MLB Thread

[Moose135]

26 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Rob Manfred has declared that he doesn’t hate baseball.

Talk is cheap...

[cleo]

I figure he heard us talking lol. 

Robbie, if you're reading this: leave the shift alone.

Or one good idea I heard was to have a rule where the shift could be used but say twice, or something like that. Make it a strategic decision about when to use it. Just banning it is stupid. 

[grommit2]

2 hours ago, cleo said:

I figure he heard us talking lol. 

Robbie, if you're reading this: leave the shift alone.

Or one good idea I heard was to have a rule where the shift could be used but say twice, or something like that. Make it a strategic decision about when to use it. Just banning it is stupid. 

Hi Cleo...
I am amazed that professional baseball players insist on hitting the ball into the teeth of the defense.  Why not "hit it where they ain't?"  Dink, bunt, poke...whatever. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I believe that that's harder than it sounds, or else everyone would do it?

[JTMacc99]

20 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I believe that that's harder than it sounds, or else everyone would do it?

Right? I look at the players who face a dramatic shift, and it's very clear that their entire swing is grooved in to do the same thing every time.  They'd have to make a big change in the way they swing to be able to hit the ball (intentionally) the other way. 

And nobody wants to just walk up there and attempt to bunt the ball through the left side of the infield every time up. Even though they probably should at least give it a shot once in a while.

This makes me think of Wade Boggs. That was a guy who could absolutely put the ball to the left or right side if the situation called for it.

[Rickster]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

Right? I look at the players who face a dramatic shift, and it's very clear that their entire swing is grooved in to do the same thing every time.  They'd have to make a big change in the way they swing to be able to hit the ball (intentionally) the other way. 

And nobody wants to just walk up there and attempt to bunt the ball through the left side of the infield every time up. Even though they probably should at least give it a shot once in a while.

This makes me think of Wade Boggs. That was a guy who could absolutely put the ball to the left or right side if the situation called for it.

I do wonder if this is the result of present day hitting instruction, all the way up from Little League. Boggs, and other players of his era and earlier, seemed to have more flexibility at the plate.

[Perfect Xero]

If hitters were capable of hitting the ball precisely where they want, they'd be doing it all the time regardless of the defensive alignment. Hitting just isn't that precise, you can try to hit the ball in a general direction, but aiming for a hole just isn't something you can do.

MLB pitchers also aren't fooling around, anything that has a hitter disrupting their timing/swing trying to hit one in the hole at 3B isn't going to make it easier on them.

Shifts that completely sell out one side of the field are very rare, so there's every chance that the guy who tries to poke one to the left side is just going to have the ball fielded anyway.

Hitting grounders on the infield is not the desired outcome in first place, batters are trying to hit the ball hard and in the air. If a power hitter is trying to slap one on the ground rather than trying to hit one to the outfield gap or stands, that's usually a win for the defense.

Why not bunt? Pitchers are throwing 95+ with sharp movement, if the defense is aligned in a shift they're not going to toss one slow and away and make it easy to bunt. If you're not already a skilled bunter you're probably just going to find yourself down a couple of strikes.

[shoregirl]

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!

[xaxat]

I wonder if he ever sent Bernie Madoff a "thank you" note.

[Carey]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:37 PM, Moose135 said:

On 6/29/2022 at 12:11 PM, mojoween said:

Rob Manfred has declared that he doesn’t hate baseball.

Talk is cheap...

Maybe he just "dislikes" baseball.  If so, it's a fair statement full of some accuracy

[cleo]

His job is to make the owners money; for most of them it's just an investment. So sometimes actually improving/supporting the sport aligns with that interest. A lot of times it doesn't. But profit is their (and thus his) driving motive, not some great love of the game, imo.

