Jump to content

2016 MLB thread


MrBug708

Recommended Posts

  • 4 weeks later...
  • Replies 487
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • 4 weeks later...

seems that nobody knows what to make of seattle this year, so everybody is sticking them in the 15-20 range in the spring power rankings with the caveat "they could contend, but with so many new pieces..."

 

which is fine. the m's hardly have a storied history of expectations, but in recent years when people predicted big things -- 2010 (the cliff lee year) and last season -- things always go horribly wrong. note that last spring as some pubs were writing in the m's as their trendy world series picks, i had them on the outside of the playoffs looking in. seattle is only decent when nobody sees them coming, and even then "decent" is usually only good for 85-88 wins.

 

looks like we'll be going into 2016 with...

 

lf nori aoki

3b kyle seager

dh nelson cruz

2b robinson cano

1b adam lind

rf seth smith

ss ketel marte

cf leonys martin

c chris iannetta

 

i see two guys almost predestined to hit below .200, but if lind can have a typical adam lind-season he might be able to provide a little protection for our few major league-caliber hitters. i also hope marte can build on his strong rookie showing, he'd join seager as the only successful home-grown offensive players seattle has produced in the last fifteen years.

 

as far as pitching goes, the consensus is we'll settle on:

 

felix hernandez

taijuan walker

wade miley

hisashi iwakuma

james paxton

 

with nathan karns a viable option to replace any weak links that emerge. karns had a strong rookie season for tampa last year, going 7-5 w/ a 3.67 era and a 145 k's in 147 innings (26 starts). 

 

houston and texas both look strong, the halos look meh but aren't without talent (jered weaver 80 mph fastball lol) and oakland, by virtue of finishing in last place season, is due for a miraculous turnaround 93-win season. so i think we'll probably finish in 4th place again. wee!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Pablo Sandoval -- despite recently signing a 95 million dollar contract -- can't beat out 9th round draft pick Travis Shaw for the starting 3rd base job for the Red Sox.  The Giants get bailed out once again by another washed up player who refuses to take their money and then makes them look brilliant after the fact when the sign for another team and shit the bed. 

 

Making matters worse for the Red Sox, Rusney Castillo -- fresh off a 5 year 72 million contract -- is now the 5th outfielder on the team!  That's a tremendous amount of money that is being parked on the bench. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's actually why I'm not worried about the Pac-12 falling behind the other P5 conferences in media rights money.

 

Maybe it's because my school is one of the "haves", but:

 

1) as a fan, what fun is worrying about resources? That's someone else's headache.

 

2) even though it's not SEC or B1G money, it's still a lot of money.

 

3) As long as we get a spot in the NY6 rotation, what's the big deal. As baseball shows, it's not who has the most money, it's who uses it the best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's actually why I'm not worried about the Pac-12 falling behind the other P5 conferences in media rights money.

 

Maybe it's because my school is one of the "haves", but:

 

1) as a fan, what fun is worrying about resources? That's someone else's headache.

 

2) even though it's not SEC or B1G money, it's still a lot of money.

 

3) As long as we get a spot in the NY6 rotation, what's the big deal. As baseball shows, it's not who has the most money, it's who uses it the best.

 

1. I worry about resources only because money is relative.

 

2. A lot of money vs way more money isn't a lot of money.  Money is relative and when you are competing over the same assets, the people with less money are at a massive disadvantage.  A lot of money doesn't buy what it used to when top tier coaches cost 5 million a year.  USC as a private school with an amazing history is an exception to this rule.

 

3. Tell that to the teams in the bottom half of MLB revenue.  Take a look at the 2016 salaries and tell me there hasn't been a decisive advantage for the teams in the upper tier vs the teams in the lower tier.  Money creates almost insurmountable advantages and only a very small number of teams can overcome these advantages on a yearly basis.  The ones that do are forced to play the long game: suck for years at a time, hope your scouts are good, stock pile talent, become the Houston Astros or Oakland A's for a season or two.  Resume sucking.  repeat. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3. Tell that to the teams in the bottom half of MLB revenue.  Take a look at the 2016 salaries and tell me there hasn't been a decisive advantage for the teams in the upper tier vs the teams in the lower tier.  Money creates almost insurmountable advantages and only a very small number of teams can overcome these advantages on a yearly basis.  The ones that do are forced to play the long game: suck for years at a time, hope your scouts are good, stock pile talent, become the Houston Astros or Oakland A's for a season or two.  Resume sucking.  repeat. 

