Look at Ray Ray Run

FTFW

Machado is great at 3rd, and single season defensive metrics are volatile, but by FG's defensive value, Yoan has been better than Manny this year.

3rd base grades out as a slightly more valuable position so his production their would hold more value.

They're both certainly stars. They just may not be perennial mvp candidates.

Machado is great there, but the difference between the two is negligible over the next 9 years (assuming growth from Moncada and standard age regression from Machado). The Sox would be better off spending 300 million on pitchers than a position player. We didn't know that last off season so the White Sox do not deserve credit for that, but speaking today? The White Sox got lucky and it turns out Tim and Yoan got way better, and Abreu had a really nice year with the bat. So with Madrigal in the fold, they simply did not need another infielder - especially for 20-25% of their payroll over the next 10 years. Manny showing that last year was the outlier, not the new norm, also makes it look better. b****ing about not having Machado at this point is just b****ing to b****. Harper at least would fill the one positional need they need. Manny caused more changes and created more variables and looking back in hindsight, the Sox caught a break.

Moncada has been damn good at 3rd. No guarantee hed be good at 2nd or in RF.

Dogs it then makes last out of an inning in a 1 run game at 3rd base. What a bonehead.

What an idiot Rosario is.

Literally next to no one is testing positive for elevated hormone levels at this point. They are testing positive for masking agents. I hear you but the Olympics have had drug testing forever and countless people pass while juicing. There will always be something to beat the tests.

What?

Blood, hair, urine... it doesnt matter, top level chemists will always be ahead of testers. I agree the extent of usage won't be at the levels from before, and the benefits won't reach that level, but testers by nature are adjusting and evolving based on the research and work done by the chemists so they'll always be behind.

I'm not sure the danger is the draw. I'm also not naive to the steroid usage levels in professional sports - or even college sports. My point is I never assume a guy who is different is using and there are A LOT of instances of players you would assume use who didnt and players you assumed didnt use, did. Altuve's body really breaks down in the second half. While that doesn't prove anything it is support for the "he's not juicing" camp.

Now you're accusing a guy like Altuve of juicing just because he doesn't fit your predisposed mold of a baseball player. If the argument is Altuve is 100+ million dollars better at his job because of steroids, I'd argue that with you all day.

Yeah, I think Tim is a 3-5 WAR player with a good amount of variance going forward. His defense in a good year can rank top 5-7 in baseball at SS, and at that point an average bat is a 5 WAR guy. Because of his profile his outputs will be more volatile but he should maintain an above-average to all star level for some time before his bat speed slows down. Tim does really seem to have a knack for the dramatic though - so I'd love to see how he performs in the playoffs.

Not really - unless you're talking about micro-dosing which does not have the same impact as constantly cycling. It's harder to catch and easier to maintain but the level of benefit is significantly lower. Chemists will always be ahead of testers, but the risk isn't really worth the reward at the top level. If it's the difference between you making it and lasting in the big leagues and not, you're more likely to use I think. There aren't as many stars doing it today as was the case 25 years ago because the reward doesn't outweigh the risks for many of them anymore.

The ball, for the record, is obviously wound tighter and therefore juiced. It doesn't mean players arent using enhancements, but the ball is 100% different. You honestly need look no further than AAA numbers last year vs this year as the clearest indicator that the ball is dramatically different. If you look at AA numbers vs AAA it is glaringly obvious.

He didnt have contact issues in the minor leagues so it was a bit odd that they popped up like they did in the MLB. I think a lot more of this has to do with pitch selection inside and outside the zone that has cratered his contact rates. Once he gets that under control I wouldnt be shocked to see his contact rate trend upward towards where he sat in the MiLB.

1. It's a home run derby. 2. He had a history of flying open and pulling off the outside pitch instead of driving it. His foot curled in forces him to stay closed longer allowing him to get to his opposite field power with more ease. 3. The hand position and stance changes he made since he came to the White Sox are a big reason he took off as a prospect - he no longer is susceptible to everything away. He will eventually change how dramatic his foot angle is I'd guess, once his hips, hands and body are used to staying closed and inside the baseball. He will always be closed in someway though to prevent his hands from getting way out in front of him.

So when is he going to grow his IP? Throw him 125 back to back years and then next year hes supposed to throw 180-200? Makes no sense. He needs another 20 innings+ this year to put him in position to throw 180-200 next year.

So when is he supposed to progress and throw more innings?

Who is lazy?

Another thing baffling about him. Sometimes his fastball swing and miss rate is off the charts in a game and the next start he gets none. That's not just location.. it's almost like his fastball moves differently and has a different look sometimes. Can't figure this guy out.

Eh, a 2-3 game small injury would cost him the title the more often ricky sits him. That's the risk.

He needs to get the ball in the air more. 48% GBs is too much - right now, if he qualified, he'd be in the top 20 in baseball in GB rate. Once he starts getting the ball in the air more, he will be nearly unstoppable. He's had a great year, but if he could even just drop that 5% to 43%, he could be like Yelich with 50+ bombs.

Because the teams are awful. I dont understand what he was supposed to do. Spend on free agents that wouldnt impact the teams end of season outcomes? The Bulls just arent the same either - there is a cap and they have offered countless max contracts that got rejected. It's not like the Bulls intentionally play in the kiddie pool - their front office is just incompetent and incapable of getting anything done which falls on Jerry as well.