Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

MLB 2020

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    You lot convinced me that I should have been backing the Doggers over the Braves.

    I hope you have nothing to convince me to back them over the Rays, though.

    Comment


      Originally posted by danielmak View Post
      I tried searching for the last time the two top teams played in the WS and got nothing.
      The previous time was 2013 (Boston v St Louis), with 1999 (New York v Atlanta) and 1995 (Cleveland v Atlanta) being the only other occasions since the wildcard was introduced.

      Apparently this year's participants have the highest ever combined regular season winning percentage (.692), beating the record previously held by the 1906 all Chicago series (.690)

      Comment


        2013: six games (teams had same regular season record)
        1999: sweep by team with worse record
        1995: six games, won by team with worse record

        Comment


          Thanks for that information, Southport. I thought perhaps 2018 would have fit as well since the Dodgers won the west and the Red Sox were all world, but the Brewers had a better winning percentage that year.

          UA, do you have any idea if that list you included above about salaries can be unpacked a bit? I'm curious about the "buried salaries" listing but don't see how to expand the view for the various budget lines.

          SB: I obviously have a horse in this race but if I was a neutral, the Rays would be the team to support. They win in a division with two financial giants, they have a likeable manager, and they are an unselfish group of players. They don't currently have any players as far as I can tell who end up on the front page of the sports section for the wrong reasons. The Dodgers don't either in terms of that last line item. But they have won 8 straight division titles and are now in the WS for the third time in the last four years. While the Dodgers' payroll is a bit more complicated than one would expect***, there is no doubt that this is a financial giant (Dodgers) vs. a financial minnow (Rays).

          ***The Dodgers traded for Mookie and then paid him a lot of money for a long-term contract. They could make a trade because they drafted well and developed well. Verdugo was the main chip in that trade for Mookie and he was arguably the best player for the Red Sox. The rest of the big Dodgers contracts are contracts that I think the average fan would not see as problematic: Kershaw was drafted and developed by the Dodgers, Kenley has been with the Dodgers since he was 17, Justin Turner was a castoff and revived by the Dodgers, Treinen was dumped by the As. I assume those are the largest contracts. Mookie is the only one that would fit with the historical big club signing big free agents that will never go to a small club. So, the Dodgers budget doesn't match the moves made in the past to compile a team of all-stars through free agent purchases. Instead, the Dodgers seem to outspend in the front office. At one point they had Friedman, Farhan, Ned Colletti, and when Alex Anthopoulos was dumped by the Jays he was added to the super team as well. I'm sure I'm missing some others. No other team had that level of front office talent.

          Comment


            The labels are explained if you mouse over them.

            "Buried" is the amount being paid under major league contracts to players who are in the minors, and no longer on the MLB roster

            Comment


              Ah ok. I thought it would be people like Jacoby Ellsbury. I was hoping to find out which contracts the Dodgers are still paying for guys who are no longer around or haven't been for a while. That was something Ned was willing to do more than Friedman, although Friedman has not been above trading bad contracts and then letting people walk.

              Comment


                https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/los-ange...dgers/payroll/

                Comment


                  Thanks. They took a cheap flyer on Jimmy Nelson and that didn't pay off. As my Dodgers friends know, Alex Wood has replaced Pollock as my biggest irritant. The guy had one decent season, which happened to be with the Dodgers. The fact that he brought nothing beyond one bad start during the season wasn't the big problem. The problem is that he's on the playoff roster. But he's off the books (for now) after this season. They are still paying Kazmir a lot of money every year but I assume that was to keep the team under some cap goal. All the rest of the pay to play somwhere else money is gone next year.

                  BTW, I only care about that relative to luxury tax when teams were paying money to clubs like the Marlins who were not even trying to win. Now the Marlins are in a different boat.

                  Comment


                    Here we go.

                    I think Choi is one of the best defensive first basemen in the league. I get why the Rays platoon but I assume there's a drop-off to Diaz.

                    Comment


                      And Diaz bobbles the first ball hit to him . . .

                      Choi's splits are pretty strong

                      https://www.fangraphs.com/players/ji...1B/DH&season=0
                      Last edited by ursus arctos; 21-10-2020, 00:37.

                      Comment


                        It pains me to say it, but this Dodgers team is fun to watch.

                        Comment


                          Oh well

                          Comment


                            Two episodes in and this is really well done

                            https://twitter.com/BenReiter/status/1311767635109969920

                            Comment


                              Tonight was fun to watch. That's the kind of baseball I love to see. (Mostly) good pitching, aggressive on the basepaths (love the double steal but also someone like Muncy who can and will go first to third, hard hit balls, and then some home runs). It was a balanced attack.

