Comments
The last twenty comments in true blog fasion, with the links to their authors and the player commented upon.
Welcome! You are invited to wander around and read all of the comments that have been posted here at Patton & Co., but as soon as you register you can see the bid limits that Alex, Peter and Mike propose for each player, and you can post your own comments. Registering is free, so please join us!
While the pro-Trump Post takes the players' side.
https://nypost.com/2020/05/29/reasoning-behind-scott-boras-rallying-cry-to-mlb-players/
Or Ken Davidson does. To my surprise, Joel Sherman puts equal blame on both sides. He thinks Manfred and Clark could settle their differences at 20,000 feet.
https://nypost.com/2020/05/28/shortsighted-mlb-money-war-could-cripple-baseball-long-term-sherman/
Let's just say the Times doesn't write about Trump in such measured terms.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/sports/baseball/coronavirus-baseball-mlb.html
Not bad career slash stats if this is it for CarGo. In 630 games in Coors: .328/.389/.604.
Luis Castillo (P) CIN - May. 28
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=741057
Castillo was able to work out individually at Great American Ballpark on Wednesday for the first time since the facilities closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Both Great American Ballpark and the Reds facilities in Arizona have partially re-opened, without coaches and only for players that are in town. It's not much, but it's a start for some players.
Carlos Gonzalez (OF) SEA - May. 28
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=741046
The Mariners released Gonzalez on Thursday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The likelihood of MLB implementing extra roster spots for teams when the season resumes may have been providing a slight boost to Gonzalez's chances of earning a spot with the Mariners, but the 34-year-old never looked to be a good fit on a rebuilding squad. Now released from his third team in just over a year, Gonzalez's time as a big-league player could be over.
I spoke with Dan Bernstein on Chicago 670 The Score again today about the status of negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association. It starts at marker 1, approximately 18 minutes.
My approach in this one was half-hearted. Drafting from the middle, I wanted to make sure I got at least one of the top six catchers. I didn't want to be taking a middle infielder late. And I wasn't sure which way I'd go in terms of punting but thought I'd play it as it went along.
Alas, the best hitter available in the first round was Joe Carter, who hit better than .300. That put a dent in the idea of punting BA.
There was still a good starter left when I picked in the second, which undermined the idea of punting wins and strikeouts.
Around the time I picked in the third it was clear Erickson was punting BA and it appeared that Pianowski was dumping Wins and Strikeouts. At that point I tried to chart a course of finishing 10th in Wins and Strikeouts and maximizing as best I could elsewhere.
There were two players I targeted, Ernie Whitt and Ron Oester, who both went a couple players ahead of me. The last catcher and the last good MI might have made a difference. On the other hand, what would I have missed out on if I'd taken them the round before?
It's a tough game and play is getting smarter.
With 5x5x1 I'd be dead. I told Peter, as I took a pass on 1986, that I'd like the game a lot more if everyone else had 20 seconds and I had two hours.
Counting AB may be overkill. 5x6x1 sounds good.
Yasmany Tomas (DH) AZ - May. 27
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=741036
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo mentioned Tomas as a candidate to receive at-bats as a designated hitter in 2020 if MLB adopts a universal DH for both leagues, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Tomas, who is set to begin a second straight season off the 40-man roster, could be helpful to the Diamondbacks in an abbreviated season. He brings 309 games of MLB experience, including a brief stint for Arizona in 2019, and the Diamondbacks would not have to find a home for him defensively. Along with Tomas, Lovullo mentioned Jake Lamb and Kevin Cron as the most likely beneficiaries of available DH at-bats.
Things look so bad I wonder if it's worth running these daily comments from Rotowire?
Cody Allen (P) TEX - May. 27
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=741038
Allen (elbow, forearm) is feeling good and has been throwing at Globe Life Field during the pandemic, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Allen experienced minor arm issues during the original spring training, which limited his opportunity. The Rangers hoped to get a better look at the right-hander and former Indians closer, though they should get that chance in a second spring training. If he's healthy and on form, Allen could be a candidate for saves if manager Chris Woodward wants to use current closer Jose Leclerc as a multiple-inning weapon. Leclerc is the closer entering the season, but he did have issues during 2019. Rafael Montero is also a consideration for save chances.
