I’m looking forward to some hot stove madness this weekend. What are peoples thoughts on Zack Greinke? I think he’s an innings horse. Rodon has never put up as many innings in his best year as Greinke does in his worst.
Ehh, he’s a pro. I’m sure the allure of forming a hall of fame trio and a Cohen salary would be plenty of motivation. And it’s not like LA and Houston are small markets?
A potential problem with this playoff setup is as follows: let's say that Atlanta is in first but has the 3d best 1st place record (so no bye) and ATL is only two games ahead of the Mets while the Mets are comfortably ahead of the next wild card team (so it will also get home-field advantage in the WC round). There is no incentive to win the division (both teams do not get a bye but have home field in the first round and there is no reseeding) which means that the Mets should rest Jake and Max instead of trying to win the division title. With so many WC teams, winning the division with the 3d best record is not a big accomplishment.
Excellent point! I really wish they explored some of the alternatives being offered for expanded playoffs. I think they were so focused on the number of teams and throwing a bone to the small-market owners that they overlooked some of this nuance. I suppose the other argument would be that this system creates incentive for the third-best division leader to continue to win to get a first round bye, even if they have their own division locked up. And if the wild card team is close to them, perhaps they are chasing both the division lead and a first round bye. This is essentially the situation that would have happened last year with the Giants and Dodgers. They were the two best teams. The division winner got a first round bye, while the wild card becomes the 4 seed.
I actually thought the 14 team playoff would have been good. The division winners could all have earned first round byes. The four wild card teams in each league could have played in a high stakes wild card tournament for the right to take the single fourth slot in the division series round. They could have dropped a week or two of low stakes September games to give time for the extra playoff madness. Oh well.
Hey Jon! Long time, no chat! Glad to see your name on here again. Hope all was well during the lockout. I wouldn't be surprised if we get to 14 teams by the next CBA. We know MLB wants to expand, so when they get to 32 teams, that creates an even number to create eight 4-team divisions (four divisions in each league). Personally, I prefer they keep the number at 12 (even with expansion) so we don't tilt it too much where the regular season becomes meaningless.
Completely understandable given how crazy everything has been with this CBA nonsense (to say nothing of everything else going on in the world). I did get worried for a quick second though! :)
Did I read that the rule 5 draft was cancelled as a result of the labor dispute? I recall reading some concern about some of the players the Mets did not protect: Promising relief pitcher Brian Metoyer, and catcher Hayden Senger were both expected to be lost.
I’m looking forward to some hot stove madness this weekend. What are peoples thoughts on Zack Greinke? I think he’s an innings horse. Rodon has never put up as many innings in his best year as Greinke does in his worst.
I think Greinke has some gas left in the tank, but I'm not sure if New York is the right market for him.
Ehh, he’s a pro. I’m sure the allure of forming a hall of fame trio and a Cohen salary would be plenty of motivation. And it’s not like LA and Houston are small markets?
A potential problem with this playoff setup is as follows: let's say that Atlanta is in first but has the 3d best 1st place record (so no bye) and ATL is only two games ahead of the Mets while the Mets are comfortably ahead of the next wild card team (so it will also get home-field advantage in the WC round). There is no incentive to win the division (both teams do not get a bye but have home field in the first round and there is no reseeding) which means that the Mets should rest Jake and Max instead of trying to win the division title. With so many WC teams, winning the division with the 3d best record is not a big accomplishment.
Excellent point! I really wish they explored some of the alternatives being offered for expanded playoffs. I think they were so focused on the number of teams and throwing a bone to the small-market owners that they overlooked some of this nuance. I suppose the other argument would be that this system creates incentive for the third-best division leader to continue to win to get a first round bye, even if they have their own division locked up. And if the wild card team is close to them, perhaps they are chasing both the division lead and a first round bye. This is essentially the situation that would have happened last year with the Giants and Dodgers. They were the two best teams. The division winner got a first round bye, while the wild card becomes the 4 seed.
I actually thought the 14 team playoff would have been good. The division winners could all have earned first round byes. The four wild card teams in each league could have played in a high stakes wild card tournament for the right to take the single fourth slot in the division series round. They could have dropped a week or two of low stakes September games to give time for the extra playoff madness. Oh well.
Hey Jon! Long time, no chat! Glad to see your name on here again. Hope all was well during the lockout. I wouldn't be surprised if we get to 14 teams by the next CBA. We know MLB wants to expand, so when they get to 32 teams, that creates an even number to create eight 4-team divisions (four divisions in each league). Personally, I prefer they keep the number at 12 (even with expansion) so we don't tilt it too much where the regular season becomes meaningless.
Typo: opening day is April 7th, not October 7th. Great newsletter otherwise and so happy to have baseball and more regular updates back.
Of course I noticed that 2 seconds after hitting send. Thank goodness it's April 7th instead of October 7th lol
Completely understandable given how crazy everything has been with this CBA nonsense (to say nothing of everything else going on in the world). I did get worried for a quick second though! :)
Did I read that the rule 5 draft was cancelled as a result of the labor dispute? I recall reading some concern about some of the players the Mets did not protect: Promising relief pitcher Brian Metoyer, and catcher Hayden Senger were both expected to be lost.
Does anyone see a problem with the players getting involved with Sport Betting companies?
Yeah.