Two-Gun Pete

Re-reading this thread was awesome. I fucking HATED the idea of acquiring Kimbrel. I fucking KNEW this org was going to get fleeced, and I KNEW that they're too stoopud to actually learn from any of their mistakes. This one trade simultaneously made the team WORSE for this year, fucked their financial flexibility for this offseason, and shortened the window a bit by squandering a fucking decade of control over 2 youngsters. I gotta ask: Can anyone think of another move that could have made the team worse, made the org have less financial flexibility, AND shortened the window, all at the same time? Thanks in advance.

OK, about this. I actually don't think it was about the medical stuff WRT Escobar. I actually think that Kenny and Rick [once again] got their "strategery" all wrong with this TDL, because, as I've always said, they're fucking morons. Go back to their pressers when they moronically acquired Kimbrel. KW and RH are mopes that ALWAYS crow when they think they've "done good." KW and RH said that they ZEROED IN on Kimbrel. To me, this means that they BUILT their entire TDL "strategery" around getting Kimbrel, REGARDLESS of cost. I think that when it became apparent that Kimbrel would cost Madrigal+ in trade, they crapped their pants and decided that they needed a 2B that had control beyond 2021. Smarter and better FOs would have considered the COST of an acquisition, as well as FIT in the roster/salary structure, as well as alternative options at the TDL. Thus, instead of taking the easy win by acquiring Escobar, their idiotic and moronic "strategery" that centered around Kimbrel blew up in their faces. So, instead they decided to send a piece to a rival, in exchange for the Latin equivalent of Danny Mendick. These two imbeciles keep fucking up, because there are no consequences for doing so.

Well, ya gotta hope that the Bears don't fall behind early. The packers looked extremely ordinary against New Orleans, who chose to run against them. OTOH, SF, Pittsburgh, and now Cincy all tried throwing it 35 times or more, and all lost to them. I maintain that successfully running the ball keeps Rogers off the field, keeps the defense rested, and keeps Fields upright. We'll see.

One major reason why I've been opposed to starting Fields too early is Matt Nagy’s moronic playcalling. Hes too pass-happy, especially with a young QB, a struggling O-Line, and a lack of depth in quality at the skill positions. But Lazor appears to understand much better than Nagy that they've got to use the run to bridge their myriad weaknesses, and to allow the game to come to Justin Fields. Here's hoping that IF they continue to start Fields that they continue to run the fucking ball, and let the game come to him. OTOH, if Matt Nagy stoopidly goes back to throwing every chance he gets, especially against Aaron Rogers, the Bears will get crushed, and Fields will get injured. Getting into a shootout with this QB, that O-line, and those skill position players is a bad idea, IMO. At least, at this point in Fields' development.

Great. This team needed a RH setup man, and Kimbrel has no experience and no success as a setup man. The fit was as bad as if the BEARS desperately needed a nose tackle, but bought the most expensive and talented aging placekicker instead because he was "the best."

OK, so now you're just ignoring alleged wifebeater Chapman's history, and the rest of Hader's postseason history, so as to deal in "alternative facts." Got it. With respect to the Kimbrel acquisition, he WAS a HOF closer at one point, but he isn't that any more. The more important part about the acquisition that I hated was the fit. This team needed a RH setup man, preferably with "some" closing experience to back up Hendriks in case of temporary injury or ineffectiveness. Instead, the geniuses that gave you Big Game James moronically traded for a closer with NO success as a setup man. Kimbrel has NEVER been successful in any other role other than closing. [Go ahead and look, if you doubt it.] Which made it a moronic fit for this roster. He cost this org 10 years of control between two young players that could have been used either here, or to acquire other pieces. His obese salary, if retained, could squeeze the budget for other necessary parts in upcoming seasons. He's aging, and his best years are likely behind him. In sum, it was a moronic acquisition that didn't need to happen. So no, I never wanted Kimbrel here. And he appears to be more mentally weak than other closers that have the capacity to pitch in other roles, to include Hader, Chapman, and even Hendriks; these three have shown an ability to do things that Kimbrel cannot. That Alkie Tony refused to try to reverse roles is damning, while you contort your arguments, and avoid facts to defend him. Carry on, then...

Agreed. I get that Hendriks is/was the incumbent closer, and that by rights, the closer role should have been his. But OTOH, he's also shown the ability to pitch in other situations over the course of his career, and perhaps they should have at least tried switching roles, since Kimbel doesn't appear to pack the mental gear necessary to do anything other than close. Setting aside that I absolutely HATED the trade for Kimbrel with the fire of 10,000 suns, once that moronic move was crapped upon us, it becomes incumbent on the manager to make the most of it. IOW, to put his players and his team into a position to succeed, NOT "square peg" the bullpen into misfit roles.

