MLB Thread

[DoctorAtomic]

They came out of Houston 1-1 and barely lost this last game. They also weren't totally dominated by Verlander. Looking at the larger context, this went fairly well. 

[doodlebug]

Eric Kay, a member of the Angels' media relations staff for more than 24 years, has told the DEA that he supplied and used narcotics with Tyler Skaggs, the pitcher who died of an OD in July.  He told them that Skaggs used narcotics regularly for years and he often obtained them from Kay who claims he didn't give him the drugs he OD'd on, since it had been several days since Skaggs had gotten pills from him and he always took whatever he got immediately.  He also gave the DEA the names of 5 other players who used illegally obtained narcotics.  He also named at least two front office staff on the Angels who supposedly knew that Skaggs had a drug problem for a long time before the OD, but who did not intervene.  Of course, they have denied ever being told by Kay about Skaggs' drug use and the Angels' top management also denies knowledge.

The civil suit that is undoubtedly coming form Skaggs' family should be a doozy although they'll probably settle before more sordid details are revealed.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2019-10-12/angels-employee-eric-kay-provided-tyler-skaggs-opioids

[Ms Blue Jay]

16 hours ago, mojoween said:

I went to bed at 2-2 mid-eighth.  This is a real Monday thing to wake up to.  😡

I don't know who to blame for this - Fox?

I sat there like an idiot watching the entire game for 5 hours, and when George Springer hit the home run, it was on a g******* commercial break.  They came back from commercial and we missed what actually ended the game.  Absolutely terrible. 

[ebk57]

Are we sure these are the Washington DC Nationals and not the Washington Somewhere Else Nationals?  This is rather amazing.

[xaxat]

Washington Capitols 2018

Washington Mystics 2019

Washington's NFL franchise Never mind.

Washington Nationals ???

[Silver Raven]

No, guys, Teddy Roosevelt was not President in 1933.

Howie Kendrick is on a tear!

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, ebk57 said:

Are we sure these are the Washington DC Nationals and not the Washington Somewhere Else Nationals?  This is rather amazing.

It sure is. Go Nats!

[rippleintime17]

On 10/13/2019 at 6:21 PM, VMepicgrl said:

To my dismay, mustaches seem to have made a comeback. I guess just none of the Yankees players are into it. Superficially, I appreciate the policy, as I am not a fan of facial hair. 

There was a point a few seasons ago where every Yankee had a mustache. It was a rally mustache of sorts. It was a good day when they all opted to shave.

That said, I'm just waiting for a free agent that the Yankees seek to sign opts not to because he doesn't want to subscribe to that rule. Even though Madison Bumgarner has opted to be clean shaven on his own, he's one I could see choosing another team on that basis. I'm still convinced that's why Keuchel chose the Braves. 

[smittykins]

And when a former Yankee leaves the team via trade/free agency, he usually grows a beard.

Edited October 15, 2019 by smittykins

[rippleintime17]

2 minutes ago, smittykins said:

And when a former Yankee leaves the team via trade/free agency, he usually grows a beard.

I'm still curious what would have happened if Andrew McCutchen still had had the long hair he had for most of his career when he got traded to the Yankees in late August. Imagine losing years of maintenance and care to play for a team you had no choice in joining for six weeks? 

[xaxat]

2 hours ago, rippleintime17 said:

I'm still curious what would have happened if Andrew McCutchen still had had the long hair he had for most of his career when he got traded to the Yankees in late August.

He had his beard when he was traded. He shaved because of the policy. And as @smittykins mentioned, he grew his beard back when he signed with the Phillies.

Who was the last short guy who had as much power as Altuve? Joe Morgan?

[Bort]

19 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Who was the last short guy who had as much power as Altuve? Joe Morgan?

Ah, Joe Morgan. Who also was an Astro. Actually, he goes so far back that he was on the team when they were still the Colt .45s.

[mojoween]

My husband has declared, after watching the fucking seventh inning with me, that I need therapy.

