Jane Tuesday

Dark day in St. Louis. Legendary manager Whitey Herzog has died at 92. So sad that it was so cold that he wasn't able to come onto the field one last time on Opening Day.

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

Jackson Holliday getting called up to the bigs. It seems like yesterday he was tagging along after his dad. Where does the time go? I guess the Orioles are now officially my AL team for the season.

I'm fine with them changing Eloise's story, but I'd also be totally fine with them doing her book story, but with different names. Would it really matter if she started writing to her dead cousin Melissa's husband, Felix? The one thing I definitely DON'T want is a continuation of the Theo "relationship". It's boring, clichéd, and WAY too unrealistic, even for this show. Then again, Show Eloise is boring, clichéd, and WAY too unrealistic, so they could skip her romance altogether, as far as I'm concerned.

The Foul Territory guys were at Mets camp today. I didn't watch too much of of because the Mets aren't my team, but you might find it interesting. Xavier Scruggs has recent long-form interviews with Pete Alonso and Harrison Bader (❤️) on his YouTube channel, too. The Bader one was great, which led me to watch the one with Pete, who I was pleasantly surprised by. I love the new crop of digital shows giving the players more of a voice.

The Royals apparently still have the larger NOB letters, so there's absolutely no reason every team can't have the same. That wouldn't fix the flimsy fabric, but at least I'd be able to tell who the heck is on the field. Spring training games without visible names are tough. lol My biggest issue is with the fabric. They just look so cheap. Wrinkly and kind of damp looking. I know they're trying to use more athletic-type fabric, but I just don't think that works with baseball uniforms, which are more structured than other uniforms. They look like pajamas to me. Like a little kid wanted to dress like his favorite ballplayer for Halloween, so his mom took a pair of white PJs and her cricut and whipped him up a uniform.

More fun with pants... (Last year's jersey on the left.) And as crappy as the pants are, apparently there aren't enough of them? INSANITY.

The only players I've seen say anything positive are those with Nike deals. And they sound as authentic as a $3 bill. I saw a quote ostensibly from Nolan Arenado, and as someone who has spent far too many hours of her life listening to Nolan speak... there is 0% chance he ever said that. (His usual speech patterns are baseball word salad of run-on sentences.) Lol

The pants are see-through, friends. WTAF?

Ben Verlander is the most annoying baseball-adjacent person on the planet. EVERY one of his takes is wrong.

That's a fair criticism, and I am a Cardinals fan. (Hate the rest of those teams, tho... lol) Maybe I should edit to... I think pure fame should be part of the equation. A big part, but not the whole thing. (But I think truly great players are famous no matter where they may play. Look at Trout.) I would also say that - especially now when more teams get into the playoffs - postseason excellence can raise anyone's stature regardless of their market. The 2023 Cardinals stunk, so casual baseball fans probably don't know Jordan Walker's name. But tons of people know Evan Carter, even though he didn't get to the bigs until September.

Same. Mauer was literally a "who?" for me, but I'm admittedly a bad baseball fan (plus I never really watch the AL until the playoffs). Helton I recognize as being the best thing about the Rockies for a long time. Beltre is deserving for sure, but kind of uninspiring. In the next group, the only ones I can see being first ballot are Ichiro and CC. They're the only ones who fulfill my personal criteria of "would a casual baseball fan know who this is?" I look at it as a Hall of Fame, not a Hall of Stats. So I frequently disagree with the voters and the "experts" on social media. I don't really give a crap what some guy's bWAR or ERA+ might be. Was he FAMOUS? That's my decision point. Forgot to add... at least Beltran still didn't get in. He has the stats and the fame, but his participation (leadership?) in the trash can cheating should keep him out forever.

I don't mind the huge contract - much - that only a few teams can afford. I mean, it sucks, but it is what it is. There's no cap, and the players' union will never budge on that. But, there is supposed to be a competitive balance tax to help in some small way level the playing field. This is circumventing that, which is my objection. Yes, many teams defer money, but no contract has ever been like this one, so it didn't have such a dramatic effect. Defer payment all you want, but the CBT should be figured on the years the player is playing. Otherwise, it's complete bullshit and why even bother?

I'm absolutely disgusted by this deal. It's a clear and obvious attempt to circumvent the CBT. (And also California taxes. He'll be taxed based on where he's living when he gets paid, not where he's living when it's earned.) It's bad enough that baseball - because of its lack of salary cap - has increasingly become a game of haves and have nots. But this goes to a whole new level and is horrible for the sport, even if MLB and the talking heads don't realize it. Basically, we will end up with all the stars on six teams, and either: The same few teams will dominate, and fans of other teams will become disenchanted and stop watching, or... A smaller market team will put together a postseason run (think Dbacks in 2023), but the ratings will be horrible because they don't have any stars and casuals won't watch. I hope it blows up in all their faces.

Hilarious read!