Baseball 2004 Season

[Dev(Rob)]

Hey there folks. I know my activity has been somewhat not so good lately and I appologise but I've had some real life things to do (mainly University work). I'm back now taking inspiration from an idea I believe Julia and Rach thought of a month or so ago. With the Baseball season underway now instead of filling the "SSS Part xxx" parts with sports chatter I thought this would be a good place to discuss all things Baseball... As this gets to around 500 posts then we can start part 2 and so on. Anyone is free to post here but it has to be Baseball related (DUH!).

Dev

[Rachael]

Dev said:

Hey there folks. I know my activity has been somewhat not so good lately and I appologise but I've had some real life things to do (mainly University work). I'm back now taking inspiration from an idea I believe Julia and Rach thought of a month or so ago. With the Baseball season underway now instead of filling the "SSS Part xxx" parts with sports chatter I thought this would be a good place to discuss all things Baseball... As this gets to around 500 posts then we can start part 2 and so on. Anyone is free to post here but it has to be Baseball related (DUH!).

Dev

Oh, I dunno - we'll still probably post the occasional baseball tidbit on the Main Thread, so folks should feel free to post Buffy-type stuff here, too. I bet they won't, but. . .

So long as the PTBs don't mind, this is a great idea - and hey, it was mine originally, so, yay me.

And Dev - where WERE you the two times my team was kicking your teams' ass in Spring Training?

[Dev(Rob)]

I've been busy doing Uni work so haven't read one of the main threads in absolutely ages... I've even stopped keeping up with the comments on some of the other areas and have been resigned to just managing to scrape the deadlines for piccy of the week.

Spring training has brought my Cubbies a nasty 15-15 record but with the new additions of Lee, Madux, Hawkins the regular season should be good. If you recall my housemate is a Yankees fan and we paid for two opening games from www.mlb.com and watched them.

Latenight baseball starts at midnight Sunday and continues to early morning so we got a few beers in ready for the fun. Cubbies don't play untill Monday, we're at cincinati.

[Sara]

Dev-

My condolences--SI put Kerry Wood on the cover of their baseball preview and picked the Cubs to beat the Yankees in the World Series. Now they're definitely doomed.

[Karen]

Dev said:

Hey there folks. I know my activity has been somewhat not so good lately and I appologise but I've had some real life things to do (mainly University work). I'm back now taking inspiration from an idea I believe Julia and Rach thought of a month or so ago. With the Baseball season underway now instead of filling the "SSS Part xxx" parts with sports chatter I thought this would be a good place to discuss all things Baseball... As this gets to around 500 posts then we can start part 2 and so on. Anyone is free to post here but it has to be Baseball related (DUH!).

Dev

LOL! Hi Dev! Go Cubbies! This will give me an excuse to follow them more closely this season. Maybe this year?

[Rachael]

Dev said:

I've been busy doing Uni work so haven't read one of the main threads in absolutely ages... I've even stopped keeping up with the comments on some of the other areas and have been resigned to just managing to scrape the deadlines for piccy of the week.

Spring training has brought my Cubbies a nasty 15-15 record but with the new additions of Lee, Madux, Hawkins the regular season should be good. If you recall my housemate is a Yankees fan and we paid for two opening games from www.mlb.com and watched them.

Latenight baseball starts at midnight Sunday and continues to early morning so we got a few beers in ready for the fun. Cubbies don't play untill Monday, we're at cincinati.

My view of Spring Training is that if you do too well, then you don't know what you need to work on, and that's bad. The M's do quite well in the regular season when they have a losing Spring, and also. . .they've had a couple of great Springs followed by a lousy regular season.

The last week of Spring Training I think has meaning, and if I'm right, the M's are good to go.

Now, if only Spezio's back would clear up.

[Julia, wrought iron-y]

Yorick said:

Dev-

My condolences--SI put Kerry Wood on the cover of their baseball preview and picked the Cubs to beat the Yankees in the World Series. Now they're definitely doomed.

Last year the Baseball Special had Ichiro on the cover, and we didn't even make it into the playoffs.

