Joe Maddon: The Man Behind the Glasses

[SKO]

The biggest thing that bugs me about Ross is the two-year contract. If there's "no room" for Schwarber this year because they have Ross and Montero, that'll also apply next year.

Yeah well if he's this bad all year they won't carry him again. There's no way. I'm not even that pessimistic.

Well I mean you say that but there was nothing in his performance the last two years to suggest he wouldn't be this bad at 37 fucking years old. Expecting him to get better would be purely nonsensical.

[Eli]

The biggest thing that bugs me about Ross is the two-year contract. If there's "no room" for Schwarber this year because they have Ross and Montero, that'll also apply next year.

Yeah well if he's this bad all year they won't carry him again. There's no way. I'm not even that pessimistic.

How much worse can he really get? We all know he's not going to get better. The catcher aging curve is brutal and at 38, he's basically already off the curve. If they still think he's worth rostering when he has a .552 OPS, they'll probably be happy to carry him if he has a .452 OPS too.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

The biggest thing that bugs me about Ross is the two-year contract. If there's "no room" for Schwarber this year because they have Ross and Montero, that'll also apply next year.

Yeah well if he's this bad all year they won't carry him again. There's no way. I'm not even that pessimistic.

How much worse can he really get? We all know he's not going to get better. The catcher aging curve is brutal and at 38, he's basically already off the curve. If they still think he's worth rostering when he has a .552 OPS, they'll probably be happy to carry him if he has a .452 OPS too.

His salary would be too high to justify for a bullpen catcher but, in a pinch, if something were to, say, happen to RV's neighbor...

[SKO]

to avoid thread derailment:

...I don't think hitting Baxter for Denorfia against McCallister is that weird.

Baxter: .507 OPS vs RHP this year, .684 for his career.

Denorfia: .978 OPS vs RHP this year, .686 for his career.

I deem that weird.

I'd say the #'s in both first cases suffer from a little ole' smallsamplesizeenza...but interesting that the career #'s are similar, lending credence to Madman SKO's notion that ole' Progressive Joe may in fact be a little stuck in this otherwise "old-school" idea of handedness-based matchups.

Well that and Mike Baxter is Mike Baxter, and Denorfia, last year's injury plagued issues aside, is at least a major league player. I don't really see the point in pinch hitting Mike Baxter for any non pitcher on the roster except maybe David Ross. I get that Joe has a weak bench. I wouldn't blame him at all if Coghlan and Denorfia had both made outs and failed to tie the game. I don't get inserting your weak bench into the game when there was no reason to.

[InternetApex]

to avoid thread derailment:

...I don't think hitting Baxter for Denorfia against McCallister is that weird.

Baxter: .507 OPS vs RHP this year, .684 for his career.

Denorfia: .978 OPS vs RHP this year, .686 for his career.

I deem that weird.

I'd say the #'s in both first cases suffer from a little ole' smallsamplesizeenza...but interesting that the career #'s are similar, lending credence to Madman SKO's notion that ole' Progressive Joe may in fact be a little stuck in this otherwise "old-school" idea of handedness-based matchups.

Well that and Mike Baxter is Mike Baxter, and Denorfia, last year's injury plagued issues aside, is at least a major league player. I don't really see the point in pinch hitting Mike Baxter for any non pitcher on the roster except maybe David Ross. I get that Joe has a weak bench. I wouldn't blame him at all if Coghlan and Denorfia had both made outs and failed to tie the game. I don't get inserting your weak bench into the game when there was no reason to.

If Baxter's on the team, he should hit in that situation. It's not like he took down Soler or Bryant or even Castro. It's not that hard to understand. McAllister was throwing pills last night. I don't think it's that big of a deal especially in the 8th inning in an AL park where it matters little if you lighten your bench for extra innings. He could have not hit Baxter and Denorfia could have made an out and a bunch of people would ask why they didn't hit Baxter. It's just a thing Maddon did that didn't work. It's not worth criticizing. It's not even eyebrow raising. It's almost like it never even happened.

[R-V]

The biggest thing that bugs me about Ross is the two-year contract. If there's "no room" for Schwarber this year because they have Ross and Montero, that'll also apply next year.

Yeah well if he's this bad all year they won't carry him again. There's no way. I'm not even that pessimistic.

How much worse can he really get? We all know he's not going to get better. The catcher aging curve is brutal and at 38, he's basically already off the curve. If they still think he's worth rostering when he has a .552 OPS, they'll probably be happy to carry him if he has a .452 OPS too.

His salary would be too high to justify for a bullpen catcher but, in a pinch, if something were to, say, happen to RV's neighbor...

It would be my first kill and I might go to jail, but if it would get SKO to stop talking about Davis Ross I think it would be worth it.

[SKO]

to avoid thread derailment:

...I don't think hitting Baxter for Denorfia against McCallister is that weird.

Baxter: .507 OPS vs RHP this year, .684 for his career.

Denorfia: .978 OPS vs RHP this year, .686 for his career.

