caulfield12

http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2014/09...h-table-setter/ Argument for zobrist in lf....makes sense

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/...-doing/related/ Long but very good article on why the royals system is working...

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 08:56 PM) Those stats include guys like Bruce Chen, Francisley Bueno (who?), Michael Mariot, Aaron Crow, & Louis Coleman, who all had ERAs over 4 and most likely rarely appeared in important situations. Their three-headed monster had an ERA of 1.28 over 204.1 IP with 53 holds and 46 saves. The rest of the bullpen had 22 holds and 4 saves. Your entire bullpen isn't that important, just the guys that come in when the game is on the line. Crow was a vital piece of that pen until they lost faith in him this mid-season...about the same time Herrera and Davis started clicking. Collins was the lefty...flopped...downs was tried and they finally got finnegan out of tcu. Those other four names got garbage innings. I think there were two Coleman's.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 03:30 PM) Just a note...KC's bullpen actually on the whole season was not better than Baltimore's. KCs park played a little more hitter friendly and so they wound up with a slightly worse ERA, but Baltimore's pen pitched 10% more innings, walked fewer people, gave up a slightly lower OPS (again add in a park adjustment). Seattle and Oakland are right there too, with better numbers than both but again park adjustments factored in. it's a piece but not the only one. The curse of Scott downs.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 01:01 AM) Agreed. Her voice is just nasal! Annoying as all hell. Technically it really didn't matter since the winning run had already crossed home plate. I don't blame Peavy one bit seeing as how its his first World Series. I'm happy for Jake. Wasn't he on the Red Sox last year...Avisail Garcia trade,etc.?

Pretty soon, they're just going to have to get Anderson's bat and athleticism into the MLB line-up. His ultimate defensive position is becoming secondary, although of course they would love for it to be SS and not 2B/OF. If Micah and Anderson can BOTH stick as infielders, that gives you an incredible amount of excitement up the middle. And Semien at 3B with Conor, that's a potentially very interesting core. In the end, Sanchez will probably fall to the wayside as the utility guy/Joe McEwing/Oquendo with Semien also playing all over the place.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 07:42 PM) That Cardinals postseason pixie dust. Adams has zero homers vs LHP since early July, now he hit them off Kershaw and Bumgarner. Then Tony freaking Cruz homers No David Freese this time around. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Hahn kicks the tires on a "buy low" trade for Bourjos. He fits into the "emulate" the Royals theme/motif, and the Cards don't have a place for him with Jay/Grichuk/Tavares/Holliday. They don't even have enough playing time for all four of those guys at the moment, with Tavares (better prospect than Grichuk) the odd man out. Looks like the Cards are going to live or die with their ace...no PH. Only at 86 pitches, so completely understandable.

How old will that 2010/12/14 stuff about the Giants get the next two years if they win it all again?

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 07:51 PM) He had some "issues" with a former manager and his dad kinda seems like an idiot, but I don't think he's a bad guy. I don't believe he had any problems at all in Toronto. He was a young kid that butted heads with an old coach, worse things have happened. I really don't think Colby Rasmus is the type of person you have to keep away from your clubhouse. Obviously you'd rather not have that blip on the radar, but I'm sure Hahn, KW, and even Robin could make a few phone calls and get the scoop on whether Rasmus is worth having around attitude wise or not....as long as they don't call LaRussa lol Of course, we already had the same experience with Swisher and his dad, so fool me once...different situation now, of course, different managers and hitting coaches. OTOH, we've been a sort of haven for "troubled" players like AJ, Everett, etc. KW was always willing to roll the dice if he had a reasonable belief that player would fit into the clubhouse. Sometimes it backfired spectacularly, like D'Angelo Jimenez. Hahn, up until now, has been much more risk-averse with the exception of the Abreu/Tanaka sweepstakes.

