2018 MLB Off Season Thread

[FiddySicks]

We start off with the Angels being predictably dumb. 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25043031/angels-name-brad-ausmus-new-manager-replace-mike-scioscia%3fplatform=amp

 

From old and one-dimensional to younger and one-dimensional. Bravo, Angels. Bravo.  

[Wings]

As expected, David Bell lands the Reds managerial job a.k.a. stooge to the analytics guy. 

[FinsUp1214]

Oh yeah Angels, hire of the year

 

 

Are they trying to stay mediocre and drive Trout out of town? Cause this is how you stay mediocre and drive Trout out of town.

[Still MIGHTY]

Honestly, it doesn't matter who the Angels manager is.

 

If they don't get any pitching, the manager and Trout will be on their way out soon enough.

 

So, Ausmus? Sure. Fine. Whatever. Get a starter.

[BBTV]

Phillies are rumored to be willing to spend ~ $600M on contracts for "superstar" players, with Machado and Harper tops on the list.  I have a feeling their quest is going to end the same way the 76ers "star hunting" did.

[Quillz]

I don't think Machado will stay on the Dodgers regardless of what happens in the Series. So it's possible he winds up there. Does Philly have one of the larger payrolls in baseball?

[BBTV]

13 hours ago, Quillz said:

I don't think Machado will stay on the Dodgers regardless of what happens in the Series. So it's possible he winds up there. Does Philly have one of the larger payrolls in baseball?

 

They have the ability to be in the top 4 or 5.  Prob can’t compete with NYY and BOS, but probably close or equal to LAD in terms of capability. Money is not an issue - major market, >$5B tv deal, and the relatively new managing partner (they don’t have a true “owner”) is a billionaire who wants to win and isn’t afraid to use his own money (within the limits of the partnership agreement). 

 

Even back before the tv deal, when they were winning all those division titles, they were one of the top payrolls (though more because of having to pay their own guys rather than signing FAs). 

[LMU]

16 hours ago, Quillz said:

I don't think Machado will stay on the Dodgers regardless of what happens in the Series. So it's possible he winds up there. Does Philly have one of the larger payrolls in baseball?

I can still see the rationale of bringing Manny back to allow for Corey to shift to 2B and take some stress off of his elbow.  Alas, even with the tax bill dropping I don't know how much money Friedman's willing to offer anybody.

[Sport]

On 10/21/2018 at 1:59 PM, Wings said:

As expected, David Bell lands the Reds managerial job a.k.a. stooge to the analytics guy. 

 

I hope he's the stooge to the analytics guy because I just watched almost an entire season of Jim Riggleman's School For Old-Style Managing and it was dumb as hell. The one thing I'm excited about was the nugget in an article from last year when David Bell says he had to learn about advanced analytics when he took the job with the Giants front office. If the season starts and they start laying down bunts I'll be very upset. 

 

 

 

The manager barely matters to begin with, but won't matter at all until the teams does four things:

 

1. get some pitchers. Take your money, Bob Castellini, and give it to some guys who can get outs. Sub-thing, it might help attract pitching if they move the walls back. Their offense with a couple more bats could be scary if opponents had to worry at all about scoring runs. 

 

2. Learn how to develop pitchers. This goes way back. What the Chicago Bears are to quarterbacks, the Philadelphia Flyers are to goalies, the Cincinnati Reds are to pitchers. The Reds have never won a Cy Young award. Did anybody realize that? The last good pitcher this team developed was Johnny Cueto. Every guy they've acquired in the rebuild save for maybe two has been a disappointment or a project that's taking forever to pan out. Before Cueto, the last home grown good pitcher was Homer Bailey and he's had an up and down major league career. Even the Big Red Machine had some humdrum pitching staffs that led to Sparky Anderson basically inventing modern bullpen usage. 

 

3. Never let Homer Bailey throw another pitch for the Cincinnati Reds ever again. 

 

4. stop trying to do things when the evidence says you shouldn't do them such as pitching Homer Bailey in a starter's role or like trying to play Billy Hamilton as your everyday center-fielder when his bat is so bad it costs them runs and you have to bat him 9th. 

[pmoehrin]

I'm hoping to generate my own bit of offseason news.

 

I have been applying for a job to major league teams on an on again off again basis since graduating from college which was nine years ago.

 

The journey thus far has been fruitless, but I have never stopped trying. I started posting here regularly which helped hone my writing skills and eventually helped to land a part-time writing gig for Fangraphs, which I've held for the past four years.

