Bryce Harper ‏@Bharper3407 4m4 minutes ago

Good ol Dusty..Welcome to DC skip! Let's make some history #DCorNothing


F.P. Santangelo ‏@FightinHydrant 6m6 minutes ago

Dusty Baker will be a breath of positive, communicative, relaxed fun that the #Nats are starving for. Treats men like men #CongratsBake

(11-03-2015 02:15 PM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  Bryce Harper ‏@Bharper3407 4m4 minutes ago

Good ol Dusty..Welcome to DC skip! Let's make some history #DCorNothing


F.P. Santangelo ‏@FightinHydrant 6m6 minutes ago

Dusty Baker will be a breath of positive, communicative, relaxed fun that the #Nats are starving for. Treats men like men #CongratsBake

Just looking- Santangelo- played for Baker in San Francisco for one year- and had his career best OPS+.

(11-03-2015 03:10 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(11-03-2015 02:15 PM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  Bryce Harper ‏@Bharper3407 4m4 minutes ago

Good ol Dusty..Welcome to DC skip! Let's make some history #DCorNothing


F.P. Santangelo ‏@FightinHydrant 6m6 minutes ago

Dusty Baker will be a breath of positive, communicative, relaxed fun that the #Nats are starving for. Treats men like men #CongratsBake

Just looking- Santangelo- played for Baker in San Francisco for one year- and had his career best OPS+.

Well Dusty is a fantastic players' manager. I think the handling of pitchers thing is overblown. I don't know if this is a good or bad signing. I mean is Terry Collins a good manager? His team came within a couple blown saves and a few bad fielding plays away from taking a 3-2 lead going into game 6. Is Yost a good manager? I'm not saying these guys are good or bad, just that I don't know how much it really matters. Of course it's possible that Matt Williams was beyond bad. So bad that a talented team couldn't overcome how bad he was. It's hard to say with managers

It's really kind of amazing. Rizzo(the GM) screams new school type thinking. Baker is about as old school as you have today. It's going to be extremely interesting to watch that pairing together.

I think the part about Williams that was bad was he just didn't have the experience in dealing with the clubhouse. It really came back to bite him in the rear end.

(11-03-2015 10:36 PM)stever20 Wrote:  It's really kind of amazing. Rizzo(the GM) screams new school type thinking. Baker is about as old school as you have today. It's going to be extremely interesting to watch that pairing together.

I think the part about Williams that was bad was he just didn't have the experience in dealing with the clubhouse. It really came back to bite him in the rear end.

This definitely seems the likeliest explanation. Baker will not let that happen. Like you said regarding Harper, he's managed some big time personalities in Bonds, Kent and even Williams himself. I can't say whether Dusty is a good in-game strategist. Most of his tenure with the Giants was before MLB.tv so I didn't get the chance to watch them play unless it was a national game. But I do think he was the best guy available to manage Harper. And that's the most important thing for the Nats

kind of interesting: players choice awards
■AL outstanding player: TOR 3B Josh Donaldson
■NL outstanding player: WSH OF Bryce Harper
■AL outstanding pitcher: HOU Dallas Keuchel
■NL outstanding pitcher: LAD Zack Greinke

so the players took Greinke over Kershaw/Arrieta. Not sure if the players are like the writers and vote after regular season or not.

I see Hoffman is on the newest ballot for the HoF. If he gets voted in it will be a complete travesty. A pitcher who threw 70+ innings only 5 times in an 18 year career and who finished with 28 WAR, should be nowhere near the HoF. I think Wade Davis, Betances and Gagne have more than proved that pitching out of the bullpen doesn't require some kind of special skill that separates it from starting pitchers, thus making them deserving of being elected to the HoF over pitchers who throw 3 times as many innings each season

Hoffman and then Rivera are going to both get in pretty easily I think. My hunch is they will be the only 2 quite frankly.

(11-10-2015 09:27 AM)stever20 Wrote:  Hoffman and then Rivera are going to both get in pretty easily I think. My hunch is they will be the only 2 quite frankly.

I'm not even sure I'd want Rivera in, but I won't cry about it. Hoffman, however, is not even close to deserving and nowhere near Rivera's level. According to BR Rivera's WAR is 56.6, while Hoffman's is 28. To put them in the same Hall of Fame is ludicrous. Hell, if Hoffman gets in then Lincecum should get in. 23 WAR, 2 Cy Youngs and pitched his team to 1 WS as an ace and another as a reliever (Hoffman's job). Lincecum has thrown 1643 innings, while Hoffman threw 1089.1.

