MLB Thread

[Lantern7]

Anybody else feel a little bad about the Chargers moving to Los Angeles? I mean, awesome for a city to say "screw you" to a stadium boondoggle, but the only major pro team San Diego has left is the Padres. Has anybody outside there ever gotten hyped about them? I think only two players have been inducted to the Hall of Fame as Padres, and one of them (Dave Winfield) was beefing with the Yankees. The number should be three, given "Hell's Bells" should be enough to elevate Trevor Hoffman to Cooperstown. I told you that I witnessed "Trevor Time" at Qualcomm in 2000. Very awesome. At the very least, it rivals Mariano Rivera coming out to "Enter Sandman."

[xaxat]

Better than this?

[bosawks]

3 hours ago, xaxat said:

Better than this?

 

For a Padre fan, probably.....

[rcc]

19 hours ago, bosawks said:

For a Padre fan, probably.....

That photo starts a quarter inch from the top then stops there. Anyone else?

[bosawks]

It's just the same link as the post above it by @xaxat.

[jennifer6973]

So a bunch of arbitration eligible players agreed with their clubs.

Bryce Harper is going from $5 million a year to $13.625 million a year.  (It was expected that he would get about $9 million)

 

Wil Myers may be getting a 6 year deal worth $80 million

plus

The Rockies and Arenado agreed on a 2 year agreement

 

among other trasactions.

I think if you want to find out most of them look on John Heyman's twitter timeline.

[Silver Raven]

8 hours ago, rcc said:

That photo starts a quarter inch from the top then stops there. Anyone else?

There's a problem where quotes of other people's links and videos don't always include the entire photo/video.

[mojoween]

The Cubbies are at the White House today. So happy to watch the ceremony.

[Ms Blue Jay]

If anyone besides me cares, it looks like Bautista is returning to Toronto.  No jokes about how Baltimore doesn't want him, we have heard them all before from Baltimore front office, LOL.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[King of Birds]

Transparency starts in next year's Hall of Fame ballot.

Quote

Never again will you have to wonder who awarded those mysterious Hall of Fame ballots to the likes of Aaron Sele or Todd Stottlemyre or Felix Millan. Oh, it will still be legal to cast the most frivolous vote in America. It just won't be legal to leave America in doubt about who cast it.

Quote

"With transparency, you're going to see a 100 percent guy," Nightengale said. "It might be [Derek] Jeter. It might be [Mariano] Rivera. But once these votes are public, how can anyone say they're not voting for Derek Jeter? They'll get lambasted."

I will stand and cheer and subscribe to ALL THE VOTERS who reject Jeter when his time comes.

[Silver Raven]

Iconic San Francisco sports/baseball bar Lefty O'Doul's is closing down.  And it isn't pretty.

 

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Lefty-O-Doul-s-owner-clears-walls-of-10861344.php

[mojoween]

I have no dog in a fight between San Francisco business owners, but in the comments section someone said they had breakfast at Lefty's in the 70's, went to a Giants game and then shut down the bar but doesn't remember who won the game.  Someone commented after that "if it was the 70's, the Giants probably lost."  That made me laugh.

[rcc]

What ARod is up to now.  

http://nypost.com/2017/01/17/a-rods-next-step-saving-broke-athletes-on-reality-tv/          

[MyAimIsTrue]

Isn't the HoF announcement today?  I think it's going to be a very watered down class of inductees that will prompt many debates.  I'm still holding out hope for Edgar Martinez but none of the other names being kicked around (Bagwell, Mussina for example) are remotely close to being Hall worthy in my opinion.

[jennifer6973]

1. It's tomorrow at 6 pm

[Ms Blue Jay]

22 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

If anyone besides me cares, it looks like Bautista is returning to Toronto.  No jokes about how Baltimore doesn't want him, we have heard them all before from Baltimore front office, LOL.

He's back!

[Lantern7]

So much for the Mets' plan to sell the Jays on Jay Bruce. Maybe he can pull his weight through a full season in New York. But I'm thinking he'd thrive anywhere else.

[Constantinople]

Speaking of the Giants and the Hall of Fame, Willie McCovey was pardoned for tax fraud

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jan/17/hall-of-fame-first-baseman-willie-mccovey-pardoned-by-obama

[mojoween]

Bags, "Rock" Raines and Pudge make the Hall for 2017.

So Tim goes in as an Expo, yeah?

Oh ouch...Trevor Hoffman missed by five votes.  That has to hurt.

Edited January 18, 2017 by mojoween

[Lantern7]

Probably, and it kinda bites that there will be more Expos in the Hall (Raines, Dawson, Carter) than Mets (Piazza, Seaver).

Who's up in next year's ballot? Checking . . . fuck, Larry "Chipper" Jones will be there, and he'll probably get in on the first try. May he be the first entry to have stuff thrown at him.

