MLB (Non-Phils) News and Notes 2016

andyb 2016-01-17 22:20:33 UTC #41

Remember the Jhailyn Ortiz era is coming.

I am kind of resigned to the fact that the dual league DH era is coming. I think the other rule change we need is pitchers need to face more than one hitter (hopefully 3). DH leads to even more pitching changes in the middle of the inning.

LoneStarPhan 2016-01-18 01:48:17 UTC #42

I have never liked the DH but not having the same rules for all MLB games is so stupid that it amazes me that it has continued so long, especially once the era of everyday interleague play came into being.

Since moving to Texas, I have gone to a few games each season and have been amazed at how average most of the DH's really are.

Austinfan 2016-01-18 04:04:26 UTC #43

It's actually not surprising, the hit tool is probably correlated with overall athleticism, so as a player declines in his ability to play the field, he's also declining as a hitter.
So there's probably a small number of hitters with bat speed, strength, and eye to hand coordination who are really bad in the field.
And if you're a decent fielder, you're likely to play a position and have the DH be a more marginal athlete.

schooldoc 2016-01-19 02:51:26 UTC #44

Justin Upton near deal with Tigers: 6 years, $125 million.

julio 2016-01-19 05:48:50 UTC #45

Reported as done, at $132.75 million, six years, with an opt out after year 2.

BostonRoss 2016-01-19 12:43:01 UTC #46

The Chris Davis deal will look a lot worse if he has a bad injury before the season starts. The Howard deal was never going to be a good one, but there's an injury risk with any deal.

BostonRoss 2016-01-19 12:45:58 UTC #47

I may be the only one who doesn't mind having the DH in only one league. I'd rather not have it at all, but I don't mind having differences among the different games I see. I like, for example, that different ballparks have different dimensions and different ground rules.

flyers19rw 2016-01-19 13:30:55 UTC #48

The cry for the DH is pushed by people who are put off by the lack of hitting by pitchers. Teams in the past that stressed hitting with their pitchers managed to get decent ABs out of them. I'm not saying that they hit as well as position players but they were more than guys who went to the plate, looked at three pitches and then sat down. If anything, from Little League on up, the DH has cemented the concept of not being a hitter in the mind of many pitchers.

philsphan67 2016-01-19 15:04:19 UTC #49

I heard on a show yesterday and I listened to a couple of shows so I can't site the source, but I am sure there are many people making this statement, that the DH is more of a negotiating tool from the players and they don't think it will actually happen. The DH theoretically drives payroll higher, notice the players are not pushing for a 3 batter limit for a relief pitcher which one could argue would add just as much offense to the game. And I believe Andyb deserves credit b/c he rightfully pointed out that adding the DH also brings in more pitching changes in the middle of the inning. Personally, I like the strategy of the National League a lot more, but that is what I have grown up with.

On another note, from a club perspective (and good for the players getting all of the money they can) I don't like the two year outs for these long-term contracts (e.g. Kennedy in KC or Upton in Detroit). Basically if a player doesn't take the out, the club now feels more stuck with the contract. I often think these clubs are negotiating against themselves. I don't know who else was giving Upton that contract with the opt out. If I were the players association I'd be pushing to eliminate the clubs losing a draft pick for the restricted free agents.

Philsmania 2016-01-21 22:34:23 UTC #50

Nationals are making a strong push to sign Cespedes. Sounds like a strange signing to me as it would leave their outfield overcrowded.

mlbtraderumors.com/2016/01/nationals-making-push-for-yoenis-cespedes.html

Lawman 2016-01-22 01:40:39 UTC #51

Werth has missed a lot of games last few years. Allows him to slide into 4th OF role? Just my guess.

Austinfan 2016-01-22 03:24:47 UTC #52

I'd never give the opt out, the contracts are already guaranteed, now you have another level of risk, no upside but you retain all the downside.

julio 2016-01-22 03:39:10 UTC #53

It's an auction market. You either offer as much value as your competitors, or you don't win the bid. The challenge for a front office isn't so much how to avoid opt outs, it's how to appropriately value them - because the overall net value (real and/or perceived) is what's doing to determine player/agent decisions.

Lawman 2016-01-22 03:57:35 UTC #54

I really think the DH in the NL will happen by 2017 by next baseball season. Which would be right on target with my prediction to a friend from a few years ago. I said to give it 2-3 seasons after Bud Selig retired.

bkeich 2016-01-22 04:44:43 UTC #55

Not sure when the next Labor contract is, but i wouldn't think it will happen until then as it is considered a benefit to the players.

zambonir 2016-01-22 06:48:58 UTC #56

It expires on December 1, that's why all the talk. It will have already been five years since the last CBA that introduced realignment and expanded interleague play (those things just didn't actually happen until 2013).

andyb 2016-01-22 12:32:55 UTC #57

The other big change being discussed was a 28-man roster/25 active (the active part is meaningless given starting pitchers never likely to get in a game that does not last 17 innings).

Not sure how I feel about that though. Probably go from a 5 to 6-man bench (good), but then go to a 14-man pitching staff. 9 relievers without some sort of rule where the pitcher needs to face at least 2 or 3 batters could be a disaster.

philsphan67 2016-01-22 15:05:18 UTC #58

I 100% agree with this. If or more likely when the offense picks up again the games will be even longer. They also need to limit the roster to 25 active guys in September, call up who you want.

On the DH note, I still think a lot of this is negotiating and I have heard a lot of NL teams are adamantly opposed (as am I) to the DH, including the Phils.

From an ESPN article, they have done a good job this week on a series of articles with baseball changes they'd like to see.
"We would like to remain real baseball," said Philadelphia Phillies chairman Dave Montgomery, who has been with the team for more than 30 years.

Unfortunately IMO I do see the DH eventually happening full-time but not in 2017, I think the next negotiations will add the DH to NL parks in inter-league games.

bkeich 2016-01-22 15:21:25 UTC #59

In that case, I would like to see it.

Like many fans if I had a choice between no DH and a DH I would take no DH. But the worst option is a DH in some cases (AL games or in AL parks).

No DH has sailed away. Let's get it done and just implement the rules so there is no difference.

28'man rosters would just slow the game further without some type of 3 batter rule. Add both changes and I don't mind it, but only expanding the roster makes a problem bigger, and since I assume commercial breaks will continue to get longer just larger rosters is not a good idea.

Philsmania 2016-01-22 16:49:52 UTC #60

While we're on the subject of suggesting that pitchers face at least three batters, a pet peeve of mine is managers being allowed to pull announced pinch hitters. Charlie used to burn bench guys like this all the time and it drove me crazy. Don't let them to do it and make the decision to pinch hit or not to pinch hit a part of the manager's calculus.