I didn't like that play. Imagine if the ump calls him out, Baez doesn't throw to first and replay shows a trap, which I thought it did...just throw to first! Why take a chance? It was a move from a player who is immensely talented but has a huge ego. We won't be singing this kid's praises next year, I'm convinced of that. I'm just as sure Maddon is a big fan as I'm sure Theo is not. Offensively he still tries to do too much. There's a very good reason he's at 2nd and not at short.

I'm a big dumb shitlib baby

there will be a team that does do that...goes to a four man rotation.

And they did completely change course on how Kershaw was used in order to win with their back up against the wall. I've played a lot of baseball and I literally have a guy next door to me who pitched in the minors...this is a held belief amongst pitching coaches. Obviously there's diminishing returns in anything but having a tired arm is thought to contribute to better breaking ball in certain pitchers.

Part of the reason he's been the best player in the playoffs is due to those traits, though. Humble, quiet players are fine, but his fearlessness is essential to this team right now. You live with an occasional dumb play.

Part of the reason he's been the best player in the playoffs is due to those traits, though. Humble, quiet players are fine, but his fearlessness is essential to this team right now. You live with an occasional dumb play.

Yes, thank you for bringing up your high school baseball career and your Double A wash out friend's discussions with a Triple A wash out pitcher that gets paid $35K a year to coach in Double A.

I'm convinced. You've won.

there will be a team that does do that...goes to a four man rotation.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Yeah cof needs to throw in the towel on this Baez thing. I thought he sucked too a couple years ago. It's clear he's pretty damn good.

in the playoffs, that's all great until you try to do too much and either strike out or don't get an out trying to get a higher degree of difficulty out. I understand what you're saying, but I think this kid already is starting to wear on players. We'll see.

I'm a big dumb shitlib baby

I'm not saying he's not good, he's very very good. We'll see next year.

I have MANY years of experience in trying to appreciate steaming piles of dogshit.

I didn't like that play. Imagine if the ump calls him out, Baez doesn't throw to first and replay shows a trap, which I thought it did...just throw to first! Why take a chance? It was a move from a player who is immensely talented but has a huge ego. We won't be singing this kid's praises next year, I'm convinced of that. I'm just as sure Maddon is a big fan as I'm sure Theo is not. Offensively he still tries to do too much. There's a very good reason he's at 2nd and not at short.

Teams try it now and then (and not just to skip #5 starts in early April when there are lots of offdays) but always end up going back to five. I think the Rockies have attempted a permanent four-man rotation a few times.

can't disagree with your characterizations! I'm sure your opinions are rock solid.

As you can see from the gif, it all happened in a split second. Guys catch/trap liners all the time and quickly hold the glove up to the ump. Baez was throwing it to first either way...with zero chance of not getting the runner. The kid doesn't seem to get much of a red-ass either, if a call doesn't go his way.

He was throwing it to first no matter what.

Exactly, that's why he had the ball out of his glove, into his throwing hand, before he had even stood up.

CoF and FF are seeing things that aren't there.

If you hate Laurence, then don't listen - don't comment. When he co-hosts the B&B show, take that day off ... listen to an old podcast of a Bernstein solo show and jerk off all day.

I cant believe we are discussing Baez in anything but a positive light right now. This is crazy. He's been the best defensive and offensive player on the team this postseason.

We'll see about him next season?! What the fuck does that even mean? You think a guy this young is going to get worse? Each season he has gotten better. I was dead wrong about him, he is the goods.

I'm a big dumb shitlib baby

in the playoffs, that's all great until you try to do too much and either strike out or don't get an out trying to get a higher degree of difficulty out. I understand what you're saying, but I think this kid already is starting to wear on players. We'll see.

I cant believe we are discussing Baez in anything but a positive light right now. This is crazy. He's been the best defensive and offensive player on the team this postseason.

We'll see about him next season?! What the fuck does that even mean? You think a guy this young is going to get worse? Each season he has gotten better. I was dead wrong about him, he is the goods.

I have MANY years of experience in trying to appreciate steaming piles of dogshit.

and rather than wearing on his teammates, they seem to love him more each game.

If you hate Laurence, then don't listen - don't comment. When he co-hosts the B&B show, take that day off ... listen to an old podcast of a Bernstein solo show and jerk off all day.

Wearing on Rizzo...look how he chucks the ball at Baez...He's clearly pissed.






NOT

“We always mess around,” Rizzo said at his locker inside a tight clubhouse jammed with media after an 8-4 win. “So I’m screaming: ‘Javy! Javy! I got it! I got it, Javy, I got it!’

“And usually he’ll yell at me: ‘Don’t miss it!’ Or I’ll yell at him: ‘Don’t miss it!’

“We do that a lot. If it’s a pop-up to him, I’ll go right behind him. It’s just little ways of slowing the game down and having fun, too.”

Rizzo is a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman for a team that led the majors in defensive efficiency this year. As a super-utility guy, Baez got credit for 11 defensive runs saved in 383 innings at second base, or one less than co-leaders Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler, who each did it in almost 1,300 innings.

“Sometimes when I call (Rizzo) off to get a fly ball, he starts talking to me,” Baez said. “I tell him: ‘Hey, you can do whatever you want. Just don’t move my head. You can touch me if you want. Just don’t move my head.’

“And I told him to be ready for it, because I was going to do the same thing. You just got to be focused on the fly ball. No matter what’s happening around you, you just got to catch it.”

This isn’t about Bartman. It’s about a group of young, confident players who are growing up together and absolutely expect to be in this position. It’s manager Joe Maddon designing “Embrace The Target” T-shirts and telling them to show up to the ballpark whenever they want and then blow off batting practice.

“For sure, we’re relaxed,” said Baez, who’s gone viral during these playoffs, the rest of the country witnessing his amazing instincts and flashy personality. “I’m relaxed when I play defense.”

The thing is, Rizzo and Baez could be playing next to each other for the next five years, the same way Kris Bryant and Addison Russell will be anchoring the left side of the infield.

This is how Rizzo introduced Russell to The Show when a natural shortstop tried to learn second base on the fly last year and track pop-ups in front of 40,000 people: “Hey, watch out for that skateboard behind you! Don’t trip!”

“Oh yeah, we yell at each other all the time,” Rizzo said. “It’s just one of those things where you got to stay loose.”