[jennifer6973]

I'm kinda excited Tim will probably go in as an Expo and deservedly so.

Pudge will more then likely go in as a Ranger.

 

Those two have the DC connection, since I consider Expos history as part of the Nats History and Pudge ended his career as a National.

[mojoween]

Jose Canseco would like you to know he is displeased:

How the f*** is Jeff Bagwell being inducted into the Hall of Fame and Mark mcgwire's not that is disgusting

[smittykins]

Aw, did someone get his widdle fee-fees hurt?

[Carey]

Mark McGwire getting in would be fair enough, but if it makes Jose Canseco that much upset that Mark didn't make it, I'm okay with that. Should be interesting down the road when disclosing the ballots may or may not cause those questionable players to limp into Cooperstown

[MyAimIsTrue]

I personally like Tim Raines and always have but Hall of Fame?  Hell no.  Same for Bagwell.  I always find it interesting that a player can be deemed not good enough for induction in prior years and then with a weak availability class all of a sudden writers decide they're Hall worthy because no on else is available.

And yes, I'm pissed that once again Edgar Martinez didn't get in.  I would have chosen him long ago.

[benteen]

It's a joke Vlad Guerrero didn't make the Hall of Fame in his first year and reinforces why a lot of these writers shouldn't have a vote anymore.  Vlad is a first ballot Hall of Famer.  There's no reason to hold him back another year, especially if it's to keep guys on the ballot who are never going to be Hall of Famers anyway.

If you're going to let people who are suspected of using steroids (I really don't care at this point) then how do you have IRod in there instead of Bonds (or Clemens) especially when Bonds was a better player and had better numbers?

Edited January 19, 2017 by benteen

[attica]

5 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

I always find it interesting that a player can be deemed not good enough for induction in prior years and then with a weak availability class all of a sudden writers decide they're Hall worthy because no on else is available.

I think it's often a case of 'yeah, I like the guy for HOF, but there are other people in front of him, and we can't have a traffic jam on the stage in Cooperstown, now can we? Ah, put 'im in next year.'

[jennifer6973]

My question is:

These players go on a HOF visiting tour with their teams.  I know Randy Johnson went to Arizona and Seattle, Junior with Seattle and the Reds.  So where is Tim gonna go?  Do the Nationals get a visit with the HOF plaque or is he going to Toronto?  Bagwell is easy he was with Houston all his career.  Will Pudge visit all his teams, will Tim do the same?

[mojoween]

Update from Jose:

I am not upset about me not getting in. I know I don't have the numbers. I'm upset that the deserving ones are not in. McGwire bonds

Ya know, if he loved Mark that much, maybe he shouldn't have written that book?

[King of Birds]

On 1/19/2017 at 4:32 AM, MyAimIsTrue said:

 I always find it interesting that a player can be deemed not good enough for induction in prior years and then with a weak availability class all of a sudden writers decide they're Hall worthy because no on else is available.

And yes, I'm pissed that once again Edgar Martinez didn't get in.  I would have chosen him long ago.

Remember that a few years ago they decided to limit 10 picks to voters.  So the idea of "all of a sudden" can't apply. I think more players would get votes if the picks were pre-2014 changes.  So if you had the three guys who just got in, next year you could add 3 from this year's list- there's nothing wrong with that. Voters have to rank somehow. And when you figure in idiots like Murray Chass and others who think there are NO "Hall worthy players" it's a thin line to walk on "Hall worthiness."

And yeah, I'm with you on Edgar.

[Lantern7]

Thinking . . . Tim Raines got into the Hall even though he used cocaine, which is a dealbreaker for many people, albeit not usually as an enhancer. Question: would the Veterans Committee (or whatever it's called) ever consider letting in Keith Hernandez? Sure, he only became a Met so cheaply because the Cardinals felt he was baggage due to drug use (given away at the low price of Neil Allen and Rick Ownby). But look at his record: two World Series rings, an MVP title (shared with Willie Stargell), and perhaps the finest fielding first baseman of his day. And his appearance in "The Boyfriend" can't hurt his case. His plaque could have "I'm Keith Hernandez" at the end.

[mojoween]

Yordano Ventura, current Royals pitcher and Andy Marte, who last played for Arizona in 2014, were killed in a car accident in the DR.  Ventura was 25, Marte 33.  How sad.

[smittykins]

May they both RIP. :(

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Yordano Ventura, current Royals pitcher and Andy Marte, who last played for Arizona in 2014, were killed in a car accident in the DR

According to ESPN, they were actually killed in separate auto accidents this morning. RIP

[mojoween]

Oh I did not realize that. What a horrific coincidence.

[rallymantis]

I am sodden with grief.

Yordano!! our darling boy; our little hermano; a pitcher destined for greatness, learning to master his temper -- he was a player only a mother, or a besotted fan base, could love.  

