2019 Offseason

[AZCB34]

Well, a GM and his Manager are supposed to be in synch. The problem is when they are both dysfunctional.

If you are suggesting Hazen is dysfunctional, I could not disagree more. While far from perfect I think he makes some really solid moves.

Heck I don't even think Lovullo is dysfunctional.

 

[BC867]

If you are suggesting Hazen is dysfunctional, I could not disagree more. While far from perfect I think he makes some really solid moves.

Heck I don't even think Lovullo is dysfunctional.

Going a whole season shuffling Ketel Marte back and forth between CF and 2B,
causing Escobar to shuffle between 3B and 2B and Lamb between 3B and 1B.
And, oh yes, Ketel also being the backup SS because we didn't have one.

Which played right into Torey's obsession with in-game position switches of up
to four players at a time. And we still have no quality starting 2B. I wouldn't
bet on Ketel playing one position all season.

Read that over a couple of times and see if you think that is not dysfunctional.

It adds unnecessary challenges to the ballplayers and makes them prone to injury.

It must be in the air because the Suns don't have a dependable backup Center,
starting Power Forward, backup Power Forward or backup Point Guard.

And, yes, both Ken Kendrick and Robert Sarver are concerned only with counting
their millions and trillions. It is up to a General Manager to be the technical expert
and have the confidence of the chief investors.

 

[Ronin]

Ruben Tejada to the Blue Jays on a minor league deal.

 

[AZCB34]

Going a whole season shuffling Ketel Marte back and forth between CF and 2B,
causing Escobar to shuffle between 3B and 2B and Lamb between 3B and 1B.
And, oh yes, Ketel also being the backup SS because we didn't have one.

Which played right into Torey's obsession with in-game position switches of up
to four players at a time. And we still have no quality starting 2B. I wouldn't
bet on Ketel playing one position all season.

Read that over a couple of times and see if you think that is not dysfunctional.

It adds unnecessary challenges to the ballplayers and makes them prone to injury.

It must be in the air because the Suns don't have a dependable backup Center,
starting Power Forward, backup Power Forward or backup Point Guard.

And, yes, both Ken Kendrick and Robert Sarver are concerned only with counting
their millions and trillions. It is up to a General Manager to be the technical expert
and have the confidence of the chief investors.

All that shuffling around didn't seem to effect the kind of season Marte had. Didn't seem to effect the kind of season Escobar had either. Both performed at a very high level.

So I guess your whole argument comes down to an injured Lamb who came off the bench once he was healthy and you are upset that a bench player had to play more than one position.

Kris Bryant is shuttled around the field too. It is called keeping a bat in the lineup and giving bench players PT. If the Dbacks trade for him will you lose your mind when he plays in the OF too?

 

[1Sun]

All that shuffling around didn't seem to effect the kind of season Marte had. Didn't seem to effect the kind of season Escobar had either. Both performed at a very high level.

So I guess your whole argument comes down to an injured Lamb who came off the bench once he was healthy and you are upset that a bench player had to play more than one position.

Kris Bryant is shuttled around the field too. It is called keeping a bat in the lineup and giving bench players PT. If the Dbacks trade for him will you lose your mind when he plays in the OF too?

In all fairness it did cost Marte a month of the season, and Escobar (144 starts at 3B and 33 ar 2B) wasn't shuffled around nearly as much as Marte (96 starts at CF, 83 at 2B and 11 at SS, with several in-game switches) was.

 

[AZCB34]

In all fairness it did cost Marte a month of the season, and Escobar (144 starts at 3B and 33 ar 2B) wasn't shuffled around nearly as much as Marte (96 starts at CF, 83 at 2B and 11 at SS, with several in-game switches) was.

I get that and that missed month may have happened regardless of all the switching. The point is these guys still produced at a high level even with the switching

 

[Ronin]

Ken Rosenthal
@Ken_Rosenthal
·
46m

The actual Ron Washington (yes it was him!) just said this on our MLB Network “Hot Stove” show: “I really would love to manage again but my phone hasn’t rung. I certainly would like to get back into that dugout and lead a ballclub possibly back to a World Series.”

