MLB Thread

[Moose135]

Will there be a game at Yankee Stadium tomorrow, or will it be snowed out?

 

It has been postponed to Tuesday.

 

At least they didn't schedule a game Tuesday in case the Monday game can't happen? 

 

I've seen that a lot, especially with the Mets, they have an off-day after the home opener in case of weather issues.

 

At least the Mets didn't go out like punks. That has to count for something, right? Harvey going 5 2/3 means he can go deeper in September. And nice to see Bartolo again, though it's not an official experience unless he bats.

 

I know it's early, but it's good to see that big contract they gave Cespedes is paying off.  Although in fairness, that was a tough catch to make - the ball hit him right in the glove...

[smittykins]

Yeah, the off-day after Opening Day has been standard practice for awhile, specifically for that reason.

[xaxat]

ETA: I got bored around 11 and tuned into HBO. Oh, man. John Oliver did a thing about how a Yankees exec is frowning upon people reselling tickets for premium seats, and he's offering six seats -- two per game -- for the Astros/Yankees series to people who are willing to NOT look like they've been in a premium area. If you got HBO, check out Last Week Tonight. So funny.

 

ETA2: Here's the hashtag on Twitter. Can't wait to see who won!

 

It actually wouldn't matter what I wore, because you give me a pre-game round of free premium liquor in that club and it would quickly become clear that I have never been there before.

[ebk57]

Yeah, the off-day after Opening Day has been standard practice for awhile, specifically for that reason.

 

I think - think, but may be making this totally up - that half of the teams opened on Monday (first game always the Reds) and half the teams opened on Tuesday.  So the teams that opened Monday had Tuesday off so as not to dilute the importance of opening day for the Tuesday teams.  But that might be something that I always wished was true.

 

 

Leaving for the ballpark shortly.  Here's hoping for NO RAIN!!!!  

 

Let's go O's!!!!!!!!

[Lantern7]

Found this on Penny Arcade. They don't do sports much, but the concept is pretty funny.

[smittykins]

Have a great time, ebk57!

[King of Birds]

Damn now the Red Sox /Indians are postponed too.

[bosawks]

Damn now the Red Sox /Indians are postponed too.

 

What!!!!

 

*&(&***%#@!^&((!@#$ you weather!

[King of Birds]

It wasn't raining or snowing, but with the forecast calling for colder weather - with rain or snow - toward evening, the Indians decided to make the change.

 

''That steady precipitation forecast combined with wind chills dropping into the teens, it was decided by both teams and umpires for fan comfort and player safety to postpone the game,'' the Indians said in a statement.

 

Yeah, like it's not gonna be the same cold where the teams / umps/ fan comfort go back late tomorrow afternoon.  Why not start the game at 1pm Eastern?

Edited April 4, 2016 by King of Birds

[prican58]

Canada baseball fans....I have heard that Montreal has plans for a 35,000 seat stadium for baseball. Is this true? Would it be for an MLB team or a minor league team? Any talk about a dome? 

 

Not sure I can see post season baseball in Canada in mid-late Oct without one.

[jennifer6973]

Ahem...

 

2 of my teams won, hoping for the 3rd and it looks good so far.

 

(Nats only won when I left to go for a walk in the 9th.

 

 

which means

 

 

Nationals are in first place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

ok so it means absolutely nothing after one game, but it makes me happy.

 

 

 

***CoughCespedesshouldhaveusedtwohandsCough****

Edited April 4, 2016 by jennifer6973

[annzeepark914]

Nationals are in first place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

ok so it means absolutely nothing after one game, but it makes me happy.

 

 

 

 

Joy to the world the Nats are in first place and won their first game!  Go Dusty!  Go Nats!!

[xaxat]

Will the Yoenis Cespedes compression sleeve come with the ability to dislodge an unstuck ball that's still in play?

 

Perhaps, but it doesn't look like it helps with fly balls.

[Rick Kitchen]

Mariners lose a Felix Hernandez start 3-2 even though he only gave up one hit.

 

http://deadspin.com/felix-hernandezs-loss-was-one-of-the-weirdest-in-baseba-1769013667?

[ebk57]

Have a great time, ebk57!

 

Thanks.  In the grand scheme of things, it was a lovely day.  Lunch at our favorite place.  Ballpark.  Then...rain delay with no rain.  Then 2 innings.  Then rain.  Real rain.  So when it stopped raining, we walked back to our favorite dining place and sat at the bar and watched the rest of the game.  

