Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[killeverything]

I think right now the Braves can only hope they made the right decision trading Simmons. I know some Braves fans who would highly disagree right now...

The more I think about it the more I think he shouldn't have been on the market. Apparently everyone on the team is open for trade. It's going to be a long couple of years for Brave fans.

They had such a long run that I'm not used to seeing them not be competitive. It's just weird.

[killeverything]

Colby Rasmus accepts Houston's qualifying offer ( $15.8m ). The first player to do so. No one else was going to pay him $10m this season. His agent read the market right.

Matt Wieters accepts Baltimore's QO....the second player to do so. I think losing a draft pick really scares teams away. Is this policy fair to the players. I'm starting to hear rumblings about it not.

Jays and Marco Estrada agree to 2/26m.

*ETA

Brett Anderson 3rd player accept QO. Returns to LAD ( $15.8m ).

[killeverything]

Boston just got Craig Kimbrel from SD. Return not yet known. Now about their starting pitching....

*ETA

SD gets:
OF Manuel Margot
LHP Logan Allen
INFs Javier Guerra and Carlos Asuaje

[UtahRatt]

I think right now the Braves can only hope they made the right decision trading Simmons. I know some Braves fans who would highly disagree right now...

The more I think about it the more I think he shouldn't have been on the market. Apparently everyone on the team is open for trade. It's going to be a long couple of years for Brave fans.

They had such a long run that I'm not used to seeing them not be competitive. It's just weird.

It is going to be weird, 2014 they faced LAD in the Division Series and I bet that's the last playoffs Atlanta's see's for a long time.

It's got the fans and Freddie Freeman pissed off not to mention the new stadium in 2017 that's going to have some empty seats. The more I've read the more trading Simmons was a bad move that pissed off what fans were left hanging on. Like you said, it's going to be weird to see the Braves sucking.

This isn't what Freddie Freeman signed up for........
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/ ... ned-up-for

On Feb. 5, 2014, Freddie Freeman signed the longest contract in Atlanta Braves history, an eight-year extension worth $135 million that runs through 2021. The Braves were coming off a 96-win season, were one of the youngest teams in the majors, signed Jason Heyward to a two-year deal that same day, and the team had announced a new stadium project a couple of months prior. The future looked bright.

Less than two years later and Heyward is gone, Craig Kimbrel is gone, Justin Upton is gone, Brian McCann is gone, Evan Gattis is gone, Kris Medlen is gone, Alex Wood is gone and now shortstop Andrelton Simmons is gone, traded away Thursday night to the Angels for two pitching prospects. They'll move into their new ballpark in 2017 but the team moving in there isn't going to be any good.

[killeverything]

Freddie Freeman being made available in trade.

D'Backs deal RHP Jeremy Hellickson to Philly for milb RHP Sam McWilliams

D'Backs add Matt Williams as 3B coach. There's no bullpen usage authority as a 3B coach so their good.

O's GM Dan Duquette said Baltimore looks to acquire a top arm. This is the dude that traded Carl Pavano and Tony Aramos Jr. for Pedro Martinez, and then traded Heathcliff Slocumb ( remember him, of course you don't...M's fans do. I still hear them bitch about it when discussing the FO ) to Seattle for Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek.

The more I think about the 6 player Seattle/Tampa Bay trade the more it looks good for both teams. I think in Tampa, Miller could become the player he was predicted to and Dipotto seems to know what to address for Seattle. Maybe, just maybe they finally won't have a shitty GM. I'd like to see Miller succeed. He was one of the guys I enjoyed rooting for coming up.

There's a lot of analysis which says that SD won the Kimbrel trade in the long run. I'm a fan of Kimbrel but I'm not sure about the prospects exchanged. I'll try to do some research and post my findings later.

I normally sign off with a fuck NYY or fuck LAD, but today I wanna go with fuck Milwaukee. And not just because of the Selig affiliation. Is it Milwaukie or Milwaukee? Fuck you. I've seen it spelt both ways. Dicks.

[UtahRatt]

And not just because of the Selig affiliation. Is it Milwaukie or Milwaukee? Fuck you. I've seen it spelt both ways. Dicks.

