Rock finally made the Hall in his last shot, blowing past the hurdle with 86%. Really happy for him, glad the voters did the right thing.
Bagwell in as well, correcting last year's odd brain fart.
Pudge was the third and final inductee, also meritorious, although other accused/suspected roiders of equal or greater ability remain on the outs. HOF as an institution and the voters collectively can't seem to figure out what they want to do here. So far it seems like the rule is that if the suspicions and accusation reach a certain critical mass, the player will be kept out. UNLESS they played catcher. I guess they figure anyone who has to squat for tens of thousands of innings needs all the help they can get, chemical or otherwise.
Hoffman is knocking in the door- he and Vlad look like a lock to get in although 2018 will be crowded. But Billy Wagner, as a good a player as Hoffman, barely missed falling off the ballot.
Mussina didn't get in, but made a nice gain, jumping from 43 to 52%. Optimistically, he will continue to build and get in a few years from now.
Curt Schilling, OTOH tumbled below 50% this year, presumably because his present day off-filed mouth is detracting from his playing years accomplishments. To make matters worse, he spent the day after results were announced getting into a hilarious twitter spat with an anonymous Yankee fan posting under the fake identity of erstwhile AL hurler Sidney Ponson, culminating in Schilling insisting repeatedly that he was corresponding with the real Sidney Ponson. As amusing as it is to watch Schilling make a fool of himself - for the uninitiated, he is regular trafficker in Trumptard Facebook Follies - he is deserving of making it and his political stances, however asinine, shouldn't impact that.
My favorite dark horse/under-rated candidate - Larry Walker - picked up a few % but still seems like a huge long shot.
I'm satisfied with the HoF results. No one I was a particular fan enough of to catch the induction ceremony though. I'm headed to Tribefest this weekend, so I'll be kicking into basbeall mode again shortly.
Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura dies in a car crash in the Dominican Republic. :(
As well as one time super-prospect Andy Marte.
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on January 23, 2017, 05:47:49 PM
I'm satisfied with the HoF results.
Yeah, I am too, in general.
I wish the voters would go ahead and do the right thing and put Bonds and Clemens in so we can get past the whole steroids controversy and move on--both ended up at over 50% in their 5th year on the ballot, so it's apparent that they're going to get in eventually, so let's go ahead and get it over with so we can get rid of the problem of suspected steroid users clogging up the ballot and making it harder for everyone else.
Beyond that, the 3 guys that got in were basically 3 of the 4 that I liked the best (the other being Edgar Martinez), so I'm cool with that.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 23, 2017, 05:42:40 PM
Rock finally made the Hall in his last shot, blowing past the hurdle with 86%. Really happy for him, glad the voters did the right thing.
Oh, you mean the guy that would slide head first, as not to break the vials of cocaine in his back pocket? Yeah, the Rock. It's called "crack" on the street.
QuoteMussina didn't get in, but made a nice gain, jumping from 43 to 52%. Optimistically, he will continue to build and get in a few years from now.
Mike Mussina is not an elite quarterback.
QuoteMy favorite dark horse/under-rated candidate - Larry Walker - picked up a few % but still seems like a huge long shot.
Automatically disqualified for playing in Colorado. For the same reason a grown ass man doesn't get mad props for playing rec league tee-ball.
And all hail Schuerholz. Tiger Pride and Natty Boh, hon.
Very happy that Raines got in; it's unfortunate to be the second best lead-off hitter in the history of the game but to also have played at the same time as the best.
I guess I didn't remember or realize how good Bagwell was. He and Barry Bonds are the only 2 players to have multiple 40HR 30SB seasons. Much more deserving than Biggio, that's for sure.
Can't argue with Pudge either, unless you want to go down the Who Did and Who Didn't rabbit hole with guys that never failed a real test.
Agreed about Hoffman and Vlad, both will be in. Probably next year but eventually for sure.
Mussina is blah. At least Biggio compiled HoF worth stats during his 82 year career. Mussina's numbers aren't impressive enough to make up for his rather forgettable career.
I have always said that Schilling should be a Hall of Famer, no doubt about it. I hope he gets in posthumously after getting run over by a cement mixer before the next round of voting.
My favorite dark horse/under-rated candidate - Edgar Martinez. He is trending up but I don't know if it is fast enough to beat the new rules (10 years on ballot and can only vote for 10 player each year). The best DH award is named after the guy for fuck's sake he needs to be in the Hall.
Bonds and Clemens both made sizable jumps this year and I hope that they end up getting in. Rafael Palmeiro can suck a dick though.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on January 23, 2017, 07:34:21 PM
Oh, you mean the guy that would slide head first, as not to break the vials of cocaine in his back pocket? Yeah, the Rock. It's called "crack" on the street.
He reformed. Jesus saves
Anyways, it's hard enough getting guys from the 80s elected, if we start eliminating all the cokeheads, it'll be impossible.
QuoteMike Mussina is not an elite quarterback.
Still sour grapes from the FA departure?
There are plenty of pitchers with that profile in the Hall - Glavine, Ruffing, Grimes, Hoyt, Wynn, Hoyt, Sutton, Gomez. Also Jim Bunning - elite jackass in the Senate but not so much on the mound. Mussina compares well overall to that group.
Where Mussina makes his case is his extraordinary consistency. Is there value in having a guy that is going to give you reliable results on the mound, year after year? A guy who in the modern era had nine straight seasons of 200 IP, 17 straight at 150 IP, who made at least 24 starts a year after his rookie year? That's a very valuable and rare skill. And with six top 5 finishes in the Cy Young.
Glavine is a decent comp but with the benefit of playing in the NL. And Glavine never had to play behind the kind of legendarily bad defenses Mussina had to work with on the 2002-2005 Yankees.
I'm beginning to suspect that Joan and Moose are butt buddies.
He is kind of dreamy . . .
Moose is a damn traitor.
Just be happy NYY didn't take the whole Orioles franchise, 1903 style.
Quote from: Valmy on January 24, 2017, 01:32:14 PM
Moose is a damn traitor.
Disagree. He was betrayed by Peter Asbestos.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 24, 2017, 01:10:24 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on January 23, 2017, 07:34:21 PM
Oh, you mean the guy that would slide head first, as not to break the vials of cocaine in his back pocket? Yeah, the Rock. It's called "crack" on the street.
He reformed. Jesus saves
Anyways, it's hard enough getting guys from the 80s elected, if we start eliminating all the cokeheads, it'll be impossible.
Tough shit. Everybody gets grief for performance enhancing drugs, yet guys like Raines get a pass for doing more coke than Tony Montana. Fuck that.
QuoteStill sour grapes from the FA departure?
Not at all; on the contrary, I didn't blame him in the slightest. He did his part in '97, signing for under-market value despite Brady Anderson being overpaid and Cal getting his twilight megamillions, and his loyalty was pissed upon by a WAIT FOR IT a filthy fucking cuntfuck trial lawyer who's too fucking cheap to even be Jewish.
QuoteThere are plenty of pitchers with that profile in the Hall - Glavine, Ruffing, Grimes, Hoyt, Wynn, Hoyt, Sutton, Gomez. Also Jim Bunning - elite jackass in the Senate but not so much on the mound. Mussina compares well overall to that group.
Where Mussina makes his case is his extraordinary consistency. Is there value in having a guy that is going to give you reliable results on the mound, year after year? A guy who in the modern era had nine straight seasons of 200 IP, 17 straight at 150 IP, who made at least 24 starts a year after his rookie year? That's a very valuable and rare skill. And with six top 5 finishes in the Cy Young.
