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With Major League Baseball's Opening Day just nine days away, some people in SAS might not have a team to root for. You might not be an American and be forced to choose one at random, or you might live in Iowa where there's a whole mess of teams in your region without an obvious choice. This thread is here for fans of MLB's 30 teams to introduce their players and give background on where they were and where they are going. Some times they are not low-effort! To show what one looks like, I'll give an example with... YOUR 2016 Houston Astros Last year I said the Astros were a year away from making the playoffs. To everyone's shock, the AL West turned real bad real quick and the Astros made the Wild Card, with a chance on the last day to clinch a share of the division if things worked in our favor. Houston has moved into 'win now' mode, but still have an acceptable pipeline of minor league guys that might get called up (namely A.J. Reed). Manager A.J. Hinch  If you get to the playoffs in your first year, I guess you're good. Key Gains Doug Fister (SP) Ken Giles (SP) Key Losses Chris Carter (1B) Hank Conger (C) Scott Kazmir (SP) Jed Lowrie (IF) Brett Oberholtzer (SP) Catcher: Jason Castro  Prior to last season, he was the only current Astro All-Star not named Jose Altuve. Last year I expected competition for the starting position, but he's proven that he belongs with only one error through 883.1 innings and an acceptable offense. First Base: Jonathon Singleton  With Chris Carter traded away, Singleton will be 1B until we get a better one. Intruder, I'm sorry, but this is how it's going to go. Second Base: Jose Altuve  Is Altuve still the face of the franchise? With Correa and Springer called up, the weight of being the media focus has been relieved, but Altuve's spot as the leadoff batter (which is not going to change this year, barring injury) and his high batting average makes him the best overall batter on the team (i.e. rarely hits home runs). Jose Altuve is also short. Shortstop: Carlos Correa  The Chosen One. Since being called up last June, Correa has met expectations of 'doing thangs' in being both an explosive hitter and being a defensive play-maker as well. As the first Astros ROY since Jeff Bagwell, you can expect to see plenty of him in the highlights for years to come. Third Base: Luis Valbuena  A utility man who primarily plays 3B, so make of that as you will. Also: bat flips. Left Field: Colby Rasmus  Kind of a shithead, but he's probably getting the start in left. Has a nickname for his home runs: Colby jacks. Center Field: Carlos Gomez  Traded from the Brewers last year, Gomez has avoided pumpkin-ification for the most part. Right Field: George Springer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peprE67pd5U Like Correa, Springer is a player who can crush dingers and make game-saving catches, as seen here. Got injured on my birthday and missed about two months. Designated Hitter: Evan Gattis  Does his job. Seen here hitting a triple. I miss the National League. SP1: Dallas Keuchel  Oh, nothing, just the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. SP2: Collin McHugh  McHugh is due to be paid next year when he enters arbitration. With that in mind, expect his H9 to go down below 1. SP3: Mike Fiers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpHMiXZz2_M Threw a no-hitter last year, and with McCullers out, certain to start. SP4: Scott Feldman  Oh, how Feldman has fallen. Opening day starter in 2014, Feldman has been a victim of everyone else's success. Again, with McCullers out for the beginning of the season, musical chairs is averted. No longer the highest-paid Astro! That honor belongs to... SP5: Doug Fister  Had good 2013s and 2014s, but not so much a 2015. Does not strike out guys NEARLY enough, so I already don't like him. Closer: Ken Giles (probably)  I say probably because Hinch says we may go to closer by committee; I believe Giles will end up the closer because, as the new guy, it would be dumb not to try him out. High ceiling on this guy, but not tested enough that I want to say he's a keeper. Bullpen: Luke Gregerson Pat Neshek Tony Sipp Josh Fields Will Harris Bench: Marwin Gonzalez Jake Marisnick Preston Tucker Max Stassi Colin Moran Prediction: 97-65 and GODDAMN WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS.
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Mar 26, 2016 23:55
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THE CHICAGO BASEBALL NORTH SIDE CUBS MIGHT ACTUALLY BE A GOOD TEAM HOLY loving poo poo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPaACIEnQMg Last year: The Cubs, coming off a minor title drought, spent most of the 2010s rebuilding from the bottom up, winning no more than 75 games a year and trading any worthwhile talent away to build a strong farm system. 2015 was supposed to be a slight rebound year, allowing for the rookies to get their feet wet and start a tradition of winning under new manager Joe Maddon. Instead, they won 97 games - third best in baseball, but only enough to claim the 2nd Wild Card spot in the NL, won the Wild Card game in a shutout, took out the NL Central champs St. Louis in 4 games (their first series win in franchise history at Wrigley Field) only to run into the Mets buzzsaw and be swept out of the NLCS. They went and improved further in the offseason, signing Jason Heyward to the biggest contract in Cubs history, picking up super-utility guy Ben Zobrist and trading Starlin Castro to the Yankees for relief pitcher Adam Warren. Many pundits and projections have the Cubs as the best team on paper in the majors this year, with a solid chance to return to the playoffs and win it all this year. But first, a tribute to those we said goodbye to in 2015: OF/2B Chris Coghlan:  Played a good chunk of time in LF before Schwarber was moved there. Murdered Jung-ho Kang with a takeout slide in September. Traded to Oakland at the start of Spring Training. SS/2B Starlin Castro:  Was alternately having a career renaissance at 25 or the worst hitting everyday position player in baseball. Took a benching and a later move to 2B quite well. Had top-tier walkup music that will be missed. Traded to the Yankees during the winter meetings. And some others I don't want to write a ton about : OF Chris Denorfia: Currently FA, cut by NYY in ST RP Jason Motte: Rockies RP James Russell: Phillies UT Mike Baxter: Mariners OF Austin Jackson: White Sox C Wellington Castillo: Diamondbacks P Edwin Jackson: Marlins P Fernando Rodney: Padres P Dan Haren: Retired Manager Joe Maddon  Lives out of a van sometimes. Lets mimes run practice and invites zoo animals onto the field. May or may not actually be a crazy person/serial killer who is also remarkably good at managing young baseball players. Reigning NL Manager of the Year. (All projections are from Baseball-Reference and are probably going to be very wrong) Catchers Miguel Montero (Projected 2016 numbers: 13 HR, 54 RBI, .241/.325/.378)  Perhaps the weakest position on the team, Montero has been an excellent pitch framer and game manager who still has a little pop in his bat to help anchor the lower third of the order. David Ross (Projected 2016 numbers: 8 HR, 25 RBI, .205/.277/.352)  Jon Lester's personal catcher. "Clubhouse presence." Automatic out. First Base Anthony Rizzo (Projected 2016 numbers: 27 HR, 80 RBI, .270/.368/.493)  A top-tier 1B, Rizzo finished 4th in MVP voting last year while joining the 30/30 club (if the 30/30 club is HR and HBP.) Second Base Ben Zobrist (Projected 2016 numbers: 11 HR, 51 RBI, .268/.345/.413)  Reunited with Maddon, Zobrist provides positional utility, a good contact swing and veteran playoff experience. He's signed for four years so expect the city to sour on him as he hits his late 30s and becomes a highly paid 24th man off the bench. Shortstop Addison Russell (Projected 2016 numbers: 13 HR, 51 RBI, .256/.321/.414)  Took the starting job from Castro and has been a defensive upgrade. Seems to have healed the hamstring he injured in the playoffs and should be the starting SS for the foreseeable future. Third Base Kris Bryant (Projected 2016 numbers: 20 HR, 77 RBI, .278/.365/.481)  Was put in AAA at the start of 2015 and then through a series of unexplained coincidences was called up to fill Mike Olt's 3B position just one day after his service time would credit him with a full year for 2015. How fortunate! Bryant is a strikeout machine that torches the ball if he makes contact, but with improvements to his strikeout rate and 3B defense will be as much of an infield anchor as Rizzo. 2015 NL Rookie of the Year. Left Field Kyle Schwarber (Projected 2016 numbers: 16 HR, 47 RBI, .259/.347/.473 - only projects 337 PA)  A giant tub of a man-boy that hits dingers into the stratosphere and is the best argument for the NL to adopt the DH because he is a defensive black hole whether he's in the outfield or as a catcher. He is the reigning Cubs postseason HR leader with 5. He was playing instructional ball this time last year. Told Maddon during the playoffs he could play 3B even though he has never fielded that position at any level of organized play. Please find a way to make this guy work because I love him and you should love him too. Center Field Dexter Fowler (Projected 2016 numbers: 14 HR, 46 RBI, .258/.351/.408) https://twitter.com/Kelly_Crull/status/702915628399616000 Fowler declined the QO the Cubs offered him and seemed ready to sign with Baltimore, but as Spring Training began  OH MY GOD THATS DEXTER FOWLERS MUSIC and he returned on a one year deal with a mutual option. He'll probably go back to hitting leadoff and while he isn't amazing in CF, he's probably better than the other options considered (Baez CF, Heyward RF or Heyward CF, Soler RF)Right Field Jason Heyward (Projected 2016 numbers: 13 HR, 55 RBI, .277/.352/.419) https://twitter.com/BestFansStLouis/status/714276340380278784 The crown jewel of the Cubs offseason pickups, Heyward is known for his amazing outfield defense and solid bat. He also made the @BestFansStLouis twitter account an amazing read for days after the signing. Bench/Utility players OF Jorge Soler IF Tommy La Stella UT Javier Baez Possibly IF Munenori Kawasaki? Starting Pitchers Jake Arrieta (Projected 2016 numbers: 15-7, 2.61 ERA, 190 IP, 55 ER, 51 BB, 189 SO, 1.106 WHIP, 3.71 K/BB)  Had possibly the greatest second half of a season since the dead ball era. May have overworked himself during that time, as he looked vulnerable after the Wild Card shutout. Currently has a blister he's putting Neosporin and superglue on to control. 2015 NL Cy Young award winner. Jon Lester (Projected 2016 numbers: 11-10, 3.33 ERA, 184.0 IP, 68 ER, 48 BB, 176 SO, 1.190 WHIP, 3.67K/BB)  C/Ping my post from the postseason thread in October: Jon is a great pitcher with horrible run support because he and his Designated Catcher David Ross are black holes at the plate. Including no decisions the team was sub-.500 in his starts across the regular season and playoffs. Was signed to win playoff games and went 0-2, mostly because of the run support issues above. Horrible defensive in both pickoffs and fielding (and will not get better) but is usually good enough to home plate to pitch out of it. Depending on how you value Hendricks and any FA pitchers that come in, Lester might arguably be the #4 in the rotation. Praying for an improvement next year and not the sinking feeling that the team has $135 million over the next half-decade sunk into a barely above league average starter. Lester is still the #2 and how he's pitched in ST so far tells me we'll probably be fine. Probably. John Lackey (Projected 2016 numbers: 11-10, 3.48 ERA, 189.0 IP, 73 ER, 49 BB, 153 SO, 1.270 WHIP, 3.12 K/BB)  The last time Lackey pitched he sent the Cubs to the NLCS. If these trends continue... Kyle Hendricks (Projected 2016 numbers: 9-6, 3.70 ERA, 158 IP, 65 ER, 40 BB, 137 SO, 1.177 WHIP, 3.43 K/BB)  Coming off a slightly regressed 2nd season, Hendricks is looking in ST like he may be one of the better #4/#5 starters in the NL. Jason Hammel (Projected 2016 numbers: 8-8, 3.93 ERA, 151.0 IP, 66 ER, 42 BB, 136 SO, 1.238 WHIP, 3.24 K/BB) https://twitter.com/HammelTime39/status/691443675763757057 Had a good first half, hurt his hamstring and then had an awful second half. So far in ST he's looked much better. Closer Hector Rondon (Projected 2016 numbers: 4-4, 3.00 ERA, 17 SV, 66.0 IP, 22 ER, 19 BB, 62 SO, 1.167 WHIP, 3.26 K/BB)  Quality closer, highly emotional, very fun to watch. And the rest of the bullpen: SU Pedro Strop RP Justin Grimm RP Clayton Richard RP Neil Ramirez RP/SP Travis Wood RP/SP Adam Warren RP/SP Trevor Cahill Prediction: 102-60, NLCS Champions and oh what the gently caress THIS IS THE YEAR, THE CUBS ARE WINNING IT ALL. JOIN US OR DIE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB1B55hj-pw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkHPWw4TMDg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcWCXzww1q0 
CubsWoo fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 02:40
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Sweet, I was just about to make this thread! I'll have a write up for the Giants later. Here's last year’s thread in case anyone's unfamiliar with the format. CubsWoo posted:I have a half-done one for the Cubs that I'd be happy to flesh out for this thread if nobody else is jumping at the chance.  all your hot takes and lame jokes, even if your team’s already been done by someone else. It's better when there's a bunch of viewpoints.
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Mar 28, 2016 04:06
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Can I just post pictures of A-Rod a dozen or so times? (I will probably actually make "An Optimist's Yankees Lineup!" post at some point.)
