tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post7105764499342029274..comments2024-03-27T10:29:44.159-07:00Comments on Raising Matt Cain: Manfred's Mann(ifesto)M.C. O'Connorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-37292105023051124562015-01-30T07:54:25.013-08:002015-01-30T07:54:25.013-08:00Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Matt Cain, ...Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo! Is that enough wishful thinking for one list?Ronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-27160724471954504582015-01-29T16:33:44.814-08:002015-01-29T16:33:44.814-08:00Jim Davenport.
Jim Davenport.<br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-1267951844654010122015-01-29T16:20:42.127-08:002015-01-29T16:20:42.127-08:00I'm a big Crawford fan, have always had a soft...I'm a big Crawford fan, have always had a soft spot for shortstops. I hope to live to see a "Lifetime Giant." I can't think of anyone who played for no one but the Giants for theire entire career. I think the last one was Mel Ott. I hope that is actually a joke, but you name anyone?Brother Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18162500140573910451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-49539648167125219552015-01-29T08:53:50.276-08:002015-01-29T08:53:50.276-08:00Great piece from Joe Posnanski via Baggs(which I s...Great piece from Joe Posnanski via Baggs(which I saw in our Twitter sidebar):<br /><br /><i>Are baseball games too long? Yes. Do they move too slowly? Sure. You know who can fix that? The umpires. The rules are already in the book. Umpires don’t need a clock to warn a pitcher to pick it up. They don’t need a clock to refuse timeout to a hitter who breaks contact with the batter’s box. The job of an umpire is to not only to get calls right but to keep the game lively and fair, and for too long now I don’t think the people who run baseball or the players themselves have given umpires the freedom to speed up the game. Give them that freedom now. Leave the clocks to the NBA, where they will replay a shot back and forth to see there was a tenth-of-a-second left.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://joeposnanski.com/joeblogs/baseball-from-the-plane/" rel="nofollow">Entire piece is here</a><br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-26478235193314146862015-01-28T15:26:31.815-08:002015-01-28T15:26:31.815-08:00Brandon Crawford has reached agreement with the Gi...Brandon Crawford has reached agreement with the Giants, avoiding arbitration.Zonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-75495360258046624842015-01-27T11:33:11.206-08:002015-01-27T11:33:11.206-08:00If you mean by "time clock" that the ump...If you mean by "time clock" that the umpire has the discretion to decide if the pace of play is too slow, then I'm for giving umps that power. I think they do have guidelines already in Rule 8.04, the so-called 12-second rule, but no one seems to enforce them. Or, at least, with all the stepping off and stepping out, it seems that way. But any kind of "clock" in the game that ticks on the scoreboard would be an abomination. My favorite thing about baseball is that it is 27 outs, not 60 minutes. I would, however, be a fan of time regulated inning breaks. A time limit on the damn video replays would be nice, too. Even pitching changes could be timed to quit all the dicking around. But those are minor things. Just tell the batters to get in the damn box and the pitchers to pitch the damn ball! An assertive ump with a good sense of time and pace could do a lot.<br /><br />We've all watched baseball during high run-scoring times and low-run scoring times and it's all been good. Part of the ups and downs and historical cycles of he game. It still takes good pitching and fielding to win whether it is 3-2 or 6-5.<br /><br /> M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-23648162753989363022015-01-27T11:01:26.041-08:002015-01-27T11:01:26.041-08:00Good post, Zo.
