Transmogrified Tiger

I haven't been exposed to Berhalter a ton, but from what I see I think he's about as good a fit as an MLS coach can be. This video was a nice primer. Of course, it also inspired me to want to watch all of the videos from that channel, so dive in at your own risk.

From a superficial look, he's getting super unlucky. His BABIP is 100 points below his career average, with no material change in batted ball type. He is pulling the ball more so maybe he's hitting into shifts a bit, but not 100 points of BABIP bad.

this reminded me...not that the location and lefty thing don't still make this very improbable, but not sure if you saw this the other night because it might've been lost at the bottom of the page. that's been the case this year. i know i read it recently. maybe BN or maybe Duke's post. https://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfx.aspx?playerid=4940&position=OF&pitch=FA https://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfx.aspx?playerid=4940&position=OF&pitch=SL https://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfx.aspx?playerid=4940&position=OF&pitch=CU https://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfx.aspx?playerid=4940&position=OF&pitch=CH I did see it, but I did not want to entertain anything but righteous anger at Smoltz, plus I am very distrustful of pitch-specific metrics(especially for hitters) and most importantly I am too proud.

Per BN, Tyler Thomas was put on the DL: http://www.bleachernation.com/2018/06/06/cubs-minor-league-daily-lots-of-promotions-and-roster-moves-throughout-the-system/

Mekkes with a walk and a balk but no hits or runs in his Iowa debut #Mekkeswatch

ah yes 96 up in the zone from a lefty, or as I call it, Heyward catnip

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[tweet]https://twitter.com/RobUsry/status/1004439155106033664[/tweet] I am already beginning emotional preparations for it to be Vermes. On one hand, what style of play better suited for imposing your will in CONCACAF matches. On other hand, what a trashbag brand of soccer it is. A dilemma.

Looney and Reindl have some solid numbers as relievers, Looney's especially are video game worthy at that lower level of competition.

My homer pick that I'd like to see the Cubs take at this point is Trey Harris from Mizzou. Senior sign and only a 4th OF profile, but we're past the point of taking college pitchers who don't throw strikes and college hitters who can't hit, so there's little risked. Doing this in this year's SEC isn't bad: .316/.413/.516, 11 HR, 34/22 K/BB

Honestly, I'll consider this whole draft a win as long as we don't pick him. The Cubs don't need the bad publicity, but I wonder on a more societal level whether he should forever be barred based on a teenage mistake (his claims of innocence not withstanding). The move toward felons voting is picking up steam, and I think that's probably consistent with where our society is going. The Obama Administration was very committed to the idea of keeping the official records of teen offenders clean as not to hamper them later on (see Nikolas Cruz). I just wonder if Luke Hemlich is different because he might make millions of dollars. Being able to vote is on a different scale than playing on a baseball team that has hundreds of thousands of people who support and identify with it. I'm sympathetic to the idea that committing a crime at age 16 shouldn't doom a person for life, but Heimlich playing baseball does not exist in a bubble. The signal it sends to other folks who have been impacted by sexual assault matters, and alienating them is not worth the chance that Heimlich is .4 wins better than an alternative, nor is it truly unfair that Heimlich's mistakes mean certain career paths are not viable.

I look forward to not remembering that in a few days.

Am I the only one completely incapable of remembering the difference between Hatch and Lange? Like I know Hatch was the OSU 3rd rounder and Lange the LSU guy, but their profiles are similar enough that every time I read something about one of them I never internalize it as them specifically.

Reynolds’ K rate this year was only 17%, after the above I was worried it was north of 20. I look forward to irrational optimism with him after Filiere has not repaid my love so far this year.

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Drafting a whole university seems like a shrewd use of a pick

MEKKES MEKKES MEKKES MEKKES

I am not a scout, but that does not look like a good breaking ball.

if only there wasn't some incredibly dumb political controversy in baseball, then Carl going to see dinosaur museums instead of visiting the Trump WH could've gotten a similar response as the Eagles.

Opposing teams get 4 outs at the plate for 2 seasons.

He appears to be a multi-inning reliever, 26 appearances, 1 game started, 71 IP. A good one too, 61 H, 2.41 ERA, 96/20 K/BB, 4 HR Tennessee Tech is in a super regional this weekend.

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There's a matter of degrees here. None of these are the Tyler Colvin pick, and the Cubs have a bunch of picks outside the hardened consensus and in the squishy 20-100 area where there's like 250 guys who can make a case for being worth it, plus the added dimension of signability/pools. They took two toolsy HS OF who had their stock depressed a bit by non-worrisome injuries and who have ceilings worthy of the ~50-75 range that they were drafted, Miami and UCLA aren't exactly recruiting idiots either. If you want to criticize the Richan pick I can at least understand that, given the lack of top line results or premium stuff and the anecdotal likelihood he's not underslot. But the woe is me act because they popped a couple guys who are among the most likely to have large swings on rankings(HS OF who missed a chunk of their senior year) on top of a college bat in the 1st round doesn't resonate. Criticize the drafting outcomes all you want, but the reflexive anger that they didn't draft as if they just averaged out MLB/BA/PG's draft rankings and went down the list is silly. Are you talking about me or someone else with the "reflexive anger"? Because I'm certainly not angry. Like I say, I think there's room to disagree with the picks without being "angry". No, not you. Several reactions from others if you read back the last 5 pages.

There's a matter of degrees here. None of these are the Tyler Colvin pick, and the Cubs have a bunch of picks outside the hardened consensus and in the squishy 20-100 area where there's like 250 guys who can make a case for being worth it, plus the added dimension of signability/pools. They took two toolsy HS OF who had their stock depressed a bit by non-worrisome injuries and who have ceilings worthy of the ~50-75 range that they were drafted, Miami and UCLA aren't exactly recruiting idiots either. If you want to criticize the Richan pick I can at least understand that, given the lack of top line results or premium stuff and the anecdotal likelihood he's not underslot. But the woe is me act because they popped a couple guys who are among the most likely to have large swings on rankings(HS OF who missed a chunk of their senior year) on top of a college bat in the 1st round doesn't resonate. Criticize the drafting outcomes all you want, but the reflexive anger that they didn't draft as if they just averaged out MLB/BA/PG's draft rankings and went down the list is silly.