C Sal Perez over Flowers, not even close...Perez is one of the best catchers in baseball 3B Moustakas (although he makes a lot more errors than he should) over Gillaspie, not even close SS Escobar, slight edge over Ramirez 2B wash 1B Hosmer has made more errors this year, but he's already won a Gold Glove LF best versus worst OF defenders in baseball CF Dyson/Cain, slight edge over Eaton RF Cain/Aoki...big edge over A. Garcia We don't have a single position of advantage. SS and CF are close, but nobody would pick Ramirez and Eaton over Alcides Esobar/Cain/Dyson. You MIGHT be able to argue Carlos Sanchez/Leury over Infante if they could hit well enough to justify their starting position.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 07:32 AM) 1. What he wants doesn't and can't dictate what he does. And he'd tell you that. 2. The White Sox often put likely relievers into starting rotations for a season or two, for a few reasons. One, getting in more innings allows them to develop faster and go from thrower to pitcher. Two, on occasion, guys like that end up succeeding at it (as is the case with Bassitt), and boom, you have another starting prospect. 3. Related to number two, whether that pitcher can hone the change, curve/slider to the point where he has two plus or at least three legit "out" pitches in his arsenal...this is what the White Sox went through with Jake Petricka, for example. You can get by with two as a starter (see Colon or Contreras with the FB/forkball combination), but it's pretty darned rare.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 07:27 PM) I want nothing to do with Rasmus and I don't want him near this team. Never liked his attitude or work ethic. And that's why Cabrera or Rasmus are unlikely to be White Sox. As long as we don't waste it on Markakis, I'm okay...or Victor Martinez, unless he's the final piece of the puzzle to assembling a contending team over the next three years (and all of the other pieces appear to be in place already).

Markakis isn't going to put us over the top, and the money's too high. If you had to choose between the two, you have to roll the dice on Rasmus. We know that despite his success against the White Sox, Markakis isn't a superstar or capable of putting up those numbers. In that scenario, it's better to put two platoon guys together (and invest the savings into the pitching staff), like Denorfia/Chavez/N.Morgan with Viciedo. It's not ideal, it's your fallback option definitely, but overpaying aging 30+ outfielders to not get their prime/productive years in return is idiotic. He's not the final piece of the puzzle, that's for sure. Same thing with Ethier...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/columnist...ff-banister.ece Banny will be a great manager. I saw him manage a team of overachievers (the best players on our team were Jimmy Anderson, Chris Peters, Jason Johnson, Lou Collier and finally Jose Guillen near the tail end) for 142 games in 1995 when the GreenJackets won the SAL. He's the right combination of communicator, stern/disciplinarian...you have no choice but to respect him, and he has clearly adjusted over the last twenty years, because analytics/SABR was all still pretty new back at that time and was being scoffed at by most scouts and "insiders." As a personal story of perseverance, he should be a Lifetime/Disney Movie of the Week before he even manages with all the adversity he's overcome already. Here's another article. http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/1...anister-manager

