Official MLB 2022 Thread

[Geoff Grace]

As we look forward to the next MLB season, here are the top stories:

 

Milwaukee Brewers' Corbin Burnes edges Phillies' Zack Wheeler for NL Cy Young Award

 

Toronto Blue Jays' Robbie Ray caps career year with American League Cy Young

 

Sources: Houston Astros keep ace Justin Verlander with one-year, $25 million deal

 

Cleveland Indians officially changing name to Guardians on Friday

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Geoff Grace]

And of course...

 

http://www.geoffgrace.com/Pictures/Dodgers.jpg

 

GO DODGER BLUE!!!

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[MAJUSCULE]

The Blue Jays are coming, y'all. They're coming!

[Doerfler]

Justin Verlander makes US $25 million a year and is married to Kate Upton. He makes Darrell Hall look like he got nothing.

[Adan]

Good pitching always shuts down good hitting.

 

 

 

Not to make fun of Dave, he didn't make up this old saying, but as an amateur logician it always tickles me to read it because "good pitching" is, by definition, the pitching that shuts down good hitting. You never hear anyone say "wow, that was great pitching even though it looked like batting practice."

 

NL switching to the DH is huge. Even though I'm in favor of it in the sense that I think the game should have been designed that way from the beginning, I'm sorry to see this perennial topic of debate disappear. No more, which is better, NL or AL conversations. Glad I'm beyond my single years . . . I picked up a lot of women with that one back in the day!

[MAJUSCULE]

Adan, this you bro?

 

[Synthaholic]

My hot takes:

 

Verlander is not worth anywhere near $25 million at 39 years old, two years removed from the game, coming back from major surgery. Not until he can prove he can still pitch at the major league level. A heavily-incentivised contract would have been much smarter, but I haven't seen much smarts from the Astros organization for a few years.

 

Gabe Kapler was the clear winner of manager of the year. No one expected the Giants to be that good. You know I love the Braves (World Champions, btw . . . ) but Brian Snitker did not deserve it. I still firmly believe that the Braves win despite Snitker's managing, not because if it. I think he sucks. You can't completely ignore a major facet of the game - bunting, sacrifices, hit & run, etc. - while waiting for the 3 run homer that is never guaranteed. I don't care if the players love him.

 

An ominous "sign" for the newly christened Cleveland Guardians:

 

 

A lot of consternation over who should be NL MVP. It's the same argument: is it purely a stats award or is it the player who was most valuable. Not always the same. The first huge controversy in my memory was Andre Dawson winning it on the last place Cubs in 1987. Best stats, but how valuable was he to the Cubs, really? Maybe they should just change it to Best Stats. If that is indeed the only criteria, then Harper deserves it. A lot of Braves fans are upset that Austin Riley wasn't a top 3 pick, and they have a decent, but not convincing case. I think a better case could be made for Ozzie Albies:

 

30+ Home Runs

100+ RBI

100+ Runs Scored

 

No one else in all of MLB did that! But wait, there's more: 20+ stolen bases and 40 doubles! Only Harper (42) and Edman (41) had more. But just consider his homers, RBIs, and stolen bases: only Ryne Sandberg (1990) and Alfonso Soriano (2001, 2005) have done that in MLB history as a second baseman.

 

I think Ozzie was robbed.

 

[Polychrest]

Ozzie Albies:

 

30+ Home Runs

100+ RBI

100+ Runs Scored

 

No one else in all of MLB did that!

 

This year"s Jays had two guys who did: Vlad Guerrero (48, 111, 123) and Marcus Semien (45, 102, 115). Bo Bichette missed the club by 1 HR (29, 102, 121).

 

As for AL manager of the year, a strong case can be made for the Jays" Charlie Manuel. He steered his team through some major challenges and kept them happy and competitive: a hundred games on the road in the U.S. before they could play a home game in Toronto, a sieve for a bullpen for the first half of the season, a starting staff of projects, retreads, rookies and other team"s rejects (until they traded for Berrios). They missed the post-season by one game on the last day of the schedule.