If Hoffman gets elected the question becomes, where does it end? Does Billy Wagner and his 27.7 WAR get in? How about Nathan, Papelbon and K-Rod?

think only Hoffman and Rivera. They're so far ahead in saves that it's not funny

(11-10-2015 10:43 AM)stever20 Wrote:  think only Hoffman and Rivera. They're so far ahead in saves that it's not funny

nothing like a made up statistic with no clear value

Rivera is going to get in easily first ballot. He had 1 playoff series where he allowed more than 1 earned run the entire series. Only 2 years where he gave up more than 1 earned run the entire postseason.
but how about these-
#7 all time in postseason innings pitched.
#1 postseason ERA
#4 WHIP
#1 in games pitched- by 41 games!
#1 in saves- he has 42. Next closest guy is Brad Lidge with 18. Eck #3 with 15.

Hoffman was more in the regular season. He could get some opposition I think- but Rivera- no way. Quite possibly maybe the best postseason pitcher ever.

Braves trade Simmons.

Atlanta sports: sponsored by Tums, Rolaids, and grief counseling.

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/...els/npMJL/

(11-13-2015 12:43 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Braves trade Simmons.

Atlanta sports: sponsored by Tums, Rolaids, and grief counseling.

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/...els/npMJL/

I wouldn't be so doom and gloom, as I think this was a great trade for the Braves. They traded a 3 WAR player who can't really run or hit for 1 electric LHP and another quality SP prospect with whom I'm less familiar. Simmons had fine value and even with his upcoming raises he was going to remain quite inexpensive. However, it's said that defense peaks around age 24 and declines from there. If his only skill starts declining he'll be much less valuable over the next 5 years. And with Albies looking good so far, the Braves figured they could roll the dice, and add to a system that's about to also welcome the #3 pick in the draft

(11-13-2015 12:50 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(11-13-2015 12:43 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Braves trade Simmons.

Atlanta sports: sponsored by Tums, Rolaids, and grief counseling.

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/...els/npMJL/

I wouldn't be so doom and gloom, as I think this was a great trade for the Braves. They traded a 3 WAR player who can't really run or hit for 1 electric LHP and another quality SP prospect with whom I'm less familiar. Simmons had fine value and even with his upcoming raises he was going to remain quite inexpensive. However, it's said that defense peaks around age 24 and declines from there. If his only skill starts declining he'll be much less valuable over the next 5 years. And with Albies looking good so far, the Braves figured they could roll the dice, and add to a system that's about to also welcome the #3 pick in the draft

No, this is the Braves final year in Turner Field. It's going to be a train wreck and no one will show up so they're just dumping payroll. The real issue is the bet they are making that the Bravos will be automatically competitive when the move in SunTrust Field in 2017 to offset the fact that the new stadium in located at the Cobb Cloverleaf, a virtual parking lot during normal start times.

(11-13-2015 11:30 AM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(11-13-2015 12:50 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(11-13-2015 12:43 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Braves trade Simmons.

Atlanta sports: sponsored by Tums, Rolaids, and grief counseling.

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/...els/npMJL/

I wouldn't be so doom and gloom, as I think this was a great trade for the Braves. They traded a 3 WAR player who can't really run or hit for 1 electric LHP and another quality SP prospect with whom I'm less familiar. Simmons had fine value and even with his upcoming raises he was going to remain quite inexpensive. However, it's said that defense peaks around age 24 and declines from there. If his only skill starts declining he'll be much less valuable over the next 5 years. And with Albies looking good so far, the Braves figured they could roll the dice, and add to a system that's about to also welcome the #3 pick in the draft

No, this is the Braves final year in Turner Field. It's going to be a train wreck and no one will show up so they're just dumping payroll. The real issue is the bet they are making that the Bravos will be automatically competitive when the move in SunTrust Field in 2017 to offset the fact that the new stadium in located at the Cobb Cloverleaf, a virtual parking lot during normal start times.

If they believe they're going to be competitive in 2017 they're drunk. That said, I still think this is the smart way forward.

I really can't wait for tonight after Greinke or Arrieta wins the Cy Young and hear some advanced metrics folks ***** like hell that Kershaw was robbed.

(11-18-2015 10:21 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I really can't wait for tonight after Greinke or Arrieta wins the Cy Young and hear some advanced metrics folks ***** like hell that Kershaw was robbed.

well you won't read it here. I still probably would've voted for him, but all 3 were other worldly

lol at the crying babies over at Fangraphs lamenting that Kershaw didn't get the award. Or saying that the voters just looking for excuse to not give it to Kershaw....

(11-18-2015 08:29 PM)stever20 Wrote:  lol at the crying babies over at Fangraphs lamenting that Kershaw didn't get the award. Or saying that the voters just looking for excuse to not give it to Kershaw....

Are you looking at the comments here? http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/explainin...ng-ballot/

I don't exactly see cry babies