Can Mateo and Mullins combine for 100 steals.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, jamalshw said:

Enough to further distract the pitcher and give Adley even better pitches to hit. With the limited times throwing over and the pitch clock there will be more pressure on the pitchers when guys that can steal are on. I wouldn't mind the threat of Mullins going to get in the pitchers' head and cause him to rush a bit. 

Of course all that said, I don't see either guy stealing 50 bases. I think 30-40 is about tops for Mullins and less than that for Mateo as I don't think he gets enough playing time to get more (though he could find himself in quite a few pinch runner situations). 

You know what I love?  When hitters let pitches they can drive go by to give the runner a "chance to steal". 

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, oriole said:

Henderson, Mateo, and Urias each had breakout years. They’ve got to continue on that success to get the playing time. It’s hard to write anything in stone right now since we don’t know if Mateo will all the sudden be an average SS and then any benefit of elite defense to make up for the abysmal bat will be gone. Or maybe Henderson’s breakout year was an outlier. Mullins’ breakout year was 2021 and it’s pretty clear at this point that that was an outlier, not the norm. He’s essentially a defensively gifted platoon player. Is that who Urias ends up as? 
 

Mullins may get significantly less ABs this year based on his struggles against LHP. Mateo seems destined to get significantly less ABs this year because of the additions of Henderson as a full time player and the Frazier signing.

If Mullins and Mateo each got 600 PA then maybe we’d see 100 SB between them. I don’t know if they’ll get that much playing time though. 

Henderson is going to have to flop hard to not get everyday at bats.

[eddie83]

3 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

Enough to further distract the pitcher and give Adley even better pitches to hit. With the limited times throwing over and the pitch clock there will be more pressure on the pitchers when guys that can steal are on. I wouldn't mind the threat of Mullins going to get in the pitchers' head and cause him to rush a bit. 

Of course all that said, I don't see either guy stealing 50 bases. I think 30-40 is about tops for Mullins and less than that for Mateo as I don't think he gets enough playing time to get more (though he could find himself in quite a few pinch runner situations). 

It gives the pitcher a ton to worry about. 
 

Goes without saying Mullins OBP is crucial. 

[Frobby]

27 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

How much do we want Mullins running in front of Adley and the rest of the middle of the order? Especially with the shift rules now. 

I think the new shift rules may lend themselves to more DPs, because teams won’t have to be figuring out how to execute DPs from numerous configurations.   In that case, running will be encouraged to avoid DP situations.  But, I’m speculating on that.  

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, eddie83 said:

It gives the pitcher a ton to worry about. 
 

Goes without saying Mullins OBP is crucial. 

Folks are reading way too much into this.

Remember John Lester? 

The pitcher who basically couldn't throw over to first base?

He did OK.

[eddie83]

Just now, Frobby said:

I think the new shift rules may lend themselves to more DPs, because teams won’t have to be figuring out how to execute DPs from numerous configurations.   In that case, running will be encouraged to avoid DP situations.  But, I’m speculating on that.  

SS will be standing right next to bag. That’s for sure. Only place they can be. 
 

Would think on all 3-2 counts Mullins would be going at a higher rate. Would like to know if stats exist on this to see how many times he ran on 3-2 counts less than 2 outs from 1B.  

[eddie83]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Folks are reading way too much into this.

Remember John Lester? 

The pitcher who basically couldn't throw over to first base?

He did OK.

He at least had advantage of being left handed…. 
 

I don’t think stats wise it will be a massive shift. I do think it makes for more intrigue late in games. Many relievers compared to starters are poorer at holding runners anyway. 

[AnythingO's]

Henderson is going to get regular ABs unless injured. Frazier is past the point of getting 500 ABs and Urias only had 400 ABs last year. For Mateo to get 500 ABs again, his bat needs to match Urias IMO. Last year about 650 OPS (Mateo) vs 720 OPS (Urias). Given what Elias has said, Urias could get 200 ABs each at 3B and 2B, Frazier gets the other 450 ABs at 2B. Gunnar gets the other 450 ABs at 3B and 200 ABs at SS. Whether Mateo gets 450 ABs depends on his adopting last summer's approach successfully. If anyone other than Gunnar craps out then Westburg and Ortiz are waiting. That distribution lines up with everything ME has said.

[Jammer7]

5 hours ago, emmett16 said:

I think having two guys that can capably play the most demanding defensive position (that isn’t C)is only a good thing.  SS takes a toll and keeping a defender fresh can only help IMO.  I  don’t think you lose an edge by taking a break a couple times a week. 

I agree with this, to a point. Mateo looked worn down last year by July or so. Maybe dinged up in the collision he had around then. The thing you can lose is timing at the plate, depends on the number of days in between, at least for some guys anyway. He strikes me as a guy who wants to be "the man" at SS and he needs relatively everyday at bats as he did not thrive in a bench or UT role. I don't think that ownership is a bad thing at all, honestly. Can he put that pride away? IDK. 

I do not like a guy playing SS one day, and then 3B another. These are very different positions. It affects a lot of things, like feeds to the 2B on double plays or whatever. Does Gunnar make some of the plays that Mateo made to get the young pitchers out of innings? IDK, maybe. 

[Jammer7]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Irvin's career rate is 37.3%

Gibson does throw a ton of ground balls but he's only one man.

 

That's fair. I mistakenly thought Irvin was more of a 2S guy, but not much of a GB rate. 

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Jammer7 said:

That's fair. I mistakenly thought Irvin was more of a 2S guy, but not much of a GB rate. 

You must have missed a certain poster talking about all the HR he gave up on the road.

[wildcard]

I am rooting for Mateo to hit well, because if he does no one will beat him at SS.

[jabba72]

18 hours ago, Jagwar said:

Meh... I think it cheapens the stat. How many bases would Ricky Henderson or Lou Brock have stolen under the new rules?

It seems like managers have declared war on the stolen base. Im glad to see some rules encouraging a comeback. How much they encourage it remains to be seen. 

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, jabba72 said:

It seems like managers have declared war on the stolen base. Im glad to see some rules encouraging a comeback. How much they encourage it remains to be seen. 

I don't think it was managers so much as math.

Math seems to be the enemy of old timey baseball.

[jabba72]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

I don't think it was managers so much as math.

Math seems to be the enemy of old timey baseball.

Whatever the reason im glad MLB decided to inject some fun on the bases.