YourWhatHurts

So I ignore Look at Ray Ray's posts but I saw the top post when I looked at the page not logged in. I want to say this about it: the second paragraph poses the question of whether a bunch of changes made "ruined baseball." This "ruined" part depends on who you are and what your definition of "ruined" would be. But those are changes which inarguably altered the game and also took away advantages that pitchers and defenders had over hitters. Four other big ones have to do with changing bats and balls so that balls are hit harder and fly farther, bringing in OF fences, and diminishing foul territory. These are 4 extra changes which continue to alter the game and favor hitters. Then in the very next paragraph he talks about the game getting longer due to the managerial, pitching staff, and FO reaction to the changes he just referenced: increased pitcher specialization, trying to pitch with max effort more often, finding the need to work out of the strikezone more often to end an AB because contact may be too dangerous for the defense, and a willingness on the mound to accept a granted BB instead of a HR. And then the hitters react to this also by trying to hit HRs more because it is so much easier to hit HRs now than in years past, because of all of these changes. So I guess he believes those changes ruined baseball for him but he doesn't understand that? I'm not sure.

670 The Score - Chicago's Sports Radio And Home Of The Cubs - LISTEN LIVE | RADIO.COM Edit: Post #666 ?

I agree that the MiLB guys get the shaft even harder. So, likely, do scouts, MiLB coaches, etc. But I would still agree with the previous poster re: the usage of the word sickening, relative to the amount of money in the system, and especially relative to all of the people who are taking from the pot and who don't deserve any of it, or who only deserve a small fraction of what they are taking.

Compared to the rest of the league, yes. This is the kind of player who may have to fight for a pension. Maybe he doesn't get it. The players get the shaft hard on the front end. If they get through 6 years and are poised to sign a FA deal that pays them until they become eligible for a pension they're good. You can't look at the money in the system and then look at that figure and think that's fair. Especially when you know that most contributing MLB players aren't ever going to hit that big money. Edit: I'll add one thing: the prearb guys and the guys who are contributing members of a 25 or 26-man roster make most of the baseball games happen, and allow a 162 game season to exist at all. Not only do the owners make money off of their back, past-prime shitty players like Adam Dunn and Albert Pujols do as well.

Coop in his interview said that pitching moves were everyone's decision. I see that both Coop and Ricky are gone. Hahn? Kenny?

Personally I think all of the owners should be cut the fuck out, the federal government should operate the league, the cities run the teams, and all the player salary money goes into a pool and is split up at the end of the year based upon the actual on-field statistical performance according to formula, with a high minimum salary going to everyone. There's a lot wrong with the way players are paid. The first thing wrong with the system is that owners get anything at all. The second thing wrong with the system is that the players are indentured servants for what is likely to be their most productive years. Most players who are good enough to play at the MLB level aren't even going to reach FA through the arb process normally: they'll hit FA after getting cut first. The third thing wrong is that players who aren't good anymore like Adam Dunn as an excellent example or Chris Davis now, who aren't even MLB level anymore, still keep getting all of this big money from the system that doesn't go to the players who are actually producing. There's too much to actually fix within the context of MLB. It'll never actually be a fair system for the players and especially it will never be a fair system for the public and the tax payers.

Seriously? You insult the guy personally even though you're too stupid and lazy to actually look up the numbers? 2020 Wild Card Series - Oakland Athletics over Chicago White Sox (2-1) | Baseball-Reference.com (baseball-reference.com) What he said is actually accurate. It's 3.2 IP but that 0.00 ERA and 0.545 WHIP is probably the best set of numbers on the pitching staff after Giolito.

Agree. 2019 was probably the lowest point the division has been in quite some time, and maybe the lowest point the division will be in for the next 10+ years, where only 2 teams were good, and one of them was the cheapskate Indians and the other was just Minnesota. The biggest spenders should be us and DET, and when we're spending and contending while DET is doing the same, MIN should still be good, CLE should still be good, and KC might also be very good (I think that KC might end up the toughest of them all actually).

Health is crucial for everyone. I think this about the Sox though: 1) Their offense is going to keep them in probably 158-160 or so of the games played in the season; maybe there are a few blowouts against us but there won't be many games we won't be in 2) This team isn't going to lose a lot of games in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings; their record from the 7th on when leading is probably going to be absurd/hilarious With the exception of Eloy's shitty defense in LF, we're probably going to try to win in KC Royals fashion, i.e. pick up a lead in the 6th inning and cruise to victory. We have a chance to do that. We're definitely going to benefit from a weak AL right now: CLE is lesser, MIN isn't too terrifying; the Yankees are hurt, BOS is way down, TB is down a bit, TOR hasn't grown yet, and the Astros are at the tail end of their run.

I think the Sox will have to battle against the Twins to win the division. I think on paper they are a better team. A lot depends on the growth of Cease. The Twins have a lot of young talent coming up also. I think the best team in the division probably wins about 95-96 games. The Royals are increasing their talent level, the Tigers will be much better, and the Indians are still going to be competitive. The bottom of the division isn't as soft and will become more difficult going forward. I think the Sox will play well against other bad teams outside of the AL Central. But it would take leaps from Cease & Rodon/5th Starter to put them in 100+ win territory IMO. But of course if the back 2 in the rotation pitch like #3 SPs or something then sure, we could win 100+ games. We're probably the clear-cut best team in the AL if that happens.

