MLB News & Notes - 2024 Season

zambonir 2024-08-22 13:36:50 UTC #226

I'm afraid Chicago wasn't actually trying to tank. They have just been that bad at everything (ownership, front office, manager) pretty much since they replaced Renteria with LaRussa. They were still expected to win the Central in 2022 and I'm sure they thought they would bounce back last year. Now they will presumably go full tank by trading Crochet and Robert in the off-season. Even with the new system it still doesn't hurt - better than the middle ground at least.

bkeich 2024-08-22 16:05:00 UTC #227

Yea, I was being facetious, like I said tanking really doesn’t work in baseball unless someone like Ken Griffey Jr is going to be drafted (once every 30 years).

To be this bad is actually amazing. .242. 1 win out of 4 (actually a little worse). That is rarified air. Honestly, they might actually get worse.

The best team right now is 110 runs in the positive. They are 250 runs negative, which means they AVERAGE losing by 2. That is really hard to do.

zambonir 2024-08-22 17:33:21 UTC #228

Tanking does still work though, whether on purpose or not. It just takes a lot to still get it right. In the old system, the Astros and Cubs did. The Phillies didn't. But even with the lottery you still want all those shots at the top pick, as well as the pool implications. The Nats will be formidable again at some point. Remains to be seen how the Phillies figure out staying competitive though the middle of this Harper/Turner/Nola/Wheeler era, or if they'll get their chance to draft higher again without planning on it.

andyb 2024-08-22 19:33:18 UTC #229

The bigger part of the tanking benefits are trades for prospects, not draft picks. A prospect in AA has much less risk than a drafted. Tanking has some value in baseball but with a draft lottery and no pick in the top 10 and no trading of most draft picks the draft benefits are really limited. And they played with the slot values too to lessen that advantage.

Why baseball pays so much attention to the draft and so little attention to teams tanking by trading their best players for prospects really shows they don't care if teams tank that much.

andyb 2024-08-22 20:12:11 UTC #230

File this for the weekend in Kansas City, but Bobby Witt Jr. is trying to become the first player in a long time to hit .400 at home for the season. Currently hitting .405 and in general on pace for an 11.6 fWAR season which would be second only to Honus Wagner at shortstop (though guessing fielding WAR stats were pretty limited back in the day.....).

VoteForKalas 2024-08-22 20:24:10 UTC #231

I still think it is important that the Phillies get the #1 seed and bye.

It was evident to me that the team ran out of gas in the latter rounds the last two seasons.

The reality is we have an older roster than other teams.

2022
Average Batter Age MLB Ranking: 16th (28.2)
Average Pitcher Age MLB Ranking: 19th (29.2)

2023
Average Batter Age MLB Ranking: 19th (28.4)
Average Pitcher Age MLB Ranking: 23rd (29.8)

2024
Average Batter Age MLB Ranking: 27th (29.1)
Average Pitcher Age MLB Ranking: 21st (29.5)

Notice the overall trend year to year? Yup, we got older with one exception: pitching age in 2024 which went from 23rd to 21st.

If we can avoid having to play that first round, that would help our pitching certainly, but could also help our older position players too.

Home field advantage is not a savior, but for the Phillies it matters. Having to grind it out on the road can be done to a extent as we've seen the last two seasons, but playing in front of our rabid fanbase in CBP has served us very well. It could make a difference to have home field throughout the playoffs. I know we failed with it in the NLCS last season, but that team ran out of gas at the end (see argument above).

2024 Phillies Season Discussion

2024 Phillies Late Season Discussion

BostonRoss 2024-08-22 21:39:57 UTC #232

I’m a little surprised that the 2024 Phillies hitters are on average less than a year older than in 2022. It’s mostly the same group, with seven of nine regulars being the same and therefore two years older. Rojas essentially replacing Hoskins is the main gain in age. Of course, they got younger by releasing Merrifield.

andyb 2024-08-22 21:58:16 UTC #233

Is there evidence though that older players run out of gas in the postseason? There is clearly a bias towards playing them in the postseason over younger players, but that may just be managerial error playing older players over more talented younger players.

We just lost a few games we should have won in Arizona last year. It could have happened for a dozen different reasons. The older age of the core does make it more important to try to compete each year we have a chance. I just think we see as many instances of older rosters overachieving in the playoffs relative to talent as younger rosters (compared to their regular season record).

bkox 2024-08-22 23:46:26 UTC #234

zambonir 2024-08-22 23:53:48 UTC #235

It's pretty astonishing that the younger Braves have had much worse luck with injuries than the Phillies, both on the mound and at the plate. Perhaps the market inefficiency with older players is that they're durable, if still subject to short-term injuries and being banged up.

Or it's all luck. All of it. MLB is March Madness now (including the part the best team probably will win most years in the end

zambonir 2024-08-24 15:56:31 UTC #236

The 31-year-old starter’s performance this season could also hurt his chances of scoring a bigger payday if he decides to opt-out. Montgomery has a 6.44 ERA and 1.67 WHIP for Arizona with the lowest strikeout rate of his career. After two successful starts in late April to start his Diamondbacks tenure — four earned runs allowed over 13 innings — Montgomery’s ERA has been higher than six in each of the past four months.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that Montgomery would begin pitching out of the bullpen, as starter Ryne Nelson had earned the final spot in Arizona’s rotation.

bkox 2024-08-25 20:02:58 UTC #237

bkeich 2024-08-27 01:53:39 UTC #238

The White Sox are looking Historic. 31 games left, they must win 12 to avoid history. That would actually be a hot streak for them.

They will not pass the Cleveland Spider 134 loss season in the 1890s, but “modern” record is 120.

andyb 2024-08-29 22:30:26 UTC #239

Players on waivers for the cost of the contract season has started. Taylor Rogers is the interesting name here. $2 million this year plus $12 million next, but he is an above average left-handed reliever having a good year. The question for the Phillies is whether Alvarado is expected back this season. And the cash of course.

Looking on Twitter it seems the Mets are one of the favorites to get Rogers while also blocking him getting down to the Phillies on the waiver wire.

bkox 2024-08-29 23:13:20 UTC #240

for those that wanted Tommy Pham

bkox 2024-08-31 19:39:24 UTC #241

bkeich 2024-08-31 21:57:03 UTC #242

The continuing saga of …. Can the White Sox actually be the worst modern team, an 8 game losing streak (commonly known as the likely outcome of 8 games) to get to 31-105. 26 games to go, they have to win 11 to avoid setting the record. 11-15. Not a chance.

It’s a shame to see the Mets lose this record, they so deserve it (every year)

BostonRoss 2024-08-31 22:03:35 UTC #243

Tanner Banks was the White Sox best reliever, and his ERA was over 4

bkox 2024-08-31 22:17:03 UTC #244

especially playing the Mets, Orioles, BoSox and Guardians the next 4 series.

bkox 2024-09-04 01:57:39 UTC #245

Now 31-109.. would need to play .500 ball the rest of the way 11-11 to not break the record.