Random news and notes for MLB 2018

[owbc]

Arizona switching to artificial turf: http://arizonasports.com/story/1696534/derrick-hall-diamondbacks-ditch-grass-synthetic-turf-field/

[trwi7]

[Outlander]

Not sure when it happened but saw Baseball Reference has updated service times if you are curious where various Brewers are at.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Not sure where to put this, but Theo has indicated a willingness to listen on trade offers for Kris Bryant. The article mentions Bryant's likely arbitration cost and the Cubs' limited offseason flexibility due to their bloated payroll that will be included some significant arbitration raises to some of their younger players, plus Theo commenting about trying to rebuild their dumpster fire of a farm system that he poured gasoline on to create...The article also mentions the friction early on with Boras when the Cubs basically held Bryant back a full year before calling him up to the majors while they were terrible so they'd have him under team control for a longer portion of when they were competitive.

 

I'm sure there's some merit to the above being reasons why the Cubs would be shopping Bryant - but if they were confident he'll be healthy and completely over his shoulder issues there's no way Theo would be talking about trading the 2016 MVP - If they are actually serious about taking trade offers for Bryant, the Cubs have to be worried about Bryant's shoulder being a chronic problem. They are about to come into a ton of fun $$ with their own network, so I don't buy their payroll being a reason to trade Bryant - particularly when all indications are that they'll be pushing to sign either Machado or Harper.

[CrewFanBrewMan69]

Not sure where to put this, but Theo has indicated a willingness to listen on trade offers for Kris Bryant. The article mentions Bryant's likely arbitration cost and the Cubs' limited offseason flexibility due to their bloated payroll that will be included some significant arbitration raises to some of their younger players, plus Theo commenting about trying to rebuild their dumpster fire of a farm system that he poured gasoline on to create...The article also mentions the friction early on with Boras when the Cubs basically held Bryant back a full year before calling him up to the majors while they were terrible so they'd have him under team control for a longer portion of when they were competitive.

 

I'm sure there's some merit to the above being reasons why the Cubs would be shopping Bryant - but if they were confident he'll be healthy and completely over his shoulder issues there's no way Theo would be talking about trading the 2016 MVP - If they are actually serious about taking trade offers for Bryant, the Cubs have to be worried about Bryant's shoulder being a chronic problem. They are about to come into a ton of fun $$ with their own network, so I don't buy their payroll being a reason to trade Bryant - particularly when all indications are that they'll be pushing to sign either Machado or Harper.

Theo already came out and shot this down. Olney took some out of context quote from him and ran with it/ESPN sensationalized it. Theo said something like “of course nobody’s untouchable but I’d fine it hard to see a scenario moving him (Bryant) makes sense” and Olney somehow ran with the whole he’s being shopped thing. It’s kinda odd, he even had that quote within the article.

[TURBO]

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Astros and Cardinals are the two teams "that have had the most meaningful discussions" with the Diamondbacks regarding a Paul Goldschmidt trade.

 

Rosenthal cautions that "no deal is close" and talks are "not yet advanced," but it looks like Houston and St. Louis could be the early favorites to land the six-time All-Star. Goldschmidt is slated to earn $14.5 million next season before entering free agency next winter. It's obviously going to take a big package to land him even though he's only under team control for one year. Goldy rebounded from a slow start to finish with a .290/.389/.533 and 33 home runs in 2018.

 

Source: Ken Rosenthal on TwitterNov 19 - 9:33 PM

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Astros and Cardinals are the two teams "that have had the most meaningful discussions" with the Diamondbacks regarding a Paul Goldschmidt trade.

 

Rosenthal cautions that "no deal is close" and talks are "not yet advanced," but it looks like Houston and St. Louis could be the early favorites to land the six-time All-Star. Goldschmidt is slated to earn $14.5 million next season before entering free agency next winter. It's obviously going to take a big package to land him even though he's only under team control for one year. Goldy rebounded from a slow start to finish with a .290/.389/.533 and 33 home runs in 2018.

 

Source: Ken Rosenthal on TwitterNov 19 - 9:33 PM

 

The thought of Goldschmidt in the middle of that Cardinal lineup kind of makes me a little ill. I really hope that doesn't happen.

[stoutdude04]

Although not likely...I would just hope that his slow start last year was actually a sign that he is slowing down period and has a crummy year. If of course, he's traded to the Cards.

[TURBO]

Although not likely...I would just hope that his slow start last year was actually a sign that he is slowing down period and has a crummy year. If of course, he's traded to the Cards.

 

If he is traded to the Cards, he will have a career year, more than likely, an MVP season...

 

[jerichoholicninja]

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Astros and Cardinals are the two teams "that have had the most meaningful discussions" with the Diamondbacks regarding a Paul Goldschmidt trade.

 

Rosenthal cautions that "no deal is close" and talks are "not yet advanced," but it looks like Houston and St. Louis could be the early favorites to land the six-time All-Star. Goldschmidt is slated to earn $14.5 million next season before entering free agency next winter. It's obviously going to take a big package to land him even though he's only under team control for one year. Goldy rebounded from a slow start to finish with a .290/.389/.533 and 33 home runs in 2018.