I'll add one more, to the category of "Things No Person Has Ever Said, Ever:" "Nick Madrigal is the kind of physical specimen and accomplished hitter whose offensive profile can expect to hold the line or only gradually diminish as he ages and becomes less physically capable." A list of the 3000 hits club is a list of guys who have a whole of lot of things Nick Madrigal doesn't have *now* as a young guy and certainly isn't going to have 10 years from now. Back when he was drafted, before I ever saw him, I was optimistic based on what I'd read people say about him. I thought maybe he could become a 15-20 HR guy. If Madrigal is a 15-20 HR guy then Leury is good for 25 per year, and Eduardo Escobar is probably hitting 50. Whatever you have to do to the bats and baseballs to make that happen, that's what needs to happen for him to get to that point.

I'll be the first to say it: 2021 should be a referendum on Madrigal. Look at all of the talent hitting the FA market going into the 2022 season, and tons of those guys can play 2B. Plus there are teams like the Rays for instance that have pieces to trade, and for them specifically, Franco will push at least 1 guy out. To that end, if it's August and Madrigal is playing an underwhelming 2B and still looking like a much-less-than-advertised baserunner and speed threat, I wouldn't mind calling the vote early and looking to trade for a 2B, even an impending FA with an eye toward extending him over the offseason. If the Jays fall out of it, I think Semien is an easy target. Unfortunately the Rays, having depleted their team, probably stay close to TOR in the standings, with both teams well behind the Yankees. The normal wildcard will probably be within their reach.

Who put a laugh emoji here and why? WTF is wrong with you? This is a perfectly reasonable statement.

Just wondering, but why is Marshall seeming to get more love than Heuer around some parts? It's pretty clear that Heuer was the top RHRP before Hendriks, and he is the kind of talent who can take that title away from Hendriks pretty quickly if Hendriks doesn't maintain his dominance. Heuer is just awesome, a total joy to watch. The current Sox pen reminds me a bit of 2003 IIRC with Flash Gordon and Damaso Marte, and then that period where we had Thornton, Sale, Sergio Santos, and JJ Putz back there. The Sox back end is ferocious this year.

How about hitting the ball out of the infield at all, not 3000 times but 300 times, of the course of your career? The worst part of trading Tatis Jr for the ghost of James Shields is the unbelievable downgrade from TA and Tatis Jr up the middle to TA and Madrigal. Holy shit what a massive unbelievable downgrade that is.

I don't think you can put Lopez on this team. You especially can't rationalize dumping an improving Ruiz who actually flashes setup man stuff to take a headcase who doesn't really fit as a 5th starter or MR. Especially when Lopez has an option.

I'm not a super huge fan of going Giolito-Keuchel-Lynn-Cease-Rodon. They should pitch one of Keuchel or Lynn 4th to break up Cease and Rodon in case they are getting pulled early. Put an innings eater between those two. But whatever.

With Collins obviously you are hoping he gets hot with the bat at any point during his MLB tenure. If it happens, you ride that wave and start taking the phone calls. Really it's the same with Yermin also. Edit: this is a short-term scenario also for me. Ideally we could get something for our roster crunch guys who are MLB ready but don't really fit on this team.

I know this is early, but whatever. So I'll go first: I know the A's are in it, and I know our pen already looks dominant, but I wonder what it would take to get JB Wendelken back. I personally think he is disgusting. The A's are always in the business of trading a RP.

I'm just fine extending Vaughn, Giolito, Crochet, Kopech, Lynn, Marshall, and Heuer fwiw.

Yeah, and the way I see it, Engel is the 4th OF, Mendick is the UT IF, and Leury is IF/OF both, so that's like 3 players covering everything but 1B and C. Which is really awesome IMO and is exactly the kind of thing I would try to do on purpose with my bench, if I could.

Count me in for the 2 UT IF. Now in this scenario I support leaving Mendick off on Opening Day to give Collins or Yermin a shot and depending on how he looks, to avoid losing Ruiz, but eventually I want that second IF to give guys a rest and come in on defense if necessary for other reasons. Ultimately if you have a stacked team, you always have 1-2 guys at least who aren't really playing much and are kind of "redundant" and with the 26-man roster that means probably 2-3. But then again we have a lot of innings uncertainty in our rotation and only 1 glove-first C, so we will need to use our extra bodies more. But I do remember Jermaine Dye playing 3B and that was even with 2 IFs on the roster IIRC. So eventually I'd like both Mendick and Leury on the team.

I read that and thought maybe we hired him as a coordinator or something. Did we?

Why? He's the second-best hitter on that list.

If Ruiz is looking better this ST (I haven't seen him) then I would like to keep him. He has been getting better since he converted from C, and basically what he's been trying to do successfully is one of the hardest things it seems to ever do, which is convert from a position player to a P. But the stuff is there and if he can control it, he will not only get outs in MLB, but he'll build some trade value. At this point, I'm thinking about teams like the Orioles and Pirates who are deep into a rebuild, as well as teams like the Cubs and Nationals, who don't have a lot on the farm and are probably looking to catch lightning in a bottle with a cheap 4-6 years control guy who is MLB ready, and I am thinking we might be able to turn someone who is an odd man out, like a ReyLo, Collins, Ruiz, etc. into a pretty good looking far away prospect or two, **if** they can show enough at the MLB level. Even though these guys aren't going to be centerpieces for the kinds of players who would be an upgrade over what we already have, we could maybe get some interesting Rookie or A ball prospects out of some of them and look to add quality interesting depth to the bottom levels of the farm.