Geoff Grace Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 As we look forward to the next MLB season, here are some recent stories: Josh Hader, Astros agree to record five-year $95M deal, source says Matt Carpenter returning to Cardinals on one-year deal Giants bring Dusty Baker 'back home' as special adviser Best, Geoff Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 And of course... GO DODGER BLUE!!! Best, Geoff 1 Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 5 hours ago, Geoff Grace said: As we look forward to the next MLB season, here are some recent stories: Josh Hader, Astros agree to record five-year $95M deal, source says Matt Carpenter returning to Cardinals on one-year deal Giants bring Dusty Baker 'back home' as special adviser Best, Geoff I think the conventional wisdom is that it's risky spending big money on relievers. Statistically, they are too up and down or they're good for a couple years then flame out. Maybe Hader's an exception as he's been consistently good for a while, and I guess the Astros think his mechanics are solid enough to give me longevity. Not sure what to make of Baker going back to SF. Apparently he lives close to the Bay Area, so this could just be a way to try to restore the Giants credibility and all Baker has to do is drive in once a week. It can only be a good thing. 1 Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Who is Todd Helton? I’m serious…. I’ve never heard of the guy until today. Maybe I missed a few years of MLB while I was focused on other things. What did he do? Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elsongs Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 7 hours ago, jazzpiano88 said: Who is Todd Helton? I’m serious…. I’ve never heard of the guy until today. Maybe I missed a few years of MLB while I was focused on other things. What did he do? Longtime All-Star first baseman for the Colorado Rockies from 1997 to 2013. He played his whole career with them. He was their first big franchise player and first Rockie whose number was retired. I just learned recently he played college football for Tennessee and was fellow QBs with some guy named Peyton Manning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Helton's slugging percentages were typically 100-150 points higher in his Denver home stadium, which was especially back in those days notorious for elevating hitter's stats. I couldn't find a career split so I just looked year by year and I think it's safe to say that if he'd played in other parks his entire career, his slugging would have been about 100 points lower than his actual stat of .539. That's oversimplifying, but it gives a rough idea of how his home field advantage made him look better in comparison to his peers. A first baseman who slugs .439 doesn't get to the HOF. On the other hand, his K/BB ratios were extraordinary, one might even say HOF-worthy, through his career, and those stats are to a large extent independent of ballpark influences. Beltre and Mauer are, in my opinion, unassailable. Beltre for his stats, longevity, fielding, and character. Mauer for being primarily a catcher who had a run of great hitting years (some as a first baseman), and his character. 1 Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Good points about the impact of his home stadium on Helton's offensive stats. One criteria I have heard for whether a player is HOF-worthy is how many times did they appear in the top 3 (or top 5) of a key stat? In others words, it is not necessary that a player actually lead the league in home runs / slugging / batting / ERA / wins in order to consider their performance great, but to be very near the top. Helton had 7 years where he was in the top 5 for both batting average and on-base percentage. He had "only" 4 years where he was in the top 5 for slugging percentage. Normally that would be pretty impressive, but playing half your games a mile above sea level is going to elevate anyone's slugging percentage. And hitting lots of home runs is going to enable you to get more walks, if you have a good eye and avoid swinging at bad pitches - which will elevate your on-base percentage. And first baseman and outfielders are expected to have the best offensive stats. I'm not claiming that Helton is not HOF worthy. I just don't think I can tell by looking at his stats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 On 1/24/2024 at 6:43 AM, elsongs said: Longtime All-Star first baseman for the Colorado Rockies from 1997 to 2013. He played his whole career with them. He was their first big franchise player and first Rockie whose number was retired. I just learned recently he played college football for Tennessee and was fellow QBs with some guy named Peyton Manning. Manning was his backup QB! Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 My only HoF comments are that I would have picked Cito Gaston over Jim Leyland. He won two WS compared to Leyland's one, in half as many career games managed. But it's a small quibble. Leyland managed one game shy of 3500, which is quite a feat of longevity. Also, Andruw Jones misses once again. Defense should count more in the voting. But my main gripe about this off-season is that the Cubs seem totally uninterested in signing Jorge Soler, and I just don't get it. He was popular as a rookie at Wrigley and his mammoth home runs would rock that place. And on top of that, the Cubs really don't have a great DH. Last year they used Christopher Morel and Trey Mancini. I'm at a loss on this one. It's going to look even worse if they can't or won't re-sign Cody Bellinger. Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 The Giants definitely aren’t ceding the division to the Dodgers: Source: Blake Snell agrees to 2-year, $62M deal with Giants Best, Geoff Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 It feels like a huge amount of talent went to the NL West this offseason, particularly with developments over the past few days. Dodgers still seem like the best team in baseball, but both the Giants and Padres are potentially stacked with elite starting pitching, though of course a lot depends on the front of the rotation avoiding injury. The Diamondbacks were in the World Series, got better over the offseason, and still seem like the 4th best team in the division. 1 Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineandkeyz Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Crazy start to the 2024 season! The Padres were up 2-1 in the 8th with the Dodgers at bat when a potential double play ball tore through the webbing in the Padres' 1st baseman's glove. The Dodgers went on to score 4 in that inning. A strange error helps the Dodgers against the Padres Quote Live: Yamaha S70XS (#1); Roland Jupiter-80; Mackie 1202VLZ4: IEMs or Traynor K4 Home: Hammond SK Pro 73; Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue; Yamaha S70XS (#2); Wurlitzer 200A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Yeah, that was a freak occurrence … and a hard-hit ball. The Padres played a good game, but I was happy to see the Dodgers prevail. It's great to have the season underway. Best, Geoff 1 Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineandkeyz Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 8 minutes ago, Geoff Grace said: Yeah, that was a freak occurrence … and a hard-hit ball. The Padres played a good game, but I was happy to see the Dodgers prevail. It's great to have the season underway. Best, Geoff Me, too, although it's a little strange to have the regular season start for a couple teams while others are still playing spring training games. But no one asked me. 😄 1 Quote Live: Yamaha S70XS (#1); Roland Jupiter-80; Mackie 1202VLZ4: IEMs or Traynor K4 Home: Hammond SK Pro 73; Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue; Yamaha S70XS (#2); Wurlitzer 200A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 This could wind up being a very big story. I hope it’s what we’re being told and that Shohei Ohtani wasn’t involved in gambling. Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani's interpreter amid allegation of 'massive theft' Best, Geoff Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 It wasn’t a great day for the Dodgers’ other big offseason addition: Yoshinobu Yamamoto lasts only 1 inning in Dodgers debut Congrats to Bobby’s Padres for the 15-11 win. Best, Geoff Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarsHarner Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 I am wondering if the Phils are essentially playing for a wildcard spot again in hopes of upsetting the Braves in the playoffs. I am glad we have pretty much the same lineup as the team chemistry has been excellent the last 2 years. Looking forward to my first game next Sunday. I had opening day tickets but sold them due to the only event I would pass baseball up for- Billy Joel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 On 3/21/2024 at 4:49 PM, Geoff Grace said: This could wind up being a very big story. I hope it’s what we’re being told and that Shohei Ohtani wasn’t involved in gambling. Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani's interpreter amid allegation of 'massive theft' Best, Geoff Yikes! The first story was that he covered the gambling debts of his interpreter as a favor . Then, when the lawyers got involved they reversed course and said the money was stolen. We may never know. It'll all be up to the forensic accountants. Let's see if they go as hard as they did against Pete Rose. But it definitely isn't looking good for him: https://babylonbee.com/news/shohei-ohtani-concerned-about-affect-betting-scandal-will-have-on-dodgers-world-series-odds Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 On 3/19/2024 at 9:38 PM, Adan said: It feels like a huge amount of talent went to the NL West this offseason, particularly with developments over the past few days. Dodgers still seem like the best team in baseball, but both the Giants and Padres are potentially stacked with elite starting pitching, though of course a lot depends on the front of the rotation avoiding injury. The Diamondbacks were in the World Series, got better over the offseason, and still seem like the 4th best team in the division. Following up on my own post here to note that with theJordan Montgomery signing with Arizona, talent becomes even more concentrated in the NL West and that power of the 4 top teams becomes even more balanced. Monty is at best a #2 starter, but he's been very consistent (unlike, say, Blake Snell) and last year showed he could be a force in the postseason. 1 Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 On 3/19/2024 at 9:38 PM, Adan said: Dodgers still seem like the best team in baseball No offense to Dodgers fans, but I can't understand how anyone can consider them the best team in baseball. I realize that I'm biased, but even objectively the Braves are stacked, with a pitching staff that includes Spencer Strider, Max Fried (in his walk year), Chris Sale (who looks like his old self), and Charlie Morton, still the best curveball in MLB. They added Reynaldo López as a 5th starter. Huascar Ynoa is back. Tyler Matsek is back. Dylan Lee is back. They got Aaron Bummer from the Chisox. They have so much pitching that they had to send down to AAA Gwinnett guys who would fit on most MLB teams. The Gwinnett Strypers have a rotation of Allan Winans, Dylan Dodd, Darius Vines, last year's All-Star Bryce Elder, A.J. Smith-Shawver, and until today Jackson Stephens, who opted for free agency rather than take the minor league assignment. All of those guys pitched for the Braves last year, and that's a rotation that some big league clubs would take in a second. Ronald Acuna, Jr. - RF Ozzie Albies - 2B Austin Riley - 3B Matt Olson - 1B Marcel Ozuna - DH Sean Murphy/Travis