2015: The Back To The Future Season

[InternetApex]

It's very true that a lot of guys who make it to the majors are sort of bad and they don't improve much if at all. If they did, you wouldn't notice because they're still bad and not destined for a second contract. These guys probably make up 99% of the data. That's my estimate, having not read a single thing about this.

But there are guys like Jose Bautista and Anthony Rizzo and ... Sammy Sosa, who make adjustments to their approach that make them dramatically better than they were before because they're so fucking talented - like Oh, my god.

So Addison will be better than 2015 Starlin Castro in the long run and Mike Olt is fucking awful. Fuck him.

This is a good point. How many of those players that didn't get better once they arrived were as talented as Addison or Jorge?

Heck, Eli mentioned Trout being basically the same guy since he was a rookie, which is true if you ignore the 135 PAs he put up in 2011. Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

I feel like it's generally true that the majors are a bad place to expect a guy to make changes to their approach. I doubt Javy Baez manages to tinker his swing and cut down on the Ks if he hadn't spent most of this summer in Iowa. Corey Patterson never developed patience in the minors, and once he was up it's a matter of survival and no guy wants to waste major league at bats by trying new things.

Guys like Addison and Jorge, though? Both seem to have good approaches, both generally know the difference between a ball and a strike. There are timing and familiarity issues but it's not hard to see where simple experience is all they are lacking.

Yeah, Eli.

[SKO]

It's very true that a lot of guys who make it to the majors are sort of bad and they don't improve much if at all. If they did, you wouldn't notice because they're still bad and not destined for a second contract. These guys probably make up 99% of the data. That's my estimate, having not read a single thing about this.

But there are guys like Jose Bautista and Anthony Rizzo and ... Sammy Sosa, who make adjustments to their approach that make them dramatically better than they were before because they're so fucking talented - like Oh, my god.

So Addison will be better than 2015 Starlin Castro in the long run and Mike Olt is fucking awful. Fuck him.

This is a good point. How many of those players that didn't get better once they arrived were as talented as Addison or Jorge?

Heck, Eli mentioned Trout being basically the same guy since he was a rookie, which is true if you ignore the 135 PAs he put up in 2011. Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

I feel like it's generally true that the majors are a bad place to expect a guy to make changes to their approach. I doubt Javy Baez manages to tinker his swing and cut down on the Ks if he hadn't spent most of this summer in Iowa. Corey Patterson never developed patience in the minors, and once he was up it's a matter of survival and no guy wants to waste major league at bats by trying new things.

Guys like Addison and Jorge, though? Both seem to have good approaches, both generally know the difference between a ball and a strike. There are timing and familiarity issues but it's not hard to see where simple experience is all they are lacking.

Yeah, Eli.

Can't believe Eli said no rookie in the history of baseball has ever improved. Not enough regression therapy in the world for that dude.

[InternetApex]

It's very true that a lot of guys who make it to the majors are sort of bad and they don't improve much if at all. If they did, you wouldn't notice because they're still bad and not destined for a second contract. These guys probably make up 99% of the data. That's my estimate, having not read a single thing about this.

But there are guys like Jose Bautista and Anthony Rizzo and ... Sammy Sosa, who make adjustments to their approach that make them dramatically better than they were before because they're so fucking talented - like Oh, my god.

So Addison will be better than 2015 Starlin Castro in the long run and Mike Olt is fucking awful. Fuck him.

This is a good point. How many of those players that didn't get better once they arrived were as talented as Addison or Jorge?

Heck, Eli mentioned Trout being basically the same guy since he was a rookie, which is true if you ignore the 135 PAs he put up in 2011. Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

I feel like it's generally true that the majors are a bad place to expect a guy to make changes to their approach. I doubt Javy Baez manages to tinker his swing and cut down on the Ks if he hadn't spent most of this summer in Iowa. Corey Patterson never developed patience in the minors, and once he was up it's a matter of survival and no guy wants to waste major league at bats by trying new things.

Guys like Addison and Jorge, though? Both seem to have good approaches, both generally know the difference between a ball and a strike. There are timing and familiarity issues but it's not hard to see where simple experience is all they are lacking.

Yeah, Eli.

Can't believe Eli said no rookie in the history of baseball has ever improved. Not enough regression therapy in the world for that dude.

I'm starting to think that this is the Eli we have and we're just fooling ourselves if we think he's going to improve and become the Eli we always hoped he would. If we could get a sixth rounder for him, I'd be tempted. I bet the Nationals messageboards are lousy with ship jumpers. We should check there.

[SKO]

It's very true that a lot of guys who make it to the majors are sort of bad and they don't improve much if at all. If they did, you wouldn't notice because they're still bad and not destined for a second contract. These guys probably make up 99% of the data. That's my estimate, having not read a single thing about this.

But there are guys like Jose Bautista and Anthony Rizzo and ... Sammy Sosa, who make adjustments to their approach that make them dramatically better than they were before because they're so fucking talented - like Oh, my god.

So Addison will be better than 2015 Starlin Castro in the long run and Mike Olt is fucking awful. Fuck him.

This is a good point. How many of those players that didn't get better once they arrived were as talented as Addison or Jorge?

Heck, Eli mentioned Trout being basically the same guy since he was a rookie, which is true if you ignore the 135 PAs he put up in 2011. Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

I feel like it's generally true that the majors are a bad place to expect a guy to make changes to their approach. I doubt Javy Baez manages to tinker his swing and cut down on the Ks if he hadn't spent most of this summer in Iowa. Corey Patterson never developed patience in the minors, and once he was up it's a matter of survival and no guy wants to waste major league at bats by trying new things.