 

Source: Ken Rosenthal on TwitterNov 19 - 9:33 PM

 

The thought of Goldschmidt in the middle of that Cardinal lineup kind of makes me a little ill. I really hope that doesn't happen.

 

He'll only be there one year and it will hurt the Cards farm system.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Astros and Cardinals are the two teams "that have had the most meaningful discussions" with the Diamondbacks regarding a Paul Goldschmidt trade.

 

Rosenthal cautions that "no deal is close" and talks are "not yet advanced," but it looks like Houston and St. Louis could be the early favorites to land the six-time All-Star. Goldschmidt is slated to earn $14.5 million next season before entering free agency next winter. It's obviously going to take a big package to land him even though he's only under team control for one year. Goldy rebounded from a slow start to finish with a .290/.389/.533 and 33 home runs in 2018.

 

Source: Ken Rosenthal on TwitterNov 19 - 9:33 PM

 

The thought of Goldschmidt in the middle of that Cardinal lineup kind of makes me a little ill. I really hope that doesn't happen.

 

He'll only be there one year and it will hurt the Cards farm system.

 

One year during the Brewers' limited contention window. I'd much prefer the Cardinals just go away down to mediocre land for the next 5 years. If they need directions, they can ask the Reds and Pirates.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Thought this was interesting considering how shift-heavy the suddenly solid Brewers' defense has become:

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25463813/mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-backing-rule-change-limit-defensive-shifts

 

I think it's kind of silly to try and make a rule to restrict shifts - what would it be, 2 infielders have to be on each side of 2B at the time of the pitch? What about OF shifting? Are there going to be markers or boundaries added to the field where fielders need to be? If players wanted to see their offensive stats go back up, maybe spend a little more time working on your approach and becoming a better hitter at either going the other way or getting a bunt down in certain spots to force teams out of the shift. Sure, that may come at the expense of more chances to swing for the downs and hit HR, but if your OBP increases by 50 percentage points because you hit to all fields you're probably a better and more valuable offensive player.

 

It seems like MLB is at the point where heavy defensive shifting is industry standard across MLB - there will come a point where statistical/spray chart analysis determines that having a more balanced lineup of hitters whose approach forces teams to scrap or dramatically reduce shifting is a better approach for scoring runs than trying to hit through/over it. There will be a team that applies that strategy and succeeds in doing so..

[clancyphile]

Thought this was interesting considering how shift-heavy the suddenly solid Brewers' defense has become:

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25463813/mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-backing-rule-change-limit-defensive-shifts

 

I think it's kind of silly to try and make a rule to restrict shifts - what would it be, 2 infielders have to be on each side of 2B at the time of the pitch? What about OF shifting? Are there going to be markers or boundaries added to the field where fielders need to be? If players wanted to see their offensive stats go back up, maybe spend a little more time working on your approach and becoming a better hitter at either going the other way or getting a bunt down in certain spots to force teams out of the shift. Sure, that may come at the expense of more chances to swing for the downs and hit HR, but if your OBP increases by 50 percentage points because you hit to all fields you're probably a better and more valuable offensive player.

 

It seems like MLB is at the point where heavy defensive shifting is industry standard across MLB - there will come a point where statistical/spray chart analysis determines that having a more balanced lineup of hitters whose approach forces teams to scrap or dramatically reduce shifting is a better approach for scoring runs than trying to hit through/over it. There will be a team that applies that strategy and succeeds in doing so..

 

Because, the shift made the Brewers a contender, and Major League Baseball wants its playoffs to be in the big markets.

 

It's the same with the way they're messing with draft compensation over the years. It's become less and less costly for a big-market team to sign free agents. In essence, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and a few other teams we can all name are really to be an advanced farm team for the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Nationals, and a couple others that we can probably name off the tops of our heads.

 

MLB doesn't like having Milwaukee as the team with the best record in the NL. So, they're gonna change the rules to screw the Crew over.

[CrewFanBrewMan69]

The Athletic article about this showed how banning shifts would lead to more hits/base runners, which leads to more offense, which is what puts more people in the seats and gets more people watching since there’s more action and scoring. I really think that’s what’s behind this. Not some way to harm us.

[CrewFanBrewMan69]

 

If players wanted to see their offensive stats go back up, maybe spend a little more time working on your approach and becoming a better hitter at either going the other way or getting a bunt down in certain spots to force teams out of the shift. Sure, that may come at the expense of more chances to swing for the downs and hit HR, but if your OBP increases by 50 percentage points because you hit to all fields you're probably a better and more valuable offensive player..

 

 

I really hate this argument with the shifting stuff. You don’t think major league players have thought about this? It’s incredibly difficult to hit a baseball, especially in the current environment where you are facing more different pitchers through a game/pitchers with splits to neutralize you. It’s not easy to “just go the other way with it against the shift” if it was more guys would be doing it no doubt. It just isn’t that simple to do it with how ridiculous pitchers velocity and stuff is now and facing 2-4+ different pitches a game.

