MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
Wow, the Angels have released Albert Pujols.
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LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
The fuck? I don’t even believe in baseball and I can’t believe that.
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
This may not be the greatest season in the history of the Cubs franchise and I may still not be thrilled about the direction ownership is taking the team, BUT I will always relish a sweep of the fucking Dodgers.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
I can't say I know much about the Angels, but supposedly, at the insistence of the front office, Pujols wasn't in the lineup and complained about it. A day later, they released him.
The Angels didn't really get much bang for the bucks they spent on Pujols, but good for him. He made a fuckload money. I'd have to think he'll choose to enter the Hall as a Cardinal.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Except he literally can’t go into the HOF as a Cardinal. Well, not easily. Don’t forget, he’s got a 20 year contract with the Angels. They bought the 10 years after he retires to own his brand. Like, this move makes no sense. It just totally removes Pujols, the seemingly only pure part of a vapid sport, from its existence for a decade because you know fine well he and this organization are probably going to enter a Cold War.
They know exactly what they signed up for. It’s some fucking serious sign of disrespect to cut him knowing fine well that they paid like $30 million for him to one way be 41 years old. You don’t just get to that point and say “well shit this wasn’t worth it and you’re not very good anymore, we will disrespect you by cutting you.”
He'll go into the Hall of Fame as a Cardinal. He doesn't have a choice. The Hall of Fame eliminated player choice after Wade Boggs had a stipulation put into his contract that he'd wear a Devil Rays hat when he was elected to Cooperstown.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
His contract says he can’t wear that shit for 10 years. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t go in as one. He just can’t partake in anything Cardinals related for a decade. Like going to their stadium, I believe.
Maybe they can trade him for Bobby Bonilla.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Agreed, I’m just floored by the disrespect for what is someone who would probably be in the exclusive 700 club were it not for a global pandemic.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
I can't say that I've heard about this 20 year deal. I thought it was 10 for 240 million. Plus, I had forgotten it went back to time served playing for a team as opposed to player choice in regard to what team logo the player wears on their cap.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
I remember it only off the top of my head, because I remember the headlines reading 20-year agreement.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/halohangout.com/2020/07/01/bobby-bonilla-day-angels-albert-pujols/amp/
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
Wow, that is a very interesting wrinkle there. I'm curious to see if a settlement is reached and if the Angels release him from that personal services contract with a buyout or something. Some good will might have eroded with the way LA released Albert from the team. Both sides may wish to divorce and move on. If he goes into the Hall as an Angel, that's ridiculous.
Hey, Lindor did something
Deadball Era 2.0 is fucking joyless. Bring 2019 back again.
Eduardo Escobar is hitting .222/.283/.452, which turns out to be a 99 OPS+. A league average line.
Adam Wainwright has a 3.80 ERA, a 100 ERA+. League average.
Give me the rocket ball every day of the week.
Eduardo Escobar is hitting .222/.283/.452, which turns out to be a 99 OPS+. A league average line.
Adam Wainwright has a 3.80 ERA, a 100 ERA+. League average.
Give me the rocket ball every day of the week.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Yeah I wonder if ESPN and yahoo think it’s worth a push notification every single time a pitcher throws a no hitter. Just stop.
Manfred is so fucking incompetent. The public wants more action, so let's go ahead and change the ball again in ways that we cannot really anticipate and end up increasing movement and contributing to the highest strikeout rate ever.
It's also ridiculous that teams can't really plan for what's coming. Like the 2019 playoffs with the deadfall after the rocket ball through the regular season. I bet we get yet a different ball post-ASB.
It's also ridiculous that teams can't really plan for what's coming. Like the 2019 playoffs with the deadfall after the rocket ball through the regular season. I bet we get yet a different ball post-ASB.
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MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
I think the hitters are just worse. Players were more disciplined in the past. Took more bad pitches and made contact with good pitches. They worked the count better. As a result, pitchers exited the game quicker. Now, I see hitters swinging and missing at shitty pitches or fouling pitches that should be extra base hits or home runs. Granted, we're seeing more pitchers throw 100+ MPH. Ain't easy hitting those.
It's beyond just the ball - it's the downside of the overuse of analytics.
As things have become more valued, it also changes the way we train young players. We teach the game differently, and it turns analytics into a self fulfilling prophecy.
A very similar thing has happened in basketball - only with less boring results (to most, at least. We all know people who hate the NBA now because they just shoot threes and don't mug anyone on the court anymore)
As things have become more valued, it also changes the way we train young players. We teach the game differently, and it turns analytics into a self fulfilling prophecy.
A very similar thing has happened in basketball - only with less boring results (to most, at least. We all know people who hate the NBA now because they just shoot threes and don't mug anyone on the court anymore)
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bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
I personally am here for it
. I like "fundamentals" baseball and I was getting real sick of teams winning off of homers. Even if my team was one of 'em.
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
Haha, I get what you're saying. It's less that, and more of a hope that if the ball isn't just gonna go sailing over the wall every three hits or so, then maybe we can go back to trying to get on the damn bag instead of swinging for the fences. But until then, yeah, it does suck.
I always felt that the home runs were fine, it's the excessive strikeouts that have made it so frustrating. OBP was pretty low even before the HR surge in the last few years (it's striking how every year from 2000-2010 had a higher league OBP than 2011-2021).
I truly think that swinging for the fences is the symptom not the cause. It's an adjustments hitters made to increasing velocity and spin. Pitching has advanced so much more than hitting, so hitters have very little chance right now (and the chances of chaining a few singles are even worse). I don't think there's any solution other thank moving the mound back.
I truly think that swinging for the fences is the symptom not the cause. It's an adjustments hitters made to increasing velocity and spin. Pitching has advanced so much more than hitting, so hitters have very little chance right now (and the chances of chaining a few singles are even worse). I don't think there's any solution other thank moving the mound back.
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
Yeah, that's very true. I mean, it's one of those things like being discussed earlier: Eventually we get too good at a sport, especially when you're training kids to that and only that from the time they're able to walk.
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
i would rather see the effectiveness of a ban on the shift before they start tinkering with the playing field.
Meh. The shift is on in just about a third of PAs. Ground balls are hit roughly 40% of balls in play (which are becoming more rare). So banning the shift affects what, maybe 15% of plate appearances that end in a ground ball? Perhaps a bit less. How many of those would actually be prevented by banning the shift? I'm not sure turning a few extra ground balls into singles will meaningfully change league wide offense.
I'd rather change the mound than creating artificial rules on how one should position fielders.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Literally every sport has broken purity at some point, making the continuous statistical heritage null. Three point line, two line pass, yada yada
the tourist
Blue Crack Addict
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2003
- Messages
- 27,919
Remove the extreme shift.
Remove the high strike.
Remove the lefty strike.
Lower the mound.
Enforce the rules regarding pitchers using foreign substances.
That’s how offense returns.
Remove the high strike.
Remove the lefty strike.
Lower the mound.
Enforce the rules regarding pitchers using foreign substances.
That’s how offense returns.
"I don't want the DH, I love to watch pitchers hit" part XCVII:
https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1392532562732593159
https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1392532562732593159
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Pitchers are striking out as much as everyone else these days.