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Mar 28, 2016 05:00
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CaptainYesterday posted:First Base: Jonathon Singleton Tyler White has absolutely earned the job and he'll be 31 when he reaches free agency so there's absolutely no reason to play service time games and god damnit this is how it's going to be anyway
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Mar 28, 2016 06:17
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Inspector_666 posted:Can I just post pictures of A-Rod a dozen or so times? The rotation should be a picture of Severino and no one else
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Mar 28, 2016 15:42
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 OK so before I talk about 2016 I have to quickly go back and talk about 2014 and 2015. 2014 was a no-good poo poo rear end terrible year wherein the Yankees shat all over their dicks at every opportunity. Carlos Beltran was signed to a 3 year deal and found himself being discussed in the same "Wow what a terrible contract" conversation as A-Rod, Ellsbury, and CC. Every old guy on the team looked like an old guy and A-Rod was on suspension for being the worst. Then 2015 happened and holy poo poo turns out A-Rod owns again, also Tex owns again, also wait Beltran had a terrible start to the season but ended up with a 119 wRC+ and look the Yankees had every chance to witn the AL East until everybody got gassed in the second half and the Blue Jays got amazing at everything that wasn't just mashing taters. So we come into 2016 with a lot of question marks and the looming spectre of everybody turning back into pumpkins. But you know what? I think if you're not going to be an optimist about your team then what is the point? So anyway, Meet the 2016 Yankees: Upside Edition! Manager: Joe Girardi  If you had to make an all-manager team, Joe would be on it because he's still in ridiculous shape. He's a big fan of THE BINDER and :matchups:, sometimes to the point of ridiculousness. However, he's good at bullpen management (v important with this rotation.) Also really likes to sum up any bad things by saying "Well, it's not what you want..."  Losses since last season John Ryan Murphy, BUC: 67 G 172 PA, .277/.327/.406 (0.7 WAR) Traded to the Twins for Aaron Hicks, played a very good backup for McCann, also got really happy to make the post-season (even as the 2nd WC.) (Also willing to fight CarGo as illustrated in the OP.) Adam Warren, RHP: 43 G 131.1 IP, 3.29 ERA 3.59 FIP (2.1 WAR) Totally undemonstrative stats, but Warren was the long man, swing man, spot starter, and even sometimes closer for the team in 2015 so it's hard to sum him up in one line. Traded to the Cubs for Starlin Castro. Chris Young, OF: 140 G 356 PA, .252/.320/.453 (1.2 WAR) 4th OF, and he hit like Bryce Harper v Lefties, and Stephen Drew vs Righties. Yankees let him walk in FA. Stephen Drew, "2B": 131 G 428 PA, .201/.271/.381 (0.2 WAR) gently caress Stephen Drew forever, I hope he was fired into the sun. There's also Justin Wilson who is a hard throwing lefty relief pitcher (traded to Detroit for 2 minor league arms) and a bunch of utility/minor league call ups that were traded or signed elsewhere but you don't care about them at all.  Pickups since last season For the first time in the history of Free Agency, the Yankees didn't sign any. CHAOS REIGNS. However, the Yankees were active on the trade market, picking up: Starlin Castro Aroldis Chapman Aaron Hicks (Please play this in the background on loop while reading the remainder of this post.) And now, your 2016 New York Yankees! The Rotation:  Masahiro "Tank" Tanaka He of the partially-torn UCL. Tank is amazing when he's on, but ever since finding out about the UCL issue his performance has been inconsistent and he's been really homer-prone. Apparently the Yankees sat him down and said "Stop holding back" in the past week, so we'll see what happens. He's currently lined up for Opening Day, but Joe is still playing coy with an official announcement. Also he is the most adorable. Best case: Ace++ Worst case: Arm falls off at the elbow, he morphs into this guy.  Michael "Big Mike" Pineda He of the pine-tar-smeared-neck. Threw to a 4.37 ERA/3.34 FIP last year, but also pitched 160.2 innings, the most since 2011, before having shoulder surgery. He was a little too homer prone last season (lol YS dimensions) but that also came with a .332 BABIP. Has said he wants to throw 200+ innings this season, which would be great. The second-most adorable. Best case: ERA comes into line with FIP and suddenly you have two #1 starters. Worst case: The durability last year was a fluke and the FIP comes up to the ERA.  Nathan "Nasty Nate" Eovaldi He of the extremely-hittable 100mph 4-seamer. Eovaldi is the Aroldis Chapman of starting pitchers in terms of sustained velocity. He's also totally unlike Chapman in that he gives up more hits than he has IP. It's very frustrating. He's been working on a splitter and just generally being a more strategic pitcher so that hopefully he can actually start to strike guys out. Most likely to be Andy Pettite for halloween. Best case: The splitter turns into a real out pitch and he can actually go deep into games. Worst case: Opposing teams continue to spray line drives everywhere and Eo's pitch counts continue to be 50+ in the 3rd inning.  Luis "Sevy" Severino He of the next-big-thing. Severino was called up from AAA last year and looked really drat good. He was a consensus #1 pick for best Yankee prospect (even if K-Law says he doesn't use his legs enough) and threw to a 2.89 ERA (although he had a 4.37 FIP) after the call up. Hasn't been around long enough to earn a nickname beyond Joe's usual "Throw a Y on it!" method. Probably won't throw too many innings this season. Best case: Shows he's the real deal and lives up to the hype like that Stroman kid. Worst Case: Ends up on the large pile of home-grown Yankee pitchers who ended up being back-of-the-rotation-at-best guys. (Realistically the worst case this year is he ends up back in AAA and Nova moves into the rotation.)  Carsten Charles "CC" Sabathia He of the degenerative knee condition. The Yankees insist the 5th rotation spot is still up in the air between CC and Ivan Nova, but CC is being paid way too much and Nova has been way too inconsistent for anybody to really buy that. His landing leg has no cartilage left in the knee, so CC either has to hold back and throw BP or go all out and need to go on the DL to get the knee fixed. It's a lovely situation made worse by the fact that every several starts he'll still throw a gem. Also checked himself into rehab for alcoholism late last season, hopefully he stays on the wagon. Best case: He can pitch every 5th start and throws somewhere near league average for a backend starter. Worst case: His ERA/FIP climb north of 5.00 and the Yankees still refuse to move him into the bullpen. Position players: Catcher:  Brian McCann is hated by SAS for his enforcement of unwritten rules, and hated by Yankee fans for perceived underperfomance. Will be backed up by a mix of Austin Romine to begin the season, then Gary Sanchez after the first month or so. First base:  Mark Teixera, outstanding defensive player and not too shabby with the bat (2014 notwithstanding.) Sadly, his bones are made out of glass so odds are he won't last the whole season and with Bird out for a year due to surgery, the backup options for 1B aren't looking so hot. Second base:  Starlin Castro was recently acquired from the Cubs and looking to continue the torrid batting numbers he put up at the position last season. SAS Cubs fans were way down on Castro for being too BABIP-dependent, but we'll see what happens. Shortstop:  Didi Gregorius had an atrocious start to 2015 at the plate (which was super-great given he's also replacing Derek Jeter) but turned it around and ended last season with average offensive numbers for the position. If he can maintain production for the entire season he's gonna look like a total steal for the Yankees given he's very solid defensively and has an absolute cannon for an arm. Also he is literally a knight. Third base:  Chase Headley got the yips something awful last season and doesn't really look to be entirely over it even now. Hopefully I'm wrong. Right field:  Carlos Beltran has become a complete defensive liability, but got back on track at the plate last season. With the Yankees pickup of Aaron Hicks, look for him to split time at DH with A-Rod/McCann/Teixeira a lot this season. Center/Left field:  Brett Gardner (first time All-Star last year!) & Jacoby Ellsbury are pretty much the same person: Speed-based players on the wrong side of 30. If they can avoid injuries, they're a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the order, especially if the Yankees actually have them steal bases this year. Designated hitter:  #BAEROD Bullpen:  Dellin Betances: Good afternoon.  Andrew Miller: Good evening.  Aroldis Champan: Good night. Seriously this bullpen is ridiculous and I love it. Overall: The Yankees have been haunted by injuries very hard for a few years now, either actual or seemingly always around the corner. The rotation especially is on the edge given that the middle innings of relief work will be taken over by an unproven (although drat he has good stuff) Bryan Mitchell and then a seemingly endless stream of guys from AAA. That said, if they can stay healthy I would fully expect the Yankees to be serious contenders in the AL East, potentially even putting the screws to Toronto if their rotation goes back to first-half-of-2015 form. The Yankees also have a ton more flexibility with resting the old guys since the bench will be Aaron Hicks for the OF, Gary Sanchez for catcher, and Dustin Ackley for right-side-IF and potentially RF. As a team they have managed to beat their pythag consistently for a while now, and the upside for the roster is pretty dang good if you ask me. Prediction: gently caress it how about the Jays rotation collapses and we win the AL East and then #chasefor28?! Inspector_666 fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 17:56
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If somebody else wants to write up a detailed explanation of the Brewers' transactions this off-season, feel free, but allow me to summarize the spirit of who the Brewers are this year: The Brewers, once owned by illustrious MLB commissioner and used car salesman Bud Selig, are one of the few teams never to win a World Series title. Throughout history they've been known as a team that favored the power bat, but Selig always ran them like you'd expect a used car salesman to and while they showed flashes of brilliance through the years they were mostly structured to be profitable first, competitive by coincidence. When Selig answered the call of the comish's office, Mark Attanasio, bought the team. Mark is probably most notable for for being related to a bunch of hollywood producer type people and genuinely really loving loving baseball. Mark Attanasio Actually Wants To Win. He hired Doug Melvin to be GM, and together they ran the team with a philosophy of Win Now Forever. While Attanasio's pockets are (supposedly) not as deep as other owners, year after year they ran the team in a way where they were always trying to fill the holes and make a run at it. His ownership saw the rises of players like Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy, but their approach to building a competitive roster around players like that has meant that you've had a lot of busts like Matt Garza, and they've traded away depth for rentals like CC Sabbathia who have carried the team into the playoffs better never quite gotten them to the big show. Then 2014 happened. With a roster of mostly newbies and career AAAA guys putting up the performances of their lives, the Brewers had one of the most dominating first halfs in their club's history. I personally watched them sweet the Red Sox in their home opener. They went on to sweep the Phillies in their home opener too. They were the first team to 50 wins, and going into the all star break we foolishly forgot what our club was and had hope. We were rewarded by the biggest collapse imaginable. The Crew finished the season in 4th place in the NL Central. The 2015 season opened with hope that the collapse was a fluke, or inexperience on the part of the younger players. Instead most of the core was plagued by injury and part way through the season manager Ron Roenicke was fired and replaced with Craig Counsell, a former Brewer on-field legend who had been working in the Milwaukee front office. While Craig proved to be way less stupid as a manager than Runnin' Ron, the team was still Really Bad and Doug Melvin was eventually shown the door. Mark Attanasio, a man who attends home games by sitting in the crowd amongst fans instead of in a private box, was forced to (possibly holding back tears) admit that the Brewers might not be able to compete in 2016 and welcome Actual 12-Year-Old Boy Genius David Stearns as the team's new GM. Stearns' previous job was assisting the GM in Houston, a team that went from very bad to very good last year. The Brewers are hoping that his experience in a rebuilding organization can help the Crew do the same. He spent most of the off season trading away major league talent to build depth at all levels of the organization, and also took a few lottery tickets on major league players like Chris Carter, who could hit a million bombs or be very bad. Lucroy and Braun have so far not been moved, but a lot of folks suspect that's coming if they can perform well in the beginning of the season to rebuild their value from a lackluster 2015 campaign where both struggled with injury. So, why the gently caress should you root for the Brewers this year? If life shits on you all the time, or you're just a compulsive drinker, or if you pathologically like to do the opposite of what people want from you, WE ARE YOUR TEAM. In Milwaukee, you come to the game 4 hours early in a pickup truck full of beer, and then you keep drinking the beer inside the park. It costs like half what it does at most other parks. In Milwaukee, the seats behind home plate are the same size and made out of the same hard rear end plastic as the seats on the furthest back row. In Milwaukee, you're united by never expecting success but loving your god damned team anyway. And now, for the first time in a while, our ragtag team of alcoholism-enablers seems to have an actual long-term plan. You'll get to watch a lot of young players who might not have had a chance at the majors in other markets attempt to break through in Milwaukee. It can be exciting to watch a guy like Scooter Gennett (who the gently caress is that?) show up and turn out to be OK at baseball. Get in now and you get to watch a team in the very beginning stages of starting all over. If players pan out, you may get to watch them play through a significant portion of their careers in Milwaukee, and they'll feel special to you because you saw them when they were just coming up from the Biloxi Shuckers. Now, you're thinking, is this lady drunk right now? That post sure is rambly! NO! I just post like I'm drunk because I'm from Milwaukee and I am BRIMMING WITH EXCITEMENT because I love baseball and I love my god damned Milwaukee Brewers. Be like me and love every minute of baseball even when your team is the worst one in the whole world. The best expectations to have are NONE AT ALL!
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Mar 28, 2016 19:42
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LeftistMuslimObama posted:Now, you're thinking, is this lady drunk right now? That post sure is rambly! NO! I just post like I'm drunk because I'm from Milwaukee and I am BRIMMING WITH EXCITEMENT because I love baseball and I love my god damned Milwaukee Brewers. Be like me and love every minute of baseball even when your team is the worst one in the whole world. The best expectations to have are NONE AT ALL! 1) Also the Brewers have the best alt-logo in the majors:  2) Didn't you have a Garza avatar? What happened?
