MLB Thread

[mojoween]

No I think MLB designed it that way so if there were games that meant something to each other, they had a chance of ending close to the same time to up the drama.

Mother nature had other plans for the Yanks and Pirates today, however.

[ProudMary]

Yeah, for the past several years, Game 162 starts at 3:00 p.m. Eastern across MLB.

With the Yanks in a rain delay, I'm on baseball Twitter while keeping an eye on the Mets, Braves, D-Backs, and Phillies/Nats. I figured I'd share this:

 

[ebk57]

8 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

Yeah, for the past several years, Game 162 starts at 3:00 p.m. Eastern across MLB.

With the Yanks in a rain delay, I'm on baseball Twitter while keeping an eye on the Mets, Braves, D-Backs, and Phillies/Nats. I figured I'd share this:

 

If he really cared, he'd sell the team.

[DMK]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Mother nature had other plans for the Yanks and Pirates today, however.

Guardians and Astros too. That game still hasn’t started. None of them mean anything though, so no drama there.

[mojoween]

The Yankees game is for overall best record to determine home field if they and the Phils make the WS.

[shoregirl]

9 minutes ago, DMK said:

Guardians and Astros too. That game still hasn’t started. None of them mean anything though, so no drama there.

If the Yankees win and the Phillies lose they would have the same record and the Yankees would get homefield if the met in the World Series.

 

 

Edited September 29 by shoregirl

[Carey]

Looks like Philly won.  Although NY wouldn't be playing during the week, it's probably a good thing that no one would have to play on Monday or whenever for no reason

[shoregirl]

Dodgers will finish with the best record, the Phillies second and Yankees third.

Arizona and Mets both won and the Braves are losing. If the Braves lose then everything for those final two spots comes down to tomorrow. If the Mets and Braves split tomorrow they are both but if either teams wins both games they are in and Arizona is in. 

 

Edited September 29 by shoregirl

[DMK]

Cleveland/Houston game was officially rained out and will not be rescheduled. No game 162 for them.

[ProudMary]

I hope MLB.tv and MLB Network makes the Mets/Braves doubleheader available to everyone tomorrow. 

[DXD526]

Wow, that letter from Reinsdorf is horrible. An insult to the fans; fans of the game, as well as Sox fans. 

So he says they're going to develop players they have currently on the roster, look at the trade market, and also develop some of their minor-leaguers. Shouldn't they be doing that anyway? Why is he crowing about it? That's what teams do during the off-season, it's not like he's committing to anything radical or special. I kept reading and waiting for him to say something meaningful about how he intended to address and follow up such a lousy season. Anything. But there's nothing but boilerplate nonsense.

They are 'focused' on returning to 'a level of success', so there's that! I bet Sox fans are encouraged...

Elsewhere, Braves lose! It all comes down to tomorrow for the Mets! OMG!

[ProudMary]

I think this graphic helps.

 

[DMK]

Yeah, it’s pretty cut and dried. One of the team sweeps, Arizona is in along with the sweeping team. Arizona is out if there’s a split. So basically, Arizona will spend game 2 rooting for whoever won game 1.

[ProudMary]

Both games of the Mets/Braves doubleheader will be on ESPN 2, beginning at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. 

[ProudMary]

From MLB:

The Braves announced they will start Spencer Schwellenbach in Game 1. Chris Sale would start Game 2, if Braves lose first game. The Mets have not announced their starting-pitching plans yet.

 

[mojoween]

It is crazy to me that a team with nothing to play for would get blanked on the last game of the season.  As Paul O’Neill said, on the last day you just start swinging.  I know hitting a baseball is hard, but if you go up there with the hackathon mentality, surely you would push in a run or two?

[voiceover]

Junior won the MLB batting title!!

First time a Royal has claimed that crown (see what I did there) since Willie Wilson in 1982 (Brett won it in ‘80).  I am so completely thrilled for our boy.

