moonslav59

That's how I see it. I'll add that getting just a sandwich pick for him, if he bolts after 2022, would be a disaster.

Yes, I believe the ump can ask other umps, if they saw it, but I never understood why another ump can't initiate the conversation, if he saw something different.

Not me, but apparently the MLB execs do.

The whole talk of us "not deserving" a playoff slot is hogwash. The context is out of whack. We have played a tougher schedule than the Yanks and Jays (maybe not the M's) and are 1 down on the Yanks and 1 up on the Jays. It's not some favor the league has given us to be playing the O's and Nats to end the season. We played our tougher game earlier. I feel good knowing the Yanks or Jays will lose every night over the next 3 days. If we win, we gain on somebody or put more distance between us and a team below us. It's as simple as that. We beat the Yanks 10-9. We beat the Jays 10-9. How they fare against each other may determine who really does "not deserve" a playoff slot.

You guys are hanging in there, this year. That win last night was big and forceful.

...and it can be a major one. With multiple bad calls, like that game, seemingly way more against the Sox, it can be the most important reason for a loss. Of course, we don't know what might have happened had one or more calls been different.

I saw some article on how to increase HRs: just move home plate up a few feet and push back the whole diamond. This would also have the effect of increasing foul territory and more foul outs, but it seems like a better idea than tinkering with the ball. I'm not sure how they would mandate the changes. Would hitter's parks need to do it, too? Maybe give clubs a range or 1-3 or 4 feet? Make bigger parks a range of 3-5 feet?

Yes, we are talking the last 10-12 years, not just this year.

Third might get some debate. KC, Miami, Seattle, Cleveland, Cincy- sometimes, these teams spent a lot.

Greg Maddux is on my short list.

Who is second? The A's?

While Gibson was certainly one of a kind, and nobody can really touch his 1968 season, unless you compare it to the rest of the league that year. (One could argue Pedro had more dominating seasons as the league was a hitter's league when he excelled.) Gibson's best 10 years were from 1964 to 1973. 2.58 ERA (139 ERA+) 267 IP per season (average) with 32 GS'd. The WHIP of 1.099 was excellent but not the best ever. ERA- from 1964-1973 57 Koufax 61 Wilhelm 69 Seaver 71 Gibson 10 pitchers had a better WHIP, including the players above and Marichal, Jenkins and Vida Blue. Don Drysdale was tied. 1968 was amazing. Look up his game logs and you will be shocked. He had a 258 ERA+ and a 1.77 FIP. However, his next highest ERA+ were 164, 151, 148 and139. When compared to one's peers, Pedro was perhaps the best ever: TOP ERA+ seasons: 291, 243, 219, 211, 202, 188, 163 and several more over 120. His best 10 years (1996-2005) saw this: 2.60 ERA (177 ERA+) and a 0.992 WHIP 206 IP per season with 30 starts average. The ERA+ margin is high enough for me to call Pedro the best of the best for any given 4 to 10 year period.

Wins 2020-2021: 143 LAD 137 TBR 131 SFG 123 CWS 123 MIL 122 NYY 120 HOU 120 ATL

I stand corrected. I guess I am guilty of the "recency effect" like many others I criticize for doing.

A dropped ball should be reviewable, no matter what the situation. I agree, as long as limits are placed on how many calls can be reviewed, why not make any and every play or pitch reviewable?

I would not try to change Devers' hitting approach. He hits many balls out of the zone for HRs and hits. It's nice to have varied hitting approaches in a given line-up to keep pitchers off balance and unable to find a groove that works against like batters. Clearly, the defensive issue with Devers is throwing. Half his errors are throwing, and that is more than the league norm. I'm not sure how fixable that is. It seems like his footwork is "sloppy" and not consistent, but sometimes he just seems to botch a perfect positioned throw. He has shown he can be a plus defender for very long periods, so I keep thinking, he can and will improve, but then he goes through awful fielding slumps- often when he is struggling to hit as well. Moving him to 1B, LF or DH could happen, but I do not see any Devers move coming in the next year. We aren't swapping his position with Dalbec, so 1B is occupied. With Casas a year or so away, 1B might not be ideal, anyway. It's a tough call, but I want Devers signed, long term.

Yes, 10-9 vs each, bt in 3 or 4 way ties, I'm not sure how it works. The link provided does not work for me.

I seriously doubt Bogey agrees to move off SS, and the Sox may not want to do that anyway, at least for a few more years. I hope we lock up Devers long time, but Bogey is a tough call. I'd make him a fair offer, and if he says no, I might see what we can get for him. I'd also ask around about Vaz before taking his $7M contract option.

I didn't realize you were going back beyond 2009 From 2010 on the Rays have out performed the Yanks.

Beats the Yanks over that time period.

We never seemed to have those iron horse type pitchers, but even Luis Tiant, a pitcher who remade himself after a very bad injury, pitched 272 innings in '73, 311 in '74, 260 in '75 (at age 34) and 279 in '76. He started 38 games for us twice and over 30 for 7 straight seasons at age 32 and older.

Very thoughtful reply. Sorry for not being more clear. I'd still like to see the league wide numbers for SP'er the first, second, third and fourth time through line-ups in the 60's, 70's 80's and 90's- basically before teams started noticing drop offs and made radical changes to how pens were used and starters were babied. Also, did teams encourage starters to not "pace themselves" but to just "get us to the 7th, then later the 6th, and now just to or into the 5th?

100% Plus, the players who make the most money are usually the ones who get boo'd more often and more loudly.

No MLB baseball game is a given. No series, for that matter. To me, going 2-4 or 3-3 in the next 6 games can be viewed as a meltdown.

I think the Rays would probably have a ring by now had they just had $20-40M more to spend, but who knows? I'm not sure it really matters, except to the Rays. It seems we will always be near the tax line and go over it when we feel a push will get us a ring. 2013 was the only season we did not make a mega push the prior winter. Yes, we spent a lot, but that was mostly the money we had saved by trading away so much contract money the prior year. I think we will pounce again. I'm not sure if Henry and Bloom think this is the winter to do it. They might be looking at 2022-2023, but with JD and Bogey free to leave after 2022, maybe they think there is a one year window to go big, but still look good after the Bogey/JD choices or replacements are made. It will be very interesting to see who Bloom's first large and long contract will go to.