MLB Thread

[prican58]

Mariners fans, what is the reaction of the fans, reporters and sportscasters about the Paxtontrade? 

[Bort]

I’m not a Mariners fan, but I would hope they’d be glad for the sacrifice because they need the prospects. Their farm system is shit. 

[theatremouse]

I feel like every time I sneeze the Marlins announce new team colors.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Someone's gotta compete with the Diamondbacks on ugliest variety of uniforms ever.

[Bort]

Rule 5 draft is coming up. Lot of teams made moves, dumping players and adding prospects they want to protect. 

[Silver Raven]

Why would Oakland possibly want Sonny Gray back?  I mean yes, he was hugely popular in Oakland, but he was a bust in New York.

[Bort]

10 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

Someone's gotta compete with the Diamondbacks on ugliest variety of uniforms ever.

I don’t mind the Diamondbacks uniforms, although I think their road grays are too dark. The uniform I really hate is that black sleeveless one the Rockies have. Now that is ugly. 

21 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Why would Oakland possibly want Sonny Gray back?  I mean yes, he was hugely popular in Oakland, but he was a bust in New York.

Gray pitched fine as long as he wasn’t in Yankee Stadium (and Sanchez wasn’t his catcher). His home/road splits were very strange that way. I actually wouldn’t mind if Houston tried to get him. They’re good with pitching reclamation projects. 

[smittykins]

Reportedly, there were five teams interested in Gray.

[Lantern7]

I heard Syndergaard is on the block. So, yeah, deGrom will be feeling dePain by June.

[prican58]

Houston will prob lose Morton to FA so they can prob make Sonny the next big thing.

[prican58]

Just some more insight into Paxton for Yankees fans.  It reads well on paper so I am hoping it translates to on the field performance. The Pettitte connection gives me the warm fuzzies.

https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sports-james-paxton-yankees-trade-20181124-story.html

[Bort]

Braves sign Donaldson and McCann. They had a busy Monday.

[smittykins]

Torreyes to Cubs for PTBNL or cash. Damn. 

[mojoween]

Noooooo I wasn’t ready for The Toe-Night Show to be cancelled.

[Lantern7]

Would this opinion piece be considered cruel & unusual punishment for Mets fans?

[prican58]

Glad McCann is winding it down in ATL. I really liked him when he was a Yankee. Team player. I guess Donaldson's shoulder woes are history, yes?

Toe, we hardly knew ye. So well liked by his team mates and when he was sent to AAA the team played listless ball. I miss the Didi, Judge, Starlin,Torreyes cameraderie from 2017. Cubs better treat him right. 

[Bort]

This made me snort.

ETA: The comments are hilarious, particularly one that says, "The guy on the right looks like he's ready to be beaten by Boston."

Edited November 29, 2018 by kariyaki

[prican58]

Brewers do not tender Jonathan Schoop. He is a FA. Hmmmm, I see him fitting in on Yanks. Plays various positions, I think. Plus he is great friends with Didi. What's not to love especially without Torreyes. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by prican58

[mojoween]

I didn’t even know Schoop was no longer in Baltimore.

[Lantern7]

The Mets more or less cut Wilmer Flores loose as well. If he doesn't return, I hope he finds a good team. Nice guy, and an integral part of the House Money Mets of 2015.

[Bort]

Even weirder, the Cubs cut Torreyes loose. So why trade for him then?

[Lantern7]

So the key part of the Mets/Mariners deal is Edwin Perez, who had 57 saves last year. So I'm guessing if he makes it to Flushing and doesn't get hurt, he'll get 35 at most? Once again: this is a snake-bit franchise. Also, you need more capable guys in the bullpen than just a closer.

[prican58]

I think Wilmer would accept anything offered by the Mets if it would mean being a lifetime Met. Kid bleeds orange and blue.

[xaxat]

11 hours ago, prican58 said:

I think Wilmer would accept anything offered by the Mets if it would mean being a lifetime Met. Kid bleeds orange and blue.

I remember watching that game when he was literally crying because he thought he had been traded.

[Bort]

Mets/Mariners trade supposedly final. Diaz and Cano to the Mets, while Bruce and four other players I've never heard of are headed for Seattle.

Oh, also: T-Mobile has bought the new naming rights to Safeco Field. T-Mobile Field? Well, I've heard worse ::cough:: Guaranteed Rate Field ::cough;;

[mojoween]

I really think O.co was the worst of the worst.

I amuse myself by getting annoyed with corporate naming rights when Wrigley Field is like a hundred years old and I’ve lived in the shadows of the Carrier Dome since its inception.

But there is just something about seeing highlights of games from the Polo Grounds or Connie Mack Stadium, you know?  And I won’t mention Yankee Stadium because it’s pandering.

