MLB Thread

[janeyjay]

23 hours ago, DMK said:

That’s gotta be a front and there’s some other reason for the suspension. Like he ran over the orioles owner’s dog or something. 

I'm currently no fan of the Os during this tight AL East race, but that's just ridiculous. The man was stating facts and doing his job. Good grief.

[mojoween]

3 hours ago, smittykins said:

Is he the former pitcher(who broke his hand  punching a wall when he was a Yankee)?

I don’t think so.  In the pictures I’ve see Brown looks like a teenager.

I’m assuming the White Sox Southside uniforms are their City Connect version?  Regardless, when the camera gets a close-up, they are hypnotizing.

[ebk57]

3 hours ago, smittykins said:

Is he the former pitcher(who broke his hand  punching a wall when he was a Yankee)?

 

25 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I don’t think so.  In the pictures I’ve see Brown looks like a teenager.

He is not, although I was confused when the team first hired him.  

[cleo]

Short article about the Kevin Brown thing from Dan Connolly, with some background on the rules Angelos has. Angelos sounds like a real peach.

https://sportsnaut.com/kevin-brown-suspension-shows-john-angelos-out-of-touch/

It's weird to me. The Jays broadcasters, as well as the Sportsnet (and thus Rogers) podcasters, radio guys, are all pretty openly negative about the Jays at times. Sometimes extremely so, including supposed star players like Vlad. 

The radio show guys are harsher than the broadcasters, though, maybe bc it's a more limited audience.

I mean Edward Rogers is a complete tool AFAIC, but he doesn't interfere like that. He interferes in other ways, like the time he tried to get Masai Ujiri fired for being too....successful? ....but that is a different story.  

Edited August 9, 2023 by cleo

[ProudMary]

Here's the Jomboy breakdown of Ramirez v. Anderson, with slo-mo replays, side action and some hilarious commentary. Length: 7:07, but definitely worth your time.

 

[Carey]

That was pretty good commentary.  All I need is some JR & The King commentary.  If you know, you know

[mojoween]

If Luis Severino sucks major ass in the first inning, why the fuck did the Yankees think he was going to do any better when he pitches for the first time in the second fucking inning?  Like what am I missing here?

[mojoween]

A 124 pitch no-hitter nowadays is no small shakes.  Good for Lorenzen.

[Carey]

100%.  It doesn't matter that it was against Washington.  The Nationals are a professional baseball team.  The fact that it happened in this day & age is great!

[ProudMary]

56 minutes ago, mojoween said:

If Luis Severino sucks major ass in the first inning, why the fuck did the Yankees think he was going to do any better when he pitches for the first time in the second fucking inning?  Like what am I missing here?

I don't get it either. SMH.

While I understand that Severino obviously has no options left, I remember 20+ years ago, that Roy Halladay went through a period where he couldn't get anyone out and accepted an assignment to the low minors, so he could rebuild his delivery. I don't know if the current CBA would allow this, nor do I know if Severino would accept it if it were allowed and offered. Sadly, I'm not even sure that the Yankees have a pitching guru in the system that could get him straightened out. They seem to have no ability to properly develop pitchers. 😢 I mean, they DFAd Deivi Garcia earlier this week. That kid had looked to be the real deal. I have this feeling that some other team will pick him up and be able to "fix" him. I honestly hope it happens for Garcia. 

Sevy is one of my favorite Yankees. I refuse to believe he's done, but I think he may have to re-find himself in another uniform. 😢

Once again, this team needs a new GM!

[shoregirl]

It was an awesome game. It was Lorenzen's home debut as the Phillies traded for him last week. 

On top of that Weston Wilson made his major league debut today and hit a home run is his first at bat. Both of those are pretty uncommon occurrences on their own but I wonder what are the odds of both happenings in the same game. 

And if that wasn't enough excitement for the game Nick Castellanos hit his 200 career home run.

[Lantern7]

I’m still not feeling pity for the Yankees.

