42 thoughts on “November 17, 2020: Bad Sign”

    1. I saw that. What's the scuttlebut in Chicago? Burnout? Not on same page as ownership? Greener pastures?

      2. I saw on the twitter machine rumor mill that he and the owners are not on the same page. The Ricketts want to slash payroll and Theo wanted no part of that.

        1. He's still only 46 years old with a resume that includes bringing World Championships to Boston and the Cubs. Obviously, he can go wherever he wants and I wouldn't want to work for the Cubs and the Ricketts family anymore either. Just think: Mark Cuban wanted to buy the Cubs and MLB pretty much blocked him. He would have been the best owner in all of baseball -- he's the best pro sports team owner of any sport in my opinion. And now he has Luka, my post-LeBron basketball idol.

              1. Really? I don't necessarily think he means that analytics have been wholesale bad for the game, but if his main point is that the game would be better if there was a higher ratio of balls-in-play to pitches thrown, then I am totally on board. To me, there is a sweet spot somewhere--I don't have an exact number for it--where home run rate is high enough that power hitting matters, but it's low enough that contact hitters are rewarded just for putting the ball in play a lot. Personally, I think I love fielding more than any other part of the game, and the more that we force the players in the field to make plays, the better off we are.

                  1. I've been thinking for some time that the next Moneyball would be to put together a team of line-drive hitters who could shoot the ball into the gaps, play good defense, and steal a bunch of bases. Sort of like the 1980s Cardinals teams. It's the opposite of what most teams are doing so a) those guys would be undervalued and b) it would take a while for teams to be able to react to it and stop it. So far, though, it doesn't seem to be happening.

                    1. The problem with this approach right now is

                      A)There are just fewer gaps. More hard hit balls are getting caught because all hitters have tendencies and defenders get moved to those spots.
                      B)Even the #9 hitter can hit the ball over the fence on a regular basis, and homers are much more conducive to scoring runs than anything else.

                      The ball needs to be deadened to reduce homers (since there's no way the move the fences back) and some change needs to be made with the mound or something to reduce strikeouts. Then players will change approaches.

                    2. More hard hit balls are getting caught because all hitters have tendencies

                      I read the Padre's comment as more that batters who hit to all fields are an underexploited group, and that the market will shift as teams find those guys. You can't beat the shift consistently, but if you don't have a dominant tendency, defenses can't shift to it.

      1. The only cost is to purchase OOTP21 (and then we upgrade each year, so you usually get about 3 seasons out of each one). Still interested?

        1. Maybe you guys could feel the glory of taking a team to the playoffs for the first time in five years in your first season on the job.

      2. Shoot me an email at [my first initial][my last name] @ gwu.edu

        I'll get you in touch with the commissioner who can help you get settled. Feel free to shoot me any questions you have once you get going...

          1. I brought in another curler, so that will make at least three of us now.

            Did either of you guys (algonad or HJ) take Seattle?

            1. He had me rank them. I ranked Seattle last.

              None of the teams stood out to me. I ranked them based on hats.

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