2013 MLB Off-season Thread: Official THEO Appreciation Thread

[Cail]

always been a big John Santana guy. Could be a steal.

So much so that you cant spell his name right

[Moss]

are you sure?

John Santana to the O's on a minor league deal

[Cail]

are you sure?

Im not the one who believes in him

[Moss]

Fantasy Draft set for Tuesday March 18 at 9:30 pm EST, four days before the opening series

[Moss]

any thoughts on replacing the "Wins" category for pitchers with Qaulity Starts (starts with 6+ IP and 3 or fewer ER)?

[Bregor]

Any chance we could move it to Wed or Thurs? I have to work Tues night

Is there a W+QS possibility? Like if you get a win in a quality start you get 2 points? Yahoo sadly doesn't offer it but not sure about ESPN.

[Melena]

I've always hated the quality start stat. 6IP at 3 ER is a 4.5 era. That isn't quality lol.

[Moss]

I've always hated the quality start stat. 6IP at 3 ER is a 4.5 era. That isn't quality lol.

True but that's the bare minimum and that line is still hurting your ERA category. I would argue wins are an even worse stat since they are heavily dependent on your offense, out of the pitchers control.

Yeah I'll move it to Wednesday Bregs, same time. I'd like to hear everyone's opinion on changing it, because right now I'd like to go with QS instead but only if people are ok with it.

[Melena]

That's fine if others agree, though you will see a lot more pitchers with QS then wins due to how lax the limitations are on that versus wins.

[BadKarma]

Wouldnt that lower the value of pitchers a bit too much?

[Pringles]

QS is ok with me. I know it was frustrating having a win lined up for the bullpen to blow it last year a few times.

[Moss]

That's fine if others agree, though you will see a lot more pitchers with QS then wins due to how lax the limitations are on that versus wins.

Sure, but nothing wrong with a higher number in itself. The main result is hurting the value of long relievers that luck into a ton of wins, or closers that blow saves but get the win, etc. I have no problem with that, my main goal is best capturing the player performance in the categories. Wins are one of the weakest stats in baseball imo.

Wouldnt that lower the value of pitchers a bit too much?

Pitchers relative to hitters? How so?

You can look at the stats here: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitchin...ed/order/false

[archibaldcrane]

I've always hated the quality start stat. 6IP at 3 ER is a 4.5 era. That isn't quality lol.

Well, 6 IP is an above-average start in MLB last year - the average starter lasted 5.89 innings. They had an ERA of 4.01, so 4.5 is below-average by a bit, but considering that's the worst you can do for a quality start, it's not far off. 7 IP/3 earned runs is an above-average MLB start by both IP and ERA. 6 IP/2 ER is also above-average by both IP and ERA.

[Moss]

I would also argue that most MLB teams would happily take a 6 IP/3 ER line from their #3-5 starters. Some teams would take it from all of them (Colorado).

[Bregor]

If there's no W+QS then I prefer wins but don't really care that much. I do love the cheap wins from closers though!

Also thanks for moving the draft Mossy, you're all fucked now when I take Rizzo, Starlin, and Samardzija.

[Melena]

I'm going to stab the commish if he moves my money league draft to that day. dumbshit forgot about the 2 game series in australia that Greinke came down with a case of donotgiveafuckitis and is missing.

[Bregor]

During my preseason reading of Baseball Prospectus, I've finally hit the Phillies essay, which begins:

Here's the argument: Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is as good a reason for reviving the strong version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis as I have heard. Sapir-Whorf -- a linguistic theory mostly discredited in the 1960s -- contends that the language you speak determines the concepts you know. The strong version says that concepts from other languages are inaccessible to non-speakers. A common example of this claim is that some languages have names for colors that other languages do not. In those languages where the color has no name, the argument goes, speakers are much more likely to describe an object of that color as being some other color. If your language has no word for blue, you might say that the sky was light green or light purple basically.

Put slightly differently: Amaro and the rest of the Phillies' front office don't get it, and they never will, because they're speaking an entirely different language. So poorly is the team managed that any attempt to describe what might happen next must be informed by an evaluation of the enormity of the front office's blunders to date.

Sorry Phillies fans

Edit: Oh yeah and later in the essay:

As assistant GM Scott Proefrock told the Inquirer's Bob Brookover in 2012, "I honestly can't tell you the last time WAR or VORP or any of those things were brought up in a conversation. We're aware of them, and we understand what they are. It's just not something we find relevant."

[Moss]

is that something you had to pay for?

[Bregor]

is that something you had to pay for?

Yeah it's from the book. I think you can download a digital copy on the website.

[Cail]

Matt Carpenter called agreeing to a new $52 million, six-year deal with St. Louis a no-brainer. The Cardinals are hoping their third baseman sticks even longer than that.

"He's the type of player you'd like to think could finish his career as a Cardinal," St. Louis chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt said Saturday.