Printable View
I just hope the curse isn;t starting to show it's faceQuote:
Originally Posted by abrown83
Trevor Story hit his 7th HR in the 6th game of the year today. Of course its small sample size and etc, but I'm hoping he continues to produce at an above average level, if only to be another example of a guy breaking through after the scouts soured on him. He was a highly regarded prospect, drafted out of high school who played well his first 2 seasons, then struggled his first year of high A ball (at age 20 btw). He also struggled in his first 3 month exposure to AA. After that, the scouts had pretty much relegated him to being a middle tier prospect....maybe at his best he could be a utility infielder, which it actually says in THIS YEARS MLB.com prospect write-up, where he was only ranked as the 11th best prospect in the Rockies system. His stats from last season? Split equally between AA/AAA, he hit .279/.350/.514, with 70 extra base hits (40 doubles, 10 triples, 20 homers)!
His ratings on that MLB.com prospect list coming into this year for his hitting? Hit-45, power-50 (on the 20-80 scale). So a slightly below avg hitter with avg power. Lol.
tl;dr baseball scouting is as fickle a profession as a weatherman.
Just a weekly reminder that we arent going anywhere soon:
Royals young hitters have actually underperformed their expectations immensely the last few seasons. This is going to be a scary team if guys like Moustakas start hitting
Toronto from this season and last season is a great example of an ultimate "fell through the cracks of the scouting system" team....and just so happens to be the best offense in baseball. Tulowitski, Goins, and to a lesser extent Encarnacion are probably the only 3 who have always been "properly rated" their entire careers, although Toronto acquired Encarnacion when he was at a low point and under-performing. Most of the rest?
Russell Martin........17th round draft choice
Jose Bautista.....labeled a bust in the majors after his first 5 years in PIT
Josh Donaldson.....a forgotten/struggling prospect who couldn't make it full time in the bigs until age 26
Kevin Pillar....drafted in the 32nd round
Chris Colabello....never even drafted! played 7 (7!!) years of Indy ball before getting a minor league deal with the twins at age 28.
http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266...th-nifty-slide
Goose Gossage would have called him out, just on principal.
After sweeping the pathetic Padres, the Dodgers have lost 4 out of 5.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Because the bullpen sucksQuote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_assAfter sweeping the pathetic Padres, the Dodgers have lost 4 out of 5.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
The only good players on the team are Adrian, Kershaw, and Puig.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan DruffBecause the bullpen sucksQuote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_ass
no bullpen = fucked
The Cubs are the only Pure organization other than the Royals.Quote:
Originally Posted by DRK Star
Ownership, President Theo Epstein (Red Sox) GM Jed Hoyer (Red Sox) and of course Joe Maddon. The young players. Every element is praiseworthy.
Theo Epstein trading for a questionable pitcher named Arrietta with Orioles, Dan Duquette (yup, Red Sox). Epstein fleeced the Orioles in this deal. In Duquette's defense he was going balls to the wall for a title so I respect that.
Epstein is god. I had my moments with him but he was tainted by the Red Sox and had the integrity to tell them to fuck off. I apologize Theo.
The Cubs are loaded and it's fashionable to tail the front runner. But if you dig deep you just can't help being genuine in your love for them and can defend your position.
They aren't the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers. All three are despicable. The Cubs are pure.
Enjoy the next decade, boys.
Edit:
I just saw the Cubs run differential +29. Ridiculous.
Don't feel sorry for the Dodgers. They had their shot. They had a team others spend a decade assembling. Druff & their GM refused to trade for a bullpen at trade deadline then too.Quote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_assThe only good players on the team are Adrian, Kershaw, and Puig.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Some nonsense about prospects over championships. Baseball has variance. The playoffs and the world is an uncertain place.
Back to rebuilding for another shot which they will certainly waste yet again.
The Dodgers will remarkably still will find themselves in the postseason. . For the same reason they always did. The cream puff schedule.
Even though they are weaker, what I didn't factor in was the depths of the tanking (like NBA) that is going on in the a national league.
But like every year, the Dodgers will not be built for the the second season (playoffs).
Not true. The offense is actually pretty good all around.Quote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_assThe only good players on the team are Adrian, Kershaw, and Puig.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
You're forgetting super-rookie Corey Seager, plus Joc Pederson is looking better, and Justin Turner is still hitting despite the offseason surgery.
This lineup should score runs, but the pitching is pretty bad. Kershaw and Jansen are great, but the rest of the bullpen is awful, and of the other starters, only Maeda seems any good (and he can get hurt at any moment).
Unfortunately this team is looking a bit too much like the Diamondbacks right now.
So far the Giants look the best in the NL West, but their pitching beyond Bumgarner also isn't very good. Maybe Cueto bounces back, but he seems headed for a down hear. The rest of their rotation stinks. Pretty good bullpen on the team, but starting pitching will be an issue.
Cubs are the best team in the NL, and might be for awhile.