Edited December 2, 2018 by mojoween

[Bort]

Segura to the Phillies. Done deal. Santana to Seattle. 

[theatremouse]

But is Wrigley field named after the company, or the guy?

[mojoween]

From what I can tell, Wrigley named it after himself.  So the corporate angle appears to be a coincidence.  

[KAOS Agent]

Wrigley owned the team and paid to upgrade/expand the stadium multiple times. It's not like he did that just so that he could use it as an ad for his chewing gum. 

[theatremouse]

That's what I thought, he named both his company and the stadium after himself.

[Silver Raven]

The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League played in a Wrigley Stadium, too, they were a Cubs minor league team.

[KAOS Agent]

The naming of older ballparks is funny. Back in the 50s, August Busch bought the Cardinals team and its ballpark and after renovations tried to rename the ballpark "Budweiser Stadium". The commissioner vetoed that idea because he wasn't keen on naming a ballpark after a beer, so they named it after the owner's family. Anheuser-Busch then promptly released a new beer called Busch Bavarian Beer. Although this was obviously done to game the system, it turns out Busch Beer is actually named after the stadium, not the other way around.

Edited December 4, 2018 by KAOS Agent

[Bort]

The irony being that we now have TWO ballparks named after beer.

[mojoween]

I don’t know how old Milwaukee’s franchise is, but how did we end up with a team named after someone who MAKES the beer, if the commish didn’t want a stadium named after beer?

[Bort]

Different eras, different commish. Brewers were originally the Seattle Pilots in 1969 for one year, then moved to Milwaukee in 1970 and were crowned thusly.

[mojoween]

That’s interesting.  It’s nice how both of those mascots have meaning to the city they were in (unlike, say, the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers).

[Bort]

I guess that was the benefit of expansion teams. They were created for their specific city and were named something meaningful for the community. Astros and space, Miami and fish, Mariners and the sea, etc...

[Bort]

Aw. Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo died in a car crash in Venezuela.

[ratgirlagogo]

Even worse.  It turns out they were murdered by thieves:

https://girlatthegame.com/2018/12/06/luis-valbuena-and-jose-castillo-killed-in-car-accident/

[xaxat]

The Venezuelan economy has been imploding for years now. I'm surprised that there is still a winter ball league there. 

[mojoween]

This thread from the Rockies is very fun.

[prican58]

On 12/8/2018 at 7:18 AM, ratgirlagogo said:

Even worse.  It turns out they were murdered by thieves:

https://girlatthegame.com/2018/12/06/luis-valbuena-and-jose-castillo-killed-in-car-accident/

My uncle in the DR was in a car accident many years ago and he was also robbed while barely alive. He didn't make it. It's an unbelievable thing. Sad.

[smittykins]

I'm so sorry, @prican58. 😟

[catrox14]

On 12/8/2018 at 2:36 PM, mojoween said:

This thread from the Rockies is very fun.

  IMO, @Rockies Twitter is the best in the MLB. 

[Silver Raven]

On 12/4/2018 at 5:12 AM, mojoween said:

I don’t know how old Milwaukee’s franchise is, but how did we end up with a team named after someone who MAKES the beer, if the commish didn’t want a stadium named after beer?

The Brewers were named after a former minor league team that played in the city. 

[xaxat]

If you really want to take a deep dive into the Cards and the Busch family, I highly recommend checking out chapter four of the book Bitter Brew, by William Knoedelseder.

Short version, August Busch didn't care about baseball. One of his advisers recommended he buy it as a PR and business move. At the time the Cards had a huge regional audience being the team furthest west. Buying the team meant that Busch could take the media rights from the company that made Falstaff beer, keep the team from moving to Milwaukee, home of competitors of Schlitz and Pabst and have seventy plus home games of people drinking nothing but Busch products. 

My favorite part of the story was when he first met with the team and got upset that the team was all white. He said, "Hell, we sell beer to everyone."

And then the Congress got involved. (This was only a couple of decades after prohibition.)

Edited December 10, 2018 by xaxat

[emjohnson03]

Is this a space where we can gush about cute players?

I love Nathan Eovaldi! Not only was he balls to the wall for Game 3 of the WS but he seems very humble and sweet. And boy he got paid!!

 

This Red Sox team seem to be just a great bunch!

 

[Corgi-ears]

Nathan doesn't look that great in uniform, but boy he cleans up well; he's a better looking version of Jake Gyllenhaal.

[bosawks]

7 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

Nathan doesn't look that great in uniform, but boy he cleans up well; he's a better looking version of Jake Gyllenhaal.

Every one looks great in that uniform!!!!  :-)

Ok, except maybe Bob Stanley......