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Mar 28, 2016 19:55
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Inspector_666 posted:1) Also the Brewers have the best alt-logo in the majors: 1) Absolutely, the current logo is a monstrosity but the alt logo owns. 2) I made a (admittedly kinda dumb, dumb enough that I don't even remember what it was) joke in the main baseball monthly thread that someone took seriously enough that they bought me this text, and I can't justify shelling out for a new one when I'm trying to mow through my last 10k in credit card debt from college this year.
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Mar 28, 2016 20:05
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Confirming Milwaukee is filled with alcoholics who don't give a poo poo how good the team is as long as there are brats and beer. I don't even like baseball (someone terrible linked this thread to me) but poo poo I go to as many games as possible because beer and brats own.
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Mar 28, 2016 21:00
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Each of the Brewer games I've been too there was a not insignificant number of people who never even went into the game and just got very drunk tailgating.
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Mar 28, 2016 21:06
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Popete posted:Each of the Brewer games I've been too there was a not insignificant number of people who never even went into the game and just got very drunk tailgating. It's not unusual for only part of a tailgating party to have tickets. You still bring all your friends to have fun parking lot times, and if they're still sober enough they can scalp tickets and if not they finish off the keg in the parking lot and listen on the radio. Yes, it's fairly common to rent a keg or two for your tailgate.
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Mar 28, 2016 21:10
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Popete posted:Each of the Brewer games I've been too there was a not insignificant number of people who never even went into the game and just got very drunk tailgating. Milwaukee.txt
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Mar 28, 2016 21:13
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The 2016 White Sox C - Alex Avila / Dioner Navarro: A mediocre catcher abused by his former team in usage vs a career journeyman. Neither will impress.  1B - Jose Abreu: The best hitter on the team. Hits monster home runs. Probably should be the full time DH with the depature of some guy.  2B - Brett Lawrie: High energy guy who was good once and overrated by Fangraphs for his positional defense. Acquired from the A's after they realized they traded a perrenial MVP player for Brett Lawrie. Dumped to the White Sox for nothing of note. Should be ok.  SS - Jimmy Rollins: Look, the crop of shortstops out there isn't great. Maybe Saladino can outplay him? Maybe?  3B - Todd Frazier: The best 3B the franchise has had since Joe Crede. Things are that bad folks. He should be a good player.  OF - Adam Eaton: A guy the Diamondbacks traded for peanuts because he didn't gel with their Hitler Youth programs. I overrate him and think he is a good player, but stats seem to support that as well.  OF - Austin Jackson: Another reclamation project that can hopefully give a modest bat with some decent outfield defense.  OF - Avisail Garcia: Toolsy, but are they useful tools? Can he be a Major League regular? Only time will tell.  SP1 Chris Sale: An inspiration to rail thin people everywhere and CY Young candidate.  SP2 Jose Quintana: An unheralded work horse. He is pretty good!  SP3 Carlos Rodon: The next big thing if he can make his slider sing.  SP4 Mat Latos: Evil clone of Cat Latos. All around bad guy. Another reclamation project.  SP5 John Danks: He's bad and overpaid.  CL Dave Robertson: A cool player the Yankees actually allowed to leave because they didn't wanted to pay him. Final prediction? Anywhere from 4th to 2nd. A range of 76-82 wins
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Mar 28, 2016 22:01
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Mar 28, 2016 22:03
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Let me present to you the 2016 Seattle Mariners: A lot of baseball pundits in 2015 picked the Mariners as a dark horse candidate to win the west, which in hindsight is hilarious. I can't think of a team that has Rickie Weeks and Mark Trumbo playing corner outfield regularly. The team was a massive disappointment, almost all of the people acquired in hopes for a rebound failed, and a lot of heads finally rolled because of how bad the team performed. The farm system took a step back, as all of the MLB-ready players either graduated or dropped out, and a lot of the top farm prospects didn't make the step forward that everyone had anticipated. The Mariners brought in former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto as their GM, and he did a pretty big overhaul in his short offseason here. He claimed to be the first card-carrying MLB player of SABR, and it seems his acquisitions are more analytical than his predecessors'. Also, apologies in advance that this is a mix up of large and small images! Key Losses:  Jack Zduriencik: He clearly had his job too long. Everyone bought into his philosophy when he had an usually good 2009 (after a 101 loss 2008), and after a horrid 2010, he abandoned a sabermetrics philosophy for dingers and ribbies. Almost every single one of his major prospects was a bust - Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero Danny Hultzen, and on.  Lloyd McClendon: Canned because he was too old school for the Mariners. I didn't hate the guy. I knew he was on short time after Jack Z got the slip.  Brad Miller: Traded this offseason to the Rays. Lots of potential, inconsistent as hell. Has the athleticism to be a good SS, but makes a ton of mental errors.  Tom Wilhelmsen: The saddest loss of the offseason. He was a fan favorite for being a former bartender, having a good story and an excellent change.  Logan Morrison: His dumb face might be missed. His bat won't be.  Carson Smith: Was one of the most dominant relievers last season. He might be damaged goods now, though!  Mark Trumbo: Was dumped for salary reasons. Hits dingers and does little else.  Jesus Montero: This was as of today. He can enjoy Canadian ice cream sandwiches now. Additions!  The Manager: Scott Servais. He was Jerry Dipoto's AGM in Anaheim. He's never managed a team yet, so he's a first-timer. However, he's shown to be good a player development. He's credited for turning Nelson Cruz from a middling AAAA player to a star slugger. He's metric-oriented, and has spoken to how he plans on using metrics in the game. His managing game will be a relative unknown. He's also surrounded himself with two other analytic-oriented coaches, Tim Bogar and Manny Acta. The Lineup:  Catcher: Chris Iannetta. After a disastrous season from Mike Zunino, the Mariners' first FA signing was Chris Iannetta. He's one of the best OBP catchers out there. The big worry is that his 2015 was awful, but he's had bad seasons before and bounced back the following season. Even if it's subpar, it will be infinitely better than what was out there last season.  First Base: Adam Lind. Lind was a pickup from the Brewers for 3 minor league filler guys. He hits righties very well, but struggles with lefty pitchers. He will be platooned (more to come later).  Second Base: Robinson Cano. Robbie struggled a ton at the beginning of the season, and people wondered if he was toast. It turned out he had been dealing with a hernia most of the season. After getting some help, he had a very hot 2nd half and looked like vintage Robinson Cano. The question remains if he can continue to be himself at this point.  Shortstop: Ketel Marte. Marte wasn't in the plans at all for last season, but after some bad performances by Brad Miller and Chris Taylor, plus Marte's hot AAA hitting, he forced the issue. Marte isn't powerful, but he can hit in the gaps and has a lot of speed. He was one of the few bright spots from last season, and if he plays like he did last year, he will be incredibly valuable. Here's to hoping he doesn't have a sophomore slump.  Third base: Kyle Seager.The only "prospect" that turned out to be good from Jack Z's tenure! He owns. Really owns.  Centerfield: Leonys Martin/ Came over in the Tom Wilhelmsen trade. Is a fantastic defensive CF. Career wise has been an average hitter, but 2015 was really bad for him with a 50 wRC+. There's hope that it was a wrist injury causing that, but his main thing will be playing defense. http://i.imgur.com/L2Z0huz.gifv Left Field: Nori Aoki. A FA signing. One of the more giffable players. Hits for average, tends to get hurt a lot.  Right Field PLATOON! Seth Smith first. Seth Smith has probably been one of Jack Z's best trades. Picked up from San Diego after they got a surplus of outfielders that would all underperform he has been a great hitter against right handed pitching. Nothing sexy, just solid hitting. Next...  Franklin Gutierrez. If you want to talk about a weird career route, this guy has everyone beat. Guti came to Seattle in Jack Z's first and biggest trade. He wowed as a primarily defensive CF and put up the best UZR from a centerfielder at the time. He was awarded a gold glove in 2010. Then everything went to hell. He started having stomach issues and was diagnosed with IBS. It wasn't over yet. He was then diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic degenerative condition that makes him feel pain in his joints. He ended up having to take a whole year off. He then came back last season on a minor league prove-it contract, and hoo boy he did. He tore up AAA, and forced a call up. When he was up last season, he hit .292/.354/.620 in 189 PAs. His health means he can't play everyday, so he'll likely play only against left handed pitching. But if there's one person worth rooting for on the Mariners, it's this guy.  DH: Nelson Cruz. People thought Jack Z overpaid when he got Nelson Cruz. Cruz responded by hitting over 40 dingers, having one of the best hitting seasons from a Mariner since Edgar Martinez and being one of the best hitters in baseball last season. Defensively he was awful, so he'll be relegated to DH as much as possible. The question looming is if he can repeat last season, or if he does regress, how bad will it be? Bench:  First base: Dae-Ho Lee. He's a fat dude that played the last 4 seasons in the NPB and hits lots of dingers. What's not to love? Utility: Luis Sardinas: Swiss-knife utility guy. Who knows how good he'll be. Catcher: Steve Clevenger: Was a throw-in as a part of the salary dump for Mark Trumbo. Has been replacement level all career, but he hits better than our previous 2 catchers at least. Last bench spot will be whoever isn't playing from the Smith / Gutierrez platoon. Starting rotation:  Felix Hernandez. The king wasn't as great as he usually was. He was still good, just not elite level. He's still our ace, our best developed player, and he loves Seattle. He also bleached his hair and beard, and it looks hideous. He says it looks nice and plans to keep it all season.  Hisashi Iwakuma. One of the more interesting storylines from the offseason. He initially signed with the Dodgers, but they nixed it after signing too many players for a failed physical. He was re-signed by the Mariners, and that's good, because he's a legitimately good pitcher. He threw a no-hitter last season, which he was the perfect person to do so (Felix already has a perfect game, so he's off the list). He's on a pretty team-friendly deal, in that his options vest for the following season if he pitches a certain amount of innings.  Wade Miley. Part of the Carson Smith deal. He'll probably be Jason Vargas 2.0. He was quickly acquired after Iwakuma initially went to the Dodgers. Other than that, he'll be fine.  Taijuan Walker. He was the top prospect for several years. He was pretty awful at the start of last season, but picked it up with a good 2nd half. Who's the real Taijuan? Who knows.  Nathan Karns. Picked up as part of the Brad Miller deal. He battled out the final spot for the rotation with James Paxton and proved to be the slightly better one. The last two years of the Jack Z era had some awful 5th starters so a little consistency is all that's asked for. Bullpen: A bunch of Mariner pitchers broke themselves over ST including Charlie Furbush, Evan Scribner and Ryan Cook. Danny Hultzen was transitioning to a bullpen reliever and then got shut down a bit. Right now it stands that Steve Cishek will close, Joaquin Benoit and Tony Zych will be primary setups, and a bunch of people I don't really recognize to fill out the rest. It could be bad, it could not be. Cishek is a low-cost pickup in hopes that he'll regain some former glory. I'm skeptical, but who the hell knows! Stuff on the Minors: It's bad. It's ranked one of the worst right now, and Jerry has tried to bolster it a bit with adding some decent talent like Boog Powell as an outfielder that could easily make it up here should a outfielder go down with an injury. Mike Zunino will start in Tacoma, and try to figure out how to hit offspeed pitches. James Paxton will be the primary starting pitcher if there's an injury in the rotation. The Mariners didn't make a major FA signing, so they'll still have their draft pick. Other than that, figuring out how to develop some of the players will be good and not a bust. Overall: The Mariners on paper look better and the floor was raised than last season. But, it's hard to say they'll exceed, and with the Astros being as good as they are, the best they could probably hope for is a 2nd place finish and wild card berth.
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Mar 28, 2016 22:42
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9jaMJvYNq0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3HOxMFIIdo The only things that matter, dingers and Marcus Stroman being the coolest.
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Mar 29, 2016 01:20
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Harlock posted:The 2016 White Sox Wonderful 
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Mar 29, 2016 01:28
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Master List of Inevitable Cubs Misfortunes Since the Cubs one has already been posted, I'll write up a quick way that each key Cub will horribly self-destruct on their way to their inevitable collapse out of the playoffs this year. The Cubs will never win the World Series. Jake Arrieta: Arm surgery after first pitch; spends the rest of the season doing towel drills Anthony Rizzo:  Bitten by Joe Maddon petting zoo creatures, contracts rabies. Panic-traded after he tries to bite Javy Baez.Kris Bryant: After escalating series of secret videos where he reveals he is Kris Bryant, he is sent by the Chicago police to infiltrate a criminal organization. When he yells "I am not Yuri Baseballnovich, Butcher of The Don, I am Chicago Cubs All-Star Kris Bryant!" he is never seen again. Dexter Fowler: Traded to Orioles Jason Heyward: Locked up for life after being caught as a trader. Collapses sobbing in court after he is charged with not playing the game the right way. Jon Lester: Unable to leave house after 800 guys named Stan from Glen Ellyn surround his house, yelling "$155 million and dis guy can't throw to da first." Ben Zobrist: Retires mid-season to star on hit CBS procedural called "The Zobrist." John Lackey: Is literally 37 years old.