Glavine is a decent comp but with the benefit of playing in the NL. And Glavine never had to play behind the kind of legendarily bad defenses Mussina had to work with on the 2002-2005 Yankees.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftwentysomethingliving.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F06%2Fbeyonce-hand.gif&hash=7b36a91e68ccff9f462d3aa4fcd982833b3d7ac4)
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 24, 2017, 01:10:24 PM
There are plenty of pitchers with that profile in the Hall - Glavine, Ruffing, Grimes, Hoyt, Wynn, Hoyt, Sutton, Gomez. Also Jim Bunning - elite jackass in the Senate but not so much on the mound. Mussina compares well overall to that group.
Where Mussina makes his case is his extraordinary consistency. Is there value in having a guy that is going to give you reliable results on the mound, year after year? A guy who in the modern era had nine straight seasons of 200 IP, 17 straight at 150 IP, who made at least 24 starts a year after his rookie year? That's a very valuable and rare skill. And with six top 5 finishes in the Cy Young.
Glavine is a decent comp but with the benefit of playing in the NL. And Glavine never had to play behind the kind of legendarily bad defenses Mussina had to work with on the 2002-2005 Yankees.
Mussina's actually better--considerably better--than any of those guys except maybe Glavine and Gomez. Mussina won 270 with a .638 winning percentage. The guys you list have 220+ wins but winning percentages in the .250-.265 range except that Glavine won over 300 game with a winning percentage just over .600, and Gomez had considerably fewer wins than anyone else you listed (189) but a winning percentage even better than Mussina's (.649).
I get what you say about Sutton being a good comp for Mussina, though. Their numbers aren't strikingly similar, but both were guys who were pretty consistant, were never considered to be the best starter in any given year, but were usually among the better starters, and stuck around for a long time. That said, I think Mussina was clearly better, though Sutton of course ended up with more wins 'cause he stuck around longer.
Jim Palmer's
career numbers are pretty comparable to Mussina's, but otherwise they're not really all that similar--Palmer had some big seasons in there.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on January 24, 2017, 07:16:36 PM
Tough shit. Everybody gets grief for performance enhancing drugs, yet guys like Raines get a pass for doing more coke than Tony Montana. Fuck that.
Amalie Benjamin has the best answer to this. How do you put someone in the Hall that was suspended by Baseball for PEDs over someone who wasn't?
Quote from: Grey Fox on January 26, 2017, 08:35:57 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on January 24, 2017, 07:16:36 PM
Tough shit. Everybody gets grief for performance enhancing drugs, yet guys like Raines get a pass for doing more coke than Tony Montana. Fuck that.
Amalie Benjamin has the best answer to this. How do you put someone in the Hall that was suspended by Baseball for PEDs over someone who wasn't?
For the same reason one person is always put in over another - they were a better player.
So Grapefruit & Cactus Leagues are wrapping up. I plan to continue my tradition of partaking in Opening Day festivities but not going to the game.
Cardinals had an excellent Spring Training but that means exactly jack squat; my prediction is for them to give the Cubs a run for their money but fade down the stretch and not win the division. I'm signed up for another year of mlb.tv so they better not nosedive. I promise to deliver fresh weekly offerings to the Cards Pitcher Health Shrine I have set up in my office.
Tommy moved up to the next Little League level where it's 100% kid pitch and the mound is moved back a little. His regular team is the Brewers, which I think means I can bring beer to his games. They had their first practice yesterday and the team looked a little rough. Unless there's significant improvement he may be stuck on another losing team. Wish he had let me put him on the select team I had lined up for him.
I am so excited for yet another decent season for Baltimore. We're not so bad! We're not so bad!
It's two years removed from the World Series win, but I still like Kansas City's chances to at least make it into the dance again.
Quote from: derspiess on March 30, 2017, 11:38:38 AM
Tommy moved up to the next Little League level where it's 100% kid pitch and the mound is moved back a little. His regular team is the Brewers, which I think means I can bring beer to his games. They had their first practice yesterday and the team looked a little rough. Unless there's significant improvement he may be stuck on another losing team. Wish he had let me put him on the select team I had lined up for him.
Booo! He should be on the Indians again!
Quote from: Valmy on March 30, 2017, 01:45:12 PM
I am so excited for yet another decent season for Baltimore. We're not so bad! We're not so bad!
:glare:
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on March 30, 2017, 05:23:10 PM
Booo! He should be on the Indians again!
He moved up. The 7-8 year old level has AL teams, and now the 9-10 level has NL, plus an extra "Dragons" team for the kids not lucky enough to get on a team with an MLB name.
That said, I'm looking into possibly getting up to Cleveland for a game or two. Are you making a pilgrimage this year?
Quote from: CountDeMoney on March 30, 2017, 05:44:09 PM
Quote from: Valmy on March 30, 2017, 01:45:12 PM
I am so excited for yet another decent season for Baltimore. We're not so bad! We're not so bad!
:glare:
What?
Quote from: derspiess on March 31, 2017, 10:39:35 AM
He moved up. The 7-8 year old level has AL teams, and now the 9-10 level has NL, plus an extra "Dragons" team for the kids not lucky enough to get on a team with an MLB name.
That said, I'm looking into possibly getting up to Cleveland for a game or two. Are you making a pilgrimage this year?
Yeah, I plan on making at least one jaunt out to see a block of games. I'm still working out when exactly. I'll let you know.
You should enroll him in the Tribe Kids Club, aka TribeTown MVP's. It'll save you money and give the potential for some awesome events if you go to a game with him. http://mlb.mlb.com/cle/kids/tribetown_mvps/
Kinda amusing bit I read in the NYT Book Review.
Commissioner Happy Chandler asked Leo Durocher if he was friends with Bugsy Siegel. Leo replied they were nodding acquaintances. To which Happy responded, "Stop nodding."
Tommy at bat last Sunday. He swung at the first pitch and then walked the next couple times, so this is my only pic of him swinging. He looks so tiny next to that catcher. He's playing up a year on a 10U team and I think the other team may have been 11U.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi653.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu256%2Fderspiess42%2FDSC_3639_edited-1%25201_zpsefzmde4c.jpg&hash=f8def6fdd8c280dfa7f172683893f9baa2aea9d8)
He looks tiny in comparison to the ball. :D
:lol: He is average height for his age, I swear.
Maybe you should hold him back so he can be more competitive with the bigger kids, for like 4 years or so.
Blue Jays lose their first two games. Season is a write off.
Quote from: PRC on April 06, 2017, 05:28:23 PM
Blue Jays lose their first two games. Season is a write off.
And it's gotten worse. Yikes. I watched the game vs. the O's last night. If Bautista and Tulowitzki don't get it together this team will continue to have problems. And Donaldson getting hurt again-- ouch.
Reds fans have been all full of themselves on Facebook about the team's impressive start (best MLB record before last night). It's great to see people in this town excited about baseball, but none of their lazy asses will get down to the ballpark and watch a game. Attendance last night was 13,574.
I wish I had volunteered to coach on Tommy's Brewers team. They have a Middle Eastern kid on the team that is playing his first year. Poor little dude doesn't know what he's doing, and just keeps getting pelted with the ball when he tries to field it. The coaches really need to pull him and maybe one or two other kids aside during practice and help them develop basic fielding skills.
It's painfully obvious that few kids on the team ever pick up a bat or glove outside of practice or a game. There also seems to be a trend where many kids are playing soccer as their main sport-- during baseball season no less-- with baseball a secondary pursuit. Ugh.
Why don't you offer to coach him up one on one?
