Quote from fenn68 on September 4, 2023, 11:16 am

Quote from WindsorUK on September 4, 2023, 10:56 am

Quote from Jeremy Hill on September 4, 2023, 10:30 am

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1698747733987803274?s=20

WHOA! Dude's bad season just got A LOT worse.

I assume he joins Trevor Bauer on the Ex Dodgers list, if he is of course proven to be guilty.

Second time for Urias … but don’t know the specific on this one but nothing really happened after investigation of the first.

However, this may put a damper on his FA this winter whether charges are filed or not … then if filed guilty or not.

 

Quote from fenn68 on September 4, 2023, 11:30 am

Quote from WindsorUK on September 4, 2023, 10:58 am

Has anyone signed Renfroe? Gold Glove caliber LF defense, HUGE arm, 30+ Petco HR power......

Realize he has a lot of swing and miss in his O but, if not Sanchez, maybe Hunter?

 

He was claimed off waivers by CINN … FA after the season.

Not sure that he fits the needs for the Padres in 2024 … a RHH when they have Tatis, Machado, Bogaerts, Kim, Campusano but only Soto as a major LHH bat … maybe Cronenworth. Also the fact he made $11.9MM this year would suggest he will get more that the Padres would spend on a low end need (vs SP).

Then there is the question … even with his production … one year with TB (DFA) … one year with BOST (traded) … one year with MILW (traded) … one year with LAA (waivers). Four years … four teams … suggests he is not creating that much value with anyone.

Quote from 3fingersplit on September 4, 2023, 2:31 pm

Urias is toast...first time he got a 20 game suspension by MLB and prosecution was deferred to a 52 wk domestic violence program and that was a misdemeanor charge...this one is a second offense and he is charged with felony DV with corporal punishment...he has a court date of September 27. The Dodgers have put out a statement that he is not travelling with the team. MLB is going to drop the hammer on him and I'm thinking he has thrown his last pitch for the Dodgers.

Putting hands on a female in a violent manner once can be considered a mistake and unacceptable regardless but twice is a pattern and depending on how the first incident was adjudicated he could be gone for a long time.

Quote from Jeremy Hill on September 4, 2023, 2:38 pm

Quote from 3fingersplit on September 4, 2023, 2:31 pm

Urias is toast...first time he got a 20 game suspension by MLB and prosecution was deferred to a 52 wk domestic violence program and that was a misdemeanor charge...this one is a second offense and he is charged with felony DV with corporal punishment...he has a court date of September 27. The Dodgers have put out a statement that he is not travelling with the team. MLB is going to drop the hammer on him and I'm thinking he has thrown his last pitch for the Dodgers.

Putting hands on a female in a violent manner once can be considered a mistake and unacceptable regardless but twice is a pattern and depending on how the first incident was adjudicated he could be gone for a long time.

Agreed. If I remember right the first incident was called in by bystanders and the girl refused to cooperate with the investigation. As a result he got off light. He should get the hammer dropped on him this time.

Quote from WindsorUK on September 10, 2023, 5:55 am

https://www.mlb.com/news/ronald-acuna-jr-johan-oviedo-at-center-of-benches-clearing-incident

That pitch wasn't really that tight ( I didn't see the pitches earlier in the AB)

If a pitcher can't throw inside( to the NL's best hitter!), what's the point? Somehow, somewhere, someone needs to tell hitters that they aren't the whole show. Some fans do enjoy a well pitched game.

You imagine a hitter giving lip to Drysdale, Gibson, Carlton, Kevin Brown? Oviedo did nothing wrong and personally, if you're a wanna be tough guy with a bat in your hand, nows your chance! This posturing is REALLY bad for the game. We don't need this crap ruining the sport like flopping has done to basketball.

I know baseball has their entrenched unwritten rules( a lot of which i find ridiculous) but this nonsense needs to go away.

 

Quote from LynchMob on September 14, 2023, 12:06 pm

The most interesting thing I've read in a while ... re: Luis Arraez ...

