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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 16:01:24 GMT -5
4) He’s better on D than Xander ever was... Oh yeah? Show me another cigar store Indian who made fewer errors?
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 15:16:23 GMT -5
Do to the automated strike zones in the minor leagues, heights get updated every spring. Today's AAA changes include: Hickey 5'11" → 6'0" Kavadas 5'11" → 6'1" Meidroth 5'9" → 5'10" What's the best article on how the AAA automated strike zone works? The perfect system would have to be a cube and adjust for every batter. I seriously doubt it's anything that sophisticated. Even an unchanging rectangle at either the front (further from the catcher) or back (closer to the catcher) of the plate would be far better than any human umpire. Also the rectangle currently used to illustrate good and bad calls; is that rectangle looking at the front or back of the plate? I ask because with some pitchers due to arm angle and the amount of horizontal break on a sweeper the must be pitches which miss in front but would clip the back corner. And with a hammer type curve there must be pitchers whose breaking ball passes through the front but might end up bouncing in front of the catcher.
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 13:21:54 GMT -5
It's still early but so far the scorecard reads: Red Sox pathetic rotation* - 1 Mariners vaunted rotation - 0 *along with Pete Abe's snarky comment, Steve Adams of MLBTR described the Sox rotation as "in shambles" on their most recent podcast, implying that one reason the Sox didn't outbid Arizona for Montgomery is that they are punting on 2024, in part because the rest of the roster is "rife with holes." This reminds me of Bob Ryan's famous preseason claim about the 2008 Celtics: "Worst four through thirteen (players) in the league." That didn't age well for Hyperbolic Bob. Yet today the Celtics have the worst one and the best two through thirteen in the league.
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 10:43:08 GMT -5
Nice to see so many people already not wanting Cora to use his whole bullpen rather than running out the exact same guys night after night until their arms fall off.
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Post by patford on Mar 28, 2024 15:54:55 GMT -5
A couple of months ago I said I'd be happy with anything as long as the shipped out Sale and didn't sign Montgomery so I'm happy.
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 20:59:19 GMT -5
Dombrowski may have ruined his career ramping him up so quickly last season. May have?
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 13:02:47 GMT -5
Seems there was very little interest in Montgomery from anyone. Maybe there are concerns we don't know about? I can't imagine that their concerns would be greater than a 1-year deal where you don't go over the luxury and don't lose a draft pick. Montgomery is going to be better than at least 3 of their starters. Someone is already in the rotation that shouldn't have been. I was talking about the Yankees. In which case he would be better than all five of their starters.
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 12:03:29 GMT -5
Pretty wild the Red Sox didn't match this. They can easily free up 2-3 million. Seems there was very little interest in Montgomery from anyone. Maybe there are concerns we don't know about?
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 10:28:13 GMT -5
A little surprised Yorke is starting off in AA but makes that Portland team even more must see for the first few months anyway. It feels like Yorke has been around forever but he'll still just be 22 in April, he feels like the under the radar guy maybe in the whole farm right now. Big year for Yorke. He's had a series of injuries nagging and otherwise so it's been impossible to get a solid read on him. In order not to be a blown pick he has to hit really well and not just okay.
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 9:53:02 GMT -5
If somebody stole 4.5 million from me I would certainly report it This is highly suspicious. Does anyone even know where Mizuhara is at the moment? My assumption is he did not return to the U.S. with the Dodgers and charges will not be pressed by Ohtani. When questioned Ohtani's attorneys Blair Berk and Andrew Brettler gave this statement, "Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities." Yet when asked exactly who "the authorities" are they didn't respond.
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Post by patford on Mar 26, 2024 21:52:00 GMT -5
I like it when the podcast description says things like "Players discussed include Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Yoeilin Cespedes, Richard Fitts, Franklin Arias, Blake Wehunt and more!" Both makes me want to listen, and also helps when they say a guy's name once and then talk about him for five minutes, saying "he" and "his" and never saying his name again. That would be helpful or perhaps they could time stamp-hyper link each segment as some podcasts and YouTube posts do so it would be possible to go exactly to a segment. Easy for me to say. Doing that might be a real pain.
