Dodgers or Brewers?

[jung]

I still predict Sox in 6, but I am clearly rooting for Dodger blue

 

If I had to choose between rooting for the Dodgers or rooting for the Yankees in a WS, I would simply watch the games totally disinterested in the outcomes, laughing at Machado and Judge trying to out-boom box and out-crotch grab each other the whole way. Slight rooting edge for any AL team v any NL team for the NL's continued nonsense regarding the DH and the wreckage it is causing in their game and the utter stupidity of 4 WS games played one way and 3 played another way.

[notin]

This "fad" has gone from slightly over 2,000 shifts per year to over 31,000 of what used to be called an Overload shift per year and is effecting the talent level of the ballplayers on the field. I think we are beyond a fad at this point. Joe Maddon re-invented the Overload starting with PA's to David Ortiz in 2006. So we are 12 years into a "fad" that has grown 15x since then.

 

And MLB and the Commissioner can absolutely legislate the Overloaded infield.

 

And yes, if anybody is wondering, total shifts were up again 2018 over 2017.

 

And it will end when teams start beating it.

 

Maddon didn’t invent the shift, which has been in use for 9 decades in MLB. Sure he popularized it recently but it has come and gone before.

 

Right now this is a swing and miss/all or nothing/strikeout or home run league. As a result, fewer hitters are going the other way or trying to make any contact. This plays into shift usage. When “contact rate” becomes the next buzzword, shifts will decline.

 

And if Manfred legislates a defensive alignment because some fans don’t like it, he should resign. His whole “pace of play” campaign has been laughably bad since all he has to do is enforce existing rules...

[sk7326]

And it will end when teams start beating it.

 

Maddon didn’t invent the shift, which has been in use for 9 decades in MLB. Sure he popularized it recently but it has come and gone before.

 

Right now this is a swing and miss/all or nothing/strikeout or home run league. As a result, fewer hitters are going the other way or trying to make any contact. This plays into shift usage. When “contact rate” becomes the next buzzword, shifts will decline.

 

And if Manfred legislates a defensive alignment because some fans don’t like it, he should resign. His whole “pace of play” campaign has been laughably bad since all he has to do is enforce existing rules...

 

The Red Sox were overloading in 2013 - they talked about their shifting then. The Pirates had a dedicated analytics assistant for defensive positioning at least that long.

 

It is hard to argue that shifts are okay, while shifts that are better thought out are bad. I mean there are definitely aspects of analytically driven baseball which are antithetical to fun - bullpen games being the most egregious. Shifts are just the usual cat and mouse game between defense and offense.

 

The pace of play stuff is silly - and it is one of the areas where the shifting HAS hurt. There is evidence that walks are up - possibly because pitchers are trying to be too fine to pitch to the defensive alignment. I mean, the biggest atrocity of the LCS series entertainment-wise was Game 1 of the LCS ... and that's because allegedly the two best teams in baseball could not stop walking people.

[jung]

And it will end when teams start beating it.

 

Maddon didn’t invent the shift, which has been in use for 9 decades in MLB. Sure he popularized it recently but it has come and gone before.

 

Right now this is a swing and miss/all or nothing/strikeout or home run league. As a result, fewer hitters are going the other way or trying to make any contact. This plays into shift usage. When “contact rate” becomes the next buzzword, shifts will decline.

 

And if Manfred legislates a defensive alignment because some fans don’t like it, he should resign. His whole “pace of play” campaign has been laughably bad since all he has to do is enforce existing rules...

 

Well the Pace of Play issue and the impact from the Overload really are not the same thing. Pace of play is driving what players do or don't do but its not driving the actual talents of the players unless we want to make the case that earthworms have a shot at filling a ML uni some day. The Overload is actually effecting the talents of the players on the field and that will ultimately effect player development if its not already (hint: it is already).

 

Not sure how I feel about the pace of play issue in the post season. Do NFL officials call games the same way in their post season? NOPE...not even close. I do know that pace of play is driving MLB off the major networks and onto cable and that is not good for MLB.

 

We already have had the complaint that people can't find the post season games and in some cases can't watch them at all. Games are too long and actually too unstructured for Networks. You can't do your network planning around what is now such a wide spectrum of game times in MLB. 2:30 v 4:00 does not get it done. Though in truth, we baseball enthusiasts have to come to terms with the simple fact that if the National Pastime still enjoyed wide appeal, the Networks would find a way to make that work. We are being driven off the Networks by Survivor and drivel of that sort. Honestly surprised that Fox is carrying the WS. Won't likely see that much longer either.

 

Pace of play is really about rhythm. Pitchers are trying to get hitters out of their rhythm and hitters trying to do the same to pitchers. So enforce the rules. Keep the batters in the box and force the pitchers to throw. Take that rhythm disruption part of the game which never existed before back out of the game and we are back to 3:00 games on average.

[sk7326]

Well the Pace of Play issue and the impact from the Overload really are not the same thing. Pace of play is driving what players do or don't do but its not driving the actual talents of the players unless we want to make the case that earthworms have a shot at filling a ML uni some day. The Overload is actually effecting the talents of the players on the field and that will ultimately effect player development if its not already (hint: it is already).