What would Alice Cooper say?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRCTc6stICc

[UtahRatt]

Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly says his team’s payroll will drop from its $300MM threshold in 2015 to much closer to the $200MM level, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. The vast Dodger payrolls of the first few years under the Guggenheim group’s ownership were meant to ensure the team could stay competitive while rebuilding the farm system, and once this young talent starts to emerge, the spending will drop. Boehly thinks “sustainable is more like the league average [payroll], plus some, or plus a lot.” As Shaikin notes, this still leaves the Dodgers with the flexibility to maintain a payroll at or near the luxury tax level every year.

[killeverything]

As a surprise to no one Kris Bryant wins NL Rookie Of The Year ( he had that shit won before the season started ). He did have good competition in Duffy and Kang though.

Another no surprise, Carlos Correa wins NL ROY.

[UtahRatt]

Kris Bryant winning the ROY is the CUBS consolation prize. Fans act like he's Ernie fucking Banks while everyone else felt sorry for the CUBS being fucking SWEPT in the NLCS.

Bryant is the most overrated rookie of the year.

I got sick of all his fucking hype but they wouldn't show his errors or whiffs. You'd think he batted .370

[killeverything]

Kris Bryant winning the ROY is the CUBS consolation prize. Fans act like he's Ernie fucking Banks while everyone else felt sorry for the CUBS being fucking SWEPT in the NLCS.

Bryant is the most overrated rookie of the year.

I got sick of all his fucking hype but they wouldn't show his errors or whiffs. You'd think he batted .370

I don't know if it was a consolation, because he was hyped before Chicago made/lost the NLCS. The NL rookie class was pretty good though so there might be some people that disagree with the selection. I don't think anyine thought it was going to anyone else though.

Mariners acquire OF Leonys Martin and RHP Anthony Bass from Texas for Todd Wilhelmson, James Jones, a PTBNL. Dippoto is completely remaking the roster. I drank the Zduriencik kool-aid, but the new GM is certainly addressing needs.

[johnk5150]

As a surprise to no one Kris Bryant wins NL Rookie Of The Year ( he had that shit won before the season started ). He did have good competition in Duffy and Kang though.

Another no surprise, Carlos Correa wins NL ROY.

The rookie of the year struck out 200 times.

[killeverything]

As a surprise to no one Kris Bryant wins NL Rookie Of The Year ( he had that shit won before the season started ). He did have good competition in Duffy and Kang though.

Another no surprise, Carlos Correa wins NL ROY.

The rookie of the year struck out 200 times.

Yeah, but I don't do the voting and he was the unanimous winner in ST.

[UtahRatt]

As a surprise to no one Kris Bryant wins NL Rookie Of The Year ( he had that shit won before the season started ). He did have good competition in Duffy and Kang though.

Another no surprise, Carlos Correa wins NL ROY.

The rookie of the year struck out 200 times.

Yeah, but I don't do the voting and he was the unanimous winner in ST.

Bryant and Joc were on the same pace except Joc had the HR's and Bryant had like .040 better BA.......LAD pulled Joc for his strike outs and platooned him the last few months. Bryant was being hyped all year while every time I seen him it was Striking Out or and error like Joc. It got to the point where I dropped both them off the ROY list.
Then I got so sick of watching news updates, every Bryant HR was all over ESPN like we were watching the McGwire and Sosa ticker.
I watched them both thinking, no way either of these guys gets the ROY. Then LAD pulled JOC and ESPN kept hyping Bryant.....I knew Bryant was going to win it in August. They'd make it sound like he took them to the NLCS.

I honestly hate most sports writers and sporting news, they never said shit about the rest of the Rook's.

There's better ROY candidates. Not saying BY don't have a bright future if he brings down the whiffs but he won because of all the hype. The CUBS was all the talk this year.

[killeverything]

Bryant and Joc were on the same pace except Joc had the HR's and Bryant had like .040 better BA.......LAD pulled Joc for his strike outs and platooned him the last few months. Bryant was being hyped all year while every time I seen him it was Striking Out or and error like Joc. It got to the point where I dropped both them off the ROY list.
Then I got so sick of watching news updates, every Bryant HR was all over ESPN like we were watching the McGwire and Sosa ticker.
I watched them both thinking, no way either of these guys gets the ROY. Then LAD pulled JOC and ESPN kept hyping Bryant.....I knew Bryant was going to win it in August. They'd make it sound like he took them to the NLCS.

