MLB Thread

[ebk57]

22 minutes ago, King of Birds said:

I am SHOCKED that Jon Lester of all people, managed that bunt.

That game had a little bit of everything.  What a wacky evening.

[MyAimIsTrue]

7 hours ago, King of Birds said:

I am SHOCKED that Jon Lester of all people, managed that bunt.

That and moving pitcher Travis Wood to left field where he made a pretty damn good catch against the ivy is why Joe Maddon can have nice things.  It's also why I'll never believe in the DH.

[King of Birds]

4 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

 It's also why I'll never believe in the DH.

42-some years later, you don't believe in the DH??  BUT IT BELIEVES IN YOU, AIM!!!

[attica]

Like Science, the DH does not need you to believe in it for it to be true. ;)

[Rick Kitchen]

The A's are dedicated to destroying the fan support so that they can move someplace else.  How else to explain their ridiculous decision to trade Reddick and Hill for prospects.  "See, the fans don't come, we have to move."  Maybe if they actually tried to produce a winning team?  I can't imagine how the locker room feels about this "trade".

[Bort]

Rangers got Beltran!

[mojoween]

And an unnamed scout was surprised the Yanks got a good pitcher for a two months rental on Beltran.  Did NY pull one over on Texas?

Of course, Carlos could love Arlington so much that he signs a FA deal there.

[smittykins]

MLB Tonight is saying Nova to Pirates.

[Lantern7]

I wonder how many Springstein references the New York tabloids will use for the Mets' acquisition of Jay Bruce.

[mojoween]

Bye Nova!  He pitched in the one and only game I saw live and the Yankees lost 6-0 and I never forgave him.

[King of Birds]

4 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

The A's are dedicated to destroying the fan support so that they can move someplace else.

Ya know, that's a fair assessment. Seems like the A's are always looking for short term fixes based around money and not talent. Not to besmirch the entirety of the talent on the team. I mean, Reddick was one of the longer term players there, right?  But- to face facts directly- MLB is fucking around with the A's and the bullshit territory rules- they need to get out of the cesspool that is the Oakland Coliseum.

Hey! What a day of trades, huh? Bruce to the Mets (finally) Nova-Beltran-Miller-Chapman can all grow facial hair again.

But, how many of us here are named after a player's cat? @MattDuffysCat - how you doing? Will you become a Rays fan now?

45 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Bye Nova!  He pitched in the one and only game I saw live and the Yankees lost 6-0 and I never forgave him.

How. Dare. He. Lose. when you're there?

[AimingforYoko]

First time in my lifetime that the Yankees are sellers. I think I can hear George yelling, "I want Cashman fired!" in the afterlife.

Edited August 1, 2016 by AimingforYoko

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Oh I'm beyond devastated. To add insult to injury, my Jr. Giants Duffy bobblehead got delivered shortly after the news. 

I will remain a Giants fan of course, even though I'm absolutely livid and want to kick Sabean and Evans in the gonads repeatedly, but I hope Duffy kicks major ass in Tampa. This Moore guy better be freaking worth it. It's a sad day. I'm going to have a few drinks when I get home. 

ETA: I'm keeping my avatar. He looks best in orange and black. Sigh.

Edited August 1, 2016 by MattDuffysCat

[Lantern7]

"We got Jay Bruce!" "Yaaaaaay!!" "And we're bringing back Jon Niese!!" "(crickets chirp)"

[Moose135]

43 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

"And we're bringing back Jon Niese!!" "(crickets chirp)"

I wonder if they'll play the "Welcome Back, Kotter" theme when he makes his first appearance at Citi Field?

[Bort]

Astros finally made ONE trade: Feldman for a prospect and that's it. My dad was watching ESPN all day and, according to him, every trade another team wanted from the Astros, they wanted McCullers and/or Bregman, to which they said FUCK NO, and I'm glad they were being smart. Especially about McCullers. It is a thing of beauty to watch him pitch and he's only 22.

[mojoween]

4 hours ago, King of Birds said:

How. Dare. He. Lose. when you're there?

I know right?  Jerk.  After we drove all that way.

[ebk57]

We got Wade Miley.  Yay!...?

We got Steve Pearce back!  Yay!  Because now my bobblehead is wearing the right uni again.  That deserves a Yay, right?

I'm giving us a week and a half before we totally collapse.

Sigh...

[smittykins]

Man, why does Betances nearly give me a heart attack every time he closes?

[mojoween]

Because he's a set up man and not a closer!

[rallymantis]

Clap for the Duffman!!

Yay for Danny Duffy, and those 16 Ks, and the 35(6?) swings & misses that ties with Kershaw...and for being your surfer-dude self, no matter what.

There's a mug that that interview inspired ("It's a bear suit, Joel"), and I've got it, and it could be my favorite fan thing ever.

[MyAimIsTrue]

13 hours ago, MattDuffysCat said:

I will remain a Giants fan of course, even though I'm absolutely livid and want to kick Sabean and Evans in the gonads repeatedly, but I hope Duffy kicks major ass in Tampa. This Moore guy better be freaking worth it. It's a sad day. I'm going to have a few drinks when I get home. 