Dodgers could still get lucky in the playoffs. Maybe they'll promote Urias and De Leon to pitch midseason, and both will be lights out. We'll see.
Yea, this is real. The slider is real. It's rare to see a pitcher reach a ceiling like this. I'm a big fan of elite pitching - living in Chicago I am spoiled with Arrieta and Sale - and Syndergaard's now in that class with Kershaw.Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry
.... as if the Braves didn't have enough problems being 0-7 with little change in sight.
On the bright side for Olivera, Jose Reyes dodged criminal charges with his domestic violence case.Quote:
Hector Olivera was taken into custody by the Arlington Police Department early Wednesday after a woman called 911 from the Ritz Carlton at Pentagon City claiming that she had just been assaulted. She had visible bruises, police sources told Jeff Goldberg of ABC7 in Washington, D.C. MLB has already opened its own investigation.
Jake Arrieta throws a no hitter in a 16-0 blowout for the Cubs. That is a lot of idle time on the bench\ with all that offense.
Lol at the fan celebrating jumping with catcher and Arrieta.
Can't wait for the video/gifs on that.
http://i.imgur.com/L5o2dSv.jpg
"Kris Bryant started the homer barrage in the first inning.
Bryant later hit a grand slam, the third of his career, and tied his career high in hits with four, and in RBI with six.
That wasn't the only long ball of the night, as Ben Zobrist (his first as a Cub), Anthony Rizzo and David Ross (his first as a Cub not as a pitcher) all went deep.
Even Jake joined in on the offense, with two hits and a walk.
It reduced Jake's ERA to 0.87."
http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2016/...ant-mlb-scores
Baltimore fans must be happy lol. The Oriole organization really should get attacked more for their recent failure at developing pitchers. Colorado gets all that attention, but they are working with a natural handicap that coaching can't fix. Baltimore had what looked like a potential-current-Mets situation 5 years ago, and they fucked every one of them up. Arrieta was bad until he went elsewhere, Tillman is still a starter for the O's, and a middling one at that, Britton has been converted to their closer (although he has been pretty solid in that role), Matusz is an average middle reliever, Gausman is the youngest and still has potential, and of course they spent his first few years yo-yo'ing him around between the rotation and the pen. All those guys at various points were considered pretty elite prospects.
That is some impressive level of fail.
Kershaw threw a 46 mph "eephus" pitch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3W8I4JLECQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOt2iw-7n6A
cubs gonna win 100+ games this year? Best team mlb has seen in a long time
wouldn't put it past maddon to do it...guy knows how to manage people and get the best outta his talent...would be sick if they did it considering they lost schwarber...that dude mashes the shit outta right handed pitching...Quote:
Originally Posted by big dick
Looks like perhaps the Dodgers' thrftiness regarding Greinke is going to work out.
He got hit for 7 more runs tonight, and somehow still won.
It's not like the Dodgers front office knew he was going to have a bad year. They made him a lucrative offer, but Arizona beat it.
They just got lucky that Arizona pried him away. I guess it's still possible that he will turn it around and look Greinke-like, but this is already looking pretty ugly for Arizona.
In the meantime, Dave Roberts sat not one, not two, but THREE regulars against Miami tonight, and lost. Seager, Pederson, and Gonzalez were out of the lineup, and the Dodgers lost 3-2. I understand resting people, but why all at once?
The Dodgers are not that smart. I remember listening to an analyst on the radio before the season started saying that Zach was going from a pitcher's park with an experienced catcher to a hitter's park with an average catcher and that he would get rocked in Arizona. Seems to be working out that way. He did pitch well on the road giving up 2 earned runs vs the padres and 1 earned run vs the giants. The Dbacks have a monster offense and I think they got a damn good chance of winning the West, even if Zach continues to struggle at home.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Good article regarding the tanking in the NL which is occurring big time this year: http://espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney.../post?id=12685
I agree with it. There are some awful teams this year, most notably the Braves (they have like 3 or 4 home runs this YEAR), but also the Phillies, Reds, Brewers, and Padres.
Olney points out in the article that one problem compared to the past is the bullpen. In previous years, good pitchers could make a competitive game, even on a bad team. But now, with those pitchers having their innings closely watched, a bad bullpen (and impotent offense) can undo even a very good pitcher's strong outing.
On a side note, I got fucked today on a +135 bet on the Reds. They had a decent pitcher going, facing old man Bartolo Colon, and Cespedes was out of the lineup for the Mets. Sure enough, the Reds were up 3-0 after 6. In the 7th, with men on 1st and 2nd, somehow Cespedes (who was supposed to miss most of the week) found the strength to pinch hit, and bopped a 3-run HR. I lost the game 4-3.
Even worse, I had Cespedes benched on my fantasy team, so I didn't even get credit on that side of things.
You guys don't deserve this tip but I am feeling uncharacterically generous having scooped the Red Sox over one of those tanking teams - the Braves. Always run line and totals. (I did not bet previous game as the Red Sox only got 5 hours of sleep after extra innings and travel)
The tip:
ESPN's Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney. Mon-Fri. Avail as daily podcast. I listen every night as I fall asleep.
