Playing Catch

Obviously speculative, but I think the players, themselves, see the writing on the wall, and would rather do an IL stint in Nashville than get released at this point in the season, so they tell the team that they're hurt, and that probably is "true," in the sense that they are sore and struggling. None of the guys do rehab in Carolina or Biloxi. They rehab in AZ, Nashville, or the proximal Fox Cities.

It's probably a bit too early to start guessing on Fall League participants??

It would sure add some drama. For the non-playoff teams as well.

Well there you go... I guess I won't post what I'd written.

SIX regulars are within about 162 MLB games played in their careers... SIX! This team is something else! It's special!

I'm not sure what statcast said about yesterday, but Trueblood is downplaying those breaking balls. They looked filthy to me. But he's right about that sinker. It's got real movement to it along with the 99... from the left side.

Performance aside, I don't believe that Myers needs to be monitored that closely for IPs. He threw nearly 140 last season. He's 26. I guess I don't buy that the "adding 20 IPs every season," is a hard rule based on science, but rather an arbitrary number that organizations have established.

I have appreciated their method of allowing guys to hit how they've always hit. However, there are a number of goofy looking swings that I just don't see in MLB. Tyler Black, EBJ, Luke Adams, Jadher, Ernesto Martinez, and probably some others have swings that look weird. EBJ's went from unorthodox, to pure lunacy. What on earth possessed him to make his swing even weirder?? Again, I just don't see very many (any??) strange swings in the big leagues.

I believe the Curt Hogg piece was posted elsewhere as well... Brewers top prospect Jacob Misiorowski could be called up for playoffs (jsonline.com) Also, I was perusing some prospect grades recently, and I was wondering... Shouldn't Yoho's changeup be considered 80-grade? I mean, if it is "better," than Devin's changeup, wouldn't that be a generational changeup? I mean, I guess we are living in the era of the screwball/change, so maybe there will be a lot of those pitches in the majors quite soon, but as of this moment, I think it needs to be considered for the nearly impossible 80-grade.

I was about to post something in the Blake Burke injury thread, but it looks like this might be the better spot. Is there a page on the site that references forum etiquette? Not in terms of swearing/trolling or whatever, but in how the mods would prefer we use the forums or threads? It's clear some of us have been irritating some of the mods with threads/posts that they believe are redundant or are needless clutter. I guess I feel like if mods don't want us posting in certain threads, just lock them to mods only. We can find other threads to innocently inquire about transactions or injury updates.

I don't disagree with caution on guys, and obviously, Skenes' generational talent combined with the Pirates' record point to shutting him down. With that said, if they were in it, I wouldn't fear overworking him one iota. He's built like a horse. He's just... different.

For years, and perhaps forever, his HR was the longest in Metrodome history. I will always remember this specifically because my Dad said we were there for it (I was really young, so I don't remember it).

I really like gregmag's question, it's fun to consider. The advantages of having Burnes are clear. The advantages of having Ortiz are trickier. Two of the primary drivers of the Brewers team success this year is team defense, and being able to extend rallies with 2-out hits, often singles. Both of these are directly attributable to Ortiz's contributions. Having solid ABs, 1-9, makes it so much tougher for a pitcher to navigate.

I'm sure there are no shortage of appraisers/authenticators in NYC. Just Google it, and I'm sure you'll be fine.

I had a long treatise on my thoughts on moving the A's, and other teams, but I'll spare the IGT of my rantings. The IGT is no place for ranting.

Haha, yes, I was aware of his numbers... I'm just dubious. Similarly of Turang somehow grades out as a good, not great, second baseman with many of the metrics. I just cannot believe that Turang isn't a superior defender in ALL metrics. If I were to believe the metrics, than yes, I agree with the idea to put Chourio in center, or at least that he's superior to Frelick.

At this point, I think Frelick is better. Better routes. Better arm. I very well could be wrong, but that's what my eyes see. I suppose it's possible he could become better than Mitchell, but I doubt it. I think Mitchell and Perkins are both current 60's in CF, at least. Look, none of my opinions are a reflection of Chourio. He's awesome. I think he'll be a great centerfielder one day, perhaps as soon as next season depending on how the roster shakes out. I just think that if the roster were to remain static, it could be awhile before he's playing CF on a regular basis. I also can see a scenario in the immediate future where Chourio would be the DH with an outfield of Frelick, Perkins and Mitchell, left to right. I couldn't care less if he won a MiLB gold glove. And I also think that his mastering the position wouldn't take very long, regardless.

Not if Perkins/Mitchell and Frelick are in the lineup. Then, Chourio's greatest "value," is in left. Whether he plays "everyday," in CF means nothing. Now if Yelich and Frelick are playing the field? Perhaps Chourio should play CF. Although, even then, I'm not sure he's yet as good as Frelick.

Remarkable. Another exciting riser in the system.

Is Devin available today?

Someone observed the paucity of Black taking full hacks. I fear that in the minors he can get by with fouling off close strikes to stay in the AB, taking his walks, and waiting for a mistakes, but that the mistakes in the bigs are few and far between.

Win/Loss doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things, the decisions made could've ended up being fine if Devin gets one grounder for a double-play. With that said, it seems to happen all of the time... Using the DEV(in)CON scale: DEV(in)CON 5: Fatigued star closer gets asked to close out another game. DEV(in)CON 4: Said closer's command just a smidge off, HBP followed by a sharp double Event: Manager's undies bunch, says to self, "He's our indomitable closer, it's his game no matter what." Event: Closer shows signs with a K. Manager feels better DEV(in)CON 3: Long AB, leads to walk, fatigued closer now at 17 pitches. Fans' undies bunch. Event : Star closer gets another K. Two down. 23 pitches. Just. One. More. Pitch/Out. Still a two-run game. DEV(in)CON 2: Star closer gassed. 4 pitch walk. Run scores. 27 pitches. One run game. Now or never. DEV(in)CON 1: 8th consecutive ball. Disaster imminent. I disagreed with Murphy's decisions. I feel like Megill, being fresh, needed to be ready to go in at DEV(in)CON 3. Not just for Devin's sake, but for Megill's. It isn't fair for him to have to clean up the mess left over by Devin on his first appearance back. If accurate, I still disagree, but I think the only two explanations are (1) Murphy screwed up. Didn't have Megill ready in time, or (2) Murphy wanted to challenge Devin. He needs to know if Devin has "it" to go on when fatigued, or have to go long in the playoffs. I suspect that Murphy won't challenge Devin the same way going forward.

Let that number sink in for a sec. Twenty times more money. It sounds ludicrous when you say it out loud. For all the talk of collusion and whatnot when free agency rolls around, it would not be weird if teams simply started realizing, "yeah, that guy's simply not worth 20 times more money than this minor leaguer." I suspect that it will start happening a lot more often where guys get 3 years at $15M, instead of the 6 for $20M that the same type of player got 5 years ago.

I wonder if it isn't simply an "attitude adjustment". As in, "We want you to go right after hitters. Attack them. Use the heater! Strike them out using your fastball(s)." Instead of pitching to control the fastball on the edges, they are telling him, "Never mind maneuvers, just go straight at 'em."

Oh, no question! I didn't mean to disparage having a good eye --- it's just that over the last 10 or 15 years of the "3TO era," I've become bored with the sheer volume of .220/.320/.480 batting lines. Obviously, much different players, but Chourio's batting lines remind me of Miguel Cabrera. High average, good power. The game misses those kinds of superstars. (I think the "Soto Shuffle," upon taking a ball, is truly more distasteful for me than ANY bat flip/HR antics, the fact that kids are mimicking this makes me crazy)