Submit your questions for this week's mail bag!
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone out there was able to get something of a break over the last couple of weeks. I know Ross Atkins did! HEYO!
And no, signing a minor league deal with hard-throwing right-handed reliever Julian Fernández doesn't count — though the strikeouts and velocity he brings to the organization are certainly very interesting, even if last year's BB/9 and HR/9 rates (5.1 and 2.4 respectively) are not. A hard-throwing Blue Jays reliever named Julian who gives up too many home runs? What could possibly go wrong?
Anyway! I had something of a break over the last couple weeks myself. And much as Atkins and his Blue Jays still have plenty of work to do before pitchers and catchers report in six weeks, so do I. So, in that spirit, I'll be kicking off 2023 by opening up the ol' mail bag later on this week!
As always, I'll need help with that, so leave me your best questions in the comments on this post!
Of course, also as always, comments are only open to paid subscribers — and I’d love for you to choose that option if you’re not already doing so, as this is the only way I make a living, and it keeps all my work free to read for everyone else.
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After the Bassitt signing, I heard or read about him talking about PitchCom, something to the effect of: I would be fine with it if I was the one calling the pitches. This seems an obvious point that I had never thought of. The idea of the catcher calling pitches makes sense through old fashioned signs, but with PitchCom, the pitcher could simply take the calling device and tell the catcher what pitch he wants. Do you know if this has this been discussed or considered anywhere? Is it actually prohibited? Keep up the great work!
I know it has been written about a bit already, but I'm starting to get nervous about the vibes situation. I know winning is the best vibes, and there was a segment of the fanbase that thought they were "serious" enough, but the loss of Teoscar and Lourdes does make me feel like we've lost something. Thoughts?