I tried to teach this poor Irish kid how to catch a football in 5th grade. Dude would just close his eyes and flap his arms. Smack right in the gob every time.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 14, 2017, 04:04:33 PM
Why don't you offer to coach him up one on one?
I might. The kid seems a little mouthy though.
Quote from: derspiess on April 14, 2017, 05:14:07 PM
I might. The kid seems a little mouthy though.
Fuck that. Let him burn.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 14, 2017, 05:20:52 PM
Quote from: derspiess on April 14, 2017, 05:14:07 PM
I might. The kid seems a little mouthy though.
Fuck that. Let him burn.
I would like to help. But I'm conflicted. And my coaching style-- I tend to yell a lot.
Quote from: derspiess on March 31, 2017, 10:39:35 AM
That said, I'm looking into possibly getting up to Cleveland for a game or two. Are you making a pilgrimage this year?
Booked the room. Now I need tickets. May 12th, 13th, and 14th. Three game set against the Twins including a Dollar Dog Night, t-shirt give away night, and kid's fun day.
Quote from: derspiess on April 14, 2017, 05:14:07 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 14, 2017, 04:04:33 PM
Why don't you offer to coach him up one on one?
I might. The kid seems a little mouthy though.
I bet he has a tiny suicide vest
CB Bucknor is an embarassment. This "foul tip" call is beyond the pale.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/call-umpire-cb-bucknor-might-one-worst-history-153135406.html
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on April 14, 2017, 05:45:48 PM
Quote from: derspiess on March 31, 2017, 10:39:35 AM
That said, I'm looking into possibly getting up to Cleveland for a game or two. Are you making a pilgrimage this year?
Booked the room. Now I need tickets. May 12th, 13th, and 14th. Three game set against the Twins including a Dollar Dog Night, t-shirt give away night, and kid's fun day.
Let me take a look at that weekend. Tommy has a game that Saturday, but either Friday or Sunday seems possible at this point.
Tommy had his first game of the season with his regular team yesterday. They got blown out, 10-0. Run-ruled in the 4th inning. Tommy walked in both his plate appearances, and for pitching he struck out 5 and walked 2 in two innings. No hits or runs allowed.
But nobody else on his team seems to care; neither the coaches or players. Tommy and I got there an hour early so I could pitch him some batting practice. The other team had all their kids and coaches there about 40-45 minutes before the game. Tommy was the only one on his team there until 20 minutes before game time.
His team will be lucky to win a game this year. Hopefully the experience will at least help me convince him to join a select or knothole team next year. I'd much rather him be "just another kid" on a good team than the best player on a bad team.
Machado is having a slow start yet the Orioles have won 9 of 13 so far. A good sign.
Shut up, Meg.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 20, 2017, 12:07:21 PM
Shut up, Meg.
Hey man I am all the way over there and sometimes I am out of touch. What is eating you about this season? The usual hatred of the cheap management?
As long as they have an owner that refuses to spend money on players that only play once every 5 days, they will be the best free agency farm team in the AL.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 20, 2017, 02:05:31 AM
CB Bucknor is an embarassment. This "foul tip" call is beyond the pale.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/call-umpire-cb-bucknor-might-one-worst-history-153135406.html
Followed it up by calling this a catch! Suspend this man and replace him with Burket! :mad:
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-umpire-cb-bucknor-is-probably-having-the-worst-week-in-baseball/
NL Central is getting interesting. Just two games separate first place from last. And the Cardinals have figured out how to eke put a few wins.
Gotta brag on my kid here. Two games into the season with his Brewers team, he's leading the league with 13 strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. He's allowed 4 runs but none earned-- his team is terrible in the field.
How many pitches can he throw? Is it all fastball at that age?
For 9 & 10 year olds, they can supposedly throw up to 75 pitches, but then they need like 5 days rest. There's a chart somewhere showing pitch count & corresponding required days rest for different ages. The league rules may be different. 75 pitches seems really excessive to me.
I have Tommy throwing fastballs-- a set pattern of two four-seam fast balls, one two-seam fastball, two four-seam, and so on. Same pattern until he gets to a point where he can make his own pitch selection. I am going to have him add a changeup into that mix when I can get him throwing that reliably over the plate. I don't have him throwing any junk and won't for the foreseeable future. That said, his four seam fastball can have a little bit of movement and behaves as if it were a cutter about half the time.
At this level all you really need to do to get strikeouts is throw strikes 50-60% of the time with some decent velocity.
In a shocking turn of events Red Sox fans are assholes.
Quote from: Valmy on May 02, 2017, 07:32:29 PM
In a shocking turn of events Red Sox fans are assholes.
All Boston sports fans are assholes.
No shit. Bostonians being Bostonians. People are directing a lot of ire at the Red Sox organization, though. What can they do? It's not their fault people in that city are assholes.
Man I am glad that series is over. Less drama when the Os play the other Sox.
Meh, piss on the Red Sox. Don't want Machado to hit home runs? Don't fucking throw them.
Fuck them and their racist fans. They're all butthurt because their season is going to suck a bag of Yastrzemski dicks.
When do the Niners start preseason....
I'm still with you, El Guapo. I'm going to tonight's and tomorrow's game to cheer on Los Gigantes.
Well the bullpen hasn't been any better that horrid performance of las season and the rotation besides Cain is not looking much hotter.
I didn't go tonight. But Cueto's pitching tomorrow and I plan to be there for that.
Clearly didn't miss out on much today.
Sorry, Bluto. Did what I could.
Yankees are in town tomorrow. Might head down to see how big a mofo that Judge kid is.
Aroldis Chapman really choked tonight. He got ahead early on just about every batter he faced, but the Cubs batters were patient and picked him apart. And then he hit Rizzo on his first pitch to him, tying up the game :rolleyes:
And an MLB record 44 total strikeouts in this Cubs-Yankees game. Top of the 17th and I'm staying up as long as it takes.
Right there with you. Damn. Game reminded me of World War I. Also, pitchers hitting is stupid.
Thank God it didn't go past 18, because I was ready to bail :D
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on May 08, 2017, 01:37:38 AM
Right there with you. Damn. Game reminded me of World War I. Also, pitchers hitting is stupid.
Game did turn out to be a advertisement of the DH
What better way to end an epic 18 inning game, then with the home team threatening, 2 men on, and 2 out, and sending up a .105 hitting pitcher to bat as a pinch hitter?
Keep your DH in your AL, pal. I like having pitchers hit.
And (not directed at anyone here) I'm getting tired of people whining about extra innings games. They are what they are-- embrace the chaos. We don't want ties in baseball, nor any "automatic runner at 2nd base" shenanigans.
Changing baseball will upset baseball fans and do nothing for people who do not like baseball. It is what it is and has been for the past 40 years.
I know how painful extra innings can be. I sat through a 25 inning marathon between UT and Boston College back in 2009. Have you ever been to an eight hour sporting event? It is surreal.
Btw, I was in the little shop for game-used memorabilia inside Great American Ballpark during yesterday's game and they had the visiting locker Arrieta used before and after his no-hitter. No price was posted-- just a note to contact the Reds if interested. I can see the ball, hat, jersey, etc. carrying a lot of value, but the locker? I'm sure some fool will prove me wrong.
Quote from: derspiess on May 08, 2017, 01:17:40 PM
Keep your DH in your AL, pal. I like having pitchers hit automatic outs.
And (not directed at anyone here) I'm getting tired of people whining about extra innings games. They are what they are-- embrace the chaos. We don't want ties in baseball, nor any "automatic runner at 2nd base" shenanigans.
