MLB Thread

[Carey]

12 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Has Tampa gone back to being the Devil Rays or are they just wearing throwback jerseys today?

No and no.  According to an article I found online, it's every Friday they're at home, in addition to opening day.  25 years in MLB for the 2008 & 2020 League Champions.

Anyway, smells like 68 wins for the 1960 fall classic winners.  Not those actual players, just the same franchise.  

I'll go 68-94 for Pittsburgh. Sure things can be very good to where it's in the 70-win range. Or very bad at the 50-win range. 40-49 wins is a possibility, and given the chance at exceeding expectations, 80-wins can happen. 68 wins feels right at the end of the day.

One thing you have to factor in is that other teams are making improvements, and injuries are a part of sports. I might be generous saying 68 wins is accurate but sometimes things can benefit someone that's destined to lose, while a win is there but someone doesn't get it

[mojoween]

4 hours ago, Jane Tuesday said:

We have a scintillating match up with the Blue Jays. Hmm.

Almost time for the Clydesdales! I'm curious what other cities do for Opening Day. Any fun traditions? 

You didn’t share the best part!

 

[mojoween]

Sooooooooo stuuuuuuuuupid 

 

[Lantern7]

@Carey . . . it’s 25 years for the Rays and Diamondbacks, thirty for the Rockies and Marlins. I remember the Marlins winning their first game in 1993. The Mets beat the Rockies at Shea . . . and that might have been the high point of the season.

I’m wondering if the Mets will acknowledge last season in their home opener. Sucks to win 101 games when none of them happened when they really needed it. I’m thinking Edwin Diaz will be in the pregame ceremonies. My question is whether they play “Narcos,” since the trumpets will be silent this year. Gotta play it, right?

[mojoween]

*Disclaimer - I know Shohei can’t control this*

Hunter Renfroe made a great catch, and I woke up to three alerts on my phone saying in effect “and look how Ohtani reacted!” like, no, can we just give Hunter his flowers?

[smittykins]

Great day for Anthony Volpe, although it’s weird seeing anyone but Gardy wearing #11.(Reportedly, he spoke with Gardy on the phone to get his blessing; I don’t know if he asked for the number or the team just gave it to him.)

Hell, I still associate #36 with Coney.

[cambridgeguy]

The ironic thing about any pitch clock complaining is that the rule was already on the books.  To quote: When the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball. Each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call “Ball.”  The 12-second timing starts when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the box, alert to the pitcher. The timing stops when the pitcher releases the ball.

So people aren't really complaining about the rule, they're complaining about it being enforced.

Edited March 31, 2023 by cambridgeguy

[annzeepark914]

On 3/30/2023 at 2:32 PM, jennifer6973 said:

I'd giggle at the Mets having lost one of their starting pitchers already, butttttt then again the Nationals have Patrick Corbin.

Please. It's depressing enough already (even before the first game was played). Somebody please buy this team and get it out of the hands of the Lerners.

[ProudMary]

The umping in this afternoon's SF @ NYY game has been positively atrocious. 🤬

[ebk57]

Well, so much for the Os undefeated season... 

[mojoween]

1 hour ago, ProudMary said:

The umping in this afternoon's SF @ NYY game has been positively atrocious. 🤬

I can’t even.  The overhead views showed how many calls were strikes yet were actually well off the plate.

[Lamb18]

Yay, Twins are undefeated so far! Pablo Lopez is a great starting pitcher. The undefeated streak won't last but it's a  nice start.

[JTMacc99]

On 4/1/2023 at 9:03 PM, mojoween said:

I can’t even.  The overhead views showed how many calls were strikes yet were actually well off the plate.

I heard a guy the other day call into a sports talk show, in this case about football, and he said that he was at a tennis event and all of the in/out calls were made by the Hawk-Eye computer system. It's apparently consistently accurate to within a few millimeters. 

From what I'm reading, MLB is likely to use the same Hawk-Eye technology starting next year to call balls and strikes. It sounds like they're going to have the computer make the call, whisper it in the umpire's ear, and then he will then make the call. I also read something where it might instead just be used as part of a replay review system that allows managers to challenge calls. 

I really hope it's not the challenge one. We're doing so much to make the game shorter, so why would we do something that immediately adds time back?

 

I'm not 100% in favor of this change. Maybe 95% in favor. The other 5% of me doesn't mind the human component messing things up in baseball. Since the beginning of the sport, baseball has had a component of players attempting to get around the rules. (They all love cheating.) So if you're a pitcher who discovers that the umpire is calling your pitches 2 inches off the plate strikes, then you'll spend the entire game trying to hit that spot. 

