2020 Installment of MLB Bitchin' & Moanin'

[AUJarhead]

We split with the twins, and Atlanta should be glad you're not over paying for Donaldson.  (.244/3/8)

[Snaggletiger]

We split with the twins, and Atlanta should be glad you're not over paying for Donaldson.  (.244/3/8)

Troof.  I wanted JD back but the reality is he was asking way too much to be on the back side of his career.  Obviously, Ozuna has been a good rental so far, but that may wind up being exactly what he is, a 60 game rental.  It appears we've been doing that a lot recently with Matt Kemp, JD and now Ozuna.  But Ozuna is only 29 so he may be one they want to lock up for a while.  I guess they could use that $18 large they're paying Cole Hamels to sleep in every day to help get it done. 

[Snaggletiger]

Sweet Haysus.  29 runs??  I turned it on when they had 7.  Wow.  29 runs?  Granted, the Marlins left their guys on the bump to eat innings, knowing they had 15 games in 11 days coming up.  But still impressive to center it up that well.

[AUJarhead]

Did they pull up GF to pitch for them?  And they still scored 9. 

[Snaggletiger]

Did they pull up GF to pitch for them?  And they still scored 9.

The Braves pitching is so depleted that when it was 16-8, I was thinking how embarrassing it will be to score 20 and lose.

[AUJarhead]

Not that it really matters since the Cubs are going all the way, but still pretty cool to see a NL record get broken.

Cards now have 23 games in 18 days.  No breaks between now and the end of the season.  If we make the playoffs it will be a goddamn miracle.

Cubs have no double headers, and two days off.  Braves with no double headers and one day off.

[Snaggletiger]

Not that it really matters since the Cubs are going all the way, but still pretty cool to see a NL record get broken.

Cards now have 23 games in 18 days.  No breaks between now and the end of the season.  If we make the playoffs it will be a goddamn miracle.

Cubs have no double headers, and two days off.  Braves with no double headers and one day off.

He speaks for all of us.

[Snaggletiger]

Question for Jarbuzz, since you guys are the only ones ever in here.  So we're 40+ games into this shortened season.  Well, everyone except the sickly Cards.  What do you think about the rules changes implemented for this shortened season.  Am I right in understanding they're experimental?  There are others, but basically, the big changes are:

Designated hitters in the NL

Any pitcher who comes in the game must face a minimum of 3 batters

7 inning games in double headers

Every extra inning begins with a runner on second.


I'll step out there and say I love every one of them. 

DH in the NL:  I've been an advocate of that for years.  Even though the numbers don't bear it out so far in this shortened season, I think in the long run, another legit bat in the line up has to add more excitement to the game.  Honestly, I don't want to see your two worst batters in the 7 and 8 spots, and then a pitcher who is 2 for 47 come to the plate.

3 Batter Minimum: No brainer here.  Critics of the game and its snail's pace, have ripped the practice of bringing in a pitcher to face one batter.  Then doing it again, and again, and again.  It just brings the game to standstill. 

7 inning double headers and the runner on second:  Baseball purists may have a legit gripe with putting a runner on 2nd to start an inning, but I'm fine with it.  I can live with that change to stop games from drawing out 5 1/2 hours til 2:00 in the morning. 

Most of these rules are to speed the game up and add some excitement and hopefully attract a younger demographic.  I'd even consider implementing a pitch clock.  Get the damn sign and throw the ball. And Mr. Batter, get your ass in the box and hit.  I don't want to watch you step out after every pitch, undo both batting gloves and re-strap them, take three practice swings, hold your hand up to the ump for time while you dig back in....  


Please opine. 

[AUJarhead]

I have never been a fan of the DH.  I like that the pitcher has to bat, I like the strategy of it, walking a guy to face a pitcher with 2 outs.

The other rules haven't bothered me.  I didn't expect like starting a runner at 2nd in extra innings.  Wondering if baseball needs to modify it's standings, so instead of just win/loss, go to a point system.  So even if you lose in extra inning, you still get a point - similar to hockey losing a game in an extra period or a shoot out.  So win gets you 3 points, extra inning loss gets you 1 point.

[Buzz Killington]

I agree with the cheater.  I would rather see nobody with a DH.  Otherwise, I like the new rules.

