MLB 2023 Miscellaneous News

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Just now, wibadgers23 said:

What in the world happened to the Diamondbacks? At one point, they looked like one the better teams in the NL and now find themselves two games under.500 and not even in wildcard contention. Is it injuries? Youth just catching up to them? 

I don't know, but their collapse as well as the drop off by the Marlins, has significantly increased the Brewers chances of making the playoffs. If the Cubs (or Reds) pass them in the division, the Brewers are still well positioned in the WC race assuming they're passed in the division because either the Cubs or Reds go on a tear, and not because of a collapse of their own by the Crew.

In a short period of time, the amount of wins needed to snag that last spot has dropped from a projected 86-87 to now 84. And the Brewers postseason odds are now up to 82.7% (59.6% to win the division).

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, wibadgers23 said:

What in the world happened to the Diamondbacks? At one point, they looked like one the better teams in the NL and now find themselves two games under .500 and barely in wildcard contention. Is it injuries? Youth just catching up to them? 

Jay Jaffe had an article detailing their collapse a few days ago.

Basically stopped hitting (106 wRC+ through June 30 vs an 82 wRC+ since) and bullpen blew up (+1.31 WPA through June 30 vs an MLB worst -2.84 WPA since).

[owbc]

2 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Jay Jaffe had an article detailing their collapse a few days ago.

Basically stopped hitting (106 wRC+ through June 30 vs an 82 wRC+ since) and bullpen blew up (+1.31 WPA through June 30 vs an MLB worst -2.84 WPA since).

Teams with shaky pitching tend to implode later in the season. Others like Seattle who have good pitching are surging. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

2 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Jay Jaffe had an article detailing their collapse a few days ago.

Basically stopped hitting (106 wRC+ through June 30 vs an 82 wRC+ since) and bullpen blew up (+1.31 WPA through June 30 vs an MLB worst -2.84 WPA since).

Also, this tends to happen to younger teams leaning on inexperienced players to win ballgames.  

 

And, their schedule has been pretty brutal since the AS break

[wiguy94]

2 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Jay Jaffe had an article detailing their collapse a few days ago.

Basically stopped hitting (106 wRC+ through June 30 vs an 82 wRC+ since) and bullpen blew up (+1.31 WPA through June 30 vs an MLB worst -2.84 WPA since).

I recall a tweet recently where they had I think 17 or 21 (can’t remember which) straight games with the bullpen giving up a run which is just crazy.

[jerichoholicninja]

12 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Pretty crazy that the defending World Series Champs, who gave Jose Abreu 3/58.5 in FA, have to pick up our scraps for 1B, all while trying to catch the Rangers for the division lead.

It’s almost like there aren’t sixty guys out there who can just roll out of bed and put up a 110 wRC+ no big deal to play 1B/DH for every team.

What's even more crazy is how I've seen multiple places the last few days about how awesome a story it is that he made it back to the majors after all these years. Apparently everyone missed that he already made it back to the majors earlier this year.

[Ewitkows1]

Wander Franco is not with the team. Sounds like it's inappropriate relationships with a minor. Yikes.

[Underachiever]

18 minutes ago, Ewitkows1 said:

Wander Franco is not with the team. Sounds like it's inappropriate relationships with a minor. Yikes.

Do they want Adames back? I'm listening to offers.

[markedman5]

 

[Fear The Chorizo]

 

26 minutes ago, Ewitkows1 said:

Wander Franco is not with the team. Sounds like it's inappropriate relationships with a minor. Yikes.

Shades of Vazquez from the Pirates if true...

In case anyone wanted to know if there was any downside of guaranteeing an early 20-something almost $200 million over 11 years, here's one.  Although I would think there may be some sort of out clause in the contract if the player proves to be a felon.

[owbc]

18 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

 

Shades of Vazquez from the Pirates if true...

In case anyone wanted to know if there was any downside of guaranteeing an early 20-something almost $200 million over 11 years, here's one.  Although I would think there may be some sort of out clause in the contract if the player proves to be a felon.

You never really know, the Tatis Jr signing looked like a disaster for a while but is back to looking like a smart deal again. And then you have Julio Rodriguez who is clearly feeling the pressure of trying to live up to his mega-deal (but still has a 110 OPS+ despite swinging at literally everything). 

[jerichoholicninja]

30 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

 

Shades of Vazquez from the Pirates if true...

