If there is a team I am biased in favor of, actually, it is the Brooklyn Dodgers. Love that 1950s NYC era.
It is a rite of passage to be accused of bias against every team. I doubt I’v collected them all yet but I’m not that far into my baseball writing career and also don’t generally offer very strong opinions, which probably hurts my tallies.
About these silly – “why didn’t the Mets trade a pitcher, THEY LOST 40% OF A YEAR OF CONTROL!”…….
No one knows who the Mets GM will be next year. Do 3 people that are temporarily filling that role make a decision that impacts the GM in 2019 and beyond? That is no more realistic then those 3 firing Mickey Callaway with 2 years on his contract, hiring another manager and giving him a 2-3 year contract. What quality GM wants to walk into a situation like that?
MLBTR is great for keeping up with the 365 days a year of MLB transactions to help fantasy league players make their endless transactions. But viewing team moves through a spreadsheet consisting of player statistics and payroll space misses a major portion is what is going on with most teams/organizations. It’s in both the articles and most of the comments. One of the most interesting aspects of reading MLBTR are the comments from people in different cities that follow and watch their teams. The story literally no one in the overcrowded professional sports media informs curious fans about.
Well, I am aware of the 3-headed front office thing, so I’m not sure why you’d say I’m not able to account for that. Also, we read the tweets and articles of all the beat writers, so I’d say we have a decent feel for the pulse of most orgs in most respects. But there are times where some other close observer who’s focused on one team will certainly have more perspective than I would.
Far as the Mets go, I never said I felt they had to trade a pitcher. I believe I’ve said it seemed like a good time to market deGrom, whose value is at an apex, but I don’t believe I’ve issued anything approaching judgment of the org for how it chose to act.
“Then again, it’s not like you can’t get into the postseason as a mediocre club. Plenty will (look at the NLEast)”
So, the THREE teams all vieing for a playoff spot, both in their division and in the wildcard, in the NL East are ALL mediocre??
The NL East, might not beat out the NL West, with LAD, D-backs, and Colorado, but the NL East isn’t the AL Central either..
With a change of scenery for Gausman, Folty, Newk, Sanchez pitching extremely well, and with Fried the Braves have a legit 5-man rotation, now..That’s with reserves Allard and Touki dominating at AAA, and with Soroka injured as well..
Their pen with Biddle, Brach, Venters, Vizzy, Minter, Carle, Winkler, and other young additions coming up is quickly becoming a strength as well…
Also, you add in their solid line-up headed up by their talented foursome of Acuña Jr, Albies, Freeman, and Markakis..And then quality contributors like Suzuki, Camargo, and Inciarte is getting really hott, plus he will now platoon with Duvall..Plus, the Braves have one of the most underrated benches in baseball as well..In countless big spots, their bench has come up with timely hits..Culberson has been one of the best Utility bats off the bench in the NL this year..
So, no, none of the Braves, the Phillies, or whatever that’s ailing one the most talented teams in baseball the Gnats, they aren’t perfect teams..But they aren’t mediocre either..The NL East may be a year away from having 3 of the tougher teams in the NL, but it isn’t like any of the 3 are mediocre this year..
Yes, the Braves and Phillies are outperforming their expectations this season, but eventually when you continue to outperform your expectations..Other people were just wrong, and you are what your record states..
Does this count as an accusation of anti-Nats bias? If so, that’s a big one for me to collect as a DC-area native.
I’m not saying those three teams are awful, so you don’t need to get defensive about your Braves or their competitors. But projections are putting the division winner at like 87 wins. That’s not very impressive.
Also, it is definitely possible for a .500 true talent team to win 87 or even 90 games. Or lose an equivalent number of games. It’s baseball.
Jeff……The Cardinals seemed to take a downward slightly side ways move at the trading deadline. Do you think they will pick up an all star type impact bat this off season??? Or, will the Cardinal Fans still hear the same old excuses of inability to didn’t one of these top athletes as the fans have become accustom to listening to John Mozeliak’s lies, excuses and over ranking the Cardinal players he has now under bad contracts???
Jeff, is there a team that you’ve not been accused of having a bias against? That Reds guy…
Jeff also hates MLB’s Brooklyn Bridesmaids of 1898 and Worcester Worcesters of 1882. Notice how he never answers a question about either team…?