Crow's another interesting guy that the Royals will probably discard who's pitched well enough to make an All-Star team out of the pen. There's also a 10-15% chance he could be reconverted into a starting pitcher, although I wouldn't cross my fingers too much on that.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:34 AM) I think they have stuck to that model, they picked up quite a few guys this season that fit that mold. Acquisitions Sanburn, Cleto, Angel Sanchez, Henry Rodriguez, and Raul Fernandez all light up the radar gun. It was only last year that they brought in Montas as a throw in on the Peavy deal, so I don't think they have abandoned that approach at all, just have not been all that lucky in getting one to click this year though I think that Fernandez and Sanburn show promise to be pieces of the bullpen in the not too distant future. Webb was supposedly throwing 97-99 in 2013 in the minors as well... We just didn't often see that version at the major league level, though.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) I would like to point out that pretty much no one knew that KC would have a lockdown pen before this season started. Holland is the only guy who hasn't pitched WAY better than he did the previous season. That's been their model for the last three or four seasons, though. It's just that Herrera and Davis completely dominated this year. They had the exact same philosophy 3-4 years ago when it was Soria, Crow, Collins, Hochevar, etc. Shorten the game down to five innings from the starter, dominate the 6th-9th.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) I would like to point out that pretty much no one knew that KC would have a lockdown pen before this season started. Holland is the only guy who hasn't pitched WAY better than he did the previous season. That's been their model for the last three or four seasons, though. It's just that Herrera and Davis completely dominated this year. They had the exact same philosophy 3-4 years ago when it was Soria, Crow, Collins, Hochevar, etc.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:30 AM) You just have to trust the process. Razor thin margin. Moore's out of a job if the Royals fade down the stretch and the Mariners overtake them. He's only got one more year (and missing the playoffs in 2015 would be the end) if they lose to the A's. Now he has OPTIONS. Because of Wil Myers slumping badly this year, and being injured, he suddenly looks a LOT smarter...that and the performance of Hosmer and Moustakas in the post-season. So many things went right...Aoki went on a tear in the second half (along with Escobar emerging as the leadoff hitter and no longer an automatic out like the first half), Cain came into is own as an offensive force, Dyson emerged on the basepaths and defensively, the starting rotation was healthy (Duffy and Ventura, along with Shields) for almost the entire season...the lockdown bullpen for almost the entire season, even when the offense was barely firing on 1-2 cylinders instead of 6. Alex Gordon essentially carried the team on his back for the first 4 1/2 months, and the rest of the team finally showed up when he went into a terrible season-ending slump. Then, finally, Finnegan breathed new life into the bullpen when they were trying to get by with Scott Downs in the stretch drive.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:16 AM) I'd also like to point out that Holland, Davis and Herrera are all righties (even their 4th option, Frasor is a righty) and Yost still uses them near exclusively. Handedness is irrelevant. Yet without Finnegan, they're the losers of the Wild Card game to Oakland.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 08:42 AM) Yes he was, and I wish he'd (or they, rather) would go back to that. You can teach guys to throw curveballs and sliders and changeups but you can't teach guys to throw 100 MPH. Even then, there's a big difference between Nate Jones/Cleto and Herrera at 97-101. Or Henry Rodriguez, etc. Williams tried those arms like MacDougal, Aardsma, Masset and Sisco, and they all flamed out with the Sox. He tried ever since he ditched Foulke for a burned out shell of his former self in Billy Koch in 2003. Montas will likely be the next flamethrower in the pen. Nobody has his stuff in the organization. Webb's not even close, not the way he threw in 2014. Maybe the 2013 minor league version. One can imagine Petricka or Guerra ending up like a Greg Holland, but that still leaves us short a Cliff Politte and Neal Cotts. Let's not forget how effective guys like Neshek and Uehara with unorthodox motions can be. Darren O'Day's another example.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 08:42 AM) Yes he was, and I wish he'd (or they, rather) would go back to that. You can teach guys to throw curveballs and sliders and changeups but you can't teach guys to throw 100 MPH. Even then, there's a big difference between Nate Jones/Cleto and Herrera at 97-101. Or Henry Rodriguez, etc. Williams tried those arms like MacDougal, Aardsma, Masset and Sisco, and they all flamed out with the Sox. He tried ever since he ditched Foulke for a burned out shell of his former self in Billy Koch in 2003. Montas will likely be the next flamethrower in the pen. Nobody has his stuff in the organization. Webb's not even close, not the way he threw in 2014. Maybe the 2013 minor league version. One can imagine Petricka or Guerra ending up like a Greg Holland, but that still leaves us short a Cliff Politte and Neal Cotts. Let's not forget how effective guys like Neshek and Uehara with unorthodox motions can be. Darren O'Day's another example.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 08:28 AM) I know it doesnt fit the exact model that they've built their team with, but is anyone more inspired to spend money on the bullpen this offseason after watching KC's bullpen shut down people all year and be lights out in the postseason? Kansas City doesnt have a great offense by any means and their starters aren't all that special outside out Shields. What they do well though, is field exceptionally and shut people down from the 6th inning on. They dont have a ton of money invested in the pen because theyve developed all those pitchers besides Davis, but I think it goes without saying how important it is for the Sox to invest in improving their bullpen this year. I realize Miller and Robertson are going to be overpriced, but you need atleast one truly shut down guy out there next season or you can watch this team hover around .500 again. Get one of these guys to close, move Bassitt to setup, and have guys like Petricka, Putam, and Guerra battle it out for the 7th. Ventura has one of the best arms in all of baseball, and Duffy's not far behind. Both are probably more effective already that James Shields, and Brandon Finnegan isn't far behind...not to mention Kyle Zimmer. There aren't very many teams with four young pitching prospects like that. KW and Hahn have been looking for that elusive combination from 2005 for about a decade. The closest they came was the first half of 2008, before Linebrink got hurt and wasn't the same after he came back....but that required big contracts for both Linebrink and Dotel.

Is there any such thing as a pitcher in this day and age who DOESN'T scare the hell out of you? Scherzer, Lester and Shields? Check. Masterson, check. Liriano and Volquez, check. Peavy? With how poorly he pitched for the Red Sox, and then how well he's done with SF, who knows what to expect with him at this point in his career. On a playoff team and potential World Series-winning team, he's pitching like a 2, whereas we only need a 3/4. John Lackey? Is he motivated at all to pitch next season? McCarthy? Check. Santana? Covered over and over and then over again.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...cle2849191.html The World Series-bound KC Royals have transformed Kansas City's sports identity