JLB Notes (2.7.17): The Slammer Shuffle and Shrinkage

It's the Post Super Bowl Outfield Shuffle.

Andrew McCutchen is moving from CF to RF.

And that's a good thing considering that all three of my current RFs — George Springer, Adam Eaton and Jason Heyward — are moving to CF.

Yoenis Cespedes, who plays both CF and LF, will continue to split time playing both.

The Springer and McCutchen moves were unexpected, so it comes a pleasant surprise to all of a sudden have five outfielders who will have multiple positions for the upcoming year.

And I'm not the only one benefitting from this.

With McCutchen moving from CF to RF, the Pirates are also moving Starling Marte from LF to CF — Great, just what the Outs needed, another CF! — and Gregory Polanco is moving from RF to LF.

The latter move, Polanco to LF, is huge for Vandelay who now may find reason to hold on to Giancarlo Stanton in RF.


I WAS IN THE POOL!

The strike zone looks like it's going for a dip in a cold pool. It's about to shrink two inches up from its current location — just beneath the kneecap — and that's going to have some interesting impacts on the game, both in fantasy and in real life.

Pitchers are going to find it even harder to nibble at the bottom of the zone, while at the same time, batters are going to have to adjust to pitches they once thought were strikes, but now will be — or should be — called balls.

The new rule (that would have no effect on Vlad Guerrero) still needs to be approved, but it's one of two new rules MLB wants to implement to speed up the game and/or make it more exciting.

The other is the eradication of the four-pitch intentional walk. If approved, pitchers will just signal for batters to take the base. I love this because those four pitches factor into pitch counts and maybe, just maybe, some of these young pitchers will stay in for one more batter if he's at 93 pitches and not 97.

I also love this because I hate waiting for the four boring pitches.

Then again, I will miss the rare times when someone like Gary Sanchez reaches out to swing at one of these intentional balls and drives it to the warning track for an RBI sac fly.