Here’s what he said during the booze-drenched clinching celly:

“This is what I dreamed of as a kid.  I saw the pictures.  I bought the shirts. Now I’m in the pictures.  And I have the shirt.”

 

*sniff

I think I’ll just take this box of Kleenex and go bawl my head off.

Edited September 30 by voiceover

[Magog]

13 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Both games of the Mets/Braves doubleheader will be on ESPN 2, beginning at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. 

Even better, both games will air on SNY, so I'll be watching it on there. 

The White Sox lost 121 games & I really wish that they would of lost a few more games in the last week of the season. Once again, thanks for absolutely nothing, Angels. 

[Jane Tuesday]

Surprisingly, I'd be fine with either NYC team winning. Tons of respect for Arson Judge, so it would be good to see him get that extra shine on his resume. And I adore Harrison Bader - and am amused by Pete Alonso - so I have some level of affection for the Mets.

The only teams I'm actively rooting against are the Braves, Astros, and Dodgers. That last one hurts, because Tommy Edman is my favorite current MLB player, but I enjoy having it re-proven that you can't buy the World Series. Sorry, Tommy (and Jack). Still love you guys! 

[DMK]

Giants dismiss Zaidi, name Buster Posey pres. of baseball ops.

MLB announces changes to uniforms for All-Star Game, regular season.

[mojoween]

Am I rooting for the Mets, or against Ozuna?  Hard to tell.

[Salacious Kitty]

All Star game purists can rest easy.

Players will wear their own home/away jerseys. 👍

[Jane Tuesday]

Chaim Bloom taking over as POBO of the Cardinals after next season. (Spending this season fixing player development.) Five year contract. 

[Moose135]

Let's Go Mets! What an Amazin' Win!

Now, sweep and eliminate the Braves from the postseason!

[Lantern7]

18 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

Let's Go Mets! What an Amazin' Win!

Now, sweep and eliminate the Braves from the postseason!

I missed it. When I left the house for an appointment, they were down 3-0. I missed the fireworks in the last two innings. I think Francisco Lindor should get an award for being the most valuable player whose name is not “Shohei Ohtani.”

Winning and losing the last game each has its own pros and cons. If they win, they get the 5-seed, they would meet the Phillies if they advance to the NLDS, and they’d get home field if the Diamondbacks go on a run to the NLCS. Downside: they’d have to fly out to San Diego on minimal rest for the best-of-three WCS. If they lose, they’d take a shorter trip back to Milwaukee. Downside: if they beat the Brewers, they’d have to go out to Los Angeles. Also, they wouldn’t have home field in any series, and the fans wouldn’t get the happiness coming from the Braves getting knocked out.

[ProudMary]

I'm excited for the Mets! That was some game. 😯

For postseason series, the amount of interest of have is based on whether or not I'm actively rooting for one of the teams. I have my NL team now. This is a series I'll be watching intently.

Since he made it to the majors as a 21 year old, Luis Severino had been my favorite Yankee, having followed his career progress through the minors. It broke my heart that the Yankees allowed him to walk. I will gladly root for his team, until and unless they're playing the Yankees.

 

In other news, Chris Sale has back spasms and won't pitch Game 2 of the DH. Doesn't sound good for the LDS if the Braves make it in.

 

 

[mojoween]

Ron Darling (who is so drily funny) was lamenting the fate of the poor Dbacks who just have to sit and wait and to that I say, if you didn’t want your fate in other teams hands, win more games.

[roamyn]

49 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I think Francisco Lindor should get an award for being the most valuable player whose name is not “Shohei Ohtani.”

No, that belongs to someone who's played all year.  His former teammate Jose Ramirez who might've gone 40/40 if not for the rainout yesterday .

Edited September 30 by roamyn

[ProudMary]

Just for fun: MLB's Player of the Game, 2024 results through Game 1 of today's doubleheader.