[Black Knight]

I think there will be plenty of humans messing things up in baseball regardless. The thing is that it's an enjoyable part of a sport when it's the player doing the messing up. That goes directly to their athletic ability and mental makeup, and it's literally part of the game play action - swinging and missing, not fielding that grounder, etc. It feels different when it's a referee or umpire making the mistake. They aren't the athletes, they're not the ones playing. Viewers watch sports to see the athletes succeed or fail, not the officials.

If computers do take over balls and strikes, I think any moaning or negative feelings will dissipate quickly. And there'll still be other situations in which to boo the umpires!

[cambridgeguy]

It gives baseball fans a leg up on other sports.  You think your umps/refs/etc. are bad?  We're trying to replace ours with computers!

[JTMacc99]

3 hours ago, Black Knight said:

If computers do take over balls and strikes, I think any moaning or negative feelings will dissipate quickly. And there'll still be other situations in which to boo the umpires!

I think you're absolutely right on both things.

It'll be really hard to justify being annoyed that balls and strikes are being called consistently and correctly. 

[twoods]

Then fans would have no one to blame other than the players for their losses. Blasphemy! Social media is doomed!

[Jane Tuesday]

24 minutes ago, twoods said:

Then fans would have no one to blame other than the players for their losses. Blasphemy! Social media is doomed!

They'll always have the front office! 

[mojoween]

Moose, avert your eyes.

The DH and I, 50 years around this rock.

 

[Calvada]

On 4/3/2023 at 9:14 AM, JTMacc99 said:

From what I'm reading, MLB is likely to use the same Hawk-Eye technology starting next year to call balls and strikes. It sounds like they're going to have the computer make the call, whisper it in the umpire's ear, and then he will then make the call.

Can they use it this year to test it out?  In games when C.B. Bucknor is behind home plate?  

[twoods]

I don’t know what it is about the Dodgers but it seems as if players revive their careers with them. Jason Heyward has been ridiculous so far, and with signing Outman to a minimum contract the Dodgers are getting both players for under 2 million. It’s unfair.

[Jane Tuesday]

Anybody have a decent starting pitcher they'd trade for a high-ceiling outfielder? I feel like one might come available... the last time Oli benched somebody for not hustling, Bader got a hair cut. #drama

Edited April 5, 2023 by Jane Tuesday

[Lantern7]

Uh huh. Meanwhile, the Mets have lost two games in a row by a combined score of 19-0. I'm starting to get concerned.

[smittykins]

21 hours ago, Black Knight said:

If computers do take over balls and strikes, I think any moaning or negative feelings will dissipate quickly. And there'll still be other situations in which to boo the umpires!

I’m not so sure.  I can totally imagine someone bitching “It’s been calibrated wrong!”

Edited April 5, 2023 by smittykins

[mojoween]

The pitch clock is still stupid and the shorter games are whatever, but the inflated and artificial stolen base totals are maddening.  Hamstringing the pitchers while basically giving carte blanche to runners does not make for better baseball.

[Salacious Kitty]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

The pitch clock is still stupid and the shorter games are whatever, but the inflated and artificial stolen base totals are maddening.  Hamstringing the pitchers while basically giving carte blanche to runners does not make for better baseball.

Yeah, I don't get that part of the rule either. Only two throws to first? Ridiculous.

[mojoween]

An alert on my phone that Shohei Ohtani is the first batter and pitcher to get a pitch clock violation in the same game!

Shut. The fuck. Up.

A. the season is one week old.  B. he is the only pitcher/batter playing and with the new rules Position Player Pitching is going to be way reduced and C. that IS NOT NEWS.

[Harry24]

7 hours ago, mojoween said:

An alert on my phone that Shohei Ohtani is the first batter and pitcher to get a pitch clock violation in the same game!

Shut. The fuck. Up.

A. the season is one week old.  B. he is the only pitcher/batter playing and with the new rules Position Player Pitching is going to be way reduced and C. that IS NOT NEWS.

MLB is just so pathetically thirsty these days.  Sigh.

[Lantern7]

Marlins/Mets postponed due to bad weather. They’d be playing right now. Right now, it isn’t raining.

It’s supposed to get worse, and I can’t fully hate MLB for pulling the plug early. It’s just funny to me, and it shows the luck that the Mets have been going through.

