MLB Thread

[theatremouse]

The Hader thing isn't new news. It was widely reported in 2018 and that is also when his half-assed apology occurred.

[Lantern7]

4 hours ago, cleo said:

I feel like NBA and NHL playoffs never end and are tedious the first rounds. 

Right now in baseball it's 10 teams right, 6 division leads and 4 wildcard teams. Going to 16 just seems like too much to me. Maybe 14?

Part of the issue is the divisions are unbalanced in terms of competitiveness.

But profit will drive the decisions more than the good of the game, of that I have no doubt.

Deadspin offers a solution. At this point, we should settle for “World Series ending before Thanksgiving.”

[cleo]

@Lantern7 I like the idea of the three second place teams doing a wild card.  Deadspin article says match them up randomly- I was thinking yesterday the choice element is interesting if they could mix it in, like they were doing with the ties. 

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend lol. In past years I enjoyed watching playoffs over the holiday weekend. This year I don't know how much I will watch. I'm kind of heartbroken about the Jays. It was a special team. It was much easier the years when it was hopeless.

Edited October 7, 2021 by cleo

[DMK]

What the eff is up with the FS1 broadcast, they suck. Cut to a commercial right in the middle of a double play. Twice that happened. 

[cambridgeguy]

14 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Ugh, it's complicated being a sportsball fan.

On the contrary, it's quite easy.  If you're going to root against a team because they employ racist/sexist/homophobic/etc. players and/or cheat then it's hypocritical to not do the same when it's your team that does it.  Plenty of fans have no issue with that (see anyone who roots for the Astros).  The joy of winning often outweighs any moral outrage.

[cleo]

The bigger issue for me is I feel like the Bauers and Haders are more common that not. If not on the team than in the front offices or elsewhere in the organization.

The tepid (imo) response to some if these situations makes me think MLB is not overly concerned with rooting it out until and unless it becomes a public relations issue.

So tbh I always feel conflicted as a fan of any team bc I think MLB itself has tons of issues.

[Ms Blue Jay]

23 hours ago, cleo said:

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend lol. In past years I enjoyed watching playoffs over the holiday weekend. This year I don't know how much I will watch. I'm kind of heartbroken about the Jays. It was a special team. It was much easier the years when it was hopeless.

 

9 hours ago, cleo said:

The bigger issue for me is I feel like the Bauers and Haders are more common that not. If not on the team than in the front offices or elsewhere in the organization.

The tepid (imo) response to some if these situations makes me think MLB is not overly concerned with rooting it out until and unless it becomes a public relations issue.

So tbh I always feel conflicted as a fan of any team bc I think MLB itself has tons of issues.

I feel like we're very privileged that when Osuna was involved in a domestic assault issue, the Jays booted him.  They seem to not like players with scandals.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[DMK]

33 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

 

I feel like we're very privileged that when Osuna was involved in a domestic issue, the Jays booted him.  They seem to not like players with scandals.

But they signed Springer. I have a hypocrite problem with those who boo the Astros in general, especially if they weren’t even on the team at the time, yet cheer for the ones who are “on their side” now. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Those Astros are spread all over the league.  It's going to be hard to follow that.  Wasn't Boston and other teams implicated in the cheating too?   I personally don't equate domestic assault with Springer, but ok.  

[mojoween]

Springer is a cheater, not an abuser (that I know of).

Trust me.  Having Cole AND Chapman on the Yankees is the devil’s dilemma.

[mojoween]

Logan Webb has 77 pitches in the seventh inning.  Why are there pitchers warming in the Giants bullpen?  🤔 

[mojoween]

Scrolling through Facebook memories and stumbled upon this note:

“In their most important game in 21 years, the Pittsburgh Pirates are starting rookie Gerrit Cole.

If that does not sum up AJ Burnett's major league career, I don't know what will.”

Snerk.

[morriss]

Baseball should have a statistic that keeps track of how often a starting pitcher is in complete control, manager pulls him and bullpen implodes. I know they have blown saves, but in game last night SF was down by 1, Gausman pitching well, low pitch count, and bullpen absolutely crumbled. 🤯

[Harry24]

On 10/8/2021 at 5:39 PM, mojoween said:

Having Cole AND Chapman on the Yankees is the devil’s dilemma.

Don't forget dear old Domingo German.  

[smittykins]

So they’re not doing the “runner on second in extra innings”?  I heard they were going to end it, but I thought it would start next year.

Edited October 11, 2021 by smittykins

[mojoween]

11 minutes ago, smittykins said:

So they’re not doing the “runner on second in extra innings”?  I heard they were going to end it, but I thought it would start next year.

