Jose Abreu

I was shocked by Pollock's numbers. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=polloaj01&year=2018&t=b I remembered him as a .900 OPS guy with good defense in center this year. He has gotten worse every month dropping his rate stats significantly since I last checked, plus you always have to be wary of home/road splits for Rockies and Diamondbacks players. I don't even know if he would be worth it

Part of my point is that the team was very unlucky in April/May, so I see this more as regression to the mean than some sort of outlier

Yeah, a Pollock contract would be tough with our farm system. Obviously no guarantees, but between Robert, Basabe, Gonzalez, and even Rutherford, I'd be very surprised if we don't produce one MLB starting caliber center fielder. I don't know if Pollock would take a 1-2 year bridge deal, but maybe if it were with $20 million AAV so that he can prove that he can stay healthy and then get more on the open market again

There had to be some positive regression. And Rodon outperforming his FIP is sustainable since he doesn't allow hard contact.

I was thinking third base, which I am assuming he will go back to when $300 million+ is on the table. Apparently he has stated that he would be willing to go back to it

It's the fact that Lopez and Giolito specifically have been pitching much better lately. I don't care about Rodon's peripherals because he still doesn't have his best stuff and is still allowing weak contact and missing barrels. Those stats you referenced don't really care about quality of contact, and Rodon has been terrific at getting weak outs while not missing bats. I also don't consider FIP to be a predictive stat but that's a debate for another time.

Off-topic, but replace "NFL" with "MLB", "Mack" with "Machado", and "pass rusher" with "middle of the order bat", and that's exactly why I think we're planning a huge run at Machado this offseason.

Official:

I noticed that both Yoan and TA lead their respective positions in out of zone plays by a large margin. Is this due to shifts, their range, or a mix of both? Also, on an unrelated note, if Tim plays defense like he has since mid-May, we could even see a 4 WAR year from him next season.

I don't see why that has to be the case. I think a lot of the winning would come from the starters (mainly Rodon/Kopech) and the new and improved bullpen. Not sure if that group would give 15 WAR but I could easily see 10, where Tim/Yoan/Eloy combine for 8-9 of it.

I think people underestimate how big of a role coaching played with the Bears last year. If they were consistently getting blown out then I would agree that they still have a long way to go. But this is a team that ran the most predictable offense (run, run, pass, punt) ever, didn't let their quarterback take shots, and, with the exception of the Eagles game, generally only lost Trubisky's games by one or two scores despite these limitations. They may have gone 5-11, but they played more like a 7-9/8-8 team with Trubisky around. Now that we've added Mack/Smith/the offensive weapons and system, I wouldn't consider a 9 or 10 win season that big of a jump.

Sale, Quintana, Eaton, Anderson, so 4, right?

Schedule is tougher than it looks. Pre-Mack I would've said 8-8. Now I'm probably at 9-7. If they stay healthy, which is a big if given recent years, they win double digits and make the playoffs. However I am factoring potential injuries into my prediction.

This is misleading because LaVine and Markkanen were purposely not played at times so that we would lose, especially late in the season for LaVine. Also a few of Markkanen's missed games were due to the birth of his child

Tim Anderson

Do the minor league playoff stats not count towards those numbers, like in MLB? Or are those still subject to change during the playoffs?

Unconventional but I would want Collins and his .394 OBP or whatever it is leading off, even if he's a catcher. 1. Collins 2. Moncada 3. Jimenez 4. Big FA 5. Robert and so on

Am I crazy for thinking that this team, with no major free agent signings, is an ~81 win team in 2019?

Remember when Tim Anderson was a future center fielder? A full season of what we've seen since May/June would make him a top 5 defensive shortstop in baseball.

Ruiz is a legit prospect, not an auditioning AAAA guy. This is exciting, especially with Frare, Hamilton, Fry, and Burr here as well

moncada

Another multi-hit game for Robert

yes

Burr pitched yesterday but it would be nice to see them duel for effectiveness out of the pen