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Mar 29, 2016 01:58
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It’s an even year and you know what that means:  SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 2015 Record: 84-78, 2nd place in NL West Key Departures: Tim Lincecum, Nori Aoki, Tim Hudson, Yusmeiro Petit, Casey McGehee (?), Mike Leake was on this team? Key Additions: Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Denard Span Although the Giants had a great offense last year, they endured lackluster pitching from every starter not named Madison Bumgarner. Then in the last month, everyone got injured. Hoping to shore up their most glaring weakness, the Giants plopped down 220 Million on starting pitching, with enough left over to grab Denard Span and sign Brandon Crawford to a long-term extension. Will these moves pan out or will the Giants’ runs of even year success finally peter out? If you want to root for a good team with solid defense but limited power, if you want to beat LA and curse the DH, if you want to piss off fans of other teams by incessantly referring to what year it is (yes), then I’ve got your team!  On to the dudes! The Front Office  The The Giants finally promoted the longest serving GM in baseball and architect of three World Series winning teams, taking him out of the day-to-day decisions and allowing him to spend more time with his family (of scouts).  The GM - Bobby Evans Hasn’t won a single World Series. Utter Failure. Honestly though, he hasn’t made any terrible moves so far and since all of the staff from the three world championships are still there I don’t foresee any major changes in the way the FO operates.  The Manager - Bruce Bochy He’s gonna be in the Hall of Fame. Just like we all predicted in 2009. The Players  C - Buster Posey 2010 Rookie of the Year, 2012 NL MVP, 2014 Face of MLB, three time World Series Champion. Last year, he was better than your catcher, and this year he will be better than your catcher, and it won’t even be close. Don’t you wish you could root for Buster Posey?  1B - Brandon Belt A lightning rod for controversy depending on how you value traditional stats versus advanced analytics. In My Opinion, he’s a good (arguably top-ten) first baseman with the potential to still improve, but whose raw numbers are diminished by AT&T Park.  2B - Joe Panik Proceeded to follow up his great rookie year with a great sophomore year. Unfortunately, a vertebra fracture the Giants pretended was back inflammation ended his season early. An excellent defender/OBP threat when healthy, hopefully he finally gets to play a full year.  SS - Brandon Crawford This hometown hero enjoyed his best season yet, winning the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger last year. The Giants rewarded him with a nice extension. Even if he doesn’t reach those offensive heights in 2016, his glove alone projects him to be a valuable cornerstone of the Giants’ infield. And man, have you seen his eyes?  3B - Matt Duffy In the wake of Pablo Sandoval’s departure for Boston, the Giants were forced to fill the void at the hot corner. Fortunately the front office knew exactly what to do: trade for Casey McGehee! Meanwhile Matt Duffy, an unheralded infielder prospect who had spent a little time as a backup out of AA in 2014 (including on the postseason roster) had a good enough spring to make the team again as a back up. The Duffman got more and more playing time as McGehee grounded into more and more double plays. Eventually he wrestled the starting job from McGehee for good, proceeded to flash terrific offense and defense en route to a second place Rookie of the Year finish. Questions remain whether he can pull it off again, however he stands to be a valuable player even if he undergoes some slight regression. And whatever happens, he’s gonna be better than Panda (not bitter). His cat’s name is Skeeter.  LF - Angel Pagan Me to the monkey’s paw last year: Can Pagan pleeease play more than a few months in center this season? Money’s paw: lol ok After being horrible and obviously injured in CF last year, he finally went on the DL, came back, and was fairly decent for the last month. Got moved over to left field and off the leadoff spot due to him being too old and injured. Hopefully when he hurts himself this year Bochy will have the presence of mind to stick him on the DL and bring up prospect Mac Williamson or someone.  CF - Denard Span Despite solid career numbers, he lost 2015 to injury. The Giants are banking that he can bounce back and be a solid leadoff hitter/center fielder. He’s afraid of fish and birds and uh… oh dear.  RF - Hunter Pence We all love Hunter. You love Hunter too. Tragically he lost most of 2015 due to complications from having his arm broken by those no-good Cubs, but he’s looked good in Spring training and hopes to rebound. The Rotation  LHP - Madison Bumgarner Certified ace. People were concerned how he’d fare after throwing ten thousand innings to literally win a World Series all by himself. They needn’t have worried. Sometimes he takes a break from striking people out to crush mammoth home runs.  RHP - Johnny Cueto He was a fantastic pitcher for a long time. Unfortunately he had a number of poor starts after being traded to Kansas City (still pitched a CGSO in the WS) which combined with some general injury concerns to torpedo his value. Giants signed him to a 6-year, 130 million deal with an opt-out after two years. If Cueto pitches close to what he put up with the Reds, the Giants have an absolute steal of a deal and a potent one/two punch atop the rotation. If not… eh. Anything beyond his instagram account is just gravy.  RHP - Jeff Samardzija Led the league in earned runs last year. We paid him 90 million dollars to pitch for five years. That seems less than ideal. But wait! Scouts seem to really like his stuff, and playing with horrible defense in The Cell will treat a pitcher far worse than the Giant’s top-tier infield at AT&T Park. It’s still up in the air if we’ll get the horrendous 2015 Shark, the excellent 2014 All-Star, or something in between, or worse. So no need to worry.  RHP - Jake Peavy This dude can’t see a drat thing any more, but somehow he’s still a decent pitcher. Had a pretty good year last year, for the half he wasn’t too injured to play. Unfortunately while he had success the first two trips through the lineup, he fell flat when facing hitters a third time. Last year, a six inning guy was severely draining to an already overtaxed bullpen. However with the addition of Shark and Cueto, the Giants have more than one starter projected to throw 200 innings, allowing Bochy to yank Peavy before any trouble starts.  RHP - Matt Cain [Matt Cain looks over the lineup card, bursting at the seams with dynamic hitters and potent bats] CAIN: And the best thing, the very best thing of all, is there's run support now... there's all the run support I need and all the run support I want. Runs, runs, runs. There's run support enough at last. [Cain’s arm falls off and breaks into a million pieces] CAIN: That's not fair. That's not fair at all. There was run support now. There was, was all the run support I needed... The Bullpen Although the bullpen remained remarkably consistent throughout the Giants three World Series Championships, it’s beginning to change significantly. The Core Four of Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, and Javier Lopez has broken up due to Affeldt’s retirement. The other three have contracts due to expire very soon. If there’s one place the Giants’ farm system has depth at, it’s bullpen arms- though the best pitching prospects are likely at least a year away. RHP - Santiago Casilla - Closer. Once mediocre pitcher Jairo Garcia of the Oakland A’s, Casilla joined the Giants in 2010 and became an underrated weapon, posting a 2.22 ERA in SF. Had a few rough outings in 2015, but not enough to dethrone him as baseball’s most unappreciated closer. RHP - Sergio Romo - Setup. It’s been a long time since Romo won a world series by throwing a fastball down the middle to Miguel Cabrera. He followed a rough 2014 with a lackluster 2015, showing extreme difficulty in getting lefties out. His slider remained a strong tool versus righties, and he may still have value as a “ROOGY”. LHP - Javier Lopez - LOOGY. Had his best season since 2010 at age 37 last year. About as likely to tear his UCL as R.A. Dickey. RHP - George Kontos - Setup. After spending the better part of three years bouncing between the bullpen and AAA, Kontos has a breakout year last season. He’s struggled in spring training this year, but he deserves a chance to prove himself in the regular season. Anyway, the important part is that he has a nice butt. LHP - Josh Osich - Setup. Took over Affeldt’s role as a lefty reliever who can get both lefties and righties out, after Affeldt struggled with getting anyone out. Rough Spring Training numbers this year, but managed to quickly impress Bochy last season. RHP - Hunter Strickland - Setup/Closer of the Future. Hard thrower who gave up ten million home runs in the 2014 postseason (in fairness, half of them were to Bryce Harper). He’s been terrific in the regular season, however. RHP - Cody Gearrin - Setup? He’s out of options and the Giants like his stuff. Since SF doesn’t get an off day until July, they will likely carry a 13 man bullpen to start the season. RHP - Chris Heston - Long Releiver. I had no idea who this guy was this time last year. Proceeded to replace an injured Cain in the rotation, and had a tremendous first half before collapsing in the second. Will probably do well as the longman, replacing Petit for about the same value at less cost. The Bench The bench was possibly the Giants’ biggest weakness last year, limited to four men due to the need for a thirteen man bullpen. This year, it will be limited to four men due to the need for a thirteen man bullpen. Yippee. Last year having a short bench with little power forced the Giants to pinch hit Madison Bumgarner in close games, a strategy which only sometimes worked out. I expect typical injury and ineffectiveness will give the Giants an opportunity to add an extra bat to the bench sooner rather than later (I expect one of either AAA OFs Mac Williamson or Jarrett Parker). OF - Gregor Blanco - 100% guaranteed to end the season with a starting OF gig. Walk off bunted somehow. INF - Kelby Tomlinson - Speedy and BAPIP dependant. Looks like a nerd, but also sounds like one too. INF - Ehire Adrianza - Had a miserable 2015, fresh off a poor 2014. However, he’s been impressive in spring training this year, and the Giants are reluctant to put him through waivers. Still, with Tomlinson’s solid defense at every position, and power bats lurking in AAA, I expect this to be his last chance to prove himself. C - Trevor Brown - An excellent defensive catcher whose game calling last year drew praise from veterans. Although Andrew Susac is the better catcher, he has been slow to recover from the injuries that sidelined him in 2015. Susac, if healthy, could start for a number of major league teams who don’t have Buster Posey, so don’t be surprised if he ends up traded before the deadline. The Farm The Giants’ farm system isn’t rated very highly but we’ve done very well with unheralded prospects like Duffy and Panik. Here are some Minor Leaguers worth caring about : OF - Mac Williamson - Probably the best outfielder the Giants have developed since Chili Davis. 25, lost a year to injury, and will start the season in AAA. Had an excellent spring and will likely be the first position player called up. OF - Jarrett Parker - Hit three homers in a game against the A’s last season. Unfortunately, most every other at bat ended in a strikeout. SP - Clayton Blackburn - Won the ERA title in the notoriously hitter friendly PCL. Although scouts are down on his stuff statisticians are high on his peripherals. Expect him to be the first pitcher up if (when) somebody falters. RP - Ray Black - May have thrown a fastball 103 MPH once. Definitely needs to work on his walks before he can be promoted. INF - Christian Arroyo - Consensus Giants top prospect. Still a ways away from the Majors, however. The Bottom Line 2016 Final Predictions - The Giants will win around 90 games, enough to get into the postseason- either beating the Dodgers for the NL West or as the first Wild Card team. Afterwards I suppose the Giants will WIN THE WORLD SERIES EVEN YEAR BULLSHIT SUCK IT DODGERS In Conclusion 
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Mar 29, 2016 02:25
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How many Giants will be murdered by adorable scrappy Cubs this season? All of them
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Mar 29, 2016 02:36
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R.D. Mangles posted:Master List of Inevitable Cubs Misfortunes Pffft. One misfortune, sure. Five misfortunes, maybe. Seven misfortunes, there's an outside chance. But EIGHT misfortunes?! I'd like to see that You really could have added one more misfortune you know
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Mar 29, 2016 05:24
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As always, my Giants writeup is a lot more cynical than the other guy's. But it'll also be less goofy, because he took all the good GIFs. drat you!
