Random MLB News & Discussion 2014

[reillymcshane]

The cliches runneth over. Denver Post writer Mark Kiszla apparently has a man-crush on Walt Weiss, and feels compelled to justify the Rockies trade of Dexter Fowler - and at the same time bow to the alter of 'toughness' and grittiness'. At times, it's like it was written by someone from the Onion.

 

Apparently Fowler was traded because he didn't have the ability to "compete and grind and play with grit" (Walt Weiss' quote).

 

http://www.denverpost.com/kiszla/ci_25412691/mark-kiszla-dexter-fowler-was-wrong-fit-walt

 

Here are some of the other lines from the article:

 

- "Fowler was not the kind of player Weiss needs on a team that must grind out victories in the National League West"

 

- "Compete hard. Take ownership of wins and losses. Grind with pride."

 

- "Fowler is gone. The Rockies are tougher."

 

- "The Rockies, however, are better off without Fowler."

 

- "He (Fowler) simply isn't tough enough."

 

- "You want the Rockies to bring a dirt-bag attitude that can wrestle with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the gutter, then Dickerson is your center fielder."

 

The best line: "Colorado, however, was 100 percent correct in dumping Fowler and re-investing the money in new first baseman Justin Morneau."

 

Yes, adding an aging 1B who needs to be platooned is the best way to spend your money. And Colorado is struggling to find a suitable replacement for Fowler - both in the field and in the leadoff spot.

 

I won't criticize Colorado for dealing Fowler. He's struggled to stay healthy over his career. If that bothers them, it's their choice to move on from him. But to do so without a plan is pretty foolish. And their decision making in free agency (Morneau for $12.5 milliion and a lefty relief specialist for $16.5) has a lot of be desired.

[logan82]

There is just so much backward thinking in baseball it boggles the mind. It's a boys club with managers and GMs. Minimally progressive spewing out outdated nonsense and refusing to change. From training to instituting replay to tactical decisions made on the field the world has passed baseball by and they don't care.

[TooLiveBrew]

The cliches runneth over. Denver Post writer Mark Kiszla apparently has a man-crush on Walt Weiss, and feels compelled to justify the Rockies trade of Dexter Fowler - and at the same time bow to the alter of 'toughness' and grittiness'. At times, it's like it was written by someone from the Onion.

 

Apparently Fowler was traded because he didn't have the ability to "compete and grind and play with grit" (Walt Weiss' quote).

 

http://www.denverpost.com/kiszla/ci_25412691/mark-kiszla-dexter-fowler-was-wrong-fit-walt

 

Here are some of the other lines from the article:

 

- "Fowler was not the kind of player Weiss needs on a team that must grind out victories in the National League West"

 

- "Compete hard. Take ownership of wins and losses. Grind with pride."

 

- "Fowler is gone. The Rockies are tougher."

 

- "The Rockies, however, are better off without Fowler."

 

- "He (Fowler) simply isn't tough enough."

 

- "You want the Rockies to bring a dirt-bag attitude that can wrestle with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the gutter, then Dickerson is your center fielder."

 

The best line: "Colorado, however, was 100 percent correct in dumping Fowler and re-investing the money in new first baseman Justin Morneau."

 

Yes, adding an aging 1B who needs to be platooned is the best way to spend your money. And Colorado is struggling to find a suitable replacement for Fowler - both in the field and in the leadoff spot.

 

I won't criticize Colorado for dealing Fowler. He's struggled to stay healthy over his career. If that bothers them, it's their choice to move on from him. But to do so without a plan is pretty foolish. And their decision making in free agency (Morneau for $12.5 milliion and a lefty relief specialist for $16.5) has a lot of be desired.

I wouldn't be stunned to see Fowler have big numbers against the Rockies this season after comments like that. Geez.

[trwi7]

The comments in that article are great. Luckily most of the fans aren't buying the crap that Weiss and the writer are selling.

[reillymcshane]

The comments in that article are great. Luckily most of the fans aren't buying the crap that Weiss and the writer are selling.

I looked at the comments after I made the post. They are priceless. Like you say, no one is buying the crap.

 

People complain about beat writers being stooges for the team, but this is so obviously a hack job. It's like the team went to the writer and said, 'People are complaining about us being cheap and making bad moves. Write an article that trashes Fowler relentlessly so that it looks like we did the right thing."

 

I felt sorry for Fowler after seeing the piece.

[MVP2110]

Ryan Braun not rated in the top 9 right fielders, supposedly rated an 85 in the game.

[RockCoCougars]

What in the world is Randy Wolf thinking right now?

[stalton]

What in the world is Randy Wolf thinking right now?

