Ortega(LH corner OF, .823 MLB OPS last year) is a corner option too but unclear how much they value either of them in terms of roster spots and playing time. Hermosillo(great glove, unproven promise with the bat) and Ramirez(bat first EV darling from Cleveland) are RH corner OF options trying to make the roster, Deichmann(LH corner OF with some pedigree) underwhelmed at MLB and AAA after coming over for Chafin, Velazquez(bat first RH corner OF) started killing the ball in AA/AFL last year and if he continues will play his way into MLB at bats, and Canario is in the same category as Morel. Ramirez, Hermosillo, and of course Heyward are not optionable. SP 40 man: Hendricks, Stroman, Miley No explanation necessary here, these guys will start every 5 days unless hurt or Miley falls off a cliff performance wise. Swingmen (could be SP or RP) 40 man: Alzolay, Mills, Steele, Thompson, Espinoza, Abbott Alzolay started making MLB progress and needs to build on that and prove SP durability, Mills you can squint and see a worthwhile 5th starter and also see far worse, Steele & Thompson have stuff to envision a turnaround but odds are against you wanting them to throw 150 IP in 2023(but can be good RP). Abbott is in a similar bucket as Mills but with less proven at MLB. Espinoza has the pedigree to make a leap but he's a complete wild card with as little as he's pitched over the last half decade. Steele and Mills are out of options. RP 40 man: Wick, Heuer, Wieck, Effross, Nance, Rucker, Rodriguez, Roberts Off 40 man: Leeper, Mekkes, Little, Holder, St. John, Gonsalves, Leiter Jr Wick is a late inning reliever, Heuer just had TJS, Wieck is the huge LHP with inconsistency problems, Effross had very good limited MLB results with limited stuff, Nance was a pop-up prospect with big stuff that got figured out at the MLB level, Rucker's stuff has ticked up but he hasn't shown he can get MLB hitters out, Rodriguez is a late inning prospect that needs health and maybe some AAA innings, Roberts has good MiLB numbers but hasn't been called up yet. Wieck is out of options. Leeper was a 2020 draft surprise that wiped out multiple levels last year, Mekkes has decent stuff w/ great deception and is one adjustment from being an MLB contributor, Little is a LHP who looked very good in AA/AAA after converting to relief, Holder was a MLB signing with multiple good seasons that got hurt before he could pitch in Chicago, and St. John(LHRP), Gonsalves(LHRP), and Leiter(SP) are all journeyman NRI's signed before the lockout

We have Jorge at home, he's got all of the defensive liabilities but maybe not the bat and also he's a ginger

It would require a bit more trade capital and you wouldn't net the prospect, but if you trade just for Paddack and then make a deal for say, Dom Smith, I think you get a similar/better current roster and are in a more likely range of what payroll is allowed to be. Further to that point, adding someone like Miller and a Hosmer(or Smith) might be redundant depending on their belief in the other fringe LH bats(Heyward, Ortega or even Deichmann). So while I wouldn't mind 2 more LH hitters at all, you can probably trim one of them if you have to to make it fit since they aren't going to be the difference in a great or terrible 2022 or beyond.

That's kinda how it has to work given the power dynamics, right? One favorable interpretation for the players is that they learned from the owners and started opening cracks in the system that can be expanded, the same way that the way the CBT operates now is far from what it was initially marketed. The bonus pool for pre-arb is a big thing there, and it'll be easier to continue to reform pre-FA comp with that mechanism to be added to/adjusted than it was in November. Service time levers are the other in that vein, though they are more modest in their current benefit. When you layer that on top of significant increases to minimum salary, the CBT, and closing some player unfriendly loopholes(option limits, draft/tanking reforms), I think they can be reasonably happy with the outcome, even if the net result isn't as much as our hopes and dreams given the last 2 CBAs.

Suddenly way more bummed about this than I was 48 hours ago.

If by ruled you mean sucked the joy out of extra innings games, then yes it did! i watched so many non-cubs extra inning games that i wouldn't have. it's instant action/strategy, and 17 inning slogs are overrated. Everyone should like what they like, having said that no you are wrong and should be ashamed. The runner on 2nd solved a problem that did not exist, and solved it in the worst way possible by incentivizing teams to play for 1 run.

I would think they need to officially ratify it before players can legally or at least comfortably sign on the dotted line. But I imagine the rumor mill lights up really quickly.

Also, are the people saying that the executive board is unanimous or votes as a monolith? They could be 5-3 and only need just over half the players?

I'm not a single issue voter on banning the shift, and I'm wary of what the unintended consequences might be, but I have a slightly favorable view on doing it. I am a single issue voter on the pitch clock, it has to happen.

https://isp.illinois.gov/Sor/Details/X05A2911 How did anyone find out about this? Did someone here know him personally? Horrible. As far as I know we don’t have absolute confirmation that’s him, but there are multiple context clues from his nsbb profile that indicate it is. IIRC someone stumbled onto it by accident.

In a world where the spending restrictions are already in place(meaning it theoretically doesn't cost them money or any difference is marginal), what is the primary reason that international players would view it as a non-starter? Easy for me to say but it seems silly that something like picking the best developmental system is something 1) that is a visible differentiator between orgs and 2) possible for a 16 year old from Latin America to gauge. So if the money is similar and the freedom of choice is already a bit of an illusion, is there another hangup I'm missing?

