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wsnydes

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Everything posted by wsnydes

  1. wsnydes
    Lots of baseball left in the season. I imagine that we'll see lots of Twins/Indians jumping back and forth atop the standings for the rest of the way. Buckle up and enjoy the ride of a division race! I, and many others I suspect, have waited quite a while for this.
  2. wsnydes
    Romo and Dyson should reduce the need to use Rogers as often. And Rogers has only thrown 23 pitches this week. All in the last two days.
  3. wsnydes
    The best angle that I saw made it look like he was halfway down the line. I agree, a good angle would be helpful. In my view, if he had a modest lead and then froze he would have had a good chance at getting back. If he's a third of the way down the line (let alone half), in my opinion, that's too far. He risks getting doubled off in a situation like that. The mistake then becomes in the lead, not necessarily in whether he froze or not. Even on a contact play, he has to make sure the ball hits the ground. I look at it similarly to a pickoff attempt by the pitcher. He has to make sure that he can beat the 3B back to the bag. If the 3B could get to the bag that quickly in this situation, then Cave should have been able to as well.
  4. wsnydes
    I wouldn't consider that a strong throw. Good under the circumstances, but hardly a rifle to 3B. I would also consider that a line drive whether it's close to the ground or not. As Chief said, if it gets through he's scoring anyway. I don't necessarily disagree that he's out one way or another (it's likely), but at least try. I don't like simply handing the opponent outs. I'm just bothered more by the lack of try. Lots of things could happen that could have resulted in Cave being safe at the bag. Don't compound one mistake by making another. It happened quickly, but not so quickly that Cave couldn't have been trying to get back to the bag.
  5. wsnydes
    I guess we had very different coaches. I was always taught to freeze on a line drive. Make sure that it hits the ground or is caught before doing anything. If he hesitates and doesn't score but the out is recorded at first so be it. There's still a runner in scoring position and another batter comes to the plate with another chance to drive him in. If you don't know whether it hit the ground or not, err on the side of caution. Live to fight another day. If that ball was hit to 3B, I'd understand. I don't recall seeing too many 3-5 putouts. The ball was caught at knee height. Nice play by Olson for sure and it's made even better doubling Cave off. I'm still more bothered by the fact that Cave didn't even try to get back to the bag. Even if the contact play was on, not trying to get back is a mistake. With as weak as the throw was, he could have at least made it close.
  6. wsnydes
    I could understand getting doubled off if it were a close play at the bag, but he didn't even make a move back to the bag. That's the part I didn't like. That play didn't develop that fast and that wasn't a strong throw to 3B. Cave was still halfway down the line when the ball was caught at 3B.
  7. wsnydes
    This is interesting. With as frequently as the NFL tinkers with the rules, I wonder how much of an impact that has on these figures. The rules skew heavily to the advantage of the offense today. I'd also argue that a team rushing for 450+ more yards on average is a very different game than it is today. I'd think that would take more depth in the RB corp than what is required now. It would be interesting to know how the top offenses of those eras compared.
  8. wsnydes
    I agree, it is a bit weird. And I did read your previous post too. As long as there are 15 teams (or any odd number) in each league though, it's going to stick around. I wouldn't mind if it went away either because I rather enjoyed the uniqueness of what that meant in the WS.
  9. wsnydes
    I'm right there with you on these points! Whatever that is worth, I don't know. Not having a DH at least still preserves SOME strategy to the game. Also, if I bring beer is it okay if I cut across your lawn?
  10. wsnydes
    You're welcome. That was fun to think through. They both drive me nuts at times and for basically the same reason. For me it's not about what Sano puts into play, it's what he doesn't. When he was scuffling the past couple of weeks he was missing hittable pitches in the zone and then chasing out of it. He can easily cut the strikeouts down while still hitting with power. Hit the pitches in the zone and lay off the ones out of it. Rosario is a bad ball hitter. When he's on I think he does a better job of finding a pitch that he can drive, wherever it may be. When he's off, he's not doing that as well and he gets himself out a lot.
  11. wsnydes
    In a vacuum, it doesn't given the info at hand. I had considered that since you listed the PA comps. Though there are plenty of scenarios where it would. If Player B is still driving in 110+ from the 7 spot that means that he's given plenty of opportunities (though likely buoyed a bit by his 17 added HRs) and since he's got the higher XBH totals he's got plenty of protection as well. There's probably not a discernible difference between the two players in the end. Would Player B still see the same selection of pitches if moved up to cleanup? Hard to say with the info given. They're almost interchangeable. This is a problem I'd absolutely love to have as a manager. Ultimately, for me, the numbers indicate that Player A puts the ball in play more often. That provides value to me especially at cleanup. I'm not really sure there's a wrong answer here though.
  12. wsnydes
    I'm taking Player A because of the RBI total. Runs are what wins games. The differences in the rest of the numbers are negligible enough.
  13. wsnydes
    Fair enough. Clearly within the context of a general argument, that wasn't my point at all. The point goes back to the strikeout, nothing more. Like I mentioned earlier, we can scenario this to death to reinforce either argument. I still stand by my statement however. I'd disagree that I can't dismiss one without dismissing the other. The error on the batted ball doesn't occur without the contact. The WP/PB can happen regardless of whether there is a strikeout or not and is largely independent on the batter. These are two different plays under two different circumstances and scenarios.