d'Arnaud - C Jared Kelenic/Adam Duvall - LF Michael Harris II - CF Orlando Arcia - SS Position by position, the only clear Dodger advantage is Mookie Betts over Orlando Arcia. As much as I love Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson led all of MLB in HR and RBI last year. As great a hitter as he is, Shohei Ohtani (44/95, 151 hits) was about equal to Marcel Ozuna (40/100, 145 hits). Will Smith is not better than Sean Murphy. Max Muncy is not better than Austin Riley. Gavin Lux is certainly not better than Ozzie Albies. James Outman is not better than Michael Harris II, one of the best CF gloves in baseball. Jason Heyward is a class act, but he's no Ronald. Teoscar Hernández (26/93) is solid in LF, and could be better than the Kelenic/Duvall (21/58 in only 92 games) platoon, but he's played his entire career in the AL, so he's still a question mark. Okay, that's my rant. I feel better now! Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 14 hours ago, Adan said: Following up on my own post here to note that with theJordan Montgomery signing with Arizona, talent becomes even more concentrated in the NL West and that power of the 4 top teams becomes even more balanced. Monty is at best a #2 starter, but he's been very consistent (unlike, say, Blake Snell) and last year showed he could be a force in the postseason. I understood teams being reluctant to back up the Brinks truck to Blake Snell's door, since he was asking for so much, but Montgomery was puzzling, and made me suspect that there may be unpublished issues. I also read that the Yankees offered Snell $150M and he turned it down. He's getting less than that from the Giants. It was either an agency screw-up (Boros?) or maybe Snell just didn't want to play for Yankees fans after watching the Joey Gallo debacle. I can't say I would blame him, the way he walks people. They can be brutal. Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 On 3/21/2024 at 5:49 PM, Geoff Grace said: This could wind up being a very big story. I hope it’s what we’re being told and that Shohei Ohtani wasn’t involved in gambling. Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani's interpreter amid allegation of 'massive theft' How does an interpreter/translater get access to Shohei's money? Something smells fishy. On 3/21/2024 at 5:55 PM, Geoff Grace said: It wasn’t a great day for the Dodgers’ other big offseason addition: Yoshinobu Yamamoto lasts only 1 inning in Dodgers debut I thought this was a foolish contract. He is not a proven commodity. The Japanese and Korean leagues are still vastly inferior to MLB. Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Luckily the Yamamoto proof will be in the pudding very quickly. Robert’s discounted the performance as lack of command that is of no concern. He’s a veteran, so if he doesn’t win the next few games there’s going to be big big trouble. It’s great seeing the dodgers suffer - it brings me back to the Puig years, although last year’s post season was pure ecstasy. Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 1 hour ago, Synthaholic said: How does an interpreter/translater get access to Shohei's money? That’s the big unanswered question. The press, MLB, and perhaps even the federal government are looking into this; so I imagine it will eventually be revealed. 1 hour ago, Synthaholic said: I thought this was a foolish contract. He is not a proven commodity. The Japanese and Korean leagues are still vastly inferior to MLB. It was at least a risky contract. We’ll see how everything develops. It’s going to be an interesting season… Best, Geoff Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elsongs Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I'm going to Dodgers Opening Day on Thursday afternoon! Woo-Hoo! My first Opening Day since 2017. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Totally fair to debate which team is better, Dodgers or Braves. Dodgers have a lot of question marks about their starting rotation -- a lot of upside but also a lot of risk, Yamamoto perhaps being the #1 question. Braves have both quality and quantity in starting pitching. I think people look at Betts, Freeman, and Ohtani and see a generational concentration of superstars at the top of the order, and the very spectacle of that might inflate valuation of the team as a whole. But then you see Muncy trying to play 3rd base and start to think about how much can any three players do to put a team over the top. 1 Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Fascinating read on the Ohtani situation from the LA Times: https://www.yahoo.com/news/ohtani-says-hes-cooperating-investigators-190036810.html And how the saga unfolded as the LA Times got wind of the federal investigation. https://sports.yahoo.com/saga-shohei-ohtani-interpreter-unfolded-100014884.html? Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 For all of the talk about Shohei, it’s Mookie Betts who’s been the Dodgers star so far this season: Mookie Betts collects career hit No. 1,500 as Dodgers take series from Giants Betts hit his major-league leading fifth home run in the game; and as everyone knows, he’s an outstanding fielder too. Best, Geoff Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 On 3/28/2024 at 12:06 AM, Synthaholic said: Teoscar Hernández (26/93) is solid in LF, and could be better than the Kelenic/Duvall (21/58 in only 92 games) platoon, but he's played his entire career in the AL, so he's still a question mark. He is a question mark no more. He's leading MLB with 14 RBI. He's also leading MLB with 21 strikeouts. He has 4 HR. 1 Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter faces federal charges, source says It appears that the federal investigators have concluded that Ohtani is an innocent victim. Best, Geoff Quote My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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