[Synthaholic]

You're right, I messed up and should have said the NL.

 

Now it's your turn to mess up: Charlie Manuel hasn't managed since, like, 2013 with the Phillies. You're thinking of Charlie Montoya, and he really did a great job, especially considering having to deal with 3 different "home" parks: Dunedin, FL, Buffalo, NY, and finally Toronto, ON, which I don't believe they got to play in until after the All-Star break.

[Polychrest]

Thanks for correcting my brain fart. I must have watched too much Fawlty Towers in my wasted youth. Manuel, Montoyaâ¦.neither is from Barcelona, I suspect.

[drawback]

Thanks for correcting my brain fart. I must have watched too much Fawlty Towers in my wasted youth. Manuel, Montoyaâ¦.neither is from Barcelona, I suspect.

 

Yo, Polychrest! That"s Montoyo!

[Polychrest]

Just showing a little speling solidarity with brother Synthaholic. (That"s my story and I"m sticking to it )

[harmonizer]

I don't think stats alone should determine the MVP, partly because there can be intangible leadership qualities that don't fully show in stats, and partly because stats are mostly offensive (for non-pitchers), and certain positions (catcher, shortstop, second basemen, and to a lesser degree third basemen) tend to have less offensive production than outfielders and first basemen. So 30 homers and 100 RBI from a second basemen is incredibly valuable - much more valuable than if those same stats come from an outfielder or first basemen. Ozzie Albies hit those marks this year as a second baseman. When Joe Morgan had those incredible offensive years in 1975 and 1976 as a second baseman, that was the biggest part of what made the Reds so difficult to play against, and I think he earned those two MVPs for those 2 years. But I don't think it makes a player less valuable if they happened to have played on a weak team. Kansas City's Salvador Perez had an amazing year at catcher for the Royals, and I don't think it made him less valuable that the Royals finished 4th place in a 5 team division. Any team wishes they could have had him during 2021.

[Synthaholic]

Excellent point about the different offensive expectations from different positions, harmonizer.

[Geoff Grace]

Hall of Fame voting results are in:

 

Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz lone inductee into Baseball Hall of Fame as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens miss again

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Synthaholic]

So, the latest word is that Freddie is not going to re-sign with the Braves. I would hate to lose him, but I don't want to overpay him in a 5th or 6th year. He's 32, and will most likely produce at his current rate for 2-3 more years. He's from California, and his wife is very much into that socialite lifestyle, so the Dodgers are high on his list, as I would imagine the Angels. But the Yankees will entice him with a lot of money, as will the Mets, who have indicated they are interested, moving Polar Bear to DH.

 

If the Braves lose Freeman, they must get Matt Olson to replace him. Otherwise, they will most likely look at moving Riley to 1B, but that would be a waste of good 3B talent.

[Geoff Grace]

Good news:

 

Sources: MLB, union reach tentative agreement on new CBA, salvage 162-game season

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Geoff Grace]

Source: Clayton Kershaw returning to Los Angeles Dodgers on 1-year, $17 million deal

Best,

Geoff

[Synthaholic]

On 2/25/2022 at 11:52 AM, Synthaholic said:

So, the latest word is that Freddie is not going to re-sign with the Braves. I would hate to lose him, but I don't want to overpay him in a 5th or 6th year. He's 32, and will most likely produce at his current rate for 2-3 more years. He's from California, and his wife is very much into that socialite lifestyle, so the Dodgers are high on his list, as I would imagine the Angels. But the Yankees will entice him with a lot of money, as will the Mets, who have indicated they are interested, moving Polar Bear to DH.

 

If the Braves lose Freeman, they must get Matt Olson to replace him. Otherwise, they will most likely look at moving Riley to 1B, but that would be a waste of good 3B talent.

Well, they did, and they did.

