Scott Dolan

Sounds like the current state of the Blue Jays.

That will never happen, IMO. Once you go down the replay road, things only expand from there.

Hmmm…if odds from less than a month ago are laughable now, I'm not sure if they've invented a word for what odds a year out can be referred to. http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/toronto-blue-jays-texas-rangers-game-2/

I think if shifts are used intelligently, they can be very solid tactics. But, too many times this year, especially against Mike Moustakas, I saw teams putting a shift on him just because he was a pull hitter last year. Never mind the 30/40/50/60/70/80/120 games your scouts attended this year that saw him post a fairly random spray chart. Hey, he's a lefty, gotta shift! If you intend on using your advanced scouting, or simply Googling Fangraphs, then by all means, shift away. Also, please feel free to continue to mindlessly shift against lefties in the Royals line up. If you don't want to look like a complete fool, do your homework.

Yep, had it before the season started. If you looked close enough you'd have caught a glimpse of him in the dugout a time or two during the Series.

Collins trusted his pitcher. His pitcher had earned that trust. But, sometimes in baseball you have to be a little more shallow than that. Tina Turner, indeed. And I speak from experience watching Ned Yost go through it over the years. But these days his staff knows when Ned says "no", what he's really saying is "no...and don't bother asking". Collins went with his heart, rather than his gut. And until you've been there, it's impossible to blame him for that. That's a big fucking stage, man. Thought this was a really nicely written piece. http://deadspin.com/terry-collins-made-the-right-call-on-matt-harvey-and-st-1740000072 "Collins acquiesced, and right then and there, left the evaluation of one of the bigger decisions he’ll ever make in the hands of the fates. The compartmentalization of baseball gives hindsight so much strength, and it felt odd, as a viewer, knowing in the moment that history would look back on his choice almost entirely through the lens of an outcome that hadn’t yet happened. The ante hoc calculus brutally simple, as Harvey ran out to the mound for the ninth: Collins’s call, already made, would only have been the correct one if Harvey won the game. The probabilities would be discarded in favor of short-term statistical noise."

Oh trust me, Jim. I'm a Royals fan. I probably understand the economic realities better than you do. I've lived with them every day for well over a decade. I enjoy the moment, but never get attached to any particular player. Dayton Moore has really turned things around not only for himself as a GM, but for the Royals organization. And though the decade it took him was excruciating, the pay off has been wonderful. And I think he'll continue to succeed because he "gets" how to assemble a winning team in the smallest market in MLB. He has turned things around here by going after the lesser desirable players. Starters who pitch to contact, solid defensive guys, and failed starters that he feels can be turned into lights out relievers. And none of those players tend to cost that much money. Sure, we'll eventually lose guys like Gordon, Hosmer, Moustakas, and Cain to headhunters with seemingly limitless funds. But, the overall model is sustainable. Besides, I still don't understand why certain teams insist on giving 30+ year old player 7 year contracts for $120mil+. In recent years the Yankees, Phillies, and Dodgers have shown why that's NOT a sustainable model. Not that I can prove it, but I think that's one of the reasons why the Royals aren't all that well-liked by the pundits and blowhard "baseball guys". Because they refuse to pay the price of admission to be an "elite" club. And in turn exposing how stupid the big spenders really are.

The Astros are an outrageously dangerous team. I still have no idea how we beat them in the LDS. They're also built in a similar fashion to the Royals and Mets. They cleaned house and collected prospects, sacrificing seasons along the way, much like the Royals (though the Mets not so much. Their down years were more the product of poorly spent large payrolls). But now they're young and lined with talent. They look like they will also have many successful seasons to come.

A relief pitcher has one job, to shut the inning down. Most of our relievers neither care about or pay attention to base runners, and they tend to pitch from the stretch anyway. Perhaps it's just a philosophical difference, I don't know. But, if you've got a starter who is simply unconscious, and well within any agreed upon pitch count limit and showing no signs of fatigue, yes, you send him back out. If your closer has to have a clean slate in order to pitch effectively, perhaps it's time to find a different closer.

