2016 MLB thread. THE CUBS HAVE BROKEN THE CURSE! Chicago Cubs are your 2016 World Series champions

[champcruthik]

Patiently awaiting how Boras fares in the Choo situation. Wonder how the 7/138 or 7/140 rumors impacts current, ongoing negotiations with Texas, Detroit, etc. That eighth year seems pivotal to Choo.

Not quite sure why KC is shopping Butler. They need his bat for a run at the division, wildcard spot more likely if anything.

 

[albooboo5]

Not quite sure why KC is shopping Butler. They need his bat for a run at the division, wildcard spot more likely if anything.

I mean I don't think he really had a great year but he isn't going anywhere.

 

[proshares]

He went back to his normal year last season. Year before was a huge aberration

 

[essential1]

Patiently awaiting how Boras fares in the Choo situation. Wonder how the 7/138 or 7/140 rumors impacts current, ongoing negotiations with Texas, Detroit, etc. That eighth year seems pivotal to Choo.

Not quite sure why KC is shopping Butler. They need his bat for a run at the division, wildcard spot more likely if anything.

I wonder if a team will still even go close to that... Not a huge market left for people needing OFs.

 

[proshares]

Baltimore should have went that high a long time ago.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Grant Balfour's deal with the Oriole's is in jeopardy after a snag occurred during his physical.

 

[jumpmanfromdabay]

"Giants poised to sell Brett Pill's rights to Korean club"

i didnt know you could do that

 

[dland24]

SMFH. My boy Pill has never and will never get a chance. Guarantee you he hits 20 jacks minimum with 500 at bats.

 

[アミーゴ]

SMFH. My boy Pill has never and will never get a chance. Guarantee you he hits 20 jacks minimum with 500 at bats.

That's my dude. Comes from an awesome family. CSUF baby!

 

[dland24]

I just feel terrible for the guy. We have never given him a chance to play and he has done nothing but produce in the minors. I understand this is a business and we dont have much invested in Pill....but I still feel bad for the guy. What more does he need to accomplish in the minors before he is given a shot to be a big leaguer?

 

[proshares]

Because Bochy is not smart he would have had him ride the bench. That Belt/Pill platoon at first made too much sense for him to do it. Just consider yourself lucky him and the staff haven't completely killed Belt's career

 

[dland24]

Because Bochy is not smart he would have had him ride the bench. That Belt/Pill platoon at first made too much sense for him to do it. Just consider yourself lucky him and the staff haven't completely killed Belt's career

Bochy and his staff tried to make a mechanical adjustment to Belt's swing theminute he came up to the Majors in 2011. Belt wouldnt do it. It wasn't until the Giants brought up Brett Pill, put Belt on the bench and watched Pill hit two homerunsin his first two games that Belt decided to maybe start listening to the coaches and make the change. The result? Belt hit well over .300 from August on to close the season.

Belt's stubbornness to make me hanical adjustments really piss me off, and I am surprised that he doesnt get more negative press because of it. He was basically an automatic out for the first 2+ years of his MLb career, yet he was unwilling to listen to coaches. makes a whoooole lot of sense right?

So basically, I dont agree with your sentiment that Bochy and crew ruin players. Especially in this example.

 

[proshares]

He never needed a fixing when he came up though. His swing was pretty much reinvented in the minors and their attempts to fix the part of the swing that wasn't the problem is was fueled more struggles. Belt didn't want to change because he knew that wasn't he issue. His hands were not the problem in the swing, in the minors they fixed that along with his overall stance + hips/weight movement. They kept moving his hands around at the major league level but never fixed the hips moving too far forward and how his head followed. They also never addressed the fact that his weight shift was completely unbalanced in his swing. All of that was Belt's fault but the fact that they changed a near perfect swing as soon as he got to the majors was a big part in his collapse.

Basically, they should have never messed with his swing. When your weight and hips start to betray your swing, you can't just have the player move his hands. That doesn't address any of the problems. Once they started addressing the real problems in ST before last season, you saw the results. But it's up to him to keep that going which is proving to be another problem unfortunately

 

[macbk]

Report: Tanaka won't be allowed to come to MLB this season

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The New York Yankees — and the rest of Major League Baseball — may have to wait another year for a shot at signing Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Multiple reports out of Japan say the Rakuten Golden Eagles won’t allow Tanaka to make his move to MLB this winter, according to the New York Times.

