Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
I support and respect you brahs too.
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MLB - Official 2012 Season Thread: Mike Francesa Fan Club |OT3|
- Thread starter Sanjuro
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DUFFMCWALIN
Member
Belt you asshole. Get the out at first.
So I've slowly started getting into baseball over the summer but still don't get some stuff;
- Are the refs behind the home plate accurate? There have been multiple times where a strike looked like a ball to me and vice-versa. If they aren't, why not use a variant of goal line technology for fairer officiating?
- What age usually seen as a player's prime, and how long can a pro typically play in the MLB?
- Are teams built like in the NBA, NFL and NHL (draft, free agency, etc...)? How long does it usually take to build a contender?
- How upset-prone are the playoff series?
- Where do the stand Jays as a team? All I know is that they've been playing below expectations.
- Are the refs behind the home plate accurate? There have been multiple times where a strike looked like a ball to me and vice-versa. If they aren't, why not use a variant of goal line technology for fairer officiating?
- What age usually seen as a player's prime, and how long can a pro typically play in the MLB?
- Are teams built like in the NBA, NFL and NHL (draft, free agency, etc...)? How long does it usually take to build a contender?
- How upset-prone are the playoff series?
- Where do the stand Jays as a team? All I know is that they've been playing below expectations.
Yes. The umpire is accurate. He sets the strike zone. Baseball is a game of humanity.
Usually Late 20's to mid 30's.
Unlike the NBA and NFL, baseball has a farm system. There are drafts and free agency but the system is there to build talent. It can take years to build a contender. Baseball doesn't have the same revenue sharing models as other sports.
The Jays haven't done well for years. I miss Joe Carter, too.
From what I know, some MLB Gaffers may correct me...
1) Technically, not always. Often home umpires miss balls and strikes. Also as often, they will designate a part of the plate a ball all game when it's a strike (ex the bottom of the strike zone), or vice versa. Pitchers need to realize how to work around it. They don't use any overruling technology, as far as I know, because of tradition or some bullshit like that.
2) Prime can vary, but usually it's the twenties. There are certain players who can excel in their 30s, but upper 30 is the breaking point. Rarely players play in their 40s. Roger Clemens and Jamie Moyers are very rare examples of old pitchers.
3) Baseball has a farm system and a draft system. Building a contender is a very complicated process, can't explain it quickly.
4) Very very very upset-prone. It's great.
5) Jays suck. They've been at the mercy of key injuries this year, especially their star hitter Jose Bautista.
It's not "tradition" it's the game.
lol
Typically 26-31 are the prime years for a position player, and a player should still be pretty productive until age 35. Although, the big power hitters that can't really hit for average half aren't as productive for long.
The most effective way to build a team is to develop a good farm system. It's the easiest way to get good young cheap and controllable talent on the team. Building through Free Agency isn't really a good solution long term because the best players will demand a lot of years and a lot of guaranteed money. At the end of those contracts you'll have somebody who's past their prime and unproductive making like 20+ million dollars a year.
I should mention the best way to build up a farm system is through drafts, amateur signings in Latin America, or trading veterans to playoff contending teams.
They have one of the best farm systems and decent young talent, but they are in a tough division and injuries to their pitching staff really hurt them. I'm sure there are other things. Jays-gaf knows better than me.
Very upset prone. Baseball in general has a lot of randomness in it, and crazy things can happen in short 5-7 game series. The team with the best regular season record has only won the World Series 3 times since 1998
*waves* We'll do our best!
Eh it's controversial. I think it's a flaw in the game. YOTU isn't an acronym for no reason. Bad officiating has had major repercussions.
DUFFMCWALIN
Member
All umps have different zones so for some umps a ball might be a strike and vice versa. Late 20s early 30s for prime probably. This is when they have some experience but still are young enough to play hard. There is a draft and free agency but usually teams take a little bit to build up to contend however pretty much any team can get hot and win it. It's more abou surviving the summer and getting hot in September. Playoffs can be upset prone. I feel like the field I'd tighter in MLB playoffs than something like the nfl.
lazybones18
Banned
I want more Oakland. I WANT MORE!
Thanks for the replies brehs. A bit surprised by the strike zone being slightly different for every ump but I guess it's kind of like some refs being harsher than others in soccer. The rest sounds pretty good and I'll probably follow the playoffs a bit.
Sucks to hear that the Jays are not very competitive but it sounds like they've at least made some progress lately, unlike other *cough* Raptors *cough* Toronto teams.
Sucks to hear that the Jays are not very competitive but it sounds like they've at least made some progress lately, unlike other *cough* Raptors *cough* Toronto teams.
Little Green Yoda
Member
I recall hearing that umps get 2 inches of leeway on their K zone. They only get reprimanded if more than 10% of their calls are off by 2+ inches or something.
sf2fanatic
Member
Well if Oakland does make it, gonna be fun watching infielders trying to catch them groundballs. Sebass gonna leave divots all over the place..lol
Mr. Enigma
Member
Chipper admitted after the game he was way too emotional to be playing and thinks a lot of the guys were a little too overhyped as well.