[mojoween]

I just can’t not like Vladdy and Vlad dad. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/vladimir-guerrero-throws-first-pitch-to-son

[Moose135]

Last night, I settled in to watch a little TV, and thought "Damn, the Mets are on Apple TV..." - mind you, I don't pay for MLB TV nor do I have a local sports network to watch either, but some games end up in places I can watch. I went to mlb.com on my iPad to check on the game, and it gave me the option to watch on my iPad. Once I had the game on (it was around the 5th inning) I tried casting it to the TV. Sure enough, I was able to watch on the big screen, all without an Apple+ account! It might be an option of those of you who want to watch without jumping through too many hoops.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Moose135

[cleo]

That's weird bc when the Jays were on Apple they told us we would have to create an Apple ID to watch (which I don't have). But I also didn't try lol. 

[Xeliou66]

Does anyone else think the AL playoffs are pretty much set at this point? I think the AL East will get 4 teams in, which is crazy, with the Astros and Twins as the other 2 teams. I’m not sure who else could get in, maybe the Guardians or White Sox could get in, but I think we will see the Yankees, Rays, Jays and Red Sox all in the playoffs.

I would like seeing a Yankees/Astros ALCS, that would be exciting, and I think there’s a good chance of that happening. 

[ebk57]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

I just can’t not like Vladdy and Vlad dad. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/vladimir-guerrero-throws-first-pitch-to-son

Wait - no one went to the game to get me that sweet 'head??  I'm hurt.  But to make up for it, someone needs to go to the Cyclones game tomorrow with 2 friends to get me the hog dog 'heads...  

https://www.milb.com/brooklyn/news/4thofjuly22

And yes, Vlad and Dad with the first pitch was fabulous. 

[cleo]

Lol @ebk57 sorry- I didn't go! 

[Xeliou66]

Dodgers with 3 dingers in the 1st inning against the Padres tonight, they are playing excellent baseball - the Dodgers may have the best team in MLB, I think they are the clear cut favorites to win the NL. 

[shoregirl]

15 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

Dodgers with 3 dingers in the 1st inning against the Padres tonight, they are playing excellent baseball - the Dodgers may have the best team in MLB, I think they are the clear cut favorites to win the NL. 

The Cardinals had 4 in the 1st all back to back ,which as a Phillies fan I  did  not enjoy watching 😂) but as of now the the game is tied.

And now Areanado hit another hr and it's no longer tied 😐

Edited July 2, 2022 by shoregirl

[Xeliou66]

7 minutes ago, shoregirl said:

The Cardinals had 4 in the 1st all back to back ,which as a Phillies fan I  did  not enjoy watching 😂) but as of now the the game is tied.

And now Areanado hit another hr and it's no longer tied 😐

Yeah I saw where the Cards had 4 back to back, that was crazy. Arenado and Goldschmidt are 2 of the best hitters in MLB right now, the Cards have some real power but I don’t know if their pitching is good enough for them to have success in the playoffs. They should get to the postseason though, they are a consistently solid franchise. 

[cleo]

Does anyone know what the greatest comeback was, like the most runs down? I figure what 10 runs?

Not that I expect the Jays to come back, their red uniforms are cursed. For real lol. And the string of bad luck this weekend when they wore them twice - I won't list it lol.

Just got me thinking what the greatest comeback was.

[twoods]

44 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

Dodgers with 3 dingers in the 1st inning against the Padres tonight, they are playing excellent baseball - the Dodgers may have the best team in MLB, I think they are the clear cut favorites to win the NL. 

I don’t understand why Gonsolin isn’t getting more fanfare. Guy is 10-0 with a ridiculous 1.52 ERA. when was the last time we’ve seen that?

[Xeliou66]

8 minutes ago, twoods said:

I don’t understand why Gonsolin isn’t getting more fanfare. Guy is 10-0 with a ridiculous 1.52 ERA. when was the last time we’ve seen that?

Gonsolin has been outstanding, I wonder if he’ll start the All Star Game? It should either be him or Sandy Alcantara, as a Marlins fan I hope Sandy gets the nod as he’s been fantastic but Gonsolin has been great as well.

Dodgers pitching staff is excellent even with Buehler out for a while with an injury. Their bullpen has been a bit shaky but their starting pitching is excellent. 