I honestly hate most sports writers and sporting news, they never said shit about the rest of the Rook's.

There's better ROY candidates. Not saying BY don't have a bright future if he brings down the whiffs but he won because of all the hype. The CUBS was all the talk this year.

Bryant and Pederson were the talk because of HRs. Chicks and sportswriters apparently dig the longball ( there's a joke in there somewhere ). As an all-around player, Duffy should have won. I've got to be honest though. There was a race in the NL for ROY. At times, even without the hype it was close.

[UtahRatt]

Bryant and Joc were on the same pace except Joc had the HR's and Bryant had like .040 better BA.......LAD pulled Joc for his strike outs and platooned him the last few months. Bryant was being hyped all year while every time I seen him it was Striking Out or and error like Joc. It got to the point where I dropped both them off the ROY list.
Then I got so sick of watching news updates, every Bryant HR was all over ESPN like we were watching the McGwire and Sosa ticker.
I watched them both thinking, no way either of these guys gets the ROY. Then LAD pulled JOC and ESPN kept hyping Bryant.....I knew Bryant was going to win it in August. They'd make it sound like he took them to the NLCS.

I honestly hate most sports writers and sporting news, they never said shit about the rest of the Rook's.

There's better ROY candidates. Not saying BY don't have a bright future if he brings down the whiffs but he won because of all the hype. The CUBS was all the talk this year.

Bryant and Pederson were the talk because of HRs. Chicks and sportswriters apparently dig the longball ( there's a joke in there somewhere ). As an all-around player, Duffy should have won. I've got to be honest though. There was a race in the NL for ROY. At times, even without the hype it was close.

I still wished I could remember the pitcher but I watched a couple innings of this Rook who mowed down a couple innings of hitters with wicked movement on his slider with a good heater.

It was all Joc and Bryant talk till Joc dropped off the map and LAD pulled him. I think the exact words were, Joc was on a pace to SO 200 times so he was yanked and PH.
That shit blows, there was more Rook's out there then those two. Sure I was pumped when Joc put 20 out before the break but I still wanted to see them go around the HORN with all the possible rookies. Not just Joc and Bryant. I don't like either of them now let alone know much about the others.

The media is all hype.

[killeverything]

Bryant and Joc were on the same pace except Joc had the HR's and Bryant had like .040 better BA.......LAD pulled Joc for his strike outs and platooned him the last few months. Bryant was being hyped all year while every time I seen him it was Striking Out or and error like Joc. It got to the point where I dropped both them off the ROY list.
Then I got so sick of watching news updates, every Bryant HR was all over ESPN like we were watching the McGwire and Sosa ticker.
I watched them both thinking, no way either of these guys gets the ROY. Then LAD pulled JOC and ESPN kept hyping Bryant.....I knew Bryant was going to win it in August. They'd make it sound like he took them to the NLCS.

I honestly hate most sports writers and sporting news, they never said shit about the rest of the Rook's.

There's better ROY candidates. Not saying BY don't have a bright future if he brings down the whiffs but he won because of all the hype. The CUBS was all the talk this year.

Bryant and Pederson were the talk because of HRs. Chicks and sportswriters apparently dig the longball ( there's a joke in there somewhere ). As an all-around player, Duffy should have won. I've got to be honest though. There was a race in the NL for ROY. At times, even without the hype it was close.

I still wished I could remember the pitcher but I watched a couple innings of this Rook who mowed down a couple innings of hitters with wicked movement on his slider with a good heater.

It was all Joc and Bryant talk till Joc dropped off the map and LAD pulled him. I think the exact words were, Joc was on a pace to SO 200 times so he was yanked and PH.
That shit blows, there was more Rook's out there then those two. Sure I was pumped when Joc put 20 out before the break but I still wanted to see them go around the HORN with all the possible rookies. Not just Joc and Bryant. I don't like either of them now let alone know much about the others.

