MLB 2020 Thread

[BmillsSkier]

Here's an olive branch for Bmills (hawk harrelson calls thome's 500th)



baseball rules, it'd just be a little better if the yanks could stop choking.

Jimmy is a big, dumb, lovable ox. Glad he's wearing the Cleveland "C" in Cooperstown.

this city is a lot of things, but a city of lightweights is not one of those things

lol

I've posted that before but it's just so well told. "The Indians took to the field as a professional courtesy to the Rangers to defend them against their own fans who had torn up the seats they were sitting in to use as weapons to take on the Rangers. Fucking savages".

[BmillsSkier]

Wrong MLBWA; that’s not the AL MVP.

Congrats Freddie Freeman, you and the Bravos are primed.

[Danno]

Pretty big MLB (and sports) news today. Kim Ng becomes GM of the Marlins, and is the first female GM of any major (men's) sports team.

[Timberridge]

Ng and her husband Tony Markward, co-owner of Silas Wines in Oregon, live in upstate New York.

[Benny Profane]

Theo Epstein leaves the Cubs. What's next for him? Finding a cure for cancer? Or just visiting hospitals and curing the sick by laying hands upon them?

[BmillsSkier]

Ng and her husband Tony Markward, co-owner of Silas Wines in Oregon, live in upstate New York.

Conspiracy?!?!




OMAR HOF 2021. Lets do it.

[Woodsy]

3 weeks since the Dodgers won the series. Fucking election chaos has diminished the attention, but the long wait is over.
3 weeks since always good, never great, became great.
3 weeks since Kershaw got the monkey off his back, became one of, if not the best, left handed pitcher of my lifetime ( looking @ you Randy Johnsonn) The 158 ERA+ that Kershaw in 13 MLB seasons is the best ever by a starting pitcher with at least 1,000 innings, AND seven All-Star selections, one NL MVP, three Cy Young Awards and four other top-five finishes in the voting. No bad

Best thing is most of this core is back, Joc may leave, hes replaceable. I love Kike' but utility men are just that. Hate to see Turner go, but he is going to command $$ and at his age? Rios and Muncy can both slot in theree and that gives Lux more reps in the infield and we maybe able to get another versatile infielder like La Stella or similar for a lot less $. We need to be ready to extend the WORLD SERIES MVP Corey Seager & no longer under pressure to be the MVP Cody Bellinger to stick around with Mookie, Harlem Globetrotter and 300 bowler Betts. Add one of the best young pitchers in the game, one of the best young catchers, a ton of young pitching still figuring out their role. I am happy

90 days until pitchers and catchers report

[stealurface831]

joc is definitely replaceable, especially with his ineptitude for hitting for any sort of acceptable average. turner could walk without issue but i think they re-sign. maybe a bad move but who knows. probably would reach within to fill his potential vacancy rather than sign. 3b fa pool is kinda weak. bauer wants the money and i'm sure they would pay but i don't really see him as an la guy. maybe odorizzi. another bullpen arm would be good. the realmuto sweepstakes are real. he is the hottest commodity, do doubt. i don't know that he goes anywhere, though. it should be an interesting offseason for all.

[BmillsSkier]

Robinson Cano positive for PEDs, will be suspended for entirety of 2021 season and loses Twenty-Four Fucking Million Dollars.

Oooof.

Go Mets!

[Danno]

Robinson Cano positive for PEDs, will be suspended for entirety of 2021 season and loses Twenty-Four Fucking Million Dollars.

Oooof.

Go Mets!

Oof is right. If I had to pick which one of my players I would have test positive, it would be him. They have people ready to go, and arguably he was going to get playing time ahead of them solely because of his salary. He has HOF stats but his chances of that just went poof.

[Timberridge]

Robinson Cano positive for PEDs, will be suspended for entirety of 2021 season and loses Twenty-Four Fucking Million Dollars.

Oooof.

Go Mets!

More cap room. The front office is dancing a jig. Stevie probably had his people spike some of Robbie's drinks.

Having had interactions with Steve Cohen in the past, I can tell you don't let the tweeting teddy bear in a zip up sweater act fool you. He's a ruthless dude.

[Benny Profane]

Oh God, that man is a winner, no matter what. Lucky he isn't in jail. He's been trying to buy the Mets for a very long time. Betcha he has plans. Fuck, he has a shit ton of money.

[Benny Profane]

Cohen/Theo Epstein could be a dynasty.

[BmillsSkier]

Mets looking to steal my man in Cleveland Chris Antonetti for their new GM gig.

Frankie to follow?

[Benny Profane]

I think this guy is going to be fun.

[stealurface831]

I think this guy is going to be fun.

fuck yes. he is good for baseball.

[Woodsy]

Dodgers dropped the Ogden Raptors today.
Makes the Dodgers fan former Uthard sad

[Sirshredalot]

Dodgers dropped the Ogden Raptors today.
Makes the Dodgers fan former Uthard sad

There's a lot of history to the Pioneer League. It'd suck to see it get killed off entirely.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[BmillsSkier]

Royals sign 11 year vet (10 with the Tribe), and all around great guy Carlos Santana; 2 years, $18MM.

Sucks seeing him go but that a lot of money for a guy on the backside of his career coming off a year where spending will be at a premium. Good luck Carlos, we’ll see you on your road trips.