Guys like Addison and Jorge, though? Both seem to have good approaches, both generally know the difference between a ball and a strike. There are timing and familiarity issues but it's not hard to see where simple experience is all they are lacking.

Yeah, Eli.

Can't believe Eli said no rookie in the history of baseball has ever improved. Not enough regression therapy in the world for that dude.

I'm starting to think that this is the Eli we have and we're just fooling ourselves if we think he's going to improve and become the Eli we always hoped he would. If we could get a sixth rounder for him, I'd be tempted. I bet the Nationals messageboards are lousy with ship jumpers. We should check there.

I knew we never should have traded Ivy6. That dude was everything we hoped Eli would turn out to be.

[Eli]

It's very true that a lot of guys who make it to the majors are sort of bad and they don't improve much if at all. If they did, you wouldn't notice because they're still bad and not destined for a second contract. These guys probably make up 99% of the data. That's my estimate, having not read a single thing about this.

But there are guys like Jose Bautista and Anthony Rizzo and ... Sammy Sosa, who make adjustments to their approach that make them dramatically better than they were before because they're so fucking talented - like Oh, my god.

So Addison will be better than 2015 Starlin Castro in the long run and Mike Olt is fucking awful. Fuck him.

This is a good point. How many of those players that didn't get better once they arrived were as talented as Addison or Jorge?

Heck, Eli mentioned Trout being basically the same guy since he was a rookie, which is true if you ignore the 135 PAs he put up in 2011. Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

I feel like it's generally true that the majors are a bad place to expect a guy to make changes to their approach. I doubt Javy Baez manages to tinker his swing and cut down on the Ks if he hadn't spent most of this summer in Iowa. Corey Patterson never developed patience in the minors, and once he was up it's a matter of survival and no guy wants to waste major league at bats by trying new things.

Guys like Addison and Jorge, though? Both seem to have good approaches, both generally know the difference between a ball and a strike. There are timing and familiarity issues but it's not hard to see where simple experience is all they are lacking.

Yeah, Eli.

Can't believe Eli said no rookie in the history of baseball has ever improved. Not enough regression therapy in the world for that dude.

I'm starting to think that this is the Eli we have and we're just fooling ourselves if we think he's going to improve and become the Eli we always hoped he would. If we could get a sixth rounder for him, I'd be tempted. I bet the Nationals messageboards are lousy with ship jumpers. We should check there.

I knew we never should have traded Ivy6. That dude was everything we hoped Eli would turn out to be.

He's still available:

https://twitter.com/ejschillinger

[Eli]

Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

DPD, but you mean like Jorge and Javy did last year?

[SKO]

Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

DPD, but you mean like Jorge and Javy did last year?

Yeah, and Javy looks to have improved, so your point that literally everyone is frozen in carbonite as a rookie is null and void.

[Eli]

Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

DPD, but you mean like Jorge and Javy did last year?

Yeah, and Javy looks to have improved, so your point that literally everyone is frozen in carbonite as a rookie is null and void.

Cool.

[Quality Start Machine]

Would Kris Bryant have had his July slump this year if he had a 40 game stint to get some real live data on how big league pitchers would approach him and a whole offseason to tinker?

DPD, but you mean like Jorge and Javy did last year?

And Alcantara?

[SKO]

97 wins. What a fun ride it's been

[thehawk]

97 wins. What a fun ride it's been is

They ain't done yett'ed

[SKO]

Should note that for all of the DOOM we felt whenever Dan Haren took his turn in the rotation, that trade ended up working out pretty well:

4-2 with a 4.01 ERA is perfectly acceptable for a 5th starter, more importantly the team went 7-4 in his 11 starts with two of those losses being to Chris Sale and MadBum.

[InternetApex]

Should note that for all of the DOOM we felt whenever Dan Haren took his turn in the rotation, that trade ended up working out pretty well:

4-2 with a 4.01 ERA is perfectly acceptable for a 5th starter, more importantly the team went 7-4 in his 11 starts with two of those losses being to Chris Sale and MadBum.

Epstink is wonderful.

[Tony]

Should note that for all of the DOOM we felt whenever Dan Haren took his turn in the rotation, that trade ended up working out pretty well:

4-2 with a 4.01 ERA is perfectly acceptable for a 5th starter, more importantly the team went 7-4 in his 11 starts with two of those losses being to Chris Sale and MadBum.

Epstink is wonderful.

How does that compare the the 5th starters before he arrived? Was it that much worse before him?

[SKO]

Should note that for all of the DOOM we felt whenever Dan Haren took his turn in the rotation, that trade ended up working out pretty well:

4-2 with a 4.01 ERA is perfectly acceptable for a 5th starter, more importantly the team went 7-4 in his 11 starts with two of those losses being to Chris Sale and MadBum.

Epstink is wonderful.

How does that compare the the 5th starters before he arrived? Was it that much worse before him?

Travis Wood: 2-2, 5.06 ERA as a starter, team went 4-3 in games he started

Tsuyoshi Wada: 1-1, 3.73 ERA as a starter, team went 5-2 in game he started, but he went past the 3rd inning just once in his last four starts and was getting hit hard before he got hurt.

Dallas Beeler: Hahaha lmfao let's move on

Clayton Richard: 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 3 starts, team went 2-1 in the 3 starts. He was probably better than Haren but honestly he's been so great and useful out of the bullpen saving Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel's asses that they probably got more value out of him as a reliever than as a starter.

Donn Roach: 0-1, 10.80 ERA as a starter, team went 0-1 in games he started.

So I'm going to say on the whole: yeah, he was better. He provided stability and also let them use Richard/Cahill/Wood as the long relief hydra that won them several ballgames.