[Snaggletiger]

There's no other sport that I can think of where a team HAS to send their weakest link up to face the opposition.  The other team literally gets a freebie every 9th batter. 

There are exceptions in that there's a handful of pitchers who can consistently put good wood on the ball.  (I said wood and ball in the same sentence.) But as a Braves fan, I can name very few who I would stop and watch with interest that something might happen.  And that spans back a long time. Tom Glavine and Greg Maddox could hit, along with Smoltz.  Tim Hudson could rake too. 

BTW, every time I think about Hudson's stats at Auburn, it leaves me bumfuzzled.  1997 stats:

Pitching:  15-2  2.97 ERA  165 K's

Hitting: .396 average  18 HR  95 RBI

That's an okay season. Holy shit! I do agree having pitchers hit forces a manager to make more actual in game decisions other than when to go to the pen.  You start having to go to your bench and also decide who you want to save as a pinch hitter for the late innings.  Maybe that's why I'm against it, because we have Brian Snitker making those decisions. 

[AUJarhead]

BTW, every time I think about Hudson's stats at Auburn, it leaves me bumfuzzled.  1997 stats:

Pitching:  15-2  2.97 ERA  165 K's

Hitting: .396 average  18 HR  95 RBI

I wish he had been drafted by an NL team for that very reason.  How did he do in Atlanta at the plate, I didn't pay much attention.

[Snaggletiger]

I wish he had been drafted by an NL team for that very reason.  How did he do in Atlanta at the plate, I didn't pay much attention.

I take back my "rake" analogy.  More like a whisk broom.  I don't know how his stats compare to other pitchers but he was in the .160's during his 9 year ATL career.  Rarely went deep (3) and averaged 3 or 4 RBI a year.

The thing I didn't take into account was that before Atlanta, he was in the AL for 6 years with the DH, so I imagine it was hard to adjust.  That goes along with another reason I'm not a fan of pitchers hitting.  Not only are they in the league solely for their arm, they only get a couple of plate appearances every 4-5 days.  That's tough as hell on the regulars.

[GH2001]

We split with the twins, and Atlanta should be glad you're not over paying for Donaldson.  (.244/3/8)

Ahem

yeah. I was lambasted by most of my fellow Braves fans over that take back in the off-season. I posted it somewhere on here too at some point. Sorry he just wasn’t worth that. Not when he was gonna be close to 40 at the end of that contract.

[GH2001]

Here is my thing with Donaldson and to a lesser degree freeman. Sure they had nice seasons. But when it mattered. In the playoffs. They didn’t do jack fuckin shit. Freddie had the broken finger thing going on so I get it. He toughed it out. But Donaldson hit 250 for the season and 150 when it counted in the playoffs.

The biggest loss from Donaldson? Defense. He had one of the best defensive stat lines in the league. But a 35 year old who JUST plays good defense and goes all or nothing on the long ball is not worth 100 million. Not when he only hits 250. And not when he’s MIA when you need him most.

You know who did show up in the playoffs once his team got there? Ozuna

The Braves May have a drop off. Who knows. But it won’t have anything to do with Donaldson. 

most of the way there. Let’s see how the playoffs go to complete the story 

[Snaggletiger]

Cards split a double dipper with Detroit.  Cubbies handle the Little Red Machine and the Bravos come back to top the boys from DC. 

As for Donaldson, Ozuna has more than filled that void.  I wanted JD long term in the ATL, but like GH said, at that price on the back end of his career, it would have been like the Angels signing Pujols. 

[AUJarhead]

Cards split a double dipper with Detroit.

Wasn't just that we split a double header, we had a 3-1 lead in the top of the 7th, and our closer, Gallegos, left in the inning with a groin injury.

Could be bad with a ton of games on deck.

[Snaggletiger]

Wasn't just that we split a double header, we had a 3-1 lead in the top of the 7th, and our closer, Gallegos, left in the inning with a groin injury.

Could be bad with a ton of games on deck.

Ouch!  So is he your main closer? 

[AUJarhead]

Ouch!  So is he your main closer?

He had taken it over the last week or so. 

[Buzz Killington]

Meanwhile the Cubs are in the midst of being swept in Milwaukee...I miss football basketball hockey Seinfeld reruns.