 

[Ronin]

Mark Feinsand
@Feinsand
·
5m

Per source, LHP Tyler Olson has agreed to a minor league deal with the Cubs. He’ll earn $650K if he makes the team.

 

[BC867]

I get that and that missed month may have happened regardless of all the switching. The point is these guys still produced at a high level even with the switching

May have? It did happen with all of the switching. They may have produced at an even higher level without
having to prepare for multi positions before each game. Ketel may have reached 100 RBI's.

You can alibi why the D-backs didn't reach their goal in 2019. I'd rather enjoy seeing them reach the playoffs
and not to have to alibi.

As I've posted, I watched a young outfielder move from RF to LF to 2B in one game and collide with Nick Ahmed
on the very next play. Imagine if he had put Nick out of action, especially with the team not having a backup SS.

A manager's job is to make it simple (as opposed to complex) to do the job well. Torey's carousel does not do that.

Flexibility when needed is one thing. Destroying team chemistry every game causes failure and, yes, injury.

I am disappointed in Torey's huff & puff management style. Creating an impression of how busy he is, at the
expense of his ballplayers. Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect! Such as Marte not
having to prepare before each game for CF, 2B and SS. It is asking for trouble.

 

[JerkFace]

Considering that the Diamondbacks have exceeded pretty much all expectations in every year of Torey's tenure, maybe his style was implemented to squeeze every ounce of competitive advantage out of the team. You may not like the style but you can't fault the results.

 

[Dback Jon]

There’s no way to pin Marte’s injury on playing different positions

 

[1Sun]

There’s no way to pin Marte’s injury on playing different positions

Might not be able to confirm that as the cause, but it certainly increased his risk, just as Kevin Durant playing on his bum knee/ankle increased his risk during the 2019 playoffs...

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

Rockies pitcher Justin Lawrence gets 80-game drug ban

https://sports.yahoo.com/rockies-pitcher-justin-lawrence-gets-80-game-drug-224811226--mlb.html

 

[Ronin]

Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman)
1/19/20, 10:45 AM
Matt Wieters will be signing back with #STLCards. 2M plus 1M incentives.

 

[Ronin]

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[AZCB34]

There’s no way to pin Marte’s injury on playing different positions

BC says otherwise and will not allow for any other possibility.

 

[BC867]

BC says otherwise and will not allow for any other possibility.

What an obnoxious misrepresentation. I am not a doctor. Or a psychologist.

I've brought up the possibility that constantly shifting positions, especially
within games, might have been a factor in Ketel's health problems.

And that having to prepare for three positions in pre-game warmups could wear
him down. As well as the other players who have been involved in multi-switches
as a matter of routine.

It is not about me, or the other posters who consider the same thing.

Do you not believe in differences of opinion? Which is what ASFN is here for.

Your post reminds me of a saying I saw years ago.

Good communicators discuss ideas.
Average communicators discuss events.
Bad communicators discuss other communicators.

 

[Ronin]

The asking price the Red Sox currently have for Betts doesn't just involve getting quality talent in return, it also includes a team taking starting pitcher David Price's contract, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (subscription required).


Boston has indicated to other teams, according to sources, that any team that lands Betts will also have to take David Price (or Nathan Eovaldi presumably), with either most or all of the money owed to Price, $96 million.

Olney also added Boston is "asking for two high-end prospects to front the deal."

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-rumors-latest-red-sox-154139647.html

 

[Ronin]

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[GatorAZ]

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[Bobster]

Might not be able to confirm that as the cause, but it certainly increased his risk, just as Kevin Durant playing on his bum knee/ankle increased his risk during the 2019 playoffs...

They should probably just wrap him in bubble wrap and sit him on the bench then.

 

[Ronin]

Thomas Harding
@harding_at_mlb
· 11h
Nolan Arenado to MLB-dot-com on #Rockies: “There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of. You can quote that.” https://mlb.com/news/nolan-arenado-responds-to-trade-rumors…
Show this thread

 

[Ronin]

Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman)
1/21/20, 9:50 AM
Braves still seek a middle of the order bat to replace Donaldson, with Ozuna or Castellanos being seen as the most likely options. They like both bats and are said likely to ultimately decide based on the deal.

 

[Ronin]

I didn’t know whether to start a thread about the hat of fame election, so I’ll put this here.

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