5x6 might be sufficient (ie. add IP, but not AB ... hitters have 3 "volume" cats already (R, HR, RBI), just need a 3rd for pitchers) ... could stick with 5x5 by eliminating either WHIP or ERA, I s'pose ... I'd be OK with 6x6x1 (ie. adding "time to make pics" as a category) ... another option (for both problems, punting cats and taking too much time) is to create docking rules (which I suppose the "min IP" rule is a docking rule, ie. it's typically implemented as "if you don't reach min IP, then your point total is docked by X factor") ... another idea is along the lines of "if you finish last in Ws and/or Ks, then your point total is docked by 4 points each" ... and ... "if your clock time is greater than 1 minute per pick, then your total is docked by 4 points" ... any/all of these make the game better, imo ... because they make the winning team look more like a good baseball team rather than a good roto-without-min-IP-rule team ...
Peter -- I agree that the 6 x 6 format would fix the punting.
A time clock, too. We added an hour tonight because a handful of teams didn't ever make timely picks. I thought adding something like a chess clock might work, and let that be a category, too!
The top two teams dumped wins and strikeouts. That's because those two cats rely on volume and pitchers who win and strikeout guys with bad ratios.
My experience was informative. I spent most of the draft in the bottom half, because I tried to counter the position scarcity issues in the first half. But rose late as we rounded out our rosters. But I was not in position to make a big leap, the way Scott did to win.
His run up to that point made it seem like he was invincible, and then he was vincible, and then he bounced back totally. Getting that position is key.
I'm of the opinion we could keep doing these games with no innings minimum and we'll all have to adapt to the dump W and K strategy.
But I think finding a way to value innings and at bats will make the game more interesting. One idea I had is to add two categories: AB and IP. So, 6x6, with an emphasis on volume. I think that's more appealing than an innings minimum.
What do you think?
He picks RJ Reynolds and goes from 70.5 points to 80!
Ron nicks two points from him with his last pick and that's the ballgame.
Scott 78
Fred 76
Nothing to it.
They're waiting.
They keep waiting. There's no official clock. If I were Scott, I'd take until tomorrow.
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Because it's what I do for a living, I read Sherman's column much differently. Here's my analysis:
Bear in mind that this is the continuation of a drumbeat that purports "both sides" but merely presents management's position. Not surprisingly, it's someone who presumably receives a paycheck for his regular appearances on MLB Network. Let's break down this column in a thread:
Commissioner makes a statement that games will begin July 3 provided there is medical approval. Sherman claims this gives up leverage. That's false. It's actually using leverage in the media to claim that management wants games but players don't. It also makes a statement that management doesn't intend to meet its bargaining obligation over health and safety issues, which would have to be completed prior to players returning to the field.
Same nonsense about if players want to opt-out they should be allowed. I've broken that down before.A refresher - some players have Americans with Disabilities Act rights due to serious conditions that affect major life activities (in this case-working). FMLA issues related to care of family members experiencing COVID. Extreme pressure from teammates & media to participate.
Nobody cares about watching owners. Ok, that's a philosophical statement, but the reciprocal he provides is that players shouldn't be locked in on the financial aspect. What? Players should give up the agreement they already have from March on pro rata salaries in return for people wanting to watch them play rather than owners play. I'm not sure how those two things are logically related. One side gives something up and the other side gains something.
Provides totally unrelated financial solutions to different problems not associated with March agreement including: raise minimum salary in the future, raise luxury tax or eliminate penalties. Guess what, those are things for negotiations in 2022 regardless of what happens now. Still nothing in return for players giving up their pro rata agreement.
Then @Joelsherman1 creates an artificial deadline of June 5 for the parties to reach agreement-again, with nothing gained by the players in that agreement, only that they give up their March MOU. Still nothing about the real thing that needs to be agreed to-health and safety.
Of course the adults reading his column understand this right? The players should give up their position quickly and accede management's will, because that's what adults would do.
He then calls on player agents to sell out their clients and not act in their best interests.
He wraps up by giving his legal opinion of the March MOU - not ironically the exact management interpretation.
And, he goes on to somehow invoke Curt Flood, who stood up for his rights by saying in Flood's honor players should give up their rights. Sickening.
I wonder if MLB wrote this for Sherman or just gave him some talking points.
It's a good thing MLB has its own media outlet and can buy shills for so little.