Transmogrified Tiger

This is a good list, and I'll add my own pet item to it, Theo stopped buying low on Major Leaguers, especially in trade. There's a laundry list of guys that had outsized contributions to the run of success because the front office shrewdly got them without requiring a huge sum in trade. You can go all the way back to Rizzo if you like, and Arrieta + Strop is certainly famous, but there's also Valbuena, and Fowler, and Montgomery, and Montero, and Coghlan, and Rondon. The young core was why the team was good, the FA signings helped make them great, and these guys made the team Championship caliber. Not all of them worked out, but since they weren't the fulcrum of the team you don't have to bat 1.000 or face dire consequences. Instead, Theo has mostly tried to solve problems with money and by paying for immediate performance. Duensing, Chatwood, Lackey and Fowler's return trips, Darvish, Morrow. Some of those were decent FA values so it's not as if he's doing an AJ Preller impression, but I'm really disappointed in the relative lack of creativity the last 2 offseasons. They've made an allusion that this past offseason especially it's been difficult to trade since a lot of the young players are coming off down years, and while I get that logic you also have to own the end result, so if you're betting on the existing squad then you need to be right.

This is not a topic I feel strongly about, but I'll go back to the opening day thread to point out that even if Schwarber has massive improvements against LHP, the most that you can hope for him is not unique and no shortage of RH OF can do(average defense in LF and an .800ish OPS). In Almora's case he's providing elite defense in CF and the alternatives are less likely to add up to that total package if he does improve like you hope. That said, the one way this falls down a bit is that SP go fewer IP all the time, and given where they've hit it's unlikely any option is facing the starter a 3rd time. That means more potential for Zagunis against a righty, although Schwarber against late inning lefties isn't great either.

The Cubs were tied for 11th in the NL and 19th in MLB in K%, so there is no gotcha coming.

I had forgotten that Yu was Japanese Rich Harden

i'm so confused there's nobody on the braves that fits that description Soler v Eloy

yankees (home field) indians astros red sox (wc) angels (wc) phillies cubs dodgers (home field) cardinals (wc) nats (wc)

The Brewers are gonna give up a lot of runs

also the Rangers have zero WS

4.0 to first base is basically 70-80 grade speed if accurate, I didn't know Nico's wheels were that good.

He's a pitcher. It's 50/50 that his early 30s will be spent with his arm attached to his body. Yes, that's part of why he's getting money comparable to a post-prime outfielder instead of the 28 year old who has a 3 year ERA identical to Chris Sale, who as luck would have it also just signed, but for twice as much AAV.

"giving guaranteed years when you didn't have to" is also the same as "controlling his early 30s without having to guarantee his mid to late 30s".

https://tenor.com/3bVR.gif

Bryant hitting opposite field home runs is maybe the single most exciting omen you can ask for

How would he not? he was looking the opposite direction catching the ball

lol how does Odor have any idea if Zobrist was out or not

only needed 5 innings to break this out http://i.imgur.com/TZTwshU.png

one less fish skeleton for breakfast and Pence's homer woulda stayed fair

every time Almora catches the ball at his chest I want to defend his bat just a little bit less

My calibration on ground balls is completely shot, I thought both of those ground balls were 50/50 to be infield hits and it wasn't close.

Yeah, it's detrimental to his development and his slim potential to turn into an every day guy who mashes against everybody. But in an non-DH game against a lefty, you can put Bryant in left (Bote and Zobrist at 3B and 2B), and in a few weeks you're going to have Russell and Baez in the middle infield, so you're going to need to move KB or Zobrist to the outfield to create room for Zobrist or Bote. I get the logic, though it all falls apart if it turns out they consider Almora an every day player. They needed Happ to be able to hit LHP to cover Heyward/Schwarber, and he couldn't, so here's create a player from AAA instead, and Descalso or Bote essentially becomes Almora's handcuff. I think what this helps me with is understanding the true value in having Schwarber be able to hit LHP well. If he can that's great and as a fan I feel happier that he's a more complete player I can rely on seeing every day. From a value perspective, a lefty mashing corner OF is not difficult to find nor is it a huge opportunity cost on the roster(to your point, if that wasn't Zagunis, it'd be some combo of Happ, Bote, Zobrist instead), so maybe it's not as big a loss for a corner OF position? Different if Schwarber was higher on the defensive spectrum. This isn't a fully formed thought so there might be some holes but today I can't immediately think of big flaws in the logic.

I would like to see Schwarber get more chances against LHP, but even if he's better/fixed against them I have a hard time seeing the expectations being very different than what I'd expect from Zagunis, especially now that Zagunis is healthy.

If you ranked the SP of the NL Central on stuff, how far down would you have to go before you hit a Brewer? Maybe 10?

I knew the Orioles were gonna be bad, but I hadn't sat down and looked at the lineup. That is....dark.

just need to trade for daxter fowler now

That's not me exactly saying that -- I actually took that from a scout. He said he has elite bat speed (possibly the best in MLB) and has "bat speed to spare". Keith Law or Kiley McDaniel said that his pronounced bat wrap earlier in his career actually helped him somewhat because his bat was so violent and quick. Normally, a bat wrap is a bad thing and Baez has toned that down. I disagree with you here. His swing isn't compact, but he has great hands and can adjust and reach pitches that some hitters on this team can't get to or do anything with. Scouts and experts consistently say his batspeed is among the best so it's hard to figure out what "losing a tick" means for someone like him. It's hard to predict how he'll do once his bat slows down, but I'm not worried about Baez. I'd be way more concerned about other hitters on this team. It's not extra hard to figure out how Baez's high level physical gifts will age, it's guesswork for experts and idiots like us alike. The point is he doesn't get extra credit in the aging department because of them when he needs to use those physical gifts dialed up to 11 to even be a passable major leaguer. He has one season with a wOBA above .326 and a wRC+ above 100. His career batting line's closest Cubs peer is Almora.