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Which MLB team will be the next to win their first World Series title in franchise history.

  • Seattle Mariners

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • Texas Rangers

    Votes: 4 28.6%
  • Tampa Bay Rays

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • San Diego Padres

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • Colorado Rockies

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • Milwaukee Brewers

    Votes: 2 14.3%

MLB Thread

52K views 564 replies 78 participants last post by  Dr. Middy 
#1 ·


Hello everyone. Your team is probably not going to win it this year yet again. I am sorry.


So Trout got a lot of money but will languish in an average lineup and pitcher's park and division while other guys hit in Stax's backyard.

I got Red Sox over Phillies in the World Series.
 
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#180 ·
Re: Yelli vs. Belli for NL MVP

@Arya Dark; knows. :mark:
@CamillePunk; @scrilla; @MillionDollarProns; @FitChi; @TKOK;

On the night FUTURE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HALL-OF-FAMER BRUCE BOCHY SAW HIS 2,000TH CAREER WIN AS AN MLB MANAGER ATTAINED AT FENWAY IN BOSTON, this also happened... As AD/LC shared on my wall:



:cheer :cheer :cheer

GIANTS GO FOR THE SWEEP OF THE RED SOX IN ONLY HOURS!

GIANTS



Meanwhile, if the Oakland Athletics host the wildcard game for the American League as it appears that they probably will in only days I shall definitely attend that! :mark: :)
 
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#181 ·
Re: Yelli vs. Belli for NL MVP

I guess since the Reds aren't good that SUAREZ can't be MVP.


Also I'm voting Mike Minor for AL Cy Young. JV, Cole and Morton are all much better pitchers, but to be as good as he's been for Texas is impressive.

also what if Morton was still an Astro? Their rotation is already too good, but jeez. They probably don't trade for Greinke if that's the case though.
 
#185 ·
Re: Yelli vs. Belli for NL MVP

Someone who deserves American League Most Valuable Player Award consideration, in spite of the existence of Mike Trout :)trout) is the Oakland Athletics' starting shortstop Marcus Semien.

Been observing him since he was drafted; to see him become what he is today has been a rather remarkable experience. He was a mostly offense-first shortstop with an oft-shaky glove when he first arrived to the big leagues for Oakland, but now he is a monster.

Almost always batting lead-off for Bob Melvin in 2019, Semien has joined the ranks of Babe Ruth (1921, 1923) and Lou Gehrig (1927, 1930) in amassing no fewer than 116 runs, 173 hits, 38 doubles, 7 triples, 30 home runs, 85 RBI (yes, a dubious statistic, sure, especially on a team with as many on-base savants as the A's--but, remember: he's almost always leading off), 78 walks and 10 stolen bases in a season.

That is the list of players who have reached those figures. Ruth. Gehrig. Semien.

He has become a power hitter extraordinaire and one of Oakland's most consistent "big bopper" threats, all while leading off. As a matter of fact, Semien in the lats week dethroned A's legend Rickey Henderson, knocking Henderson's record to the side for the single-season franchise record of 28 homers from the leadoff spot. Henderson was sitting behind home plate for that game.

Semien's outstanding 7-win season for the A's is the single greatest reason why the team is likely to host the American League's wildcard game in only a matter of days.
 
#187 ·
Re: Yelli vs. Belli for NL MVP

My AL MVP Candidates Ranked:

Mike Trout, CF, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 8.3 bWAR, 8.6 fWAR, 179 wRC+

Code:
Year   Age  Tm   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS OPS+
2019    27 LAA 110 137 27  2 45 104 11  2 110 120 .291 .438 .645 1.083  184
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/23/2019.


Alex Bregman, 3B, Houston Astros, 7.8 bWAR, 7.8 fWAR, 165 wRC+

Code:
Year   Age  Tm   G   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS OPS+
2019    25 HOU 150 117 157 35  2 39 108  5  1 112 81 .293 .419 .585 1.004  160
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/23/2019.


