Chromehill

That may be true about the Astros monkeying around with their stat collection. I would assume that every MLB team when evaluating someone else's players/prospects is relying on their own scouting, data collection and analysis. Also, you play half your games away from your own stadium, any funny stuff the Astros did would most likely be discovered.

Is it possible for MLB to just let each individual franchise decide how many minor league teams it needs in its system instead of having a blanket policy? I can see MLB having minimum standards for playing field conditions, after that, does it matter if one franchise wants 6 minor league teams and another only wants 4?

Exactly. When the shift giveth more than it taketh teams will stop shifting.

I have zero interest in making changes to the fundamental rules of the game that have been in place for 100 years. No need to change the foul ball rule. I also do not like the 3 batter minimum for pitchers. The state baseball is in today is driven from the optimization strategy on what gets your the team the most wins. Right now the home run is king. MLB needs to get rid of the super ball, this should reduce homeruns which could result in a different optimization strategy to win. Reducing homeruns is the key. If replacing the super ball does not work, raise the mound. Eventually this results in a greater emphasis of getting on base, which probably means hitters start looking to beat the shift and batters value making contact. I think the emphasis on batters trying to draw walks is here to stay because not making outs and getting on base is critical to scoring runs. Same as pitchers looking for strikeouts is here to stay, if the batter doesn't the hit ball, you can't get hurt.

I agree with you, problem is what is done is done. The last half decade the team poured all their resources into the major league roster to hopefully win it all. The result the major league team that collapsed in September 2017. They doubled down for 2018 and now they have a lousy major league roster with a barren farm system. At this point the complete rebuild is the only logical approach. Adding Jim Palmer and Cal Ripken in their primes would not make this team competitive (.500). They need more quality players which is going to take years.

Funny that you mention Hank Aaron. When I was a kid I would read a lot of books about sports, Hank Aaron's book was the only one I could not finish, got tired of reading him saying how great he was. He was great...most people like humility in others.

Davis is not going to accept a minor league assignment for the simple fact that he may not hit any better down there. Ego wise he cannot take that chance. He is striking out nearly half his plate appearances, he is done. Probably as much mental as physical at this point. At least keeping him around allows the typical fan to say "I can do as good as him", when compared to Davis there is a lot of truth in that, the average guy in the stands really could not play much worse than he is right now. Sadly with Flanagan, he was one of those individuals who dealt with demons (real or imagined) his whole life and could never overcome it. For most of us who are healthy, it makes no sense, but is very real to the person dealing with depression.

If you look at Davis's stats the last 2 years, the big difference is he walked 20 less times in 2018 compared to 2017 and had 19 less hits. His plate appearances and strikeouts are very close both seasons. What this means, not sure. Digging a little deeper, he hit more ground balls and fly balls in 2018 and less line drives, not hitting the ball as consistently as hard as 2017. It would seem his pitch selection is down causing less walks and when he does swing, it is either swinging at pitches he can't do much with, or just can't drive the ball like he use too. Could be all 3. 2018 2017 PA 522 524 Hits 79 98 Walks 41 61 K 192 195

I believe the Orioles reached a settlement/agreement with Sid Fernandez and Ponson in the past. Terms unknown. If Davis really stinks it up again and Elias cannot release him, I think what we see is Davis being the 25th man on the roster and rarely plays. Obviously the Orioles would love for Davis to walk away with some kind of settlement. If he can't hit, eventually you have to release him, addition by subtraction.

Eller's comment about .214 and the first 3 pitches being the key. It all gets back to what Ted Williams said, get a good pitch to hit. If the first pitch is a fast ball down the middle, waist high, you have to be swinging. As Eller said, if you are getting breaking balls that are out of the zone, you obviously take them. Follow get a good pitch to hit, the batter will draw walks and be swinging at good pitches which should result in hard hit balls.

Sisco is not going to fare well with Sig's projection models.

I believe Verlander also changed the grip on his slider while he was in Detroit since he noticed that it was being hit hard (he did not know to what extent). He made the adjustment on his own, figured he had to try something different. Houston knew about his slider being hit hard and the subsequent improvement and actually asked him if he changed his grip. I believe Houston had him throw the slider more. With Altuve and Springer, Houston gave them a plan to work on that was developed from their analytics. To be honest when it comes to hitting, Ted Williams had it right, get a good pitch to hit. Common sense, lay off the stuff on the outside. Kuchel also benefitted from pitching to the outside and the use of shifts. Houston was able to convince them all of the improvement plan because they had the analytic data to back it up.

I would not take much from the Sun article, I would think that Davis is going to keep things close to the vest regarding his plans (if any other than pumping iron). He should talk to JD Martinez. Martinez re-invented his swing before the 2014 season after being released by Houston. Of course he was only 25 at the time. Davis needs a new approach to hitting, if not, 2019 will be a 2018 repeat.

You don't know until you try.

If it comes to it, you don't play him at all with the exception of mop-up duty. Davis has made $96 million in his career, he will be receiving deferred money from the Orioles, basically he has a choice assuming he cannot return to being a respectable ballplayer: 1. Ride the bench the next four years, hardly playing and spending lots of time away from his family 2. Accept a buyout and spend lots of time with his family Either way he is set for life financially and his life style will not change unless he did something incredibly stupid.