MLB Thread

[mojoween]

I know he is bald and old but I really like Brian McCann.  Bummer.

[Bort]

58 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I know he is bald and old but I really like Brian McCann.  Bummer.

Aaand now the Astros have that backup catcher they need...

[King of Birds]

Last award of the year:  Mike Trout is your AL MVP (again)  and Kris Bryant is the NL MVP (for the first time). Congrats to both!

I was pulling for Mookie, but lets face it- Mike Trout is one helluva player.

[mojoween]

I'm sure he appreciates everything they have done for him but Mike really needs to get away from the Angels.

[prican58]

Very mixed emotions re Brian. I really like him. Took him a while to acclimate but he did so at the end of his first season here and I think he has been a leader. A positive person, a good guy. I know that he really liked it in NY. But he said at the end of the season that it was clear Gary Sanchez is the future and he was willing to do whatever was needed of him.

Yet I know that he has a lot more baseball in him and he can still hit and he is a really good catcher. His contract was a no trade clause one so at least it's comforting to know he ok'd the trade to Houston. Good luck, Brian. I just hope Sanchez stays healthy and the other catchers in the system have the goods. I do like that as of now my man Austin Romine is still on the team. He is a fine backup.

I haven't read the details but I hope Houston took on the whole contract.  

ETA: Yanks paying $5.5 million on each of the next 2 seasons of the remaining $17 million per year he is owed. So instead of paying $34 million for 2 years, it's $11 million. Good deal, I think. 

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/yankees-deal-brian-mccann-astros-pitching-prospects-article-1.2878050

Edited November 18, 2016 by prican58

[Constantinople]

13 hours ago, King of Birds said:

Last award of the year:  Mike Trout is your AL MVP (again)  and Kris Bryant is the NL MVP (for the first time). Congrats to both!

Neither of them should have won.  The Angels didn't make the playoffs and the Cubs had the best record in baseball.

The MVP is supposed to go to the best "every day" player on the crappiest team on paper to make the playoffs.

Therefore, Manny Machado should have won the AL MVP and Curtis Granderson or Asdrubal Cabrera should have won the the NL MVP.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Constantinople

[Silver Raven]

Kate Upton had a meltdown when Verlander didn't win the Cy Young.  She tweeted that she thought she was the only person who was allowed to fuck him.

[jennifer6973]

Yeah, the tweet was shown up thread a couple of days ago.  I thought the whole tweet storm she had was funny.

[King of Birds]

Yeah, as Jennifer said, posted on the previous page.  I thought it was hilarious, but of course it's the internet so some people flamed her even though her fiance had stats backing him up.

[xaxat]

On 11/17/2016 at 8:02 PM, prican58 said:

Very mixed emotions re Brian. I really like him. Took him a while to acclimate but he did so at the end of his first season here and I think he has been a leader. A positive person, a good guy. I know that he really liked it in NY. But he said at the end of the season that it was clear Gary Sanchez is the future and he was willing to do whatever was needed of him.

He's seems to have mellowed a bit from the role he took in Atlanta of being the Police for the Unwritten Rules of Baseball.

He was an ass back then.

[Bort]

Hope McCann doesn't expect to keep his number 34 from the Yankees. It's retired in Houston. 

[smittykins]

Eovaldi has been DFA'd.  Another starter spot opens up.

[prican58]

Eovaldi was not a surprise since he isn't going to pitch this year. 

McCann never exhibited any kind of ass holey behavior in his time here. He seems to have a great sense of humor in the H2Bro video.

Edited November 20, 2016 by prican58

[mojoween]

According to my FB memories three years ago in this date Prince Fielder was traded for Ian Kinsler.  I know what happened to Prince; how did the Tigers make out?

[mojoween]

I see Hip Hip Jorge has made the HOF ballot and a. he is well deserving of that honor and b. holy hell has it really been five years since he retired?  So he must have retired during the DJ3K season then.

[jennifer6973]

I was watching MLB tonight around 6 and Ken Rosenthal was reporting that if both sides don't agree by Dec 1 the owners could vote for a work stoppage.

 

I'm gonna be Polly Positive here and say it's just wispy smoke and it won't happen.

[King of Birds]

I don't watch this show, but I did LOL at this proposed trade.  What'd'you think mojo?  I think the trade works if they flop out Judge and include your boy Sanchez.

[mojoween]

Sanchez isn't going anywhere and if they try to trade Betances I'll...well whatever I do it will be an empty threat but it will be something.

[Bort]

Astros officially signed Reddick from the Dodgers. And Castro was signed by the Twins to be their catcher. They perplexingly paid a lot of money for a guy who barely bats off the interstate. That's why the Astros didn't want to sign him as a free agent. The Twins must've really needed a catcher. 

[xaxat]

17 hours ago, King of Birds said:

I don't watch this show, but I did LOL at this proposed trade.  What'd'you think mojo?  I think the trade works if they flop out Judge and include your boy Sanchez.

