Official official offseason thread

Garmel said:
Ian strikes out Harris with his new slider. Of course, nothing will matter unless he can throw strikes.

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Agreed. I’m not expecting that slider to resemble a plus pitch so he better learn to command his pitches better so that changeup can be effective.
 
DOB wrote his typically War and Peace length story about Anderson’s new slider. The biggest takeaway for me was Anderson saying that he worked to improve the shape of his fastball this offseason and feels much better about it than at any point last season. I hope that’s true. His fastball was atrocious last year.
 
Enscheff said:
My prediction for Grissom is that he's going to be very mediocre, and lots of people are going to love him for "playing the game the right way".

And that's going to be just fine for this team while he's cheap.
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Grissom had a career .867 OPS in the minors. Kid can hit. Expecting him to put up low .700s OPS like Dansby did for most of his career is not a stretch by any means.
 
Braves signed RHP Joe Harvey to a minor league contract.
Harvey made 22 relief appearances between the Yankees and Rockies from 2019 to 2020 and didn't pitch at all last year. The 31-year-old righty reliever will open the regular season as extra relief depth at Triple-A Gwinnett.

You can hand over the WS trophy now baby.
 
CJ9 said:
DOB wrote his typically War and Peace length story about Anderson’s new slider. The biggest takeaway for me was Anderson saying that he worked to improve the shape of his fastball this offseason and feels much better about it than at any point last season. I hope that’s true. His fastball was atrocious last year.
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I hope the slider is great and takes Anderson to the next level but I'm not holding my breath as ST hype rarely survives the first week of the season. About the only thing that would let Anderson elevate his game and become a middle of the rotation guy is a legitimate third pitch (I say third and not fourth as his curve can barely be considered a pitch). A third pitch to keep hitters guessing would be huge but with his arm angle, I just don't see a slider working great. Hopefully I'm wrong.
 
Ozzie Albies underwent a "clean-up" surgery on his right shoulder in mid-October.
News of the surgery wasn't previously known publicly. Albies said he had a shoulder impingement and had dealt with some pain over the past couple of years, so he decided to get something done. While his usual ramp-up is going a little slower than normal, he's been able to participate in baseball activities, including batting practice this week. Despite the surgery, Albies is "100%" certain he'll be ready for Opening Day. He could certainly use some better luck on the health from after a fractured foot and pinkie finger limited him to just 64 games in 2022. If healthy, he's capable of being a top-five fantasy second baseman.
 
striker42 said:
I hope the slider is great and takes Anderson to the next level but I'm not holding my breath as ST hype rarely survives the first week of the season. About the only thing that would let Anderson elevate his game and become a middle of the rotation guy is a legitimate third pitch (I say third and not fourth as his curve can barely be considered a pitch). A third pitch to keep hitters guessing would be huge but with his arm angle, I just don't see a slider working great. Hopefully I'm wrong.
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He wouldn't have the usual side-to-side sweep on the slider but he could have a hard, short breaking 12-to-6. I think the key is to have something to get hitters off the fastball. It was probably pretty easy to recognize curve early and react and he was only throwing the pitch 5%-10% of the time anyway. If they're not all over the fastball I think his velo and unique arm angle and extension return it to being a plus pitch. Problem is right now they're sitting on it, and he knows it and has been nibbling and getting hit when he finally throws it for a strike.
 
chop2chip said:
Agreed. I’m not expecting that slider to resemble a plus pitch so he better learn to command his pitches better so that changeup can be effective.
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Just calling something a "slider", and calling something a "curve" is meaningless. All we need is a single game where he throws 4-5 of each to determine whether or not they are viable pitches. Two below average offerings that are effectively the same pitch aren't useful, no matter what they think they're called.
 
We are seeing with Anderson exactly what I said we would be seeing after I analyzed his stuff way back in August 2020: http://www.chopcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9963&highlight=anderson

His command collapsed, and he struggled to be an MLB SP. It really is as simple as that.

We must remember the key to Anderson's success is a rising FA that makes the CH and breaking stuff play up. I find it hard to believe he "improved the shape" of his rising FA, which requires more efficient vertical spin, while simultaneously adding a SL that requires horizontal spin to be effective. His focus should have been on improving the command of the FA up in the zone, and executing the breaking stuff down and off the plate, not adding a pitch.
 
Ian probably should brush up on his insurance knowledge since that is probably where he will end up in a few years. Maybe a reunion with allard can build a super insurance agency in Cobb county.
 
Tapate50 said:
Ozzie Albies underwent a "clean-up" surgery on his right shoulder in mid-October.
News of the surgery wasn't previously known publicly. Albies said he had a shoulder impingement and had dealt with some pain over the past couple of years, so he decided to get something done. While his usual ramp-up is going a little slower than normal, he's been able to participate in baseball activities, including batting practice this week. Despite the surgery, Albies is "100%" certain he'll be ready for Opening Day. He could certainly use some better luck on the health from after a fractured foot and pinkie finger limited him to just 64 games in 2022. If healthy, he's capable of being a top-five fantasy second baseman.
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Hope Ozzie stays healthy.
 
msstate7 said:
Most likely, but not sure how we can judge his defense with no real sample so far.
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I’m just assuming average defense… based on everything we’ve heard that sounds like the best case scenario. Average defense and a .700-.750 OPS is pretty mediocre. I’m personally hoping he can hit closer to an .800 OPS
 
zbhargrove said:
I’m just assuming average defense… based on everything we’ve heard that sounds like the best case scenario. Average defense and a .700-.750 OPS is pretty mediocre. I’m personally hoping he can hit closer to an .800 OPS
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I will take being mediocre there this season. I would think the braves just need him to not be a liability
 
What happens with Grissom becomes much less critical with even small bounce back performances from Ozuna and Rosario.

If all three bomb, we are in trouble. If two of the three are average or better, we should be fine.
 
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