MLB Thread

[MyAimIsTrue]

Kudos to umpire Dale Scott, and to MLB for being so accepting and rightfully making this a non-issue.

[attica]

The inestimable, redoubtable Charlie Pierce has some thoughts about Jeter's (remember him?) new project. Spoiler alert: there is eye-rolling, and lots of it. ;)

[MyAimIsTrue]

Um, am I supposed to laugh at this venture?  Because I did.

[xaxat]

I started laughing when I read the Jeter and Russell Wilson, two the the most carefully packaged athletes around, where teaming up to allow athletes to tell "their side". For those two all you need to do is trot out the athlete quote cliche machine. "We just tried to put in a good effort against a bunch of guys that are trying hard."

 

 

It sounds like an idea from 1998. "Hey, there's this thing called the internet! And you can write stuff and people can read it and you don't have to get interviewed by Sports Illustrated!"

[attica]

Um, am I supposed to laugh at this venture?  Because I did.

 

I suspect they don't want you to, but I believe you're correct in doing so. :)

 

Here's the thing: such an endeavor would not be undertaken by adults who hadn't had every one of their waking needs handled for them by adorers, both paid and volunteer, for most of their adult lives. The sudden exposure to the realities of the world must be shocking indeed. Of course they feel compelled to Set the Record Straight! Except the Record as they know it is all a fiction fed to them by adorers, both paid and volunteer.

 

you don't have to get interviewed by Sports Illustrated!"

 

Yeah, because being fluffed by SI's hagiographers is the same thing as the Labors of Hercules, right?

Edited December 8, 2014 by attica

[AimingforYoko]

The whole Jeter venture is incredibly self-serving, but since ESPN featured a bunch of sportswriters from Boston and Dallas in the late '80s, I find the whole occupation incredibly overrated. (Yes, they featured a bunch from NYC as well, but if you ask most people, the whole celebrity sportswriter thing came from the Globe and the Morning News.)

[Rick Kitchen]

God, Oakland is just opening the cupboard and having a fire sale, aren't they?

[mojoween]

Huh. Bye D-Rob. So much for the next Mariano.

Learn from your mistakes, Steinbrenners - leave Betances where he is in the rotation.

[attica]

I thought D-Bet did well as a reliever; he was certainly more consistent than Robertson (who is adorable -- Chicago will love him). Plus, he's bigger than Groot, which is always good on the mound in the late innings.

[xaxat]

HBO has scrapped efforts to develop its own streaming media service and has hired MLB Advanced Media to do it for them. 

 

Bud always bragged about MLBAM (and as a subscriber to the radio service, I'm a fan), but I had no idea it was actually that good from a technical standpoint.

[mojoween]

I know it's spitting into a hurricane, but I abhor free agency (football too).

It's hard to root for the laundry when the players keep changing.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Is the opinion on Jon Lester that he's good enough to warrant the money the Cubs are allegedly throwing at him?

[Fukui San]

I don't think any player warrants that money, with the possible exception of Madison Bumgarner in the World Seeies.

As a Red Sox fan, if love to have him back but not at that price.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I want the Cubs to do well because I love Joe Maddon but this just smells like desperation to me, like the Cubs need a big name pitcher and they're willing to spend whatever it takes to possibly get the only one available?

[King of Birds]

I abhor free agency (football too).

So few players are good enough to make the majors, and then fewer are good enough to command the mega-dough. Teams have players under control from minors up to their first 4-5 years in the majors. I will never hold it against a player to go for the financial touchdown. I had this whole discussion with my family re: the Big Bang Theory actors hitting their huge paydays:  It's rare to hit the big money, and it's not like they didn't do the work, get the ratings/ wins/ HRs / hits to let the greediness of teams/ owners / studios to pay 'em "what they're worth."  God bless America.

 

With that said, as a Red Sox fan I so so so wanted Lester to return. Alas.

[smittykins]

ITA.  If I were a player, would never want to go back to the days when a team basically owned me until they deigned to get rid of me.  It's a thing the union fought hard for, and don't blame anyone for taking advantage of it.

 

Apparently, the Yankees never even made D-Rob an offer. Verrrrry interesting....

Edited December 10, 2014 by smittykins

[attica]

The Yankees signed the good looking Diamondback Dutchman, Mariekson Gregorius to replace Jeter at short. He goes by the nickname Didi.

 

Be honest: am I a bad person for immediately converting 'Didi Gregorius' to 'Cha-cha DiGregorio' in my head?  I fear I might be. I fear there may be nothing to be done about it.

[bosawks]

Well, if it's true, thanks for the memories JRoll.

[shoregirl]

Well, if it's true, thanks for the memories JRoll.

Longest current (well I guess not anymore) tenured athlete in Philly. I am all at once , sad (because I did enjoy watching him play even if he frustrated me at times and it really means a end of a era) , resigned ( because the Phillies need to rebuild and these guys are not the future ) and nervous ( because I have no faith in Ruben Amaro ).

