jerichoholicninja

Is that "talent" like how Mark Appel is the best pitcher in baseball right now? Bauer (27) has 728 IP at this point and in part because of his lack of control he has pitched to a decent 4.15 FIP/4.11 xFIP Due to better pitching intelligence and an ability to make use of his more limited raw stuff, Davies (24) has pitched 388 IP to a 4.05 FIP/4.18 xFIP. Bauer: 8.8 fWAR over 123 GS (and a few relief appearances) Davies: 6.0 fWAR over 67 GS Bauer: 5.9 fWAR over 59 starts last two years Davies: 5.5 fWar over 58 starts last two years And those FIP and xFIP numbers you cite are virtually the same. Bauer kind of sucked at the beginning of his career but has consistently improved since. Results wise, I'd say they're the same but in terms of "stuff" and "talent" Bauer is the clear winner.

Maybe someone should point out that he hasn't exactly done well training his own way and using his own coach. Maybe he should listen to other people and not be so positive that he has the right answers. Hmm, not admitting you are wrong and refusing to listen to anyone tell you otherwise. How exactly hasn't he done well on his own? Been healthy his whole career (how many pitchers can say that?), positive WAR every full season of his career, and he's pretty much improved every season. Human aren't one size fits all robots. The sports world is finally somewhat embracing that. If the Brewers hadn't messed with Taylor Jungmann, and he listened to them, he might be in a starting rotation in Milwaukee instead of Japan.

I think this explains it pretty well. Look at what happened a few years ago in the NBA when LeBron and a bunch of other stars were going to be free agents. Teams were setting themselves up for years before so they could sign those guys.

Just a side note on the Arizona situation - I believe the catcher that was really sounding off on Bauer was Miguel Montero. Wasn't he the same guy that spouted off to the media last season in the Cubs locker room about trying to catch certain Cubs pitchers and holding opposing base runners in check?? Sometimes you have to consider all aspects. Something the follies of youth will cause people to mature and realize they have to approach the situation differently moving forward. Does Bauer do things that could infuriate you as a fan? Yes. Case in point the drone incident during the 2016 playoffs. Does Bauer do things that could impress you as a fan? Yes. Does Bauer want the ball on every chance he can get? Yes. He would prefer being part of a 4 man rotation & not coming out of a game until @ 150 pitches. I tried locating a video clip on youtube for you (no luck), but Bauer was interviewed on the field after the Tribe won a then franchise record 14 games in a row in Toronto on 7/1/16. The interview won over many fans for Bauer. Bauer, the scheduled starter for the next game, came out of the pen & tossed 5+ IP in a 19 inning game to earn the victory in the 2-1 decision. To paraphrase off my memory: He was asked about how he felt and what might happen with the scheduled start the next day. Bauer having thrown 80+ pitches said he would do whatever was asked of him by Tito. If he could weigh in on the situation for who starts the next game, he would want the ball. He wants to pitch but would follow whatever was asked of him by the team. I recall some Tribe chat boards changing their tune on Bauer after that. Went from "who does this guy think he is" to "he's our guy, will back him to the end". We have all heard the mantra of 'Next Man Up' and appreciate the mindset of teamwork & togetherness. But every so often you need that person who voices the belief 'This is it. The opposition advances no further. I will stem this advance.' It wasn't just Montero. The entire organization bailed on him, so there's something there whether we know what it is or not. He's not a guy I'm interested in rooting for, which would be more of a dilemma if his pitching talent weren't roughly equivalent to Zach Davies.. One organization. And the one he's with now seems to have no problem with him. Talent wise he blows Davies out of the water: more velocity, better breaking pitches, strikes out more, gives up less hits... I'm a huge fan of Zack but to say he's more talented than Trevor Bauer just isn't true. Bauer's biggest flaw is his walks and his walk rate has consistently dropped throughout his career.

I would imagine Bauer would cost less than any of the guys we've talked about trading for so far. And Bauer's biggest on field "issue" is that he has his own training regimen. Which all the control freak, old crusty baseball men don't like. And after doing a quick look at his injury history it seems the only major injury he's had so far is cutting his pinky on one of his drones. So seems like it's keeping him healthy.

Low OBP, avergeish power. He's nothing we don't already have.