 

It's all good. Freddie will get paid by someone. Hopefully it's an American League team. Matt Olson will do well, as the #3 1B in baseball, behind Freddie and Vlad, Jr. He hit 39 homers last year and is superb with the glove. And he's from Atlanta, growing up playing with and against Dansby Swanson, then together at Vanderbilt.

 

Everybody's happy.

[Adan]

My feeling is there's few things more heart-warming in sports than an athlete playing for their "hometown" team (same part of a state is close enough).  Connection to a community is what sports is supposed to be about, but increasingly almost never is.  So what could be better than Matt Olson playing for the Braves?  Freddie Freeman is from Southern California so he should sign with the Padres, while Eric Hosmer goes back to . . . well, who cares.  This is how I would reshape sports if I were King.  And while I'm at it, we should bring back monarchies as well!

[Doerfler]

bad news for Padre fans  

 

https://wtop.com/mlb/2022/03/tatis-has-surgery-on-broken-left-wrist-out-3-months/

[Geoff Grace]

...And good news for Dodgers fans:

 

Freddie Freeman reaches agreement with Los Angeles Dodgers on six-year, $162 million deal, sources say

Best,

Geoff

[Doerfler]

Great news for Nationals fans. Dude is finally out of NL East. All respect to him, great player, down to earth guy, but he has been destroying the Nationals for over a decade.

[Synthaholic]

Mixed feelings. The Braves signed Eddie Rosario, NLCS MVP, to a 2 year deal, putting him in LF, Adam Duvall in CF, and Ronald Acuña in RF, with Guillermo Herredia as a late inning defensive replacement and plastic sword swashbuckler. But they didn't re-sign Joc Pederson, who is now a San Francisco Giant, or Jorge Soler, WS MVP and masher of tape-measure home runs, who is now a Miami Marlin. I really wanted to keep Soler.

 

On another note, The Braves also signed Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen to a 2 year deal, at $16M per, I believe (sorry @Geoff Grace). Hopefully he has something left in the tank, although I've always been a firm believer of long-time relievers switching leagues. So the Braves bullpen looks like a hitter's nightmare:

 

Kenley Jansen

Will Smith

Luke Jackson

Tyler "Nutsack" Matsek

A.J. Minter

We also picked up Collin McHugh from the Tampa Bay Rays and Kirby Yates, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery and should be back mid-season. We lost Chris Martin to, I think, the Cubs.

 

Freddie is making noises that he really wanted to stay in Atlanta, and Chipper is making noises that Freddie's agent is at fault. Not buying it.

[Geoff Grace]

Thanks, Synthaholic. I will miss Kenley Jansen, just as I have missed Joc Pederson. I'm glad that Joc will get to play for his hometown team, and he'll get to visit his Dodgers friends more often this way (albeit on the wrong side of the ball).

 

I watched Freddie Freeman's press conference with the Dodgers the other day. I, too, got the impression that he would have liked to stay in Atlanta; but barring that, he was happy to return home where his dad and grandfather could watch him play more often. I imagine that the Angels would have been an even better solution for him, as he grew up an Angels fan in Orange County; but the Dodgers were close enough.

 

I'm sorry you lost Freddie Freeman. Nonetheless, Atlanta remains a formidable opponent.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[zxcvbnm098]

21 hours ago, Synthaholic said:

Mixed feelings. The Braves signed Eddie Rosario, NLCS MVP, to a 2 year deal, putting him in LF, Adam Duvall in CF, and Ronald Acuña in RF, with Guillermo Herredia as a late inning defensive replacement and plastic sword swashbuckler. But they didn't re-sign Joc Pederson, who is now a San Francisco Giant, or Jorge Soler, WS MVP and masher of tape-measure home runs, who is now a Miami Marlin. I really wanted to keep Soler.