In case anyone wanted to know if there was any downside of guaranteeing an early 20-something almost $200 million over 11 years, here's one.  Although I would think there may be some sort of out clause in the contract if the player proves to be a felon.

I don't know. I would think when teams are trying to sign guys to long term mega deals the possibly of the player turning out to be a pedophile is probably not in the top 25 of their concerns.

[KeithStone53151]

I saw "Wander Franco 14" trending on twitter a day or two ago. If this is another country, I wonder if there will be any legal considerations or strictly an MLB suspension on the table.

[nate82]

31 minutes ago, KeithStone53151 said:

I saw "Wander Franco 14" trending on twitter a day or two ago. If this is another country, I wonder if there will be any legal considerations or strictly an MLB suspension on the table.

Depends on the country and if he is a US citizen.  If he is a citizen of a country where age of consent is 14 which he is not.  I believe he is still a Dominican Republic citizen which is 18.  US law applies to US citizens internationally so if something is legal in another country and is illegal in the US you are breaking the law and could be charged.
 

For example if it is legal to drink alcohol at 16 in one country it is still illegal for a US citizen to drink alcohol in that country and you can be charged for illegally drinking alcohol once back in the US.  

[markedman5]

Looks like we are going to see Gus Varland this week……..he has figured things out in the minors 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/08/dodgers-to-select-gus-varland.html

[KeithStone53151]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

Depends on the country and if he is a US citizen.  If he is a citizen of a country where age of consent is 14 which he is not.  I believe he is still a Dominican Republic citizen which is 18.  US law applies to US citizens internationally so if something is legal in another country and is illegal in the US you are breaking the law and could be charged.
 

For example if it is legal to drink alcohol at 16 in one country it is still illegal for a US citizen to drink alcohol in that country and you can be charged for illegally drinking alcohol once back in the US.  

I'm not disputing anything in here, the alcohol thing seems a bit silly though. For alcohol I imagine the US simply doesn't care if a 19 year old has a beer in Germany, whereas statutory rape....wee bit different.

[Fear The Chorizo]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

Depends on the country and if he is a US citizen.  If he is a citizen of a country where age of consent is 14 which he is not.  I believe he is still a Dominican Republic citizen which is 18.  US law applies to US citizens internationally so if something is legal in another country and is illegal in the US you are breaking the law and could be charged.
 

For example if it is legal to drink alcohol at 16 in one country it is still illegal for a US citizen to drink alcohol in that country and you can be charged for illegally drinking alcohol once back in the US.  

There's comparing apples to oranges in terms of legality/ethics, and then there's comparing apples to a grown man with essentially celebrity status having a relationship with a minor.

[nate82]

4 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

There's comparing apples to oranges in terms of legality/ethics, and then there's comparing apples to a grown man with essentially celebrity status having a relationship with a minor.

It was just an example of legality nothing more.  Plus if true it doesn’t really matter as both the DR and US have the same age of consent laws.  Nationally for the US that is which is the law that needs to be followed by US citizens internationally,  some states have different laws but that doesn’t apply when traveling internationally or from state to state.  

[mtsportsfan]

If its true , I hope he never plays MLB again !  Most people would go to jail !  I hope his money don't get him out of this one . 

[nate82]

When was the last time there was a 20/60 player?  By 20/60 I mean 20 HR's and 60 SB's.  

[sveumrules]

10 minutes ago, nate82 said:

When was the last time there was a 20/60 player?  By 20/60 I mean 20 HR's and 60 SB's.  

Eric Davis went 27/80 in 1986 and then 37/50 in 1987.

Rickey has a few too. 24/80 in 1985, 28/87 in 1986, 28/65 in 1990.

[nate82]

Just now, sveumrules said:

Eric Davis went 27/80 in 1986 and then 37/50 in 1987.

Rickey has a few too. 24/80 in 1985, 28/87 in 1986, 28/65 in 1990.

Crazy that it has been that long.

[sveumrules]

5 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Crazy that it has been that long.

Yeah, there have only been 30 qualified seasons with at least 60 SB since 1991. Might see it more with the new rules/bigger bases.

A few guys got close though, 1991 Rickey (18/58), 2006 Crawford (18/58), 2006 Reyes (19/64) and (drumroll please) 2016 Villar (19/62).

[nate82]

It looks like Acuna should get to 60 SB's this year and may get to 30+/60+ season.  I think Acuna by far is the NL MVP and there really isn't anyone else close.  This feels like the Trout years where he was the MVP by default in the AL. 

[Team Canada]

Freeman's not that far off.