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Mar 29, 2016 05:37
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 gently caress ME, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER SEASON OF MINNESOTA TWINS BASEBALL  THE STARTING LINEUPC - #8 - Kurt Suzuki .240/.296/.314, 5 HR, 50 RBI  Kurt's still on the team because he hit really well in the first half of the 2014 season and got a 2-year contract. Once hit an inside the park home run. He's not very good defensively, and he forgot how to hit. 1B - #7 - Joseph Patrick "The Cake Eater" Mauer .265/.338/.380, 10 HR, 66 RBI  Makes $23 million per year to be a below-average first baseman and gets a lot of poo poo for it. Can't see for poo poo in the sun due to hotbrains, so apparently he's gonna wear some shades this year so he can see the ball. Hopefully. 2B - #2 - Brian "The Bulldozier" Dozier .236 /.307/.444, 28 HR, 77 RBI, 12 SB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WzZkMXCCo0 You wouldn't think the Twins primary power threat would be their second baseman, but for the past two seasons that's been the case. Had a 20/20 season in 2014 and made his first ASG last year. He's also absurdly good at playing second base. Telling him he didn't make the ASG makes him really mad and causes him to hit a walk-off dinger. I still think "Killdozier" is a better nickname, but I actually got to ask him which he likes better and he said "Bulldozier" since that was his college nickname. SS - #5 - Eduardo Escobar .262 /.309/.445, 12 HR, 58 RBI  He's...um...a guy, I guess? Mostly know for the guy we got from the White Sox in exchange for Francisco Liriano, he hits for a little power and can play all over the infield. Basically he's an average MLB shortstop and considering the Twins track record with the SS position this centruy, we'll take it. 3B - #24 - Trevor "Rally Killer" Plouffe .244 /.307.435, 22 HR, 86 RBI  Led the league in GIDP last year. Decent power when he isn't two-hopping the loving ball right to the opposing shortstop. LF - #20 -Eddie Rosario .311 /.311/.578, 15 3B, 13 HR, 50 RBI, 11 SB  Unlike Trevor, Eddie led the league in a useful stat last year: triples! 15 of them, in fact. That's a lot of triples. Also had an absurd .332 BAbip, so everyone is pegging him to be a regression candidate. Here's hoping he isn't. CF - #25 - Byron Buxton .209/.250/.326, 2 HR, 6 RBI  Still technically a rookie since he only has 138 career PA, the Twins top prospect is a popular pick for AL ROY. In a perfect world he's probably starting the year in Rochester, but that would mean having Rosario in CF and Sano and Arcia in the corner OF spots. Imagine back to when Kubel and Delmon Young were out there and you'll see why that isn't exactly a good idea. RF - #22 - Miguel Sano .269 /.385/.530, 18 HR, 52 RBI  Primarily took up DH duties last year, but that job's been taken by someone else. To keep his bat in the lineup, Sano has moved out to RF and well.........at least he hits a lot of dingers. And now we come to the biggest addition for this year... DH - #52 - Byung Ho Park (박병호) .269/.385/.530 53 HR 146 RBI (Korea) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8qmI7yPlhw A highly touted power hitter in Korea, it came as a bit of a surprise to everyone when the Minnesota Twins wound up winning the rights to negotiate with Park. Park has won 2 KBO MVPs and has lead the KBO in home runs the last four years. While the fact that this was the KBO may make some question if those numbers can translate to MLB, Jung-ho Kang's sucessful transition last year provides a glimmer of hope. Yet even with all that uncertainty, it can't be any worse than the last time the Twins brought in a player from an Asian pro league. Park is naturally a first baseman, but since Minnesota's paying Mauer $23 million to plug up the position, Park won't see a ton of time in the field. When he does, expect Sano to move into the DH spot. Bench Players C - John Ryan Murphy - Acquired from the Yankees for Aaron Hicks. Will backup Suzuki this year and presumably is the Twins catcher of the future. Name sounds like a serial killer's. OF - Oswaldo Arcia - Arcia can hit a ball a long ways but that's about it. Strikes out a lot, isn't very good at defending, and doesn't have much in terms of speed. Since he's out of options, this is basically a make or break year for him. IF/OF - Eduardo Nunez - Had the best season of his career last year and will probably regress. Still a decent player that can be utilized as a bench bat, pinch runner, or spot starter. UTIL - Danny Santana - After a good rookie year in 2014, his hitting fell off a cliff last season. Primarily a pinch runner or fill-in at SS for Escobar's days off. And there you have it, the 2016 Minnesota Tw- huh? Oh yeah...*sigh*...the pitching staff.  starting rotation RHP - #54 - Ervin Santana 108 IP, 4.00 ERA, 1.296 WHIP, 2.28 K/BB  Signed a big contract then got busted for steroids. Probably our best strating pitcher, which is like being the prettiest waitress at Waffle House. RHP - #45 - Phil Hughes 155.1 IP, 4.40 ERA, 1.288 WHIP, 5.88 K/BB  Phil Hughes was also a league leader last year! Too bad it was for giving up dingers! Stop doing that Phil! RHP - #44 - Kyle Gibson 194.2 IP, 3.84 ERA, 1.289 WHIP, 2.23 K/BB  Was our best pitcher last year, so he'll probably need Tommy John surgery by May because we can't have nice things. LHP - #33 - Tommy Milone 128.2 IP, 3.92 ERA, 1.275 WHIP, 2.53 K/BB  Our token lefty starter. When he's on he's pretty drat good, but he is prone to getting shelled a bit. RHP - #47 - Ricky Nolasco OR #56 - Tyler Duffey Nolasco: 37.1 IP, 6.75 ERA, 1.714 WHIP, 2.5 K/BB Duffey: 58 IP, 3.10 ERA, 1.310 WHIP, 2.65 K/BB Please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey please be Duffey.  THE BULLPEN LHP - #15 - PROVEN CLOSER Glen Perkins 57 IP, 3.32 ERA, 1.193 WHIP, 5.40 K/BB, 32 SV  Glen Perkins is awesome. Last year he kinda fell apart after the All-Star break due to injury, but he's been an elite closer for the last 3+ years so there's no reason to think he can't regain his form. RHP - #49 - Kevin Jepsen 69.2 IP, 2.33 ERA, 1.134 WHIP, 2.19 K/BB, 15 SV  De facto backup closer if Perkins is still hurt/struggles. Had an absurdly good year last year, especially after being traded to the Twins from Tampa.  THE REST OF THE BULLPEN If Duffey is the 5th stater - RHP Ricky Nolasco - Nolasco is loving garbage and ideally he'd be on the first bus to Rochester but alas, he's on the team one way or another. If Nolasco is the 5th Stater - RHP J.R. Graham - Unremarkable long relief guy. Wears cool socks. Duffey goes to AAA. RHP Trevor May - Should be starting but we have a bunch of old fuckers that suck in the rotation making a fuckton of money so he's getting squandered in the 'pen until something opens up. RHP Casey Fien - Was good and then turned to poo poo last year. Thankfully will not be blowing leads in the 8th inning anymore. LHP Fernando Abad - is probably a-bad pitcher. GET IT? and finally either RHP Ryan Pressly - Decent enough. or LHP Ryan O'Rourke I accidentally called him P.J. and I kinda feel bad about it. Infidel Castro fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Mar 29, 2016 |
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Mar 29, 2016 05:59
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Infidel Castro posted:
TIME FOR ADDENDUMS FROM SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WANT TO SPIN EVERYTHING AS NEGATIVE. Kurt Suzuki Is a super good game manager, which I think is not something to be overlooked in a catcher (see: Pinto, Josmil). Joe Mauer Holy poo poo look at these Day/Night splits Day - .251/.318/.372 Night - .274/.351/.385 Maybe the shades will actually do something. ANECDOTAL REPORT: I went to a spring training game and he looked pretty good and hit two solid line drives with them on but it was just one game and also against the Phillies so the pitcher was probably pretty bad so who knows. Eduardo Escobar He hits a lot of doubles (66 over the last two years in like 900 plate appearances which is pretty good!) which is pretty cool actually. Trevor Plouffe Somehow became a quite good defender between the 2014 and 2015 seasons which is why Sano is playing in the outfield now. Kyle Gibson He already had TJS so he's probably not gonna have it again, ha! Trevor May He's still a pretty good reliever so it's kind of nice to not be terrified when we go to the bullpen in the seventh now with May-Jepsen-Perkins. I did this whole thing just for the terrible Mauer joke
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Mar 29, 2016 14:00
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Worth noting: Kyle Gibson strikeout % 2013 - 12.2 2014 - 14.1 2015 - 17.7 If he keeps making strides in his K% and and can continue to keep the walks down, he's growing into a very solid starting pitcher. He's not the kind of guy who serves up pitches, so I wouldn't worry about his HR% suddenly exploding.
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Mar 29, 2016 15:47
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Good news, AL Central! Tyler Duffey was optioned to AAA so your Minnesota Twins fifth starter to start 2016 is Ricky "Just got shelled by a single A team" Nolasco! Even I can't put a positive spin on this one.
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Mar 29, 2016 15:50
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IcePhoenix posted:TIME FOR ADDENDUMS FROM SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WANT TO SPIN EVERYTHING AS NEGATIVE. Okay, maybe it's a tad too cynical, but you can't say the Twins weren't incredibly lucky last year. Are they better this year? Yes. Can they be as successful this year? Possibly. - Suzuki does a good job calling games and does have good chemistry with the staff, yes. He just doesn't have a great arm and can't frame worth poo poo. - I really want to believe that Mauer's finally getting over the concussion and the shades will help, but I'm not getting my hopes up. - I didn't say Escobar is bad. He just isn't all that remarkable. - I'm sure some stats will prove me wrong, but sometimes it Plouffe looks like a granite statue out there. - Jarrod Parker's having a third TJS. Anything's possible! - I like May and my whole point is that I wish he was starting instead of being squandered in a relief role. IcePhoenix posted:Good news, AL Central! Tyler Duffey was optioned to AAA so your Minnesota Twins fifth starter to start 2016 is Ricky "Just got shelled by a single A team" Nolasco! Maybe he'll be so loving lovely they'll be forced to call up Berrios. Think positive! 
Infidel Castro fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Mar 29, 2016 |
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Mar 29, 2016 18:17
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Reminder that this is the face of a man who will be in the hall of fame some day.
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Mar 29, 2016 21:36
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The cardinals lost nobody of consequence. Matt holliday's playing first base, maybe. Grichuk is hitting again and we got a guy whose name is pronounced Dork-O.
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Mar 30, 2016 00:11
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Anaranjado posted:The cardinals lost nobody of consequence. Matt holliday's playing first base, maybe. Grichuk is hitting again and we got a guy whose name is pronounced Dork-O. Is this a veiled dig at Jason Heyward and John Lackey?
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Mar 30, 2016 01:51
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The 2016 Texas Rangers: Manager Jeff Banister  Banister is entering his second year as the team's manager. For the most part he seemed to be pretty capable manager, but bullpen management might not be his strongsuit. Catcher Robinson "Honey Nut" Chirinos  Chirinos is a cool dude and he's quietly become a pretty solid catcher. He's got some nice pop and decent defense. First Baseman Mitch Moreland  After some pretty crappy years filled with injuries, Moreland finally seemed to put it all together to the tune of a 115 wRC+ last year. He hits free agency after this year and so this is probably his last year as a Ranger I would think. Texas fans of "relatable" players are singing their swan song right now. Second Baseman Rougned Odor  Not to be confused with the other Rougned Odor or the other other Rougned Odor. Related to Rouglas Odor, Rouglas Odor, and Rouglas Odor. This Rougned Odor was absolute poo poo to start the last year. Then he got sent down and turned into one of the best second basemen in the majors. Seriously. He had a 47 wRC+ in March/April. In June he put up a 181 wRC+, in July a 154, and in August a 119 then he slowed down at the end of the season. Oh did I mention that he's a huge pest and annoys the poo poo out of other teams/fans? He's quickly becoming my favorite Ranger. He's been killing it this spring and yeah small samples blah blah but I expect him to have a good year. Short Stop Elvis Andrus  For the love of god someone please take this contract off our hands so we can bring up Profar. Elvis is fine for what he is, but his contract is a huge albatross. Third Baseman Adrian Beltre  If you don't think he's a hall of famer you can gently caress right off. Beltre had some injuries with his thumb to start the year, but his second half was really good. He wants a 3 year $20 AAV extension. I love Adrian, but no. Left Fielder? Ian Desmond  I just picked this picture to gently caress with Nats fans. So the Rangers gave up a draft pick and paid $8m to sign Ian Desmond to play a position he's literally never played before. It seems to be going ok so far. I wasn't a huge fan of this signing, but it's starting to grow on me. Center Fielder Delino DeShields Jr  He's fast. He's a mediocre fielder at a still new position to him. His bat is ok. But the whole package is a pretty solid player capable of starting in CF. The Rangers have been experimenting with Desmond in CF so Deshields as a starter might not be long for this world with stud OF prospect Nomar Mazara knocking on the door in AAA and stud CF prospect turning heads in AA/AAA. Right Fielder Shin Soo Choo  Choo signed a huge contract to come to the Rangers. Then he sucked. And then his wife told him not to suck anymore. Now he does not suck anymore. Designated Hitler Prince Fielder  Strangely erotic. Devastatingly handsome. Strikingly mediocre. Fielder got traded to the Rangers a couple years ago and then he had back surgery. He has been... OK. I really would like for him to take a step back to his old self, but I am not optimistic. Starting Pitchers: Cole Hamels  I want to kiss him on the mouth. Also he's a good pitcher that the Rangers traded a king's ransom for but we still have a top 5 farm system with near-ready talent. Yu Darvish   Watching Darvish pitch is probably my favorite thing in baseball. He has so many good pitches and he makes good hitters look absolutely silly at times. He got Tommy John Surgery, and by all accounts he is back and healthy. The Rangers are being cautious and sticking to their original timeline which should have him back sometime in May. Martin Perez  The Rangers might have the most photogenic rotation in baseball. Perez is a young pitcher that was starting to put everything together before getting derailed by injuries. Well he came back last year and was pretty good for the most part. Hopefully he'll continue to recover and get back to where he was before the injury. If he does the Rangers rotation could be one of the best in baseball. Derek Holland  Yeah, about that attractive rotation... Derek Holland has the potential to be a really good pitcher and he shows flashes of it on occasion. But he is maddeningly inconsistent which isn't helped by his goofball persona. Worst Harry Caray impression ever. Colby Lewis  Colby Lewis is 800 years old. He has a cyborg hip replacement. He gives up a million dingers. But somehow he still is a pretty ok pitcher. He gives up lots of dingers but seems to only do it when nobody is on. It's weird. He's a workhorse and should eat up a lot of innings as the 5th starter while keeping you in the game most of the time. And when he doesn't he won't kill the bullpen. Couldn't ask for much more at the back of the bullpen. A.J. Griffin  He's probably going to be in the rotation to start the year until Darvish comes back and then I assume we fire him into the sun. Bullpen: Shawn Tolleson - He's the closer of our "no roles" bullpen. He's pretty drat good, but his stuff isn't that great. He always seems to be teetering on, but avoiding disaster. Sam Dyson - The Rangers straight up robbed the Marlins for him. He was withering away on their bullpen and the Rangers scouts realized his sinker was just a straight up real life cheatcode and now he throws it constantly and is insanely good. His ERA+ with the Rangers last year was 371. Keone Kela - Straight up bulldog. Dude aint afraid of nobody. And his stuff is legit. On any other team he'd be on a fast track to being the closer of the future. Jake Diekman - Lefty with a power arm. He's pretty drat good, but kind of inconsistent. Andrew Faulkner - Product of our farm system that has had a pretty good spring. Tony Barnette - Some dude we signed out of Japan. We've had a pretty good track record scouting guys from Japan, so I'll take it. Luke Jackson - He'll start the year on the DL. Rangers farm product that got called up last year and was above average but didn't ever seem to earn the trust of the manager. Tom Wilhelmsen - Acquired from the Mariners in the offseason. Again another guy with a live arm. As you can see the Rangers' bullpen should be the biggest strength of the team and could very well be the best in baseball. Bench: Ryan Rua - Rangers farm product. Four corners guy that can play any position but Catcher/Short in a pinch. He's had a hell of a spring. Last year was a disastrous lost year inflicted with injuries. Should be a platoon partner for Moreland. Justin Ruggiano - uh ok I guess Hanser Alberto - MIF. Superlative defense. Meh bat. Backup Catcher - ???? Theres also Josh Hamilton who will start the year on the DL but he can stay there all year as far as I'm concerned. Potential callups: Nomar Mazara Joey Gallo Matt Bush Lewis Brinson Chi Chi Gonzalez It's largely the same team that accomplished this last year:  All the projections seem to hate them this year and the Astros are the popular pick to win the division, but consider this: the Astros are dumb and the Rangers are not. Rangers gonna win the World Series y'all. KIM JONG TRILL fucked around with this message at 03:10 on Mar 30, 2016 |
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Mar 30, 2016 03:07
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Anaranjado posted:The cardinals lost nobody of consequence. Matt holliday's playing first base, maybe. Grichuk is hitting again and we got a guy whose name is pronounced Dork-O. It's like someone left BFIB on the stove and forgot about it, leaving only that first sentence. Also it's pronounced Jerk-o, which is way better.