 

Not sure how I feel about the pace of play issue in the post season. Do NFL officials call games the same way in their post season? NOPE...not even close. I do know that pace of play is driving MLB off the major networks and onto cable and that is not good for MLB.

 

We already have had the complaint that people can't find the post season games and in some cases can't watch them at all. Games are too long and actually too unstructured for Networks. You can't do your network planning around what is now such a wide spectrum of game times in MLB. 2:30 v 4:00 does not get it done. Though in truth, we baseball enthusiasts have to come to terms with the simple fact that if the National Pastime still enjoyed wide appeal, the Networks would find a way to make that work. We are being driven off the Networks by Survivor and drivel of that sort. Honestly surprised that Fox is carrying the WS. Won't likely see that much longer either.

 

Pace of play is really about rhythm. Pitchers are trying to get hitters out of their rhythm and hitters trying to do the same to pitchers. So enforce the rules. Keep the batters in the box and force the pitchers to throw. Take that rhythm disruption part of the game which never existed before back out of the game and we are back to 3:00 games on average.

 

The thing with the shift is that it should have caused an inordinately large LH/RH split leaguewide - since lefthanders are subject to the most extreme shifting. But as far as I can tell, there is not much actual evidence therein. The emphasis on defensive positioning has been a long time coming - the Royals won two pennants on it. Like any sport the league became copycats there. Eventually there will be a team which will just feast on slap hitting and maybe the curve bends back.

 

The move to cable is less than it seems too. I mean outside of the NFL, the other major sports all run their playoffs predominantly on cable prior to the Finals - and they are all still paying through the nose for the rights to do so. FOX put the LCS on FS1 because the channel needed some sort of ratings boost. Pace of play does have some merit - although stuff like a pitch clock is a bad idea. I think a better idea is saying that a pitcher who enters the game has to face at least three hitters. The comical level of pitching changes in close games and hyper matching up is bad. Also - while the emphasis on bullpens is sensible (third time through the order penalties and so forth) - a world where we are no longer expecting high paid starting pitchers to be Jack Morris in 1991-style heroes I think is less entertaining. (and entertainment of course is why all of this exists in the first place) The league could also benefit from people at the league office level who actually celebrated the players and stars the game is generating now. (MLB network's flagship broadcast was 20+ weeks of Grandpa Simpson "Old Men Yell At Cloud" level get off my lawn bellyaching) There are no shortage of young stars in this World Series - let's see the league embrace it.

[moonslav59]

They’ve got the left handed starters and would benefit from using them in games 1-3. Throw Buehler game 4 and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. The Dodgers are one of the deeper teams in the post season while the Sox aren’t as deep, they are the best. This is gonna be a good series. I still predict Sox in 6, but I am clearly rooting for Dodger blue

 

You've been saying the Sox aren't deep all year, and yet our replacement players subs and bottom of the order guys have carried us time and time again.

 

We got 38 starts from pitchers not named Sale, Price, Porcello, ERod & Pom.

9-4 Johnson

6-6 Eovaldi (not counting the playoffs)

5-3 Velazquez

3-1 Wright

 

Our pen was strongly bolstered by Brasier.

Pen depth Relief IP/ ERA

54.2 Velazquez 2.63

41.1 Workman 3.27

38.2 Johnson 4.19

33.2 Brasier 1.60

29.2 Wright 1.52

22.1 Poyner 3,22

14.2 Walden 3.68

(All not viewed as significant pen pieces on opening day.)

 

On the everyday side of the ledger:

 

Let's not forget that Moreland started the year as a sub- not even a platoon player. We also picked up Pearce.

 

Our catcher depth was fantastic on defense- all that reallymatters.

 

Pedey was out pretty much all year.

.774 Holt

.744 Lin

.677 Nunez

.604 Kinsler (stabilized the defense)

 

Our line-up balance might not lead the league, but they have pulled their weight.

 

I'm glad teams keep underestimating our role players and bottom of the order hitters.

 

JBJ, Holt and Pearce keep on producing. Now, even Vaz is hitting.

 

 

 

[OH FOY]

I think Kershaw here gets a beatdown. He's not same Pitcher he was a couple of years ago. Hill's, Bruce Hurst style more suited for Fenway.

[sk7326]

You've been saying the Sox aren't deep all year, and yet our replacement players subs and bottom of the order guys have carried us time and time again.

 

We got 38 starts from pitchers not named Sale, Price, Porcello, ERod & Pom.

9-4 Johnson

6-6 Eovaldi (not counting the playoffs)

5-3 Velazquez

3-1 Wright

 

Our pen was strongly bolstered by Brasier.

Pen depth Relief IP/ ERA

54.2 Velazquez 2.63

41.1 Workman 3.27

38.2 Johnson 4.19

33.2 Brasier 1.60

29.2 Wright 1.52

22.1 Poyner 3,22

14.2 Walden 3.68

(All not viewed as significant pen pieces on opening day.)

 

On the everyday side of the ledger:

 

Let's not forget that Moreland started the year as a sub- not even a platoon player. We also picked up Pearce.

 

Our catcher depth was fantastic on defense- all that reallymatters.

