MLB 2014 season thread

Mitch Moreland - an outfielder - just pitched a 1-2-3 inning at Coors Field for the Rangers. He hit 93 mph on the gun repeatedly and broke Blackmon's bat on a heater inside.

 

I bet it would be very illuminating to see how many position players could crack 90 on the gun. Lot of big outfield arms.

 

And the newest baseball tradition: The walkoff replay reversal.

 

This is the only time "walkoff" is appropriate. There is no such thing as a walkoff hit.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source--pirates-offered-star-prospect-gregory-polanco-a-long-term-deal-232433631.html

Jeff Passan column on Polanco, including why he was right to turn down a long-term contract offer from the Pirates. Passan blames the system more than the team, calling for a rule change, which is perfectly fair. Polanco will likely be in the minors until the Super 2 cut-off, meaning his arrival would be delayed until June. Also, according to Passan, this is done to money on him while he is under control, not hold on to him for another season. It is also a good bit longer than three weeks given that he should have been up before now.

 

Dennis Eckersley coined the term "walkoff," to describe what the pitcher --- not the hitter --- does after the game-winning play.

 

This is a $20 million+ kind of decision. When you're the Pirates, you can't afford to mess around with that unless you are sure that it will make a gigantic difference. That's just the way the game works in MLB.

You talk about windows, but the Pirates were due for a regression this season. It's happening. They weren't supposed to win last year, and that's coming back to rear it's head this year. Should they be this bad? No, but there's a reason their Vegas over/under preseason was like 84.

The reason the Pirates are playing so poorly is the pitching. The bullpen went from first last year to last in the NL right now. The staff has performed below expectations. Offensively, while it has been a bit of a struggle, the team OBP is mid-pack. The BABIP is uncommonly low. Those things will even out, and so will the team's performance, most likely.

Polanco isn't going to hit 18 home runs per game. It's a smart decision, especially when you're talking about THAT much money.

 

Two different deadlines, two different discussions.

"The super-2 arbitration thing is a bit murkier, I guess."

 

They regressed because they did nothing to improve the team. They lost every key free agent and hit the scrap heap to find replacements. They chose the cheap route. Again.

 

The Pirates are oop's hate-fuck. He wants to stop but he can't.

 

It has been pretty clear that is what they are waiting on all along. If you did not realize that, you did not know what you were talking about.

 

Why would I want to stop? They keep proving me right.