(01-12-2021 02:42 AM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(01-08-2021 10:25 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Wow! Lindor and Carrasco to the Metz for prospects. their rotation looks pretty solid now with Degrohm, Stroman and Carrasco, plus David Peterson and don;t forget they'll get Syndergaard coming back from TJ surgery.


The NL Beast has some strong starting rotations now with the Braves and Washington also competing. It's going to be an absolute war for the East division title. Should be fun to watch.

have to feel for the Indians fans, but they knew it was coming. They'll probably be Spiders or some such before they're good again.

I don't know if it's internet speculation or if actual conversations have taken place, but Jose Ramirez would look really nice in a Braves uniform.

Likely would have to give up Austin Riley and a couple of other decent prospects to get him, but it could be worth it. He's got 3 years left on his deal and you have to have someone that can protect Freddie.

Yeah it feels like the Braves have to replace Ozuna.

(01-11-2021 07:54 PM)stever20 Wrote:  some good news-

So with the season supposedly set to start on time- means we have about 5 weeks prior to spring training opening up. Opening day is only 11 weeks from Thursday. Would guess we'll start to see some free agent signings before too much longer...

right now here's the top 15 left according to MLBTR with their projected deals-
1 Bauer 4/128
2 Realmuto 5/125
3 Springer 5/125
4 Ozuna 4/72
5 LeMahieu 4/68
6 Gregorius 3/39
7 Tanaka 3/39
8 Odorizzi 3/39
9 Brantley 2/28
10 Turner 2/24
11 Semien 1/14
12 Simmons 1/12
13 Pederson 2/18
14 Quintana 2/18
15 Cruz 1/16

pretty big news here-

What rule changes will Theo push the owners to enact?

-- DH in NL games is already inevitable.

-- Outlawing defensive shifts would be idiotic but seems like it has a 50-50 chance of happening, maybe Theo pushing hard increases that chance above 50 percent.

-- Some tweaks to cut down on batters stepping out of the batters box and pitchers stepping off the rubber to communicate with the catcher or dugout.

-- Modification or elimination of the 3-batter minimum for pitchers.

Anything else?

(01-14-2021 04:29 PM)Wedge Wrote:  What rule changes will Theo push the owners to enact?

-- DH in NL games is already inevitable.

-- Outlawing defensive shifts would be idiotic but seems like it has a 50-50 chance of happening, maybe Theo pushing hard increases that chance above 50 percent.

-- Some tweaks to cut down on batters stepping out of the batters box and pitchers stepping off the rubber to communicate with the catcher or dugout.

-- Modification or elimination of the 3-batter minimum for pitchers.

Anything else?

The 3 batter minimum needs to go. Sure hope that don't outlaw the shift.

If they're trying to shorten the time of the games then it's not working.

The 3 batter minimum BARELY effects pitching changes. I saw a stat saying about 2% of changes from before the rule would've been effected.

With shifts: as long as the SS is to the left of the 3B and right of the 2B, let the align how they want.

(01-14-2021 05:12 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(01-14-2021 04:29 PM)Wedge Wrote:  What rule changes will Theo push the owners to enact?

-- DH in NL games is already inevitable.

-- Outlawing defensive shifts would be idiotic but seems like it has a 50-50 chance of happening, maybe Theo pushing hard increases that chance above 50 percent.

-- Some tweaks to cut down on batters stepping out of the batters box and pitchers stepping off the rubber to communicate with the catcher or dugout.

-- Modification or elimination of the 3-batter minimum for pitchers.

Anything else?

The 3 batter minimum needs to go. Sure hope that don't outlaw the shift.

If they're trying to shorten the time of the games then it's not working.

People are saying there are still so many pitching changes in innings. The thing is and something didn't see much study of- how many times were there 2 pitching changes in an inning compared to before? That's the big part of things IMO.

Also last year tough to tell with 28 man rosters and 14 man pitching staffs. Next year will be back to normal with 26 man rosters and only 13 man pitching staffs.