Place where I work has put out games for Mets and Yankees fans to attend. The Mets game is next week, and as much as I’d like to get away from the office . . . I don’t think I can go back to Citi Field. Not with all the broken dreams littering the field.

[Fukui San]

"pity for the Yankees"

I know all those words but they make no sense  together.

[ebk57]

40 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I’m still not feeling pity for the Yankees.

Place where I work has put out games for Mets and Yankees fans to attend. The Mets game is next week, and as much as I’d like to get away from the office . . . I don’t think I can go back to Citi Field. Not with all the broken dreams littering the field.

It's a baseball game - it'll be fun!!  Especially if the tickets are free!  

We're in NY for a few days and I may even go to the Mets game Monday...if I can't find anything else to do 😉

ETA: Okay, I just went and looked at tickets...and they're reeeeeally expensive.  So maybe we'll just go have a nice dinner somewhere.

Edited August 10, 2023 by ebk57

[smittykins]

9 hours ago, mojoween said:

If Luis Severino sucks major ass in the first inning, why the fuck did the Yankees think he was going to do any better when he pitches for the first time in the second fucking inning?  Like what am I missing here?

When I saw that he was coming in, my first thought was “WHAT?”  My second was “Oh, shit.”

Edited August 10, 2023 by smittykins

[Lantern7]

8 hours ago, ebk57 said:

It's a baseball game - it'll be fun!!  Especially if the tickets are free!  

We're in NY for a few days and I may even go to the Mets game Monday...if I can't find anything else to do 😉

ETA: Okay, I just went and looked at tickets...and they're reeeeeally expensive.  So maybe we'll just go have a nice dinner somewhere.

Tickets are around $20, and they’re high up. You can see and hear everything, but it’s a trek to get there. It is a nice place, though, so if you want to take in the energy of a Pirates/Mets tilt, then try to find a bargain.

[Fukui San]

An "only in baseball" moment.

The kicker is that the runner didn't score and the Red Sox wound up winning by 1 run.

[Moose135]

15 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

as much as I’d like to get away from the office . . . I don’t think I can go back to Citi Field.

A bad day at the ballpark is better than a good day at work...

[Johannah]

On 8/7/2023 at 8:18 PM, jennifer6973 said:

The Angelo's Family should be forced to sell, they are on par with the  former owner of the Washington football team. 

They are actually threatening to move the team.  First Ursay, now these jerks.  We went over 10 years without football.  I'm old.  I don't have that kind of time to wait for a new baseball team.

Oh, well.  I like baseball, but not enough to try to figure out another team for me to cheer on.  Looks like lots of summer movies in my future.  Might have to pay for another movie channel...

[Jane Tuesday]

 

 

[JTMacc99]

It's more than just the stadium. It starts with the fact that MLB doesn't share revenue like the NFL, and there is zero chance that the owners would ever first agree to do so, and second take a unified stand against the players union to create a salary cap.

So each individual team has to figure out how to deal with it's own local market and economics after it takes in whatever MLB national share each team gets. The big revenue streams are the regional sports network rights fees and ticket/luxury box sales. 

The fact is, Milwaukee (according to Nielsen) is the 35th largest media market. Charlotte is 22nd and growing. 

The team would immediately generate materially more TV rights money, and almost certainly more luxury box and ticket revenue if they moved to Charlotte and somehow planted the exact same building in Charlotte. There are just more people and more companies in the Charlotte area than the Milwaukee area.

So yeah, I'd guess that even with a subsidized new stadium, which would also help the Brewers generate more revenue, they would STILL be worse off financially by staying in Milwaukee. As the population moves around in the country, teams are going to move with it. It sucks, but it's logical.

[ProudMary]

Honestly, I'm laughing at all of it at this point. For Nestor's sake I want him to heal well, but the Yankees' season has been done for a while now.

I wish they'd put Judge back on the IL now, too. He's not right and I have no confidence in the doctors who've said he can't do any more damage by playing.

 

[smittykins]

And Nestor Cortes lands on the IL once again(rotator cuff strain).