Fixed that for you. There aren't enough Bumgarners to use "pitcher" and "hit" together and make it not a joke. I do however enjoy extra innings baseball. It adds some nice tension. A whole series of 9th innings in a row.
Quote from: derspiess on May 08, 2017, 01:17:40 PM
Keep your DH in your AL, pal. I like having pitchers hit.
OK but
last night (this morning's) game did not show the practice in its best light, to say the least.
2 outs 1 run down Bryant gets a key hit, Rizzo coming up, fans on their feet.
Oh wait, Cubs are long out of PH and the pitcher slot is after Rizzo.
So . . . game over. Talk about anti-climax
Anyways - how did the Judge 3-bagger look? Even the hits that stay in the park are monsters.
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on May 08, 2017, 01:34:32 PM
Fixed that for you. There aren't enough Bumgarners to use "pitcher" and "hit" together and make it not a joke. I do however enjoy extra innings baseball. It adds some nice tension. A whole series of 9th innings in a row.
It's fun when they do hit, though. Remember Colon's HR last year?? And Wainwright's value as a batter has been way better than his value as pitcher so far in 2017. Also, just seeing Cueto having to squeeze a batting helmet over his braids is worth the price of admission.
Quote from: derspiess on May 08, 2017, 01:17:40 PM
Keep your DH in your AL, pal. I like having pitchers hit.
And (not directed at anyone here) I'm getting tired of people whining about extra innings games. They are what they are-- embrace the chaos. We don't want ties in baseball, nor any "automatic runner at 2nd base" shenanigans.
There's actually a long history of ties in baseball, since before outdoor lighting games would routinely have to be called because of darkness.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/but-its-tradition-is-no-reason-to-ban-ties-games-in-mlb/
Ties happen they just do not get counted in the standings. But the game stats count for the players. They usually happen because of weather.
Sometimes they get replayed if those games turnout to matter.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on May 08, 2017, 01:42:44 PM
OK but
last night (this morning's) game did not show the practice in its best light, to say the least.
2 outs 1 run down Bryant gets a key hit, Rizzo coming up, fans on their feet.
Oh wait, Cubs are long out of PH and the pitcher slot is after Rizzo.
So . . . game over. Talk about anti-climax
Meh. I was happy :P
QuoteAnyways - how did the Judge 3-bagger look? Even the hits that stay in the park are monsters.
That was the one at-bat of his I missed. And apparently they subbed him out (double switch?) before it went into extra innings. Can't wait to see him in person tonight, though. Going to try and get there when gates open because that's when the visiting team usually takes batting practice, but I have a feeling the Yanks might skip it today since they had a late night and had to travel.
Quote from: Barrister on May 08, 2017, 01:45:54 PM
Quote from: derspiess on May 08, 2017, 01:17:40 PM
Keep your DH in your AL, pal. I like having pitchers hit.
And (not directed at anyone here) I'm getting tired of people whining about extra innings games. They are what they are-- embrace the chaos. We don't want ties in baseball, nor any "automatic runner at 2nd base" shenanigans.
There's actually a long history of ties in baseball, since before outdoor lighting games would routinely have to be called because of darkness.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/but-its-tradition-is-no-reason-to-ban-ties-games-in-mlb/
Wonder what his beef is with the new intentional walk rule? That one I'm sort of okay with.
Designated Hitting Dies in Darkness
Fun game tonight at GABP. Seemed like as many Yankees fans as Reds fans, which was expected. Got to see probably the last Matt Holliday HR I'll ever see in person. Bummer that Judge didn't play.
Also I think the Reds may have adjusted their batting practice schedule. Both yesterday and today by the time the gates opened they were just finishing up with BP. Through last year you could often catch at least 30-45 minutes of it if you got in when gates opened.
And speaking of pitchers batting, Carlos Martinez went 2 for 3 last night with a double, 4 RBI and 1 run scored. And he's starting to pitch a bit better-- thank God he got rid of those ridiculous extensions.
Quote from: derspiess on May 08, 2017, 10:31:51 PM
Fun game tonight at GABP. Seemed like as many Yankees fans as Reds fans, which was expected. Got to see probably the last Matt Holliday HR I'll ever see in person. Bummer that Judge didn't play.
3-3 from Sanchez though, still probably the better prospect.
Yeah, but I wanted to see this in person:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9qxRC-VoAA5D90.jpg)
Strat-o-matic just launched a new app for iOS and Android. It's a full set of Start cards for every team and every year of MLB going back to the 1870s, plus Negro League teams for certain years, plus the Japanese Leagues since 2013. Lots of search functionality built in as well. They plan to put it all behind a pay wall but its free access for the next week. Spent the last hour playing around. Fave so far Pedro 2000, he was so good he almost broke their system - there are no hits for LHB. Also checked out my favorite Strat team -1982 Orioles - filled with wild platoon splits.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on May 23, 2017, 09:38:03 PM
Also checked out my favorite Strat team -1982 Orioles - filled with wild platoon splits.
Fucking Brewers. :mad: An even worse final series than Toronto in '89.
I want a Earl Weaver base stealing game.
PRESS A TO KICK DIRT ON THE UMP!
THE UMP IS ENRAGED!
PRESS Z TO TAKE SECOND BASE!
THE CROWD ROARS IN APPROVAL!
Quote from: CountDeMoney on May 23, 2017, 10:08:17 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on May 23, 2017, 09:38:03 PM
Also checked out my favorite Strat team -1982 Orioles - filled with wild platoon splits.
Fucking Brewers. :mad: An even worse final series than Toronto in '89.
I was a bit young but thought the end of the 1982 season was pretty good.
'83 made up for it though.
Quote from: Ed Anger on May 23, 2017, 10:11:32 PM
I want a Earl Weaver base stealing game.
PRESS A TO KICK DIRT ON THE UMP!
THE UMP IS ENRAGED!
PRESS Z TO TAKE SECOND BASE!
THE CROWD ROARS IN APPROVAL!
What you're looking for is the Earl Weaver and Cal Ripken Sr DWI Action Set. Watch Earl urinate on a trooper's State Police car tire! (MSP patrol car sold separately)
Yeah. But you don't get the good fortune of playing a bunch of retirees in the World Series very often. Joe Morgan got his Social Security check with his World Series pay.
Decade-old Big Red Machine magic pixie dust only takes you so far.
But it still wasn't the '82 Cards. KEITH HERNANDEZ FTW
Ripken was moved to 3B in the high minors because the CW was that he was too big for SS. Before the start of 82 Orioles traded away Doug DeCinces for Disco Dan Ford to make room for Ripken. He had a truly epic slump early in the year - he hit .123 the first month of the season, this after hitting well under the Mendoza line in his 1981 cup of coffee. Weaver kept writing him into the lineup. Then once he finally got hitting, Weaver switched him to SS.
No one then or since would ever have gotten away with that or even tried to other than Weaver. First sticking with the struggling rookie. Then when the rook finally gets on track, suddenly moving him to a more challenging position that baseball minds at the time thought he couldn't play in the majors. On top of the fact that moving from 3B just highlighted the fact that DeCinces was putting up an all star year with the Angles, while Ford was a bust for the Orioles.
Quote from: derspiess on May 24, 2017, 10:57:59 AM
But it still wasn't the '82 Cards. KEITH HERNANDEZ FTW
Sporting his trademark gay porn star look.
Lonnie Smith was the other engine on that team. Cocaine is a hell of drug.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on May 24, 2017, 11:09:37 AM
Quote from: derspiess on May 24, 2017, 10:57:59 AM
But it still wasn't the '82 Cards. KEITH HERNANDEZ FTW
Sporting his trademark gay porn star look.