[trwi7]

We want you to identify the type of pitch it is in a split second and we also want you to hit the ball to a specific area of the field while trying to identify the pitch. Gee, real shocker that hitters haven't mastered that.

[topper09er]

 

 

It’s not easy to “just go the other way with it against the shift” if it was more guys would be doing it no doubt.

 

Yes it is. Choke up and don't your lower half in your swing. It used to be called a hit and run and every MLB regular could do it a generation ago.

[jjfanec]

Different articles I have read says guys have sold out to hit for power causing them to be more dead pull hitters. Pulling the ball leads to more power so guys quit hitting opposite field. Defenses have adjusted. Pull hitting is advantage. Shifting is the proper adjustment. Stop complaining

[CrewFanBrewMan69]

 

 

It’s not easy to “just go the other way with it against the shift” if it was more guys would be doing it no doubt.

 

Yes it is. Choke up and don't your lower half in your swing. It used to be called a hit and run and every MLB regular could do it a generation ago.

I just don’t buy in to this at all and think comments like this are BS in reality. It’s not as simple as “choking up and just going the other way.” That’s little league coach speak that’s nonsense. When pitchers topped out in the 80s or low 90s it maybe could’ve been done a generation ago but don’t think it was that easy then and is certainly harder now with the amount of velocity and stuff in the game.

[tmwiese55]

Have to remember if you're being shifted to pull that the vast majority of the pitches are going to be inside as well. They're not only taking your tendency but also pitching to make it even more of a tendency. It's not easy/simple to hit an inside pitch opposite field. Yes, this all should lead to training at younger ages to have approaches like say Yelich that doesn't have a drastic tendency, but these guys weren't brought up like that.

[JosephC]

Different articles I have read says guys have sold out to hit for power causing them to be more dead pull hitters. Pulling the ball leads to more power so guys quit hitting opposite field. Defenses have adjusted. Pull hitting is advantage. Shifting is the proper adjustment. Stop complaining

 

Yes, the beauty of baseball. If runs drop because of guys not being able to hit the ball over shifts and out of the park, then line-drive hitters will push offensive numbers back up and they will become in vogue and the marginal power guys with sinking OBPs will go on the endangered list. The game will adjust back. It's been a "natural" process for 100+ years. Bean-counters need not mess with the rules.

 

It's probably not an accident that Stearns last two first round picks have been hitters like Hiura and Turang. He very well could be ahead of the curve here.

[Oxy]

The proper strategy is HUGELY affected by the situation. In lead off situations or with guys on base and decent hitters coming up, every hitter should be able to bunt for a base hit against the shift.

[jerichoholicninja]

Different articles I have read says guys have sold out to hit for power causing them to be more dead pull hitters. Pulling the ball leads to more power so guys quit hitting opposite field. Defenses have adjusted. Pull hitting is advantage. Shifting is the proper adjustment. Stop complaining

 

Thank you. This 100%. If we're going to start banning shifts then we might as well ban breaking balls or pitches over 95 MPH or any other part of the game that makes it more difficult to be successful at.

[clancyphile]

The proper strategy is HUGELY affected by the situation. In lead off situations or with guys on base and decent hitters coming up, every hitter should be able to bunt for a base hit against the shift.

 

That creep with the Dodgers did just that, IIRC...

[Fear The Chorizo]

 

If players wanted to see their offensive stats go back up, maybe spend a little more time working on your approach and becoming a better hitter at either going the other way or getting a bunt down in certain spots to force teams out of the shift. Sure, that may come at the expense of more chances to swing for the downs and hit HR, but if your OBP increases by 50 percentage points because you hit to all fields you're probably a better and more valuable offensive player..

 

 

I really hate this argument with the shifting stuff. You don’t think major league players have thought about this? It’s incredibly difficult to hit a baseball, especially in the current environment where you are facing more different pitchers through a game/pitchers with splits to neutralize you. It’s not easy to “just go the other way with it against the shift” if it was more guys would be doing it no doubt. It just isn’t that simple to do it with how ridiculous pitchers velocity and stuff is now and facing 2-4+ different pitches a game.

 

Sure hitters think about this - in fact machado thought about it in game 7 of the nlcs, executed, and scored in a big spot of the game. I don't buy the argument that it's more difficult to punch a ball the opposite way or get a bunt down than it is to hit a hr - the approach is different and hitters need to make the effort to practice it, no doubt. Hitters have by and large gotten so far away from the small ball approach in today's game that it may be more difficult. When you see hitters routinely driving pitches on the outer half of the zone to pull fields, that's about approach and nothing to do with pitch velocity or location.

 

Can a hitter adjust his approach from their typical pull-heavy, slugging swing during a pitch and execute hitting to the opposite field? Hell no. But a hitter sure as hell can go up to the plate with a mindset that if a defensive alignment screams for an adjustment, a hitter can do alot of things to take advantage when game situations call for it. Stand off the plate more to combat pitchers working inside, shorten your swing and sacrifice slugging for better bat control. If people don't think this is possible, they haven't watched baseball near enough to remember what the game looked like for most of its history.