Edited December 11, 2014 by shoregirl

[MyAimIsTrue]

I'm not a Phillies fan yet I'm sad to see Rollins go. How weird is he going to look in Dodger blue?

Cha Cha DiGregorio, now that's great!! I need to find a picture of this guy since I have a soft spot for the Dutch, as well as for eye candy.

[King of Birds]

That was a crazy winter meeting, huh? Kemp is a Padre. Lester and Martin to the Cubs. Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick is the new SS-2b combo for the Dodgers. The Reds trade Latos and Simon. Tigers get Cespedes. Red Sox get Porcello, Miley and Masterson to the rotation. Samardzija and D-Rob are White Sox.

 

And Boras is gonna do his best to make Max Scherzer a 200 million dollar man.

[mojoween]

Cashman will pull the trigger on that. We're going to get to mid-January and when Scherzer is still available Cashman won't be able to take the stress and bam! Scherzer is in pinstripes.

[Rick Kitchen]

Hammel signed with the Cubs, too.

[smittykins]

Looks like Chase Headley's coming back to the Yankees(4 years/$52M according to reports).  And A-Rod will be reduced to a DH/part-time third(and possibly first)baseman.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/yankees--chase-headley-nearing-four-year-agreement-163521096.html

[MyAimIsTrue]

In the past two days the Rays traded both Matt Joyce and Wil Myers.  I don't think I like this dismantling of the team.

[xaxat]

I think ownership is ripping it down to the studs and getting ready to sell as a fixer upper. They say they're trying to get a new stadium, but Joe Maddon was easily their biggest asset in that effort and ownership let him walk.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I fear you're correct and as a central Florida resident I'll keep saying (and believing) that the stadium is not the issue.

[King of Birds]

Aim, I try not to be a 'hater' and I've never visited the Trop, and really have no interest in ever attending a game there. But-- it's the stadium. A friend of mine lived in Tampa for 2 years (03-04 just in time for Ivan) and said it's a piece of shit.  The ground rules at the stadium are not quirky, they're anti-baseball. And, on my big ass HDTV the place looks terrible. It's the only stadium in the majors that isn't on my bucket list.

 

In going to the hardball talk site to find that link, I saw this news below---- WTH?

 

Bud Selig will get a $6 million a year pension. Which is obscene.

 

Selig is going to get that $6 million a year for doing jack squat.

 

Meanwhile, minor leaguers are paid sub-minimum wages, most front office staff are paid far below market rates and every worthy charity Major League Baseball supports could use the money a damn well bit more than Selig can.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I agree the stadium is a piece of shit and looks only slightly better in person than it does on TV but I just can't believe it's the main reason for any team or attendance issues, especially when there's been a pretty damn good product on the field for the past several years.

[attica]

The world is a frightening place and I fear for the species.

 

The Brewers will be installing a 3D interactive Bud Selig experience at their park. On purpose.

The exhibition space totals approximately 1,400 square feet, and will include authentic artifacts from Selig’s tenure as the Brewers owner. A multimedia show will include a 3-dimensional encounter with Selig inside a reproduction of his old Milwaukee County Stadium office.

 

Charlie Pierce has questions:

And what is the interactive attraction in walking into a facsimile of anybody’s office, especially Bud Selig’s? What do you get to do? Arrange for the World Series not to be held? Mastermind an All-Star Game that ends in a tie? Ignore the glistening tower of syringes, reaching almost all the way up to the ceiling over there in the corner? Duck baseballs thrown at you by the hologrammic Gary Sheffield? Trade Greg Vaughn for Bryce Florie, over and over again?

 

Sadly, the cost of this exhibit doesn't come out of BS's $6 mill per annum pension.

[King of Birds]

"On purpose"  Ha!

 

Man, now I feel bad for Milwaukee fans.

[xaxat]

I hope they don't allow kids. 'Cause that thing is going to be nightmare fuel.

[King of Birds]

Tuesday is the HOF announcement for 2015. Not sure if any of you have heard about the Thibs' HoF tracker spreadsheet.  (or this breakdown) Big Unit and Pedro and Smoltz appear to be locks. Right after them, Biggio and Piazza.

[Rick Kitchen]

I hope Biggio gets in, it's time.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Big Unit, Pedro and Smoltzie would get my votes.

 

Although I haven't watched much of anything on ESPN for years I am completely broken up over the passing of Stuart Scott.  For some reason this seemed personal, like I knew the guy, and then realized his on-air persona made him seem like a real friend.

[mojoween]

IMO, Great column from Jayson Stark about why he made his HOF voting the way he did.

I think he is so right. 10 is a stupid number.

[xaxat]

 

The BBWAA formed an excellent, diverse, thoughtful committee a year ago to examine the voting process. But when that committee reported its conclusions last month, the committee members told the rest of us they were given the distinct impression, from the people who run the Hall, that there was "no way in hell" they'd agree to a rule that said we could vote for all of the players we felt were worthy.