Maybe if I scream it, it won’t happen.

TOMMY JOHN SURGERY!!!

(I hope I haven’t just jinxed him.)

[janeyjay]

When the Rays played the Yanks, I could tell he wasn't 100% healthy. 

PS: I scream TOMMY JOHN NO! every time a Rays pitcher leaves a game with "arm soreness." I am here to tell you it does not work. They should rename us the Tampa Bay Tommy Johns.

[DMK]

TJ news comes about when they have forearm strains. Rotator cuff is shoulder, that won’t be TJ. 

[Black Knight]

3 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

As the population moves around in the country, teams are going to move with it. It sucks, but it's logical.

It's not really the same with baseball as it is with football or basketball. The last time a MLB team moved was 2005, 18 years ago. Before that? 1972. A 33-year gap. So in the last 51 years, two MLB teams have moved. The A's appear set to finally break the current streak, and make it 3 teams over 52 years.

Plus, MLB would like to get to 32 teams, both for the number balance and for the hefty billion-plus buy-in fees that would be shared among the 30 current owners.

The antitrust exemption in MLB is one factor for why teams move so rarely compared to other sports. Another is that building a new audience can be harder than re-energizing an existing audience. Sure, e.g. Charlotte is a bigger media market than Milwaukee, but that doesn't guarantee more viewers, especially in baseball. It's not a coincidence that Vegas is the market actually getting a relocated team in the A's, as the expectation is that tourists will help fill the stadium as part of hotel packages and so forth. This makes Vegas unique among the markets that don't currently have a MLB team; other markets would be almost entirely dependent on cultivating a local fanbase. That can be tough, especially for baseball.

A relocation from Milwaukee to Charlotte or Nashville is unlikely to result in such increased revenue that the owners would now be willing to spend like the Yankees or Dodgers. Without stars or success, the lack of roots can easily cause locals to grow disinterested quickly, since there aren't decades of emotional investment. In other words, in the new market the ceiling may be higher, but the floor is definitely lower. It's easy to see why MLB teams, despite their posturing, have for the last five decades typically balked at actually moving.

[DMK]

Also, TV revenue does not rake in what it used to, that’s pretty much the gist I’ve been getting from the broadcaster bankruptcy issues with all the teams operating under BallySports and AT&T Sportsnet. Basically, all the broadcasts that are on cable. Cord cutting has muddied the TV revenue waters. 

[JTMacc99]

9 hours ago, DMK said:

Also, TV revenue does not rake in what it used to, that’s pretty much the gist I’ve been getting from the broadcaster bankruptcy issues with all the teams operating under BallySports and AT&T Sportsnet. Basically, all the broadcasts that are on cable. Cord cutting has muddied the TV revenue waters. 

True. The regional sports network model is in a period of figuring out how to survive cord cutting.  The Bally Sports deals are wild. Depending on which previous company did the rights deals, Bally is either cool with keeping the team or flat out dropping and just moving on without them. 
 

Meaning that the company that cut the deal with Arizona and Cleveland and a couple others overpaid the teams for the rights (there were other synergies, so it worked financially), but when Bally bought the network and then started losing subscribers in droves, it became untenable. They went into Chapter 11 and pretty much said “either renegotiate the Arizona deal or we’re going to bail entirely without paying.” Which they did. 
 

I think baseball will figure out how to keep making enough money to keep going along with its inefficient and unbalanced economic model it’s always had. 

[DMK]

I think we’re definitely in for some shakeups about blackout restrictions. San Diego and Arizona teams have had the broadcast rights returned to MLB and those games can be streamed locally without a blackout restriction now. I think there’s still something going on with Cleveland to iron out this year but the rest of the BallySports and AT&T Sportsnet teams are worked out for the rest of the year. But I’m definitely intrigued to see what happens in the off-season. 

[Lantern7]

I’m at a comic convention. Just went to ESPN to see if the Mets played yet . . . and, apparently, they did not play much at all.

