SCCWS

So hopefully we are in at least the WC hunt next season. That way Jose can lead us down the home stretch.

Great stuff you dug out. I looked through some of the articles but the one that does the real in-depth on batting order was from 2009 w 2002 data. There is a lot more shifting now. As we agree and so did the article OBP is the key at the top. I saw one conclusion that each team based on their lineup needs to maximize data since it is not cookie-cutter. For example, JD Martinez led MLB in RBI's last year and got a higher % from the #3 spot than the #4. He is again this year. He is on a team w good hitters in front of him. Manny Machado also got a higher RBI % from the 3 than the 4 last year. But for most of the season he was on a shitty team. Yelich got a higher % from the 2 than the 3. So I think each player and the make-up of the rest of the lineup is subjective. I realize some managers also play lefty/righty. Regardless the articles do point out the importance of the #2 spot compared to previous opinions on the best type 2 hitter.

But you also said your best hitter should bat 1st to maximize plate appearances. Your best hitter may also be your best run producer. I still think your top OBP guy leads of or 2nd and then best run producer is 3rd or 4th. If 3 or 4 you do need a good bat behind him so he does not get pitched around too much.

Boston, big on analytics, used this theory last year w Mookie Betts. But the numbers did find one flaw in it. If you put your best hitter in the leadoff spot and he is also a HR hitter, you lose some RBI opportunities. Last year Betts hit 32 HR but 12 were hit leading off w no one on base. So this year they dropped him to 2nd but both he and Benintendi struggled so Betts is now back to 1st. This year, 19 HR but 7 leading off. So if you put your best OBP player leading off and your best hitter 2nd, you probably maximize plate appearances and RBI opportunities.

I don't want to speak for Caulfield , but he raises an excellent point. While we wait for more influx of talent, we need to see the staff keep developing Eloy, Anderson and Yoan as well as Gio, Cease and Lopez. . I don't get to see a lot of White Sox games but as a daily reader of this board, the complaints about Eloy's defense are frequent. Maybe Hahn realizes LF is more of a wish and it does works with the present status of the rebuild. I think it will be interesting to see where Eloy plays next spring. I hope Hahn makes some changes to this managerial staff for 2020. Next year, hopefully, is the turning point of the rebuild where we should at least have a WC goal. Maybe a little aggressive, but the Central is pretty blah so we should at least take advantage of that part of the schedule. I hope Hahn is aggressive w the FA market and the make-up of the coaching staff.

I really think it comes down to the player. As least w positional players, some make the jump from AA to majors and seem to belong. We have seen almost all of our prospects so far go through a learning curve arriving from AAA. probably most MLB prospects do. Maybe the Red Sox, Houston, Yankees, Dodgers etc. have better AAA coaching or stronger roving instructors since they seem to bring "some" prospects up who look like they belong on day 1.

McCann is not a fun hitter these days. He had a .173 July and August so far has been worse.

Most teams don't. There are a small group who make $4-6Mil like Bochy and Francona. But the majority make between $1-2Mil. RR makes $1.2 and Cash makes $1.0. Cora won a WS and was making $800,000. I think the manager and staff affect a team's success. But we now see some FO who decide on some of the coaching staff independent of the manager. We saw that w Severson and Cooper whether they were RR's choices or not. I think w the increased use of analytics by the FO , a lot of personnel decisions are being made by them as well.

Joe Maddon???Cubs made an offer that lured Maddon to the North Side. Maybe we could lure Cash with big cash to the Southside.

I watched most of the Boston/Tampa series which Tmapa swept this week. I am amazed at the success Tampa has had w this roster. They literally gutted their team and rebuilt at a much lower payroll ( $69Mi l). Certainly credit goes to the GM/Scouts for assembling the talent. With talk of a Montreal/Tampa split Kevin cash may be ready to move on if his contract allows. I would even check out their GM since their roster buld and minorleague system seems strong. Cash does make some wild moves and they are heavy w analytics but their roster is bargain basement form a payroll standpoint.

Jose's OPS is .771 Tampa Bay added a RH IB bat with an OPS of .707. I think Abreu was only available for prospects that mattered and teams passed.

He has put up solid numbers and stayed healthy this season. I wonder how much McCann hitting behind him helped him this season but now that Mccann has sunk so has jose. May explain why RR put Yoan cleanup recently to try and get Jose better pitches to hit.

Jose is hitting 260 w 22HR and 73 RBI. Those are pretty damn good numbers for 8/1. I am amazed a buyer didn't grab him for the final 2 months, especially an AL team. I wonder what return Hahn wanted?

You don't mention Kenny. Isn't Hahn supervised by Williams supervised by JR???

In the end, it is not who they sign but how they produce. Whether this winter they sign Cole or grab somebody off waivers, next year they cannot afford to be struggling to stay afloat at the trade deadline.

Maybe RH thinks he is contending this year.......................

If true, having young arms to work with may not be a great combination.

There may be. But we saw the first half Yankees lose both multiple positional players(Ggregorius, Judge, Stanton, Gardner etc) and several SP all at the same time. But they patched their way to a solid record.

Hahn has to know they have to sign free agents. They just don't have the depth to trade many prospects. Unfortunately they couldn't/didn't get the ball rolling this week. Two years in a row he id not make a significant move at the deadline.

Unless you are the Yankees.

I think the Knights have about 30 games left. That is a nice sample size.

I think Lopez is our 5th starter in the next two years. Yankees are in a bad stretch and desperately need pitching. Since Andujar is hurt they may package he and Frazier for the right SP. Maybe Garcia is not off limits as the deadline approaches. Yankees seem willing to consider Miguel Andujar and/or Clint Frazier in deals for the starter they need. Deivi Garcia appears to be off limits, except possibly for Syndergaard (which is a long shot for other obvious reasons) - Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 28, 2019

Yankees still need a starter. Hopefully Hahn has at least dangled Lopez in case Cashman gets panicky.

There had been a lot of Red Sox talk of backing off Diaz and jumping to Hudson. Maybe they are looking elsewhere for a closer.

Maybe he is playing poker to the very end hoping someone gets desperate, but I think Hahn may have cashed his chips in and went home for the day.