Lonnie Smith was the other engine on that team. Cocaine is a hell of drug.
And let's not forget Darrell Porter with his awesome glasses and .231 BA.
Cards suck.
Reds suck.
You know what else has sucked? May for the Orioles.
Quote from: derspiess on May 24, 2017, 11:31:02 AM
Reds suck.
You should like the Reds and their million dollar niggers.
Sorry, channeling Seedy there.
Quote from: Ed Anger on May 24, 2017, 07:33:31 PM
Quote from: derspiess on May 24, 2017, 11:31:02 AM
Reds suck.
You should like the Reds and their million dollar niggers.
Sorry, channeling Seedy there.
Not ironic enough.
Well I am an official member of the Reds Hall of Fame. It comes with free batting cage access, and my son and nephew love going into the bullpen radar gun thing they have set up as well.
Really looking forward to this weekend :rolleyes: Tommy has a baseball tournament. First game is Saturday at 8:30am (get there by 7:30) and then one at 12:30. 80% chance of rain, which means they will probably drag us out there and make us wait before they call the games due to weather. Same thing for Sunday. Those tournament organizers hate giving back money, so we'll probably be waiting all day for a break in the weather.
Not that I'm keeping stats or anything, but Tommy is batting .622 so far and has struck out 29 batters in 12 innings pitched.
For you, Valmy.
Because I wanted to hurt you. Real bad. And not gentle like before, but bad.
QuotePower Rankings: Orioles tie for biggest fall
Suffice to say, it has been a tough year for O's pitching, with their 5.15 ERA ranking last in the AL.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/powerrankings_2017week12/ranking-mlb-teams-week-12-season
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestquotes.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F02%2FFunny-Best-Friend-Quotes1-1.jpg&hash=acb8b829f29f926fd6ceba8e0fc4831ac2db2974)
Man even when we are fans of the same team you are hostile :p
But yes they had a run of something like 25 straight games giving up 5+ earned runs. That was impressive.
But they are only 4.5 games out of first. And just 1.5 games out of the wildcard. It is still June. :huh:
Oh, no. This is when you bitch and panic :rolleyes:
Nothing short of 3 straight WS titles will appease O's fans.
And I'm sort of an O's fan. They're okay as far as AL teams go.
A WS appearance would do more than please this one.
Quote from: alfred russel on June 28, 2017, 12:18:09 PM
But they are only 4.5 games out of first. And just 1.5 games out of the wildcard. It is still June. :huh:
Noted. But things are not trending in their direction :P
Quote from: derspiess on June 28, 2017, 12:47:20 PM
Oh, no. This is when you bitch and panic :rolleyes:
Nothing short of 3 straight WS titles will appease O's fans.
Eat me. An appearance once every 25 years would suffice.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on June 28, 2017, 01:05:01 PM
Quote from: derspiess on June 28, 2017, 12:47:20 PM
Oh, no. This is when you bitch and panic :rolleyes:
Nothing short of 3 straight WS titles will appease O's fans.
Eat me. An appearance once every 25 years would suffice.
You'd still find something to bitch about.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on June 28, 2017, 01:05:01 PM
Quote from: derspiess on June 28, 2017, 12:47:20 PM
Oh, no. This is when you bitch and panic :rolleyes:
Nothing short of 3 straight WS titles will appease O's fans.
Eat me. An appearance once every 25 years would suffice.
Right now, wouldn't you settle for a new owner?
Quote from: dps on June 28, 2017, 01:46:35 PMRight now, wouldn't you settle for a new owner?
Apparently that would be bitching. Then again, derniggerhater is a Mike Brown fan, so his bearings are a bit off.
Hey DS I threw Votto my AS game vote.
He's a weirdo. But he does his job, I guess.
Verlander traded to the Astros!!! :o :o :o
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20526081/houston-astros-acquire-justin-verlander-detroit-tigers
The Astros are feeling it. Maybe this is finally their year.
Not a huge surprise, Verlander was on the block.
Boston: City of Cheaters.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20593927/boston-red-sox-stole-signs-electronically-new-york-yankees-other-teams
Quote from: derspiess on September 06, 2017, 08:58:00 AM
Boston: City of Cheaters.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20593927/boston-red-sox-stole-signs-electronically-new-york-yankees-other-teams
The patriots are rushing to the nearest Apple Store.
Quote from: derspiess on September 06, 2017, 08:58:00 AM
Boston: City of Cheaters.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20593927/boston-red-sox-stole-signs-electronically-new-york-yankees-other-teams
When the Yankees do it, it's pastoral.
Very frustrating season. I look at the standings and see the Royals are only 3 games back of a wild card spot. That sounds like a very reasonable amount of games to make up. But then I see that they'd have to leap over 5 other teams in order to make it into the wild card game, and you realize just how long those odds are.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 06, 2017, 10:59:21 AM
Quote from: derspiess on September 06, 2017, 08:58:00 AM
Boston: City of Cheaters.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20593927/boston-red-sox-stole-signs-electronically-new-york-yankees-other-teams
When the Yankees do it, it's pastoral.
Bah.
Yankees haven't stolen signs since Steinbrenner fed the pitch calls to Nixon.
The Orioles are actually on a bit of a hotstreak. Good timing I have to say.
Quote from: Barrister on September 06, 2017, 11:49:44 AM
Very frustrating season. I look at the standings and see the Royals are only 3 games back of a wild card spot. That sounds like a very reasonable amount of games to make up. But then I see that they'd have to leap over 5 other teams in order to make it into the wild card game, and you realize just how long those odds are.
The worst part? The Royals mortgaged being good for the next 5 to 8 years on winning this year. Whoops. Now they've emptied out parts of their system in trades and they didn't trade away any of their crew of top flight soon-to-be free agents for top prospects.
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on September 06, 2017, 12:28:22 PM
Quote from: Barrister on September 06, 2017, 11:49:44 AM
Very frustrating season. I look at the standings and see the Royals are only 3 games back of a wild card spot. That sounds like a very reasonable amount of games to make up. But then I see that they'd have to leap over 5 other teams in order to make it into the wild card game, and you realize just how long those odds are.
The worst part? The Royals mortgaged being good for the next 5 to 8 years on winning this year. Whoops. Now they've emptied out parts of their system in trades and they didn't trade away any of their crew of top flight soon-to-be free agents for top prospects.
Meh - they were in a "win now" mode anyways, given the "top flight soon-to-be free agents" you mentioned. And it didn't pay off. Oh well.
They weren't going to be "good for the next 5 to 8 years" in any event.
Sure they could have. If they had traded off their big name free agents, they could have gotten a massive haul. Throw in a few guys who won't be around by the time that new group would be ready in 2-3 years and you'd have a very solid rebuild. As a Tribe fan, I'm thrilled that they went all in and busted.
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 11:58:34 AM
The Orioles are actually on a bit of a hotstreak. Good timing I have to say.
And, of course, as soon as I start to feel good they get get stomped by the Cleveland Juggernaut.
Quote from: Valmy on September 10, 2017, 09:20:00 PM
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 11:58:34 AM
The Orioles are actually on a bit of a hotstreak. Good timing I have to say.
And, of course, as soon as I start to feel good they get get stomped by the Cleveland Juggernaut.
:showoff:
22 in a row. Wow. What a run. :worthy:
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on September 15, 2017, 09:54:02 PM
22 in a row. Wow. What a run. :worthy:
Streak. Is. Ovah! :cool:
Ugh. I wish the season ended today.
