2016 MLB Thread

[thatshortguy]

Wins belong somewhere below ERA in the "Stats That Matter" totem pole, since it relies on so many more factors than just how well the pitcher performed.  This is the equivalent of Verlander holding a team to one run but his teammates get shutout.  How is that Verlander's fault?

"He should have pitched better as to not give up the one run!"  Okay, so then relievers should be responsible for any baserunners, because if they pitched better, the runners would not make it home.  Also, now fielders should have ERA, because if they bungle a catch and a runner scores, that is mostly on them.

Stupid reasoning from the voters.

[Alex.]

bye bye mccann

[Meacon Keaton]

I'm underwhelmed by the return, but you can't expect much for a soon-to-be 33 year old catcher making $17 million a year.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Kris Bryant and Mike Trout are the NL and AL MVPs.

[The Buscher]

The Yankees got the Astros' #7 prospect and a guy who's touched 102 on the radar gun.  That's a heist of a deal for them even if the prospects don't pan out.

Meanwhile, sanity reigns supreme as Mike  Trout gets AL MVP.  Kris Bryant takes NL MVP as expected.

Trout won despite somebody giving him a 7th place vote.  Whoever did that seriously needs to be thrown out of the BBWAA.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Bryant got 29 of 30 1st place votes and one 2nd place vote. 415 total points. Second place (Daniel Murphy, 2B for the Nationals) got 245 points. On the AL side, Mookie Betts was 2nd place and Jose Altuve was 3rd.

[Alex.]

Yanks came out of that deal looking pretty pretty prettyyyyyyyyyyy good

 

hell if they were offering rick vaughn for mccann id take it

Edited November 18, 2016 by Alex.

[MalaCloudy Black]

http://deadspin.com/cobb-county-plans-to-bulldoze-an-entire-neighborhood-ne-1789117290

Cobb County will demolish an entire neighborhood - 31 homes - to establish a new road to the new Braves ballpark. 

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm sure @thatshortguy could elaborate, but why are the building a stadium so far away from the city center? Seems like attendance depends on how good the team is.

[DYSI]

I can't see this happening if Big Bossman were still alive. :/

[thatshortguy]

Short form of it:  Cobb County officials paid a lot of money to get that stadium in their borders.  They are viewing this stadium as a huge source of income for decades to come, so to hell with anything that gets in the way of it.

I'm tempted to start calling them the Marietta Braves of Atlanta.

[Draevyn]

So the Jay's signed Kendrys Morales which gives them less room for negotiation with Edwin and I'm just a little bit annoyed at that decision.  

[Meacon Keaton]

Brett Cecil is leaving Toronto for St. Louis on a four year deal that's expected to be for around $30 million.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

Four years is probably a year longer than I thought Cecil would get. It might be a little too much, but I'm happy for him.

The thing about the Morales deal that I don't like (more than it limits negotiations with Edwin), is how much Morales can play the field. And when he can't, it really limits Gibby's use of the DH spot. Donaldson played his fair share of games there, you'd think it be nice to throw Tulo in there a bit too. But Morales will pretty much occupy that slot every day. 

[gunnar hendershow]

The idea of everyday DH is so outdated. I know Ortiz basically defined the role, but it's better to use it to give you lineup flexibility. Have a good hitter who's dealing with a minor injury? Stick him at DH for the weekend. Have a guy who is lethal against lefties but can't field? DH for the game.

Morales basically can fill in at 1B or maybe RF from time-to-time, but is gonna spend most of his games at DH. And, yeah, if someone like Donaldson needs a day of rest  from the field he's not even gonna be in the lineup to hit.

[The Buscher]

The 2017 Hall of Fame Ballot has been released, 2016 voting percentage and year on ballot included.
 