I deem that weird.

I'd say the #'s in both first cases suffer from a little ole' smallsamplesizeenza...but interesting that the career #'s are similar, lending credence to Madman SKO's notion that ole' Progressive Joe may in fact be a little stuck in this otherwise "old-school" idea of handedness-based matchups.

Well that and Mike Baxter is Mike Baxter, and Denorfia, last year's injury plagued issues aside, is at least a major league player. I don't really see the point in pinch hitting Mike Baxter for any non pitcher on the roster except maybe David Ross. I get that Joe has a weak bench. I wouldn't blame him at all if Coghlan and Denorfia had both made outs and failed to tie the game. I don't get inserting your weak bench into the game when there was no reason to.

If Baxter's on the team, he should hit in that situation. It's not like he took down Soler or Bryant or even Castro. It's not that hard to understand. McAllister was throwing pills last night. I don't think it's that big of a deal especially in the 8th inning in an AL park where it matters little if you lighten your bench for extra innings. He could have not hit Baxter and Denorfia could have made an out and a bunch of people would ask why they didn't hit Baxter. It's just a thing Maddon did that didn't work. It's not worth criticizing. It's not even eyebrow raising. It's almost like it never even happened.

This is bullshit. There's not one person in the world who would have asked why Joe Maddon didn't use Mike Baxter in a game. I refuse to believe these people exist. Accept a little criticism of an otherwise likeable manager and move on, but don't just insult the human race by acting like there are people out there clamoring for Mike Baxter to ever hit ever.

[SKO]

And Mike Baxter's not on the roster to take key at bats vs. RHP late in the game. Mike Baxter is there because Tommy La Stella and Mike Olt and Jorge Soler and Javy Baez are hurt and Arismendy Alcantara regressed beyond all reasonable expectation and maybe because there is no God and if Coghlan gets hurt or Denorfia's paper mache hammys disintegrate again they need someone to stand in the outfield, but he's not there to be used if you can actually avoid it.

[InternetApex]

to avoid thread derailment:

...I don't think hitting Baxter for Denorfia against McCallister is that weird.

Baxter: .507 OPS vs RHP this year, .684 for his career.

Denorfia: .978 OPS vs RHP this year, .686 for his career.

I deem that weird.

I'd say the #'s in both first cases suffer from a little ole' smallsamplesizeenza...but interesting that the career #'s are similar, lending credence to Madman SKO's notion that ole' Progressive Joe may in fact be a little stuck in this otherwise "old-school" idea of handedness-based matchups.

Well that and Mike Baxter is Mike Baxter, and Denorfia, last year's injury plagued issues aside, is at least a major league player. I don't really see the point in pinch hitting Mike Baxter for any non pitcher on the roster except maybe David Ross. I get that Joe has a weak bench. I wouldn't blame him at all if Coghlan and Denorfia had both made outs and failed to tie the game. I don't get inserting your weak bench into the game when there was no reason to.

If Baxter's on the team, he should hit in that situation. It's not like he took down Soler or Bryant or even Castro. It's not that hard to understand. McAllister was throwing pills last night. I don't think it's that big of a deal especially in the 8th inning in an AL park where it matters little if you lighten your bench for extra innings. He could have not hit Baxter and Denorfia could have made an out and a bunch of people would ask why they didn't hit Baxter. It's just a thing Maddon did that didn't work. It's not worth criticizing. It's not even eyebrow raising. It's almost like it never even happened.

This is bullshit. There's not one person in the world who would have asked why Joe Maddon didn't use Mike Baxter in a game. I refuse to believe these people exist. Accept a little criticism of an otherwise likeable manager and move on, but don't just insult the human race by acting like there are people out there clamoring for Mike Baxter to ever hit ever.

Joe Maddon doesn't exist? Now this IS getting weird and I'm going to stop.

[SKO]

to avoid thread derailment:

...I don't think hitting Baxter for Denorfia against McCallister is that weird.

Baxter: .507 OPS vs RHP this year, .684 for his career.

Denorfia: .978 OPS vs RHP this year, .686 for his career.

I deem that weird.

I'd say the #'s in both first cases suffer from a little ole' smallsamplesizeenza...but interesting that the career #'s are similar, lending credence to Madman SKO's notion that ole' Progressive Joe may in fact be a little stuck in this otherwise "old-school" idea of handedness-based matchups.

Well that and Mike Baxter is Mike Baxter, and Denorfia, last year's injury plagued issues aside, is at least a major league player. I don't really see the point in pinch hitting Mike Baxter for any non pitcher on the roster except maybe David Ross. I get that Joe has a weak bench. I wouldn't blame him at all if Coghlan and Denorfia had both made outs and failed to tie the game. I don't get inserting your weak bench into the game when there was no reason to.