About time to start hitching up the Cubbies' bandwagon. :smoke:
Quote from: Valmy on September 10, 2017, 09:20:00 PM
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 11:58:34 AM
The Orioles are actually on a bit of a hotstreak. Good timing I have to say.
And, of course, as soon as I start to feel good they get get stomped by the Cleveland Juggernaut.
Pitching looked pretty ugly last two days
Quote from: Valmy on September 15, 2017, 11:12:51 PM
Ugh. I wish the season ended today.
It's been over for a while, O's Boy. You just refuse to acknowledge it.
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 11:58:34 AM
The Orioles are actually on a bit of a hotstreak. Good timing I have to say.
I just want to point out that since I posted this they have gone 2-12 :lol:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 16, 2017, 10:53:12 AM
It's been over for a while, O's Boy. You just refuse to acknowledge it.
That is the curse of the wild card. Even when your team is not very good they can hang in there for months.
50 HRs for the rookie.
Good for him, nice kid.
Thank God the season is over. I think the O's felt the same way. They finished the season 4-19 and finished in last place.
Let us never speak of this horrible season again.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 25, 2017, 03:34:08 PM
50 HRs for the rookie.
Good for him, nice kid.
I almost got to watch him play. Still a little pissed about that :glare:
Astros look really good.
The strength of the Red Sox is their bullpen, easily the best in the league, but I'm not sure that's going to matter. I could easily see the Astros hammering the starters and the Red Sox just not scoring enough runs to take advantage of the dominant bullpen.
Astros offense actually underperformed expectations - i.e. they scored fewer runs than one would expect given the offensive performance of the players in the aggregate.
The real off the charts performance this years was from the Cleveland pitching staff. Led the *MAJORS* in ERA, strikeouts, fewest BB, fewest HR allowed; pretty impressive playing in a DH league. The staff K/W ratio was 3.98. Second highest in the majors was 3.5, in the AL 3.4
Indians allowed 3.48 runs per game. Second best AL team was the Yankees at 4.07.
That's historic levels of excellence.
I'd like to see the Yankees advance to the ALCS or WS just to see Judge crank a few more. But I'd also like to see the Indians get back to the WS.
If the WS ends up being Cubs vs. Red Sox I may not even watch.
I am hoping for Indians-Dodgers personally.
As much as I hate to see it, the Red Sox are pretty well designed for the post-season. The bullpen is pretty deep, especially with Price as an option, and the rotation is top heavy. Offense is so-so overall but its a good blend of power and speed. The Astros are a better team but they don't really have a clear stopper and their bullpen is just OK. Cleveland is terrific but their strength - pitching depth up and down the rotation - is not as telling in a short series.
I'm pulling for Houston in the AL. In the NL, I'm not particularly pulling for anyone; I just hope it's not the Dodgers or Nationals. Especially not the Nationals.
Fun game last night. Eventful 1st inning (only got to listen to that part in the car), a smart pitching change by Girardi, some lead changes, and a nice dinger by Judge. Hell, even his foul ball in the 8th was exciting.
Tonight I'll probably watch the NL Wild Card game even though I don't care much about either team.
Judge was locked in last night - after the foul he had the 400 foot out to straight center. The HR didn't go that far but it got there really fast. You want to get runs off that outfield, you got to keep it over their heads.
The first inning pull was as designed. Yankees are going with the old KC plan of leveraging a deep bullpen in the playoffs to paper over inconsistencies in the rotation.
That Altuve guy can hit a little.
Timmy didn't pitch well.
Well that was a nice playoff run while it lasted . . .
Francona deserves credit for rolling Bauer out and keeping Kluber to use in Game 2.
But what was he thinking batting Jason Kipnis in the 2 slot? Guy with a .291 OBP right in front of Ramirez and EE. Sure it didn't matter tonight but FFS.
I have suddenly become a Nationals fan for the next few games. Gonna be in DC next week, and I want to go to an MLB playoff game. :) Never been to one before. You know, because the Rangers suck most of the time, and then are only good when I don't have time to go up there. Fuckers.
E: Gotta buy some tshirts and a hat. Start calling them the "Nats," and saying "we" when talking about them us. It'll be great.
E2: Fixed that last "them."
Fuck sports. A lot. :cry:
Red Sox went down just as I predicted. <_<
That was unexpected
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on October 11, 2017, 10:49:30 PM
Fuck sports. A lot. :cry:
Jesus Christ man I am sorry. I know how it is to have your dream season derailed by the pinstriped beast.
:lol: Oh my.
Encarnacion's injury just killed them. Couldn't bat around it.
In honor of the ALCS matchup--
"You tell that son of a bitch no Yankee is ever coming to Houston."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTMixF2Iwy4
The Yankees are a stronger team than their regular season record would indicate. Their expected W-L record based on run differential 100-62 - they basically had a lot of bad luck in one run games. Hicks, Sanchez, Didi, and Holliday all missed significant time due to injury but all are back and healthy for the playoffs. Unlike the Indians who had some injury issues postseason.
That said, beating the Indians was a fluke, with Kluber suffering two bad games in a row.
Shut up, Meg.
Minksy at Game 4 the other night--
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLp3Y0tU8AAN6FL.jpg)
"HEY MARIA, DON'T FORGET TO BRING HOME SOME MORE GABAGOOL"
Sudden death for the Cubbies. :(
Not particularly a Cubs fan, but I do like their manager and a lot of their players. More importantly, though, I detest the Nationals. Heck, if the Nationals advance to the NLCS, I'd even root for the Dodgers over them.
Quote from: derspiess on October 12, 2017, 11:36:38 AM
Minksy at Game 4 the other night--
Less tattoos, more chest hair, replace the gabagool with mazoh ball soup.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 12, 2017, 11:25:12 AM
Shut up, Meg.
It's not like beating the Orioles, you just need a 12 year old in the bleachers with a glove for that.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 12, 2017, 07:26:19 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 12, 2017, 11:25:12 AM
Shut up, Meg.
It's not like beating the Orioles, you just need a 12 year old in the bleachers with a glove for that.
You bastard :ultra:
:lol: This is a crazy inning. Following a two run double: Strikeout that got by the catcher, who throws it by 1st and allows a run to score, then catcher's interference that loads the bases, then hit by a pitch to score another run that puts the Cubs up 7-4.
The strikeout should have been the 3rd out.
Ha. I was looking through old boxes this morning that had been stored in my grandmas garage for years and found some Orioles stuff from when I was a little kid. I don't remember where we were (either Houston or Arlington), but somehow I ended up with a mini bat and one of those little batters helmets with Orioles logos on them. The little helmets they would serve ice cream in. Probably liked the logo and demanded mom or dad get me that one instead of home team stuff. :)
Ha, ice cream...that's exacly what those were used for.
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on October 12, 2017, 09:13:25 PM
:lol: This is a crazy inning. Following a two run double: Strikeout that got by the catcher, who throws it by 1st and allows a run to score, then catcher's interference that loads the bases, then hit by a pitch to score another run that puts the Cubs up 7-4.
The strikeout should have been the 3rd out.
Totally off the hook. All that with two outs too.
I've recovered sufficiently that I think I can root for the Astros in the Series. Yeah the Yankees lost but at least they did better than the Bosox.
39 C at game time - In late October!
Girardi out. His ALDS snafu aside, IMO he was in the top quartile of MLB managers, so not sure what the Baby Brenners are thinking.
I think it's Girardi wanting out more than anything.
One hell of a pitchers duel last night.