 

Yay team!!! 

[rallymantis]

Now THAT'S devotion.

[smittykins]

Interesting that when the Yankees ' PA announcer did the player introductions, it was only the starting lineups. It must be COLD. :)

[mojoween]

If anyone happens to be watching the game and notices two ninja turtles sitting behind home plate, that is most likely the handiwork of the delightful John Oliver, who purchased premium seats and gave them away on Twitter.

[Lantern7]

I mentioned that in the previous page. John is selling premium seat for a quarter each for the next two games. Maybe I should go home and fire up YES to see if they're on camera, or if the ushers beat them up.

[xaxat]

You couldn't miss them at first, but they aren't in their seats anymore. I hope they are in the club working over the open bar and buffet in a manner befitting guys who have never been there before.

 

Do us proud!

 

ETA, they're back.

Edited April 5, 2016 by xaxat

[King of Birds]

ETA, they're back.

Love it!

[MyAimIsTrue]

Greetings from frigid and snowy Buffalo! The cable system in the hotel has both YES and SNY and after a stressful day on site with the client I am watching the Mets vs. the Royals. Syndegaard has pretty hair.

As a T-Mobile customer I received free MLB.com TV for the entire season! Now I get why fans bitch about blackout rules because apparently the Pirates game is blacked out in the Buffalo area.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Toronto's fanbase is imploding and rioting right now :)  We were losing 3-2 to Tampa in the 9th -- we got 2 on base, then Edwin E. hit a grounder that Josh Donaldson and Ryan Goins reached home on.  So we we were GOING to win 4-3 and then they ruled that Jose Bautista interfered with the play at second base because his hand brushed against Logan Forsythe's leg.  So that's a double play, so 3 outs, Tampa wins 3-2.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Rick Kitchen]

The replay shows it was a deliberate interference.

[Lantern7]

 For anybody who has SNY . . . they got an hour-long special focusing on the Mets' turnaround last year. It's titled "Five Days In Flushing." I'll have to sit down and see the whole thing.

[King of Birds]

The replay shows it was a deliberate interference.

Bautista slid, and then reached out to interfere with the Ray player- after he'd been called out.

 

And then, on the MLB network post game interviews:

 

John Gibbons- "That's good baseball, that's been baseball forever ya know?"

Bautista- "It was absolutely a clean slide ...  I - I could have done much worse."

 

Someone needs to tell him that what he did, ended the game. That's worse, I think.

Looking forward to seeing the Jays play in pink dresses!

Edited April 6, 2016 by King of Birds

[Ms Blue Jay]

The replay shows it was a deliberate interference.

 

I guess it's nice that you can see things so black and white and cut and dry, and just lay down the law.  There is a lot of talk in the media discussing this application of the rule, and it is extremely new.  The players and the umpires were all confused about it.  If the umpires experienced no confusion then the "right call" would have been immediate instead of later overturned.   As it's a discussion board I thought this was worthy of discussion.

 

The exact quote that Jose used was "I feel like it was a clean slide."

 

 

Some are arguing that the actual contact doesn't matter -- rather that Jose was called for breaking the rule because he didn't stay on the base.

 

Others are arguing that the contact DOES matter , and that if you make any contact at ALL with the player on second, you'll be called for interference.  For example, some players are asking to be explained how to slide into second without interfering according to the new rule.

 

This won't be the last time we hear about this.  Chase Utley just did a 'bad slide' again tonight.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[King of Birds]

I know you're a Blue Jay fan Ms Blue Jay but the overt Bautista hand grab post-slide is obstruction and has been since the dawn of baseball. I was called out on something like that in Babe Ruth, "breaking up" a play. The thing was I knew I did it. The coach shot daggers at me that day.

 

The more interesting rule interpolation is that apparently, pitchers should just throw and hit the runner in the future instead of the 1st baseman's mitt.  (And, ya know, when the runners are out of baseline.)

Edited April 6, 2016 by King of Birds

[Ms Blue Jay]

This stuff is so complicated.  A slide has to have 4 qualifications to be a good slide!

 

I'm all for the rule for safety's sake.  I.e. I TOTALLY get that a runner should not run outside of the baseline, or slide way past the bag because he's trying to interfere with the thrower.

 

But the thing that's tough is these "Did this slide break the rule?" decisions seem to be up to umpire / reviewer interpretation.  Apparently the interpretation on Bautista's slide was mixed, which meant that it had to go to the "It's interference" ruling.  Also, it's tough to lose a game that way.  Bautista will have to change his actions.