 

It's too bad the BBWA didn't push back on that. What could the HOF have done? Fire the BBWA?

 

It's really stupid on the HOF's part. People have known that the system is broken for decades. They get a chance to improve it. . . and it's still broken.

[mojoween]

Aim I thought of you when watching the

Keith Olberman posted of Stuart Scott's ESPN 2 debut. Smoltzy is in it...but not in a good way. Eh, a small blip in a HOF career (depending on what the writers say).

And I can't tell from the clip, but were Atlanta and San Francisco in the same division? Because that doesn't make sense to me.

Edited January 6, 2015 by mojoween

[MarkHB]

Yes. The old 2-division NL was decidedly weird, with NY, Montreal, Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the East, and Cincinnati, Atlanta, Houston and the California teams in the west. The AL had a blip where Milwaukee was in the East and Chicago in the West, but you could drop a line due south from Chicago that split the rest of the teams.

Looking forward to the Pedro announcement....

[MyAimIsTrue]

Yes, Atlanta and San Francisco were both in the NL West until the re-alignment after the 1992 season.  That lead to one of the last great post season (pre-wild card) races where both the Braves and the Giants had more than 100 wins in 1992 but only the Braves moved on because they won the division.

 

I'll watch that clip when I get home tonight.  Stupid company firewall!

[attica]

What could the HOF have done? Fire the BBWA?

 

Well, they could have jettisoned the BBWA from being HOF voters altogether. No reason it has to be them, after all. The HOF could designate anybody they want to be voters. The Motion Picture Academy, after all, votes for Oscars among themselves -- they don't farm it out to the press.

[xaxat]

Well, they could have jettisoned the BBWA from being HOF voters altogether. No reason it has to be them, after all. The HOF could designate anybody they want to be voters. The Motion Picture Academy, after all, votes for Oscars among themselves -- they don't farm it out to the press.

 

They could have, but it would have taken a huge toll on the HOF's reputation. And it would be hard for them to come up with a system that (for all its obvious flaws) would be as respected as the system now existing. 

[MarkHB]

From the MLB Network Facebook page:

 

Congratulations to the 2015 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Induction Class:

Craig Biggio
Randy Johnson
Pedro Martinez
John Smoltz

[MyAimIsTrue]

SMOLTZIE!!!!!!!!  Not quite as exciting as last year with Greggy and Tommy but I still did a little dance in my cubicle.

 

Despite his 3,000+ hits I just don't look at Biggio and think "Hall of Famer."

[attica]

Birds everywhere are protesting the Johnson induction.

[JTMacc99]

Johnson was an absolute lock. I did a quick look at the stats when I read he got something north of 97% of the vote.  Yep. Those are some hall of fame stats.  Best one is that he is the all time leader in SO per 9 innings. 

 

I agree, Biggio never felt like a hall of famer, but he did have a great career. 

 

Of course, a lot of the guys who did feel like hall of famers aren't getting in. It was my feeling during the height of the steroids brouhaha that MLB essentially allowed players to do it, which made the games and stats legitimate. There have been multiple periods of time where stats were compiled when things weren't exactly fair compared to other eras. That is the way baseball history works. Everybody on the field was playing on under the same rules.

 

So to me, the only real way to deal with the ones who ignored the "no performance enhancing drugs" rule because of the "but we won't penalize you if you do" thing was to let history sort it out.

 

The honor of being elected to the Hall of Fame is decided subjectively, and I think keeping guys like Clemens out and letting Smoltz in is a fitting way to deal with the steroid era.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Johnson received 97.3% of the vote, beating my Greggy from last year with his 97.2%.  But I really can't complain about that.

[JTMacc99]

Two fabulous careers:

 

Maddux 355-227 (.610), 3.16 ERA, 3,371 K, 1.143 WHIP, 4 Cy Youngs

Johnson 303-166 (.646), 3.29 ERA, 4,875 K, 1.171 WHIP, 5 Cy Youngs

 

Both also had a 4-year stretch where they were clearly the best pitcher in the league, which if you ask me, is the kind of thing that when you add it to the career numbers makes a player receive 97% of the vote on the first ballot.

[TheAnglican]

So, really - who were the almost 9% of voters who did NOT think that Pedro was Hall-worthy?

[mojoween]

In the article that Jayson Stark did, he put in a link from another writer who had tweeted something to the effect that he left Randy and Pedro off his ballot, because he knew that other writers would pick up for him because he wanted to put other players on his ballot that he thought were more in danger.

Besides the immaturity of not wanting a unanimous selection just because, that's most likely why you'll never get a unanimous vote. In four years when my beloved Mo comes up, he's not even going to get 100% because other writers will probably do what that one guy did - everyone knows Mo is getting in, so they'll leave him off. That's a dangerous game to play, and speaks to why the 10 player limit is stupid.