Everyone here is talking about which one of our studs are gonna hit 7th.. I'm contemplating if Maldy should hit 8th. Better chance of people being on base when he hits a homer. And Chas has a much better chance of getting on base to roll over to the top of the order. Posisbly bringing more big innings.

1906- go ahead and post your stats to prove why I'm an idiot.

IIRC he did it with John Tudor, who was not a bad hitter.

Mathguy64 said:

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IIRC he did it with John Tudor, who was not a bad hitter.

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i thought it was some trick to get McGwire up more often.

Insider Nook on Clutchfans:

"Click didn't want Gurriel on the post season roster, and Baker wanted him on the roster and starting."

Farmer1906 said:

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Trout just hit 40 in only 119 games.

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Somewhat supporting Porkchop's point, Trout has averaged 108 games the past five full seasons. Even taking out last year's season in which he only played 36 games, he averaged 126 games played. I think it's fair to prorate any stats over 120-odd games at best unitl he proves otherwise. Plus, he didn't get as many at-bats last year with that offense being so bad, and so far they haven't lit up the free agent signings.

We definitely have an embarrassment of riches right now that we are arguing why Abreu should NOT bat 7th. Any other team he is 2nd or 3rd easily. Just remember how fortunate we are

Prosperdick said:

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shano0603 said:

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Everyone here is talking about which one of our studs are gonna hit 7th.. I'm contemplating if Maldy should hit 8th. Better chance of people being on base when he hits a homer. And Chas has a much better chance of getting on base to roll over to the top of the order. Posisbly bringing more big innings.

1906- go ahead and post your stats to prove why I'm an idiot.

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LaRussa tried something similar back when he managed in the NL by batting the pitcher 8th with a similar mindset (minus the rare chance for homers) but what it amounts to is batting your worst hitter earlier in the lineup than you should. It failed miserably for Tony as it likely would for Dusty.

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It didn't fail miserably. It resulted in .02 runs less per game that season than it had the other way. It was an attention-seeking non-factor, just like a lot of LaRussa's schtick.

Because he had good-hitting pitchers and bad-hitting 8-hole guys (and a couple of all or nothing sluggers), nerds say that theoretically it should have resulted in 2
or so runs more per season and so it was not exactly revolutionary, but also not a totally terrible idea.

Cubs are among possibilities for Trey Mancini. Would be nice spot for Notre Dame alum but others are in, too.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 20, 2022

Verlander presser on MLB Network now.

That sucks to see, but oh well.

Eso si, Que es said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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Cubs are among possibilities for Trey Mancini. Would be nice spot for Notre Dame alum but others are in, too.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 20, 2022

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I hope he does well. Maybe gets an early opt out so he can trying and make some more.

Mancini didn't produce on the field, but he seems like such a nice guy and good teammate.

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Agree, hope he can rebound and get a good contract.

Pre cancer OPS approx .800
Post cancer OPS approx .755
165 PA as Astro OPS .622

Just never settled in with us, nor was he really given the chance with such sporadic starts. Hope as an everyday player he does well.

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The problem with our OPS is fluctuates with the baseballs MLB uses or during eras or power (juice)

Something like OPS+ and wRC+ accounts for that.

Pre Cancer - 116 wRC+
Post Cancer - 109 wRC+ (BAL only)
Astros - 77 wRC+

He was fairly close to his pre cancer stats before coming to Houston. The LF wall move was a major cause of the slip.

Regardless, I think you're right about the sporadic starts. I think regular PT will do him good.

Justin Verlander and Kate Upton are part owners of D.C. Pickleball Team alongside Eva Longoria, Rip Hamilton and Shawn Marion. What a sentence. https://t.co/RLf1u0MwPq

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) December 20, 2022

Farmer1906 said:

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That's my SS

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmZGbseOVrR/?igshid=ZmMyNmFmZTc=

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Incredible how good he looks.

Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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That's my SS

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmZGbseOVrR/?igshid=ZmMyNmFmZTc=

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Incredible how good he looks.

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#nohomo

Steamer hitter fWAR projections for 2023:

1. Juan Soto, 7.0
2. Aaron Judge, 6.9
3. Julio Rodriguez, 6.0
T4. Mookie Betts, 5.9
T4. Adley Rutchman, 5.9
T6. Wander Franco, 5.6
T6. Mike Trout, 5.6
T6. Yordan Alvarez, 5.6
9. Fernando Tatis Jr., 5.5

Anything stick out to you?

— Full Count Baseball (@FullCountMLB) December 20, 2022

bearkatag15 said:

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Steamer hitter fWAR projections for 2023:

1. Juan Soto, 7.0
2. Aaron Judge, 6.9
3. Julio Rodriguez, 6.0
T4. Mookie Betts, 5.9
T4. Adley Rutchman, 5.9
T6. Wander Franco, 5.6
T6. Mike Trout, 5.6
T6. Yordan Alvarez, 5.6
9. Fernando Tatis Jr., 5.5

Anything stick out to you?

— Full Count Baseball (@FullCountMLB) December 20, 2022

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The fact Yordan can be up there without any real defensive bump is amazing.

I'd put other SS ahead on Wander.

Tatis is going to miss time and has been away from the game for a while. Plus he'll be off of SS most likely so he won't make this list most likely.

Also, where the hell is TED? [looked it up, he's tied for 14th with Correa & Breggy]

I can't imagine Tatis can accumulate counting stats while missing the first month. Plus IIRC a steroid ban also prohibits you from working in the minors so he cant do any timing work ahead of time. Add to that the fact that he's no longer able to juice having been caught (and risk a year), and he won't be quite as good.

He's getting a big break in that the playoff games count for his suspensions. If SD had gone out early he would lose another 10 or so in the season.

They spelled Adley Rutschman's name wrong.

The Padres and Matt Carpenter have agreed to a deal for 2023 with a player option for the 2024 season, per a source. Carpenter will play something of a utility role in San Diego -- some 1B, LF, RF, DH and potentially backup 2B and 3B as well.

— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) December 20, 2022

Mathguy64 said:

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I predict Matt Captenter reverts back to non 2022 form. Playing with regular baseballs will turn him back in a normal aging baseball player.

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Not if Tatis gets him the good stuff