Sorry. I didn't even know this forum existed. I used to be strictly GARM and Texans because I had them bookmarked.
I second this. People who don't understand the move are morons, plain and simple. It is a waste of time arguing with them.
The other thing at play here is Super Two. Lance has 78 days of service so far. If he spends only the 10 days in the minors, he would be around 130 days at the end. That is "probably" safe from Super 2 status, but every few extra days makes it a little safer. Does anyone know the answer to the question I asked? It might not have any importance at all, but i'm just curious. If Lance isn't going to actually pitch any in the minors, but if he is going to rest for a bit and they wanted the extra roster spot for the big league roster. Does he actually have to show up in Fresno (or wherever they option him), or could he actually stay with the club while being "optioned" out?
Actually, if he spends under 20 days in the minors before being recalled he will accrue the missed days as service time and an option year will not be burned. I've long wondered this as well. If he's not going to pitch, it seems he would benefit from throwing his bullpens in front of Strom. Also he could avoid riding buses (if sent to AA) while being able to enjoy major league amenities.
My initial thought was no way - but Appel was able to work with Strom last year with no official consequence. I'd be shocked if he was allowed to enjoy major league amenities, though. And it would impact his salary, which might make staying in town more economically difficult for him.
I don't think it would affect his salary. If he is optioned, then whatever that does to the salary would be done. The only thing he would miss out on would be the daily meal money, but i'm guessing he would find a way to eat, lol I don't think the finances would play much of a part in it, but even if he isn't getting game action he will be throwing bullpens i'm sure, and seems like it would be better for him to continue to work with Strom.
Pretty sure they get paid by each game on the active roster. He's going to go back to the minor league rate for however many days he's back down there... but LMJ did have a larger signing bonus, and his family is probably well-off (being the son of an ex MLB player), so I'm pretty sure he'll be fine.
Right What i'm saying is he will go back to the minor league rate, regardless of where his actual human body physically is. That part is a given. Does that mean he can't physically stay with the major league team and throw his bullpen sessions with Strom. Does he physically have to take his body to Fresno if he is optioned there? I'm thinking it's very unlikely he actually pitches in any games during this time regardless. And yea, he is not likely to be in a financial struggle during the next couple of weeks, lol
I, too, doubt it would be a struggle - but he'd be making minor league money in a major league environment, and that might be tricky. The minor leagues pay less, obviously - but their cost of living (for lack of a better term) is also much less. And I'd wager the Astros would not be able to cover the difference. So I'm pretty sure he can't travel with them - and they're on the road for, IIRC, the next 10 days. So there'd be no point in leaving him here; he's better off getting sessions and coaching in Fresno.
His signing bonus was 2.5 Million I make a decent living, enough that I took a 19 day golf vacation this summer, through 4 states and played 24 rounds of golf. I could certainly afford to take a 10 day baseball trip if I chose, and stay in great hotels. In my 23 years working i've probably made of total of around 1.6 million He would have zero problems staying with the team, and paying the bill, if that is an option. In fact, I don't know Lance so maybe i'm wrong, but if they told him "hey man, you can go down to Fresno, travel with the team there and throw bullpens for them if you want. You also have the option of staying with the team, but we wouldn't be allowed to give you meal money or pay your hotel costs. You would have to foot that bill for the next couple of weeks if you choose to do that. We are really good either way, just want to give you the options and let you know what we are and aren't allowed to do" I obviously don't know Lance, but if Vegas layed odds on his response they would probably be about 250-1 that Lance would say "yea i'm good, I can foot the hotel bill and buy my own meals for a couple of weeks". These guys stay in great hotels, but i've spend many nights in the Hyatt Regency next to the Superdome, which is the NFL headquarters when they host the Super Bowl there, and the Hilton Riverside which is a regular team hotel for opponents that play there, and rarely ever pay over $90 a night. If i'm capable of getting that kind of rate, I bet a guy like Lance could figure something out I just don't see the financials playing much of a role in this at all. Just not sure if there are other issues at play or not, rule wise
He won't be with the team on the road and in the road stadiums unless he's on the active roster or DL... pretty sure major league rules stipulate that. He could officially report to fresno and not pitch.... or report and leave there, come back to his place in Houston, and workout in the clubhouse with the implied Astros permission that they grant all draftees/minor league guys who take BP occasionally or throw in the bullpen (Appel). A few months ago, somebody posted Andrew McCuttchen's bi-weekly paycheck with the Pirates.... and it was officially broken down by games on the team, despite him having an overall set contract... and they do account for everything from per diem, extraneous travel costs, income tax by state of games played in, etc. Was quite impressive as far as applying a "real world" application to these guys working in many other's "dream/fantasy" job... would like to review that again.
Good for you; but it's not a vacation, The Beard. The Astros employ him; he's working. They're not going to ask him to foot the bill for a 10-day road trip nor should he be willing to do it. And this is you and me being 100% ignorant of whatever role the union would play in this scenario. Not to mention all the liability issues - for instance, is he insured? Etc., etc. It's an interesting idea; him staying here and working with the team. But there won't be a team here. So my guess is that he's going to Fresno so he can get in his regular work, supervised by coaches and trainers who can report on his progress, health, etc.
Yea man I know it's not a vacation I'm aware it's his job If he would rather be in Fresno and save some cash, that almost certainly won't be a problem. I was responding to the thought that he would somehow struggle to pay his own way for a couple of weeks. I was going off the idea, however crazy it may be, that a millionaire might rather not be in AAA facilities if there was another option It was just a question about the rules and options he had And yes, I know the difference between work and vacation, although his "job" and most of ours aren't similar
Why do so many people bring up King Felix? Felix has been a workhorse, cy young winning bad ass his whole career. When Felix has a bad game, it's clearly an outlier and not indicative of anything. Lance is a rookie, who has more innings pitched this season than he's every pitched…there are concerns about his workload. Ultimately, 99% this won't have any bearing on Lance's future…but it's not necessarily an outlier this early on in his career. King Felix is on a whole different planet.
Its still an outlier, no matter how you define outliers. Its an outlier this season, for sure. Based on his HS, minor and major league performance thus far, I'd say he's closer to the guy who had the 11K complete game than he is to the guy who gave up 7 runs in the first inning... wouldn't you?
He was optioned to limit his innings by skipping him a start, and to get another pitcher up after having to use today's starter yesterday.