The fact that I won a round even though my most known quality at that point was "posting about basically every Notre Dame sports game" retroactively seems impossible. Wish I could find those polls. I think I made it to the Sweet 16 and lost to Raw. I had (have) so much respect for him that I was telling people to vote for him lol. Either way, I couldn't believe I won a couple of rounds - I felt very cool Looks like they start here: http://www.northsidebaseball.com/archive/viewforum.php?f=8&start=650

But it's inconveniencing sub-hardcore fans just as much if not more. In the aggregate, the diehards will seek out every last game and pay to ensure they have it. In our hypothetical the new fan who is intrigued by watching an Apple TV game and wants more, can't get more from Apple TV and now has to navigate a labyrinth to actually be the steady viewer that you want them to be. The barrier's higher(they're less familiar definitionally) and the risk is higher(they care less definitionally). I do admit this isn't black and white, but one of my hobby horses with how sports are scheduled and broadcast is that leagues drastically undervalue predictability and consistency in building a product for the long term.

That's answering a different question though. Brands seeing better results on a different platform for the same sport isn't the same as the platform reaching new fans or fans that couldn't be reached elsewhere. I agree that MLB.tv dropping blackouts is the envisioned future, but exclusive fragmentation isn't the way to reach and create new fans. Baseball engagement is about the ritual and habit, you want folks tuning in 100+ days out of the year instead of < 20 like the NFL. You create uncertainty on where and how simply/cheaply you can maintain that habit, you're damaging your existing fanbase and making it harder to on ramp new fans to being steady viewers. That's not to say that you can't ever have new and different broadcasts, but MLB is in the fortunate position where they don't have to chase the marginal dollar with exclusivity in order to get that benefit, the difference in revenue is a marketing expense in the long term, especially when it comes to long term retention. But it's clear at this point that MLB is going to chase every short term revenue optimization they are presented without any coherent understanding or long term plan for making the game compelling and accessible.

It's annoying for fans like us, but this is a good business decision IMO. The unique reach afforded by Apple TV is really important at a time where MLB is getting more and more niche. Frankly they need to copy the NFL's playbook and start throwing some games on Nickelodeon too. Apple TV+ has unique reach? I'd say it's the opposite, there's no way any material number of Apple TV+ subscribers aren't paying for a number of other broadcast/streaming outlets. Exclusivity and fragmentation are really bad plays for MLB, which is trying to sell you a nightly entertainment product that is still popular enough that it doesn't have to resort to fragmentation to increase revenues. It's unfortunately not surprising though, because the league is run like the only thing that matters is the next quarterly report.

According to the surely very scientific myfootballfacts.com, Everton has the most years in the top flight of any English club, with 119. Villa are 2nd with 108, Liverpool has 107, Arsenal 105, etc. Everton hasn't been in the 2nd division since 1953-54.

He didn't make the 18 yesterday, so he's got 2 weeks to at least get on the field, since I imagine he's not gonna get called in if he hasn't hit that milestone. Not as immediately USMNT-relevant, but Allegri said McKennie is done for the season.

Why not? Where to start... -What happens on a foul ball? -More tosses to first to reset the clock to plan strategies -Umps now have to decide who's at fault for the pitch clock running out (lots of batters take their time too) -14 seconds seems incredibly short -other ways to speed the game up (eliminate warm-up pitches for incoming relievers comes to mind immediately, somehow speed up time between batters) For now, just get a new CBA. Quit horsefeathering around with meaningless horsefeathers that right now is just horsefeathering with the player's minds. ETA... I'm not totally opposed to some sort of pitch clock. But right now? No. First things first... let's get players back on the field. I don't think this is the way to do it. These are all fairly straight forward and have previously reported contingencies - the clock starts when the pitcher gets the ball - there's limits on throwing to bases(side benefit, stolen bases are more viable), stepping off, or stepping out of the box - see above, by enforcing the batter in the box the punishment is on the pitcher - it is not, amateur baseball does not have this problem and watching it doesn't feel like the game played too fast - there is no other lever to pull that will have the impact of the pitch clock, things like commercial breaks and warmup pitches pale in comparison The other important thing with the pitch clock is that it isn't creating a brand new pace of baseball. As mentioned above, watch any school age game(though college is getting some trickle down impacts with its professionalization) and it's played at this pace. And unless you're still college aged, games were played at this pace when you grew up with baseball. Grant Brisbee's comparison of a game between 1984 and 2014 remains the seminal example.

Gonna need a wellness check on imb

I've seen reporting that 12 teams gets MLB an extra 85 million, and 14 teams gets an additional 15 million on top of that. So owners are going through all of this when their big incentive is less than 4 million/team and the players have already agreed to ~3 million of that incremental revenue.

I could've held my nose at 12 teams but 14 is gonna be tough to take. Since they went to 10 teams, 5th place teams have averaged 90 wins, 6th place 86, and 7th place 84. Some of that might change even without a new format if you address tanking, and the specific 7 team format might help incentivize effort to avoid that 5th-7th area, but 162 games to put half the league into a series of coin flips is not good.

Also, sometimes I think about an alternate reality where we hire someone like Tata and we don't get all or even any of Musah, Dest, Dike, or Pepi, and it is a dark timeline.

I don't want to be greedy, I just want one of them to hit. Sargent, Pepi, Dike, now maybe Balogun, all of them are 22 or under, just one of them make the leap, please.

This 2020 article implies there are 35-40k MLB stadium workers: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/baseball-stadium-workers-crisis/ The overwhelming majority appear to be gameday staff and likely aren't salaried so if you think of it in the context of lost games(20 games lost = 300 lost stadium gamedays) it's a little better, but even when stacked with a similar amount from MLB it seems unlikely to change anyone's financial situation.