 

Pedey was out pretty much all year.

.774 Holt

.744 Lin

.677 Nunez

.604 Kinsler (stabilized the defense)

 

Our line-up balance might not lead the league, but they have pulled their weight.

 

I'm glad teams keep underestimating our role players and bottom of the order hitters.

 

JBJ, Holt and Pearce keep on producing. Now, even Vaz is hitting.

 

 

 

 

The Red Sox bullpen has been unfairly maligned because of a stretch late in the year where Sale's absence created a serious lack of reliable innings from the starting rotation. But the bullpen in reality has largely been pretty good all season, and Brasier's emergence late was huge. The team's depth has been a tremendous strength - which allowed them to absorb Devers' struggles, and then allow for Devers to re-emerge in October.

 

The Red Sox have been the league's best team from wire to wire without a real weakness (shaky infield defense and an offensive black hole at catcher). They are the best team in the league. They might not win the World Series - because that's baseball. But we should not be afraid of the reality.

[Bellhorn04]

I think Kershaw here gets a beatdown. He's not same Pitcher he was a couple of years ago.

 

Don't sell him short. He's still pretty freakin' good.

[jung]

The thing with the shift is that it should have caused an inordinately large LH/RH split leaguewide - since lefthanders are subject to the most extreme shifting. But as far as I can tell, there is not much actual evidence therein. The emphasis on defensive positioning has been a long time coming - the Royals won two pennants on it. Like any sport the league became copycats there. Eventually there will be a team which will just feast on slap hitting and maybe the curve bends back.

 

The move to cable is less than it seems too. I mean outside of the NFL, the other major sports all run their playoffs predominantly on cable prior to the Finals - and they are all still paying through the nose for the rights to do so. FOX put the LCS on FS1 because the channel needed some sort of ratings boost. Pace of play does have some merit - although stuff like a pitch clock is a bad idea. I think a better idea is saying that a pitcher who enters the game has to face at least three hitters. The comical level of pitching changes in close games and hyper matching up is bad. Also - while the emphasis on bullpens is sensible (third time through the order penalties and so forth) - a world where we are no longer expecting high paid starting pitchers to be Jack Morris in 1991-style heroes I think is less entertaining. (and entertainment of course is why all of this exists in the first place) The league could also benefit from people at the league office level who actually celebrated the players and stars the game is generating now. (MLB network's flagship broadcast was 20+ weeks of Grandpa Simpson "Old Men Yell At Cloud" level get off my lawn bellyaching) There are no shortage of young stars in this World Series - let's see the league embrace it.

 

Actually we had the slap hitting era already. It was the astro turf era with hitting coaches teaching hitters to purposefully put the ball on the ground which was not for many stadiums actually ground. It was hideous baseball. Too little power and too much straight line speed as opposed to speed and agility. It was even more awful than one dimensional power baseball.

 

The thing to remember about where sports programing appears is that the networks bid for it if they choose to do so. If ABC outbid Fox, they games would be on ABC. The fact that the Networks are not for the most part bidding is what makes for control by certain networks over others. TBS for example does not have near the bidding muscle of a major network. Baseball is more effected because it WAS the National Pastime and is based on a 162 game season. Nothing else in sports entertainment had that model nor close to that model nor that moniker nor that profile.

 

My biggest complaint about the Old Men Yell at Cloud issue is that they should do one or the other. Do not revel in these players for being vocal, somewhat verbally and emotionally aggressive and then stuff them down a hole when it blows up in their faces. The talking heads of baseball turn into the same thing that Cable News has turned politics into...another personality contest built from nonsense. Either accept it for what it is or don't. Don't make it some contest of "well lets see how this works out" and then pulverize the player when his antics appear to blow up in his face within the context of game results. That is bold faced hypocrisy. Its BS and I don't blame the players for not giving a rats behind what the talking heads and by extension us think about that stuff.

Edited October 21, 2018 by jung

[moonslav59]

The Red Sox bullpen has been unfairly maligned because of a stretch late in the year where Sale's absence created a serious lack of reliable innings from the starting rotation. But the bullpen in reality has largely been pretty good all season, and Brasier's emergence late was huge. The team's depth has been a tremendous strength - which allowed them to absorb Devers' struggles, and then allow for Devers to re-emerge in October.

 

The Red Sox have been the league's best team from wire to wire without a real weakness (shaky infield defense and an offensive black hole at catcher). They are the best team in the league. They might not win the World Series - because that's baseball. But we should not be afraid of the reality.

 

Well said.

 

I was going to mention the depth behind Devers, but my gut was telling me it was not all that productive, but you are right. It remained good enough until Devers was ready to take it back.

 

Also, Holt not only did very well, this was probably his best year, ever, including his all star season.

 

Pearce has been a fantastic bench piece. Moreland and Vaz seem to be returning to what they already have shown they can be.

 

To me, only Nunez and Swihart (non-pitchers) appear to be "let downs" over our pre-season expectations.

[dgalehouse]

I think the Dodgers are by far the toughest foe we could have faced in the Fall Classic. The Sox should prevail, but they will have to continue to get the big hit and make the big play . This is not going to be all that easy.