21-3 loss.To the Crackers. I’m thinking that even if Citi Field wasn’t full, the boos were loud enough for a sellout crowd.

I’m afraid of going back for details and finding out Pete Alonso got hurt. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
 

ETA: They had another game today, it was on Fox, and they got shut out. Oh, and they’re doing another nationally-televised game on Thursday. Can’t Fox “flex” games that don’t feature teams that are slowly dying?

ETA2: Whoops, I forgot about tomorrow night’s game on ESPN. Ugggggggghhhhhhh.

Edited August 13, 2023 by Lantern7

[Moose135]

7 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

21-3 loss.To the Crackers.

I was in the car, listening to the game on Sirius. I got out when it was 13-3 in the 8th. I had no idea the Barves scored 8 in the top of the 9th until I saw it online later.  At least Howie Rose on the radio kept it entertaining. He wasn't talking much about the game, but it was entertaining.

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

I was in the car, listening to the game on Sirius. I got out when it was 13-3 in the 8th. I had no idea the Barves scored 8 in the top of the 9th until I saw it online later.  At least Howie Rose on the radio kept it entertaining. He wasn't talking much about the game, but it was entertaining.

Fucking hell. Are the Mets at least trying to win? They don’t have to make the playoffs at this point, but being competitive would be a good thing.

Eight runs in the ninth. I bet they wound up putting out a position player on the mound. Un-fucking-believable.

[smittykins]

7 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Eight runs in the ninth. I bet they wound up putting out a position player on the mound. Un-fucking-believable.

Danny Mendick pitched 1.1 innings and gave up all 8 runs in the 9th.

[Perfect Xero]

The Braves also had a position player pitch, Nicky Lopez started at SS, went 4-6 with a HR and 5 RBI then took the mound and pitched a scoreless 9th.

[mojoween]

I wasn’t one of the people who was calling for Aaron Boone’s head.

WELL THAT CHANGES TODAY

[Salacious Kitty]

That's exactly what happened to the A's today. Sucks to be walked off like that. 

[mojoween]

The YES Network likes to put up a graphics package either before or during a game (that no one has been suspended for that I know of) of either players who both played for the teams playing that night (like Mike Mussina if they are playing the O’s or Darryl Strawberry when they play the Mets, etc.) or, since they didn’t have that option today, they threw up some comparable Braves.

They did Dale Murphy and Joe DiMaggio (…ok), someone and Lou Gehrig, Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth (obvs) and … Mickey Mantle and Chipper Jones.  Stop it.  Chipper was a fine player.  A Hall of Famer, according to the writers.  But he’s not Mickey Mantle.  (IMO and all that jazz)

[ProudMary]

On 8/3/2023 at 7:29 PM, ProudMary said:

Tonight's other Fox game is Pirates @ Brewers. They couldn't have sent Smoltz to Milwaukee? Instead, we have to put up with him twice in less than a week. 🙄

Make it three+ times.

This is my own personal level of hell, but it is somewhat hilarious.

I'm an out-of-market Yankees' fan. I lived most of my life within eight miles of Yankee Stadium, but moved south later in life and now live in the insanely large Atlanta Braves MLB market. I normally get the Yankees' home feed through MLB.tv, but as it's Yankees @ Braves for three nights, blackout restrictions apply and I have to watch the Braves' feed. Not really a big deal, right? Well, they just happen to have a guest broadcaster in the booth for the series: John Smoltz. 🤦‍♀️

He's currently telling Dad Jokes. God help me!

Edited August 14, 2023 by ProudMary

[Lantern7]

@ebk57 . . . you’re into bobble heads, yes? And you’re visiting New York? Tomorrow night is Edwin Diaz Bobblehead Night at Citi Field. Another reminder of how the Mets have gotten screwed this year!

[ebk57]

56 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

@ebk57 . . . you’re into bobble heads, yes? And you’re visiting New York? Tomorrow night is Edwin Diaz Bobblehead Night at Citi Field. Another reminder of how the Mets have gotten screwed this year!