As previously mentioned in a Dodger troll post, the Dodgers are 10 yrs too late to the value game. Post steroid power etc. Its about youth & the speed that comes with youth. It's now about scouting, drafting and the farm system. Dodger MBA geeks don't know.
The tanking is more pronounced now mostly because this is fact. The tanking issue needs to be addressed in the Natuonal League. In the AL and the East the big markets won't tolerate tanking.
I see a lot of college games. You see more scouts now. More scouts doing video and serious work. Buy these guys a hamburger and they will tell you great stories. They all sport their World Series rings if they got one.
Gonna see China's Bryant (35) vs Daly's Boston College (52) tomorrow afternoon. Two best D1 in East although Boston College athletic dept just can't pull their head out of their ass. It's a huge Sonatine style hate-watch for me.
You are not the only one who got fucked on that game.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanlmar
It's more about scouting and drafting now because of the out-of-control salaries that have come with the foolish, unjustified TV contracts.
Why pay $10-$15 mil per year for a middling free agent or $20-$30 mil for a good free agent, when you can get good young players for anywhere from $500k to a few mil per year? And those guys get better, whereas 30-year-old free agents get worse.
So now tanking and salary dumping are all the rage, especially for smaller market teams which can't sink $200-$300 million into star players who may only give them 1 or 2 good years on a 7 year contract.
But this is all temporary. The TV money will run out (this will start when TV contract get negotiated after they expire), and it will be replaced by the much less lucrative subscription model.
Then the crazy salaries will decline again, and it will be more cost-effective to buy free agents than it currently is.
This will take awhile, though.
How many big contracts were worth the money?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Ryan Howard - No
Albert Pujols - No
Josh Hamilton - No
Barry Zito - No
Stanton - TBD
Votto - TBD
Freeman - TBD
Greinke - TBD
So far the big Kershaw contract has been worth the money.
The Dodgers also got 3 excellent years out of Greinke before he opted out, which may have been a lucky break for them.
Carl Crawford's big contract was probably the most LOL of recent big contracts, in that I knew it was ridiculous from the moment it was signed.
Dodgers were stupid to eat that (plus Beckett's ridiculous but shorter contract) just to get Gonzalez from the Red Sox, who also had a big contract.
Gonzalez has been worth the money the Dodgers are paying him, but not when you add Beckett and Crawford's money to it.
Could have been worse. Could have went out and signed Panda and Ramierez on top of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
The Red Sox fucked up a free lunch (after a fluke WS).
Just as many are though....probably a 50/50 split TBHQuote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_assHow many big contracts were worth the money?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Ryan Howard - No
Albert Pujols - No
Josh Hamilton - No
Barry Zito - No
Stanton - TBD
Votto - TBD
Freeman - TBD
Greinke - TBD
AROD - yes
AROD pt 2. - yes
Jeter - yes
Cabrera pt1 - yes
Felix - yes
Beltran - yes
Bonds - yes
Pujols pt1 - yes
Texeira - pretty much yes
Posey - yes so far
So what you're saying is all the big contracts in the steroid era worked out?Quote:
Originally Posted by gutJust as many are though....probably a 50/50 split TBHQuote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_ass
AROD - yes
AROD pt 2. - yes
Jeter - yes
Cabrera pt1 - yes
Felix - yes
Beltran - yes
Bonds - yes
Pujols pt1 - yes
Texeira - pretty much yes
Posey - yes so far
"This will take a while, though". Talk about an understatement. I counted 15 of the biggest tv contracts running from 2028-2042.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
End of article chart
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/estim...-30-mlb-teams/
Your other point, "But this is all temporary" amazes me. I have gained a healthy respect for surprise when it comes to digital media trends and shifting viewing habits.
You or I cannot possibly hazard to guess what media will look like in 8-20 years. I feel pretty comfortable betting the notion that advertisers will always pay huge money for live eyeballs on a nightly basis.
The wild card is sports betting as a catalyst to increased viewership and interest. I am convinced the NBA is on the forefront in their advocacy and approval. Fantasy sports has telegraphed the future. Whether teams, college and pro get a cut is an interesting question too.
Speaking of contacts...the Bryce Harper one should be interesting...
10 years/500M? Don't know when he is eligible for it...think it might be after the '17 season...I mean he'd be 24 (?), then...so sick to say that the contract at that number might be worth it given the revenue situation teams are in...he doesn't get hurt that contract takes him from 24 to 34 and doesn't hit those drop off years that all these other long term deals hit on...so you are getting 8-9 years of pre-prime/prime years and maybe 1-2 years of a little down turn...that one is gonna break free agency as we know it...
Harpers contract actually ends after this year 2016. He does have 2 years of Salary Arb coming up but lets be honest the Nats have no chance of winning either of those fights and they know it.Quote:
Originally Posted by GambleBotsChafedPenis
http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/washingto.../bryce-harper/