Quote

Jeff Bagwell (71.6%, 7th year)
Casey Blake
Barry Bonds (44.3%, 5th year)
Pat Burrell
Orlando Cabrera
Mike Cameron
Roger Clemens (45.2%, 5th year)
J.D. Drew
Carlos Guillen
Vladimir Guerrero
Trevor Hoffman (67.3%, 2nd year)
Derrek Lee
Edgar Martinez (43.4%, 8th year)
Fred McGriff (20.9%, 8th year)
Melvin Mora
Mike Mussina (43.0%, 4th year)
Magglio Ordonez
Jorge Posada
Tim Raines (69.8%, 10th and final year)
Manny Ramirez
Edgar Renteria
Arthur Rhodes
Ivan Rodriguez
Freddy Sanchez
Curt Schilling (52.3%, 5th year)
Gary Sheffield (11.6%, 3rd year)
Lee Smith (34.1%, 15th and final year)
Sammy Sosa (7.0%, 5th year)
Matt Stairs
Jason Varitek
Billy Wagner (10.5%, 2nd year)
Tim Wakefield
Larry Walker (15.5%, 7th year)

Still think it's dumb that voters are limited to 10 votes, but if I had a ballot I'd go with:

Bagwell
Bonds
Clemens
Guerrero
Hoffman
Martinez
Raines
Ramirez
Rodriguez
Wagner

I took Schilling off of my ballot from a year ago.  I can't in good conscience vote for such a piece of shit. 

Beyond that I don't care about punishing steroid guys - I've little doubt that all of them would have been amazing even without PEDs.  I'd have voted for guys like Sosa and Sheffield but their vote totals are so low there's little reason to expect they'll come anywhere close.  At least a guys like Bonds and Clemens could stay middle of the pack and possibly make a late charge as they approach the end of their eligibility.

Bagwell, Raines, and maybe Hoffman seem like good bets this year based on where their vote totals were at a year ago.

[gunnar hendershow]

Mike Mussina should be on there as well, no?

Hopefully Raines and Bagwell finally get in. Lot of names who should be in but have the taint of steroids that'll keep them out like Bonds and Clemens. Not sure about Manny in that category as well. Vlad is probably a first ballot guy, but you never know with these voters.

[The Buscher]

I think Manny has a far less chance of going in than Bonds or Clemens as Manny was actually caught and suspended a few times.  But I can't deny those numbers.  Steroids might give a guy a power boost of sorts but it can't teach you timing, pitch recognition, mechanics, and everything else that goes into being a good hitter.  I still think he would have been one of the most prolific right handed bats of his generation without steroids, so he'll get my vote until his vote totals reach Sosa-levels where it's just clear it's not going to happen.

As for Mussina, I've just never been all that sold on him as a Hall of Famer.  The closest comp I can find for him is Jack Morris.  As mentioned in the Cy Young discussion I discount W/L records because the team you're on plays a big part, and he and Morris both got to play on powerhouse AL clubs for much of their careers.  The main argument you can make for him is that he pitched in the heart of the steroid era and so stats like the 3.68 career ERA (or finished 2nd in Cy Young voting with a 3.50) would be a lot lower if he pitched in today's game - but he still just rarely felt like one of the top starting pitchers in baseball when he was playing.

The only guys on my list I'd consider bumping for Mussina are Hoffman and Wagner and while some feel relievers shouldn't ever get in the Hall except in special circumstances (see:  Mo's inevitable induction in a few years) I think they deserve some respect.  It's not even anything to do with the overrated saves stat, their job was to go out 70 times a year and throw up 0s in tight games and they were both great at that year in year out, with completely different repertoires.  I grant that Moose has a better case than Morris and I wouldn't think it's a travesty if he went in, but personally I feel he's more of Hall of Very Good player.

[The Buscher]

At least 4 Rangers prospects likely to be charged with sexual assault after hazing a teammate

[GhostMachine]

Clemens, Manny, Sosa and Bonds should probably never get in. Schilling should be sent a statement by only getting in on his last year of eligibility. And it sucks because I was a fan of both Clemens (except when he was a Yankee and after he got busted) and Schilling when they were players. To me Vladimir Guerrero is not a first year inductee, and there are a few players on that list that should only get in in a year when the choices are lean or that shouldn't get in at all.

Bagwell (should have gotten in 2 or 3 years ago)

Hoffman

Martinez

Raines (should have gotten in a long time ago, and I'm calling bullshit if he's not in this year)

Rodriguez

Sheffield

Wagner

Wakefield

Why is Sheffield getting such a low percentage of votes? His personality?

As for relievers, I believe they certainly belong in the Hall. The only players I feel shouldn't get in are career DHs. (As in DHs who never ever played an actual position on the field and only hit) Because the position was originally created to extend careers of aging/injured players, but now they sometimes give it to players who have no talent except hitting.