If there is a team I am biased in favor of, actually, it is the Brooklyn Dodgers. Love that 1950s NYC era.
It is a rite of passage to be accused of bias against every team. I doubt I’v collected them all yet but I’m not that far into my baseball writing career and also don’t generally offer very strong opinions, which probably hurts my tallies.
About these silly – “why didn’t the Mets trade a pitcher, THEY LOST 40% OF A YEAR OF CONTROL!”…….
No one knows who the Mets GM will be next year. Do 3 people that are temporarily filling that role make a decision that impacts the GM in 2019 and beyond? That is no more realistic then those 3 firing Mickey Callaway with 2 years on his contract, hiring another manager and giving him a 2-3 year contract. What quality GM wants to walk into a situation like that?
MLBTR is great for keeping up with the 365 days a year of MLB transactions to help fantasy league players make their endless transactions. But viewing team moves through a spreadsheet consisting of player statistics and payroll space misses a major portion is what is going on with most teams/organizations. It’s in both the articles and most of the comments. One of the most interesting aspects of reading MLBTR are the comments from people in different cities that follow and watch their teams. The story literally no one in the overcrowded professional sports media informs curious fans about.
Well, I am aware of the 3-headed front office thing, so I’m not sure why you’d say I’m not able to account for that. Also, we read the tweets and articles of all the beat writers, so I’d say we have a decent feel for the pulse of most orgs in most respects. But there are times where some other close observer who’s focused on one team will certainly have more perspective than I would.
Far as the Mets go, I never said I felt they had to trade a pitcher. I believe I’ve said it seemed like a good time to market deGrom, whose value is at an apex, but I don’t believe I’ve issued anything approaching judgment of the org for how it chose to act.
“Then again, it’s not like you can’t get into the postseason as a mediocre club. Plenty will (look at the NLEast)”
So, the THREE teams all vieing for a playoff spot, both in their division and in the wildcard, in the NL East are ALL mediocre??
The NL East, might not beat out the NL West, with LAD, D-backs, and Colorado, but the NL East isn’t the AL Central either..
With a change of scenery for Gausman, Folty, Newk, Sanchez pitching extremely well, and with Fried the Braves have a legit 5-man rotation, now..That’s with reserves Allard and Touki dominating at AAA, and with Soroka injured as well..
Their pen with Biddle, Brach, Venters, Vizzy, Minter, Carle, Winkler, and other young additions coming up is quickly becoming a strength as well…
Also, you add in their solid line-up headed up by their talented foursome of Acuña Jr, Albies, Freeman, and Markakis..And then quality contributors like Suzuki, Camargo, and Inciarte is getting really hott, plus he will now platoon with Duvall..Plus, the Braves have one of the most underrated benches in baseball as well..In countless big spots, their bench has come up with timely hits..Culberson has been one of the best Utility bats off the bench in the NL this year..
So, no, none of the Braves, the Phillies, or whatever that’s ailing one the most talented teams in baseball the Gnats, they aren’t perfect teams..But they aren’t mediocre either..The NL East may be a year away from having 3 of the tougher teams in the NL, but it isn’t like any of the 3 are mediocre this year..
Yes, the Braves and Phillies are outperforming their expectations this season, but eventually when you continue to outperform your expectations..Other people were just wrong, and you are what your record states..
The Braves believe. Sometimes believing is the intangible that makes it happen.
Does this count as an accusation of anti-Nats bias? If so, that’s a big one for me to collect as a DC-area native.
I’m not saying those three teams are awful, so you don’t need to get defensive about your Braves or their competitors. But projections are putting the division winner at like 87 wins. That’s not very impressive.
Also, it is definitely possible for a .500 true talent team to win 87 or even 90 games. Or lose an equivalent number of games. It’s baseball.
Great chat, Mr. Todd. Well played.
Thank you!
Jeff……The Cardinals seemed to take a downward slightly side ways move at the trading deadline. Do you think they will pick up an all star type impact bat this off season??? Or, will the Cardinal Fans still hear the same old excuses of inability to didn’t one of these top athletes as the fans have become accustom to listening to John Mozeliak’s lies, excuses and over ranking the Cardinal players he has now under bad contracts???
Well, they have tried in the recent past. Ozuna … Fowler … Heyward. I really don’t have a feel yet for how they’ll approach the winter, honestly.