You a Reds fan? Or just a fan of no hitters?
he's a reds fan
Mr. Enigma
Member
STANDINGS UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 28
CURRENT PLAYOFF TEAMS
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFF TEAMS
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFF TEAMS
American League
EAST
LEADER: Yankees
MAGIC NUMBER: 5
CENTRAL
LEADERS: Tigers
MAGIC NUMBER: 5
WEST
LEADER: Rangers
MAGIC NUMBER: 3
WILD CARD
LEADERS: Orioles/Athletics
#1 MAGIC NUMBER: 3
#2 MAGIC NUMBER: 4
REMAINING GAMES (bold = .500):
Rangers - 5 (2 v LAA, 3 @ OAK)
Yankees - 5 (2 @ TOR, 3 v BOS)
Tigers - 5 (2 @ MIN, 3 @ KC)
Orioles - 5 (2 v BOS, 3 @ TB)
Athletics - 5 (2 v SEA, 3 v TEX)
Angels - 5 (2 @ TEX, 3 @ SEA)
Rays - 5 (2 @ CWS, 3 v BOS)
White Sox - 5 (2 v TB, 3 @ CLE)
National League
EAST
LEADER: Nationals
MAGIC NUMBER: 2
NL CENTRAL CHAMPIONS
NL WEST CHAMPIONS
NL WILD CARD CHAMPIONS
#2 LEADER: Cardinals
MAGIC NUMBER: 3
REMAINING GAMES (bold = .500):
Nationals - 5 (2 @ STL, 3 v PHI)
Reds - 5 (2 @ PIT, 3 @ STL)
Giants - 5 (2 @ SD, 3 @ LAD)
Braves - 5 (2 v NYM, 3 @ PIT)
Cardinals - 5 (2 v WAS, 3 v CIN)
Dodgers - 5 (2 v COL, 3 v SF)
Brewers - 5 (2 v HOU, 3 v SD)
CURRENT PLAYOFF TEAMS
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFF TEAMS
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFF TEAMS
American League
EAST
LEADER: Yankees
MAGIC NUMBER: 5
Code:
W L GB
Yankees 91 66 ---
Orioles 90 67 1.0
Rays 86 71 5.0CENTRAL
LEADERS: Tigers
MAGIC NUMBER: 5
Code:
W L GB
Tigers 84 73 ---
White Sox 83 74 1.0WEST
LEADER: Rangers
MAGIC NUMBER: 3
Code:
W L GB
Rangers 92 65 ---
Athletics 89 68 3.0
Angels 87 70 5.0WILD CARD
LEADERS: Orioles/Athletics
#1 MAGIC NUMBER: 3
#2 MAGIC NUMBER: 4
Code:
W L GB
Orioles 90 67 +1.0
Athletics 89 68 ---
Angels 87 70 2.0
Rays 86 71 3.0REMAINING GAMES (bold = .500):
Rangers - 5 (2 v LAA, 3 @ OAK)
Yankees - 5 (2 @ TOR, 3 v BOS)
Tigers - 5 (2 @ MIN, 3 @ KC)
Orioles - 5 (2 v BOS, 3 @ TB)
Athletics - 5 (2 v SEA, 3 v TEX)
Angels - 5 (2 @ TEX, 3 @ SEA)
Rays - 5 (2 @ CWS, 3 v BOS)
White Sox - 5 (2 v TB, 3 @ CLE)
National League
EAST
LEADER: Nationals
MAGIC NUMBER: 2
Code:
W L GB
Nationals 95 62 ---
Braves 91 66 4.0NL CENTRAL CHAMPIONS
NL WEST CHAMPIONS
NL WILD CARD CHAMPIONS
#2 LEADER: Cardinals
MAGIC NUMBER: 3
Code:
W L GB
Braves 91 66 +6.0
Cardinals 85 72 ---
Dodgers 82 75 3.0
Brewers 80 77 5.0REMAINING GAMES (bold = .500):
Nationals - 5 (2 @ STL, 3 v PHI)
Reds - 5 (2 @ PIT, 3 @ STL)
Giants - 5 (2 @ SD, 3 @ LAD)
Braves - 5 (2 v NYM, 3 @ PIT)
Cardinals - 5 (2 v WAS, 3 v CIN)
Dodgers - 5 (2 v COL, 3 v SF)
Brewers - 5 (2 v HOU, 3 v SD)
The Jays are... complicated. But they could be competitive soon, it just depends on how their litany of young talent develops and if they can avoid key injuries (they lost like 4 starting pitchers in one week this season). Luckily they're run by one of the smarter Front Offices in the game and they have money, although the ownership hasn't been too quick to spend it.
Sweet, me too.
Mr. Enigma
Member
The Reds and the Nats are now tied for the #1 seed again. For reference, the Nats win the tiebreaker because they went 5-2 against the Reds this year.
lazybones18
Banned
Alright, I got 34/57 correct in the Beat the Streak in a Day contest
That means I'm ranked.....8824 on the leaderboard :/
That means I'm ranked.....8824 on the leaderboard :/
Baseball has a system called Quest-Tec to evaluate umpires.
