Sleepy Harold Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 This is fun. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) Cubs moved their game time to Saturday night for the first game on Marquee. The rest of the Cactus League, don’t count on it. Edited February 21, 2020 by flavum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Abreu Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 5 hours ago, oldsox said: If Grandal is hitting Lead Off, he won't be the on base machine that he was hitting in the bottom third of a National League lineup. 5 hours ago, poppysox said: Very good point. Grandal’s most frequent batting order positions last year were 2nd, 4th, and 5th. There is absolutely no reason to think that his on-base skills will diminish if he bats towards the top of our order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boopa1219 Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 OBP skills and where a player bats in the order have nothing to do with each other. I like Grandal batting fourth or fifth so he can break up Abreu, EE and Eloy. Anderson Moncada Abreu Grandal/EE EE/Grandal Eloy Mazara Madrigal Robert (I still think he’s ideally the Sox’s own George Springer batting leadoff) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppysox Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 4 minutes ago, Joshua Strong said: OBP skills and where a player bats in the order have nothing to do with each other. I like Grandal batting fourth or fifth so he can break up Abreu, EE and Eloy. Anderson Moncada Abreu Grandal/EE EE/Grandal Eloy Mazara Madrigal Robert (I still think he’s ideally the Sox’s own George Springer batting leadoff) If a player bats 8th in the NL....he gets intentionally walked frequently. From the 4th or 5th position I would agree with your point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mqr Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 11 minutes ago, poppysox said: If a player bats 8th in the NL....he gets intentionally walked frequently. From the 4th or 5th position I would agree with your point. Yasmani Grandal has been intentionally walked 9 times in 3292 plate appearances. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppysox Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Just now, mqr said: Yasmani Grandal has been intentionally walked 9 times in 3292 plate appearances. He doesn't usually bat in the 8th position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalChiSox Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) Anderson leading off doesn't make sense unless he can repeat 350 OBP which is unlikely given he isn't likely to hit 333 again. With some regression he's prolly a 280 guy which means he's prolly a 310 OBP guy and that doesnt work. That said Moncada is great and comfortable at 2 so he should stay there. Robert will end up hitting for too much power to be leading off. He could very well end up hitting third eventually right in front of Eloy. To me the best candidate on a long term basis for leadoff would be Madrigal. If he's a 290-300 hitter he should be able to get on base at around 350 or maybe a bit more. The speed helps too. If Ricky is insistent on using TA or YM at some combo of 1-2 tho then I'd go with: 1 Anderson R 2 Moncada L 3 Abreu R 4 Jimenez R 5 Grandal L 6 Encarnacion R 7 Mazara L 8 Robert R 9 2B fill in for Madrigal Edited February 21, 2020 by SoCalChiSox 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Look at Ray Ray Run Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) Everyone last year: Tim Anderson OBP sucks, his defense sucks, he's just an OK hitter and he won't improve. 2019: Tim Anderson wins batting title and is a 4 WAR caliber player Everyone before this year: Tim Anderson's production was fake, he will for sure get worse everywhere, he shouldn't lead off because even though he had a good enough OBP last year he won't this year because he's only going to get worse and sucks. 2020: Tim Anderson "Hold my Beer." Edited February 21, 2020 by Look at Ray Ray Run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mqr Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said: Anderson leading off doesn't make sense unless he can repeat 350 OBP which is unlikely given he isn't likely to hit 333 again. With some regression he's prolly a 280 guy which means he's prolly a 310 OBP guy and that doesnt work. That said Moncada is great and comfortable at 2 so he should stay there. Robert will end up hitting for too much power to be leading off. He could very well end up hitting third eventually right in front of Eloy. To me the best candidate on a long term basis for leadoff would be Madrigal. If he's a 290-300 hitter he should be able to get on base at around 350 or maybe a bit more. The speed helps too. Realizing you'd have to tell a guy who just won the batting title and carried a .350+ OBP for an entire year he isn't capable of batting lead off is why trying to build lineups strictly on numbers is silly. Edited February 21, 2020 by mqr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Look at Ray Ray Run Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 1 minute ago, mqr said: Realizing you'd have to tell a guy who just won the batting title and carried a .350+ OBP for an entire year he isn't capable of batting lead off is why trying to build lineups strictly on numbers is silly. Ricky: Tim, we're going to put you 6th because we don't think you can get on base at the 35% clip we want from our leadoff guy. Tim: But Skip, I had a .357 OBP last year? Ricky: Tim, we don't believe that was real and we don't think you're that good. Sorry. Signed, - Sox Talk's professional managers and leaders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalChiSox Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 1 minute ago, mqr said: Realizing