Is there anyone in the league other than Alvarez with the numbers of the first hypothetical player you mention? How many guys with over 500 ABs are even hitting .300? The answer is four. The league average is like .244. Yes, I will take the guy hitting only twenty points lower than the hypothetical player you mention with 25 more homers, the same 120 runs scored, 110 runs batted in, and 40 steals. But in this case he’s not in my imagination, he’s real.
To answer your first question, because a lot of fans think they are smarter than the managers and players out there, think it is easy to adjust your swing/approach at the MLB level to every situation, and that a10+ WAR isn’t good enough.
any questioning of PCA this year is bizzaro world but that is where a good chunk of Cubs fan live nowadays. PCAs year is so far ahead of everybody else in baseball it is simple preposterous. Literally only Babe Ruth and Mantle have had years where they had a bigger gap in WAR between 1st and second. This is one of the great years in the history of the game.
Sorry to say this, but this is nonsense. 1st off, when was the last time a player did what guy number 1 did? here I'l answer that is 1927. That is when people did that. and it had only been done once in the history of baseball. Not utilizing his ability to the fullest??? good lord people. Suggesting ways PCA could be more valuable to this team is beyond belief.(that dudes name was Gehrig by the way)
As a Sox fan, I wish he did not hit all those homers
yeah, but he could be even MVPer if he just cut down his swing or something?As a Sox fan, I wish he did not hit all those homers
Seriously, PCA had an historic season. Every player has small things to improve on, and I suspect that PCA will continue to grow at the plate (and that is very scary prospect for pitchers across the league)...the guy is probably not even in his prime yet. However, some of the nitpicking is crazy...the guy is about to become the league MVP!
It’s even worse if you do the math. The difference between .280 and .300 over 600 at bats is going from 168 to 180 hits. So in the hypothetical presented, you would sacrifice 25 homers for 12 more base hits. Makes no sense.
Phillies finish at home against Tampa, not sure what the Rays have to play for. Will that be an easy series for Philly? How invested are the D-Backs in their series with the Padres, especially if they are eliminated Friday? Will the Red Sox perform against the Cubs with nothing to play for? It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
I am not nitpicking. I would rather see PCA drive the ball more all over the field. I would love to see him use the entire field as he could be more dangerous. Don’t get me wrong, he is having a great season but he would have more steaks and hits if he uses the entire field. Tony Gwynn with power.
Silly question possibly here, but would you take the Cubs finishing in the second wild card spot as the guaranteed finish after action on Saturday (assuming tomorrow's game gets washed out)? The scenario would be Cubs going to Padres in Wild Card Series but avoiding playing on Monday (so only play 161 games). Or have the opportunity to win on Monday to secure the first wild card and a home series against Padres? I would think that is a tough call, especially given how big a difference the home/away splits are for San Diego.
While I agree that they could have arranged a neutral site, they do not want to mess with competitive balance too much (give a team in a competitive race three neutral site games compared to road games is not optimal). If the entire weekend (all three games would have been unplayable), I think your suggestion would have been considered more. I personally think the league is hoping that the 162nd game won't be necessary to standings, so they took this suboptimal approach. Also, there is no way that Boston would want to give up revenues for three baseball games. A very complicated situation indeed.
Was reported that Boston was actually willing to play in Chicago (with compensation for the home games) but that Philly and SD nixed it.
San Diego has a lot of nerve taking issue with other's weather problems!
It's not optimal, but the storm took optimal away, c'est la vie. There is no baseball to be played in Boston this weekend and no makeup days left.
Right, and they were also hoping for good news on the timing of the storm. Hope is not a strategy!
The obvious solution is for the Phillies and Padres to lose out.
Oh, I did not hear that. Makes sense that Philly and SD would nix it.
I would rather play on Monday and get the wildcard series at home.
The offense won't allow for it. The Red Sox get 2nd and 3rd with one out and score twice. The Cubs, in that exact situation, get a strikeout and a pop up.
They are really limping to the finish. They already lost game one today after an early 3-0 lead. I have less faith in Holmes after every start recently. I don't think the prospects are good. I give them an outside shot in the best of three wildcard but no way they could beat Milwaukee or the Dodgers in the NLDS.
