Moose Milligan

Good point. I am not sure how they compile advanced defensive metrics for guys that played 100+ years ago and no tape exists. Maybe @DrungoHazewood can shine some light on the subject.

More amazed that it's only 7 years in for that guy. Feels like he's been around forever for some reason. But yeah, he can take #1 for sure if he stays healthy.

Just learned that 3 out of the top 4 players in ML history from a defensive WAR perspective are Orioles. #2 Belanger #3 Brooks #4 Cal https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_def_career.shtml

I think it's almost different these days. With guys like Harper and Machado having to wait out a really long FA search and not commanding what they thought they'd get, I think buying the bats is more appetizing than arms. Bats are easier to predict, arms aren't. An awesome, mostly homegrown rotation and bullpen on cheap contracts is better to me, IMO, than spending a lot of money on a pitcher who's 30+ years old and not knowing when he's gonna need TJ surgery.

Good team, I'd take Acuna over Yellich though. Who's the 1B if you put Vlad at DH? I can't think of a really good young first baseman that I'd want to have for 10 years. There's Goldschmidt but he's 31, not sure if you'd want him for 10 years. Freddie Freeman is 29. Rizzo is 29. Votto is 35, can't have him. Matt Olson is only 24 and is the one I keep coming back to. I know the point of Frobby's exercise is to just name players regardless of position but if you're gonna break it down by position I can't think of first baseman that stacks up with the rest of the talent out there that's 23-26 years old that I'd want for 10 years.

See?

You underestimate me.

Sorry, CoC, you're just too hard to keep up with.

What's that got to do with me wanting to do what the current regime is too chicken$#*! to do? I'm going with Cruz while I stick my tongue out at you. As for the rest of the ten I'd like to have: Acuna Trout Betts Lindor Harper Bregman Vlad Jr Correa Chapman

Doesn't matter, wouldn't know what to have done with it.

1. Chris Davis So I could cut him.

Agreed, it's up to the powers that be to fix it. I think the original post has some ideas, too. How many are legit, not sure.

I agree with this the most. I think, to a certain degree, that analytics might be doing the game a disservice from this perspective. Greater value placed on strikeouts, less value placed on stolen bases. It used to be a bad thing to strike out, now it's not anymore. How do we rebound from that? Dunno. But when the guys that are re-writing how the game is viewed are wielding power and influence, it makes it tricky.

In 1920, there weren't TV commercials. Yes, it's a different game but I'm partially convinced that the length of the game is due to the amount of cutting to commercials there are. Also the amount of relievers being used. Unfortunately, commercials aren't going anywhere. I watched a game from the 90s a few weeks ago on youtube, the pace of play wasn't noticeably faster. The average game time is about 3 hours, that's the same for an NFL football game. I'm struggling to figure out why people are complaining about a game that takes 3 hours when most of them are perfectly happy to dedicate that amount of time to an NFL game on a Sunday afternoon in the fall. IMO, the game is fine as is (minus not having a DH in the NL) even though I liked some of these proposed rule changes. I've said it before, I'll say it again, MLB is so petrified about losing the next generation of fans, the ADHD Little Timmys who can't peel their attention away from their iPad for 2 seconds to look at anything else. Well, ADHD Little Timmy isn't going to care if a batter can't leave the batters box or not to keep the game moving. ADHD Little Timmy isn't going to care that a pitcher has 20 seconds between pitches. ADHD Little Timmy isn't going to care if the game is 2 hours and 55 minutes or 3 hours and 5 minutes. ADHD Little Timmy isn't going to care if the K's per game is skyrocketing. ADHD Little Timmy WILL care if someone hits a home run. And then it's right back to the iPad or whatever other digital thing he's pre-occupied with because the game is inherently boring and slow and for old people. And that's what MLB has created without the benefit of steroids (that we know of, wink wink), a game like the late 90s, early 2000s where there's a ton of homers and a lot of offense. When I was a kid (I can't believe I just said that) in the late 80s and early 90s, 30 homers was a BIG DEAL. Now there are guys hitting 30 homers I've never heard of. This is what you wanted, right, MLB? Homers all over the place sans PEDS, high flying offenses and exciting pitchers who throw 100mph gas without trying. So what are we whining about? What needs fixing? Bud Selig, as folksy and clueless as he appeared to be, wasn't that bad. What was the worst thing he did, oversee a tie in an All Star game? Look the other way on steroids when owners and players and fans were setting attendance records? This Manfred guy...take a page from Bud. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Keep a steady hand on the wheel.

Yes.

Yes: expand the rosters, universal DH, single trade deadline, ML contracts for two sport athletes, lowered mound, 20 second pitch clock (loosely enforced) No: 3 batter rule, draft advantages for winning teams and penalties for losing teams

Analytics is all encompassing.

Token post on analytics, Sig, Elias, Hyde, etc. I already covered it so you don't have to.

Happy New Year, you filthy savages, even you @atomic. Looking forward to a new era in Orioles baseball with you.

Richie Martin! Welcome to the suck!

Here we go, the Elias Era is blasting off!

It's always a good day when Rob Deer gets mentioned!

I'm excited. I can't wait for these guys to get started.

No one gets it 100% right. If anyone expects Elias and Mejdel to hit on every draft pick and win every trade while fixing every players issue to make them a star and releasing the ones that don't have any hope....it just doesn't work that way.

Manny, trying to walk it back. Nice try.