[ebk57]

A lovely day at the ballpark...except it was cold and there were too many people there. 

The game was good ... 

[mojoween]

I was having a great dinner at this fabulous Mexican restaurant, things were looking up and then bam! ruined.  I blame ebk, really.

[Lantern7]

I recorded the Mets' pregame ceremonies for their home opener. I came home, turned on the TV, and I got spoiled about Edwin Diaz's appearance. Still a good moment.

Damn, how many supplemental personnel do the Mets have? Game should've started at 3, what with all the people being introduced.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Lantern7

[Moose135]

On 4/6/2023 at 5:23 AM, mojoween said:

An alert on my phone that Shohei Ohtani is the first batter and pitcher to get a pitch clock violation in the same game!

Shut. The fuck. Up.

A. the season is one week old.  B. he is the only pitcher/batter playing and with the new rules Position Player Pitching is going to be way reduced and C. that IS NOT NEWS.

You know, if we get rid of this silly designated hitter rule, we'll see more guys get a clock violation for both batting and pitching... 😉

[Crs97]

Special opening for the Guardians; they will also wear the patch on Aug 24, the 50th anniversary of his bringing his drum.

[mojoween]

Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are stars of StatCast, and yet I still think it’s stupid.

Why would I want to watch a 3D rendering of a home run when I could, you know, watch the real thing?

[ebk57]

5 hours ago, mojoween said:

Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are stars of StatCast, and yet I still think it’s stupid.

Why would I want to watch a 3D rendering of a home run when I could, you know, watch the real thing?

Because it's really not all that much fun watching in person?  😉

[cleo]

Holy fuck baseball is stressful.

[twoods]

13 hours ago, cleo said:

Holy fuck baseball is stressful.

I didn’t even know that the game went into extras. I saw the 4 run lead and figured another squandered early lead for the Angels. Both teams put up a lot of runs in the series. 

[cleo]

I get too caught up in it, I was yelling at my TV heh.

I wish our GM would get decent pitching. It's been a problem for years. Two or three good guys and a bunch of crappy guys doesn't cut it. Jays aren't going to get double digit runs every game.

Maybe if we get swept by Tampa next weekend he'll wakeup. 

[mojoween]

There is a man at first wearing a Cleveland jersey with Alomar on the back and I suddenly forgot what year it is.

[twoods]

10-0 for the Rays- very impressive. 

[mojoween]

17 hours ago, twoods said:

10-0 for the Rays- very impressive. 

In 1987 the Brewers started 13-0 (and later that year Paul Molitor had a 39-game hitting streak, longest since DiMaggio) but alas it was all for naught as Milwaukee finished third.

In the AL East.

[cambridgeguy]

And before that, the 82 Braves also started 13-0 and did finish first in the NL West (no, that's not a typo) before being swept by the Cardinals.

[Fukui San]

4 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

And before that, the 82 Braves also started 13-0 and did finish first in the NL West (no, that's not a typo) before being swept by the Cardinals.

It's a real oddity of sports geography that Atlanta had a baseball team and a football team that both were assigned to be in their sport's respective Western divisions for a good amount of time. At least the Basketball and Hockey leagues managed to place Atlanta in the Eastern part of the country.

[ebk57]

And in 1988, the Os started 0-21 and that year ended...  oh never mind.  Nothing good happened there.

 

 

They almost made the playoff the following year, so yay? 

[cleo]

I don't like the Rays but it is impressive. I think I can safely say that anyone thinking they will finally face a good team when they come to Toronto this weekend is mistaken.

We have a good lineup but our pitching sucks.

[Lamb18]

Yay! Twins win in extra innings on a bunt and an error!

[grommit2]

Argh...things are not looking so good for the BoSox.
I find it interesting that the BoSox stats folks determined that paying 30+ year old pitchers premium salaries was a waste of money, because, despite their prior stellar performances, once they hit 30+ they invariably declined.  Despite what the numbers said,  the BoSox paid both Price and Sale premium+ salaries, then got just a little bit out of Price, and really nothing from Sale.
And then they decided not to pay a proven performer (Xander), albeit not a pitcher, lost him to the Padres.  So, the question becomes, who is actually running this show?

[dewelar]

23 hours ago, mojoween said:

(and later that year Paul Molitor had a 39-game hitting streak, longest since DiMaggio)

Well, in the AL, anyway. Yeah, I know, we would all kinda like to forget Pete Rose existed...

[mojoween]

The umps in Cleveland need to go back to remedial ump school.