I had someone in HR tell me that when you are asking for someone to be a reference, you should always ask them if they will be a 'good' reference. So the 'positive' thing is not a surprise - and the polite way of asking. The HR person said it's amazing how many times she had called a reference and had the person NOT give a good account of the person. She said you should always check with a person -- specifically saying, "Will you give me a positive reference?" That sounds all well and good to ask for a "positive" reference but how many people will say to your face that they won't give you a good reference. If they do, you probably shouldn't have asked them in the first place.

That's exactly why these players have no leg to stand on. There have been plenty of reports of the top free agents getting offers that are more than fair and the players are rejecting them or holding out for more money. These aren't low ball offers that are well below market value. Please ask the 10 or so RP's that signed already how free agency went for them.

Teams are smarter. Long term, 9 figure deals for 32+ year olds are a bad investment. End of story. Crying about it and threatening to strike is only going to backfire.

The line between starter and reliever is going to become only more increasingly blurred over the next few years so as much as I want them to at least give him a shot to start, I really don't think it will make a difference 3 or 4 years from now. He'll probably eventually be throwing 125-150 innings a season while pitching at various points of games.

It is, and morally not allowing a guy to test FA and dumping him at the end of FA is screwed up. You don’t do that. If Stephen Vogt's feelings are preventing Stearns (or any GM) from making a move to improve the team, then he better be fired ASAP. Besides, what's the difference between dumping a guy now and at the end of Spring Training when 25 man rosters are already set?

Hasn't Avila had some concussion issues, like career threatening issues?

Wasn't he injured most of last year? Or was that two years ago?

He's on a non-guaranteed contract. I think that says all you need to know about his chances of making the roster. It might happen but the odds don't seem in his favor. His repertoire seems similar to Suter now. Suter is left handed, works fast, and has an unusual delivery. Unless he's changed it, Gallardo is slow and pretty straight forward in his delivery. Barring injuries I just don't see a spot in rotation or bullpen for Gallardo.

They traded 4 young, controllable talents for 1 young, controllable talent. Otherwise, the young, controllable talent is still there, just that a few more of them will start in the minors. Yes, and where is the budget getting maxed out? They've added like $10M in payroll for 2018 after taking Garza off the books.

No issues with signing Albers per say, but I'd have rather spent twice that on Reed or any of the other much better RP's that signed already. Wouldn't be surprised if Albers is dumped by the trade deadline.

Watched most of Royal Rumble last night. Haven't watched wrestling in about 5 or 6 years so I hardly knew anyone. I've got to say, in terms of in-ring ability, the guys they have now are great. So many with actual skills instead of just jacked up freaks with 5 moves. They have women wrestlers too, not just T&A models. But it would be nice if more of them weren't so gimmicky and dressed like cartoon characters. And being in Philly it was an amazing crowd. However, there was nothing that made me want to get back into watching. Nothing storyline wise grabbed my attention.

For FS-North vs FS-Wisconsin, it used to be that FS-Wisconsin wasn't a "real" channel or something like that. We had DISH growing up and our regional network was FS-North (Minnesota) but any Twins games were blacked out. However, we could watch Brewer games on the alternate channel (all other games on the alternate channels were blacked out) but got no other FS-Wisconsin programming. When the Brewers would get bumped for the Bucks we usually wouldn't even get the Brewer game. It was weird.

If Mark has great expectations for Craig and David because of this offseason and, aside from an utter and total collapse, fires one or both of them in a year or two because the team doesn't live up to those expectations he's a terrible owner.

You would still get whatever your regional network is.

I don't know whether to answer sarcastically or honestly so I will just say lots. Lots of rope.

Baltimore thinks they can compete and generally does stupid things and Santana seems like their kind of HR/no defense player. Do they have anything other than Bundy worth looking at?

After having Villar and Scooter "I have to touch the base?" Gennett at 2B, what's the big deal about Braun. But seriously, this is right up there with the "I'm in the best shape of life" line you'll hear about 50 times from various players in the next month.

Sausages at Miller Park are basically microwaved. Any brand they serve will taste like crap.

People who don't respond to emails even if the answer is no or I'm not interested. Over the past month or so I've sent about 40 or so emails for various things that I'm involved - not asking for money or any sort of solicitation or anything like that. I've gotten 2 responses so far. I always respond to emails. If the answer is no, it takes 5 seconds to write and send. Seems courtesy would be to respond as to not leave people hanging or even unsure if you got the email.