The media is all hype.

Duffy's an all-around player with great D. Basically it made the team and fanbase go "Fat Panda who?" They didn't have plans to call him up because they didn't think he would be ready for the bigs. Hence why the tried Casey McGeehee at third first. It's arguable that Duffy should have won the ROY. I don't think he was robbed and he did place 2nd, with the hype of Bryant no one but Arod in Seattle was going to get it over him. I think he has the top selling jersey this year too.

David Ortiz announces 2016 retirement.

*ETA

Willie Mays and Yogi Berra awarded the Presidential Medal Of Freedom.



*ETA II

SF extends Brandon Crawford 6/72m

Joe Maddon named NL Mgr. Of The Year

[UtahRatt]

Brandon Crawford 6/72m

That sucks, I'd take him over Simmons. Crawford should be playing for a division winner like the Dodgers.

[UtahRatt]

I posted this quote earlier then found a big story on the BIG PLAN the Dodgers had when they came in from spending $300m to why and how and where they're going. I don't really like what I hear but it's understandable. It's why they didn't go all in this year on Price because they're not giving up farm or paying anymore high contracts. Sounds like they're working on a competitive team but I don't seen any Rings in the future.

Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly says his team’s payroll will drop from its $300MM threshold in 2015 to much closer to the $200MM level, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. The vast Dodger payrolls of the first few years under the Guggenheim group’s ownership were meant to ensure the team could stay competitive while rebuilding the farm system, and once this young talent starts to emerge, the spending will drop. Boehly thinks “sustainable is more like the league average [payroll], plus some, or plus a lot.” As Shaikin notes, this still leaves the Dodgers with the flexibility to maintain a payroll at or near the luxury tax level every year.

This quote is the tip of the ice burg of their big plan.

Money is still an object for Dodgers, who are trying to cut payroll from $300 million
http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/l ... story.html

his is the time of year when the baseball world spotlights the available players deemed most expensive and links them to the Dodgers.

David Price! Zack Greinke! How about both? Why stop there?

We keep thinking back to that summer day in 2012, in the Dodgers' first year under Guggenheim Baseball ownership, when the team swallowed a quarter-billion in contracts in one trade and President Stan Kasten giddily fielded a question about whether the club had a spending limit.

"I haven't found it yet," Kasten said then. "I'll let you know when we get there."

We might be just about there.

The Dodgers are doing all kinds of fascinating things, beyond feeding their players organic food and gaming the system to secure extra draft picks. They invested $20,000 into each of 10 fledgling sports technology companies this year, in part to try to gain an edge in such areas as predicting and preventing injuries, and speeding up lines at the parking gates and concession stands.
The companies made their pitches to venture capitalists at a party the other day at Dodger Stadium, where we caught up with Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly.

There are all sorts of ways for the Dodgers to improve. To spend $300 million on player payroll — a world record for a sports franchise — is not the preferred way.

That happened in 2015, primarily as a strategy to amass organizational depth by subsidizing close to $100 million in salaries of players who played elsewhere. The payroll will drop substantially in 2016, to what Boehly said he believed would be much closer to $200 million than $300 million.
"We're looking toward building something long-term, and sustainable," he said.

Leading the league in payroll every year, he said, is not sustainable.

"I think sustainable is more like the league average," Boehly said, "plus some, or plus a lot."

Let those jarring words hang in the air. League average.

Those could be fighting words to a fan base disappointed by three consecutive postseason flops, angry at the sharp jump in ticket prices, outraged at the two-year television blackout and heartsick at the possibility of the blackout extending into what Vin Scully says probably will be his final season. Oh, and did you hear that Dee Gordon just became the first infielder in major league history to win a batting title, stolen base title and Gold Glove in the same season?

------------------

It's a long drawn out plan that keeps going, not sure I'm happy about it. I'm pissed how they spent the 300m in the first place on all the wrong players but it sounds like they just want to compete like I use to call the CUBS.

[Machado]

How many days until Spring Training,

[UtahRatt]

How many days until Spring Training,

Ask a Cub fan!