So it's that time again when I'm surprised to learn the Astros are in the AL. :sleep:
Quote from: Eddie Teach on October 31, 2017, 04:46:07 AM
So it's that time again when I'm surprised to learn the Astros are in the AL. :sleep:
No shit, right? And the Brewers have been there forever already, so wtf is with the AL? All the recent expansion teams have been in the NL, the Nationals, Arizona, Florida...
Stupid sports.
With their wacko 70s uniforms there's no way they could not be an AL team.
Now the Yankees and Mets, that's the one that I still can't get my head around.
I know. This is pretty much an all-NL World Series.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2017, 11:25:59 AM
I know. This is pretty much an all-NL World Series.
Uh, I'm disagreeing with you dude.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on October 31, 2017, 11:41:28 AM
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2017, 11:25:59 AM
I know. This is pretty much an all-NL World Series.
Uh, I'm disagreeing with you dude.
I was responding to Eddie and Seedy.
Gotcha.
Another 7-game series :)
Go Dodgers, I guess. NL team.
I think the Stros blew it, not being able to wrap it up with Verlander's start. I hope I am wrong as we have some long suffering baseball fans in this state. The deal with the Rangers against the Cardinals was bad enough.
Quote from: Valmy on November 01, 2017, 10:48:44 AM
The deal with the Rangers against the Cardinals was bad enough.
2011. Good times :)
Quote from: Valmy on November 01, 2017, 10:48:44 AM
I think the Stros blew it, not being able to wrap it up with Verlander's start.
They also blew the ALCS by losing 3 straight to the Yankees. Except they won that series anyways.
Fact is that the starters are pretty evenly matched, the teams are evenly matched. LA has home field, so it's 55-45, a coin flip with a little dirt on one side of the coin.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on November 01, 2017, 02:02:30 PM
it's 55-45, a coin flip with a little dirt on one side of the coin.
Is this a racist statement that the dodgers have a slight edge because they have yasiel puig on the team?
<insert Gurriel-Darvish joke here>
Very glad to be wrong. Hell of a game by Morton.
I couldn't help but feel if the Orioles had brought in a few guys like Verlander that could have been them a couple years ago. Ah well.
Very glad for Texas baseball fans. 57 years is a long time to wait. I guess I just never thought the Astros would win the WS for the American League before the Rangers would.
That's pretty cool. :)
Quote from: Valmy on November 01, 2017, 11:05:51 PM
I couldn't help but feel if the Orioles had brought in a few guys like Verlander that could have been them a couple years ago. Ah well.
A few guys like Verlander? How many Verlanders are out there? Good grief.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on November 01, 2017, 11:23:17 PM
Quote from: Valmy on November 01, 2017, 11:05:51 PM
I couldn't help but feel if the Orioles had brought in a few guys like Verlander that could have been them a couple years ago. Ah well.
A few guys like Verlander? How many Verlanders are out there? Good grief.
I did not mean that literally :P
I meant if they had brought in some pitching help to get them over the top.
Quote from: Valmy on November 01, 2017, 11:39:33 PM
I meant if they had brought in some pitching help to get them over the top.
Well, that's just not happening with an owner who does not believe in paying that kind of money for someone who only plays every 5 days. That's just not financially sound, now is it?
He makes guaranteed money sharing a sports network with the Nationals, so let them spend money to win instead. It's a fantastic passive income business model he's got going, especially since he gets something like 80% of the MASN profits.
Sometimes I just wish they'd move to Indianapolis already.
Quote from: alfred russel on November 01, 2017, 03:19:57 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on November 01, 2017, 02:02:30 PM
it's 55-45, a coin flip with a little dirt on one side of the coin.
Is this a racist statement that the dodgers have a slight edge because they have yasiel puig on the team?
No, not racist. Just inaccurate.
Roy Hallady has died in a plane crash :(
Quote from: HVC on November 07, 2017, 08:47:54 PM
Roy Hallady has died in a plane crash :(
Man those private planes.
RIP you were a great one.
:(
Judge and Stanton in the same line up... :bleeding::bleeding::bleeding:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-much-should-we-fear-giancarlo-stanton-in-pinstripes/
QuoteIf you use The Baseball Gauge's adjustment and extrapolate Stanton's 2017 homers to a typical park, he'd project to have hit about 66 homers — easily shattering Maris's mark. What's more, Yankee Stadium ranked as the third-most-favorable park in baseball for right-handed home run hitters last season. Continuing our exercise above to project Stanton's season into Yankee Stadium, he would figure to have hit around 73 homers (!!!) if he'd played in the Bronx instead of Miami. Now, the obvious caveats apply: Park factors are imperfect measurements that don't account for each park's exact dimensions, instead inferring the effect in a somewhat noisy way by looking at the change in home runs between a team's home and road games. But even so, Stanton is probably going to get some kind of assist in his power numbers simply by upgrading his park situation.
Jack Morris and Alan Trammell elected to the hall
https://sports.yahoo.com/jack-morris-alan-trammell-finally-voted-hall-fame-233134486.html
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 10, 2017, 07:08:59 PM
Judge and Stanton in the same line up... :bleeding::bleeding::bleeding:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-much-should-we-fear-giancarlo-stanton-in-pinstripes/
Quote73 homers (!!!)
Been done. :mellow:
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 10, 2017, 07:14:24 PM
Jack Morris and Alan Trammell elected to the hall
https://sports.yahoo.com/jack-morris-alan-trammell-finally-voted-hall-fame-233134486.html
They should have put in Marvin Miller.
Out of the blue, Timmy asks if he could play baseball next year.
I say "well, it's the same time as soccer, so you couldn't play soccer then". He loves soccer.
He says that's okay.
I have no idea where this is coming from. Yesterday he asked to play catch, which we delightfully did a couple of times in the summer - but playing catch in the middle of December was just plain creepy.
Is 8 years old too old to start playing baseball?
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 10:41:47 PM
Is 8 years old too old to start playing baseball?
He isn't looking to become an olympic gymnast.
8 is fine if he's in good shape and coordinated.
Hell, every year you see a couple of guys make it to the NBA or the NFL and you hear that they'd never played until they were 15. I doubt baseball is any different.
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 10:41:47 PM
Is 8 years old too old to start playing baseball?
Weird question, but hey, never had kids so what the fuck do I know.
I just want to emphasize that playing catch in the snow in the middle December was really creepy. :contract:
If you say so.
Little League starts at age 9, but they have other programs for younger children. Generally, 4 and 5 year olds just play T-ball, and then move into programs where they hit actual pitched ball at ages 6-8. So yeah, 8 isn't necessarily too young, but I have no idea what programs are available where you live.
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 11:12:18 PM
I just want to emphasize that playing catch in the snow in the middle December was really creepy. :contract:
Yet you'd think nothing of putting metal blades on your feet to walk on a frozen lake.
Quote from: Eddie Teach on December 10, 2017, 11:44:50 PM
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 11:12:18 PM
I just want to emphasize that playing catch in the snow in the middle December was really creepy. :contract:
Yet you'd think nothing of putting metal blades on your feet to walk on a frozen lake.
There I nothing so delightful in the world than skating outside. :wub:
So god damn this global warming and above freezing temperatures that are ruining our outdoor rinks. :mad:
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 10:41:47 PM
Out of the blue, Timmy asks if he could play baseball next year.
I say "well, it's the same time as soccer, so you couldn't play soccer then". He loves soccer.
He says that's okay.
I have no idea where this is coming from. Yesterday he asked to play catch, which we delightfully did a couple of times in the summer - but playing catch in the middle of December was just plain creepy.
Is 8 years old too old to start playing baseball?
