biggentleben
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Everything posted by biggentleben
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Luckily, I married very well, and she was willing to accompany me on a 10-game, 2-week baseball-focused honeymoon. She frequently was exploring the stadium and finding food, though, while I was watching the game. She understands...
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That said, Ventura had a successful start to his time in office. He got into office and surrounded himself with some of the brightest political minds in all of Minnesota (yeah, yeah, jokes aside). Then he started getting good national press on the job he was doing, and he started to get a big head about those press clippings, believing it was about him, not about those he was listening to, and he stopped listening to those advisors, and the rest of his time in office was less than pleasant, to say the least.
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B. Not really close. I tend to be the guy with pencil and a scorebook the entire game. If I'm close enough, I'm charting pitches as well, so I'm not going to be going to the restroom or worried much about food or drink at a ballgame. I know that I'm one of the weird ones...and I'm perfectly fine with that. I've got the sickness, and no, I have no desire for the cure.
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Good luck with that. I think he could still effectively start, though, but I don't know how badly he WANTS to do that anymore.
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Though going to Texas in that environment and being able to push up his value for a weak class next year may be more valuable than returning to the cesspool that is the Washington Nationals clubhouse.
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Good hitting environment on a one-year deal to enter an extremely weak free agent class next winter. I'm not sure how terrible a mistake it is...
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Even if you only hit .210?
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A Bulldog is my favorite mixed drink. Vodka, Kahlua, Coke, and cream - and if you have a very kind barkeep, the cream isn't half and half, it's of the Bailey's variety.
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That's why I asked if it was position or for overall. I had a trivia question once about how Gordon was the first to win while leading the league in K's and GIDP's and that he led all 2B in errors that season, but not the league. It was discussed in Ken Burns Baseball as well, I believe.
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I should have clarified that part. For the pitching end, I'm using the more traditional four pitch "tools" and command/control "tool" as the five pitching tools. For hitting, the traditional hit, power, run, arm, field.
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I thought that the hit and power route could be a way to go, but with interleague so frequent now, even David Ortiz is better than a 30 fielder, and a 30 speed guy is basically your guy who never takes an extra base or steals a base due to a lack of speed, so you may not be playable that long. Plus, Bonds was more eye than hit, really.
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I've got a baseball one for the group. You're visited in the night by the baseball gods, and they grant you to choose any two tools from any baseball player in history. These would be matched in you, but you would start at 18 in rookie ball with those tools and essentially 30 grades on everything else involved with the game. Those tools will remain only as long as the big leaguer had a MLB career, so you're gambling a current player to play a long time if you choose him over a past player with an established time line. Which two tools do you choose, and from which two players?
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It's still February, so I went through to see which guys were signed in March of the previous few years to see what caliber of player was out there: 2015: Brewers signed Francisco Rodriguez (3/13), Red Sox signed Yoan Moncada (3/12) (not the same thing, but still a significant signing), Braves signed Peter Moylan (3/11), Cubs signed Phil Coke (3/7), Nationals signed Tony Gwynn, Jr. (3/3) 2014: Indians signed Mark Lowe (3/31), Yankees signed Alfredo Aceves (3/29), Rangers signed Scott Baker (3/28), Mariners signed Endy Chavez (3/26), Padres signed Jeff Francoeur (3/23), Braves signed Aaron Harang (3/24), Tigers signed J.D. Martinez (3/24), Braves signed Ervin Santana (3/12), Diamondbacks signed Oliver Perez (3/10) 2013: Marlins signed Miguel Olivo (3/29), Brewers signed Yuniesky Betancourt (3/27), Brewers signed Kyle Lohse (3/24) Now, what I will say as you look at those lists is that this year's free agent class has multiple times been referred to as unprecedented-ly deep. That has caused this issue for many of the players, who want to hold their own value, but now face a market without the same level of need for their services as their contract demands would warrant.
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I'm going to wager it's big Z, then, seeing as it's likely Twins-focused. Zoilo Versalles, as he's a Twins MVP that played up the middle.
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Leading the entire league at all positions or just leading his position? That would drastically change the answer.
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So, this wasn't posted, but former Athletic Tony Phillips passed away this week at 56 due to heart attack. He was key to me being the fantasy nut I am today as his position flexibility and production made him often more valuable than more "name" players. RIP.
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Harper Lee dead at 89. She's the ultimate one-hit wonder.
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But he maximizes every ounce of what he's been given. In a middle infielder, we revere that. In a catcher or pitcher, we see it as hot dogging or show boating or "lack of class". I cannot tell you how many times I saw Punto celebrate a big defensive play, but God forbid if a pitcher pumps his fist after getting a big strikeout, or a catcher chest bumps his pitcher after getting a big out to end the inning.
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Y'know, the Braves currently have a former Twin who's done the same in AJ...though I think his detractors may have other comments.
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At 18, you're supposed to register for a draft if one were ever to be needed again, so I would imagine the draft is still 18.
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I just don't know that you're getting Byrd on that deal. Venable perhaps, but he's also a guy who hit for an 88 OPS+ last season and has never had a single season with an .800 OPS. He also tanked significantly for Texas after they acquired him last year, and his defense is not good as evidenced by his negative DRS value overall last season and his only even 0 score being in left field in 2015, otherwise CF and RF were both negative. Venable, though, is the guy you could get at $3M as he's been playing for $4.25M the last two seasons, and he's going to be 33 this year. Byrd, on the other hand, may be 37, but what he does with the bat is certain and true - he hits the deep ball at a 25-homer pace. Many believed the last two seasons to be the product of being in Philly and Cincy for home parks, but his best piece of production actually came after being traded to San Francisco last year, so that really pushes that out. He's really nothing special with the glove, but you aren't signing him for that. The issue is, though, that even though he's going to be 38 this year, he's also earned $8M the last two seasons, and he certainly didn't show any signs of slowing down in late 2015, so I'd wager that he'd not come down all the way to $3M.
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But what would they 60-day DL him for? That's his contention and why the Braves let him go rather than attempting arbitration or a deal with him. He believes he'll pitch immediately in 2016 and wants to be paid like it.
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Breslow has already signed a minor league deal a couple days ago with the Marlins.
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Ok. I won't speak to whether he did anything or not while with the Braves or if it was an offseason issue, but I guess I struggle with how you'd even be able to put anything on the previous team in a free agent case or in any case, frankly.
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He juiced for the Braves?! Damn. Wish he'd have done that more because whatever it was didn't work well in the dose he took.