Yes, and Saturday is George Costanza 'head night in Brooklyn.

We're going home tomorrow afternoon.  Ah well...  

Thanks for the thought!

[Johannah]

I found this cute and amusing:

Back from a commercial break during the Orioles/Padres game, 3 kids, 2 in Orioles shirts and 1 in Padres, were trying to hog the camera, pushing each other out of the way and blocking each other.  It was all in fun, they were laughing, but then back to the game and the ad board behind the batter said, "Report Bullying!"

 

[mojoween]

Today’s YES Network comparison was Maddux,, Smoltz and Glavine vs. Clemens, Pettite and Cone.  I think Atlanta has us here.

Edited August 15, 2023 by mojoween

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Today’s YES Network comparison was Maddux,, Smoltz and Glavine vs. Clemens, Pettite and Cone.  I think Atlanta has us here.

Head-to-head, the 1999 World Series would say differently! (I'd say the '96 series too, but Clemens wasn't with the Yankees yet.) 

Also, Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine: 1 WS ring each.

Clemens: 2 WS rings; Pettitte and Cone: 5 WS rings each!

The HOF is a great honor, but ask any of the Atlanta trio if they'd trade their HOF membership for even one more WS ring and I bet they'd say yes in a flash.

IMO, numbers wise, Pettitte and Cone are borderline HOFers anyway and Clemens has numbers as good as or better than the Atlanta guys, but used PEDs, so he's not in. (Rightly so.)

TL,DR: I'd happily take the three Yankees. 🙂

 

[JTMacc99]

12 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Also, Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine: 1 WS ring each.

That was my first thought as well, but more from the side of it is crazy that the Braves only managed to win one championship while they had those three guys making their run. 

Baseball is an interesting game. Being absolutely terrific at one aspect will win you a lot of games over time, but that is not necessarily true in a short series. 

[baldryanr]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

That was my first thought as well, but more from the side of it is crazy that the Braves only managed to win one championship while they had those three guys making their run. 

Baseball is an interesting game. Being absolutely terrific at one aspect will win you a lot of games over time, but that is not necessarily true in a short series. 

At least they managed to win one.  Baseball is much more forgiving of its greats not having a ring (guys like Ken Griffey Jr. are still considered all-timers), so while it's still underachieving, it's not the albatross that it would be in a sport like basketball.

Besides, Maddux and Glavine are part of the 300 win club, which is much more exclusive than the HOF.  We might never see another member - the closest right now is Verlander, and he'll need to age like Tom Brady to squeeze in.

[JTMacc99]

31 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

Baseball is much more forgiving of its greats not having a ring

That's because one guy simply cannot carry a team on his back to a championship the way a single player can influence outcomes in other sports. Hell, Steve Carlton went 27-10 in 1972 with a 1.97 ERA and 310 strikeouts on a 59 win Phillies team. 

I'm not holding the lack of championships against those Braves pitchers in any way. I was more thinking that it's crazy that things simply didn't go their way over that long period of greatness.

NFL has a similar comparison. Absolutely great quarterbacks can consistently carry their teams to winning records but win few or no championships. It's almost always because the defense doesn't carry it's end of the bargain.

[DMK]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

That's because one guy simply cannot carry a team on his back to a championship the way a single player can influence outcomes in other sports.

Even two or three can’t carry a baseball team. Clearly, the Angels thought they could pull it off with Ohtani, Trout and Rendon surrounded by scrubs. But of course, there’s the other problem of Trout and Rendon being made of glass and never playing. 

[mojoween]

YES Network email - “watch the Yankees take on the Braves tonight!”

Me - “do I really have to?  What’s going to be different tonight than all other nights, huh?  HUH?!?”

[smittykins]

I haven’t watched since Sunday.

[ProudMary]

I'm half-watching while doing other things, but from the Braves' broadcast that I'm stuck with, I've now learned that the Braves had not beaten the Yankees in a series since 2001 and that this season the Braves are 10-2 against New York based teams. 😒