 

Trust me, a lot of Torontonians were upset.  I actually like the rule.  I don't know how I feel about last night and the interpretation but I do like the rule.  You say it's been this way forever, but it was reported in the media that he was called out because of the new Chase Utley rule?

 

Edited, I think I found the "Old" rule he broke!

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Lantern7]

Apparently, a unicorn and shark are at Yankee Stadium today. And the Ninja Turtles are getting all sorts of press.

[mojoween]

I was only able to watch the first inning before DVR conflicts and the riffraff seats were empty. I just flipped over real quick and they're still empty, bummer.

And that poor Astros pitcher! He has to go in in the first inning and then two hours later he's tossed 107 pitches and it's only the fifth inning. Good lord.

[ElDosEquis]

Joy to the world the Nats are in first place and won their first game!  Go Dusty!  Go Nats!!

Dusty Fucking Baker is a really stand up guy.

 

I was at the batting cages hitting some balls and sat down on the bench for a minute. I looked up and saw a silver Porsche pull up and some guy gets out and grabs his bag from the trunk. I look again and it Dusty Baker. This was right after the Dodgers cut him from the team. I'm not a fan boy, so I watched some other kids, who recognized him right away, talk to him.

 

They began to ask him for autographs, so he came over and sat on the bench next to me while he signed and when he was done with then, he looked at me and asked, "Would you like an autograph?" It wasn't a dickhead move, he was just getting it out of the way because he sat there for about 15 minutes shooting the shit with me and offering the kids some batting tips.

We talked about getting picked up by another team and what the Dodgers had done to him (As I remember they cut him amid some drug abuse rumors - I had to leave so I shook his hand and wished him good luck.........he was a really nice guy and was glad to see him get the chance to play again and coach for the Reds and Cubs.

[Lantern7]

It's raining in the city. Don't know if the Astros/Yankees finale will happen, and if LWT's latest winner will be in attendance.

[xaxat]

Can't tell what they are dressed as, but they are definitely there.

[mojoween]

Their costumes look homemade for sure.

[pennben]

I love John Oliver, full stop.  And I guess costumes are fun, but you know what would really make folks uncomfortable in those seats?  Actual poor people getting to sit there for the game.  I know, I'm a killjoy, but I really thought that Oliver was going to do something like this, rather than just go this costume route with the bit. I feel like he missed what could have been a really striking contrast here.

[prican58]

Am I the only one who still forgets that Astros are now in the A.L.? I always think it's interleague when they play Yanks and that it's an N.L. game vs Mets. When Mets use DH vs 'Stros I have to really scratch my head.

[attica]

Can't tell what they are dressed as, but they are definitely there.

Dragons!

[smittykins]

Am I the only one who still forgets that Astros are now in the A.L.? I always think it's interleague when they play Yanks and that it's an N.L. game vs Mets. When Mets use DH vs 'Stros I have to really scratch my head.

Nope, not the only one. It's been what, three years now, and I still forget.

[Moose135]

Am I the only one who still forgets that Astros are now in the A.L.?

 

No, it's not just you.

[Mittengirl]

Definitely not just you. I still have trouble remembering that the Brewers are in the National League.

[mojoween]

Yankees respond to John Oliver.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Actual poor people getting to sit there for the game

You mean like the people who actually live near the stadium?   It's mindboggling to me that the Yankees continue to circle the wagons against the neighborhood they're in.

Edited April 8, 2016 by ratgirlagogo

[xaxat]

The funny thing is that I don't think Lon Trost and the Yankee's efforts to have a monopoly on the resale market are going to keep the "riff raff" out of those seats.

 

I've been lucky enough to have premium seats in arenas and stadiums in New York and several other cities and never paid a dime. It's usually courtesy a friend of a friend or tickets given to me because a company wanted to do business with the one I was working for.

 

So, despite the price, it's not uncommon for "regular" people to be in those types of seats. I once shared a suite with a group of car salespeople who worked the bar over like you would not believe.

 

(On the other hand, there was the time that a guy, for some unfathomable reason, decided that I looked like I belonged and proceeded to confess about how stressed he felt because he laid off a bunch of people earlier in the day. I read about him and his company the next day in the newspaper.)

 

[ratgirlagogo]

 

I've been lucky enough to have premium seats in arenas and stadiums in New York and several other cities and never paid a dime. It's usually courtesy a friend of a friend or tickets given to me because a company wanted to do business with the one I was working for.

