MLB 2022 Playoffs Thread

[moonslav59]

It would be a much smaller number to say who wasn’t injured, or who actually produced this year would it not? That was a big big factor this year for the lack of success.

 

Between the injuries and some declining vet numbers, yes it would be over 13 of the 26 top Sox players.

[moonslav59]

Nice gutsy win by the Phillies.

 

I wasn't sure who I wanted to win. Now, I know.

 

Go Phillies!

[jacksonianmarch]

If you’re a Sox or Yanks fan, you cannot root for the Astros over the Phil’s. You just can’t

[Bellhorn04]

Looks like Verlander got his first playoff win last night. Good for him!

 

Finally figured it out. What he's never won is a World Series game.

[Old Red]

If you’re a Sox or Yanks fan, you cannot root for the Astros over the Phil’s. You just can’t

 

I wouldn’t root for Houston as long as they still have some of the cheaters still on the club, and even if they were playing the Yankees.

[moonslav59]

Finally figured it out. What he's never won is a World Series game.

 

I know I'm going blind, but maybe deaf, too.

 

[notin]

So in tonight’s game, they were talking about Zack Wheeler’s arsenal, and they should him throwing his 4 seamer, 2 seamer and slider all superimposed on to the same delivery so it looks like he is throwing 3 pitches at once.

 

My wife saw this and sarcastically remarked “So is that how they’re going to speed up baseball next year?”

[moonslav59]

1-1 and on to Philly!

[moonslav59]

Bumming out over this WS.

 

We had tickets to see Elton John at Minute Maid Park, this Friday, but it was cancelled due to the WS game.

 

[jung]

So, has anybody noticed that nobody AND I DO MEAN NOBODY can hit a curveball to save their skins?

 

This used to be the thing that knocked you out of organized baseball. It certainly knocked me out of organized baseball. You know what these million dollar babies look like trying to hit a curveball? They look like I looked....the three H's....Hopeless, Helpless and Hapless.

[notin]

So, has anybody noticed that nobody AND I DO MEAN NOBODY can hit a curveball to save their skins?

 

This used to be the thing that knocked you out of organized baseball. It certainly knocked me out of organized baseball. You know what these million dollar babies look like trying to hit a curveball? They look like I looked....the three H's....Hopeless, Helpless and Hapless.

 

Jose Alvarado was throwing 95mph change ups. Don’t you think timing a curveball gets a little dicey when you just faced a pitcher who throws 95mph when he’s holding back?

[Bellhorn04]

So, has anybody noticed that nobody AND I DO MEAN NOBODY can hit a curveball to save their skins?

 

This used to be the thing that knocked you out of organized baseball. It certainly knocked me out of organized baseball. You know what these million dollar babies look like trying to hit a curveball? They look like I looked....the three H's....Hopeless, Helpless and Hapless.

 

Usually when someone hits a curveball, expert analysis concludes that it was a "hanger".

 

And when someone hits a slider it's concluded that it was a "cement mixer".

[moonslav59]

Usually when someone hits a curveball, expert analysis concludes that it was a "hanger".

 

Yes, the curveball that comes down right in the heart of the K zone and a batter swings and misses is rarely referred to as a "hanger."

[jung]

Usually when someone hits a curveball, expert analysis concludes that it was a "hanger".

 

And when someone hits a slider it's concluded that it was a "cement mixer".

 

Agreed....they can't actually hit even a decent curve. You can tell because they look terrible....bat not even in the same zip code with the baseball....just like I used to look. If you gave them a base fiddle, they could not hit the thing.

 

Schwarber for all his qualities hitting FB's won't even try to swing at Curves even right down Main Street. He does have a great eye though. He sees that thing spinning up there and won't even attempt a swing. Just stands there and ignores it. Heck it seems he will ignore it down in the count with two strikes hoping it drifts outside the strike zone.

 

But I am glad to see the game drifting back to its gloried past. Baseballs that fly like baseballs and not super balls. No more shift next season. Computer geeks that have no clue clearly in decline. Heck they will almost have got this game back to actual baseball again.

[moonslav59]

Agreed....they can't actually hit even a decent curve. You can tell because they look terrible....bat not even in the same zip code with the baseball....just like I used to look. If you gave them a base fiddle, they could not hit the thing.

 

Schwarber for all his qualities hitting FB's won't even try to swing at Curves even right down Main Street. He does have a great eye though. He sees that thing spinning up there and won't even attempt a swing. Just stands there and ignores it. Heck it seems he will ignore it down in the count with two strikes hoping it drifts outside the strike zone.

 

But I am glad to see the game drifting back to its gloried past. Baseballs that fly like baseballs and not super balls. No more shift next season. Computer geeks that have no clue clearly in decline. Heck they will almost have got this game back to actual baseball again.

 

The stat and "computer geeks" will still find ways to make a strong influence in the way the game is played via team approaches to defense positioning, batting and pitching.

[notin]

Agreed....they can't actually hit even a decent curve. You can tell because they look terrible....bat not even in the same zip code with the baseball....just like I used to look. If you gave them a base fiddle, they could not hit the thing.

 

Schwarber for all his qualities hitting FB's won't even try to swing at Curves even right down Main Street. He does have a great eye though. He sees that thing spinning up there and won't even attempt a swing. Just stands there and ignores it. Heck it seems he will ignore it down in the count with two strikes hoping it drifts outside the strike zone.

 

But I am glad to see the game drifting back to its gloried past. Baseballs that fly like baseballs and not super balls. No more shift next season. Computer geeks that have no clue clearly in decline. Heck they will almost have got this game back to actual baseball again.

 

Huh?