  14. wsnydes
    I said largely wasted, not totally wasted. There's opportunity to build on that HR and nothing materialized. It's true that the same can be said if the ball were put in play and three outs were recorded, but I will take three put outs over three strike outs any day of the week. I also didn't say that I'd rather have the double play. I said that I'd take my chances with putting the ball in play with a runner running on a 2-strike count. You're arguing against points that I'm not making or trying to make.
  15. wsnydes
    You're correct that they aren't problem in and of themselves, but they are part of the problem. They do limit the damage that can be done. I think that's the point some posters are trying to make. Why settle for high K's when it could be improved upon and the stat line becoming even better. It's one thing if the batter strikes out a lot from pitches in the zone, it's quite another if they chase like Sano is. A guy can have plate discipline and still hit HRs.
  16. wsnydes
    I never claimed that not putting the ball in play can't be a positive, only that a strikeout is always a negative. As previously stated in my original post, a batter that reaches via WP/PB on a strikeout reaches not because of the strikeout but because of the WP/PB. I don't see a stolen base as being a result of anything that the batter does aside from not making contact. That's on the baserunner and really doesn't involve the batter. If a baserunner steals on a 2-strike count, the hope is a hit and run scenario since the batter has to protect the plate. And in that case, you have the potential for a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. I'll take my chances with the ball put in play there too. We can scenario this discussion to death based on generalized statements that I made or any of the counter arguments that are made.
  17. wsnydes
    I don't necessarily disagree with anything that you said here. There's obviously circumstances where a strikeout could potentially be less negative than a double play. Generally speaking though, I'll take that double play over a strikeout. Make the defense earn the out. Obviously i'll take the HR scenario in your example, however that inning was largely wasted. Follow up that leadoff HR with balls put in play increases odds of a big inning. There are also scenarios where simply putting the ball in play is all that is needed. Replace your HR with a triple. Way too many close, late game situations are wasted because batters repeatedly strike out versus simply putting the ball in play. If I only need one run, swinging for the fences doesn't make a lot of sense. Watching Cruz hit is a pretty good example of a veteran hitter knowing what the situation calls for. Furthermore, if a guy strikes out 10 times for every HR he hits I'm not sure that's a positive. There's clearly a limit to that approach.
  18. wsnydes
    Exactly. When his OPS is over 1.000 I can still acknowledge that his approach is working, but the additional potential in those wasted ABs could amount to so much more. In this case, you can have it both ways. I'll obviously take that 1.000+ OPS, but could it be even better if he'd simply reduce his K rate?
  19. wsnydes
    I understand your angle (I think), but I can't agree. I can handle a strikeout in certain situations, but they still have no chance at being positive. While double plays aren't exactly a positive result, they are at least the result of a ball put in play. It still forces the defense to field the ball and then execute the play. I can deal with that because contact was at least made and it forced the defense to make the play. A run will never score as the result of a strikeout. A runner will never advance as the result of a strikeout. A batter will never reach base because of a strikeout. When they reach on a WP/PB, that's a result of the WP or PB not the strikeout. Failing to put the ball in play can never result in a positive. When the ball is put in play, there's at least a chance it finds a hole or an error is committed. Those cannot happen due to a strikeout. Therefore, it's a wasted at bat. I'm not following the "striking out at least meant that you had a chance at a home run." Usually, contact must be made in order to hit a home run! You could ground into a double play on the 1st pitch or the 37th. I do agree that Sano looks lost. He doesn't really seem to have a plan and I imagine that his chasing pitches out of the zone is a result of guessing and potentially lack of prep (pure conjecture on my part). Something needs to change there.
  20. wsnydes
    What plate discipline? Like Ash, I'm more concerned about the stuff that he misses inside the zone because if he was actually hitting more of the pitches that he should obliterate, I'd be able to tolerate swinging out of the zone. Strikeouts are a completely wasted at bat. Nothing good can come from it. Nothing. Putting the ball in play at the very least has marginal chance at becoming positive and forces the defense to execute the out.
  21. wsnydes
    I actually really like Buxton hitting in the 9 hole. That's a pretty potent weapon for the top of the order coming up. When he gets on base, he's basically always in scoring position. Plus, forcing the opposing pitcher to throw more fastballs and the added distraction of him on the basepaths is nothing but a positive. I'd rather he hit there than 6 or 7 in all honesty. Ideally he'd be at the top of the lineup, but I'm not sure that's the wise move at this point.
  22. wsnydes
    The bullpen is usually the hardest part of the game for a manager to learn to negotiate. Overall, I do agree that Rocco has done well with his pen. He had some early bumps, but he appears to have learned from them. I would think that he'll learn from letting guys sit too long without game action too. That job gets a bit more difficult when the starters are as effective as they have been. Talk about good problem to have. He's a rookie manager, there will be some learning involved. Also, congrats to Smeltzer. Heck of a debut. I look forward to seeing what your future holds!
  23. wsnydes
    Counsell said that he wasn't injured in any way and passed all medical tests. It does look like he may have gotten his foot caught and tweaked a knee as he went down, but that's purely speculation. I have to imagine something like that would shake a guy up. Can't blame him for trying to calm down before walking off.
  24. wsnydes
    Agreed. These are the types of games that I'd like to see them in more though, but on the winning end obviously. I'd like to see them in more close game situations late in games. I won't complain about the big game to game run differentials, but that's not likely to be what it's going to be like come October.
  25. wsnydes
    Not at all. I've been saying that since he first came up...and said it more when he was struggling. With his speed, that's a weapon that should be utilized to help his overall offensive game. Having that in his back pocket can only help.
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