Oh, I have too, on occasion.  Not these days since the friend we used to get the tickets from retired from the trucking company that had the box seats.  I've also eaten at Rao's as a friend of a tableholder, and for a while I was getting seatfiller seats (usually in the front rows or boxes) to all kinds of Broadway hits because one of my friends was dating a stagehand.

 

But getting a favor because you know a guy, who knows a guy - it's great when it happens, but it's not democratic or really fair. In fact it could be said to represent NYC at its worst.  Why are the Yankees so opposed to the project of increasing baseball fandom?

Edited April 8, 2016 by ratgirlagogo

[ebk57]

Oh, I have too, on occasion.  Not these days since the friend we used to get the tickets from retired from the trucking company that had the box seats.  I've also eaten at Rao's as a friend of a tableholder, and for a while I was getting seatfiller seats (usually in the front rows or boxes) to all kinds of Broadway hits because one of my friends was dating a stagehand.

 

But getting a favor because you know a guy, who knows a guy - it's great when it happens, but it's not democratic or really fair. In fact it could be said to represent NYC at its worst.  Why are the Yankees so opposed to the project of increasing baseball fandom?

 

Wait a minute - I'm married to a stagehand and I get squadoosh from him, seat-wise!  Good thing I have friends in the biz... :-)

[King of Birds]

So Ms Blue Jay - didja catch the clip for the end of the Astros v Brewers game tonight?   I guess this is gonna really turn into A Thing.

 

ebk- my like click for you is based entirely on your use of the word squadoosh.  Kudos!

 

Why are the Yankees so opposed to the project of increasing baseball fandom?

Ya know, I don't think it's the YANKEES who are opposed to the project.  I mean, John Oliver could do his $.25 bit on the Dodgers, the Red Sox - a couple of other teams. These teams would rather have some corporate entity throw money at them and buy a bunch of tickets to just disperse as they see fit, than attempt to "do the right thing" and establish a fan base.

 

I mean, the Red Sox seem thrilled to over-charge for beer like a movie theater selling two day old popcorn.

Are the Dodgers concerned about fans and their health with the all-you-can-eat pavilion section?

It's all about the Benjamins baby.

 

This is a game about a team assessing post All-Star break whether they should trade talent to find the arm/ bat / jolt they need to win it all for the season. Sure it's a marathon but then they sprint at the end, and look how many teams each year can't figure out what they need "this" year, "this" season. And you expect them to formulate long term plans for the fan-base?  Baseball talks about how it's a marathon but would make the game more fan-friendly by cutting back to 154, 156 maybe, throw in maybe one friggin' fan friendly double-header a year, and start April and October  games earlier and not at 8pm for the networks, etc. They sold their soul to television, not the fans, and TV is the ultimate definition of short-term attention span. 

 

The game doesn't think long-term. A smart Commissioner might. Good luck with that.

 

And again since I'm already mid-rant and I don't care if you don't like it - if the Dodgers actually give a flying fuck about the game of baseball and Vin Scully and 67 years of eloquence he shared, then DON'T GIVE UP after a few weeks of TRYING to fix the SoCal TV broadcast issue after they caused the problem and didn't even TRY to get fans the game for TWO ENTIRE SEASONS.  324 games of baseball, that I used to get as part of the MLB tv package that I've paid for, was oh so easily taken away because of this shit.

Edited April 9, 2016 by King of Birds

[Rick Kitchen]

Trevor Story of the Rockies has hit six homers in his first four Major League games.

[Lantern7]

If only Rodney Dangefield were still alive. John Oliver probably would've put him in all three days. And at the end of every game? "Hey, everybody! We're all gonna get laid!!" Actually, Rodney might have been a Mets fan . . . he did an introduction for the team's 25th anniversary tape, and he was the guest of honor for "Opening Day II" at Shea.

[caracas1914]

Fuck the pitch count.

LA Dodger Rookie Pitcher Ross Stripling pitches 7 1/3 no hit ball trying to be the first debut no hitter in 120 plus years and his manager pulls him from the game while leading 2-0, WTF....just to see the Giants hitter get their FIRST hit with a 2 run home run to tie the game which the Giants won in 10 innings with another HR.

Yes, I know he was coming out of Tommy John surgery in the off season and had thrown 100 pitches but this was a no hitter.

Edited April 9, 2016 by caracas1914