If Baxter's on the team, he should hit in that situation. It's not like he took down Soler or Bryant or even Castro. It's not that hard to understand. McAllister was throwing pills last night. I don't think it's that big of a deal especially in the 8th inning in an AL park where it matters little if you lighten your bench for extra innings. He could have not hit Baxter and Denorfia could have made an out and a bunch of people would ask why they didn't hit Baxter. It's just a thing Maddon did that didn't work. It's not worth criticizing. It's not even eyebrow raising. It's almost like it never even happened.

This is bullshit. There's not one person in the world who would have asked why Joe Maddon didn't use Mike Baxter in a game. I refuse to believe these people exist. Accept a little criticism of an otherwise likeable manager and move on, but don't just insult the human race by acting like there are people out there clamoring for Mike Baxter to ever hit ever.

Joe Maddon doesn't exist? Now this IS getting weird and I'm going to stop.

He exists and he did a weird, anti-logic, anti-stats thing last night and some people tried to criticize him for it (while still acknowledging his strengths as a manager anyway)and others are trying to stop those people because I guess they see Mike Baxter as the Matthew Dellavedova of baseball and thus have a soft spot for him or something.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

to avoid thread derailment:

...I don't think hitting Baxter for Denorfia against McCallister is that weird.

Baxter: .507 OPS vs RHP this year, .684 for his career.

Denorfia: .978 OPS vs RHP this year, .686 for his career.

I deem that weird.

I'd say the #'s in both first cases suffer from a little ole' smallsamplesizeenza...but interesting that the career #'s are similar, lending credence to Madman SKO's notion that ole' Progressive Joe may in fact be a little stuck in this otherwise "old-school" idea of handedness-based matchups.

Well that and Mike Baxter is Mike Baxter, and Denorfia, last year's injury plagued issues aside, is at least a major league player. I don't really see the point in pinch hitting Mike Baxter for any non pitcher on the roster except maybe David Ross. I get that Joe has a weak bench. I wouldn't blame him at all if Coghlan and Denorfia had both made outs and failed to tie the game. I don't get inserting your weak bench into the game when there was no reason to.

If Baxter's on the team, he should hit in that situation. It's not like he took down Soler or Bryant or even Castro. It's not that hard to understand. McAllister was throwing pills last night. I don't think it's that big of a deal especially in the 8th inning in an AL park where it matters little if you lighten your bench for extra innings. He could have not hit Baxter and Denorfia could have made an out and a bunch of people would ask why they didn't hit Baxter. It's just a thing Maddon did that didn't work. It's not worth criticizing. It's not even eyebrow raising. It's almost like it never even happened.

This is bullshit. There's not one person in the world who would have asked why Joe Maddon didn't use Mike Baxter in a game. I refuse to believe these people exist. Accept a little criticism of an otherwise likeable manager and move on, but don't just insult the human race by acting like there are people out there clamoring for Mike Baxter to ever hit ever.

Joe Maddon doesn't exist? Now this IS getting weird and I'm going to stop.

He exists and he did a weird, anti-logic, anti-stats thing last night and some people tried to criticize him for it (while still acknowledging his strengths as a manager anyway)and others are trying to stop those people because I guess they see Mike Baxter as the Matthew Dellavedova of baseball and thus have a soft spot for him or something.

Shit's getting real...

[SKO]

Also, I know Joe Maddon does weird shit, but weird for the sake of weird is stupid. When he put a slumping Soler in the leadoff spot so he'd see more pitches and put more of an emphasis on getting on base rather than hacking away and trying to drive in runners, that was weird but it had logic behind it that I supported. When he pulls Wada before Wada can even get in trouble even though that violates conventional wisdom, great.

Weird that's not really weird so much as it is unconventional is what we're after. Francona using his closer in the top of the 5th coming back from a rain delay would be considered "weird" by many but the logic behind it was sound and it arguably won them the ballgame. Using a player that every bit of data says is worse than the guy he's replacing to pinch hit is not "lol ol' Weird Joe" it's just dumb.

[Eli]

I agree with every word SKO says and I support frequent, if redundant, discussion on Desipio and even I'm kind of tired right now.

[SKO]

I agree with every word SKO says and I support frequent, if redundant, discussion on Desipio and even I'm kind of tired right now.

I slept for like 2 hours last night and I have fuckall to do at work and I am typing a lot to keep myself awake and engaged so my boss doesn't find me sleeping at my desk. Bear with me fellas. Mike Baxter sucks.

[Slaky]

The biggest thing that bugs me about Ross is the two-year contract. If there's "no room" for Schwarber this year because they have Ross and Montero, that'll also apply next year.

Yeah well if he's this bad all year they won't carry him again. There's no way. I'm not even that pessimistic.

How much worse can he really get? We all know he's not going to get better. The catcher aging curve is brutal and at 38, he's basically already off the curve. If they still think he's worth rostering when he has a .552 OPS, they'll probably be happy to carry him if he has a .452 OPS too.

His salary would be too high to justify for a bullpen catcher but, in a pinch, if something were to, say, happen to RV's neighbor...

It would be my first kill and I might go to jail, but if it would get SKO to stop talking about Davis Ross I think it would be worth it.

I will raise money to bail you out