Marcus Semien, SS, Oakland A's, 7.9 bWAR, 7.3 fWAR, 137 wRC+

Code:
Year   Age  Tm   G   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG OPS+
2019    28 OAK 156 120 183 42  7 32  91 10  8 82 101 .287 .369 .525  139
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/23/2019.



I think Mike should have this in the bag, Bregman and Semien put up MVP level seasons in their own rights. Bregman became a true beast in the second half; he hit .335/.456/.661 with a 192 wRC+ and 16 homers. Semien's exploits have been looked at in this thread just a few posts prior. While it should be Trout's award to win, this is another year where he had a couple very good players have peak seasons that could easily win MVP awards in a different season.
 
#188 ·
Re: Yelli vs. Belli for NL MVP

Bregman's second half was definitely nuts compared to his first. Trout's should have this MVP for free though. Rendon has had a pretty nuts season boasting an 1000 ops and 154 ops+ he should get a fat pay day after this season and maybe he'll even get even more mainstream recognition like he has started to get this year.
 
#190 ·
Re: Yelli vs. Belli for NL MVP

Trout made those STATS in 134 games. He's been done for the season for a bit now. I can see Bregman taking it. He's deserving.

Trout hasn't played a full season the past three years and he's still a Hall of Famer right now. According to Baseball Reference he surpassed Derek Jeter in career WAR this season.

For a bit more perspective Mike Trout is around the following in career WAR on that site...

Frank Thomas
Derek Jeter
Larry Walker
Rafael Palmeiro
Jim Thome
Reggie Jackson

Trout has played 9 seasons.
 
#191 · (Edited)
Re: Yelli vs. Belli for NL MVP

Bryce Harper in Review

Not a disaster, but things don't look too peachy for Philadelphia and their $330M slugger's future.



Since the season's almost over, I feel comfortable in that his stats won't change too much over time. I think this season on an individual level isn't a failure, but it isn't exactly promising for the future of the Philadelphia Phillies either. Harper was worth 4.5 fWAR and 3.8 bWAR—Fangraphs and Baseball Reference for the uninitiated—in 2019; the both values are not exactly a super appraisal of his performance, as he wasn't elite, but going by the scale of 6-8M per WAR, he lived up to a 25M AAV for this season.

Under both sites, this season was an improvement over his last—a .249/.393/.496 season with an OPS+ of 133 and wRC+ of 134, worth 3.4fWAR and 1.3 bWAR (which is below their "average everyday starter" at 2 WAR actually); however, his hitting took a stepback this season. His 2019 slash line was .258/.374/.505, showing an rise in his average but a significant dip in his OBP and his OPS; not only did his OPS go down, it went down in a better hitter's park in a better run scoring environment league wide. Both his wRC+ and OPS+ went down to 125, which is still a very good hitter and a guy you'd love in RF.

So if his hitting went down, where did Bryce gain all this extra value? Defense seems to be the answer, and that's what should worry Philly fans. Bryce has been a net negative value defender for years. Here's a look at how Baseball Reference has logged his defense every season his career under his dWAR, or defensive wins above replacement:

Code:
Year   Age   G  WAR oWAR dWAR
2012    19 139  5.2  3.5  1.5
2013    20 118  3.7  3.3 -0.1
2014    21 100  1.1  1.2 -0.5
2015    22 153 10.0  9.1  0.4
2016    23 147  1.5  1.9 -0.9
2017    24 111  4.6  4.2  0.0
2018    25 159  1.3  4.2 -3.2
2019    26 152  3.8  3.3  0.0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/25/2019.

Using that info, Baseball Reference has him logged at -3 wins above replacement defensively for his career, this one merely being 0 wins above replacement on the year.

Fangraphs, on the other hand, has this as a major turning point in his 2019 season; this is where their fWAR total really breaks away from the bWAR total. Under Fangraphs' stat tracking, Bryce has accumulated a defensive value of -25.9 over his career. In 2018 alone he was historically awful at -18.1 and was following a trend of every single prior season except his rookie campaign being a negative in the field.




