MLB Chatter Thread

Texas Ace

Teh Acester
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It's the first Toronto series and I wonder who is going to be first to bean Bautista.
Nobody beaned him, but Griffin absolutely bamboozled him.

Had him so frustrated with the offspeed stuff then throwing that heat past him. :lol
 

Rev

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Nobody beaned him, but Griffin absolutely bamboozled him.

Had him so frustrated with the offspeed stuff then throwing that heat past him. :lol
Yeah. Seeing him cry to the ump was almost as good.
 

Cotton

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Yeah. Seeing him cry to the ump was almost as good.
That huge breaking ball where he watched strike 3 was amazing. Froze him. It was beautiful watching him turn and whine to the ump. He does that all the friggin time, which is partly why I can't stand him.
 

E_D_Guapo

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[MENTION=10]Carp[/MENTION] what is your best guess as to why Matt Harvey sucks at pitching now? He can't even dominate horrid teams like the Braves and the Reds and isn't even a league average pitcher right now. I would celebrate that fact if he wasn't supposed to be the ace of my FBB staff but unfortunately he is and he is not very good. I assumed he would have hit his stride by this point but he has shown no real signs of improvement.
 
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Deuce

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@Carp what is your best guess as to why Matt Harvey sucks at pitching now? He can't even dominate horrid teams like the Braves and the Reds and isn't even a league average pitcher right now. I would celebrate that fact if he wasn't supposed to be the ace of my FBB staff but unfortunately he is and he is not very good. I assumed he would have hit his stride by this point but he has shown no real signs of improvement.
Wanna trade him for Chris Archer?
 

dallen

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Meet Nomar Mazara, baseball's next big young star

This happened in the eighth inning of the Texas Rangers' 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, just another game out of 162 but a game with some built-in extra drama, as the Rangers faced Jose Bautista for the first time since his blast, glare and bat flip gave the Jays the clinching win in Game 5 of the division series and created a culture war:

1. Nomar Mazara, the 21-year-old right fielder for the Rangers and American League Rookie of the Month for April, broke a 1-1 tie with a home run off Gavin Floyd by blasting a 1-1 cutter to center field.

2. The Blue Jays put runners on first and second with nobody out against Sam Dyson, which created the rematch everyone hoped to witness: Dyson versus Bautista, beard versus beard, old-school versus new-school. The script couldn't have called for a juicier scenario. It was a potentially game-deciding situation, with no room for the Rangers to fool around with hitting Bautista -- just our guy against your guy. The 25,000-plus in attendance all rose to their feet, with the anticipation acute. Except Dyson won this battle when he got Bautista to line out to right field on a 2-1, 98 mph fastball. Maybe that extra mph was the difference: Last October's home run came on a mere 97 mph heater.

3. After Edwin Encarnacion walked to load the bases, Troy Tulowitzki lifted a lazy fly ball down the right-field line -- not too shallow, not too deep, the right distance for a close play at the plate if the right fielder makes a good throw. Well, Mazara unleashed a great throw, and Michael Saunders was thrown out.

Just like that, Mazara stole the show from Bautista and Dyson and potential beanballs. Baseball -- not retribution -- was the story of this game.

Mazara turned 21 last week, and he reached the majors sooner than expected when Shin-Soo Choo landed on the disabled list. He's hitting .333/.386/.486, and he isn't going back to the minors if he keeps hitting like this -- not after he produced the best April by any rookie in franchise history. That eighth inning highlighted three of Mazara's tools: the hit tool, the power potential and the arm. The only thing he lacks is elite speed, which limits him to right field instead of center, but he already looks like the game's next big young star.

As you're probably aware, we're in the midst of a great era for young players. Last season was the best ever for rookies in terms of cumulative WAR. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs just wrote a piece that outlined how in 2015, young position players (25 and younger) accounted for the highest percentage of WAR since 1974. After factoring in playing time, however, he writes that "when you look at the performance relative to the number of plate appearances, 2015 was the best year ever for young hitters."

We're seeing more of the same in 2016. Trevor Story received much of the hype in April, but Mazara might prove to be the better all-around hitter, with superior contact skills that should produce consistent .300 batting averages. At 6-foot-4 and 200-plus pounds, he has the build to hit 25 to 30 home runs as he grows into his power. Most importantly, he has that sweet, left-handed swing.