This is the beauty of the Hot Stove League. You can throw anything against the wall as long as you preface it by saying. . . "It's not going to happen, but. . . "

[Lantern7]

In case you didn't hear, Ralph Branca passed away. He wasn't the first or last goat, but he managed to live his life.

[ratgirlagogo]

Dirty sign-stealing Giants.  Would Christy Mathewson have stooped to that?  I think not.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Sad to hear about Branca as there was always something about him that I liked. 

Okay, I was out of the country for nine days so imagine my surprise today at finding out RA Dickey is now with the Braves.  When the hell did that happen?

[King of Birds]

26 minutes ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

Okay, I was out of the country for nine days so imagine my surprise today at finding out RA Dickey is now with the Braves.  When the hell did that happen?

First you have to tell us if you jumped off any cliffs.

[Lantern7]

RA Dickey and Bartolo Colon. The locker room in Cobb County is gonna reek of Ben-Gay.

[jennifer6973]

Sean Rodriguez has also signed with the Braves pending medicals

[King of Birds]

I totally did not sweep or run the DJ roomba around in here. My bad @MyAimIsTrue.

Hey should we hypothesize about what our lives will be like if there is a baseball lockout?

[MyAimIsTrue]

If there is a baseball lockout I might have more of a life.  Or work longer hours.  Wait, I already do that.

[mojoween]

The lockout won't really bug me until after the end of the NCAA tournament because my mind is occupied with the NFL and college hoops until then.  

[jennifer6973]

If there is a lockout, depending on how long it is, the World Baseball Classic could be effected, if it goes that long.

 

What I wonder is:  If there is a lockout does that effect the Fan Fests that happen in the off season.  I know the Reds is coming up soon and the Nationals are also in December.

----------------------------------------

It seems the Marlins have signed Edinson Volquez (formerly of the Royals) to a two year deal.

My question:  Who told the Marlins they were allowed to get better?

Edited November 29, 2016 by jennifer6973
baseball news added

[MyAimIsTrue]

11 hours ago, jennifer6973 said:

It seems the Marlins have signed Edinson Volquez (formerly of the Royals) to a two year deal.

My question:  Who told the Marlins they were allowed to get better?

Since Volquez is pretty good the Marlins will find a way to quickly get rid of him, like in the middle of an inning on a day he's not even pitching or something.

[rippleintime17]

Cespedes is staying with the Mets! Four years, $110 million. He must really like being a Met! 

[Lantern7]

Holy crap. They did it. They actually did it. Is there a clause where he can opt out after a year or two? Because nothing says "Mets" like that.

[rippleintime17]

5 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Holy crap. They did it. They actually did it. Is there a clause where he can opt out after a year or two? Because nothing says "Mets" like that.

They haven't said anything about an opt out yet and he has a no trade clause.

[attica]

So that means.....No Cespedes for the rest of us?

(I regret nothing.)

[jennifer6973]

49 minutes ago, attica said:

So that means.....No Cespedes for the rest of us?

(I regret nothing.)

Thank goodness, who needs an overrated overpriced car driving Outfielder who plays soccer in the OF.

[King of Birds]

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

 Because nothing says "Mets" like that.

No, it's the Bobby Bonilla Deferment Contract that defines "Mets."

[rippleintime17]

Man, I hope there is no lockout. It just sounds like it can snowball into a total mess, what with ballplayers losing their medical benefits and access to the team facilities (big, since this is around when guys start working out again), on top of everything else (no winter meetings, deals, signings, etc.). Figure it out before tonight, ya dolts!

[ebk57]

On 11/28/2016 at 0:38 PM, King of Birds said:

Hey should we hypothesize about what our lives will be like if there is a baseball lockout?

NO

[prican58]

Don't like the idea of WBC with major leaguers. Risky, just ask Mark Texeira. Betances will be pitching for the DR, which is fine because he wants to doit for his folks. I think. He just better not get hurt. 

Mets are STILL paying Bobby "I'll show you the Bronx" Bonilla. Sweet deal, hermano!

Wasn't Ralph Branca Bobby Valentines's father in law?

[jennifer6973]

@prican58  Yes to your last question

I believe Lindor and Altuve are playing for Puerto Rico

Francisco Cervelli is playing for Italy

and a bunch of MLB Korean players are playing for Korea.

-----------------------------------------------

The CBA has been agreed upon and there will be no lockout.

per Ken Rosenthal and Joel Sherman

Edited December 1, 2016 by jennifer6973

[King of Birds]

2 hours ago, jennifer6973 said:

The CBA has been agreed upon and there will be no lockout.

They all rake in the $$ like never before. There wasn't gonna be a lockout.

 

ETA: Wow. No additional 26th man to the roster.  The rest of this I'm copying from Hardballtalk

New major league players will be banned from using smokeless tobacco under the new CBA, per Sherman. Current major leaguers are grandfathered in.