Speaking as someone who lives in the Orlando area and roots for the Rays by default (I get their games on TV) I can tell you it's a pretty damn good organization.  The stadium sucks and everyone knows it but aside from that players usually seem genuinely happy in St. Pete.

[jennifer6973]

I read on Fox Sports that @MattDuffysCat has to stay with Matt's parents because it's too hot in Tampa.

[King of Birds]

Link to Jennifer's story.  Man, this cat is FAT.

[Rick Kitchen]

1 hour ago, jennifer6973 said:

I read on Fox Sports that @MattDuffysCat has to stay with Matt's parents because it's too hot in Tampa.

Because apparently nobody in Tampa owns cats?

[smittykins]

I have to admit I wondered for a second if his name was Cat Duffy(like Mat Latos's cat is Cat Latos).

[jennifer6973]

4 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

Because apparently nobody in Tampa owns cats?

That or having his parents keep the cat saves him finding a pet sitter for 10 days at a time.

[Lantern7]

Keep hearing about how the Mets outfielders would be playing out of position, since more of them work the corners. My reaction: Wait a week. Odds are, somebody will get injured, and a status quo will be restored.

[topanga]

I don't follow Yasiel Puig closely enough to know if he deserves to be demoted by being traded from the Dodgers or sent down to the Minors. Thoughts?

[Rick Kitchen]

9 minutes ago, topanga said:

I don't follow Yasiel Puig closely enough to know if he deserves to be demoted by being traded from the Dodgers or sent down to the Minors. Thoughts?

He's an asshole.

[topanga]

4 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

He's an asshole.

Hee. But his skin is so beautiful and smooth.

Seriously, I know he shows up late to practice (and games), along with other ass-holish behavior, but has he been that bad on the field?

[mojoween]

He's not bad per se, but very immature.  He is awfully pretty though.

Speaking of pretty, Adam Jones caught the first pitch from a 9 year old double hand transplant patient.

It's getting a bit dusty in here!

Edited August 3, 2016 by mojoween

[MVFrostsMyPie]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

Hee. But his skin is so beautiful and smooth.

Seriously, I know he shows up late to practice (and games), along with other ass-holish behavior, but has he been that bad on the field?

I think his attitude may be the biggest contributing factor. 

[MVFrostsMyPie]

5 hours ago, jennifer6973 said:

That or having his parents keep the cat saves him finding a pet sitter for 10 days at a time.

Skeeter (me) lives with his parents in Long Beach anyway.
 

Skeeter's farewell post:

It's been really dusty the past couple days. :-\ I only went through like 5 or 6 tissues though. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

8 hours ago, mojoween said:

Speaking of pretty

Did I ever tell you guys that back in the late 1990's I compiled a list of my All Pretty team?  I wish I could remember the entire line up but I do know Brad Ausmus was the catcher.

[Princess Sparkle]

3 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

Did I ever tell you guys that back in the late 1990's I compiled a list of my All Pretty team?  I wish I could remember the entire line up but I do know Brad Ausmus was the catcher.

Hee - I had a friend who used to call him "Brad Awesome".  She wasn't wrong.

[rippleintime17]

I am suuuuper bummed about the Matt Duffy trade. Not because of what the Giants got, but because Duffman is just great and I'm going to miss him being on the Giants. It felt pretty out of the blue, and I'm sure it did for him as well, SF and the Giants to Tampa Bay and the Rays is a pretty big change. But I'm glad to hear that many consider the Rays to be a good org, I think he really has the chance to shine there and it sounds like they have valued him for a long time and plan to continue to do so. Pour one out for the end of the Giants completely homegrown infield, tho.

[King of Birds]

5 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

Did I ever tell you guys that back in the late 1990's I compiled a list of my All Pretty team?

I really don't WANT to know about this, but since I've seen your posts about Cutch for a few years, this doesn't come as a complete surprise. 30 teams, 25 man rosters... and you narrowed it down to the top 9 (?) hunks? How many pitchers on the team? Was it a full 25 on the Pretty roster?  Since I know you couldn't possibly include a DH All-Pretty due to your beliefs.

Edited August 3, 2016 by King of Birds

[mojoween]

And my All Pretty Team absolutely would include the DH.  Who would be A-Rod.  Duh.

[ElleBee]

2 hours ago, rippleintime17 said:

I am suuuuper bummed about the Matt Duffy trade. Not because of what the Giants got, but because Duffman is just great and I'm going to miss him being on the Giants. It felt pretty out of the blue, and I'm sure it did for him as well, SF and the Giants to Tampa Bay and the Rays is a pretty big change. But I'm glad to hear that many consider the Rays to be a good org, I think he really has the chance to shine there and it sounds like they have valued him for a long time and plan to continue to do so. Pour one out for the end of the Giants completely homegrown infield, tho.

