OK, here we are at the end of the baseball previews! And only a couple of weeks into the season! As with every crazy project we try here at JoeBlogs, I liked doing this a lot, and I also learned some stuff along the way about what you want as readers and what I can reasonably do as one person. Obviously, your opinions going forward are always welcome in the comments. I do think I want to do these sorts of projects a bit differently; I want to double down on some of the quirkiness and maybe do less of the nuts-and-bolts preview stuff since that’s such a moving target.
I think the most amazing thing about the Braves talent is that they spent several years drafting pretty much only starting pitchers in the first round, calling it a core strategy. And, NONE of those pitchers are on the team now.... and pretty much they all bombed out. Meanwhile, they made a few great signings from overseas (especially Albies & Acuna), smart trades (Fried, Murphy), a couple of veteran free agent signings that weren't overly expensive (Sale, Morton) and a few non first round picks (Riley, Harris (late first round), Strider) worked out beyond their wildest imagination. So, literally they said their strategy was to draft great starting pitching & develop them. That strategy failed completely and yet they're arguably now the most talented team in the league. Maybe trying to draft great starting pitchers isn't such a good strategy.
In my personal life I am an ardent follower of rabbit holes. Call it ICU (insatiable curiosity urges). The reason I love this blog is that when Joe jumps into one of his rabbit holes it isn't just a random disjointed thought, it is a worthwhile guided tour. Please never change.
Regarding the poll. I rarely read anything other than the baseball stuff. I hope your kids are happy and Bruce puts on good concerts, but I don't need to read about them.
Here's a suggestion, Joe, if you're looking fo another creative way to rank MLB teams. Do it on how well they HONOR THEIR LEGACY, including incorporating this as part of the "fan experience" at their respective ballparks. Also, you will get extra credit for building a weighted ranking system that takes into account the differences among the teams re: longevity, locating in multiple cities, having iconic books or movies that memorialize them, unique attributes, etc. Would love to see what you come up with!
51 year old Dodger fan here. I saw '81 and Fernandomania, '88 and Orel's steak...but also had to endure the Fox and McCourt years. I maintain that the last 10 years have been a golden age for Dodger baseball, rings or not, and I wouldn't change it for anything. You can't ask for more from your team's front office than what Friedman and company have done and the randomness of baseball's dumb playoff structure doesn't change any of that.
All that can be done these days is to get your team into the playoffs. Friedman has done that every year. After that, it's just luck, getting hot at the right time and no one can prepare for that. Look at the Braves: all those 100-win seasons and the year they win the WS they win 88. Dodgers just haven't gotten hot at the right time. Sooner or later they will.
Very difficult poll! Trying to pick only one was like asking me which I prefer on a chilly November day, my wife's lasagna, beef stew or chicken parmigiana. The two that don't get picked are just as good as the one that gets selected.
The double s in the word that is the reason so many of us learned how to finish our vegetables is correct, because your tongue wants to linger over each spoonful of rice pudding!
Yeah, it's kinda crazy how Atlanta's created this team. I know the Dodgers have the best 1-2-3-(maybe 4) in baseball but in terms of total depth 1 through 9, Atlanta is peerless.
The Dodgers are in the Twin Cities right now. I went to the game last night and even though the Dodgers won (I root for the Brewers first and the Twins a strong second), Tyler Glasnow was amazing to watch. And then. 88 pitches in, he got the hook!
The single game strikeout record was tie-able for him at that point, and I get that the modern game has starting pitcher usage severely curtailed, but wasn't a very recent Poz essay about this very problem? MLB should institute a "game eligible pitcher" rule, 5 available pitchers per game (and no more, with plenty of caveats for injuries and whatnot), and MLB should also institute a bonus or penalty for teams whose starters do or do not last 5 innings (or 6). The Jayson Stark "double hook" rule works for me, but there are other ideas too (first three batters after the starter is lifted get an automatic 1-0 count, perhaps?).
Anyway, I love the writing. I LOVE that quirky deep dives into anything is winning the poll. Some of my favorite writing here has been about music and history and anecdotes from kids at Harry Potter World and stuff. This is why I subscribe.
And now, cue my in-the-comments theme song...
*sigh*
You're trolling me, Joe. Cedanne Rafaela? Last week?
The Brewers signed Jackson Chourio - who had never seen a plate appearance at the major league level - to an $82m/8-year deal LAST DECEMBER!
I AM ONCE AGAIN ASKING you to think about the Milwaukee Brewers more! Joe, you yourself have said that you're rooting for a bounce-back Christian Yelich season; he's tearing the cover off the ball this year! Brewers vs Reds vs Pirates is FUN! (Cubs and Cardinals... eh - Cubs and Cards fans, you know you're everybody's darlings, no need to get in a snit).
To add to the desert/dessert confusion, the saying “just deserts”, as in one’s comeuppance, uses the one-s variety, not the two-s variety, even though two-s makes more sense in modern parlance.
I enjoy reading the blog but I have one question about today’s entry. How did you arrive at the conclusion that the Braves had the least talented team in the majors last year (30/30)?