[Supermoon]

Royals are a good team for your favorite players to go to cause you’ll never have to worry about getting beat by them

[stealurface831]

Royals are a good team for your favorite players to go to cause you’ll never have to worry about getting beat by them

i think my rangers may have usurped that title.

[Woodsy]

Got some stickers in the mail.

Wish I was still going to Boston for business...

If you are a Red Sox fan on our xmas card list, I will include for your kids

[Supermoon]

Still hurts

[Danno]

Looks like the Mets are gonna sign McCann, was hoping for Realmuto. Don't know much about McCann, anyone got more to report than I can read on a stat line?

[Woodsy]

Looks like the Mets are gonna sign McCann, was hoping for Realmuto. Don't know much about McCann, anyone got more to report than I can read on a stat line?

I was gonna say he has had a good few years, but this article does it better:


N
James McCann is not quite J.T. Realmuto, but here's why Mets are right to choose him
Danny Abriano

When the offseason began a few months ago, the thought from many was that the Mets and J.T. Realmuto were a perfect fit for each other.

I wrote on Oct. 8 that the Mets should sign Realmuto, adding that he could fix what has been ailing New York at catcher. Soon after, there were reports that Realmuto was seeking $200 million and that he was "not keen" on playing in New York.

Regardless of the above, Realmuto -- clearly the best catcher in baseball -- will provide a huge jolt wherever he lands. He is a plus offensively and defensively and has tremendous athleticism. But the Mets are right to go for James McCann instead, and his signing could potentially happen at any second.


Here's why...

When it comes to catchers who are 30 or older, there is always a risk that they could fall off a cliff rather quickly. It started happening to Gary Carter in his age-32 season, to Buster Posey in his age-31 season, and to Joe Mauer in his age-31 season.

Realmuto could possibly excel behind the plate for another half decade and he is also athletic enough to move off the position if needed. But what if he falls off the cliff sooner rather than later?

The risk of handing out not only a lengthy deal to an older catcher but one that exceeds $100 million (and perhaps even $125 million) is immense. And with the Mets having so many other needs to fill this offseason (more on that below), the risk of inking Realmuto to a megadeal is arguably too high.

If McCann were to fall off, his contract -- potentially four years -- would be much easier to deal with/absorb than the one Realmuto gets due to the much lower average annual value of a McCann contract -- perhaps $10-$12 million.

We noted this above, and we'll do it here again so this doesn't get twisted: J.T. Realmuto is the best catcher in baseball. James McCann is not Realmuto, nor are their career comparisons particularly close.

But...

McCann has been trending up over the last two seasons, and the advanced stats show that the results are not a fluke. McCann has turned himself into a legitimate above average catcher.

In 149 games spanning 2019 and 2020, McCann has slashed .276/.334/.474 with 25 HR in 149 games. His exit velocity was 90.2 in 2019 and 90.5 in 2020. His hard hit rate was also up in 2020, to 47.8 (it was 44.2 in 2019). His xSLG in 2020 was .455.

The above numbers, albeit in a small sample, compare favorably to what Realmuto has done in the same time frame.

In 192 games spanning 2019 and 2020, Realmuto has slashed .273/.333/.492 with 36 HR in 192 games. His exit velocity was 90.3 in 2019 and 90.2 in 2020. His hard hit rate in 2020 was 42.4, up slightly from 41.1 in 2019. His xSLG in 2020 was .499.

Again, Realmuto's full career resume is much more impressive than McCann's and he's been the better power hitter over the last two seasons. But these numbers are close enough to see immense value in choosing McCann over Realmuto when taking into account the huge difference between the contract McCann is likely to get and the one Realmuto will ink.

Flipping to defense, one key metric where Realmuto has McCann beaten by a wide margin is pop time (the time from the moment a pitch hits the mitt to the moment the ball reaches the fielder on stolen base attempts). Realmuto routinely leads the league while McCann has been a bit below the league average.

Only a sliver of catching revolves around throwing out runners, though.

Overall defensively, McCann has been a plus, worth 4 DRS in 106 games in 2019 and 5 DRS in 30 games in 2020. When it comes to pitch framing, he was in the 88th percentile this past season.

Realmuto was worth 12 DRS in 133 games in 2019 and -1 DRS in 36 games in 2020. He was in the 95th percentile in 2020 in terms of pitch framing.

The ripple effects of the Mets signing McCann over Realmuto would also be felt up and down the roster this offseason and beyond, since it would allow the Mets to spread their money around in a potentially more advantageous way.

Can the Mets sign Realmuto and George Springer this offseason? Yes. Is it likely? Perhaps not. And Springer is arguably the better fit for the Mets than Realmuto.

Steve Cohen has talked about not wanting to spend like a "drunken sailor," and handing out megadeals to both Realmuto and Springer would qualify as doing so. It would also clog their payroll with two enormous contracts (including a very risky one to Realmuto) at a time when Jacob deGrom's megadeal is on the books and the team should be looking to extend both Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard.

In a world where the Mets' scenarios are signing Realmuto and Jackie Bradley Jr. or McCann and George Springer, it's very hard to argue against the latter.

If the Mets close the deal with McCann and continue their heavy pursuit of Springer, the McCann + Springer scenario will be much closer to becoming reality.