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Post by patford on Mar 26, 2024 21:47:52 GMT -5
FYI, this is pretty much an issue for any podcast. As a listener I have the same frustration sometimes, but note that it's very hard to get into the habit of saying a guy's name over and over again. The guys had no trouble on this one saying Cespedes Cespedes Cespedes and Bleis Bleis Bleis. As long as they don't call him Cespie I'm good.
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Post by patford on Mar 26, 2024 20:08:14 GMT -5
Seeing Mark Kolozsvary catching. I get the team needs to carry three catchers during Spring Training but he's 28 and pretty obviously an org guy at best. What is the thinking in having Kolozsvary with the MLB club when Teel is so polished? Is it just that Teel is getting a lot more work in minor league Spring Training than he would be if he was backing up Wong and McGuire? Teel wasn't even in MLB camp. Kolozsvary is there because he's one of the depth catchers in AAA. You don't really use a guy headed to AA for that sort of thing. Thanks. I'd somehow thought he was starting the year in Worcester. Looks like all three catchers in Worcester are almost player coaches. Highly experienced older catchers who know how to call a game and handle pitchers.
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Post by patford on Mar 26, 2024 15:13:27 GMT -5
Seeing Mark Kolozsvary catching. I get the team needs to carry three catchers during Spring Training but he's 28 and pretty obviously an org guy at best. What is the thinking in having Kolozsvary with the MLB club when Teel is so polished? Is it just that Teel is getting a lot more work in minor league Spring Training than he would be if he was backing up Wong and McGuire?
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Post by patford on Mar 26, 2024 15:06:43 GMT -5
The Cespedes talk on the podcast is really really exciting. Sounds like he’ll be moving up in the rankings and has elite bat speed. Very encouraging podcast. The system seems loaded. Sounds like the team drafted well under Bloom.
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Post by patford on Mar 26, 2024 15:02:45 GMT -5
I wonder if the shoulder subluxation wasn't something which was already an issue before he was shut down and had surgery? Similar to what was the case with Mayer trying to play through an injury perhaps leading to poor results. It was definitely already bothering him during that week he came back and went 1 for 18, which really tanked his line. He hadn't been lighting the world afire in April, but he'd been decent enough for a guy in his first full-season league. An important point to keep in mind. Injuries have a huge effect. And sometimes we don't know about them because a player might not be a type who complains and tries to play through things.
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Post by patford on Mar 26, 2024 9:11:53 GMT -5
Rafaela's been very consistent. Seems like he has a hit in every game. He’s been fun to watch but the way people talk about him you would think he’d have a better wRC+ than 121 this spring. That would be more than good enough during the regular season, but I don’t think the .242 ISO is sustainable, and the 6% BB rate might not be either. Yes. He's only hitting something like .270 but he is still managing a hit in almost every game. So perhaps he just hasn't had a hot streak and this is what he does when he's in a slump. I have on my rose colored glasses.
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Post by patford on Mar 25, 2024 22:27:36 GMT -5
Rafaela's been very consistent. Seems like he has a hit in every game.
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Post by patford on Mar 25, 2024 15:59:55 GMT -5
So the player that comes up with a brilliant contract to avoid paying California taxes. If he simply moves after finishing out his contract. Is the same guy that doesn't notice $4.5 million missing? Who when notified says he's just paying his friends debts, then completely changes his story? Just my two cents, but yeah it's like Payton Manning saying it was my wifes. It's so completely unbelievable the only reply to someone who buys his claim is to laugh in their face while poking them on the sternum with an index finger.