Also, strike zones can be influenced by the batter's stance, so it is an inexact science. Also, the catcher can block part of the strike zone, or can force the umpire to set up in a position to make part of the zone harder to deduce. Generally, teams are ok as long as the strike zone is consistent. That said, better pitchers with a rep for good control will get borderline pitches more than a guy who is known to walk the park. Tom Glavine was notorious for getting calls because he hit his spots perfectly. Derek Lowe did this as well, but he sucked (in Atlanta at least)
There's also a skill in framing pitches- where catchers can make balls look like strikes. Molina and McCann are two of the best at ths.
Dominican Power
Member
Hope Harper can finish batting .270 at the end of the season.
Either way, he'll end up with the greatest teenage season in MLB history.
I wanted to get an idea of how the rest of his rookie contract might go, so I made this:
Dmncnby2k9
Banned
Unless RA gets shelled I think he gets it.
Link
The Autumn Wind
I'd like to think so too, but I can see him getting robbed. They had Buster Olney on the other day and the way he answered when asked, you can tell he wasn't going to be voting for him.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
matthewwhatever
Member
Most of your questions have been answered, but I wanted to throw in a few extra points:
- while there are some pretty huge problems with the umpires, it's important to remember when you're watching games that 1) the camera is a few feet off-centre, so your perspective is a little off; and 2) strikes are (usually) determined by where the ball crosses the plate, not where it ends up. If a ball has good movement on it, it might catch the edge of the strike zone, but it will end up in the catcher's mitt outside the zone.
- playoff series are prone to moderate upsets because they're so short. Baseball teams are built for long seasons, and over 162 games talent differences play themselves out. Over a 3 to 7 game series, though? Anything can happen. If the Rangers or Reds played the Astros 100 times, they'd win the overwhelming majority of the games, but there'd still be short, random stretches where the Astros were able to win two in a row, or win four out of seven games. Apply that to the playoffs, and you've got an upset (though I can't think of many huge upsets, since playoff teams usually have to be talented to make it that far).
- the Jays are below expectations this year almost entirely because of injuries. They lost three-fifths of their starting rotation in one week in June. Then in a three-week span in late-July/early-August, they lost their starting catcher (Arencibia), their top catching prospect (D'Arnaud), their starting first baseman (Lind, though he sucked, so it wasn't a huge loss), their replacement starting first baseman (Cooper), their starting third baseman (Lawrie), and their starting right-fielder (Bautista), plus they lost their starting centre-fielder (Rasmus) for a week. On top of that, they've put something like 10 other pitchers on the DL, almost all for significant periods of time. In total, their players lost over 1,000 games to injury, and that's not counting 2 or three pitchers who got injured in spring training and couldn't make the team.
Unfortunately, the few key players who weren't injured performed well below expectations: Romero has just plain sucked, Alvarez showed he wasn't ready for the majors, Escobar has been mediocre, Rasmus (when not injured) has been wildly inconsistent, and Johnson has been one of the worst second-basemen in baseball.
Going forward, it's hard to know what to expect from them. They're supposed to have one of the best farm systems in baseball, but the replacements that got called up this year either got injured themselves or weren't ready (though both Gose and Hechavarria have drastically improved over the last month). They have some pretty big holes -- starting pitching, second base, leftfield -- but Rogers won't spend money until the Jays start winning with what they have, and just need one or two key pieces to round things out.
In an ideal world, the Jays are at the same place they were around 1983-84: lots of good young talent that's about to hit their primes together and lead the team to some sustained success, culminating in a couple of World Series victories. Realistically, though, the climb is a lot steeper (since the AL East is probably the toughest division in baseball, even more so if the Orioles end up being for real)...it all depends on if the young players pan out, and if all the players that got injured are able to rebound and be effective.
endresults
Member
35/57, chump. Ranked 5123 MLG 4 LYFE U JUST GOT NO-SCOPED.
I knew McCutchen wouldn't do shit. Still kicking myself for picking him even though it didn't mean anything.
Link
The Autumn Wind
There are so many awesome things about this, I can't pick just one thing.
Damn. I wish I could watch them pelt a car with knuckleballs for an hour.
BTW, the Knuckleball documentary was great.
Mr. Enigma
Member
The Steve Pearce world tour continues. He was claimed by the Orioles today off waivers from the Yankees after they DFA'd him to make room for Brett Gardner.
If the O's make the postseason, Pearce would NOT be eligible for the roster despite playing for the team earlier in the season.
If the O's make the postseason, Pearce would NOT be eligible for the roster despite playing for the team earlier in the season.
weekend_warrior
Banned
Stupid shitty fucking stupid fucking shitty Yankees.
endresults
Member
Escobar is such a fucking idiot.
Damn, Bobby Cox looks like his wife just burned the bacon. Someone is gettin a whupping.
Lol Niekro. I blame my tiny iPhone screen
Mr. Enigma
Member
That's Phil Niekro. It's a knuckleball theme, which is why Tim Wakefield's there too.
weekend_warrior
Banned
That's Phil Niekro.
i can tell who any of them are, that picture is real small on my phone. Looks like a thin Cox, Wakefield I got and while I know assume the guy on the left is Dickey I thought it was the bearded dude from Always Sunny.
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