In 2019, Harper was a good defender according to Fangraphs; cross that, he was great according to Fangraphs, he was the 8th best OF in the entirety of Major League Baseball in their metric. This is a sudden shift in defensive value, shocking really, going from well below average to one of the best outfielders; this should be a great sign!



That's why I don't believe it. If anything, this feels like an aberration, an outlier in the career of a guy who hasn't looked good in the outfield. He did have another good second half this season, going for a .266/.382/.560 slashline with a 137 wRC+; combining his last two second halves create a 127 game stretch in which he's been a .283/.409/.549 with 29 HR and a 149 wRC+, which is the value you'd expect from a 25M player but is only gained through cherrypicking stats.

Bryce has seen his power stay stable, a .247 ISO in both seasons with a 23% HR/FB rate. His walk percentage is down, though this could be attributed to the lineup surrounding him, it hurts his overall value at the plate. His strikeout percentage went up to 26.2% on the season as well. He's not being plagued by bad luck either, his BABIP actually went up on this season compared to his last.

All in all, Bryce is a very, very good baseball player who is being paid like a great player. While he has amazing raw power, he's not up to par with other sluggers while he even plays in a hitter's park with his ~.500 slugging percentage in the new HR era we're in. He doesn't hit for average and he's walking less. He's not a plus defender in all likelihood and is likely to get far worse over the next 13 years. All signs point to Bryce being a solid 2-4.5 win player over the next couple of years, but nothing is showing any indication of him ever again reaching his superstar level ability—one of the greatest hitting seasons ever at that—at age 22.
 
#194 ·
Re: JV3000K and Alonso knocks 53

:mark: Cannot wait to attend Wednesday evening's wildcard game in Oakland! :mark:

Hope the game does not go 14+ innings as I have to catch a flight from OAK to LAX at 9:45 local time. :lol
 
#197 ·
Re: Nationals, Dodgers, Braves, Cardinals, A's, Rays, Yankees, Astros, Twins

rip Brewers

I hope somehow we get Nationals v Braves NLCS.
Could not agree more. Watching Hitler and Stalin battle it out in a potential NLCS (again!) is unappealing.

@AryaDark; @CamillePunk; @TKOK; @scrilla; @FitChi; @THE MAN.THE MYTH.THE SHIV; @MillionDollarProns;

From the desk of Bruce Bochy:

To the greatest fans in baseball:

When I arrived in San Francisco in 2007 as the new Giants manager, I knew I was coming into a storied franchise. I studied up on the team's history. I read a biography of John McGraw, the New York Giants' legendary manager. But they didn't prepare me for the actual experience. Legends walked the hallways. Those first few years, I'd have to remind myself that the guy who just left my office was Willie Mays. I felt a tremendous sense of pride, and also responsibility, in being part of that amazing history.

When we finished fifth in the NL West my first season, and fourth in my second, no one would have blamed Larry Baer and Brian Sabean if they had made a change. But they stuck with me, and you did, too. You can't imagine what that does for a manager. This game is hard. It tests you mentally and physically every day, for six or seven straight months. You fail way more than you succeed. So the company you keep matters. Not just the GM, or the owners, or the players, but everyone - and in particular the fans who were willing to trust me even before I had earned it.

To be honest, the depth of love this community has for the Giants probably surprised me more than anything else when I took the job. I often saw it from the opposing dugout but you can't really know it until you experience it here, up close and personal. Every day, I'd step onto the field and see all three decks filled with people in orange and black, in panda hats, giraffe hats, and fake beards. You were loud and rowdy. You were fanatical. And you were fiercely loyal. Starting in our 2010 postseason run through 2017, you set a franchise record, selling out 530 games. I was in awe. It was the second-longest sellout streak in MLB history.

