He's gotta be the 4th starter, right? He completely annihilates Danks on paper.

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His peripheral numbers were elite over the course of the season. Even with Victor Martinez or whoever else getting the best of him, he was still dominant.

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Mat Latos is like Diet Jon Lackey

Number of wedgies over the season Lawrie or Latos give Robin for having a girl's name at 2.5.

Swirlies are at 1.5.

Bite!

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

A rude awakening awaits Mr. latos in the A.L.

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Hahn once again has Cubs fans in a tizzy!

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Well it's only $3m, I hope they still attend the Lincecum showcase.

Trade Erik Johnson for Billy Hamilton now.

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Probably.

Still will have a better season than Lackey

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I have to say I would feel a lot more comfortable with a one year deal with Latos then that dumb ass contract they gave Lackey.

No chance

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If Latos even makes the team I expect a Felipe Paulino-like performance.

Well, Latos is clearly an genius. He's an ideal #3 starter whose salary will be only 500K higher than that of David Ross? It's a sick joke, but he did it to himself. The hope is that he'll be scared straight & start acting like less of a bitch, if only to land a much more respectable contract come 2017. I can't blame the Cubs for their lack of interest - they're World Series contenders going into this season, so why mess with a good thing and take a chance on a guy who has his head up his ass?

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This isn't even a question given his talent level.

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I was in Miami (nice park.....with the retractable roof, the structure was similar to Miller Park, but obviously decorated differently)when Latos faced the Braves in his first start of the season and gave up 7 runs in 2/3 of an inning. If you throw out that start, his numbers on the season were still pedestrian, but he has a chance to grab the 5th spot in their rotation. Just a depth piece in case other guys fall short of expectation. A buy low insurance policy.

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Go Cubs!!!!

A buy low lottery ticket insurance policy you might be able to flip at the deadline.

I'm talking specifically about FIP. It's about more than errors/defense.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Sale couldn't figure out Minnesota for some reason. That's why he had a high ERA.

I'd recommend going to fangraphs and looking up the definition of FIP. It basically takes defense out of the equation.

Sale had several rough starts (not just against Minnesota), but he more than made up for it in his other outings. He was a top 5 pitcher in all of baseball last year, and you'd never know if if you were looking at stats that are found on the back of a baseball card.

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Top 5 last year? No chance man

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MiLB.comVerified account
‏@MiLB

#WhiteSox agree to a Minor League deal with veteran Travis Ishikawa with an invite to big league Spring Training. http://atmlb.com/1PB364P

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1. Clayton Kershaw 8.6 WAR
2. Jake Arrieta 7.3 WAR
3. Max Scherzer 6.4 WAR
4. David Price 6.4 WAR
5. Chris Sale 6.2 WAR

That is your top 5 for 2015.

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You're just another shit talker that doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. Sort of like dan bernstein. I know exactly what FIP is and what it purports to do. It starts with the silly premise that all batted balls (save for homeruns) are equal. (I'm sure someone has a more advanced model that separates the batted balls into "hard shots", "line drives", etc. based upon subjective observation.) FIP is attempting to measure a pitcher based upon his walks, strikeouts, and homeruns and it assumes that the ball Lorenzo Cain slammed into the gap was "unlucky".

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

KNEEL AND PRAY TO THE GOD OF WAR!

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I love the term showcase in this context


I always picture glitzy lights and a Carnival emcee inviting people in from the surrounding areas

FIP assumes average luck on balls in play. The theory is that pitchers have very little control over balls that are put in play (ie very little control over BABIP allowed). You disagree? Whatever. Keep relying on ERA and W/L records, which are basically team statistics (particularly the latter). You'll be wrong half the time.

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Baseball gives us so many stats...let's not rely on any one or two. I like FIP...but you need some other stuff also. Because throwing a bp fastball to Rizzo means it is over the fence...while throwing it to Billy Hamilton is a triple. Both are bad results..but FIP really only factors in the one result. Teams that don't bash...FIP will always look better against them. Gotta look at WHIP...OPS against...etc etc

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.