Alas, alas, the SI curse is one of the most secure in the becursed baseball world.

Julia, still hoping for a Seattle/Chicago Cubs World Series, though

[Julia, wrought iron-y]

Rachael said:

My view of Spring Training is that if you do too well, then you don't know what you need to work on, and that's bad. The M's do quite well in the regular season when they have a losing Spring, and also. . .they've had a couple of great Springs followed by a lousy regular season.

The last week of Spring Training I think has meaning, and if I'm right, the M's are good to go.

Now, if only Spezio's back would clear up.

By the way, the way Bob Melvin's interviews have gone, it was as hard on him as it was on Bocachica to send Bocachica to Tacoma.

Pat Borders got sent down, too, but from the way he talks, he'd play in Bellingham just to stay in baseball

[Rachael]

Julia said:

By the way, the way Bob Melvin's interviews have gone, it was as hard on him as it was on Bocachica to send Bocachica to Tacoma.

Pat Borders got sent down, too, but from the way he talks, he'd play in Bellingham just to stay in baseball

I've read that, too (the bit about Melvin), and it confuses me, which just shows that my understanding of the non-playing parts of baseball is still a work in progress. Because, well - if he didn't want to send the kid down, why did he? Must have something to do with the number of times a person has been sent down (there's a limit before they're available to other teams, right?), and Bocachica's young. . .which is (sigh) part of why I wanted him.

[Sara]

Rachael said:

I've read that, too (the bit about Melvin), and it confuses me, which just shows that my understanding of the non-playing parts of baseball is still a work in progress. Because, well - if he didn't want to send the kid down, why did he? Must have something to do with the number of times a person has been sent down (there's a limit before they're available to other teams, right?), and Bocachica's young. . .which is (sigh) part of why I wanted him.

You're absolutely right--it does have something to do with how many times they've been sent down and how long they've been playing in the major leagues. A couple of years ago this issue came up with a Red Sox utility infielder--even though he was probably a better player to keep around than a few of the others on the roster, whenever the Sox had to make a move to bring someone off the DL this guy was always sent down because he was the one the club still had options on.

The way it works is this (and I did go look this up to refresh my memory):
After a player has played in three full pro seasons, he has to be protected on the team's 40-man roster or he's put into the Rule 5 draft. Once that player has been put on the 40-man roster, the team then has three option years on him. During those three years the player can be moved from majors to minors as many times as the club desires.

But once those three option years are used up it becomes a lot more difficult for a team to move a player around, because then in order to send a player to the minors the team first has to put him through waivers--opening up the possibility of losing the player to another team. So when it comes to cutting the 40-man roster to 25 by opening day, it unfortunately makes more sense to demote players the club still has options on--they can safely and easily be moved onto and off of the 25-man roster to help fill in the gaps when starters go on the DL.

So yes, essentially this was a long-winded way of saying you were right--part of the reason your guy Bocachica got the short end of the stick is because he's young.

And if anyone wants to see all of this spelled out a bit more clearly, or are now wondering what's up with waivers and the Rule 5 draft, I recommend the memory-refreshing site I found: rangers.siegler.net/roster/rosterrules.html

[Julia, wrought iron-y]

Rachael said:

I've read that, too (the bit about Melvin), and it confuses me, which just shows that my understanding of the non-playing parts of baseball is still a work in progress. Because, well - if he didn't want to send the kid down, why did he? Must have something to do with the number of times a person has been sent down (there's a limit before they're available to other teams, right?), and Bocachica's young. . .which is (sigh) part of why I wanted him.

Huh, no, no limit to the number of times you can be sent down, as far as I know, unless one is specified in an individual contract. If there was, Pat Borders would have been in big trouble last year when he came up from Tacoma every five days to catch Freddy. Willie's been on the Sounder shuttle for a couple of years, as has Ugueto.

Problem with Bocachica was that there was no need for another outfielder, especailly one who's an OK but not great arm. If he'd been an infielder it would be another matter, with Spezio's back, but the impression I've gotten is that Bocachica isn't as able in the field as Gar, even, so he's simmering in Tacoma.