Tanaka announced his desire to pitch in the U.S. following MLB’s agreement with Nippon Professional Baseball on a new system that would cap the posting fee at $20 million.

“I informed my team that I would like them to allow me to test my abilities in Major League Baseball next season,” Tanaka said Tuesday.

But Eagles president Yozo Tachibana didn’t sound so sure about letting go of Tanaka, who won’t become an international free agent until after the 2015 season: “We told him he is very important to us and we’d like him to stay.”

Rakuten will tell Tanaka of their decision Friday and eventually plan to “offer … double or even triple” his $4 million salary, according to reports relayed by the Times.

The 25-year-old posted incredible numbers for the Japan Series champions in 2013, including a perfect 24-0 record with a 1.27 ERA and eight complete games.

The Yankees were expected to go all in on Tanaka. Now it seems they won’t get that chance, a big blow to an offseason overhaul that has included the departure of second baseman Robinson Cano and the additions of outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and catcher Brian McCann.

Free-agent starting pitchers Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana are still available.

 

[651akathepaul]

Dumb.

 

[dland24]

He never needed a fixing when he came up though. His swing was pretty much reinvented in the minors and their attempts to fix the part of the swing that wasn't the problem is was fueled more struggles. Belt didn't want to change because he knew that wasn't he issue. His hands were not the problem in the swing, in the minors they fixed that along with his overall stance + hips/weight movement. They kept moving his hands around at the major league level but never fixed the hips moving too far forward and how his head followed. They also never addressed the fact that his weight shift was completely unbalanced in his swing. All of that was Belt's fault but the fact that they changed a near perfect swing as soon as he got to the majors was a big part in his collapse.

Basically, they should have never messed with his swing. When your weight and hips start to betray your swing, you can't just have the player move his hands. That doesn't address any of the problems. Once they started addressing the real problems in ST before last season, you saw the results. But it's up to him to keep that going which is proving to be another problem unfortunately

I am not really sure where you are getting the bolded.  It has been well documented that the Giants coaching staff tried to fix his grip from the second he became a Major Leaguer.  I am not saying that his balance and weight distribution were not an issue, but the largest issue Belt had was a giant (no pun intended) loop in his swing.  This loop in his swing was overly apparent on inside fastballs, as Belt either couldnt get to that pitch at all, or he got to it FAR too early and would hook balls foul.  This was caused by him rolling his wrists at or before contact point.  The change in his grip is what was a large part in him correcting this.  And like I said, it was a problem he had from the minute he started in the majors, and Belt refused to address until he was benched.  This is very well documented and I am not just pulling this out of my ***.

In fact, Belt's unwillingness to make the mechanical adjustment even went to so far that Bochy had to ask a veteran player on the opposing team to come over and talk to Belt before a game to tell him to listen to his coaches (the player who talked to Belt is escaping me right now). 

I am not saying that what you just wrote is wrong.  A perfect mechanical baseball swing is almost impossible to have and maintain, so I am sure you are right that he had other issues.  But his loopy swing was the biggest one.....and one that hopefully was permanently fixed half way through last season. 

 

[proshares]

I think we're getting at the same point eventually, it's on Belt to actually follow through and make the adjustments.



I'd give you more to go back and forth about but I think I used all my energy this morning arguing Die Hard as a Christmas movie

 

[dland24]

Just consider yourself lucky him and the staff haven't completely killed Belt's career 

That Die Hard argument has you all over the place today, my man!

Here is a good article I just found which illustrates everything I just said:

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_23844229/giants-brandon-belt-gets-grip-new-swing

 

[651akathepaul]

I've never seen Die Hard.

 

[proshares]

I don't even know what to say to that.

 

[proshares]

Just consider yourself lucky him and the staff haven't completely killed Belt's career 

That Die Hard argument has you all over the place today, my man!

Here is a good article I just found which illustrates everything I just said:

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_23844229/giants-brandon-belt-gets-grip-new-swing

yea it does. Maybe I was too harsh with my wording.

 

[アミーゴ]

Dland- They are trying to do the same thing with my son Gary Brown! Not something you hear about everyday.

 

[CP1708]

I've never seen Die Hard.

Reported

 

[dland24]

Dland- They are trying to do the same thing with my son Gary Brown! Not something you hear about everyday.

They better do something with Gary Brown.  Because as it stands, he couldn't hit is way out of a wet paper bag.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Orioles deal with Balfour is off.