I didn’t expect a lot of love for baseball/sumo hybrid rules to keep the game more interesting.
But I thought more people would jump on robo umpiring, moving the pitching rubber and pitch clocks, limits on time spent outside the batter’s box.
Robo-umpiring began testing last season in the Atlantic league and will be implemented in more minor league parks next year. It’s coming, the only question is when. As for moving the pitching rubber back, to what end? More home runs? No thanks.
Looks like Sir Didi has played his last game for the Yankees. I can see where the Yanks don’t need him, with Lemahieu, Urshela, Torres, and perhaps a returning Andujar the infield is set except for first. At first you have Bird, Ford, and Voit all vying for time.
Encarnacion is likely gone, again barring injuries there is more than enough depth at DH/OF not to really miss him.
Chapman will be back, but I still have misgivings. He has lost some speed on the fastball and needs to be more of a pitcher than a thrower.
Of course, starting pitching is the issue as it is every year, will it be addressed for once this year?
Oh I agree they had a fine young core; it’s still impressive as hell they got good that fast, though.
Lonnie Smith was not acquired in 1991; he’d been with the team three years already.
The acquisition of Terry Pendleton was one of the best free agent signings in recent baseball history. Other huge free agents have been signed and won MVP Awards or Cy Youngs, including Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, but the Braves got Pendelton for a good price; he actually made less in 1991 than he had in 1990. He’d had a shit year in 1990, but the Braves saw something, got him, and got an MVP award out of him and a hell of a year in 1992, too.
I’m surprised they only won one World Series, when they had an excellent team. Very strong. I will always remember, very painfully, 1993 when the SF Giants won 103 games but could not win the last game that season. They were tied with the Braves going to the final day, but the Braves won their game to finish with 104 wins.
The painful mantra I carry is “103 in '93 – not enough to win it”.
And of course, the next year is when MLB implemented the Wild Cards. (sigh)
It’ll be interesting to see if Toronto splurge for a starter on the free agent market. The team was very bad this year but
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Has an excellent core of young hitters under cheap control for years,
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Has even less starting pitching than most bad teams do,
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Has cleared off most of the bad payroll and is set to be incredibly cheap in 2020, and
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Is still in a big, rich market.
The team absolutely COULD blow the doors off and pay for Gerrit Cole. Indeed, they could hire both Cole and Steven Strasburg and still be a midrange payroll team for the next two or three years. They have an enormous amount of payroll room.
A more intractable problem is the team’s outfield; while the infield is loaded with fine young players, the outfield is stunningly mediocre and there is nothing promising there at all unless Lourdes Gurriel keeps playing left field. The FA market in outfielders is distinctly lacking this year.
You make a good case for improving their pitching staff. I’d prefer that over building on the outfield – a batter’s got to hit the ball first, before it makes its way to the outfield.
We were there the other week. Toronto is a nice city. Toronto’s a nice city! - Album on Imgur
You know that home runs (and hits generally) are less boring than pitcher’s duels, right?