Julia, wishing Cheney Stadium had some sheets in the shade

[Rachael]

Julia said:

Huh, no, no limit to the number of times you can be sent down, as far as I know, unless one is specified in an individual contract. If there was, Pat Borders would have been in big trouble last year when he came up from Tacoma every five days to catch Freddy. Willie's been on the Sounder shuttle for a couple of years, as has Ugueto.

Problem with Bocachica was that there was no need for another outfielder, especailly one who's an OK but not great arm. If he'd been an infielder it would be another matter, with Spezio's back, but the impression I've gotten is that Bocachica isn't as able in the field as Gar, even, so he's simmering in Tacoma.

Julia, wishing Cheney Stadium had some sheets in the shade

Well, that makes sense, then. Defense. And with Ibanez tearing the cover off the ball the last week. . .11 for 11. Impressive, no?

[Julia, wrought iron-y]

Yorick said:

You're absolutely right--it does have something to do with how many times they've been sent down and how long they've been playing in the major leagues. A couple of years ago this issue came up with a Red Sox utility infielder--even though he was probably a better player to keep around than a few of the others on the roster, whenever the Sox had to make a move to bring someone off the DL this guy was always sent down because he was the one the club still had options on.

The way it works is this (and I did go look this up to refresh my memory):
After a player has played in three full pro seasons, he has to be protected on the team's 40-man roster or he's put into the Rule 5 draft. Once that player has been put on the 40-man roster, the team then has three option years on him. During those three years the player can be moved from majors to minors as many times as the club desires.

But once those three option years are used up it becomes a lot more difficult for a team to move a player around, because then in order to send a player to the minors the team first has to put him through waivers--opening up the possibility of losing the player to another team. So when it comes to cutting the 40-man roster to 25 by opening day, it unfortunately makes more sense to demote players the club still has options on--they can safely and easily be moved onto and off of the 25-man roster to help fill in the gaps when starters go on the DL.

So yes, essentially this was a long-winded way of saying you were right--part of the reason your guy Bocachica got the short end of the stick is because he's young.

And if anyone wants to see all of this spelled out a bit more clearly, or are now wondering what's up with waivers and the Rule 5 draft, I recommend the memory-refreshing site I found: rangers.siegler.net/roster/rosterrules.html

This really doesn't make any sense with regard to Borders situation (not that I've looked up Rule 5, not until I actually, like, wake up) unless it's a different matter if the player starts the season in the minors. Of course there was talk last year about him getting player-coach designation, so I have a feeling there may be some kind of other contractual or rule considerations going on with him.

And of course, there may be a "I'm Pat Borders, I'm 41 years old, I was World Series MVP and can do what I darned well want" clause somewhere, too.

Bocachica was a walk-on, started the season with a minor league contract if any at all, and may well be the lowest of the low men on the totem pole but he also needs, badly to develop some extra-good fielding skills.

Julia, don't get me wrong, I'd love to see him play at The Safe, but being sent to Tacoma isn't anything but a tactical move

[Julia, wrought iron-y]

Rachael said:

Well, that makes sense, then. Defense. And with Ibanez tearing the cover off the ball the last week. . .11 for 11. Impressive, no?

I've always liked Raul, and it's nice we're getting a little bit of old-fashioned baseball faces back on the team; with Randy and Bone gone they'd all gotten so cute.

Julia, shallow again

[Rachael]

Julia said:

I've always liked Raul, and it's nice we're getting a little bit of old-fashioned baseball faces back on the team; with Randy and Bone gone they'd all gotten so cute.

Julia, shallow again

Nothing wrong with cute. . .although Boone is just too cute. And he knows it. This is not a good thing. But he's maybe the best player on the team (argument to be made for Ichiro, here), so I let it slide.

I don't get to see as much of them as I used to (only when they play Oakland or on ESPN - although for an extra $20/month I could get FOXNW on my Digital Cable - but I like that money for other things), so I'm missing out on the cute a lot of the time.

If they trade Ben Davis there will be a significant decrease in the overall attractiveness of the team, though.