Thanks for the clarification; I almost wrote bad things about Jamie, but held back. You and others have the money/ contract/value things down so much better than I do...I'm still a game on the field with whoever is out there (regardless of salary or what draft picks if he goes FA, etc.) kind of guy. mainly because all the $ talk , and this should be done or shouldn't be, is totally almost what never happens. Not so hip I guess. the game is still the game, though always in flux. How do you feel about a new rule stating that there must be two players on either side of second base? To circumvent the ever increasing IF shifts that are "hurting the overall offense of the game"? thinks it should be implemented? Guys like McCann are getting killed, and even Gonzo will have to reinvent himself to get around the shifts...interesting.
That is a great purist question that strikes at the saber metrics v old school baseball. I think because I gave been around a long time v I know because the computer told me.
or you can look at it the way they actually explained it there..that Rivera was a better game-caller, just as good a pitch framer, better defensively, and recognize that Grandal was better at the plate while @ 1B. however, none of that has anything to do with AJ Ellis..who's shit in terms of pitch framing, shit defensively, shit at the plate, and older than Rivera. Ellis basically calls a good game and that's about it. if you looked at the Dodgers' bench in 2016, and saw AJ Ellis sitting there in a coaching role..you'd better not be surprised. his end is near.
Or you can take as what it is and the guys who make a living throwing the ball didn't want him behind the dish
that's been accounted for..and frankly, that won't save his career..unless you think Ellis is sticking around for the length of Kershaw's contract. i don't think you'd believe that though..that'd be the equivalent of believing in Santa.
or you can take it for what it is and let the people who make a living putting teams together do their job and complete a trade that upgrades the Dodgers' catcher position
well, sure..i mean i fully expect Ellis to catch Kershaw. but catch everybody else? i'm not giving Ellis that much. i know they like him, but he's not good enough for that. especially when it comes to a sabermetric/stat-geek freak like Greinke. you can trust that Greinke knows that Grandal is a far better pitch framer than Ellis is. if the Dodgers 4yr/72M bid for Martin had won his services, Ellis might be gone already. friendship only goes so far.
Has it ever been established that AJ is the personal favorite of Kershaw? I know they're besties, and I thought that's where the personal catcher idea comes from. But I don't know if it's ever been completely established that Kershaw prefers to have AJ catch for him.
i think that part is just assumed. but you have to wonder how much of that is because the other options weren't very good..
Just stop, your arguments for the Kemp trade being bad are the most hallow reasons I have ever seen. You're like a 9 year old child on this subject.
I do think that this is absolutely the case. Whether or not he is great at it or not, CK wants AJ behind the plate when he pitches. One huge factor is trust and knowing each other.
But the thing with Kemps last couple months is that there was a mechanical change in his hitting as well as him possibly being fully healthy so there is some reason to cite his improved last month. These are definitely valid points to indicate he's more likely to play at a higher level going forward than he did in May or June. Can he sustain that last month of value? Most likely not. Grandal was the same player all year so it makes no sense to use 25 games as any indication of his true capabilities
i don't think that connection is as relevant as you think of course they asked logan for his input but that was a long time ago doesn't really apply now because kemp isn't the same player he was then far from it his defensive skills have deteriorated and he doesn't run like he used to he's still a productive player, and could possibly very productive, if the 2nd half of 2014 is any indication and, trust me, i was one of the most vocal opposing a kemp trade -- i even added a broken record image the last time but when i really dug into the numbers and combined it with the recent reports of his poor clubhouse behavior, there's no way you could have kept kemp and not had a disharmonious situation he was neither happy nor effective when they put him in LF and with joc (all but) being given the CF spot this year, where do you think they'd have him play? no way in hell you move puig (the far superior fielder) to LF to placate kemp i think what happened to a lot of us -- certainly me -- was we fell in love with the idea that 2011 kemp was back, based on last year's 2nd half i just no longer believe that's realistic, that player is gone forever imo again, he'll still be productive, possibly very productive, but nowhere the player he once was and certainly not worth risk of all the baggage he would have attached really hurts to say a lot of this because he was my favorite player but when it comes down to it, my loyalty is to the team i'm not going to say logan is overrated but we were willing to let him walk we now have a group of talented guys that i believe can [collectively] perform his job and they showed they aren't afraid to pull the trigger and get aggressive all in all, logan will do well in san diego, kemp possibly too... however, i now believe we will be better in the long run that said, the first time matt comes to the plate at dodger stadium... wherever i am, i will stand and applaud might even will probably shed a tear or two [we irish do that] and i sure i won't be the only one thanks for the memories matt and i truly wish you the best
Except Matt Kemp has produced like he did in the second half before, McCarthy has NOT come close to what he did in the second half before.