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Mar 30, 2016 03:43
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THE 2016 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS OF BASEBALL Last year: Last year was an odd-numbered year, and naturally it didn't go well for the Giants. While previous odd years have brought us a promising start dashed by challenges, or sabotaged by mid-season slumps and losing streaks, 2015's was generally defined by bad things happening to the Giants, with the Cubs being the surprise beneficiary of it all, and sometimes the cause. That happened enough times that one would think the two teams had a rivalry going. First, a Cubs pitcher broke Hunter Pence's arm in a spring training game. Then, Jake Arietta hit Nori Aoki in the head and gave him a concussion. Additional non-Cubs related injuries exhausted the depth chart, and the Giants reached a point where players were being recalled from Double-A yet again, and Madison Bumgarner was forced to pinch-hit due to the complete lack of a bench. They were still mathematically in this thing until the very last week of the season, when the second wildcard was clinched by the Cubs. The one bright spot was Matt Duffy, who was not just injury-resistant but saved an office that had lost Pablo Sandoval's loyalty by putting up numbers resembling a decent Sandoval year at a much lower price. Duffy's breakout season got him second place in Rookie Of The Year voting. Behind a guy on the Cubs. While the Giants have been known for having boing offseasons of resigning homegrown favorites and diving for garbage on the cheap aisle after the Zito deal blew up in their face, Bobby Evans spent significant money in his first offseason as GM. And yet, what's that burning smell? Significant risk from expensive players, you say? Notable departures: Jeremy Affeldt (RP): Retired. Known for oddball injuries involving barbecues or hefty infants. Now will be part of the pre/post-game desk on the regional affiliate. Tim Hudson (SP): Retired. Walked off into the sunset with old A's teammate (and fellow Giants postseason hero) Barry Zito. Burn a copy of Moneyball in their honor. Yusmeiro Petit (RP): Pitched a lot of scoreless innings that one time. Could not get that last out for the perfect game. Hector Sanchez (C): A backup catcher who showed some early success in the majors and was invited to stay. Regarded by some to have not spent enough time in the minors, screwing up his development and making him worse than he could have been. Frequently was hurt by foul tips and wild pitches. Nori Aoki (OF): The team turned down his option, then went hunting on the market for a new outfielder. Being 33 years old didn't prevent him from getting on base a lot. Injuries to the leg and head did. Marlon Byrd (OF): He wasn't horrible, but also didn't meet enough plate appearances for his option to kick in. And for that, we are thankful. Tim "420" Lincecum (SP): Was a franchise icon for three years, and struggled from 2012 onward. 2x Cy Young. Putting him up here is really inviting fate, because the office loves Timmy (as does many middle-aged Bay Area moms) and breaking up has been a melodrama that's produced many articles about how the team needs to focus on winning games and put nostalgia behind them. Even though his salary has not matched his performance for his past two contracts, everyone retains a quiet horror that they'll sign him for $12 million before June. Manager: Bruce Bochy  The team poppa. Very highly regarded for his postseason work. His regular season work can be iffy. Once accused of favoring veterans, he seems to no longer bench young players for older ones anymore since Matt Duffy replaced Casey McGehee in a month. However, sometimes his bullpen management leads to him picking a gas can over a better pitcher, and his love of switching players in and out can feel excessive, maybe even counterproductive. Doesn't matter, players still love him anyway. Catcher: Buster Posey (and an assortment of backup catchers!)  Esurance once ran a commercial suggesting you wouldn't want Buster to deliver your baby. Esurance doesn't know many Giants fans. The clubhouse leader and cleanup hitter spent a career high 42 games at first base last year, but will continue to catch until he doesn't feel like it anymore, thank you. He has a few more years of catching at least part-time still in him, but he's also not going to be a free agent until 2023. When Posey is at first, the game will be caught by... Well, who knows, really. Andrew Susac took over for Hector Sanchez after injuries, and then Susac himself got injured and Trevor Brown was called up. Susac will probably start the season injured, but when healthy he's one of the few trade chips the team has, good enough that he should be playing somewhere that isn't second-fiddle to Posey. Brown was quite alright for a backup of a backup of a backup, pulled out of AA from our dire farm system. First Base: Brandon Belt (and sometimes Buster Posey) Nobody knows what Brandon Belt is really capable of, because nobody has seen a full Brandon Belt season in some time. Early on he was frequently benched for right handed hitters, and in both 2014 and 2015 he has suffered concussions and other injuries. Belt appears as a contact-hitting doubles/triples machine with periodic homer power as a Giant, though he does strike out frequently and that creates a lot of negative hot-takes on the radio hotline. He potentially excels on defense owing to his ability to stretch out like Gumby and catch the ball sooner than someone of shorter range would, though this is not an ability that teams quantifiably value. Yet? Posey's extension going well past his viability as a catcher has some believing that Belt is the odd man out, and will be done with the organization as soon as his contract expires. Maybe. It's too soon to tell, with everything from injury concerns to the specter of an NL DH looming over the seasons to come. Second Base: Joe Panik Returning from a minor back-related injury that kept him sitting out most of last season, Joe Panik will take on destiny in Even Year Bullshit 2016. The Giants have not had a 2B last more than two seasons without career-ending injuries since EYBS started. The lesser known even-year tradition is that of a new second baseman replacing an injured old one, hitting like they're on fairy dust, and lasting a season and a half until they get a career-ending injury and start the EYBS 2B cycle again. Good luck fighting fate, Joe! If the universe ISN'T pre-ordained to endlessly loop a two year cycle, Panik has a great contact swing for blooper power, and on defense he is one-half of the game's better middle infield double play duos. Shortstop: Brandon Crawford Crawford got the big extension money this offseason, to go alongside his Golden Glove. He's like a human vacuum for balls up the middle, with lots of diving catches, a quick recovery, and a strong arm. That last part is also essential to his role as cutoff man, since the Giants outfielders are the furthest thing from canons throwing fire. His bat can be a power threat, though whether that's reliable or not is still a question. Third Base: Matt Duffy  Best shape of his life! Last year, Matt Duffy saved the Giants. As mentioned above, last year he was one of the few players to do well AND not miss serious time on the DL. Prediction algorithms don't expect the DuffMan to be as great this year, but still good. Also, his cat Skeeter is reality's answer to Garfield strips. Left Field: Angel Pagan (but probably Gregor Blanco) Pagan's in the final year of his contract, also known as "the year that you don't look forward to but have to accept in order to sign the player." He's getting up there in age, his defense has always had critics, he's a constant injury watch, and he's hitting ninth in the order this year. Gregor Blanco is better than his status as a perennial bench player might imply. It's a good thing, because every year has brought him many starting lineup positions due to organizational holes or frequent injuries. This year will probably be no exception. Center Field: Denard Span (and possibly Gregor Blanco) Added this offseason to replace Pagan in center and at the top of the order. Had a better than career average OBP last year at age 31. Gets a lot of hits and steals, when he's healthy. In spring training, he's taken two minor injuries, so expect some time in center for Blanco, as well. Right Field: Hunter Pence (with appearances by Gregor Blanco)  ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ DINGER or RIOT ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ A competitive gaming streamer with over 10,000 followers, Pence plays a combination of Diablo III, Hearthstone, and Smash Bros. His fearsome Yoshi and Dr. Mario play is second to his signature Pac-Man, where he is a master at that move that summons a fire hydrant. In spite of his eSports fame, Pence has yet to make the stage at EVO or BlizzCon, owing to some weird summer job he has catching balls in a field. Kappa On a baseball field, Pence is mostly known for his wacky swinging mechanics (it works for him, don't hate) and playing a gajillion consecutive innings like some kind of unbreakable iron man. He has admitted that the latter is a hobby he's probably done with to not exhaust himself over a season. All the reason for still more Gregor Blanco. The Bench Gregor Blanco and some dudes. Kelby Tomlinson and Ehire Adrianza resume their role as periodic infielders from last year. Really, the Giants like to go with the big bullpen over the big bench, since Bochy changes his pitchers a lot. This is because he likes it when you have to watch that solar panel commercial repeatedly. ("Not just any solar company...") Starting pitchers: Madison Bumgarner  "Liar! You said this was about pitchers!" An ace pitcher? The reincarnation of Paul Bunyan? The best argument against the designated hitter? Maybe a little of all of that. People's opinions on Bum range from "the greatest because look at that postseason" to "fine but not the greatest because look at those regular seasons" to "a whiny baby jerk." The big lefty might have a temper but usually let's it out by pounding the strike zone with cutters, and is projected by ZiPS for a 2.70 ERA with 216 K in 210 IP. But he is an advocate for the Unwritten Rules of Sportsmanship, which results in a few hours of controversy every time he walks toward home plate. He takes pride in his hitting, which presently is about as good as you can ask from someone whose pay is not dependent on hitting ability. He notably hit five home runs last year, including one off rival Clayton Kershaw. Johnny Cueto  This is only one of the gems on his Instagram. Part of the Giants new Spend Money Fast strategy, Cueto has one of those fun opt-out contracts that sees him back on the market for more money in only two years. Unless he's bad; then he'll stay here being bad for s-s-s--SIX YEARS and $130 million. Let's all cheer on Johnny Cueto as he does really, really well for two years. Then we can eventually wish him luck somewhere in the AL East or something. Whoof. Cueto's had a really good career that was marred by a bad second-half last year. He eats a lot of innings and the Giants are looking forward to that since the injuries to the rotation last year really wore out the bullpen. The assumption here, by both the Giants and Cueto himself, is that his last half-season was an aberration, not a new norm. A ballpark that oppresses offense in a division of large ballparks should help him rebuild value. Note to opposing team fans: don't do that sing-song "Cueee-toooo" thing that the Pirates fans did. Don't try to be cute like that. You know that gets under his skin and makes him choke and then six years and $130,000,000 oh god. Jeff Smar... Samarj... Samardzija  Unlike Cueto, the man they called "shark" playing on the same team as a man who already was called "shark" and who the hell knows is here for five years barring trades, whether you like it or not. And he's also seriously risky because his last season on the White Sox was bad. "Led MLB in Earned Runs" bad. He thinks he was tipping his pitches, and a CWS coach admitted to doing a bad job. If Dave Raghetti can turn Smargarine back into old form then this deal isn't so bad. Even if he's not as good as he was before, he doesn't necessarily have to be if he's got Crawford and Panik covering up so much space behind him. Like Cueto, he pitches a lot of innings; and so hopefully he's effective enough that the bullpen is rested for... Jake Peavy It's apparently now that there's three things that annoy Giants fans about Peavy: 1) He talks to himself a lot on the mound. This makes people nervous. 2) He has vision issues, meaning the catcher has to wear neon fingernails and he sometimes doesn't know that a dinger occurred. This make people nervous. 3) He gets cooked in the sixth inning. This not only makes people nervous because Bruce Bochy is managing and he likes to leave pitchers in there, but it makes fans completely forget about the previous five innings of solid pitching and complain on talk radio. That's it. He's fine for a veteran guy filling out the back end of the rotation. He'll make some work for the bullpen thanks to that sixth inning magic, but if the above three guys perform as well as hoped then it shouldn't be any problem. Matt Cain The Giants ace of 2012 is now it's reclamation project in 2016. Matt Cain got the gigantic contract and had a great season, then bone spurs occurred. Then elbow chips. And since then, there's been surgeries and there's been hopes and there's been rehab assignments and lightened schedules, but there hasn't been a whole lot of excellent pitching. It's a good thing Cain is a homegrown talent who reminds fans of good times, because he'd be Barry Zito 2.0 if he was brought in as a free agent. Hey guys did I mention that Lincecum is supposed to be good again this year? Just ask his surgeon it was all in the hips and he'll be like he was young ag--  The Bullpen This pricey, aged bullpen saw a little changeover. Josh Osich takes over Jeremy Affeldt's position of being a versatile lefty who can pitch a whole inning. Javi Lopez is one of the best lefty specialists who can't pitch a whole inning. Sergio Romo used to be all-around awesome for pitching a single inning but is quickly turning into a righty specialist after left-side hitters begun hammering his sliders. George Kontos is really quite good until he throws a soft, easily crushed one to a pitcher or 40+ year old hitter and then that's all you'll remember. Santiago Casilla is the closer who becomes a 36 year old FA after this season, while Hunter Strickland is the guy they'd presently like to see as the closer going forward. Chris Heston returns as the long-man. Cory Gearrin is a guy who has kicked around the Braves minor system a lot and I hadn't heard of until I looked at an article for writing this; I mean he isn't even on the team site's depth chart as of this writing. What could go wrong? Health?.... Health, anyone? This team was pushed to the fringes of it's depth by injuries last year, and it could plague them again this year, too. The top concern is outfield health and how there's many Gregor Blanco sized holes and only one Gregor Blanco to fill them all, and while everyone agrees Mac Williamson will be ready someday soon it's also almost entirely agreed that today is not yet that day. Cueto at least appears to be solid in his spring starts. There's also the slight problem that the two other leading teams in the division got better this offseason. The Bottom Line This is it. This your one chance to enjoy the sort of smug that Yankees fans enjoy with every waking moment. Your only real question this year is if you want to be insufferable about Even Year Bullshit in front of other team's fans or not. But look at this way: even if you don't, even if you're modest, when the Giants go down in the last week of the season yet again the Dodgers fan is still going to say, "well thank GOD people can stop talking about that even year thing from now on. Jesus gently caress even people who don't like the Giants liked to make jokes about it. Go away, evil curses, be gone!" You're going to have to put up with hearing that, even if you don't have cause to feel liable for perpetuating it. You're going to get condescending glares and "I'm sure your window will open again some day" remarks on Facebook. Sure, the Giants don't look likely to win the World Series this year. But they sure as poo poo didn't look like they'd do it in 2014, either. The only question is if you're going to insufferably ride your history until it's gone. You know what to do. 2016 Prediction: 
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Mar 30, 2016 03:51
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poo poo I'm a Yankees fan and I would let Buster Posey deliver my kids. Hell, he could probably just father them and I wouldn't overly mind. Also how did neither Giants poster note that Joe Panik is actually his clone?