The organization, who raised him from a pup, understood that the temper came from the toughness of his childhood, his competitive nature, his fierce loyalty to his teammates and coaches that prompted the bristling and the occasional inappropriate reaction.

We will always cherish the gutsy brilliance of the 2014 WS Game 6, when before the game he'd scratched "OT" on his cap (in memory of buddy Oscar Tavares).  Or the goofiness of what became a much-loved local radio drop: "We going to the World Serious [sic] againnnn, baaa-beeeeee!!" (in the clubhouse, after winning the 2015 ALCS).  Or the much-caricatured pucker-up from his wind-up.  Or his beaming, gorgeous grin, that lit up the dugout and fans' hearts.

eta: Just read Jose Bautista's Instagram post & lost it again.

Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.  Adios, Ace.

 

Edited January 22, 2017 by rallymantis
Because Joey Bats is a good guy.

[prican58]

On 12/2/2016 at 0:47 AM, King of Birds said:

 

Something went wrong with my post. One more try.

Re the deaths of these young men. I am half Dominican with friends/relatives there. Driving there is a very dangerous thing. Yes they have rules, police etc. But many of the highways are poorly lit and many folks drive recklessly and under the influence. My own uncle was killed about 20 years ago after his car was hit. This is not an uncommon occurence and a cousin nearly didn't survive after he was hit a few years ago. 

I am not placing blame here, just that it's dangerous and lots of folks won't drive long distances at night. It is just so very sad. Car accidents happen in all countries, for all kinds of reasons. But in the DR it's almost epidemic.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3683327/At-15-die-traffic-accident-In-Dominican-Republic.html

http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/driving-danger-in-dominican-republic

Edited January 24, 2017 by prican58

[jennifer6973]

There is some new info I learned from Hot Stove on MLB Network about Ventura:

After he crashed he was alive and someone stopped and robbed him of his WS ring and some other stuff and just left him there w/o calling for help.

[smittykins]

Man, that sucks. :(

[MyAimIsTrue]

No, just no.  That has to be one of the worst things I've ever heard :(

[Lantern7]

That is horrifying. People suck all over.

[King of Birds]

20 hours ago, prican58 said:

Car accidents happen in all countries, for all kinds of reasons. But in the DR it's almost epidemic.

It's crazy, all the stories to come from the DR.

And the posting about stealing the WS ring, I saw Pedro Martinez's tweets.  (eta  I googled translated below)
 

Quote

 

How outrageous to know that a life like Yordano's could have been saved had it not been that they looted him the way he was looted

Now it is more painful to know that Yordano remained alive after the accident and instead of someone to help him, they robbed him and let him die.

I hope an investigation will be carried out, because if there is any specific evidence of this, I would feel a great deal of shame for my country.

 

Edited January 24, 2017 by King of Birds

[prican58]

I should also add that my uncle was also robbed of his wallet on scene. He was alive right after the crash but died at the hospital. 

Sucks, big time.

Edited January 24, 2017 by prican58

[jennifer6973]

Greg Holland has signed with the Rockies, pending a physical.

[prican58]

http://nypost.com/2017/01/26/what-yankees-tell-their-players-to-avoid-dominican-driving-tragedy/

The road to Boca Chica is heavily travelled as it's on the way from the capital to San Pedro De Macoris where many of the players come from. That was the road my uncle was driving on. Our family is from SPdM.

[Bort]

Cardinals fined first two draft picks and $2 million for hacking scandal against Astros. The fines are awarded to the Astros.

[jennifer6973]

In other baseball news:

Sean Rodriguez and family were tboned by a Miami Police Car this weekend, from what I heard on Hot Stove he's all right.

Rod Carew has bent sent home from Medical rehab after a Heart and Kidney transplant, he may go to Arizona to visit Spring Training teams there since he is still not allowed to fly to Florida, Arizona is close enought to drive to.

 

The other day it was truck day in Baltimore and they arrived in Sarasota today.

Today is truck day at Nationals Park.  (I wonder if I could put stop sticks near the Viera exit so they can't make it to Palm Beach?)

[King of Birds]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

Cardinals fined first two draft picks and $2 million for hacking scandal against Astros. The fines are awarded to the Astros.

What a pathetic "fine."  The Cardinals won't lose a top 50 pick.

[MyAimIsTrue]

5 hours ago, jennifer6973 said:

Today is truck day at Nationals Park.  (I wonder if I could put stop sticks near the Viera exit so they can't make it to Palm Beach?)

I drove to and from Melbourne/Palm Bay yesterday and when I saw the sign for Space Coast Stadium along I-95 I got a little sad, and the Nats aren't even my team.

[Bort]

MLB Network is playing The Naked Gun right now. I can't tell you how much I love that. It is one of my honorary favorite baseball movies.