 

I’d bet more teams use them now than before. Do people think Dombrowski doesn’t have an analytics team? And that guys like Bloom are the fringey rebellious upstart outsiders using math and data? That’s the norm! Heck, sites like Fangraphs and give fans access to data.

 

In fact, things kind of thing has been around baseball longer than you realize and isn’t going anywhere. Except forward…

[Bellhorn04]

Huh?

 

I’d bet more teams use them now than before. Do people think Dombrowski doesn’t have an analytics team? And that guys like Bloom are the fringey rebellious upstart outsiders using math and data? That’s the norm! Heck, sites like Fangraphs and give fans access to data.

 

In fact, things kind of thing has been around baseball longer than you realize and isn’t going anywhere. Except forward…

 

(Oh boy, an opening for some real back-and-forth here.)

 

How do you think Bloom's data analysis paid off for the Sox this year?

[notin]

(Oh boy, an opening for some real back-and-forth here.)

 

How do you think Bloom's data analysis paid off for the Sox this year?

 

 

Not as well as Dombrowski’s, obviously.

 

What’s your point?

 

If teams do poorly, they’re NOT going to abandon analytics. They might alter which ones they use and/or how often. But no one is going back to the pre-1880 Stone Age with no analytics…

[Bellhorn04]

Not as well as Dombrowski’s, obviously.

 

What’s your point?

 

If teams do poorly, they’re NOT going to abandon analytics. They might alter which ones they use and/or how often. But no one is going back to the pre-1880 Stone Age with no analytics…

 

The point is it looks like data analysis did absolutely nothing for the Sox this year. So what exactly are the benefits? It's a serious question.

 

(One possible answer is that every team has data coming out of their ears now, so no one has an advantage any more.)

[notin]

The point is it looks like data analysis did absolutely nothing for the Sox this year. So what exactly are the benefits? It's a serious question.

 

(One possible answer is that every team has data coming out of their ears now, so no one has an advantage any more.)

 

That’s not just a possible answer. That’s where we are.

 

Teams aren’t rebellious outsiders because they use data; they’re the rebellious outsider if they don’t.

 

Of course, now that it’s mainstream, each day of the season, 50% of the teams using it will lose…

[jung]

The stat and "computer geeks" will still find ways to make a strong influence in the way the game is played via team approaches to defense positioning, batting and pitching.

 

Within reason as opposed to the unreasonable influence it has had in recent years.

[mvp 78]

The point is it looks like data analysis did absolutely nothing for the Sox this year. So what exactly are the benefits? It's a serious question.

 

(One possible answer is that every team has data coming out of their ears now, so no one has an advantage any more.)

 

Seeing that the root cause of this terrible year was injuries, I'm not sure how anyone can point their fingers at data analysis as being a problem.

[mvp 78]

Within reason as opposed to the unreasonable influence it has had in recent years.

 

What people like jung are upset about are analytics being shown to them on their tv screens. If NESN focused less on it and Bloom focused more on it, jung would probably be happier.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Seeing that the root cause of this terrible year was injuries, I'm not sure how anyone can point their fingers at data analysis as being a problem.

 

Chris, this graph shows if you use your pitching hand to pull down that big screen TV, there will be a .05% fraying of your rotator cuff... and if the bolt holding the right side of the mount is screwed into a stud, there can be up to 17% additional tension on your ulna collateral ligament.

 

But don't worry, if you get hurt, we'll tell the press you fell off your bike.

[moonslav59]

Within reason as opposed to the unreasonable influence it has had in recent years.

 

There good reason behind positioning defenders far away from their normal spots.

 

Now, there will be good reasons behind whatever comes next.

 

People used to praise Paul Blair for “playing out of position” and daring batters to hit one over his head. VTek was glorified for having an encyclopaedic brain on opposing batter tendencies. Once the brains became institutionalised, it became an evil needing excising.

[moonslav59]

Chris, this graph shows if you use your pitching hand to pull down that big screen TV, there will be a .05% fraying of your rotator cuff... and if the bolt holding the right side of the mount is screwed into a stud, there can be up to 17% additional tension on your ulna collateral ligament.

 

But don't worry, if you get hurt, we'll tell the press you fell off your bike.

 

Your posts are most entertaining.

[Bellhorn04]

Seeing that the root cause of this terrible year was injuries, I'm not sure how anyone can point their fingers at data analysis as being a problem.

 

There were other problems, though - the Bradley trade and the terrible bullpen.

 

What analytics could possible have pointed in the direction of signing Diekman, for example.

[moonslav59]

There were other problems, though - the Bradley trade and the terrible bullpen.

 

What analytics could possible have pointed in the direction of signing Diekman, for example.

 

I remember catching some flack for disparaging that signing.

 

It was the rare two years he got that surprised me. The bigger surprise was the CWS taking on his contract, and the shocker was them giving us McGuire in return!

 

I’m sure analytics was behind us liking McGuire.

[mvp 78]

There were other problems, though - the Bradley trade and the terrible bullpen.

 

What analytics could possible have pointed in the direction of signing Diekman, for example.

 

Bradley as a player is fine for the Red Sox. The salary was too high. The trade was silly. Having him on the roster isn't an issue if you are just burying his bat 9th.

 

Diekman's FIP every year prior to 2021 was under 4 except for 2017 when he only pitched 10 innings. I think he looked at Diekman and thought 2021 was just a down year and that he could bounce back. Seems more like his career is just coming to a close. There's a whole lot of red on his Statcast page prior to 2021. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jake-diekman-518617?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb

[Bellhorn04]

Bradley as a player is fine for the Red Sox. The salary was too high. The trade was silly. Having him on the roster isn't an issue if you are just burying his bat 9th.

 

You're saying the same thing as notin. I don't get it.

 

Bradley had an fWAR of -0.3. That's not fine, wherever you put it in the batting order.