[rippleintime17]

2 hours ago, xaxat said:

He had his beard when he was traded. He shaved because of the policy. And as @smittykins mentioned, he grew his beard back when he signed with the Phillies.

Who was the last short guy who had as much power as Altuve? Joe Morgan?

I'm not referring to his beard, which can grown back relatively quickly, though. I'm referring to his long hair, that used to fall almost down the middle of his back. His hair was short by the time he was traded, but he chose to do that himself. I'm mostly curious if they really would have forced him to cut his hair against his will to play for the team for six weeks.

[AimingforYoko]

How money is Gerrit Cole right now? I'd say he had a 'B' game and he held the Yankees scoreless in Yankee Stadium. 

[Bort]

I always send my dad this gif when it's a good day:

28 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

How money is Gerrit Cole right now? I'd say he had a 'B' game and he held the Yankees scoreless in Yankee Stadium. 

Did you see the video they played of Gerrit Cole's agent? It was a shot of Jeff Daniels from Dumb and Dumber, rubbing money all over his face.

[AimingforYoko]

4 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Did you see the video they played of Gerrit Cole's agent? It was a shot of Jeff Daniels from Dumb and Dumber, rubbing money all over his face.

Any chance he stays in Houston?

[Bort]

2 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Any chance he stays in Houston?

I'm sure the Astros will try, because who wouldn't? I don't see them really wanting to meet the high price Cole will likely demand. If they had no good pitching left, sure. But with the Greinke pricetag they picked up, Verlander will still be around, McCullers will be back, Urquidy being a likely rotation addition, plus Forrest Whitley waiting in AAA... They don't NEED to pay that. But you never know, sometimes players will forego a bigger paycheck to stay with a contending team.

[galaxygirl76]

I guess the Nats came to play today.

[mojoween]

“Hudson was chased after eight batters” and that is just not a sentence you expect to hear after the first inning.

[AimingforYoko]

Braves' fans:

[ebk57]

18 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I guess the Nats came to play today.

Honestly, it looks like the Cards don't want to play.  Last night, too.  Mr. ebk keeps saying they're sleepwalking through these games.  

[annzeepark914]

58 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Honestly, it looks like the Cards don't want to play.  Last night, too.  Mr. ebk keeps saying they're sleepwalking through these games.  

That's good...sleepwalking is very therapeutic.  I couldn't turn on the game until it was 7-0. Oh no...score's now 7-4. My fingernails are extremely short right now.

[theatremouse]

At least it feels like a game now. I mean, I get it if it's your team that first inning was probably fun. But gajillion run first inning games are usually super boring to me.

[Bort]

Now the stat has changed. There is only one team now that has never made it to the World Series. 

[ebk57]

OMG, how is this even possible?  

I'm not sure how I really feel about this... but for the moment, yay Nats!

[Lantern7]

Is this the first time the World Series will be coming to Washington since 1924?

Wait, nope, TBS guy said 1933. The Senators got their only title in Washington in 1924.

Meanwhile, the Yankees and Astros have only palyed three games so far.

1 minute ago, kariyaki said:

Now the stat has changed. There is only one team now that has never made it to the World Series. 

Seattle, right?

Edited October 16, 2019 by Lantern7

[Sew Sumi]

No, Padres.

[NUguy514]

1 minute ago, Sew Sumi said:

No, Padres.

No, it's the Mariners.  The Padres made the World Series in 1984 and 1998.

[Bort]

2 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

No, Padres.

Padres have gone twice in 84 and 98. Didn’t win, though. The stat is who hasn’t even gotten there. And yes, it’s Seattle. 

[Sew Sumi]

Oh, I misunderstood. I thought it was WON a World Series. My bad.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Well, I guess I'm rooting for the Nats/Walgreens to win it all because I like to imagine Bryce Harper watching from home in his PJs and thinking of what could have been.

[Bort]

52 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Oh, I misunderstood. I thought it was WON a World Series. My bad.

There are seven teams who’ve never won: Rangers, Brewers, Padres, Nationals, Mariners, Rockies, Rays. All have made it there except Seattle. 