you'd have to tell a guy who just won the batting title and carried a .350+ OBP for an entire year he isn't capable of batting lead off is why trying to build lineups strictly on numbers is silly. They can try it out in the beginning (before Madrigal gets here and as Robert is adjusting) to see if TA's BA regression is counterbalanced by a walk rate that improves from dumpster fire to merely below average. If he can find a way to somehow repeat 350 OBP and make it sustainable then I'm perfectly fine with him leading off. I'm not holding my breath though. If Robert is a 20 HR/30+ steals guy it works for him too, esp if he can have a halfway decent OBP and doesn't chase bad pitches. But I suspect Robert is gonna be a 30+ HR monster that also happens to steal 40 bases and it's a waste of his SLG% at 1. By all means tho start TA there and you don't have to have that difficult conversation with him about moving him down to like 8 until he shows he can't sustain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalChiSox Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Sleepy Harold said: This is fun. I thought tomorrow's game was getting rained out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 2 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said: I thought tomorrow's game was getting rained out? It will pour rain most likely sometime in the valley tmr. The other 18 or so hours of the day will be probably be nice. But if the rain fucking floods the field not much you can do. I've never been in a stronger thunderstorm than down there at spring training. The area I was hiking in turned into a river and the roads in Scottsdale were basically flowing rivers of 6" water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drwhoo1 Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 i Don’t get how some people think TA can sustain his numbers based on one year. Even guys like trout have numbers that fluctuate from year to year. It’s like since he did it, he’ll do this all the time. It just doesn’t happen. I get that he’s young and improving etc. but this is the first time he’s done it. Someone who doesn’t walk more than 15 times will be nearly impossible to maintain an above .300 obp. Who are you guys comparing him too. I’m just trying to understand it. Avisail Garcia is the closest comp I can come up with who walks little and had that one great year of .330 .380 with more than double the walks at 30. We can see what happened to him. TA just gets it I guess and will just keeping doing it. I wish he would but realistically, come on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy U Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 35 minutes ago, Drwhoo1 said: Who are you guys comparing him too. I’m just trying to understand it. Avisail Garcia is the closest comp I can come up with who walks little and had that one great year of .330 .380 with more than double the walks at 30. We can see what happened to him. TA just gets it I guess and will just keeping doing it. I wish he would but realistically, come on Okay, how about Starling Marte and Adam Jones? Both plus athletes at a key defensive position who throughout their careers have not walked much but hit for good averages with decent power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnin' two Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 13 minutes ago, Timmy U said: Okay, how about Starling Marte and Adam Jones? Both plus athletes at a key defensive position who throughout their careers have not walked much but hit for good averages with decent power. Does anyone doubt Tim can do this? I think what people are questioning is his OBP, which for example, Adam Jones, a good hitter than doesn't walk much, has a career OBP of .317. I think people are concerned that TA's OBP is too BA driven and some drop off is expected, and that could make him something of a liability at the top of the order. Personally, while I have been skeptical of Tim's D (just the lapses on easy plays drives me nuts really...), I think offensively, he is just getting started. Hopefully defensively too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moan4Yoan Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Adam Jones is probably a good comp offensively, but at SS, so more valuable, especially if his glove gets better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirmin' for Yermin Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Moan4Yoan said: Adam Jones is probably a good comp offensively, but at SS, so more valuable, especially if his glove gets better. To who???? Adam Jones routinely hit upper 20s-30 home runs and bated .280... Anderson has done the first 0 times and the second twice. Apart from their low OBPs, that's a weird comp. Edited February 22, 2020 by cjgalloway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Nice extension for Aaron Bummer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisox05 Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES! Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Makes a lot of sense if they want to make him the closer of the future. This extension avoids having to pay him a lot in arbitration down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Today’s game has been cancelled 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorStSox Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 In the next couple years, I expect TA to become an elite defender and Moncada to walk a ton. The tools are there for both to do it. They just need to put it all together. Becoming a complete player takes time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 No game, darn. The uber rare rainout in spring training. But as the locals tell you it does happen. Gio with some positive words today: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.