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/luis-arraez-doesnt-even-slump-normally/

... and I like the first comment ...

This is a great article. It’s good because it shows that (1) the difference between the right combination launch angle and EV and the wrong one is very small and (2) if you hit the ball softly the difference between success and failure is even smaller than that.

This article reminded me a bit of Eric Hosmer in this way. Eric Hosmer hit the ball hard but didn’t have the bat control to keep doing those things and hit the ball at the right launch angle to optimize it. Eric Hosmer had good seasons and bad seasons that were mostly BABIP driven. The reason why it fluctuated from year to year is that it relied on him hitting line drives. Line drives are good batted ball outcomes usually. But it is hard to hit line drives consistently. Guys like Votto can do it at will; guys like Hosmer go through entire seasons where they can do it and other seasons where they can’t. Arraez is probably closer to Votto than Hosmer in terms of controlling his launch angle but he hits it so softly that the margin of error is tiny.

Quote from BoosterSD on September 19, 2023, 1:11 pm

With the A's going for vote in November (approval almost a forgone decision), and TAM agreeing to a new stadium deal to stay in the Tampa/St Petersburg area almost agreed upon as well. We could see a plan for expansion on the horizon.

And with expansion coming, do they do another expansion draft. And if I recall correctly with the last expansion draft, didnt the existing teams get to protect some players, and then the balance of each roster was open to being drafted by the new teams.

If that were to happen, and depending on when, could SD leave someone like Bogaerts open to being drafted, and then having the new team take over his salary? Not receiving anything for him, but getting out from under his salary.

Quote from fenn68 on September 19, 2023, 3:28 pm

Quote from BoosterSD on September 19, 2023, 1:11 pm

With the A's going for vote in November (approval almost a forgone decision), and TAM agreeing to a new stadium deal to stay in the Tampa/St Petersburg area almost agreed upon as well. We could see a plan for expansion on the horizon.

And with expansion coming, do they do another expansion draft. And if I recall correctly with the last expansion draft, didnt the existing teams get to protect some players, and then the balance of each roster was open to being drafted by the new teams.

If that were to happen, and depending on when, could SD leave someone like Bogaerts open to being drafted, and then having the new team take over his salary? Not receiving anything for him, but getting out from under his salary.

There would be an expansion draft … but new rules will be in place (long time since the last one) to reflect the current team owners’ bias and the restriction within the CBA.

My guess is that anyone on a “no trade” contract has to be protected (that will eliminate Bogaerts and Machado and maybe Tatis who has a partial no trade / full no trade depending on the year).

Memory not that good but I think last round teams protected 15 on the 40 man and once one player was taken they got to protect 3 more and that process repeated until 3 players were lost.  Don’t recall if there was a similar “draft” out of the minor league systems.

It will take some time yet to start and complete a process for expansion … select the winning markets … set the rules. Probably syncing it with the next CBA so the player’s union can be part of the process.

Personally would like a 32 team set-up … much easier to layout leagues / playoffs / scheduling. My bias would be re-alignment (regionally) into four eight team leagues which should reduce lesser teams sneaking into a Division championship because of competition shortage in a 5 team Division. Easier to set up a playoff scheme without Wild Cards if you drop to 8 playoff teams or jump to 16 (more like the NBA or NFL). Also regionalization makes it easier for fans to get to AWAY games while making it easier travel for the players.

WEST?: SD, LAA, LAD, SF, SEA, LV, AZ, COLO (unless Portland is an expansion franchise). Better rivalries adding LAA, SEA, and LV. The AL teams would like to jettison TEX/HOU to the mid-west.

Set up an 8 team “MID-WEST” to be the playing partner with the WEST. Then two EAST and MID-EAST for the other side of the country. Schedule so the two EAST do not play the two WEST during the season and set up a real World Series of competitive leagues who have not played each outer …bit more intrigue / competition.

2028?

Quote from LynchMob on September 20, 2023, 11:39 am

A fun note ... James McArthur, KC, has retired 31 of the 32 hitters he’s faced in September, striking out 11 and walking zero.