Agreed--I'm still feeling gutted by it, days later. He's one of those players who just seems to love the game and has a real sincerity about him. Plus he totally came through at a rough time, during the Sandoval and then McGehee dust-ups. I  also loved the idea of a home-grown infield--guys who've come up through the ranks together. Ah well, it's the nature of the business side of the game, I guess. Though I still hold out hope that he may be back in the black and orange someday. #ForeverGiant

[rippleintime17]

15 minutes ago, ElleBee said:

Agreed--I'm still feeling gutted by it, days later. He's one of those players who just seems to love the game and has a real sincerity about him. Plus he totally came through at a rough time, during the Sandoval and then McGehee dust-ups. I  also loved the idea of a home-grown infield--guys who've come up through the ranks together. Ah well, it's the nature of the business side of the game, I guess. Though I still hold out hope that he may be back in the black and orange someday. #ForeverGiant

Definitely a Forever Giant. He's a Willie Mac winner! I'm usually so excited about that ceremony but there's going to be a bit of an awkwardness this year. I think it's the first time in awhile that the most recent winner won't be there to jog out with the rest, and definitely because he's been traded. But I'm glad he'll always have that tie to the Giants. Hopefully he'll end up like many other faves and find himself back in SF someday. 

[Rick Kitchen]

The Rangers want a new $1 billion stadium to be funded, by 80% of the money to come from the city of Arlington.  The city council voted 7-0 to approve the new stadium.

http://deadspin.com/the-battle-over-the-rangers-ballpark-scam-has-officiall-1784759415?

[King of Birds]

27 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

The Rangers want a new $1 billion stadium to be funded, by 80% of the money to come from the city of Arlington.  The city council voted 7-0 to approve the new stadium.

So fucked up. I mean, where would they go? What other city? With MLB and minors and independent leagues there are approximately 240 baseball stadiums in North America (I even include the Canadian Independent teams). There's no city like Tampa Bay, that wanted a team in the 1980s and was held above city's heads as "We'll move to Tampa!" Hell, it's the RAYS who should leave their city.  The Rays and A's actually NEED better ballparks. And these assholes in Texas just want a roof. Someone should say because it's climate change - too hot to have day games (even though owners don't allow many day games because it's less TV money)  but the thing is, they just paid gazillions for the Cowboys and the Rangers owners are all put out now.  City council should just give out blowjobs while they're at it.

[MyAimIsTrue]

2 hours ago, King of Birds said:

I really don't WANT to know about this, but since I've seen your posts about Cutch for a few years, this doesn't come as a complete surprise. 30 teams, 25 man rosters... and you narrowed it down to the top 9 (?) hunks? How many pitchers on the team? Was it a full 25 on the Pretty roster?  Since I know you couldn't possibly include a DH All-Pretty due to your beliefs.

Of course there was no DH!  My team had the starting nine but then several pitchers and a few backup players because, well, there was a lot of pretty to choose from.

Now that I think about it I'm fairly certain Ron Gant was one of my starting outfielders.  He's very pretty, and a girl I worked with many years ago dated him for a while and said he was a super nice guy too.

[xaxat]

6 minutes ago, King of Birds said:

So fucked up.

If you think that's fucked up you should check out the tale of the Hartford (Ct.) Yard Goats and their quest for a new stadium.

As my boy Rockhound said in the movie Armageddon, "It's a goddamn Greek tragedy."

[King of Birds]

It almost makes you wonder "What was so bad with New Britain?"   (I know. A sentence I thought I'd never write)

[MVFrostsMyPie]

1 hour ago, rippleintime17 said:

Definitely a Forever Giant. He's a Willie Mac winner! I'm usually so excited about that ceremony but there's going to be a bit of an awkwardness this year. I think it's the first time in awhile that the most recent winner won't be there to jog out with the rest, and definitely because he's been traded. But I'm glad he'll always have that tie to the Giants. Hopefully he'll end up like many other faves and find himself back in SF someday. 

The only hope I have going is that maybe someday he'll be able to return to us. I still get teary-eyed when I think about him. It's still too raw. A big part of my baseball heart has been broken and it'll never fully heal. I know I sound really melodramatic, but gosh darn it I loved the kid. He defined what it meant to be a Giant. All around good person, good player, and part of our darn awesome homegrown infield. If the Giants were a hand, the thumb is missing. Rays fans are so lucky. Take good care of him. He'll always be a Giant though. :(

ETA: I think this also really hurts because it was so unexpected. The management had even assured the fanbase that Duffy would have his 3B position back once he was healthy. Damn it. I wish I had known back in June that it would be the last time I'd get to see him play in our colors, on our field. I still would have bought my Duffy/Skeeter shirt though. I will continue to wear that until it wears out.

Edited August 3, 2016 by MattDuffysCat

[Bort]

47 minutes ago, King of Birds said:

And these assholes in Texas just want a roof. 

This is probably about 90% of the reason the Rangers want a roof. It's really effing hot this time of year. And there's just about always a thunderstorm blowing through. 

[xaxat]

Baseball and softball are back in the Olympics.

[MyAimIsTrue]

As long as there's good international competition I'm fine with that.