That's something the Rangers saw when they signed Mazara to a $4.95 million bonus in 2011. At the time, it was the largest bonus paid for an international amateur player. Not every team believed he was that kind of talent. In the 2014 "Baseball America Prospect Handbook," Mazara was ranked as the Rangers' 24th-best prospect -- hard to believe in retrospect, but he hit just .236 at Class A Hickory in 2013 -- and his bonus "was seen throughout the industry as an overpay for a player no other team seemed to have as the top player available."

However, Mazara erased doubts about his prospect status with 22 home runs in 2014, and last year, he hit .296/.366/.443 between Double-A and Triple-A. Since signing, he has eliminated a giant leg kick, thus creating more balance at the plate. His strikeout rate that first season at Hickory was 26 percent. Last year, it was down to 18 percent. So far in Mazara's time in the majors, it's at 17 percent. He seems to have a smart approach at the plate, and he seems to be getting better.



Choo hopes to begin a rehab assignment from his calf injury in the next week or so. Josh Hamilton just played his first rehab game (although is now out again with a sore knee). Add in Delino DeShields Jr. and Ian Desmond, and the Rangers outfield is about to get very crowded.

Who plays? I say go with the kid. This has become a young man's sport.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/70286/meet-nomar-mazara-baseballs-next-big-young-star
 

Rev

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Mazara isn't going down when Choo comes back. I imagine they will move him to left and Desmond to center. DeShields to the bench or platoon with Desmond.


It's fun watching Mazara at the plate because he doesn't get fooled very often. Such a great eye for the ball at such a young age.
 

Cotton

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Mazara isn't going down when Choo comes back. I imagine they will move him to left and Desmond to center. DeShields to the bench or platoon with Desmond.


It's fun watching Mazara at the plate because he doesn't get fooled very often. Such a great eye for the ball at such a young age.
Yeah, there is no way in hell Mazara gets sent back down. Hell, he looks like he has already been in the Bigs for 10 years at the plate. So patient for his age. Just great to watch. And, Delino's ass can stay on the bench until he figures out what is wrong with his head.
 

Carp

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[MENTION=10]Carp[/MENTION] what is your best guess as to why Matt Harvey sucks at pitching now? He can't even dominate horrid teams like the Braves and the Reds and isn't even a league average pitcher right now. I would celebrate that fact if he wasn't supposed to be the ace of my FBB staff but unfortunately he is and he is not very good. I assumed he would have hit his stride by this point but he has shown no real signs of improvement.
A couple things...one, I do not think he is physically in great condition. He seems a bit soft and I just don't think he takes his fitness all that seriously. He struggles in the middle innings big time. I look at a guy like Syndergaard, who was a fat kid, so he takes conditioning seriously...and it is paying off.

Secondly...his strikeout pitch was the slider because it still had good velocity, so initially it would look like a fastball and then just drop off the table. His velocity is down, so it does not fool hitters as much.

I like Harvey, I really do, but I am still a little peeved at the way he handled his innings count last year...having Boras be his talking head bugged the shit out of me.
 

E_D_Guapo

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Cubs just swept the Pirates. Handily. No game was even close.

This is a pretty staggering stat about the Cubs run differential so far this season:

The Cubs are +93 runs through 26 games
The difference between them and the #2 team (49 runs) would be the 2nd best run differential

Wow. Completely dominating the league so far.
 

E_D_Guapo

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A couple things...one, I do not think he is physically in great condition. He seems a bit soft and I just don't think he takes his fitness all that seriously. He struggles in the middle innings big time. I look at a guy like Syndergaard, who was a fat kid, so he takes conditioning seriously...and it is paying off.

Secondly...his strikeout pitch was the slider because it still had good velocity, so initially it would look like a fastball and then just drop off the table. His velocity is down, so it does not fool hitters as much.

I like Harvey, I really do, but I am still a little peeved at the way he handled his innings count last year...having Boras be his talking head bugged the shit out of me.
I hope he gets right for the sake of my FBB team but I don't mind if he doesn't because of the real life implications. Sounds like he is quite fond of the NYC millionaire superstar playboy lifestyle. Wonder if that is taking its toll as well. Jeter managed to do it and not have it affect his performance.
 

Cotton

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Cubs just swept the Pirates. Handily. No game was even close.

This is a pretty staggering stat about the Cubs run differential so far this season:

The Cubs are +93 runs through 26 games
The difference between them and the #2 team (49 runs) would be the 2nd best run differential

Wow. Completely dominating the league so far.
Just read that they are in the middle of their best start since 1907. Holy shit.
 

