SCCWS

Shah-la, la-la-la-la live for today And don't worry 'bout tomorrow hey, hey, hey

You can bet we will see a lot more injuries coming out of a shortened spring training whenever it ends.

Jimmy, if so what would that mean for spring training. 2 weeks of training and 2 weeks of games? They said tonight the the first week of games from 2/28-3/5 are already cancelled.

The Lawyers are in no hurry. They punch clocks. .................................

Actually, it really makes no sense that MLB has different rules for Al and NL. Suppose in the NBA, the Western Conference had the player that is fouled take their own foul shots but in the Eastern Conference, teams would have a designated foul shooter for each team?

But you can be assured that the financial nerds in the FO know that delaying ST by one week costs owners X but getting concession Y in a new agreement gets us z. You can bet the teams know how long they can delay before they have to settle.

FWIW--Heard this morning that the MLB Umpire Association was meeting today in Orlando.

I don't see where fans will ever see fans paying less to go to games. I used to go to games in April in Tampa when I spend winters in Florida. Tampa never drew many fans and average ticket was $10 and free parking ( 2008-2010). Then they raised prices and drew even less fans. I think they have so few fans they can give you your own row for social distancing. Yet last few years they have been begging for a new stadium. These owners think they are playing Monopoly. Pretty soon stadium rest rooms will be coin operated.

Teams were negotiating with him before the deadline so probably most of the speculation is based on how those discussions went. Once the MLB talks conclude, I guess there is a very short window for him to sign ( 20 days)

You could be right, but also having a hole again at 2nd base is also a problem. I think the FO has a good feeling of where Crochet fits in to the present pitching staff assuming Kimbrel is gone somewhere. So the risk of trading Crochet should be weighed against the benefit of adding McNeil. But also some have said just Crochet may not be enough.

But if SP is really their goal, Mets may find a better partner unless Crochet is the piece.

But the egos often win out

Rodon could be their 4/5 with some salary relief.

But supposedly they want SP( 4/5 starter) in return.

Supposedly looking for a 4/5 since they seem set 1-3. So maybe Crochet to start sounds good.

Supposedly if they deal him, Mets want starting pitching in return........................ https://calltothepen.com/2021/12/24/new-york-mets-rumors-jeff-mcneil-trade/

I am not saying Tampa reduced their starters. What the chart shows is that pitchers in innings 4-5-6 give up more runs than in 7 and 8 understanding 9 is not comparable. So I think the trend could be to pull starters quicker then normally.

Statistically, If you look at AL scoring, runs scored from high to low are 6-5-4-3-1-7-8-2-9 innings. Ninth is obviously lowest since some % of games only has one team batting in 9th. So it makes sense that in the 6th, pitchers may be approaching their max which is why that inning is the worst. But as we see more data in the hands of stat geeks, the Tampa model may become more prevalent since teams may look to prevent more 3-4-5 inning scoring which would normally be charged to a starter.

Actually, In 1981 when the players went on strike, the owners had a $100,000 per game insurance policy. But this is a lockout which to your point would be under the owners control. But there are such policies called business interruption insurance but they may not be applicable with a lockout. "The unique risk for sports today is with cancelations. Most every business insurance policy includes a provision for business interruption. And by the sound of it, business interruption insurance should kick in if the business is, well, interrupted." https://www.insurancequotes.com/business/sports-insurance-covid https://www.insurancequotes.com/business/sports-insurance-covid

I haven't seen it reported anywhere, but I wonder if MLB owners have a L'loyds of London type policy to protect them against lost revenue?

But Madrigal was out and would not have been back so Danny Mendick was the 2nd baseman for 2nd half. I think Hernandez should have been a step up both offensively and defensively over Mendick.

Since Hahn felt the Sox needed an upgrade at the deadline, then he will have to find a replacement this winter. Jose Iglesias is a possibility that is still not signed. Sounds like he is looking for $7-8 MIl for 2 years. I am sure there are other similar names if the Sox want to spend the bigger money on RF/SP.

Lot of Boston rumors that Schwarber would go back to Boston. I don't know if maybe he is holding out w hope of being a DH in NL and increase his negotiation ability.

I think so many guys are coming back from Tommy John, that teams will take a chance on them. Paxton got 8+ w Seattle last year and 10 w Boston this year after TJ. Paxton was 12-5, 11-6 and 15-16 in 2017-2019. He was hurt in spring 2020 and finally had TJ surgery. Rodon was hurt both 2019 and 2020 and bounced back this season. Looking at what Paxton got , I could see the Sox taking Rodon back at 2 years and $25-28 with a 1-2 year club option.

I didn't read a lot of the specifics but just before the deadline Boston signed James Paxson. A lefty like Rodon, h eis coming off TJ surgery and was also hurt previously. He signed for 1-$10M with club option for additional 2 years for total contract of $35M. Got toRodon has to be somewhat similiar in value except Sox have a step up on his medicals /mindset.