Tiger337

You can't predict bullpens. That's why you still need to build around starters which is what the Tigers have mostly done. The bullpen needs to do better than this though.

He has no intellect at all. He is smart enough to know how to bully and manipulate people which I think isn't all that difficult when you've got money. He is also dumb enough to allow smarter people to manipulate him.

I was watching the game on youtube TV. The Tigers were leading 4-0. I went to get a quick snack and Baez was at the plate when I came back. This was weird because that would have been three batters batting in like one minute. Baez then crushed a home run to center field and I am thinking it was a flashback to earlier in the inning. But it wasn't. The game had gone back in time to Baez's previous at bat. YouTube TV is weird. Either that or that was quite a snack.

What do they intend to accomplish here?

By definition, he is now no longer underrated!

But the ball getting trapped in a uniform has been ruled to be a deadball. If that happened in foul territory, it still would not be an out according to the rule. In the catcher example, if the ball did not get lodged in the mask and instead the catcher just didn't catch the ball on a third strike, the batter would be allowed to run to first. This sounds to me analagous to what happened in Gilbert's case.

Bill James used to preach that. Every team gets the same number of outs every game and more you limit them the more opportunities you will have to produce runs.

According to rule 5.09(a): "A catch is the act of a fielder in getting secure possession in his hand or glove of a ball in flight and firmly holding it in his possession; providing he does not use his cap, protector, pocket or any part of his uniform in getting possesion." It doesn't say he gets a single, but it is not an out. A related rule: "When a pitched ball becomes stuck in a catcher’s mask or gear, it is an immediate dead ball. According to MLB Rule 5.06(c)(7), runners are awarded one base, and the batter is awarded first base if it was ball four or strike three. It is not considered a catch if the ball lodges in the mask on a foul tip." The catcher is not the pitcher, but seems to be very similar to what happened with Gilbert.

Pitching and pitcher management, although the pitching chaos thng might have been largely luck. It hasn't been easy to repeat.

That is true. The difference between the best and worst line-up for the same group of hitters is not substantial.

I don't even know what we are arguing about anymore anway, so fine.

Maybe they should hire you as manager. They will never have dumb line-ups anymore.

The best hitter on a team is the one who contributes the most to team runs scored. It could be wOBA or OPS+ or something similar. If you wanted a cumulative stat for the entire season, maybe wRC. If someone is an average fan who doesn't care about analyzing, that is fine. But if someone tells me that the best hitter should bat third, or primarily uses batting average to judge a hitter, then they will get an argument.

So, who was their best hitter last year and where should he have batted?

especially baseball.