Edited to add: If you're interested in seeing the full results, here is the link:  

https://www.mlb.com/apps/player-of-the-game/game/leaderboard

Edited September 30 by ProudMary

[shoregirl]

Good baseball player..... terrible human.

[Carey]

Yeah, definitely a great baseball player, but not a decent person.  Instead of saying he was terrible, just a guy off the field that made several horrible decisions.

[smittykins]

5 minutes ago, shoregirl said:

Good baseball player..... terrible human.

My sentiments exactly.

[shoregirl]

8 minutes ago, Carey said:

Yeah, definitely a great baseball player, but not a decent person.  Instead of saying he was terrible, just a guy off the field that made several horrible decisions.

Horrible decisions are betting on baseball and your team in particular. But he also slept with a teenage girl when he was in his thirties allegedly (he admitted to it but states she was 16 so it was the age of consent) had is more than a horrible decision. 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20208447/woman-accuses-pete-rose-statutory-rape

[Carey]

Fair enough.  That was/is messed up.  It was about a half century ago, giving him time to be a better guy.  However, it still happened, so I'm apologizing for sorta giving him a pass.  Pete Rose is still not close to the Top 10 in terms of terrible human beings; the thing that's annoying is that people do terrible things in a position of greatness that's not only wrong, but totally unnecessary.  It doesn't chance on-field greatness, but I hope someday people act like decent enough people OFF the field.

Speaking of Pete Rose and "decisions" from human beings, I think I'd definitely boot baseball from my life if someone decided to put the guy into Cooperstown.  Not just 2025 which would be super criminal, but the rest of time and beyond.

On a lighter note, NO playoffs for Arizona!  Braves survive and join New York in October action!

[ProudMary]

Awful human being. Dirty player. I've hated Pete Rose since he deliberately  took out the New York Mets' SS Bud Harrelson at second base in the 1973 NLCS. I'm old enough to remember it first hand, but for anyone who isn't familiar with the incident, here's a piece about it from New York magazine's The Intelligencer from a year ago.

Pete Rose Remembers the Biggest Brawl in Postseason History “You know how many second basemen or shortstops I knocked on their ass in my career?”

I'm glad that he died knowing they were never going to put him in the Hall of Fame. I know that one shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but I think a lot of people feel this way about him.

[Calvada]

I'm excited for the Brewers to reach the postseason again.  I won't be surprised if they're out before the end of the week or if they're in game 7 of the NLCS.  They have been unexpected from Game 1 through Game 162.  

[Carey]

I probably can't root for Milwaukee, but I'd be okay if they actually did something this year.  It'll take New York and LA to crumble big time but if they do, good for them.  They don't act cheap like a team I know.  And then there's Pete Rose, who's cheap in other ways.

 

I mean, I hated the guy.  There was more than enough ammo for me to have that sentiment.  However, that was on the field stuff.  I couldn't care less about off the field behavior, even though I feel that it's important to act civil.  As mentioned, I'd rather live life not knowing people in their real lives.  That's none of my business.  Basically what I've said about Zverev.  Of course, that's easier said than done, but unlike several, I don't search through the Internet to locate a bad story about a player I'm not a fan of.  In several, I mean TMZ and outsiders that have nothing better to do.

Still, Pete Rose is far from the sweetest guy in the history of Planet Earth.  Not as bad as people like Hull, Vick, Watson, Ruggs, and Simpson.  It's just that there are people that are saying "good riddance" to the guy.  That's fair game.  I'm not losing sleep over him being dead.  And yes, he was a big time villain.  I guess I've come to where I cannot forget, but "forgive"  though it depends on the era one has been apart of in terms of a fan.

Finally, given the fleet of lousy athletes, I guess I'm not surprised at the end of the day.

[ProudMary]

Here is the finalized postseason bracket:

 

[ProudMary]

AL and NL Wild Card Series schedules, including broadcast information:

 

[ProudMary]

On 9/23/2024 at 4:20 AM, Mittengirl said:

I cancelled my cable last month.  Just in case the Tigers make the post season, what are my viewing options?  Hopefully it won’t involve subscribing to half a dozen streaming services.

