The thing that frustrates me is that pitchers (who probably benefited more than any other position by steroids) seem to get a pass while sluggers are rejected from consideration.
MLB Offseason: February 15 isn't THAT far away...
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The thing that frustrates me is that pitchers (who probably benefited more than any other position by steroids) seem to get a pass while sluggers are rejected from consideration.
Opening up the ballot to more votes wouldn't make the Hall any less selective, though. The 75 percent threshold takes care of that.
Schilling's a shitlord but he's pretty indisputably the greatest postseason pitcher of all time (again, it's him or Mo Rivera), and I don't see any of his other stats as being "fringe." Low win totals, sure, but wins are meaningless and spending a decade on some really, really, really bad Philadelphia teams shouldn't be held against him.
http://www.tsn.ca/statistically-speaking-jays-deal-revere-get-storen-1.420431
Jays trade Ben Revere to Washington for Drew Storen.
Half of Jays fans are okay; the other half are lighting torches.
Jays trade Ben Revere to Washington for Drew Storen.
Half of Jays fans are okay; the other half are lighting torches.
I know nothing about Drew Storen, but I don't think Ben Revere is the kind of player who causes passionate feelings either way.
Vlad Guerrero is eligible next year and should be a first year inductee. He should wear a Montreal Expos hat when he's inducted.
Disagree there. If I give you a list of 20 guys and tell you that you can only pick the best two, it's gonna be pretty selective, and only the VERY best are going to get a high enough percentage of votes to get in. No wasted votes, silly nonsense where some guy gets one on a lark, that kinda crap. You only get two guys, can't waste one. If you get the same list but 10 votes, several more guys are getting in. Maybe it spreads things out more, so everyone gets a couple votes on pet projects, but 6-7 guys probably get a high enough percentage that way.
Maybe another fix is fewer years of eligibility, or higher percentage needed to stay on the ballot? Something to stop idiots from voting for players that just don't belong. And to get people to not skip over the 'obvious' guys because everyone else is going to take care of them. Basically force them to decide on the guys getting 30-40% year after year instead of voting for the obvious two and then tossing Nomar a vote or whatever. Loved Nomah, but not a HoF player. Had that trajectory at one point, but that dream died when his wrist broke, basically.
I'm totally on board with both parts of that. He's blocked me from his facebook page because I couldn't resist calling him out on bullshit meme after bullshit meme. As smart a pitcher as he was, that's how dumb he is in real life, and essentially a perfect example of everything wrong with our current political climate. But the guy was a baller, and the bigger the stage, better he was. Wins are low, but EVERY post-season stat he basically dominates. If you have a must-win world series game, he's probably the guy you want to hand the ball to, even if you've got every pitcher that every played in the pen to choose from. You can quibble with that a bit, but if he's not in your top two or three when you justify why you picked someone else, you're probably getting fired when you lose that game. Wins are low, but wins leader a few times, KO leader a few times, plenty of all-star appearances, 3 rings, WS MVP, and then his post-season numbers in general? Just didn't lose once he got there, didn't walk people, went deep into games, etc. Basically everything you're looking for. And all those numbers are counting the 2004 ALCS Game 1 (before the crazy experimental surgery that resulted in the Bloody Sock game (Game 6)) that badly skewed his numbers. Guy's a HoF pitcher...
I've seen stories asking "why are Upton and Cespedes still unemployed?". I've read where Cespedes can be a clubhouse cancer, why did it take this long for Upton to get signed?
Cespedes is most likely going to sign a 1 year deal with the Mets.
No doubt some team is going to take a shot. Mets, maybe White Sox. I wonder if rumors of his clubhouse "presence" are true.
People were waiting for Chris Davis to set the market, basically. (And, of course, Dan Duquette got tricked into bidding against himself, because Duquette is a goddamn moron.)
There's no way Cespedes signs a short-term deal, not with the amount of interest in him and his age. If Upton got six years from the Tigers (even though he has an opt-out), pushing them above the luxury tax -- something that Mike Ilitch has always tried to avoid -- it means there was significant interest from other teams. Cespedes is the consolation prize; no matter where he ends up it's going to be a multi-year deal. This is his one chance to really cash in.
Stories are abounding that the DH in the NL is "gaining momentum". If it happens it might be as soon as 2017.
As a Cubs fan, I obviously wish it would be this year. Imagine Kyle "Hoss" Schwarber as the DH all year, though he'd still be the likely candidate for next year. He's a ready-made DH, but no way I would want to see him traded.
I imagine he'll bounce between the OF and catcher this year, with Contreras probably coming later this year or next year. Hopefully he could improve in the outfield enough to be the full time LF.
As a Cubs fan, I obviously wish it would be this year. Imagine Kyle "Hoss" Schwarber as the DH all year, though he'd still be the likely candidate for next year. He's a ready-made DH, but no way I would want to see him traded.
I imagine he'll bounce between the OF and catcher this year, with Contreras probably coming later this year or next year. Hopefully he could improve in the outfield enough to be the full time LF.
I'm in favor of the DH, but not really in both leagues. I like the way it's set up now where you have pitchers pitch in the NL and the DH in the AL. If stadiums aren't uniform, why should the leagues themselves be? Also, as a Giants fan, I get a thrill out of watching Madison Bumgarner hit but just as a baseball fan generally, there's strategy to be had on both formats. Bring the DH to the NL and that strategy might be lost.
Pitchers getting injured batting gets mentioned a lot. I remember Mark Prior getting hurt more than once on the bases. I mean sure, any batter can get hurt out there, but a pitcher isn't as well prepared for baserunning.
Add to that the astronomical contracts for pitchers, more NL teams might be leaning towards the DH. I loved seeing Jake "Cy" Arrieta hit HR's, but wouldn't want him to get injured doing it.
Add to that the astronomical contracts for pitchers, more NL teams might be leaning towards the DH. I loved seeing Jake "Cy" Arrieta hit HR's, but wouldn't want him to get injured doing it.
Maybe a year or two ago, a friend of mine and I collaborated on a study and found that the rate of injuries for pitchers running the bases (we looked at a three-year sample, as I recall) was actually lower than other positions. I don't have the paper in front of me at the moment but I can try digging it up in a couple of hours.
In any event, pitchers have batted since 1876 and the world hasn't ended. I guess I just like there being some difference between the two leagues. If anything, I'd just want the amount of interleague play scaled back, because right now it's ridiculous.
In any event, pitchers have batted since 1876 and the world hasn't ended. I guess I just like there being some difference between the two leagues. If anything, I'd just want the amount of interleague play scaled back, because right now it's ridiculous.
In relation to plate appearances? Just wondering...
If both leagues were DH free and the NL was now trying to add the DH, I would be against it. However with now living with the DH for as long as we have, its time for the NL to give up this relic of the past. I have no issue with the pitcher not batting, in fact I loathe it now.
So now supposedly the Mets are offering Cespedes a 3 year deal with an opt out after 1 year.
Interleague play probably won't be scaled back until the leagues reach an even number again (if they ever do), so I'm in favor of the NL adding the DH. But to be fair, my favorite team is an AL team and the DH has been a part of AL baseball since before I was born, so that's what I'm used to seeing.
I doubt the MLBPA would let the DH go away completely.
As for interleague play: I hate it (why even have leagues if they're going to play each other all the time?), and I also hate the wild card. If both leagues expanded by 1 team each, they could go to a 4-division setup with no wild cards, and I'd be all over that.
As for interleague play: I hate it (why even have leagues if they're going to play each other all the time?), and I also hate the wild card. If both leagues expanded by 1 team each, they could go to a 4-division setup with no wild cards, and I'd be all over that.
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