[mojoween]

Did I miss something?  Did TBS lose the Braves?

[Xeliou66]

21 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Did I miss something?  Did TBS lose the Braves?

TBS hasn’t carried the Braves games in a while, the Braves home network is Bally Sports South now.

Edited July 3, 2022 by Xeliou66

[xaxat]

9 hours ago, mojoween said:

I just can’t not like Vladdy and Vlad dad. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/vladimir-guerrero-throws-first-pitch-to-son

Back in the day, Vlad Sr. would have swung at the pitch and hit a double.

[jennifer6973]

13 hours ago, cleo said:

Does anyone know what the greatest comeback was, like the most runs down? I figure what 10 runs?

Not that I expect the Jays to come back, their red uniforms are cursed. For real lol. And the string of bad luck this weekend when they wore them twice - I won't list it lol.

Just got me thinking what the greatest comeback was.

I know the Nationals had a big comeback a few years ago against the Braves, but I don't remember how big it was.  I think at least 8 runs.

[Ms Blue Jay]

15 hours ago, cleo said:

Does anyone know what the greatest comeback was, like the most runs down? I figure what 10 runs?

Not that I expect the Jays to come back, their red uniforms are cursed. For real lol. And the string of bad luck this weekend when they wore them twice - I won't list it lol.

Just got me thinking what the greatest comeback was.

Well they shockingly won in the red on July 1st.  But then undid all that goodwill by losing TWICE yesterday.   The first time they were wearing the blue - and that's when Kevin Gausman got hurt.  

Edited July 3, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[cleo]

Yeah they won in the reds Friday. That was like the first act of a horror movie, where the cabin in the woods seems cozy and romantic. So I'm blaming the whole thing on the reds lol. Or I was.

Don't much feel like joking about it now  given what happened yesterday to the Budzinskis (Jays first base coach). Pretty sad.

Edited July 3, 2022 by cleo

[shoregirl]

How are any teams off on the 4th of July?

Boo MLB this is terrible

This is the first time since 1916 the Phillies have a scheduled day off on the 4th. I think Philadelphia should be a home game every Independence Day. But I  am biased

Edited July 4, 2022 by shoregirl

[Xeliou66]

Yordan Alvarez with a walk off dinger for the Astros. Alvarez has really become a superstar, I think he may not get enough appreciation. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 hours ago, shoregirl said:

How are any teams off on the 4th of July?

Boo MLB this is terrible

This is the first time since 1916 the Phillies have a scheduled day off on the 4th. I think Philadelphia should be a home game every Independence Day. But I  am biased

Lol, how silly!  If any team should be off, it should be ours!  I'd be pissed if we weren't playing on Canada Day too! i get it!

[AimingforYoko]

The first, and only 8-5 triple play in the history of MLB:

[QueerGirrl]

My White Sox are so dumb sometimes. 😒

[mojoween]

Baseball is dumb and stupid and I don’t know why I even CARE, but Pittsburgh should go back to wearing that round cap  that was black with the three yellow stripes.

[Xeliou66]

Sandy Alcantara with another brilliant outing, 8 scoreless innings with 2 hits and 10 K’s, as my Marlins beat the Angels!! Tanner Scott almost blew it in the 9th, but the Fishies held on for the win, and have now won 6 in a row and are 1 game under 500. Sandy is now 9-3 with a 1.82 ERA, he’s a beast and he deserves to start the All Star Game. 

[cambridgeguy]

9 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Sandy Alcantara with another brilliant outing, 8 scoreless innings with 2 hits and 10 K’s, as my Marlins beat the Angels!! Tanner Scott almost blew it in the 9th, but the Fishies held on for the win, and have now won 6 in a row and are 1 game under 500. Sandy is now 9-3 with a 1.82 ERA, he’s a beast and he deserves to start the All Star Game. 

Good luck with that, Tommy Gonsolin (10-0, 1.54 ERA) would likely be the choice if it was made today, especially since the game is in LA.