OK. Now go to your link, and use the drop downs for Postseason Pitching game logs. Go ahead and tell us if Hader's ever pitched in a non-save situation. Then, go ahead and look at his other seasons, and tell us if he's ever pitched in non-save situations or not. Then, go ahead and look at alleged wifebeater Chapman's game logs, and tell us if he's ever pitched in crucial non-save situations. And there are many other examples of this, that we can think of, without bothering to research them much. "More gooder" managers make "more gooder" decisions by using their "more gooder" RPs in game/series/SEASON-crucial situations. If yesterday's game was some random regular season game vs, I dunno Texas or something, then sure: Alkie Tony could have had some reason to overuse an inexperienced RP on a back-to-back. But in a game/series/SEASON-crucial situation, using anything but your best available was moronic. [Especially with a day off coming up.] You're still reaching, and you're still wrong on this, full stop.

Who's the manager of Milwaukee again? You yourself have said that Hader pitched in the 7th, which is a non-save situation. Who was the manager of the scrubs in 2016? Alleged wifebeater Chapman pitched in plenty of non-save situations. To be fair to Kimbrel, perhaps those guys are more mentally tough than him, and thus, are capable in ways that he is not. Likewise, Hendriks has shown a history of being able to pitch in non-save situations, where Kimbrel has not, over the course of their careers. I like you, and I generally respect your views here. But now, you're just reaching for God knows why.

And Hader has pitched in the 7th. Is it THAT different for a closer to pitch in the 5th? They're both non-save situations that the better managers deploy their "more gooder" RPs/closers in. Dusty Baker used his closer in a non-save situation just yesterday. To be fair, 5 years ago, alleged wifebeater Chapman was used in non-save situations, so much so that he ran out of gas by the end of the playoffs. This ain't new baseball management theory. And, it ain't that hard to do: Use your "more gooder" RPs in game/series-crucial situations. The "more gooder" managers already do. That you're defending TLR on the basis of minutia is hilarious.

Whelp, that proves it, amirite? I mean, there's such a MASSIVE gulf in difference between a closer pitching in a non-save situation in the 5th, vs pitching in a non-save situation in the 7th. I mean, you're right: TLR was absolutely correct to pitch Crochet back-to-back, instead of using his better pitchers in a game that this team ABSOLUTELY needed to win. Your fealty and loyalty to the hall of fame baseball person is noted.

And thats fair: We don't know FOR CERTAIN that adjusting his role would have solved his issues. But he's been here since the TDL (late July), so they could have at least TRIED something different to see if it would have worked. I mean, it's been 10 fucking weeks from then til now. Couldn't they have at least given it a shot BEFORE now? Instead, we've gotten to live the definition of insanity, where alkie Tony has tried the same thing over and over, but expected different results.

There's this bum named Hader who's done it several times. But yeah, we've never ever seen that. Modern bullpen management dictates that you use your "more gooder" pitchers in game/series-crucial situations, not pitch a kid on a back-to-back scenario. Insofar as Kimbrel, if he's so mentally weak that he can't pitch apart from closing, well when you've squandered a decade of control of two players to get him? Maybe you've got to adjust in HIS case.

Well, it kinda was his fault: 1. He SHOULD have had more urgency in pulling Giolito in a crucial game. By pulling Giolito earlier, he doesn't walk as many. FFS, at the very fucking least, having someone up and warmed to START the 5th, he should have pulled Giolito BEFORE the second walk that inning. 2. He could/SHOULD have used Kopech for multiple in a game that was a MUST WIN, instead of using Bummer and Kimbrel. 3. He could/SHOULD like, actually fucking learn how to align the defense better, so that grounders hit up the middle could be caught. 4. He could/SHOULD have tried Hendriks in non-save situations in the regular season, rather than letting Kimbrel fail all fucking season, and then blame his unfamiliarity with the role, after a PLAYOFF loss. 5. He could/SHOULD understand that its not fucking 1985 anymore, and use your fucking closer in the 5th or 7th. Ya know, like MODERN baseball managers do nowadays. Instead, the fucking imbecile pitched a youngster in back-to-back games, let Kimbrel continue to struggle in a non-save situation, let Kopech continue to ride pine, and then squander your closer in a blowout. So yes, the players needed to play better. But the manager has to do a better job to put them into position to succeed. OR, to properly intervene when they're not playing well.