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Mar 30, 2016 04:22
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Inspector_666 posted:poo poo I'm a Yankees fan and I would let Buster Posey deliver my kids. Hell, he could probably just father them and I wouldn't overly mind. A lot of the Giants players are derivative. Andrew Susac also looks like them. Even Samardzija looks like some strange amalgamation of former Giants. Also apparently don't Google Trevor Brown.
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Mar 30, 2016 04:38
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The St. Louis Literally Worse than Hitler’s Last year was the worst season in the past five years for the Cardinals. During this season they lost their ace within the first month and at various times had their setup man, left fielder, center fielder, backup center fielder, first baseman and catcher all on the disabled list. They won 100 games in the regular season and led the best division in baseball from April 16 through the end of the season. This is, as we all know, Cardinals Devil Magic™. Said Devil Magic failed them in the post-season and the Cardinals failed to make at least the NLCS for the first time since 2010 losing to, of all teams, the Chicago Cubs. However, as Cardinals fans we try not to dwell on the past too much or put too much stock in history. Let’s look forward to the 2016 season. General Manager John Mozeliak  Senior VP and GM of the club. Originated in the scouting department of the Cardinals in 1995 and promoted to GM in 2007 after the organization decided to move in a more sabermetrically-inclined direction. Has sworn up and down to the FBI that he’s never owned a computer more advanced than a 1980’s-era Tandy. Manager Michael “Mike” Matheny  Four-time Gold-Glove winning catcher in his playing days. Took over for Hall-of-Fame manager Tony LaRussa after the World Series Champion 2011 season. Has taken his team to the postseason each of his first 4 years as a manager. Is generally believed to be a “clubhouse” manager, fostering a good atmosphere for his players and earning their trust and respect. Is one of the worst managers when it comes to challenges and bullpen management, leading to the term “Mathenaging”. Along with his fellow NL Central manager Joe Maddon and LA Angels manager Mike Scioscia, Matheny is one of three managers who speak fluent Spanish. Position Players The Cardinals’ starting lineup for opening day is a bit of a question mark, particularly when it comes to first base, left field and center field. Several players’ seasons are up in the air regarding where they’ll play or if they’ll start on the field or on the bench. In that spirit let’s just look at the likely starters. Yadier “Yadi” Molina  Beloved by the Cardinals’ faithful, hated by most everyone else. Drafted by the Cardinals in 2000. Has won the Gold Glove at catcher for 8 years in a row and has won the Fielding Bible Award at catcher 6 times. Yadi is generally accepted as a generational defensive talent with more defensive runs saved than any catcher other than Ivan Rodriguez. He owns a career 44.43% caught stealing percentage and an impressive array of stupid neck tattoos. Has missed significant time in each of the last two years due to injuries to his hands. Matthew “Matt” Holliday  Acquired via trade with Oakland in 2009 to function as lineup protection for the now-departed Albert Pujols. 2015 was the first year he didn’t post a batting title-qualified season with an offensive line at least 30% better than league average. At age 36 he’s starting to become a more noticeable defensive liability and has started taking starts at First Base as a result. He’s traditionally started in Left Field but where he’ll begin the season is currently an open question. Kolten Wong  One of two native Hawaiians in the Major Leagues, Kolten Wong projects to be the Cardinals’ starting Second Baseman for the 2016 season. Drafted by the Cardinals in 2011 and signed to a 5-year, $25.5M extension in the recent offseason. With the departure of Jason Heyward is now viewed as the biggest base-stealing threat on the team. Given his post-season history, this worries some Cardinals fans (see above). Ruben Tejada  Formerly of the Mets and injured by a Matthew “Matt” Carpenter  Selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 2009 draft and given a signing bonus of only $1,000. The Cardinals’ starting Third Baseman and likely leadoff hitter, Carpenter has posted OBP’s of .392, .375 and .365 in the past three years. Notable for being Clayton Kershaw’s personal nemesis. Stephen Piscotty  Selected by the Cardinals in the 2012 draft with one of their two compensation picks for failing to sign Albert Pujols. Debuted against the Chicago White Sox in mid-2015 and ended the season 6th in Rookie of the Year voting. Holds a degree in atmospheric and energy engineering from Stanford but after the above-pictured incident in Pittsburgh he may not remember that much of the relevant information. Likely to start in Right Field but spent a significant amount of time in 2015 starting at First Base. Randal Grichuk  Acquired from the Angels in a 4-player trade in November, 2013. Originally drafted by the Angels one spot before they selected some other guy named after a fish. Has a history of silly injuries, but a tantalizing upside. He’s previously been described as the strongest member of the team, which made Matt Holliday’s forearms sad. Homered in his first post-season at-bat off of Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the 2014 NLDS. May start in any of the outfield positions but for the sake of this write-up let’s call him a Center Fielder. Thomas “Tommy” Pham  Drafted by the Cardinals in the 2006 draft and then had a long series of injuries that kept him in the minors for such a long time that his first MLB hit didn’t come until July of 2015. Homered in his first post-season at-bat off of Jon Lester in Game 1 of the 2015 NLDS. May start in any of the outfield positions but for the sake of this write-up let’s call him a Left Fielder. Likely Bench Position Players Brayan Pena: Backup catcher for Yadi’s annual trip to the disabled list. Signed to a 2-year, $5M contract in the offseason Matt Adams: Last year’s starting first baseman before he tore a quad running the basis. Drafted by the Cardinals in 2009. Nicknamed “Big City”. Led the team in triples in 2014. No, really. Look it up. Likely a bench bat or a platoon First Baseman. Brandon Moss: Acquired in a trade with Cleveland and retained via arbitration in the offseason. Likely a bench bat, backup outfielder or platoon First Baseman. New team strikeout machine off the bench now that Mark Reynolds has departed. Jedd Gyorko: Acquired for Jon Jay and cash from the Padres. Likely a bench bat and utility infielder, as well as primary backup for Second Base and Shortstop. Mostly worthwhile to avoid exhaustion among the middle infielders and for the “Jerko Wong” double-play combination. Greg Garcia: Drafted by the Cardinals in 2010 and a former college teammate of Kolten Wong’s. Likely a bench bat and utility infielder if he makes the team as the 25th man on the roster. Pitchers Adam “Waino” Wainwright  Staff ace. Tall drink of water. Fantasy sports enthusiast and overall Fun Guy. This is not your “Serious Business” Cardinals staff from the LaRussa days and Waino goes out of his way to make the team fun. Acquired as a minor leaguer in a trade with the Braves in 2003 for JD Drew. One of only two pitchers to receive the most first-place CY votes in a year and not win. In fact, owns more Cy Young votes without actually winning the award than any other pitcher in history. Missed the majority of last season with a torn Achilles and all of 2011 by Tommy John. Most famous for his devastating curveball, which acts as a trigger to Mets fans worldwide. Michael Wacha  The other compensation pick from the 2012 draft that the Cardinals received for failing to sign Albert Pujols. Debuted in 2013 and won the NLCS MVP that same year, posting a 0.43 ERA against the Dodgers in 21 innings pitched and beating Clayton Kershaw in two consecutive games. Likely the #2 starter in the rotation but there are concerns about his ability to last a full season, with 2014 truncated by a stress reaction in his shoulder and 2015 ending with a severe increase in home runs given up. Known for his fastball and changeup, as well as his height (6’6”) and his consistent delivery across pitches. Michael “Mike” Leake  Signed as a free agent with a 5-year, $80M deal in the offseason after Lance Lynn went down with Tommy John surgery. Likely the #3 starter in the rotation and the only member of the rotation with no serious health concerns. Jaime Garcia  Selected by Cardinals in 2005 and when healthy has consistently posted quality results when not in a full-body cast. Has only pitched more than 165 innings in a season once, in 2011. Has dealt with both Tommy John surgery and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Likely the #4 starter and the only left-handed starter in the rotation. Carlos Martinez  Adorable Twitter aficionado. Signed with the Cardinals as an international free agent in 2010. After serving in the bullpen in 2013 and 2014 he had a dominant first year as a starter in 2015 before being shut down due to a shoulder strain in late September. When not pitching serves as the Water Boy for any and all players who hit home runs and protects his paper cup pyramid from Agent of Chaos Michael Wacha. Frequently compared to Pedro Martinez because of his size, mechanics and power. Bullpen Trevor Rosenthal  Drafted by the Cardinals in 2009. Took over the role of closer near the end of 2013 and has since posted seasons with 45 and 48 saves, respectively. Never blinks. Ever. Loves to induce heart attacks with his occasional control issues but throws a fastball that touches 100 and has a brutally effective changeup to complement it. Is not Jewish. Please stop asking. Kevin Siegrist  Selected by the Cardinals in the 41st round of the 2008 draft. Led the league in 2015 in appearances for a reliever with 81. He and Rosenthal have become a very effective 1-2 punch at the end of a game but he took the last loss of the Cardinals’ 2015 season after serving up the go-ahead home run to Anthony Rizzo. He’s a 6’5” lefty who throws in the mid-to-high 90’s and has tried to add a curveball in the offseason. Depending on how Oh and Broxton perform you may see him transition to more of a lefty specialist and less of a setup man. Seung-hwan “Final Boss” Oh  Signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals in the offseason. Considered one of the greatest closers in the history of Korean baseball, with 357 saves and a 1.81 ERA over 11 seasons in Korea and Japan. Worth it for the nickname alone. Seth Maness: Groundball specialist drafted by the Cardinals in 2010. Pitched primarily as the 7th Inning man in 2015, expect him to be more of a mid-inning firefighter/long relief pitcher in 2016. Jonathan Broxton: Acquired via trade with the Brewers in 2015 and re-signed in the offseason. Presumably the Cardinals kept him around so they can use him as ballast on the team plane. Jordan Walden: Acquired via trade with the Braves in 2014, spent most of 2015 on the DL. Known for his unique delivery and high velocity. Tyler Lyons: Drafted by the Cardinals in 2010. Has filled the role as a 6th starter for the last year, bounced between the majors and the minors often enough that he’s now out of options. As a result the Cardinals need to keep him on the 25-man roster or risk losing him. Expect him to operate as both the long reliever and a lefty specialist as necessary.
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Mar 30, 2016 05:04
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ALFbrot posted:Is this a veiled dig at Jason Heyward and John Lackey?