[Xeliou66]

4 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Good luck with that, Tommy Gonsolin (10-0, 1.54 ERA) would likely be the choice if it was made today, especially since the game is in LA.

I agree that Gonsolin will likely get the start because the game is in LA, but Sandy is a better pitcher, Gonsolin has only gone more than 7 innings once I believe, Sandy does it routinely, Sandy has pitched many more innings. It’s clear that Sandy is the most dominant pitcher in MLB right now. 

[xaxat]

I have the MLB radio app. I don't live in Pittsburgh, my favorite team's market, so I don't get blacked out on their broadcasts. Neat!

However, there is a rain delay tonight. I tried to listen to the stream of their local radio internet broadcast, which is currently not broadcasting baseball because, you know, rain delay, and I was blacked out! 

All I wanted to do was listen to a couple of guys talking about the weather radar and some bad takes from callers so I can tell when the game is going to start, but nope. MLB thinks that freely allowing that content might constitute an existential threat to their business model. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by xaxat

[cleo]

Probably twitter is your best bet for rain updates. 

[mojoween]

Any Sawks fans in the house?  If so, how do you feel about the red jerseys?

[xaxat]

MLB Radio is running an ad that features scratchy historical sounding radio calls of memorable plays. Nothing that I recognized. No "The Giants win the pennant!" or "Go crazy folks!" although I think one of the voices might be Jack (not Joe) Buck.

Then the tag line hits. "Baseball comes home , to Apple TV." 

Home? To Apple TV? Did I miss some decades long broadcast partnership that required a super secret handshake to access?

[cleo]

I saw an ad for some baseball game on Apple- I think it was actually tonight's Jays game- and it said something about free for a limited time. Bc of course.

I can't tell you how many people in the last month were going on and on about how it's all free on these platforms and it's no big deal just try it out. Manfred is really trying to grow the sport and reach the young uns!

Right. Bc Apple is known for giving shit away for free.

So the ad wording definitely caught my eye.

[mojoween]

I noticed the *limited time* disclaimer when I watched a game on Apple a few weeks back, and am hoping a limited time is through the end of the season.  Peacock definitely isn’t giving any shit away for free, though.

I’m curious how “growing the game” means “making everyone pay to watch the game”.  I ALREADY pay for cable, which includes YES.  Be happy with the money you get from that, greedy asses.

[cambridgeguy]

Yikes!

Thankfully it looked like he was responsive and moving around, but damn that was a massive hit.  Plus it took the med cart a long, long time to come out.  Shouldn't those things be ready to go?

Edited July 8, 2022 by cambridgeguy

[CrazyDog]

Yes, that was horrifying to watch the collision, and then see him collapse. He shouldn't have been allowed to try to walk, especially the second time, and it took a long time for both doctors to come out. Profar is a big spark for the Padres, and it's so like him to flash his trademark smile and fist pump like that.

I felt bad for Abrams too. You know he feels horrible.

I've been trying to find more updates this morning.

ETA, diagnosed with a concussion and a neck strain. All in all, he's very lucky. Thank goodness it wasn't worse.

Edited July 9, 2022 by CrazyDog

[JTMacc99]

14 hours ago, cleo said:

Right. Bc Apple is known for giving shit away for free.

And for sure, nobody is giving sports away for free.

Those $300,000,000 contracts are going to pay for themselves. 

[cleo]

Yes, but I'm already paying Rogers, who owns the Jays, an excessive amount of money to watch supposedly all the games. I'm not paying twice.

@Mojoween  I do think if/when they introduce costs for the platform games it will be next year. Bc it was all announced at the start of the season, so I'm assuming it will be next year.

Edited July 8, 2022 by cleo

[ebk57]

How 'bout them Os??

Seriously, who are these guys?

[twoods]

The Angels are the perfect team to play when you’re on a win streak, because they will keep streaking. The Angels and their bullpen (or pitching for that matter) is atrocious.