12 hours ago, Tony said:

I think what he’s arguing is bunting against the shift and taking the free hit, not giving up an out. 
 

The issue is most times when there is that dramatic of a shift, you’re talking about a power hitting pull hitter. I don’t want them bunting. 

But this trend has even hit mediocre hitters with extreme tendencies.  Mazara is a great example.  The kids power was completely gone last year, he was hitting for garbage, and the defense is giving you a hit.  Get on and turn over the line up.  He finally swung the other way a couple of times late in the season, which is about as good.

5 minutes ago, BrianAnderson said:

This, but across all metrics. It's not like JR to make a splash like this ... but looking at both his time horizon in life (morbid), the Sox championship window that corresponds with that morbid nugget, the state of the economy + unsure outlook for baseball and fans in 2021 & you have a perfect shit storm to scoop up not only front office people, but players on the cheap too. I'd guess most will want 1-2 year deals based on what's going on, but im sure some will opt for longer deals. 

 

Now we don't need too much admittedly ... but this is when guys like (off the top of my head) JD Martinez, Chris Sale, Kris Bryant, Lindor, A number of guys on the  Red Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Brewers, Indians, Pirates, Rangers .. maybe Nationals .. all will be selling. Teams that have talent, but not enough to probably get over the top, looking to shed payroll during a time like this. 

 

Names that interest me again off the top of my head

Nationals - Scherzer, Eaton (yikes)

Pirates - JOE MUSGROVE, polanco (yikes), josh bell

Brewers - Avi garcia (yikes) LORENZO CAIN

Colorado - Jon Gray, German Marquez, Dahl, Hampson, Blackmon, Arenado, McMahon, Rodgers

Cubs - Bryant, Darvish

Boston - JD Martinez, Sale

 

Obviously not all those guys are perfect fits ... some work better than ever and are more realistic than ever. But i think you'll see a wild offseason. 

I think you'll be surprised by a name or five this offseason. I really don't think there will be many untouchables on teams 15-30 in the power rankings. Someone like a scherzer might seem crazy, but hes getting older, the likelihood of nats really putting it all together, etc. make anything possible

I appreciate the idea, and hopefully it happens, but this method costs A LOT more.

13 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I appreciate the idea, and hopefully it happens, but this method costs A LOT more.

JR is at that point where the time is limited to ready the team for sale.  Any team is valued higher when viewed as a winner.  I believe JR will go all-in this offseason.

Just now, poppysox said:

JR is at that point where the time is limited to ready the team for sale.  Any team is valued higher when viewed as a winner.  I believe JR will go all-in this offseason.

I think he is a smart enough business man to know that if he was really going to sell before he died, you will never see a better tax situation than he saw the last four years.  He's in this until death at this stage, I really believe.

3 hours ago, poppysox said:

All of us who are old-timers are driven nuts by this unwillingness of today's power-hitter to go the other way.  

I agree which is why I love Abreu so much and also his influence on some of the younger hitters like Jimenez and Anderson. McCann became an all-star also by learning to hit the other way, especially with two strikes. 

The cuts keep coming.

 

 

The Sox kept claiming that all the cash they had from the dirt low payrolls during the rebuild days would be used in the future. It will be disappointing if they cry poor and completely flop this free agency. I get that it was hard on everybody this year, but they were raking in cash during the rebuild.

12 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

I think he is a smart enough business man to know that if he was really going to sell before he died, you will never see a better tax situation than he saw the last four years.  He's in this until death at this stage, I really believe.

I believe he has said as much due to estate taxes.

On 10/21/2020 at 12:44 PM, southsider2k5 said:

I am included the quotes from the Cubs cuts, just because they are the most current ones, but the point is bigger.  There is a metric f*ck ton of major league baseball talent being scattered to the winds across MLB because of the cost cutting due to COVID.  Almost as much as I would like to see the Sox spend in free agency this winter, it would be even better to see the team spend a couple of million dollars to target the all stars of scouting and development around MLB who are now unemployed.  Even if it means we don;t spent that couple of million on something like a back up catcher, bring me the guys who scouted people like Eloy and Gleyber.  Expand and improve our ability to ID and sign cheap talent to later replaced talent that gets older and expensive. You want to keep a long sustained run going you need to have a source of young and cheap talent flowing into the big league club as other guys leave or start to fade.

 

 

You're 100% right about this, and the landscape is terrifying right now for whoever is left.

I will say, from what I understand the White Sox are one of the few teams to have made either no cuts or VERY limited cuts so far, and that is a credit to JR.

Edited October 24, 20205 yr by Eminor3rd

16 hours ago, Tony said:

Wasn’t exactly sure where to put this...but great stuff to hear:

 

 

Yeah. That's awesome. By way of background. I was a high school and college pitcher and after retiring from business got back into coaching high school baseball as well as travel ball for older kids, specifically pitching. Burdi mentioned in the above the "analysis" of a pitch and what was right and what was wrong with it and using that information to correct your delivery. That was and still is my approach except naturally they have great film and analytics supporting what they are doing.  I call it, "working backwards" on every pitch. When you do that and the pitcher learns how to do it, a pitcher can basically correct themselves on the fly as a game goes on and when you bring the catcher into it, he can really be a 2nd pitching coach on the field. 

   Going back to Burdi, I love both Burdi's and Huerer's potential. Both have excellent deliveries and can defeat the elevated swing being taught by the hitting gurus in baseball right now.

Brilliant.  MLB has seroius issues with how the game is being played today.