Thanks, brother. It feel really good. So happy for the boys. It's like watching the blue collar, lunch pail and hardhat guy win the lottery. Just a completely workman-like effort from this group day in and day out. They didn't have the starters to blow anyone away, and they weren't going to launch balls out of the park with any regularity on offense. But they're stubborn and determined fucks who believe in aggressive play, and pressuring the other team to perform (i.e. that tying run from Hosmer). They're just such a fun group of guys to watch, and super easy to root for. The Mets are a really good looking, young team that has been assembled in the same manner that the Royals have been. Through their own farm system. I admire that a lot. Teams that spend ungodly amounts to bring in a bunch of hired guns seasoned and trained elsewhere in an attempt to buy a championship aren't even worthy of my attention. But, just as the Royals were put together the "right" way, so were the Mets. And I think we'll see both teams continue to succeed in the near future. The Mets have to address their defense up the middle, as well as fortify their pen. The Royals, as always, will need to address the rotation. And Tim, I hope this offseason sees your boys get healthy again. You guys simply lost the war of attrition this season. Here's to seeing the Giants and their classy fan base back in the postseason next year! And Jim, damned if you do, damned if you don't. Collins replaces Harvey with Familia and we get him again, fans would be screaming bloody murder because he didn't leave Harvey in. I've watched the same hindsight arguments all year long about Yost. I'll say the same thing here as I say on the Royals board: He got your team to the World Series. My guess is that he knows a hell of a lot mor about managing a MLB team than you, I, or anyone else reading these words.

Unfortunately, it looked as though nerves and pressure got the better of Collins in the moment. That's some pretty unforgiving on-the-job training, IMO. I hope he doesn't beat him self up about it. He flipped a coin, called heads, and it came up tails. It will happen sometimes. Besides, Harvey was cruising, and Familia was no guarantee as we've hit him also.

Agreed. I'm done.

Can you read? I was referring to your comment about Moustakas. Not any personal comments made against other posters. And yes, it was a statement borne out of sheer ignorance. And when a lack of knowledge exists, that is called ignorance. The fact that you took it as an insult is your problem, not mine.

Yeah, and the night Perez had was such an anamoly to begin with. He's arguably the best defensive catcher in the game, but things usually turn sour when he's got a bat in his hand.

It's there, but the activity stream will still only call up posts from threads in the MiscNonPol subforum. It's definitely broken as of now.

And all of those "activities" come from only one subforum. Things are definitely a wee bit broken right now.

I was never frustrated last year. I was overjoyed! Three decades of losing baseball and the first time we squeak into the postseason we're playing the dynasty Giants team and holding our own? No, I understood last year heading in that we had proven nothing, and were the new kids on the block. And I certainly never predicted us to win any of the series we played in. Your problem, as I see it is that you came into this series under the assumption that the Mets were the better team (didn't you pick them to win in 6?). Whereas even though the Royals are making their second appearance in as many years, I never picked them to win it, and thought that it would go all 7 games. The only thing that frustrates me is dealing with homer fans, and when my team plays poorly.

catesta, please show me ONE example of me giving the other side "a hard time". It doesn't exist on this thread, because I am very gracious when it come to winning. Remember, I have rooted for a team that was historically bad. So I know what it feels like to lose, and I sure as hell will never rub anyone's face in a loss. Not once. Ever. Nor did I ever gloat about beating the two biggest drama queens in MLB today, Bautista and Donaldson. Your comment about Moustakas was absolutely bush league. I'm starting to note that Mets fans may not be as classy as I initially thought.

Good god, gloating?! I said it was Royals baseball because that's the style of game they play. It isn't pretty, it isn't flashy, it's just grind it out until someone squeezes out the win. Sometimes it's the Royals, sometimes it isn't. Games two and three WEREN'T Royals baseball because they were too lopsided, and sloppily played by both teams at times. I have NEVER gloated about my team winning. Ever. And I never will. Go back to page 22 after we took the deciding game against Houston. Does that sound even remotely like gloating to you? *EDIT* BTW, just went back to double check the context. Jim referred to game 1 as "stubbornness baseball", then I said that around here we call that "Royals baseball".

Who's a sore loser? First of all, we haven't lost anything. Secondly, even if we do lose the Series I'll still be perfectly happy with how this season has gone. Pretty sure I already mentioned that several pages ago. Lastly, Moustakas is not a shit talker, by any measurement of the term. But he got upset last night when Syndergaard's pitch went head high. Most major league players would be. Both the Mets and the Royals have played clean and respectable baseball in this Series. Much like the Royals and Giants did last year. There hasn't been any yapping or potential bad blood until that pitch. And it looks as though it ended just as quickly as it began. So yes, the comment contesta made was completely ignorant. The Royals do not initiate trouble with other teams. Although, thanks for tipping your hand with that little bitch comment of yours. At least I now know the type of fan I'm dealing with.

I love it when ignorant fans gloat over small victories.

The stories I linked to did. They weren't opinion pieces, they were based on statistics. I don't care for opinion pieces when evidence for a definitive answer is available.

Don't bother.

So the previous links I posted showed you nothing? You know, the ones that had headlines referring to the Royals as an "historically elite" defense, or "basically the best contact hitting team ever"? And backed up those headline with actual stats?

http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2015/10/unraveling_the_mystery_of_marlins_man_the_fan_who.html