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TommyPickles

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    This turned out to be a great time to go cheap

    in Orioles Talk

    Posted

    Imagine being the Dodgers...

    All that money and all those prospects for a year of Mookie Betts and some expensive years of David Price.  Season gets delayed, shortened, and jeopordized by Covid, then Price opts out of playing.

    I mean, I don't feel bad for them, they've won their division like 7 years in a row, but they seem like the team that was most "all in" on this season.

    • Upvote 1

    Who will be the "pleasant surprise" for the O's in 2020?

    in Orioles Talk

    Posted

    1 hour ago, wildcard said:

    Here is the lineup I have been playing with:

    1. Alberto 2B (R)
    2. Stewart LF  (L)
    3. Hays CF (R)
    4. Davis 1B (L)
    5. Nunez DH (R)
    6. Santander RF (S)
    7. Severino C (R)
    8. Ruiz 3B   (L)
    9. Iglesias SS (R)

    I think this looks good, only Davis may have to be dropped down.  Not that it really matters for playoffs or anything, but this lineup is sure going to miss Mancini's 35 homer/.899 OPS numbers from last season 

    Who will be the "pleasant surprise" for the O's in 2020?

    in Orioles Talk

    Posted

    Who do you think will outperform expectations the most for the Orioles in 2020 and why?

     

    I think for 2019, this honor would have to go to John Means.  

    He had a negative career WAR coming into the season and ended up racking up 5.0 rWAR, an All Star nod, and over 150 IP to the tune of a 3.60 ERA.

    Honorable mention to Hanser Alberto. He also started the season with a negative career WAR.  He hit .305, earned a 2.9 rWAR, and had some ridiculous hot streaks.

     

    So, who's your John Means or Hanser Alberto of 2020?

    New ZIPS Projections for Shortened Season

    in Orioles Talk

    Posted

    https://www.mlb.com/news/new-zips-projections-for-shortened-2020-mlb-season

    I thought this was fascinating.  The shortened season creates far more uncertainty when it comes to season projections.  A few highlights:

    In the 162-game model, the Yankees had a 97.7% chance of making the postseason.

    In the 60-game revised model, they have a 66.5% chance of making the postseason.

     

    In the 162-game model, the Orioles had a 0.00% chance of making the postseason.

    In the 60-game revised model, they have a 1.4% chance of making the postseason.

     

    In the 162-game model, the Blue Jays had a 0.6% chance of making the postseason.

    In the 60-game revised model, they have a 15.1% chance of making the postseason.

     

    They also calculate that the Orioles have the most difficult new schedule in baseball...

     

    • Upvote 3

    League Proposes 16-Team Playoff Bracket

    in Orioles Talk

    Posted

    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/06/mlb-rumors-16-teams-playoff-postseason-expansion.html

     

    I'm sure some of you saw this yesterday, but one of the components of the League's latest proposal was having a 16-team playoff bracket:

     

    "The league asked for 2020 postseason fields to expand even beyond the previously discussed 14 teams, adding another team per league and bringing the total to 16 playoff clubs.

    The idea behind the league’s latest expansion would see a traditional bracket format play out, with the No. 1 seed playing the No. 8 seed, No. 2 vs. No. 7, etc. until each league has played down to one winner to square off in the World Series. The first round of play, Sherman adds, would be just a three-game set.

    That’s a particularly strong deviation from the norm, where the top teams in each league have long been assured at least a five-game series against the weakest playoff entrant. The prospect of a sub-.500 No. 8 seed upsetting a dominant N0. 1 seed would create some excitement, to be sure, but the watered down playoff field and short early-round formats would undoubtedly be a turnoff for a very vocal set of MLB fans as well."

     

    What are your thoughts on this?  

    If this was instituted long term, how would it change organizational strategies?  Seems like it'd be much harder to justify a "full rebuild" if all you had to do was get a 78-84 record to make the playoffs, keep your fanbase happy, and roll the dice...

    The Future Of Baseball

    in Orioles Talk

    Posted

    I'm 29.  I coach a high school baseball team in Philly. We just started the program two years ago.  The school is 98% Black.

    We're not the only new team in the city.  My kids love it.

     

    Now obviously this anecdote does not invalidate the points made above.  I do think professional baseball has a looming crisis with younger viewers.  I don't think it's hopeless though.

    I think it's important to point out that last season Americans bought 68.4 million tickets to MLB games. Yes that was down from the year before, but still, that's a LOT of tickets. It's over 100 million when you include the minors. By the way, the highest ever year for MLB ticket sales? It wasn't from some bygone golden era decades ago, it was 2007.  

    Also, NFL ticket sales were down last year. Way down.  It was their worst year of ticket sales since 2002.

     

    I'm curious what the fandom will look like if we end up with a 50ish game season this year?  I think it will be an interesting experiment to see if younger fans are more interested in a a more fast-paced season.  Kids do have short attention spans these days...

    • Upvote 2

    Mike Wright pitching in KBO

    in Orioles Talk

    Posted

    My friends and I have been following the LG Twins. 

    They've got Hyun-soo Kim and Tyler Wilson.

    Kim has been absolutely ballin out. He's batting .368 with a .989 OPS.

    Tyler Wilson (their highest paid player) not so much.  He's got a 5.71 ERA through 17.1 IP.

    • Upvote 1
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