Carp

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I hope he gets right for the sake of my FBB team but I don't mind if he doesn't because of the real life implications. Sounds like he is quite fond of the NYC millionaire superstar playboy lifestyle. Wonder if that is taking its toll as well. Jeter managed to do it and not have it affect his performance.
The way Jeter handled New York was amazing. All kinds of rumors about his love life, but balled hard every game. So clutch too...alltimer.
 

Rev

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First one of the season. Garrett Richards needing the Tommy John surgery.
 

Carp

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The Cubs are doing great stuff right now. No one hopes for injury, but I think they are a better team without Schwarber. Trying to shoehorn him to the OF was a nightmare, but now they can put a solid defense out there every night.
 

E_D_Guapo

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The Cubs are doing great stuff right now. No one hopes for injury, but I think they are a better team without Schwarber. Trying to shoehorn him to the OF was a nightmare, but now they can put a solid defense out there every night.
It is crazy how good they are right now. So much fun to watch. No way they can be this good all season but there is no reason to think that they aren't going to win the division, barring multiple serious injuries.

You might be right about Schwarber. I was envisioning that LF spot as a Schwarber/Soler platoon, figuring for a ton of power and terrible defense. With Schwarber hurt and Soler not playing well they have been giving Bryant a lot more time out there and playing Tommy LaStella and Javy Baez at 3B. I have a pretty serious man crush on Baez and he looks amazing right now. So far the strikeout rate hasn't been too bad and he is such a fluid athlete/defender in the field.

Going to be interesting to see what happens with Schwarber next season. Fowler will be gone so they could move Heyward to CF but Albert Almora is nearly ready to come up and is projected to be an outstanding CF glove. If they make Baez the every day 3B and play Bryant in LF the D on the left side of the field will be pretty awesome with Russell at SS (Bryant isn't a great LF but a considerably better option than Schwarber). I guess I have to hope the NL votes to adopt the DH soon. I am not crazy about that, but Schwarber would be an ideal fit there. I wonder if he will end up as a trade chip. Hard to see it because the organization and fans adore him, but they have the top rated C prospect in the minors and he will be ready by next season as well. Where would Schwarber play? I guess they could find a few starts per week for him in LF and at C but it is hard to see much more than that at this point in time. It is a good problem to have, but they are going to have some decisions to make when it comes to War Bear.
 
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Deuce

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It is crazy how good they are right now. So much fun to watch. No way they can be this good all season but there is no reason to think that they aren't going to win the division, barring multiple serious injuries.

You might be right about Schwarber. I was envisioning that LF spot as a Schwarber/Soler platoon, figuring for a ton of power and terrible defense. With Schwarber hurt and Soler not playing well they have been giving Bryant a lot more time out there and playing Tommy LaStella and Javy Baez at 3B. I have a pretty serious man crush on Baez and he looks amazing right now. So far the strikeout rate hasn't been too bad and he is such a fluid athlete/defender in the field.

Going to be interesting to see what happens with Schwarber next season. Fowler will be gone so they could move Heyward to CF but Albert Almora is nearly ready to come up and is projected to be an outstanding CF glove. If they make Baez the every day 3B and play Bryant in LF the D on the left side of the field will be pretty awesome with Russell at SS (Bryant isn't a great LF but a considerably better option than Schwarber). I guess I have to hope the NL votes to adopt the DH soon. I am not crazy about that, but Schwarber would be an ideal fit there. I wonder if he will end up as a trade chip. Hard to see it because the organization and fans adore him, but they have the top rated C prospect in the minors and he will be ready by next season as well. Where would Schwarber play? I guess they could find a few starts per week for him in LF and at C but it is hard to see much more than that at this point in time. It is a good problem to have, but they are going to have some decisions to make when it comes to War Bear.
It's been said and needs repeating, Schwarber is a perfect fit for an AL team. Ship him off for more pitching.
 

E_D_Guapo

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It's been said and needs repeating, Schwarber is a perfect fit for an AL team. Ship him off for more pitching.
Yeah, and he would probably have enough value to be the centerpiece in a deal to get a pretty significant pitcher. Would hate to see him go but they are going to have to get another starting pitcher with some prime years left soon and he would be the guy to get one.
 
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Deuce

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Yeah, and he would probably have enough value to be the centerpiece in a deal to get a pretty significant pitcher. Would hate to see him go but they are going to have to get another starting pitcher with some prime years left soon and he would be the guy to get one.
I would be happy to see the Rays give them anyone not named Archer or Snell to acquire him. They'd probably let him DH while learning 1B to give them some sort of flexibility but it would be worth it.
 

Cotton

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Live by the grand slam, die by the grand slam. :budd
 
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