 

 

I tried telling it to the Royals but they had champagne stuck in their ears.    Of course these teams are at a disadvantage.  Don't like it?  Institute a cap/tax, enjoy what you've got, or find a different team/sport.  The Royals and Astros aren't going to be on top long but they're doing better than the Yankees and Red Sox.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried telling it to the Royals but they had champagne stuck in their ears.    Of course these teams are at a disadvantage.  Don't like it?  Institute a cap/tax, enjoy what you've got, or find a different team/sport.  The Royals and Astros aren't going to be on top long but they're doing better than the Yankees and Red Sox.

 

 

mlb needs a BETTER cap/tax system. the current luxury tax is a joke. 

 

of the major north american sports leagues, i've always thought the nba got closest to getting it right. institute a soft and hard cap, and reward teams for re-signing their own players. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried telling it to the Royals but they had champagne stuck in their ears.    Of course these teams are at a disadvantage.  Don't like it?  Institute a cap/tax, enjoy what you've got, or find a different team/sport.  The Royals and Astros aren't going to be on top long but they're doing better than the Yankees and Red Sox.

 

So you went from, why should be worry about it, to, of course there's a disadvantage?  Why not try to do something about that disadvantage?  The Pac 12 has fallen further behind since Scott was hired and the disadvantage is growing.  

 

As for baseball, my interest has fallen off massively and a huge reason for that is the lack of a cap.  

 

The Royals are a top 15 payroll team and the Astros are the exception to the rule as I pointed out.  Over a large sample size, the Astros are certainly not doing better than either the Yankees or Red Sox but I can why you shortened the sample size to fit your point.  Compare the top 15 teams to the bottom 15 teams in pay roll and it's clear that money is far more important than who is good at spending it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So you went from, why should be worry about it, to, of course there's a disadvantage?

 

No, I went from of course there's a disadvantage why worry about it to of course there's a disadvantage why worry about it.

 

 

 

The Pac 12 has fallen further behind since Scott was hired and the disadvantage is growing.  

 

You can't be serious -- do you even remember how bad things were under Tom Hanson?  There were football and basketball games that weren't even on television.  The schools wanted to get paid & Scott got them paid.  This argument has no merit.

 

 

Why not try to do something about that disadvantage? 

 

Cause i am a fan.  That's not my job.

 

 

As for baseball, my interest has fallen off massively and a huge reason for that is the lack of a cap. 

 

So ... complaining about it hasn't helped?   I think that was my point.

 

 

 

The Royals are a top 15 payroll team and the Astros are the exception to the rule as I pointed out.  Over a large sample size, the Astros are certainly not doing better than either the Yankees or Red Sox but I can why you shortened the sample size to fit your point.  Compare the top 15 teams to the bottom 15 teams in pay roll and it's clear that money is far more important than who is good at spending it. 

 

So you switched from market-size to payroll?  OK

 

Look -- sports on any level is not and has never been about a fair playing field.  To sit and worry about revenue and payroll seems pointless to me -- too much like work.  But hey, maybe I am in the minority.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

You can't be serious -- do you even remember how bad things were under Tom Hanson?  There were football and basketball games that weren't even on television.  The schools wanted to get paid & Scott got them paid.  This argument has no merit.

 

 

 

I am very serious and it's quite simple.  I'm surprised you don't understand.  Percentage wise, we were more competitive in conference TV revenue with the other conferences than we are now under Larry Scott.  Before the 2011 deal, the SEC was making 60 million in annual tv revenue while the Pac 12 was making 54 million. http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/the-pac-12s-business-model-will-change-college-athletics-072211 Let's ignore the fact that I'm right about this for a second.  The fact that you can't even acknowledge that there is an argument to be had is well, dishonest.

 

By 2018, Wilner projects TV revenue per school to look like this: SEC 35 million per school, Big Ten 33 million per school, Pac 12 22 million per school.  While you give credit to Scott for "getting us paid," the fact is that the TV landscape changed significantly and every commissioner got their conference paid.  The problem is that some were more successful at it than others. 

 

 

 

Cause i am a fan.  That's not my job.

 

 

 

I was obviously referring to Larry Scott. 

 

 

 

So ... complaining about it hasn't helped?   I think that was my point.

 

 

 

No, complaining doesn't help but this is a sports messageboard.  Sorry for trying to discuss sports with you.  I never said complaining helps.

 

 

 

So you switched from market-size to payroll?  OK

 

Look -- sports on any level is not and has never been about a fair playing field.  To sit and worry about revenue and payroll seems pointless to me -- too much like work.  But hey, maybe I am in the minority.

 

Even if we use market-size, your argument is still using the exception to prove the rule.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...