Baseball Chatter 03/15

Lenny and I did our SiriusXM Dynasty League draft last night. Here is how the league differs from most dynasty formats:

  • OBP instead of AVG
  • Total Bases instead of Home Runs
  • Wins plus Quality Starts instead of Wins
  • Saves plus Holds instead of Saves
  • 40 man roster with up to 15 prospects (Zero if you want)

Here is how it all panned out. Lenny and I drafted very few prospects. We like to win now, thank you

Shohei Ohtani was one of only a couple Angels players asked to come in on their day off. He got nine at bats, hit a double in his first and struck out three times in seven, eight and nine.

Skaggs thew a couple changeups to him in a couple at-bats that he hadn’t seen before in deep counts and he was a little out in front and he struck out, You can see his timing is coming. He’s hitting the ball hard. He had good at-bats all afternoon. Those at-bats will hopefully get him where he needs to be.

Rays catchers are wearing large wristbands containing cards loaded with detailed data, similar to what Jameis Winston and other quarterbacks refer to in calling plays

The Angels have reduced the height of the right field wall so that what used to have to fly 18 feet high to get over the wall, now only has to fly eight feet high. Hello lefties..

Trevor Bauer is such an interesting character. He sat down for A must read  interview and talked about his off season training. Makes me want to really root for him. Unique. Confident. Smart. Did I mention unique? Some highlights include :

  • Learning Corey Kluber’s Breaking Ball
  • He wears a camera to copy top pitches
  • Started working out three days after the Indians last playoff game


It’s very hard for me — I want to be the absolute best. I don’t like the fact that there’s someone sitting next to me who’s better than me. At anything. So when I know that I’m not the best, I don’t feel like I’m contributing to my potential, to the level that I should be contributing. I was the best in high school. I was the best in college. I haven’t been the best in pro ball, so I haven’t felt I’m contributing to the level that I know I can. And so, it makes it hard to feel a part of the team, because I don’t feel like I’m doing my work, if that makes sense. I feel like I did my job a lot better last season, especially toward the end of the season. I feel like I’ll do my job better this year than I did at any point last season. So, I feel like I’m actually contributing how I’m expected to, which makes it a lot easier to feel a part of something.Trevor Bauer

Phillies have just three players currently under contract after the 2019 season, Jake Arrieta, Carlos Santana and Odubel Herrera. They have a $5 billion contract with NBC Sports Philadelphia. The money they have to spend, while not limitless, is far from being exceeded, or even approached.

Maikel Franco is changing his batting stance this spring. Last season he hit only .200 when he was ahead in the count. The league average was .299. Compare his new stance with last year and it even looks different. He is now completely closed off, no longer with a foot toward third base.

Greg Bird wants to pace himself this season. Last Spring he batted .451 with eight home runs.

I felt like last year, I was ready two weeks in [to spring] and we still had three weeks left. This year, I slowed down a little bit. I make sure I’m feeling good, but not pushing it too hard. My main goal is Day 1 of the season.Bird

The expected Red Sox opening day rotation:

Anyone concerned about Zack Greinke because his velocity has been down so far this spring, pull it together. Last year at this time his velocity was down but it increased throughout spring. It is already happening. Gotta also love that humidor. Let them all pass while you scoop Greinke right up …

Alex Reyes will head to the bullpen when he comes back from Tommy John surgery last February. Early May. The Cardinals consider him as a 90- or 100-inning reliever.

Cole Hamels threw a slider to live hitters for the first time in his career. He allowed one run over 3 ⅔ innings. Two of his four strikeouts came via the slider. He is working on his slider as part of his ‘career-long quest to keep hitters off balance.’ Hamels also previously added the knuckle curve and the cut fastball to his arsenal.

Last season, Dodgers starting pitchers averaged less than six innings per start, threw the lowest number of pitches per start, and led the league with a 3.39 ERA

Matt Bush is going back to the bullpen, Jeff Bannister says he is way too valuable in the bullpen. “His set of pitches, how he pitches, so we feel like that’s the best move for him as well as us as a team trying to structure the bullpen the best way we possibly can going forward.”

While he is heading back to the bullpen, Bush will not be a candidate for the Rangers’ vacant closer’s job, according to Banister. Instead, he’ll be expected to serve as a multi-inning relief ace.

This opened a spot in the Rangers’ new six-man rotation,  which could include the oldest active player in baseball, Bartolo Colon. He allowed just one unearned run in four innings against the Angels on Sunday, lowering his spring ERA to  1.04.

Ryan Braun sounds so condescending to me when he talks to reporters. He just sounds like he is saying what he knows everyone wants to hear. Maybe he is sincere, Maybe it’s just me.  He isn’t comfortable at First base. He has never played first base before and you know playing first base is so much different than playing left field or any other position in baseball.

I don’t feel remotely comfortable now, I’m doing the best I can with it. Guys have to make sacrifices. Ultimately, if you want to get where we want to be as a team, based on the roster we’ve put together, it makes us a better team if I’m able to play multiple positions.Ryan Braun

He was the National League Rookie of the Year as a third baseman in 2008 but he wasn’t very good at the position,  and until this spring, had never played an inning at first.

The most impressive starting pitcher in A’s camp is a 6-foot-7 lefty who’s not supposed to make the season-opening rotation.

A.J. Puk was the sixth overall pick in the 2016 MLB player draft. He is a  6-foot-7 lefty who has yet to play at the Triple-A level. He has  allowed just one unearned run on four hits and three walks over eight innings across three spring appearances. has thrown eight scoreless innings so far this spring. Manager Bob Melvin has yet to rule him out of starting 2018 in the A’s rotation.“I would put nothing past him, I would be surprised if we did not see him, and who knows.”

Manager Rick Renteria wasn’t about to name a closer with less than three weeks to go before opening day. It is likely the Sox will mix and match in 2018 and, if need be, go with his best if the game’s on the line in the seventh or eighth inning rather than save a hot hand for the ninth.

I don’t want to say committee; I want to make sure I have a couple of guys I can rely on. With Nate and Joakim in here having done that, we’re hoping they can fill that role.Rick Renteria

It feels like the entire Nationals offense is injured even though they are not. Only a couple. Look for Wilmer Difo and Brian Goodwin to benefit. Victor Robles is another option but the Nats will probably send him down to start the season.

  • Daniel Murphy is unlikely to be healthy by opening day even though he is hitting off a tee. He has not been participating in fielding drills or other activities.
  •  Adam Eaton is hitting and fielding and much closer to a return than Murphy. On opening day, it will be 11 months since his surgery. A target date for Eaton to get in games? manager Dave Martinez said “my target is Opening Day,” and left the conversation there.

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