Darren O'Day Jersey , best known for his work with baseball analytics leading to the Moneyball era, said MLB players are no more vital to the sport than beer vendors.James posted a series of Twitter messages, which were later deleted, downplaying the importance of individual players, saying they could all be replaced if necessary, per ESPN.com."If the players all retired tomorrow, we would replace them," he wrote. "The game would go on; in three years it would make no difference whatsoever. The players are NOT the game, any more than the beer vendors are."The Red Sox released a statement about the comments:Boston Red Sox RedSoxThe #RedSox Statement Regarding Bill the stars to speak out against James' point of view, referencing the recent World Series triumph by the Red Sox in aTwitterpost."Wonder if the Red Sox win the World Series with a replacement player for Mookie Betts or J.D. Martinez or Davis Price or Xander Bogaerts or Jackie Bradley Jr. or Chris Sale or Rick Porcello or Andrew Benintendi or Rafael Devers or Craig Kimbrel or ........ http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-j.j.-hardy-jersey ," he wrote.James has made a career of creating ways to identify hidden value. His initial foray into advanced stats has undeniably changed the way the game is consumed with websites likeFanGraphsproviding a seemingly endless amount of metrics for evaluating players.So the 69-year-old Kansas native should know better than most that the likes of Betts, Mike Trout, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer can't simply be replaced, especially in a three-year span.If Trout, who has two years left on hiscontract, leaves the Los Angeles Angels after 2020 it could take a generation before the franchise finds another player on that All-World level.To think every baseball player could suddenly retire and the Angels would find another five-tool outfielder walking around the streets of L.A. is a mind-boggling opinion. Even if the game would go on, as he said, the product and competition would suffer.As a result, it's no surprise James' comments have received so much kick back in a short period of time. The St. Louis Cardinals and starting pitcherMiles Mikolas reportedly agreed to a four-year, $68 million extension Tuesday Ubaldo Jimenez Jersey , according to Jon Heyman of the MLB Network.Ken Rosenthal Ken_RosenthalMikolas four-year, $68M extension with #STLCards covers 2020-23. First reported: JonHeyman and dgoold.Jon Heyman JonHeymanThoughts on Mikolas: Think Rendon, Goldschmidt, Sale, Didi, Betances have chance to come off too.Mikolas, who didn't pitch in the major leagues for three seasons before the Cardinals signed him in December 2017, was superb last campaign, finishing 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA Joey Rickard Jersey , 1.07 WHIP and 146 strikeouts in 200.2 innings. That earned him a trip to the All-Star Game, and he finished sixth in the National League Cy Young voting.Mikolas was so goodlast season that managerMike Shildt announced he would be the team's Opening Day starter on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 28."It's a recognition of last year," Shildt said, perBrenden Schaefferof KMOV.com. "It's completely well-deserved. We're really, really happy for him. It's quite an honor, especially based on the staff that we have, so he's going to be our lead guy to start the season, and it's well, well-deserved."Mikolas, 30 http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-j.j.-hardy-jersey , began his MLB career with the San Diego Padres (2012-13) before spending a year with the Texas Rangers in 2014. He never flashed the potential he's displayed for the Cardinals, however, and went to Japan, playing three seasons for theYomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.It was there Mikolas came into his own with the help of his former manager,Tatsunori Hara."My bullpen is very relaxed, and I was hitting all my spots really well, and everything was kind of nice and easy," Mikolas said in August, perTorrey Hartof Yahoo Sports. "And he asked me why I don't throw like that on the field, like why I'm trying so hard when I'm out there."His time in Japan also helped him from a mechanical standpoint Tim Beckham Jersey , and he learned to pitch with better balance."Being able to watch how some of those guys use their bodies, and how they work on how much balance they when Mikolas was one of baseball's most pleasant surprises. That has been rewarded this winter, as Mikolas earned a hefty contract extension and will open the season for the Cardinals."A year ago right now, saying that Miles would have been our Opening Day starter this year would have been a shock to everyone," general manager Mike Girsch said Saturday. "But he pitched amazing last year; he's been a great influence on the clubhouse. He's just a happy guy to have around, and it's nice that he's going to be getting the Opening Day start."