 

On another note, The Braves also signed Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen to a 2 year deal, at $16M per, I believe (sorry @Geoff Grace). Hopefully he has something left in the tank, although I've always been a firm believer of long-time relievers switching leagues. So the Braves bullpen looks like a hitter's nightmare:

 

Kenley Jansen

Will Smith

Luke Jackson

Tyler "Nutsack" Matsek

A.J. Minter

We also picked up Collin McHugh from the Tampa Bay Rays and Kirby Yates, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery and should be back mid-season. We lost Chris Martin to, I think, the Cubs.

 

Freddie is making noises that he really wanted to stay in Atlanta, and Chipper is making noises that Freddie's agent is at fault. Not buying it.

Kenley's deal is only for one year.

 

It seems like he overplayed his hand looking for a 3 year deal and got impatient when it didn't look like he'd get it. Interesting article on how it went down...

 

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-03-20/dodgers-kenley-jansen-explains-why-signed-atlanta-braves

[Synthaholic]

On 3/20/2022 at 7:22 PM, Geoff Grace said:

Thanks, Synthaholic. I will miss Kenley Jansen, just as I have missed Joc Pederson. I'm glad that Joc will get to play for his hometown team, and he'll get to visit his Dodgers friends more often this way (albeit on the wrong side of the ball).

 

I watched Freddie Freeman's press conference with the Dodgers the other day. I, too, got the impression that he would have liked to stay in Atlanta; but barring that, he was happy to return home where his dad and grandfather could watch him play more often. I imagine that the Angels would have been an even better solution for him, as he grew up an Angels fan in Orange County; but the Dodgers were close enough.

 

I'm sorry you lost Freddie Freeman. Nonetheless, Atlanta remains a formidable opponent.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

The more that comes out, the more it looks like Freeman wanted to be a Dodger. I saw the writing on the wall when his twin sons were born. Chipper said it a month ago: If Freddie wants to play for the Braves, he'll play for the Braves. The contract with LA confirms that the Dodgers were where he was heading all along.

 

https://dodgersway.com/2022/03/17/dodgers-freddie-freeman-contract-details-free-agency/

[Synthaholic]

I keep seeing statements saying the Dodgers now have the best infield in the NL. In which multiverse?

 

Freddie > Matt Olson - but barely. Freddie is a proven leader, and I don't know about Olson yet. But he's turning 28 this week and FF is turning 33 this year. His average is way lower than Freddie, but he hits more homers. He's still rising, where FF may be at the beginning of his decline.

 

Ozzie Albies > Max Muncy - Max has great pop in his bat (36 HR, 94 RBI) but he strikes out a lot and only had 124 hits last year, for a low average. And he's a journeyman infielder who plays 1B, 2B, 3B. He's not close to the second baseman Ozzie is, defensively. And Ozzie hit over 30 HR, over 100 RBI, over 100 runs scored, and 20+ stolen bases. He's one of the, if not the most complete ballplayers in the game.

 

Trea Turner > Dansby Swanson - Turner is better, but Dansby is so clutch. And I feel like Swanson is the better SS. Turner didn't make the Top 5 in any defensive category last year.

 

Austin Riley > Justin Turner - this one isn't even close, offensively or defensively.

 

So, 2 out of 4 - and those two are close - doesn't make for the best infield.

[MAJUSCULE]

So very curious to see how the AL East shakes out this year. Many have Toronto on top, which would be fun. The front-office has certainly governed itself accordingly and, if teams are having to leave a couple unvaccinated players at home every time they come up, things could get pretty interesting for the Jays. 

[drawback]

7 hours ago, MAJUSCULE said:

So very curious to see how the AL East shakes out this year. Many have Toronto on top, which would be fun. The front-office has certainly governed itself accordingly and, if teams are having to leave a couple unvaccinated players at home every time they come up, things could get pretty interesting for the Jays. 

Much as I support it, the unvaccinated thing kinda has potential to put an asterisk on the season, though. 
 

They’ve made some solid significant upgrades this spring, with Gausman, Chapman & Tapia addressing last year’s shortcomings. Watch for Santiago Espinal to break out.