Nice piece of writing Joe!
I think the most amazing thing about the Braves talent is that they spent several years drafting pretty much only starting pitchers in the first round, calling it a core strategy. And, NONE of those pitchers are on the team now.... and pretty much they all bombed out. Meanwhile, they made a few great signings from overseas (especially Albies & Acuna), smart trades (Fried, Murphy), a couple of veteran free agent signings that weren't overly expensive (Sale, Morton) and a few non first round picks (Riley, Harris (late first round), Strider) worked out beyond their wildest imagination. So, literally they said their strategy was to draft great starting pitching & develop them. That strategy failed completely and yet they're arguably now the most talented team in the league. Maybe trying to draft great starting pitchers isn't such a good strategy.
In my personal life I am an ardent follower of rabbit holes. Call it ICU (insatiable curiosity urges). The reason I love this blog is that when Joe jumps into one of his rabbit holes it isn't just a random disjointed thought, it is a worthwhile guided tour. Please never change.
Regarding the poll. I rarely read anything other than the baseball stuff. I hope your kids are happy and Bruce puts on good concerts, but I don't need to read about them.
Regarding the poll … if “following the wobbly direction of my never-resting mind” had been a choice I would have selected it.
Here's a suggestion, Joe, if you're looking fo another creative way to rank MLB teams. Do it on how well they HONOR THEIR LEGACY, including incorporating this as part of the "fan experience" at their respective ballparks. Also, you will get extra credit for building a weighted ranking system that takes into account the differences among the teams re: longevity, locating in multiple cities, having iconic books or movies that memorialize them, unique attributes, etc. Would love to see what you come up with!
51 year old Dodger fan here. I saw '81 and Fernandomania, '88 and Orel's steak...but also had to endure the Fox and McCourt years. I maintain that the last 10 years have been a golden age for Dodger baseball, rings or not, and I wouldn't change it for anything. You can't ask for more from your team's front office than what Friedman and company have done and the randomness of baseball's dumb playoff structure doesn't change any of that.
All that can be done these days is to get your team into the playoffs. Friedman has done that every year. After that, it's just luck, getting hot at the right time and no one can prepare for that. Look at the Braves: all those 100-win seasons and the year they win the WS they win 88. Dodgers just haven't gotten hot at the right time. Sooner or later they will.
Very difficult poll! Trying to pick only one was like asking me which I prefer on a chilly November day, my wife's lasagna, beef stew or chicken parmigiana. The two that don't get picked are just as good as the one that gets selected.
As usual, I was in a hurry to read through his stuff!
The extra S in "dessert" is for sweet, succulent, sticky, sauce, and scrumptious.
The double s in the word that is the reason so many of us learned how to finish our vegetables is correct, because your tongue wants to linger over each spoonful of rice pudding!
Standalone post to agree with dessert/desert.
Yeah, it's kinda crazy how Atlanta's created this team. I know the Dodgers have the best 1-2-3-(maybe 4) in baseball but in terms of total depth 1 through 9, Atlanta is peerless.
The Dodgers are in the Twin Cities right now. I went to the game last night and even though the Dodgers won (I root for the Brewers first and the Twins a strong second), Tyler Glasnow was amazing to watch. And then. 88 pitches in, he got the hook!
The single game strikeout record was tie-able for him at that point, and I get that the modern game has starting pitcher usage severely curtailed, but wasn't a very recent Poz essay about this very problem? MLB should institute a "game eligible pitcher" rule, 5 available pitchers per game (and no more, with plenty of caveats for injuries and whatnot), and MLB should also institute a bonus or penalty for teams whose starters do or do not last 5 innings (or 6). The Jayson Stark "double hook" rule works for me, but there are other ideas too (first three batters after the starter is lifted get an automatic 1-0 count, perhaps?).
Anyway, I love the writing. I LOVE that quirky deep dives into anything is winning the poll. Some of my favorite writing here has been about music and history and anecdotes from kids at Harry Potter World and stuff. This is why I subscribe.
And now, cue my in-the-comments theme song...
*sigh*
You're trolling me, Joe. Cedanne Rafaela? Last week?
The Brewers signed Jackson Chourio - who had never seen a plate appearance at the major league level - to an $82m/8-year deal LAST DECEMBER!
I AM ONCE AGAIN ASKING you to think about the Milwaukee Brewers more! Joe, you yourself have said that you're rooting for a bounce-back Christian Yelich season; he's tearing the cover off the ball this year! Brewers vs Reds vs Pirates is FUN! (Cubs and Cardinals... eh - Cubs and Cards fans, you know you're everybody's darlings, no need to get in a snit).
To add to the desert/dessert confusion, the saying “just deserts”, as in one’s comeuppance, uses the one-s variety, not the two-s variety, even though two-s makes more sense in modern parlance.
I enjoy reading the blog but I have one question about today’s entry. How did you arrive at the conclusion that the Braves had the least talented team in the majors last year (30/30)?