Rosenthal reports that, starting in 2018, the regular season schedule will begin in the middle of the week which will allow for extra off-days throughout the rest of the schedule.

The Athletics will be phased out as a revenue-sharing recipient over the next four years, also per Rosenthal.

A player can now only be given a qualifying offer once in his career.

There will still be draft pick compensation. Teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold will lose a second- and fifth-round draft pick. Teams under the threshold will lose a third-round pick.

While there will be no international draft, international signings will be capped at around $5-6 million per team per year.

The part I bolded - WOW. WTF is going on between MLB and the A's?

Edited December 1, 2016 by King of Birds

[King of Birds]

more:

Home field in the World Series will go to the pennant winner with the better overall record. This is not perfect, of course, given unbalanced schedules and stuff, but it’s far less arbitrary than the winner of an exhibition no one takes seriously determining things.

Minimum Disabled List Stay Reduced From 15 to 10 Days. Gone is the old 15-day disabled list, in is the ten-day. As before, players can always be on the DL for much, much longer than 10 days, but now the minimum time for which they can be disabled is shorter.

The major league minimum salary rises from $507,500 to $535,000 next year, then to $545,000 in 2018 and $555,000 in 2019, with cost-of-living increases the following two years.  LOSERS- minor leaguers not on 40-man rosters who will still be paid less than minimum wage once all of their work requirements are factored in and who, for the millionth time in a row, got no help from the MLBPA and no more money thrown their way by MLB.

Drug and Domestic Violence Policies - There will be increased testing and players will not be credited with major league service time during suspensions, and biomarker testing for HGH will begin next year. There will also be some changes to the domestic violence policy, though details have yet to emerge.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/30/as-awaiting-final-details-of-new-baseball-cba-with-money-on-the-line/

Edited December 1, 2016 by King of Birds

[Moose135]

14 hours ago, King of Birds said:

The Athletics will be phased out as a revenue-sharing recipient over the next four years, also per Rosenthal.

The part I bolded - WOW. WTF is going on between MLB and the A's?

MLB has had a revenue sharing program in effect since 1996, which was updated in 2002.  As part of the program, 15 teams in the largest markets are not able to receive money from the program.  The As had been grandfathered in when the plan was updated, as the Oakland Coliseum was considered to be an "antiquated stadium, despite being in a larger market” and therefore unable to generate the same revenues that a more modern facility could.  It looks like they received $35 million in 2016.  Some think the loss of this revenue stream may encourage the As to look to build a new stadium, either in Oakland or elsewhere.

[rcc]

The minor leaguers should have gotten some consideration in the wage department. Some of them have huge bonuses to fall back on, but a lot of them aren't so lucky.

[xaxat]

2 hours ago, rcc said:

The minor leaguers should have gotten some consideration in the wage department. Some of them have huge bonuses to fall back on, but a lot of them aren't so lucky.

No matter what the sport, minor leaguers, incoming college players and rookies are the first group thrown under the bus by the players in CBA negotiations. 

[King of Birds]

But at least the MLB All-Star game is as meaningless as we all knew it's been!

[Crs97]

I know I am in the severe minority here, but I actually liked having the all-star game decide home field advantage.  No griping about which league is more competitive, and it gives the all-star game some meaning.  Let's face it, the football and basketball all-star games are jokes.  I don't know why they even play the football game - no one from the Super Bowl teams attends, and the rest barely walk around on the field.  They should just send them a plaque and free trip to Hawaii because that is the only reason to be named to the Pro Bowl team.  Basketball - does anyone even think about defense?  It's a ridiculous game that no one remembers ever.  Baseball is the one sport that they can play all out in the all-star game with lower risk of injury.  I was interested in the outcome.  The AL puts out its best, the NL puts out its best, and the winning league gets to control the World Series.  It seemed fair and gave most of the players an incentive.  Now they have no reason to try and I go back to having no reason to watch them play.

[shoregirl]

10 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

 The AL puts out its best, the NL puts out its best, and the winning league gets to control the World Series.  It seemed fair and gave most of the players an incentive.  Now they have no reason to try and I go back to having no reason to watch them play.

But do the players on a team that aren't contending really have an incentive? For example , Obdubel Herrera was the Phillies representative last year , so while I'm sure it was a honor for him to play and he would do his best the Phillies weren't going to the playoffs.  Why should he care about home field advantage ?  I think their pride will keep them playing competitive .  it was one year they had a tie and  think it was a overreaction by making  it count to begin with. I'm fine with letting best record decide , I'd also be OK going back he was  with alternating years.

[mojoween]

The Phillies weren't going to the playoffs, but on July 31 he could have been traded to say the Cubs, and then it would matter.  

I'm not coming down one way or the other, just mentioning that things can change that you didn't see coming.