(01-14-2021 11:46 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(01-14-2021 05:12 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(01-14-2021 04:29 PM)Wedge Wrote:  What rule changes will Theo push the owners to enact?

-- DH in NL games is already inevitable.

-- Outlawing defensive shifts would be idiotic but seems like it has a 50-50 chance of happening, maybe Theo pushing hard increases that chance above 50 percent.

-- Some tweaks to cut down on batters stepping out of the batters box and pitchers stepping off the rubber to communicate with the catcher or dugout.

-- Modification or elimination of the 3-batter minimum for pitchers.

Anything else?

The 3 batter minimum needs to go. Sure hope that don't outlaw the shift.

If they're trying to shorten the time of the games then it's not working.

People are saying there are still so many pitching changes in innings. The thing is and something didn't see much study of- how many times were there 2 pitching changes in an inning compared to before? That's the big part of things IMO.

Also last year tough to tell with 28 man rosters and 14 man pitching staffs. Next year will be back to normal with 26 man rosters and only 13 man pitching staffs.

The biggest change I noticed in 2020 (again, small sample size) was that there seemed to be a lot of pitching changes with 2 outs, with managers thinking that the new pitcher could get an out and end the inning and (hopefully) avoid pitching to 3 batters.

Purely anecdotal, but I think part of the problem with the 3 batter minimum is it forces a RP out of his comfort zone. Just because he pitches to 3 guys doesn't mean he gets all of them out. It seems likely that a lot of these maneuvers actually served to extend an inning and therefore the length of the game.

I saw some breakdown of the average length of games this past season compared to games without the rule and it actually added length to the game. To be honest, I'm not sure if it was well-sourced, but it makes sense.

one thing last year did was slow down the explosion of relief pitchers-
3.43 2020 pitchers per game
3.41 2019 pitchers per game
3.36 2018 pitchers per game
3.22 2017 pitchers per game

And that's with pitchers not stretched out to start the season.

Not Hot Stove related but:

Dodger pitcher Don Sutton gone at 75.

(01-19-2021 05:50 PM)Erictelevision Wrote:  Not Hot Stove related but:

Dodger pitcher Don Sutton gone at 75.

Springer to the Blue Jays 6/150
Quintana to the Angels 1/8

Seems like most clubs are going to keep waiting on free agents, to drive the prices down.

There will probably be a lot of free agents like Quintana who get one-year deals, on the assumption that there will be a lockout in 2022. Toronto is an obvious exception because top-tier free agents rarely go there, so they have to seize an opportunity to get one when they can.

(01-20-2021 02:42 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Seems like most clubs are going to keep waiting on free agents, to drive the prices down.

There will probably be a lot of free agents like Quintana who get one-year deals, on the assumption that there will be a lockout in 2022. Toronto is an obvious exception because top-tier free agents rarely go there, so they have to seize an opportunity to get one when they can.

seen quite a few deals here the last week or so.

Have to remember also this free agent class was not that good at all compared to recent years or even next year.

updated top 15 free agents now-
1 Bauer 4/128
2 Realmuto 5/125
3 Ozuna 4/72
4 Gregorius 3/39
5 Tanaka 3/39
6 Odorizzi 3/39
7 Turner 2/24
8 Semien 1/14
9 Simmons 1/12
10 Pederson 2/18
11 Cruz 1/16
12 Bradley 2/16
13 Paxton 1/10
14 Walker 2/16
15 Richards 2/16

Hope you're right about Semien -- If he can get a long-term deal, that's better for him, but if he has to take a one-year deal, the A's might get him back for 2021.

(01-20-2021 06:47 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Hope you're right about Semien -- If he can get a long-term deal, that's better for him, but if he has to take a one-year deal, the A's might get him back for 2021.

the projections are from MLBTR.

tough to believe it but yet another all time great passes away in Hank Aaron.

That's now I believe 10 HOF who have passed away in the last year. And it's not just HOF but inner circle guys.