Prohibiting defensive shifts is on...Good post, Zo.<br /><br />Prohibiting defensive shifts is one of the dumbest baseball ideas that I have ever heard. This rewards goombas who are dead-pull hitters & haven't even tried to perfect the art of hitting the ball where it's pitched. Why would we want to reward people like that?<br /><br />There is nothing more tense & exciting than a low-scoring Pitchers' duel, so cranking up offense does nothing for me. And, as several of you have already pointed out, cranking up the offense would work against the other goal of shortening games.<br /><br />I am in favor of shortening games. I don't give a shit about the 'gala' that the game as become. I tend to arrive early to enjoy BP, sit in the sun, watch the other interesting pre-game things that go on on the field, & appreciate all of the other wonderful things about sitting in the stands at a game. So, even if the game itself is a 2 - 2 1/2 hour game, I have gotten 4 - 4 1/2 hours of fun.<br /><br />When watching a night game on TV, I would like to get to bed at a reasonable hour - not watch some guy step out of the box a million times or step off of the rubber over & over again.<br /><br />As far I have seen, the only effective means of shortening games is the time clock between pitches & limiting the number of times that Batters can step out or Pitchers can step off. The time clock is the best solution.Ronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-5412977615694082632015-01-27T09:38:03.026-08:002015-01-27T09:38:03.026-08:00It's better to go with 6-man in second half th...It's better to go with 6-man in second half than first as there are much less days off, particularly in August, if you are going to do one half or another.<br /><br />I would be happy with a modified 6-man rotation in first half, much like the old 5-man process of skipping the 5th starter when there is a day off, just now for the 6th starter. <br /><br />Yeah, not too surprising that teams would analyze probability. That type of analysis/data drives UZR, so shifts is a natural evolution from the shifts that that started against Ted Williams linked to the data micro-slices that is possible today on each batter and/or pitcher.obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-71212305545933166262015-01-27T08:42:36.187-08:002015-01-27T08:42:36.187-08:00I find the defensive shifts one of the more fascin...I find the defensive shifts one of the more fascinating recent developments. It's the inevitable outcome of the sophisticated analysis which is now available. Every tendency can be quantified into a probability and every response can have a risk/benefit ratio.<br />If Bochy does it, then it's the smart thing to do.Brother Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18162500140573910451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-65474975846279933972015-01-26T23:07:31.647-08:002015-01-26T23:07:31.647-08:00I know pitchers get bonuses based on number of inn...I know pitchers get bonuses based on number of innings, or games started, but I'm all in for a six man rotation for at least the first half of the season. Save some arms.nomisnalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08297640472949764321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-29993919284733539152015-01-26T17:42:25.986-08:002015-01-26T17:42:25.986-08:00My guess is that someone will start the year on th...My guess is that someone will start the year on the DL (Hudson, for example). And the Giants can bide their time before a decision has to be made.<br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-25095727819930037602015-01-26T17:18:25.723-08:002015-01-26T17:18:25.723-08:00The elimination of the defensive shift is an idiot...The elimination of the defensive shift is an idiotic notion, and of course more offense would slow games. Myself, I don't care if the games last longer or get over faster. The going to a game has become costly enough for games to be gala events, and the extra length seems somehow fitting. The game, I agree, does not need saving.<br /><br />On a much more minor if more immediate note, I am struck as to how many people have happily swallowed the Heartwarm Pill of re-Vogeying without wondering about its costs. What will happen to Kontos who has neither options left nor roster room, but who's a valuable player? Will the pen be weaker because it includes someone who hasn't pitched in relief for some years? The Giants have benefited year after year by being able to include at least one non-roster ST invite, a freedom that comes with having some elasticity within the roster. Is it wise to have the roster fixed so early, to buy pitching insurance which may or may not be needed, given the presence of Petit?campanarinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-33253678731100950512015-01-26T12:15:10.875-08:002015-01-26T12:15:10.875-08:00Yeah I saw that, too, and thought 'what a dumb...Yeah I saw that, too, and thought 'what a dumb thing to say' and vented a bit in the comments of the previous post. But as I think about it more I suspect Manfred is just throwing things around to see what sticks.<br /><br />I think everyone would like to see the pace pick up, and that's easy. Cut down on catcher-pitcher meetings (one per batter, for example), only allow batters to step out of the box after two strikes, only allow pitchers to step off from the set position once per batter, etc. In other words the ball needs to get pitched! Umps can penalize pitchers who are too slow by calling a "ball". That will force them to quit stalling and get to work. None of that changes the game fundamentally. <br /><br />Getting rid of shifts is just too stupid to take seriously. And I wonder if that's the point--get people talking and see if any good ideas might come of it.<br /><br />Lowering the mound and using the "rabbit" ball had huge impacts on the game, yet the game still worked because players and managers adapted to new conditions. It's a low offense era now but that will change in time and we will see run scoring go up again. Like you said they can always move in the fences!<br /><br /><a href="http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/20/major-league-baseball-puts-fred-wilpon-in-charge-of-its-finance-committee-no-really-im-not-joking/" rel="nofollow">Fred Wilpon (Mets) was duped by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme yet he's on the Finance Committee.</a> That, perhaps, tells you more about Manfred than his utterances.<br /><br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-59276084178635480312015-01-26T11:50:46.805-08:002015-01-26T11:50:46.805-08:00Seriously, fuck that guy.Seriously, fuck that guy.Clayton Kershawnoreply@blogger.com