 

It floored me with what he did. He was given the #5 job but Seattle wanted him to sign a 45 day waiver to either send him to AAA or to release him. Instead Wolfie declined to sign the clause and asked for his release given a claim that he had already signed a team friendly deal (1 mil + 4+mil in incentives) and shouldn't have to sign an additional clause.

 

Umm what?

[jerichoholicninja]

There is just so much backward thinking in baseball it boggles the mind. It's a boys club with managers and GMs. Minimally progressive spewing out outdated nonsense and refusing to change. From training to instituting replay to tactical decisions made on the field the world has passed baseball by and they don't care.

 

It's what you would expect when 95% of baseball management are signed from within the industry. No outsiders, no new ideas. Basically the same reason the government is pretty much useless.

[Outlander]

The Mariners sure are catching a lot of grief with the Wolf issue but not sure why. I hope the Brewers have a similar agreement with Duke.

[RockCoCougars]

I see Kottaras just got released by the Cubs. That might explain Wolfie's actions. Maybe he thinks that they are a package deal.

[dlk9s]

The Mariners sure are catching a lot of grief with the Wolf issue but not sure why. I hope the Brewers have a similar agreement with Duke.

 

They threw this silly agreement at Wolf AFTER he made the team and well after he signed his contract. They were basically trying to freeroll his services for a month and a half.

[Outlander]

It sure isn't silly, I wish there were actually more ways not to guarantee a contract in baseball. In this case the Mariners are taking a chance on Wolf and I would say there is a good chance he shows he doesn't belong in the majors in those 45 days. It was also the only time they could have asked Wolf to sign the agreement but Wolf thought too highly of himself and decided to act like a baby.

[dlk9s]

I guess I mean "silly" given that contracts are guaranteed. I, too, would like the system to be changed to some sort of non-guaranteed contract (don't know how exactly I would change it). The Mariners should have put that agreement into the original contract. That way, Wolf could have signed it knowing what he was getting into or refused it and either reworked the deal ahead of time or possibly have time to catch on with another team.

 

Given the contract he signed and the expectations he had, I think what the Mariners tried to do was very unfair.

[Invader3K]

It sure isn't silly, I wish there were actually more ways not to guarantee a contract in baseball. In this case the Mariners are taking a chance on Wolf and I would say there is a good chance he shows he doesn't belong in the majors in those 45 days. It was also the only time they could have asked Wolf to sign the agreement but Wolf thought too highly of himself and decided to act like a baby.

 

I agree that it would be nice if more contracts in baseball weren't guaranteed, but in this case I have to side with Wolf. He negotiated a contract in good faith with Seattle and then they tried to slip this in last minute. I think a bad taste would be left with many of us if our employers tried to do something similar.

[owbc]

Just saw the highlights of the Jays' game in Montreal--looked like a playoff atmosphere with 45,000+ fans in attendance. Never forget the Expos!!!

[pitchleague]

As of this moment, the Arizona Diamondbacks are the Worst team in baseball and the front-runners for the top pick of the 2015 Amateur Draft.

[Thurston Fluff]

Interesting read on how valuable a skill framing pitches is. Also nice to see Lucroy is among the best of them. http://grantland.com/features/studying-art-pitch-framing-catchers-such-francisco-cervelli-chris-stewart-jose-molina-others/

 

...no one else comes close to costing his team as much per pitch as Doumit, and only Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy has approached Molina levels of framing effectiveness. (Lucroy has some advantages over Molina. He’s 11 years younger and has a better bat, which allows him to stay in the lineup. Since his debut in 2010, he’s saved almost twice as many runs due to framing as any other catcher, aside from Molina.)

[jjkoestler]

Angels fans gave Robbie Cano a long boo during his first AB. Irony like that is so thick and rich it can be drizzled over pancakes.

[JohnBriggs12]

Great to see Casey McGehee back in the major leagues! Nice opener for him! Would love to see him find that stroke he had in 09 and 10. Never say never. Casey might be worth another look for 2015.

[3and2Fastball]

Mike Trout looked like the same old potential All-Time great last night, taking King Felix deep for a HR, hitting another rocket single off a relief pitchers leg, making tough plays in CF look routine. Meanwhile the Angels have serious bullpen problems and got beat 10-3.... Corey Hart sat the bench for the Mariners but supposedly will start games 2 & 3

[trwi7]

The Marlins have won their first two series' of the year. They did not win their second series last year until May 31st-June 2nd.

[dlk9s]

Saw another stat on the Marlins last night. They have scored 40 runs so far this season. It took them 19 games to do that last year.

[owbc]

Fernandez is becoming a star in Miami. The game was nearly a sellout last night.

[MadScientist]

Maybe this deserves it's own thread, but the Braves are un-American:

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--z9Qr4hEg--/c_fit,fl_progressive,w_636/id25gncpaszeoocahkkq.jpg

 

Yep they torched the American flag for their home opener.