@Mittengirl At least for the Wild Card series, you'll be able to watch your Tigers (hopefully) beat the Astros. The games in that series are being broadcast on a regular over-the-air network. ABC!

[Carey]

Thanks, ProudMary.  I forgot that I used to post the pertinent info (usually I do that for College Football/Hoops & the NFL), but the above is super neat & clear.  Still not happy that Games 2-3 aren't on the same day, but maybe MLB wants that to give the WC teams a chance to upset the Top 4 seeds who'll be off throughout the week

[ProudMary]

4 minutes ago, Carey said:

the above is super neat & clear.

All the graphics I've been posting have been from the MLB app. I think they've been doing a great job.

I think their app is great. I used to get my info from the MLB website, but the app makes everything much easier and you can personalize it to highlight your favorite team.

[ebk57]

Hoping for no rain tomorrow - I have dinner reservations at 8pm!

[DMK]

23 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

The games in that series are being broadcast on a regular over-the-air network. ABC!

Oh, I bet the General Hospital viewers will be steamed over a 2-3 day preemption.

[Salacious Kitty]

Back to Pete Rose for a sec. My husband and I ran into him in a cafe at SeaTac airport as we killed time before a flight. He was sitting at a table with a younger guy (maybe his son?) watching college football. He wore a baseball cap with a giant red rose on it, but we recognized him immediately without it. But he definitely wanted to be noticed. It took all our willpower not to approach him and ask if he had money on the games. 😁

We left him alone, had a beer, and went on our way. 

Edited October 1 by Salacious Kitty

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, ProudMary said:

Awful human being. Dirty player. I've hated Pete Rose since he deliberately  took out the New York Mets' SS Bud Harrelson at second base in the 1973 NLCS. I'm old enough to remember it first hand, but for anyone who isn't familiar with the incident, here's a piece about it from New York magazine's The Intelligencer from a year ago.

Here in Cleveland, we have had a special distaste for Rose after he trampled Cleveland's young star catcher in a play at the plate during the frickin' All Star Game.  In a completely meaningless contest, Rose deliberately plowed into Fosse like a runaway freight train while trying to score from third.  Fosse suffered a severe shoulder injury that didn't heal well and he was never the same.  And all Rose could do was crow about how competitive he was and how he always went all out on every play, no matter what. 

He also gave numerous interviews in which he displayed misogyny and lack of respect for women.  I remember a People interview he did while still married to his first wife, Carolyn, a marriage that lasted 16 years and produced 2 children.  His wife participated in the interview.  At one point, Rose told the reporter that he called Carolyn 'The Blessed Virgin Mary' when they were dating because she didn't sleep with him right away as he had done with other girlfriends and the main reason he asked her to marry him was to get her into bed.  Who says stuff like that about their wife?  In a national publication, no less.  The guy was a pig.

[Salacious Kitty]

Fosse talked about his encounter with Rose during A's broadcasts. He worked for the A's until his cancer diagnosis and subsequent death a couple of years ago.  He is beloved here. 

I don't know how Rose for women to sleep with him. He was not attractive and I am sure he had no game. 

Edited October 1 by Salacious Kitty

[DMK]

Here's how the 12 postseason teams were built.

[Mittengirl]

2 hours ago, ProudMary said:

The games in that series are being broadcast on a regular over-the-air network. ABC!

I spent a few hours messing with an OTA antenna.  It took trying tv’s in 3 rooms, with windows facing 3 different directions, but I finally got one that gets a local ABC station.  YAY!!

 

I am not a follower of the other major sports - do they also divide up the playoff games amongst so many stations/networks?

[Salacious Kitty]

9 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

I am not a follower of the other major sports - do they also divide up the playoff games amongst so many stations/networks?

Yes, football and basketball playoffs are spread over about 3 networks each.