 

My attitude has always been never to stop trying, but I've never grown bitter about my current situation. The letdowns have been far more frequent than the successes, but I can't say I have any regrets about the path I've taken to this point.

 

All that said, today I received my first contact from a Major League team about a potential job offer. I won't mention the team other than to say it is not the Miami Marlins who I will never work for a variety of reasons, current ownership being just one of them and I am still very early in the hiring process. But I am looking at this as a significant personal accomplishment of mine. Hundreds of people apply for these jobs and just to be seriously considered is an incredible achievement that very few ever reach.

 

I will keep people updated if things work out, but regardless of whether or not it does, I will not stop trying to be in an MLB front office, and I don't think I would be at this point if not for the time I spent on the board. So to everyone here, I say thank you for the support.

[FinsUp1214]

15 minutes ago, pmoehrin said:

I'm hoping to generate my own bit of offseason news.

 

I have been applying for a job to major league teams on an on again off again basis since graduating from college which was nine years ago.

 

The journey thus far has been fruitless, but I have never stopped trying. I started posting here regularly which helped hone my writing skills and eventually helped to land a part-time writing gig for Fangraphs, which I've held for the past four years.

 

My attitude has always been never to stop trying, but I've never grown bitter about my current situation. The letdowns have been far more frequent than the successes, but I can't say I have any regrets about the path I've taken to this point.

 

All that said, today I received my first contact from a Major League team about a potential job offer. I won't mention the team other than to say it is not the Miami Marlins who I will never work for a variety of reasons, current ownership being just one of them and I am still very early in the hiring process. But I am looking at this as a significant personal accomplishment of mine. Hundreds of people apply for these jobs and just to be seriously considered is an incredible achievement that very few ever reach.

 

I will keep people updated if things work out, but regardless of whether or not it does, I will not stop trying to be in an MLB front office, and I don't think I would be at this point if not for the time I spent on the board. So to everyone here, I say thank you for the support.

 

Thats awesome news! Best of luck to you! I always enjoy reading your posts and appreciate the insights you share. You know your stuff and I’m sure you’d do excellent in a front office.

[Shumway]

On 10/21/2018 at 2:34 PM, Still MIGHTY said:

Honestly, it doesn't matter who the Angels manager is.

 

If they don't get any pitching, the manager and Trout will be on their way out soon enough.

 

So, Ausmus? Sure. Fine. Whatever. Get a starter.

 

I'd like multiple starters. More than anything, healthy starters. While it's nice to actually have some prospects worth looking forward to, I think at least some of them are going to need to be moved for pitching. The free agent class isn't particularly strong this season.

[pmoehrin]

3 hours ago, FinsUp1214 said:

 

Thats awesome news! Best of luck to you! I always enjoy reading your posts and appreciate the insights you share. You know your stuff and I’m sure you’d do excellent in a front office.

 

I don’t know of a single sports fan that doesn’t think at some point they can do better than management.

 

It's a nice fantasy. Hence the name fantasy sports.

 

I have to do provide an answer to this question to one organization for real.

 

I had to break the news to my wife that we may have to move on short notice to a city she has never been to. That kind of real.

 

I stopped posting on this board so I could devote more time to getting to this point with no guarantee it would ever happen. Now it’s up to me.

[BBTV]

 

[Dynasty]

I don't see Harper in New York. Wouldn't he have to shave?

[BBTV]

If someone gave me $400M, I'd shave anything they asked me to.

[LMU]

First priority for the Dodgers:

 

Find the cell in Friedman's spreadsheet that gives a percentage of pitches to swing at of 99.7% and maybe consider lowering it by a few dozen points.

[FiddySicks]

7 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

 

What in the WORLD are the Giants doing so high on that list for Harper? That’s has absolutely no chance of happening. 

[Sport]

The Reds hired David Bell as manager and told Jim Riggleman they wouldn't be needing him even as a bench coach so the team's automatically smarter in the dugout next year. Also ownership made a big display about going out and spending for pitching this offseason. Whether pitchers would actually want to come here remains to be seen, but it sounds like Old Man Castellini is as tired of seeing a million empty red seats in his stadium as I am so that's a step in the right direction for me. 

[SFGiants58]

RIP Willie McCovey: http://mlb.com/r/article?ymd=20181031&content_id=300075672&vkey=news_sf&c_id=sf

 

An all-time great passes away.