Edited October 16, 2019 by kariyaki
Missed a couple, had to correct

[Moose135]

37 minutes ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I guess I'm rooting for the Nats/Walgreens

Had some of the game on Monday night. GF commented on how much the Nats logo looked like the Walgreens logo - her folks live in a 55+ community in Delaware, and her Mom mentioned seeing the W logo in people's windows, and she thought it was for some Walgreens home delivery service for seniors...

[Nidratime]

Eeeeeee! I was there. It was super stressful! After the first few innings, it almost seemed liked all the Nats pitchers were throwing balls, instead of strikes, and all the Nats hitters were popping flys. Meanwhile, the Card's pitchers seemed to get better as the game wore on. Seriously, we were all on pins and needles in the upper, upper level of section 417, especially loud, obnoxious drunk guy.

[nittany cougar]

5 hours ago, Nidratime said:

Eeeeeee! I was there. It was super stressful! After the first few innings, it almost seemed liked all the Nats pitchers were throwing balls, instead of strikes, and all the Nats hitters were popping flys. Meanwhile, the Card's pitchers seemed to get better as the game wore on. Seriously, we were all on pins and needles in the upper, upper level of section 417, especially loud, obnoxious drunk guy.

I was there, too!  I was in front of someone who kept leaning over me and screaming.   I am so happy for the Nationals!  What the hell happened to the Cardinals in this series?  It was like they were completely deflated.

Houston's win in NY made me smile.  I probably won't be able to afford tickets to the World Series.  If Houston gets in, it would be too stressful since I am a native of Houston but now very loyal to DC 

Edited October 16, 2019 by nittanycougar

[mojoween]

Happy 27th birthday Bryce Harper!

(apropos of nothing, I remember reading his first Sports Illustrated cover story, which I believe was 11 years ago.  It feels like MUCH longer)

[smittykins]

Didn’t he quit high school and take the GED so he could enter the draft quicker?

[attica]

I have been impressed by Francoeur's work in the booth. My expectations were admittedly low, but he's exceeded them. It appears he does homework!

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, smittykins said:

Didn’t he quit high school and take the GED so he could enter the draft quicker?

Yes, it enabled him to enroll in a junior college earlier and that made him draft eligible quicker. Which also meant that he became a free agent at a younger age.

No surprise, it was a strategy cooked up by Scott Boras.

[Lantern7]

ESPN: "Astros' Josh Reddick calls Yankees fans 'disrespectful' for throwing debris"

Me: "Hello, Josh. First time in Yankee Stadium, I take it?"

That's enough to want Houston to clinch the series in the Bronx.

Also: what is the longest a pennant-winning team had to wait before Game 1 of the World Series? Like I said last night, the Astros and Yankees only played three games by the time the Nationals swept. And potential postponements might widen the gap.

[Bort]

[annzeepark914]

I love this ^^^^ T-shirt!!!! So glad he's gone. 

[Bort]

Joe Maddon named Angels' new manager.

[theatremouse]

To the surprise of absolutely no one.

[Lantern7]

Anaheim = warm weather of Tampa Bay + competitiveness of the Cubs?

[Bort]

Lousy rainout. Now I have nothing to watch. Or I would if not for the Simpsons Halloween marathon on Freeform.

[catlover79]

7 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Ouch. 😂

[MVFrostsMyPie]

12 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Also: what is the longest a pennant-winning team had to wait before Game 1 of the World Series? Like I said last night, the Astros and Yankees only played three games by the time the Nationals swept. And potential postponements might widen the gap.

I feel like Detroit had to wait a good long time before Game 1 of the WS in 2012, only because I remember how everyone assumed the Tigers would beat the Giants (especially my friends who were A's fans and bitter that the Tigers knocked their team out) because they had had suuuuuch a long time to rest while the Giants vs. Cards went to 7 games in the NLCS.

....and then the Giants swept the Tigers in the WS. 😏

[NUguy514]

The Giants?