                              I was worried about Kershaw coming out in the sixth because his ERA drops dramatically after the fifth. I would have preferred that Floro and Gonzalez pitched better but we got lucky with that double play. Baez and inconsistent Joe Kelly were ready.

                              Tomorrow is another day. Rays are too good. But tonight was nice.

                              Comment


                                Every big ticket free agent in MLB should send Betts a nice gift.

                                Comment


                                  I've had MLB Network on in the background. A lot of these guys are acting like the series is over. It's funny how during the season they get that game one of a series is only game one. I get that momentum is huge and this is it; the last series of the year. But the Rays have always shown that what happens the day before was the day before and what we see on paper doesn't match their skills as a unit on the field. With that said, Snell is in theory a good fit for the Dodgers. He doesn't attack the zone enough and the Dodgers have shown an ability to lay off pitches out of the zone. On the other side, I like Gonsolin starting and then having May come out of the pen versus reversing those. May has more experience pitching out of the pen. Gonsolin was too good during the season to have another clunker.

                                  Comment


                                    My shoulder popped at about 1am. After an hour or so trying to get comfortable (and listening to Mrs Thistle snore gently) I decided to come downstairs, have some painkillers and watch a bit of baseball and try and "reset". Timed it just in time to watch the Rays score 2 runs in the 4th. Not sure how much I'm going to watch. But for now, I'm here.

                                    Comment


                                      With May and Turner, the Dodgers are doing their bit for Ginger Pride, aren't they?

                                      Comment


                                        Another 2 runs for the Rays

                                        Comment


                                          Yeah, somehow I don't think the series is all over

                                          Comment


                                            ursus arctos Hot Pepsi danielmak Incandenza

                                            As a casual viewer of baseball the last 20 years or so, and knowing you all are paying way more attention than I, what the hell is the deal w/ how managers handle pitchers this post season? I realize the days of complete games and even a pitcher going 7/8 innings are long gone. I appreciate that the players are throwing harder, but w/ a very short season, and the inclusion of the DH for both leagues I am perplexed by the yanking of starters after an inning or two if they give up a couple of runs. Is this only a playoff thing or did this take place during the season as well?

                                            EDIT: This was initiated by the Dodger starter giving up a homer and a walk in an inning and 1/3 and being yanked.
                                            Last edited by Cal Alamein; 22-10-2020, 02:19.

                                            Comment


                                              Tampa Bay pioneered a new strategy called "the opener" last season, in which the starting pitcher is only expected to get three to five outs, and is then followed by a parade of relievers. One thing that can do is induce the opposition to load its lineup with one sided platoon players, only to find itself on the wrong side of the platoon advantage in the second inning. It also makes it statistically less likely that any pitcher will face the lineup at third time (a prospect which has become the bane of analytically inclined teams given the demonstrated drop in effectiveness). The use of six or more pitchers in a nine inning game has become pretty routine (and is sometimes referred to as "bulpenning").

                                              The lack of off days seems to have made pretty much every team at least consider the strategy during this "postseason".

                                              It is REALLY hard to get used to for those of us who grew up with complete games (and is made more annoying by the increased volume of adverts in the postseason).

                                              Comment


                                                It's 6-3 in the 7th and I'm going back to bed. Sorry chaps.

                                                Comment


                                                  Honours even after two games

                                                  Comment


                                                    Cal Alamein To add to UA's response, the Dodgers were in a slightly different situation tonight. The goal was something akin to what the Astros have used and a move picked up slightly by the Nats last year: tandem starters. That is, Gonsolin was going to go as long as he was good. Then if he went 3 or 4 innings, May would come in and do the same. The plan was not to use Gonsolin as an opener. But Gonsolin sucked tonight, so he wasn't given time to dig a deeper hole. He was never going 6 or 7 because he pitched a couple days ago. But Roberts said pre-game that he hoped Gonsolin could go 4 or 5 but Gonsolin would go as long as he was doing well. Then the problem was solved slightly because the traditional relievers did their job. And May came in and added more gasoline to the fire. It's very strange. These guys were really the top two pitchers this year since Kershaw started a touch later and Beuehler was on limited innings because he the COVID break and the a blister problem. But these two guys have been horrible against the Braves and again tonight. May has worked out the pen in the past, but I think the bullpen day isn't working for these two. I think they both know they are on a short leash and are trying to be too perfect.

                                                    In other news, the Dodgers didn't stick with the plan that they executed to perfection during game 1: running up counts. Snell was on about 10 pitches per inning until the 5th. But I knew there was no way to repeat last night. The Rays aren't a fluke. I'll look forward to the commentary on MLB Network tomorrow to see how "the Rays are done" talk changes. Day off on Thursday. Hopefully Beuehler is ready to roll on Friday.

                                                    Comment

                                                    Working...
                                                    X