I've been on record as hating the Kimbrell acquisition from before it happened, but oh fucking well. That said: Putting in a basically FB-only youngster into a game/series-critical situation against a FB-killing Houston team was fucking moronic. I lost my voice cursing the fucking TV. What, is Kopech sick or injured? If Kopech comes in, I'm confident he holds it to 4-2 US up, and then, Engel being subbed out means exactly jack and shit.

Incorrect. The KEY mistake happened before then. The KEY mistake was putting Crochet into a game situation, in a game that you NEEDED TO FUCKING WIN, instead of Hendriks or Kopech. Putting Crochet in the game was the first mistake, and had the BP shut Houston down before any of the other shit happened, then maybe we'd still be up in this game, and still in this series.

Ok, I'm trying to understand what we're looking at here. I get that the individual players are ranked by salary. But what are the team rankings? I guess I'm not understanding why Washington, with negative bWAR, are ranked ahead of the SOX with 10.6 bWAR? EDIT: So the teams are also ranked by spending on pitching, yes? I think that jetlag, coupled with the blurb about Philly & the SOX doing best on a $/bWAR basis, confused me... I mean, if we're discussing contract efficiency by organization, why not rank the clubs thusly? Also, doesn't fangraphs already do this in one of their blogs every year?

An 80% correlation between sitting and later becoming an All Pro QB is a pretty good correlation. I'd call it a metric fuckton better correlation than "I heard Bernstein say Fields should play, so he should play." And even the 2 out of the most recent 10 All Pro QBs handed the ball off to their all world RBs most of their rookie years. Do the Bears have one of those? Oh, and does anyone think Matt fucking Nagy would bother to use the run game enough to help a rookie QB? No? Ok. Sorry, you (and all the media morons) who want to play Fields now are just wrong.

Because most GREAT QBs sat early in their career, to include some turd named Tom Brady, a piece of shit named Aaron Rodgers, a dud named Patrick Mahomes who couldn't get drafted before Mitch Trubksky, as well as a total of eight out of the 10 most recent All Pro QBs. Read it again: Eight out of Ten of the most recent All Pro QBs sat early in their careers. Thats pretty clear-fucking cut that its the better way to go, IMO. Oh yeah, and Lamar Jackson also started only 7 games his rookie season. GREAT QBs tend to sit early. The shitty ones, like Mitch Tubisky, tend to play early. Sorry, but thems the facts, no matter what stupid shit people hear on the score. Playing Fields in a no-hope season, with exactly Jack and Shit to help him, is moronic, full fucking stop. He will either develop bad habits, get hurt, or lose his confidence if he's played with those shitty skill players, that crappy line, and that moronic head coach.

Bullshit. Go back and look at the past 5 years All Pro QBs. Of this group of 10 named QBs, 8 sat at least a majority of their rookie years. (The exceptions being a credibly-accused alleged sexual assailant who handed off most of the time his rookie year, and a guy who had a RB named "Beast Mode" and the "Legion of Boom" defense.) And, like him or not, Cutler himself has said that it would help Fields to sit for awhile. This whole, "Fields has gotta play, NOW" routine is some media trope. Let the kid sit and learn, and maybe he can yet become an All Pro one day.

Yawn. Where the stoopud ivermectin idea came from What the FDA says about ivermectin I know, I know: yew caint trust the gubmint about ivermectin, but ah need fda approbal fer that vaccine.

Here's a real treat for this thread: Tales of Stoopidity When I see things like the link above, I feel a sense of sadness. When I see fucking morons fuck over their neighbors in places like Idaho, where ICU beds are scarce thanks to unwanted morons, I get enraged. But when I think about how antivax types are fucking over the freedoms of those who are vaxxed, I develop a white-hot rage for them.

So, IOW, for some, untested witchdoctor "cures" don't need FDA approval, but vaccines DO need approval. Also, for some, they "don't trust the government and big pharma," but they need the FDA, a government agency, to approve a vaccine before they'll take one. Also, they need to consult Dr Google to "do their own research," but fully educated/trained/licensed physicians and medical professionals can't be trusted. Got it. Thanks, man!

THIS. One side may have biases, whereas the other side outright bullshits you. And no, its not the same for both sides.

Not really. Conspiracy theories, and outright lies are a feature of one political side, not a bug. QUICK, without using the google machine, find 3-4 woke liberal radio hosts that deny science, are anti-vax, and have died of COVID. And remember, if its the truth, its NOT unfair.