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Post by patford on Mar 24, 2024 20:40:40 GMT -5
To me the Yankees kindergarten dress code really does sort of emasculate a player. The very fact a player (particularly someone with the stature and clout of Cole) would agree to such idiocy says something about them. And I'm saying this as someone who dislikes the whole greasy looking Southern cowboy look. I'd never dream of telling a professional baseball player (or anyone) "If you're a Yankee you must conform to the Waffen SS dress code. Waiting for the day when someone finally has the eggs to tell the Yankees, "I'll sign with you but don't tell me how my hair and beard are supposed to look." It's such a perfect symbol of how ossified the Yankees culture is. "Keep your hair short and shave your beard" is a statement within the cultural logic of like the 1970s; it bears no relation whatsoever to 2020s fashion or politics. But half a century later they just keep at it out of sheer inertia and self-regard. Early '70s Yankees were very much on the shaggy side and that's the root of Steinbrenner's idiotic rule. It's just absolutely this purists and amazing to me that someone hasn't told the Yankees to shove it. Gerrit Cole should have done it. Cole with the Astros looked like a complete filthy slob. And then he folds like when he could have made it a matter of principle and had the clout to do it.
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Post by patford on Mar 24, 2024 16:17:16 GMT -5
It's the Samson effect - cut the hair, lose the flair. To me the Yankees kindergarten dress code really does sort of emasculate a player. The very fact a player (particularly someone with the stature and clout of Cole) would agree to such idiocy says something about them. And I'm saying this as someone who dislikes the whole greasy looking Southern cowboy look. I'd never dream of telling a professional baseball player (or anyone) "If you're a Yankee you must conform to the Waffen SS dress code. Waiting for the day when someone finally has the eggs to tell the Yankees, "I'll sign with you but don't tell me how my hair and beard are supposed to look."
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Post by patford on Mar 24, 2024 16:11:05 GMT -5
Chris Sale hasn't pitched since March 14 when he went 3.1 against the Rays. Has there been any recent news touching on that? Maybe they've already got him in the bubble wrap and packing peanuts? I managed to find a tweet from a week ago saying he was pitching on a backfield so the Braves could set up their rotation. Which may be but none of their other starters have skipped a turn and this is the time in Spring Training where starting pitchers are ramping up to five or more innings. All I know if he was still with the Sox I'd be very concerned and not believing the "set up the rotation" bit.
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Post by patford on Mar 23, 2024 13:11:25 GMT -5
Chris Sale hasn't pitched since March 14 when he went 3.1 against the Rays. Has there been any recent news touching on that?
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Post by patford on Mar 22, 2024 23:27:48 GMT -5
If you read Silver's piece, he explains it clearly. His relationship with the interpreter was very close, very personal. If he trusted him enough to have him acting as a personal secretary with access to the account, that's all it would take. I get that part - but like for a banking institution, aren’t there any steps they would take at this level of transaction to verify its authenticity? Ohtani I would have to imagine has to a money manager, even if that is a separate person from his bank. No one saw the multitude of $500,000 dollar payments to some obscure bank account and bothered to double check? That’s what I don’t understand, but I’m no finance guy. The kind of complete indifference doesn't jibe with the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED article published one day before the gambling story broke. www.si.com/mlb/2024/03/19/shohei-ohtani-is-an-icon-among-us-los-angeles-dodgers-dog-decoy#gid=ci02d8c822d0002684&pid=part-4-the-deferral"The deferral idea had percolated in Ohtani’s mind for weeks. Ohtani had never come close to signing an extension with the Angels before the 2023 season...Once Ohtani told Balelo about the deferral idea, the agent went to work to devise the best structure for his client...Ohtani made his decision that night. He told Balelo he wanted to play for the Dodgers."
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Post by patford on Mar 22, 2024 22:57:54 GMT -5
For those with a banking background, how exactly would a person steal money via wiring from someone else’s account, which is what Ohtani’s people seem to be alleging? Life if I use a shady ATM to withdraw 100 bucks my bank will text me to make sure it’s me - how would Ohtani not get notified about 4.5 MILLION dollars in bank transfers? Ippei was an interpreter, not an accountant? If you read Silver's piece, he explains it clearly. His relationship with the interpreter was very close, very personal. If he trusted him enough to have him acting as a personal secretary with access to the account, that's all it would take. It would take more than that. It would also mean Ohtani never looks online at his bank accounts or on paper and does not have an accountant or any sort of financial advisors. It's not as if Ohtani seems to be completely uninterested in money.
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