They decided to not do it for the playoffs (thank goodness).

[ebk57]

Well, that was a fun game. 

[twoods]

Fuck the Red Sox. Bummer call for the Rays. The AL championship is likely going to be two teams teams that I can’t stand.

Edited October 11, 2021 by twoods

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

They decided to not do it for the playoffs (thank goodness).

LOL, my whole family misses it!  I'm so sorry.

[Fukui San]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Fuck the Red Sox. Bummer call for the Rays. The AL championship is likely going to be two teams teams that I can’t stand.

The call cost the Rays one run at the top of the inning. The Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, so they can stop kvetching about it. (Mostly the announcers. I haven't heard the Rays themselves say anything.)

[twoods]

It’s a different game if it’s one run, and who knows if there would have been more runs after that.  It’s just a fluke bounce that happens to the good teams I guess. If it was the Orioles it probably would have gotten stuck in the corner for an in the park HR.

Edited October 11, 2021 by twoods

[Carey]

Tough luck for Tampa, but they still other opportunities to win the game (or stop Boston from winning in the 13th).  They'll have to dig deep on the road to get it back to Tropicana, but that's Baseball.

I can't say that I didn't see Chicago avoiding elimination, but I didn't see it playing out the way it did

[mojoween]

Tampa Bay is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  Fucking Boston.

[twoods]

At least they caught up, but sucks they ended up losing anyways. Way to end a 100 win season. Blah Red Sox.

[Ms Blue Jay]

This sucks!  I feel so bad for the Rays, except for Kiermaier, whom I hate.

[Fukui San]

In the age of the three true outcomes, I love that the winning rally was pure, unadulterated smallball. 

[isalicat]

Go, go, go, Giants!!! My team since I was 8 years old and saw Juan Marichel pitch in a double header at Candlestick Park. Then I got to grow up in Los Angeles as a Giants fan :), and naturally moved to San Francisco in graduate school and started going to games in person. I am still inordinately proud of the fact that I was actually at the World Series Earthquake game at the 'Stick. That was a one off :)

Alright...one more game and we can get out of L.A. (south of Santa Barbara gives me a headache to this day).

[mojoween]

Are you kidding me with this shit right now.  The Astros and Red Sox are going to be the ALCS?  THESE ARE THE CHOICES?!?

Let’s go National League, with your weird “pitchers need to hit” rule and all.  I’ll even root for Atlanta, if I’m absolutely forced to.

[Carey]

3 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Are you kidding me with this shit right now.  The Astros and Red Sox are going to be the ALCS?  THESE ARE THE CHOICES?!?

Let’s go National League, with your weird “pitchers need to hit” rule and all.  I’ll even root for Atlanta, if I’m absolutely forced to.

Well, if someone had real plans that conflicted with the ALCS, I think they'd be okay.

Though I don't know if I'd root for the NL winner either.  That is a combination of a personal decision and a definitive one.  A Dodgers/Braves NLCS would mean people being grateful that the heart of the NFL is happening now

[mojoween]

12 minutes ago, Carey said:

A Dodgers/Braves NLCS would mean people being grateful that the heart of the NFL is happening now

Oh yeah that’s real real icky. 

[janeyjay]

23 hours ago, mojoween said:

Tampa Bay is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  Fucking Boston.

I am still not ready to talk about it. I may never be ready to talk about it. My heart is broken. 

Depending on how things fall, if I pay attention at all, I'll be quietly rooting for a NL WS champ. The AL is DEAD TO ME until February when pitchers and catchers report. HAPPY DIRT NAP, AL!

[Lantern7]

I’m guessing the Brewers’ odds aren’t good. Maybe it’s because I root for the Mets, but I can’t stomach the Cook Cobb County Crackers going far. They’ve been to the postseason so many times since they moved to Atlanta, and they’ve won one title.

ONE.

It’s galling Bobby Cox got to the Hall of Fame by collecting so many participation trophies. Screw him, and screw the Crackers.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Lantern7

[stealinghome]

Serving up the series-losing home run couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy than Hader.

[mojoween]

On 10/6/2021 at 6:05 AM, mojoween said:

Without specifying the teams (that’s bad juju), I’m hoping for an all northern Midwest World Series.

Well fuck.  In case anyone didn’t pick up on my super-cryptic code, I was rooting for Chicago and Milwaukee.

[sagittarius sue]

I'm 0-3 for my choices for the LCS.  I had wanted a Rays/Brewers WS as either team could've won their first one.

I guess I'll root for an old postseason favorite of mine, the Red Sox.  I started rooting for them in the 1975 WS, and did it consistently through the 2004 victory.  After that I really didn't care that much, but I could summon up some cheer against the others.