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Mar 30, 2016 15:35
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 The Arizona Diamondbacks, founded in 1998, play in the National League West. Historically, they have 2 moments of glory: (1)  Randy Johnson demolished a bird in a spring training game in 2001. (2) Later in 2001, I guess this also happened:  That's Luis Gonzalez hitting a bloop single off Mariano Rivera to win game 7 of the 2001 World Series! The DBacks play their home games in Phoenix at Chase Field  It's a pretty gorgeous stadium. Retractable roof lets fans watch games in relative comfort even when the temperature outside hits 110F. Of course, if the AC isn't sufficient for you, you can also rent the pool:  Granted it hasn't always been DBacks fans cooling off.  This caused a great deal of huffing and puffing by Arizona. For a long time, perhaps less so lately, the DBacks were known for being protectors of "playing the game the right way" and just generally having a big loving flagstick pole stuck in their rear end. Our former GM was on record as threatening to trade pitchers who would not retaliate HBP. Yea.... Baseball isn't just about the on field product though. While Arizona may be old school in mentality, they are the cutting edge of hot dog based food stuffs. 2014 - The 18 inch DBat Corn Dog.  2015 - The Churro Dog Dessert (~1,100 calories)  Coming in 2016 - The Cheeseburger Dog  quote:Made from char-grilled hamburgers that have been ground up and mixed with chopped smoked bacon, dill pickles, green onion and Cheddar cheese. The "dog" is breaded with milk and seasoned flour, much like our chicken tenders, then deep fried until crispy and served on a hot dog bun topped with more chopped smoked bacon, shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomato and our house made secret sauce. Also, Lemonade Guy.  2015's MLB Vendor of the Year. LEMONADE LEMONADE, LIKE GRANDMA MADE. New Uniforms also debut in 2016  want to watch an awkward video? Here's the DBacks players in the uniform reveal video, on a catwalk. GENERAL MANAGER - DAVE STEWART  Dave Stewart took over for our previous, terrible GM. He seems to be in his own world of player evaluation. Head down the rabbit hole with Fangraphs Celebrating the Year in Dave Stewart Comments MANAGER -CHIP HALE  Last year was Chip Hale's first as the Manager. He seemed to cut down on sacrifices by position players and he kept those relegated to lovely hitters. He applies defensive shifts only slightly more than league average, but that likely was a result of both having overall very good fielders and organizational intertia against embracing new methods. Last season the DBacks had the second highest success rate on challenges. However, Hale also challenges quite a bit less often than most teams. So he may be leaving successful challenges on the table, but it's difficult to say whether he should be trying to challenge a little bit more. Overall, Hale doesn't do anything too frustratingly stupid. The DBacks in 2015 Record: 79 - 83 (3rd in NL West) Most places expected the DBacks to win in the neighborhood of 65-70 wins. I, myself, predicted 100 losses in last year's Meet the Teams thread. How did we exceed expectations? Runs Scored: 720. (8th in MLB, 2ND IN NL) Yay offense. The DBacks are a high scoring offense, with a batter friendly home park. Runs Allowed: 713 (19th in MLB, 9TH IN NL) Quality Starts: 69 (25th in MLB, 11th in NL) The DBacks had pretty poor pitching, particularly starting pitching. AGE quote:They are also the youngest lineup in the majors with an average age of just under 27 years old—they started the year as the second youngest (28.04 years), according to Stats LLC (per ArizonaSports.com). Notable Losses from 2015: Ender Inciarte - Traded to ATL. Ender is a young, defensively gifted OF. He OPS'd .747 (101 OPS+) Jeremy Hellickson - Traded to PHI. Mostly a salary dump. He'll make $7M this year, and had a 4.62 ERA last year (88 ERA+). Chase Anderson - Traded to MIL. About a league average starter, packaged as part of the deal to move Aaron Hill. Aaron Hill - Traded to MIL. Over his first 1,000 PA with Arizona he hit .298/.359/.501 (130 OPS+). However, over 2014/2015 it dropped to .238/.290/.359. We paid him $23M over the last 2 seasons. Dansby Swanson - Traded to ATL. Part of the deal with Inciarte to get Shelby Miller, Swanson was the 1st overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft. Highly touted SS prospect. YOUR 2016 DIAMONDBACKS THE ARMS   Zach Grienke 2015: 19-3, 1.66 ERA!!, 200 K, 225 ERA+, 23.7 K%, 4.7 BB% 3-yr avg: 2.30 ERA, 156 ERA+, 23.3 K%, 5.4 BB% The DBacks basically surprised the entire baseball world by signing free agent Grienke to a $206M/6yr contract. Grienke is the DBacks first legitimate ace since the departure of Randy Johnson. You obviously can't expect him to match his historic last season, and those last 3 years benefited from Dodger stadium, but considering out "Ace" last year was Josh Collmenter.... YAY GRIENKE.  Shelby Miller 2015: 6-17, 3.02 ERA, 171 K, 124 ERA+, 19.9 K%, 8.5 BB% 3-yr avg: 3.27 ERA, 114 ERA+, 19.9 K%, 8.7 BB% Utterly let down by the Atlanta offense last year, the Dbacks decided he could be a solid #2 behind Grienke. In order to land him though, the DBacks traded away pretty well regarded young OF Inciarte, and 2015 first overall pick Dansby Swanson. The trade was pretty universally maligned. He's under team control until 2019, so as long we can fly another flag forever no fan will care about how much we gave up.  Patrick Corbin 2015: 6-5, 3.60 ERA, 113 ERA+, 85 IP, 21.9 K%, 4.8 BB% 2013: 14-8. 3.41 ERA, 113 ERA+, 200 IP, 20.7 K%, 6.3 BB% Corbin is a still fairly young (26) pitcher, acquired from the LAA for Dan Haren in 2010. Missed 2014 and most of 2015 after TJS. The Diamondbacks hope he can play up to his 2013 level (All Star), and he has looked good in spring training. But coming off TJS, there are questions about how many innings he will be allowed to throw.  Rubby De La Rosa 2015: 14-9, 4.67 ERA, 87 ERA+, 188 IP, 18.5 K%, 7.8 BB% Career v. RHH -- .243/.303/.386 .688 OOPS Career v. LHH -- .297/.367/.508 .875 OOPS ( Troy Tulowitzki career OPS: .8774) The only returning member from the 2015 opening rotation. Rubby is often talked about as a "hit or miss" pitcher by DBacks writers. Sometimes he comes out and seems untouchable and others he gets shelled. There was talk of moving him to the bullpen, but the org seems really committed to making him a starter. Although as the splits show, moving him to the bullpen as a platoon pitcher seems the best idea. You can't be a successful pitcher if you turn every lefty into loving Tulowitzki.  Robbie Ray 2015: 5-12, 3.52 ERA, 116 ERA+, 127 IP, 21.8 K%, 9.0 BB% Ray is 24 and pitched moderately well for the DBacks in 2015. He had difficulty working deep into games. I would say that showed an inability to put hitter away, but he has about an average K%. If he takes a step forward the DBacks rotation looks a lot better, although he's certainly a fine option in the back of the rotation.  THE BULLPEN Brad Ziegler: The Closer. Career 2.03 GB/FB. One of the most GB heavy pitchers in MLB. Works well with the relatively good Diamondbacks defense. Tyler Clippard: Acquired from NYM. The anti-Ziegler. 0.39 BG/FB career. One of the most FB heavy pitchers in MLB. Although he keeps a relatively good HR% (2.8 car.) We'll see how he does in hitter friendly Chase. Daniel Hudson: Had his first TJS in late 2012, then had to have a second TJS. He threw ok in the bullpen last year, and has good splits v. LHH. Randall Delgado: Another converted Dbacks starter. Looks to be a long relief option this year. His numbers last year were quite a bit better than his career, so I'm not optimistic. Josh Collmenter: Known as the Tomahawk because of his extreme over the top delivery. He was Az's #1 starter last year. He's bounced back and forth between rotation and bullpen. Andrew Chafin: The only lefty currently in the pen. Has pretty good LHH splits. 7th Man: There will be a 7th player in the bullpen. Might be Silvino Bracho who pitched well last year, or Evan Marshall/Jake Barrett/Enrique Burgos. THE POSITION PLAYERS   1B - Paul "America's First Baseman" Goldschmidt 2015 -- .321 / .435 / .570 170 OPS+, 33 HR, 21 SB, 2nd in MVP, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove 3 yr. avg -- .309 / .412 /.556 163 OPS+, 2 silver slugger, 2 Gold Glove. The best first baseman in the game today. Goldy anchors the Dbacks lineup with the ability to hit to all fields, hit for power, and a keen batter's eye. He's also a top tier defensive player.  C - Wellington "Beef" Castilo 2-15 -- .255 / .317 / .496 116 OPS+ 3 yr avg -- .250 / .315 /.412 99 OPS+ Picked up from Seattle in a mid-season trade. Beef is not particularly good at the defensive aspects of catcher. He says he worked on pitch framing in the offseason, but we need him to produce at the plate.  3B - Jake Lamb 2015 -- .263 / .331 / .386 94 OPS+, 107 G Lamb exceeded rookie limits during the 2015 season. He hit around league average last year, but had good defense. It will be interesting to see how he changes in this season. If he takes a step forward that translates to a nice step towards Arizona having a good year. If he falters, we do have a couple other infield options although he is the best hitter of the bunch.  SS - Nick Ahmed 2015 -- .226 / .275 / .359 70 OPS+ Ahmed is a very defensive first SS. He's probably the best defensive SS outside of Simmons. If not, he's in that discussion. Is his defense good enough to make up for his black hole in the lineup? Probably. He should be the starting SS, but there is still some discussion of using Jean Segura instead.  2B - Jean Segura 2015 -- .257 / .281 / .336 68 OPS+ 3 yr avg -- .267 / .300 / .364 82 OPS+ Still fairly young (26), Segura had a scorching first half of 2013 earning an AllStar appearance. Since then, he has been terrible. Although, his 2015 stat line is BETTER than the average Dback 2B. He has been scorching this spring, and if he really has figured it out our lineup looks A LOT better. If not, he will be replaced by either Owings, Gosselin, or Drury (See Bench).  LF - David Peralta 2015 -- .312 / .371 / .522 139 OPS+ Signed in 2013 after he was released by the Cardinals. In his year and a half in the bigs he has hit pretty well. There is some disagreement about his defensive value. It's probably average or slightly below average. With the loss of Ender Inciarte, David will probably need to step his defense up a little bit to allow Pollock to shade towards right. If he continues at a 140 OPS+ pace though, he's worth quite a bit.  RF - Yasmany Tomas 2015 - .273 / .305 / .401 90 OPS+ Signed out of Cuba before last season. Tomas was given a $68.5M /6 yr contract, which was giant for the Dbacks before Grienke's. The Dbacks tried him at third originally, but he was horrendous defensivley and was moved to the outfield. He wasnt much better in the OF. However, we are banking on him being able to shore up RF AND to progress as a hitter. His development is absolutely necessary in the absence of Inciarte.  2015 - .315 / .367 / .498 132 OPS+, 20 HR, 39 SB, Gold Glove 3 yr avg - .297 / .249 / .468 122 OPS+ Often touted as the "most underrated OF in the game," he had a 'breakout' year last season finishing 14th in MVP voting. I'm not sure how underrated he is anymore. Recognized as a pretty solid hitter and a very talented defensive CF. He has had a short spring training while nursing some elbow soreness. If that turns into something more serious it could spell instant doom for the Dbacks (somewhat outside) chances at the playoffs this year. Update: Pollock broke his elbow in the final spring training game. It's going to require surgery, and there is not timetable for return yet. Socrates Brito - Outfielder. 80+ Name tool. 23 yrs old. Dbacks 2015 Minor League Player of the Year. His playing time will likely be dependent on how well Tomas is able to progress. Welp, Brito is now likely the starting CF. He has good range, good speed, average arm. The question has always been his bat. He hit well in spring training, but has rough splits against lefties (He's LHH). Expect him to get the majority of the playing time with either Chris Owings, Brandon Drury, or Peter O'Brien filling in. The Bench  Chris Owings - Infielder. Just 24. Had a 105 OPS+ as a rookie, 95 OPS+ in 2014... and 58 OPS+ in 2015 yet we played him for 147 games. Will likely still make the team to see if he can bounce back to earlier form. Phil Gosselin - Infielder. Acquired from ATL in the salary dump Arroyo/Toussant trade. Like some of the other infielders, he has a couple good years on record and a poor year on record. Last year he hit 137 OPS+ but only got 118 PA. Rickie Weeks - Signed as a free agent in Feb. to give yet another infield option. Might make the team, might not. I think the DBacks will take him as "veteran presence" for all the young players. In the System Brandon Drury - Naturally a 3B, competing with Lamb for the starting spot. Plus defender with a positive bat. More importantly, can also play 2B if Segura/Owings fail to bounce back from down years. Braden Shipley - DBacks current top pitching prospect. Will likely get some starts at some point in 2016. Peter O'Brien - Originally a catcher, then declared he didn't want to catch anymore. Has massive power potential, but who knows how well he will actually hit. Archie Bradley - Once a hightly touted prospect and the DBacks top pitching prospect, Bradley has struggled with command issues. Took a liner to the head last year and pitched poorly upon his return. Overall A fairly young team, they are trying to build on last year's offensive success by greatly bolstering the rotation through Grienke, Miller, rehabbed Corbin. It's a pretty good strategy. However, so many players on this team are either young or are being relied on to repeat above average years. I have no concerns about Goldy or Pollock, but who knows if Peralta can continue to produce. I'm not optimistic about Tomas, and the middle infield is a quagmire of tainted options. Likewise the bullpen looks pretty good, but Ziegler and Clippard have long relied on very outlying profiles of GB and FB. I think this team has a very large range of potential outcomes. I could see things clicking in the rotation (not so much De La Rosa) and the team turning in a low 90s win total. And I could see them muddling around .500 again. The real problem is, even if things click they are probably just neck and neck for the division with LAD and SF. Capt. Sticl fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Apr 2, 2016 |
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Mar 30, 2016 18:16
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