[killeverything]

How many days until Spring Training,

Too Goddamn long.

Jake Arrieta wins NL Cy Young

Dallas Keutchel wins AL Cy Young

TX Jeff Banister wins AL MGR Of The Year.

[killeverything]

K Rod traded to Tigers for Javier Bettancourt and a PTBNL.

SF Giants recipient of commish award for philanthropic excellence.

[Rainbow Bright]

K Rod traded to Tigers for Javier Bettancourt and a PTBNL.

SF Giants recipient of commish award for philanthropic excellence.

Have you watched the documentary on the Portland Mavericks? Its pretty cool!

[UtahRatt]

Jake Arrieta wins NL Cy Young

CUBS fans fucking please. Coach of the year, rook of the year..........Might as well give them Mascot of the year, sucked the most dicks of the year. I hope they fucking fold next season and I'm glad they got swept.


Instead of being one of the closest races in years it turned into Fucking HYPE. 17 to 10? Negro please.

Jake Arrieta, the best pitcher in the game after the All-Star break, has defeated Greinke, the best pitcher over the entire season.

Greinke’s 1.66 ERA over the entire season was the best in baseball since Hall of Famer Greg Maddux put up a 1.63 in 1995. Greinke emerged from a shortened spring training, caused by a persistent elbow issue, to put up one of the best seasons in the game’s history.

[killeverything]

K Rod traded to Tigers for Javier Bettancourt and a PTBNL.

SF Giants recipient of commish award for philanthropic excellence.

Have you watched the documentary on the Portland Mavericks? Its pretty cool!

.

Not yet I keep forgetting to.

[killeverything]

Jake Arrieta wins NL Cy Young

CUBS fans fucking please. Coach of the year, rook of the year..........Might as well give them Mascot of the year, sucked the most dicks of the year. I hope they fucking fold next season and I'm glad they got swept.


Instead of being one of the closest races in years it turned into Fucking HYPE. 17 to 10? Negro please.

Jake Arrieta, the best pitcher in the game after the All-Star break, has defeated Greinke, the best pitcher over the entire season.

Greinke’s 1.66 ERA over the entire season was the best in baseball since Hall of Famer Greg Maddux put up a 1.63 in 1995. Greinke emerged from a shortened spring training, caused by a persistent elbow issue, to put up one of the best seasons in the game’s history.

This is like last season where Kluber had a big second half, so they gave him King Felix's ( whom set records ) Cy Young.

The more I look into it the less I agree with Bryant getting ROY over Duffy. Bryant could have sucked and he still would have gotten it though, just off hype. In fact Bryant could have had a season less than Duffy's and won the ROY. Wait.

MFY and Cubs in serious talks of Castro for Gardner.

Josh Donaldson and Bryce Harper win MVP. Harper, great season, he's so good and valuable he missed the playoffs. I think Cespedes should have won it personally. If we're doing it that way, why does Trout only have one?

Apparently Fernandez hates it in Miami. He talks to the coaches like they're children and always asks "when are you trading me?" It's to the point where they're hoping he gets shelled. I can't imagine something shittier than having to play for Loria's team

Speaking of which they're deciding their next mgr. in a few days. Donnie "I know jack-shit about" Baseball is gonna have fun there.

*ETA

Braves trade OF Cameron Maybin to Tigers for reliever Ian Kroll and LHP prospect Gabe Speir.

[UtahRatt]

Jake Arrieta wins NL Cy Young

CUBS fans fucking please. Coach of the year, rook of the year..........Might as well give them Mascot of the year, sucked the most dicks of the year. I hope they fucking fold next season and I'm glad they got swept.


Instead of being one of the closest races in years it turned into Fucking HYPE. 17 to 10? Negro please.

Jake Arrieta, the best pitcher in the game after the All-Star break, has defeated Greinke, the best pitcher over the entire season.

Greinke’s 1.66 ERA over the entire season was the best in baseball since Hall of Famer Greg Maddux put up a 1.63 in 1995. Greinke emerged from a shortened spring training, caused by a persistent elbow issue, to put up one of the best seasons in the game’s history.

This is like last season where Kluber had a big second half, so they gave him King Felix's ( whom set records ) Cy Young.