 

Edited October 13, 2021 by sagittarius sue

[Lantern7]

Just now, sagittarius sue said:

I'm 0-3 for my choices for the LCS.  I had wanted a Rays/Brewers WS as either team could've won their first one.

I haven’t been paying attention . . . is it possible that MLB has encouraged results where two recognizable big market teams would compete in the Series?

Looks like the White Sox get to spend more time with their families, and Tony LaRussa gets to spend time . . . I can’t complete the thought.

[sagittarius sue]

14 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Well fuck.  In case anyone didn’t pick up on my super-cryptic code, I was rooting for Chicago and Milwaukee.

I can dig it as I'm from the Upper Midwest too, but my Twins, of course were out of contention after the first two or three weeks of the season.  I remember fondly the 1987 Riverboat Series as both Mpls and St. Louis are along the Mississippi.

[sagittarius sue]

6 minutes ago, sagittarius sue said:

I can dig it as I'm from the Upper Midwest too, but my Twins, of course were out of contention after the first two or three weeks of the season.  I remember fondly the 1987 Riverboat Series as both Mpls and St. Louis are along the Mississippi.

ETA In reference to Lantern 7's comment regarding big markets, I remember reading that the media world was quite unhappy with the 1987 small market teams.

[jennifer6973]

Since I've had my dream world series lineup, I'd love to have my second one come true.

 

Naionals/Orioles,  but then I'd wonder who would be interested in that one besides the greater Washington/Baltimore area.

 

Also who would have a heart attack first, the Angelo's family or the new your MLB office. 

[emmawoodhouse]

2 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Serving up the series-losing home run couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy than Hader.

Now that I know the story, his wearing that giant honking cross is...something else. I was still rooting for the Brew Crew in spite of Hader. 

At this point, I'll even root for the scummy Giants over either of the AL choices. 

[theatremouse]

I am not a fan of the Dodgers, but golly do I love their organist.

[NUguy514]

Re: the upcoming ALCS:

[morriss]

Did you know that before last night's game S.F's  DeSclafani gave up 22 runs in 37.1 innings vs the Dodgers this year?  Not a wise choice to start the game.

[scorp01]

5 hours ago, morriss said:

Did you know that before last night's game S.F's  DeSclafani gave up 22 runs in 37.1 innings vs the Dodgers this year?  Not a wise choice to start the game.

True, but it's not like we had a ton of other options.  I think we had to hope DeSclafani had a good game since he did fine in his last outing against the Dodgers (if I remember right...or maybe he just did fine in his last couple of outings).  Because if the Giants skipped DeSclafani and went with Webb on short rest and Webb couldn't duplicate his game 1 performance we would have had to use DeSclafani, Gausman or Wood in game 5.  Webb in game 5 seems like the stronger option.

Was listening to local sports radio and one of the hosts said some people they knew were hoping for a game 5.  I have to say that anyone hoping for a game 5 is a casual Giants fan at best or a non-Giants fan in general.  Because any serious Giants fan would have wanted to finish it and beat the Dodgers, not have to go to a game 5 where the Dodgers are finding their swings and anything can happen.  Sigh.

Edited October 13, 2021 by scorp01
clarification

[cleo]

Ive stopped watching the games and have started following Umpire Scorecards and Umpire Scorecard Analysis on twitter. It's fascinating and maddening.

[Perfect Xero]

On 10/12/2021 at 7:27 PM, Lantern7 said:

I’m guessing the Brewers’ odds aren’t good. Maybe it’s because I root for the Mets, but I can’t stomach the Cook County Crackers going far. They’ve been to the postseason how many times since they moved to Atlanta, and they’ve won one title.

ONE.

It’s galling Bobby Cox got to the Hall of Fame by collecting so many participation trophies. Screw him, and screw the Crackers.

If only there was some process by which the other teams in the National League East could have prevented the Braves from making the playoffs each year. Possibly even using the inherent advantages of their larger media market and payroll to give them a competitive edge in that process.

[mojoween]

Wow.  Six years ago already.

I loved this game, I loved this bat flip, I love that Toronto won the series.

[Ms Blue Jay]

16 hours ago, mojoween said:

Wow.  Six years ago already.

I loved this game, I loved this bat flip, I love that Toronto won the series.

We celebrate it like it's a national holiday.  There is no reason why my country should be working today.  José Bautista is the greatest man alive.

Edited October 15, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[bosawks]

I’m no Giants fan but he did not swing.

[mojoween]

Well fuck me.  I literally rooted for the opponent of every team to make both LCS.  I rooted for both loser WC teams too.  This postseason sucks.