Look at Ray Ray Run

Moncada wasnt actually going to bunt. Showing first pitch bunt just allows you to see the ball a little better and longer as you are squared to the plate and watching it through the glove.

It was a scenario in which getting ONE run was more valuable than getting multiple runs so the bunt was the right choice.

You guys think coaching matters WAY too much. Players at that level don't need lessons, they need data and information to study and adapt their games. Maybe the Sox are poor at providing that, but this idea that the Sox stink because of a pitching coach or manager is greatly misguided.

Absolutely no "right move" involves Daniel Palka being on the big league roster.

I worry about converted position players becoming starters. You have no significant sample telling you whether their arm will hold up or not.

His wRC+ last year was 17th in baseball - right with Khris Davis and Nelson Cruz. He needs to be better than that to warrant his pay.

Yes, it's funny how we had thought for so long that it was the snap of the elbow with off speed stuff that greatly increased stress on the arm.. turns out velocity is more correlated to arm injuries than any off speed stuff. Also, while we feel that arm injuries have greatly increased the last two decades, it's actually likely that it did not. The difference is that arms used to be kept in the minors longer, there wasnt in depth prospect analysis, and most pitchers (by the time they reached the big leagues) had already shown an ability to stay healthy for an extended period of time. The ones who couldnt were simply out of baseball before anyone saw or heard of them.

The problem is high school and college coaches are paid to win - not develop. Many coaches will win at the cost of a kids health. The only way to protect the kids is to put in wear and tear rules for coaches. If no one holds them accountable nothing will change. It's ironic and absurd that MLB and MiLB teams baby arms more than high school and college coaches. I cant even count how many times a starter went over 130 pitches in a game in my college career.

The problem with Harper is he doesn't produce much value outside of his bat and his bat has been incredibly streaky. IF Bryce Harper never returns to the peak for him showed 3 years ago his contract will not be worth the money. A guy middling between an 820-920 ops every year with no other value added is not worth 30 million a year. Harper needs to be one of the 5-10 best hitters in baseball year in and year out. At this point his one peak season feels more like an outlier than his peak value.

No, there's really not. 95% of pitching arm abuse takes place before professional baseball - that number might be closer to 99% actually. All you can do is be consistent as an organization. Most arm injuries are not preventative.

Yeah I'm not sure how he got on top there and didn't hook it foul.

Yes but who said anything about bunting when down? When you need one run, and one run only, bunting can increase your chances of scoring one run.

What? Why? You think the Sox have some abnormal amount of unsuccessful attempts compared to the 5 teams ranked ahead of them? That's just not true.

For example, a runner on 3rd base with one out has a 64% chance of scoring while a runner on second with no outs has a 61% chance of scoring.

No it does not. All he calculates is expected runs scored. He is not calculating the likelihood of scoring just one run. Bunting decreases the possibility for a big inning skewing the expected runs down, but if your goal is to score just ONE run, bunting increases that.

Home park, Oregon state has three really nice top 3 in their rotation - one of the best ones in conference and adley never has to face them. Despite the numbers Vaughn has actually hit the ball harder as well.

For the record, bunting CAN increase your likelihood of winning late in a game more than not bunting. Bunting early in the game and bunting when you need more than one run is unacceptable though. That said, bunting does have the ability to increase your likelihood of scoring ONE run which, if that is all you need, means bunting does have a place

I consider most team directed doctors - or recommended ones - to be a lot like HR is to a company. You may be sold that they are there to protect you and your rights but in reality, they are there to protect and enhance the companies future even if it comes at the expense of one or two individuals. My team doctors job was to get me on the field, not to ensure my arm or body feels good at 50 years old.

Sure but it was sold as an opportunity to continue his career - his only one - and it effectively actually ended it and caused pain. This is no where near the Luol Deng nonsense so I don't even want to use that strawman but I'm curious as to your take on how the bulls handled that.

Because at the end of the year, having played the red Sox will grade out as a difficult match-up but had you played them in April, it was actually an easier match-up than 99% of teams. The streaky nature of the game, and the limited scoring in baseball, means that there really isnt much difference at all between the easiest and hardest schedule in the league. When you play someone, who you face, the health of the team and etc pretty much normalize any SOS discrepancies and make SOS a pointless baseball stat.

There may not be anything more worthless than MLB SOS when evaluating a team.

A OPS+ of 110 for a guy with zero defensive or base running abilities is not a player who belongs in the big leagues. It's truly baffling that anyone still wants Palka around. He can't be a useful platoon because he has ZERO position.

He always sucked. His stuff just isn't very good.

Daniel Palka does not belong anywhere inside an MLB stadium if he doesn't buy his own ticket.

Lol