Swanson's a good player but he isn't tilting a ball club; like you said, Bellinger has been the one doing that for the Cubs. Look at the Braves without Swanson: haven't missed a beat with Arcia taking over at short.Elite defense at a critical position(he might be better defensively than Baez who was spectacular)with 17 hrs & a 782 ops is underwhelming?Now go look at Correa’s #’s
I’m not even being a homer cuz I initially didn’t want Swanson at all ,but he’s decent.
Bellinger been the cubs best player period
Houston, We Have Rule Changes! The Official 2023 MLB Season Thread
- Thread starter VegetasHairline
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Mostly because the Braves offense is ungodly this year.
fukkin everyone is hitting home runs on that team.
If it ever comes out that the players are on PEDs I wont be surprised.
Meh, I don't agree with this line of thinking. You can always find a couple guys with good gloves up the middle. You can't find many guys capable of 40+ HRs very often. Almost every team that makes the World Series has at least one guy that alters how a pitcher approaches their lineup.
Swanson left the Braves and they haven't missed a beat. Correa left the Astros and they won the World Series the very next season. Trea Turner left the Dodgers and they're running away with their division.
San Diego signed two highly touted shortstops and they're five games under .500. Texas was trash last season but turned it around this year. What was a big reason? Corey Seager is hitting .350 instead of .240.
I've been on record for years saying give me the bat over the glove. That doesn't mean I want eight Kyle Schwarbers in the field but give me guys who can make the routine plays and mash over Ozzie Smith.
But that's just proving my point. Give me a buncha guys who can rake. No amount of defense can make up for legitimate threats in the lineup.
tremonthustler1
aka bx_representer
Yankees passed on all of these guys
Phillies 8 games back in the win column we are coming Atlanta 
Yeah but now you’re talking about defensive WAR and offensive WAR.
Clayton Kershaw.
5 innings
3 hits allowed.
67 pitches
I fukking hate the LA Dodgers.
I hate them more than the Red Sox. And I’m a Yankees fan.
Someone is going to respond by saying he’s coming back off injury.
So what?
5 innings
3 hits allowed.
67 pitches
I fukking hate the LA Dodgers.
I hate them more than the Red Sox. And I’m a Yankees fan.
Someone is going to respond by saying he’s coming back off injury.
So what?
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Dipsey Doo
Superstar
Interesting coming from a Yankees fan of all people.
Dodgers from 1989-2012 were mediocre with just two playoffs series victories and 5 playoff appearances, while the Yankees won 5 World Series, 7 AL pennants and made the playoffs 16 times in that same period.
Dodgers fan literally had to stop showing up to the ballpark for Frank McCourt to get the boot.
Dodger fans show up over 3 million yearly to Dodgers Stadium, so the level of spending our ownership maintains is well supported by the fanbase.
And while this current run 2013-now is the best I've seen in my lifetime, Dodgers only have 1 pandemic World Series and 3 NL pennants, damn near choking in the playoffs every year.
So a Yankee fan hating the Dodgers of all teams is kind of crazy to me.
Nobody discusses individual WAR metrics, just the final tally. Also, oWAR enhances guys at weaker hitting positions like second base. That's how Ha-Seong Kim has a higher oWAR than Matt Olson, which is absurd.
I also hate how people talk about players bragging about their WAR but then also say it's not a ranking system or it's just a factor of many. That's bullshyt. Those numbers are assigned to players and they get talked about because higher means better. But that also skews arguments because Ha-Seong Kim has a higher WAR than Matt Olson this season by a decent margin.
Here's an exercise: let's assume Albies wasn't around. If San Diego called Atlanta and offered Kim for Matt Olson straight up, who says no? That's the fukking flaw and why WAR is bullshyt.
Because they have the stupidest fukking way of managing pitchers ever.
Or maybe Kim is more valuable than he seems to the naked eye.
Soldier
not redeemed with gold but with His Blood
Ranking the defensive positions in baseball from most demanding, most difficult and busiest To the least
Pitcher
Catcher
Shortstop ( he is the strongest arm among infielders, he has the most defensive responsibilities, has the toughest defensive assignments, he is required to cover for the 2nd/3rd basemen( when the hitter makes a bunt for example)
He is the most alert/mentally quickest player on the team, the most agile and most active defensively- most hit balls go to the shortstop because most hitters are right handed and tend to hit groundouts towards the left where shortstops are.
3rd baseman
2nd baseman
Center fielder ( he covers more territory than the other two outfields, has to backup/assist second baseman when a base runner in scoring position tries to steal second base on throws by the catcher, just in case the second baseman missed the catch or the catcher makes a bad throw) he has the best vision of the outfield, the best hand eye coordination, the best visual/spatial skills, the strongest and quickest arm, speed athleticism and natural reflexes/instincts)
Left fielder
Right fielder
1st baseman
I disagree.
Why'd the Phils go to the World Series last year? Because they caught fire offensively, particularly Harper. Why do the Yanks fall short every October? Because their offense crumbles. Why do the Rays typically fall short? They don't have enough bats.
Hitting has become oddly devalued by modern front offices, which is reflected in part by the fact that there are only 10 guys hitting .300 on the season.
Everything can come together for a year or two like the Royals in the middle of the aughts but to consistently contend, you need guys who can rake.
Batting average might be undervaluedI disagree.
Why'd the Phils go to the World Series last year? Because they caught fire offensively, particularly Harper. Why do the Yanks fall short every October? Because their offense crumbles. Why do the Rays typically fall short? They don't have enough bats.
Hitting has become oddly devalued by modern front offices, which is reflected in part by the fact that there are only 10 guys hitting .300 on the season.
Everything can come together for a year or two like the Royals in the middle of the aughts but to consistently contend, you need guys who can rake.
Hitting is too broad a term.
If power correlates more to winning than average, then maybe it’s not undervalued. I’m not sure.
I’d suspect the top SLG teams are performing better than the top AVG teams but it’s late and I’ll google it tomorrow.