After 40 years in this game, I am absolutely certain there was not, and is not, a better fan base than the one I was fortunate enough to enjoy here for thirteen years. When we won the 2010 World Series, people came up to me in grocery stores and restaurants to tell me how much the championship meant to their mother or even their grandmother, how long they'd been waiting, how happy they were. To know that our team brought joy to the community also brought joy to our players and me because that's what we play for. Without you, there is no baseball, no business, no television or talk radio, and no opportunity to compete.

I have learned so much as the manager of the San Francisco Giants. About loyalty, sacrifice, trust, courage and resilience. I learned to look beyond the impossible, to "never say die," that "torture" is better than going home, and together WE ARE GIANT!

Perhaps the most important thing I learned was belief. When people believe in you -- I mean really believe in you -- you feel invincible. Our guys never doubted that misfortune could be overcome, failure could turn to success, and that they would beat the seemingly insurmountable odds. That is the secret to our three World Series Championships. As players and coaches, we believed in each other, and you believed in us. We did this... TOGETHER. That kind of chemistry is an extraordinary thing. So as I walk out this door, I want you to know that the bond we shared and the memories we created TOGETHER will last my entire life. I hope that is true for you, too.

Kim and I have grown to love this community. Trust me, I never take for granted how incredibly lucky I am to have managed in this GREAT CITY, with you, our GREATEST FANS, and for this STORIED FRANCHISE. I'm going to miss standing on that rail, looking up and seeing you every day. It is so far beyond anything I ever dared dream as a kid growing up in Florida.

Thank you, it's been a hell of a ride!
Bochy Signature
Bruce Bochy
:mj2 :mj2 :mj2 :hogan :hogan :hogan

Bless you, Boch. :posey2 :bum


Will be a few rows behind home plate in Oakland in only hours to see the American League wildcard game! :mark: And I am also going to be at Friday night's NLDS Game 2 between the Washington Nationals and BOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

NOT DODGERS
 
#199 ·
Re: LDS: Nationals v Dodgers, Braves v Cardinals, Rays v Yankees, Astros v Twins

I'm glad the Braves bounced back to tie the NLDS against the Cardinals at 1.

Melancon redeemed himself after a piss-poor performance, giving up 4 runs in the ninth.

The Braves will carry the momentum to St. Louis, when Soroka faces Wainwright Sunday.

GO BRAVOS!
 
#200 ·
Re: LDS: Nationals v Dodgers, Braves v Cardinals, Rays v Yankees, Astros v Twins

Great job Braves!

The offense finally made a statement in the 9th inning by scoring three runs, to beat the Cards 3-1. Swanson tied the game up and Duvall hit the ball to center field, to give the Braves a two-run lead.

One more win and they're on their way to the NLCS for the first time since 2001.
 
#203 ·
Re: LDS: Nationals v Dodgers, Braves v Cardinals, Yankees, Astros v Twins

rip Twins

That was the most obvious conclusion of the divisional round. I assume Astros win because they got Verlander/Cole to pitch again. The NL is harder to predict. If Strasburg can continue to own faces and he can pitch 7 or so innings, the Nats have a good shot. I assume the Nationals lose because they always do. Braves and Cards is a toss up too. So flip a coin I guess.
 
#204 ·
Re: LDS: Nationals v Dodgers, Braves v Cardinals, Yankees, Astros v Twins

Yankees getting that shovel out for the Twins, one of autumn's most predictable occasions.

Should not have been that predictable this year... Although if you look at Minnesota's season record, they demolished tomato cans whose own records were well below .500 and played fairly meekly against excellent, over-.500 competition. The AL Central being such a paper tiger of a division helped to make Minnesota look better than they were.

That said, anything should be able to happen in a best-of-five baseball series (just ask the 2012 Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants).

Hoping for Nationals vs. Braves in the NLCS, so will probably get the dreaded Cardinals vs. Dodgers option.

GO NATS!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mark: :mark: :mark: Where's my old Montreal Expos jersey?!
 
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