Last year Felix got Fucked that's all there is too it. I can't even remember Kluber's year other then he had a GREAT 2nd HALF! I honestly don't recall much of Kluber's year but I remember Felix was on fire all season setting records dating way back and Felix go fucked.
But Kluber hasn't won a CY and had a great second half so lets give it to the second half player. Sounds kind of familiar. Arrieta's name wasn't even mentioned till September.

----------------

It should be called, Best Pitcher After the Break CY Award. With bonus points if they haven't won one. The Feel Sorry For Your Team CY Award.

--------------------------------

Jake fell in between Greinke and Kershaw with an easy argument too be made stastically for Clayton being the best pitcher and IMO Clayton was still the best pitcher all season not just his last 12 starts......I also seen two east coast voters who had Kershaw at 4th and like 5th? Explain that? Seriously.
What find a joke is how it was an easy victory when this was one of the best CY races I can ever remember.

It's a season long award yet Arrieta's name wasn't mentioned till September was it....Anyone? No! In every story written it was expected Greinke with an argument for Clayton up till the last 30 days. Every writer practically gave Greinke the award then the votes are in and every writer had to argue why Zack didn't.

It truly should have been one of the best races in years, decades if not centuries 1 through 4 if not 5, not.....Lets just give it to the Cinderella story bull shit. Clayton going into June with 3.86ERA to end up with 2.13ERA and 300SO to me was the best pitcher but the vote should have went to Greinke. He was the steady all season.
Zack's ERA, a 45.2 scoreless innings streak that ended because of an error was the fourth-longest in MLB since the late '40s, Zak allowed one run or less in 21 of his 32 starts. Then Claytons 37 scoreless innings and 300SO all meant nothing because of a second half Cinderella pitcher on a over hyped team everyone bandwagoned into the playoffs.

Zack was the winner in every story written in every month leading into the Post Season then it was all turned around on voting day why he wasn't. Talk about a Flip Flop and hype. Pull up any story in September saying it wasn't Zack's.

---------

If that's the case Matt Kemp should get the MVP for being one of the better second half hitters. But everyone liked Harper's hair flip. Fuck that one too. Yes, my vote went with Cespedes as well. He was a monster, a game changers who should have won and was the difference at the plate and in the field for his team into to the post season. But Bryce Harper in a SWEEP?

Anyway, Greinke was a shoe in for CY all season up to the last day.....
Then I read all the excuses and start barfing. All bullshit bias excuses, oddly how most came from the east coast. Then you start adding stats like exit velocity of a ball off the bat? What baseball future are we in now?
How good your team defense is.......Greinke not a strike out pitcher? If that's the case give it to Clayton.

------------------------------------------------------------

Cinderella Arrieta had an amazing 12 game run after half the season was over on a Cinderella team with a Cinderella Rookie and a Cinderella Coach.

Congratulations Arrieta on winning your first Clayton Kershaw/Zak Greinke Award.

Cubs, enjoy all your awards and congratulations........Hope it makes up for all the HYPE, not making the WS and being swept out of the NLCS.

FUCK OF, CUBS SUCK.

[UtahRatt]

Do I get points for saying Bryce Harper for MVP before the season?


I feel like I should lose some just for the hair flip and the type of person the player turned into. He went from Hero to Zero in my book.

[UtahRatt]

Andy Van Slyke: EX Mariners, outfield stand around coach? Just set a bunch of bridges on fire. I gonna listen to the entire interview later, sounds like he had a lot to say.......Including candidly speaking about the Cardinals organization. Maybe he was hitting the bottle but he didn't hold too much back.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/11/andy-va ... -radio-mlb

Andy Van Slyke reveals that Clayton Kershaw wants Yasiel Puig traded.
Slyke said the "Highest Paid player" for the Dodgers went to the GM's office and asked for Yasiel Puig to be traded....When asked if it was Kershaw, Slyke said "I didn't say his name"


Four other big takeaways from Van Slyke’s chat with Cusumano:

1. Felix Hernandez is pitching with a partially torn elbow ligament.

“There’s a guy up in Seattle who has a torn elbow it’s about 25% torn and has been for the last couple of years — but he keeps pitching,” Van Slyke said while accurately discussing the fickle nature of pitcher injuries.
“Who’s that?” Cusumano asked.
“Hernandez…. Felix Hernandez,” Van Slyke answered. “Now, is it going to completely tear? Who knows? Here’s my point: How many pitchers don’t have some kind of tear in their elbow? Everybody does. The question is, is it going to snap or not? And nobody can predict that, Frank…. Every pitch he threw, we were like, ‘Is his elbow going to go on this pitch?'”


1. Van Slyke not impressed with Robinson Cano.
Cano was the single worst awful player he's ever seen. He does try sometimes. He couldn't drive miss daisy. Couldn't get a hit that mattered and the worst defensive 2nd baseman he's ever seen in 24 years in the big leagues. Robinson Cano lost the GM's job, the hitting coach then the coach and all the other coaches. His impact cost the team and peoples jobs.


3. Hitting coaches don’t do all that much

Van Slyke explained that Howard Johnson lost his job as the Mariners’ hitting coach midway through the 2015 season only because Edgar Martinez decided he wanted to return to baseball and Mariners brass did not want him coaching in another organization.

The team had a .670 OPS with Johnson as hitting coach in 2015 and a .758 mark after hiring Martinez. But according to Van Slyke, that doesn’t mean all that much. Asked how much impact a hitting coach can have, he said: Very, very little. A hitting coach is sort of like taking your kids to day care and then picking them up. They get the toys out and ready for everybody, then they pick up the toys and they close up shop. You might teach a kid how to build a block every now and then.

But you’re basically dealing with a bunch of 3-year-olds, spoiled athletes, who — unless they’re willing to listen, unless they’re willing to make themselves better — you might as well be speaking Russian to these guys, because they’re going to do what they’re going to do. I would say a hitting coach has very, very little to do with the success of a team offensively.

Here’s the thing about any hitting coach: A good hitting coach is a good hitting coach when he’s got good hitters to work with.


4. More psychology-based coaching is coming

Before Van Slyke signed off — surprised that his hour was up — he made this prediction:

You’re going to see something happen in the Major Leagues that happened about 10-15 years ago, with analytics and statistics. We’re going to get mind coaches at the Major League level. There’s a new wave of dealing with baseball players, that they’re going to start thinking they can make them better mentally. You watch, Frank. I’m calling it out right now. Every Major League team is going to have a psychiatrist of some kind, or some kind of mental coach that they think is going to change the game.

With that said.....Seattle just hired Andy McKay former Rockies mental skills coach as the M's director of player development.

[UtahRatt]

Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly says his team’s payroll will drop from its $300MM threshold in 2015 to much closer to the $200MM level, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. The vast Dodger payrolls of the first few years under the Guggenheim group’s ownership were meant to ensure the team could stay competitive while rebuilding the farm system, and once this young talent starts to emerge, the spending will drop. Boehly thinks “sustainable is more like the league average [payroll], plus some, or plus a lot.” As Shaikin notes, this still leaves the Dodgers with the flexibility to maintain a payroll at or near the luxury tax level every year.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/l ... story.html

After making that post then reading the link in full and following the news...........The Dodgers are done. Back to averages.

I'll be surprised if Zack Greinke is going to be a Dodger, I'm betting the Yankees or Giants, possibly the CUBS. A week ago no way did I think he'd be gone but I don't see LAD being a force for a while. Enjoy Giant fans, you can have the West back.


Best part of the week is Cinderella Arrieta Twitter slams Greinke in an attempt to justify why he's the CY winner then a day later makes another Tweet about how he want's Greinke's in Chicago and welcomes him with opens arms and a tug job.

Fucking celebrities, athletes and social media:
Cinderella Arrieta - I deserved the CY more the Greinke! Didn't you see my second half?

Joe Maddon - Hey, Cinderella A, change your tweet and put Greinke on your follow list, make buddies with him is what I'm saying because the CUBS want to buy another pitcher. Ok CinderellArrieta?

Cinderella Arrieta - Tweet - Greinke is great, I'd love to see him as a CUB!