That's when my kid started. You'll need to work with him a bit on the basics (there's no better way to bond IMO), but he should be fine.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 10, 2017, 07:14:24 PM
Jack Morris and Alan Trammell elected to the hall
https://sports.yahoo.com/jack-morris-alan-trammell-finally-voted-hall-fame-233134486.html
Poor Sweet Lou. Should have gone in with Trammell instead of Morris.
I'm glad Stanton went to the Yankees. If the Cards couldn't have him, no NL team should.
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 10:41:47 PM
Out of the blue, Timmy asks if he could play baseball next year.
I say "well, it's the same time as soccer, so you couldn't play soccer then". He loves soccer.
He says that's okay.
I have no idea where this is coming from. Yesterday he asked to play catch, which we delightfully did a couple of times in the summer - but playing catch in the middle of December was just plain creepy.
Is 8 years old too old to start playing baseball?
If anything it is a bit late. He is a bit too old for T-ball so he would likely be starting with coach pitching. If he is coordinated and learns to catch and throw with team mates (which can sometimes be a bit of an adventure) he will do fine. If he waits much longer he will find it a lot more difficult to start as he will be dealing with player pitching and that would be a steep learning curve for him. At that point baseball would only be fun if he is a good athlete and quick to adapt.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 10, 2017, 07:08:59 PM
Judge and Stanton in the same line up... :bleeding::bleeding::bleeding:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-much-should-we-fear-giancarlo-stanton-in-pinstripes/
QuoteIf you use The Baseball Gauge's adjustment and extrapolate Stanton's 2017 homers to a typical park, he'd project to have hit about 66 homers — easily shattering Maris's mark. What's more, Yankee Stadium ranked as the third-most-favorable park in baseball for right-handed home run hitters last season. Continuing our exercise above to project Stanton's season into Yankee Stadium, he would figure to have hit around 73 homers (!!!) if he'd played in the Bronx instead of Miami. Now, the obvious caveats apply: Park factors are imperfect measurements that don't account for each park's exact dimensions, instead inferring the effect in a somewhat noisy way by looking at the change in home runs between a team's home and road games. But even so, Stanton is probably going to get some kind of assist in his power numbers simply by upgrading his park situation.
I saw a recent projection of a combined 82 HRs. That seems on the high side. Last year is the first year Stanton ever got above 40. Judge's minor league records, while excellent, show more of a 30 HR guy than a 50-60, and he's already had hints of injury issues.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on December 12, 2017, 03:00:07 PM
I saw a recent projection of a combined 82 HRs. That seems on the high side. Last year is the first year Stanton ever got above 40. Judge's minor league records, while excellent, show more of a 30 HR guy than a 50-60, and he's already had hints of injury issues.
Stanton is an injury issue guy as well. While not happy with the move, it isn't as doom and gloom as a lot of people think. A lot has to go right to reach the mindboggling levels of power people seem to be predicting.
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 12, 2017, 01:47:37 PM
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 10:41:47 PM
Out of the blue, Timmy asks if he could play baseball next year.
I say "well, it's the same time as soccer, so you couldn't play soccer then". He loves soccer.
He says that's okay.
I have no idea where this is coming from. Yesterday he asked to play catch, which we delightfully did a couple of times in the summer - but playing catch in the middle of December was just plain creepy.
Is 8 years old too old to start playing baseball?
If anything it is a bit late. He is a bit too old for T-ball so he would likely be starting with coach pitching. If he is coordinated and learns to catch and throw with team mates (which can sometimes be a bit of an adventure) he will do fine. If he waits much longer he will find it a lot more difficult to start as he will be dealing with player pitching and that would be a steep learning curve for him. At that point baseball would only be fun if he is a good athlete and quick to adapt.
Well that was my concern - that he would be too old.
Remember I come from the world of hockey parenting, where kids start as early as 2 or 3, and I felt guilty starting Tim at 6 (parents were surprised when I said it was his first year of hockey).
We've worked a little bit at throwing and catching, and if he still wants to do baseball (being 7 his desires can still change a lot day by day) we could work on hitting a bit before baseball would start.
I looked up Edmonton minor baseball - apparently he would be too old for t-ball, but they would start out with machine pitching, then switch over to player pitching during the year.
Quote from: derspiess on December 12, 2017, 01:19:05 PM
I'm glad Stanton went to the Yankees. If the Cards couldn't have him, no NL team should.
Even in baseball, supporting the politics of petulance for the sake of the 1%. Barf.
Quote from: Barrister on December 12, 2017, 03:59:48 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 12, 2017, 01:47:37 PM
Quote from: Barrister on December 10, 2017, 10:41:47 PM
Out of the blue, Timmy asks if he could play baseball next year.
I say "well, it's the same time as soccer, so you couldn't play soccer then". He loves soccer.
He says that's okay.
I have no idea where this is coming from. Yesterday he asked to play catch, which we delightfully did a couple of times in the summer - but playing catch in the middle of December was just plain creepy.
Is 8 years old too old to start playing baseball?
If anything it is a bit late. He is a bit too old for T-ball so he would likely be starting with coach pitching. If he is coordinated and learns to catch and throw with team mates (which can sometimes be a bit of an adventure) he will do fine. If he waits much longer he will find it a lot more difficult to start as he will be dealing with player pitching and that would be a steep learning curve for him. At that point baseball would only be fun if he is a good athlete and quick to adapt.
Well that was my concern - that he would be too old.
Remember I come from the world of hockey parenting, where kids start as early as 2 or 3, and I felt guilty starting Tim at 6 (parents were surprised when I said it was his first year of hockey).
We've worked a little bit at throwing and catching, and if he still wants to do baseball (being 7 his desires can still change a lot day by day) we could work on hitting a bit before baseball would start.
I looked up Edmonton minor baseball - apparently he would be too old for t-ball, but they would start out with machine pitching, then switch over to player pitching during the year.
What I suggest is get a large bag of hollow plastic balls (with holes) and a thin bat - the type you would use for stick ball. Start out pitching them to him close up (the reason you use the plastic balls :D) and then move back. After a few hours of practicing hitting those he will have developed his hand eye coordination for batting. the real issue is going to be learning to throw and catch. But that is a great time and as Spicey said, a great bonding experience. I still miss those days.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 12, 2017, 04:14:40 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 12, 2017, 01:19:05 PM
I'm glad Stanton went to the Yankees. If the Cards couldn't have him, no NL team should.
Even in baseball, supporting the politics of petulance for the sake of the 1%. Barf.
Just glad the Cards won't have to face him next year. Sorry about your O's, though :(
I don't think the Os have much of a chance next season anyway.
Quote from: derspiess on December 13, 2017, 08:55:19 AM
Just glad the Cards won't have to face him next year. Sorry about your O's, though :(
:nelson: Stanton thinks Cards suck!
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 12, 2017, 05:01:23 PM
What I suggest is get a large bag of hollow plastic balls (with holes) and a thin bat - the type you would use for stick ball. Start out pitching them to him close up (the reason you use the plastic balls :D) and then move back. After a sessions of hitting few hours of practicing hitting those he will have developed his hand eye coordination for batting.
Agree. I did that with Tommy (used a regular bat but used large and then small rubber wiffle-type balls) and it seems to have helped. Every kid is a bit different, so you may have to play around with things to find something that works (also helps if it's fun). Once you have his hand-eye coordination and batting stance/swing dialed in, go for lots of reps in batting. And since not everyone has a damned batting cage in his backyard (my neighbor took his down :angry:) you have to get creative with how you do that. We have some nice indoor batting cages a few miles away from my house, and sometimes we sneak on to a local baseball field here & there and I pitch to him. But when we just want to get a few swings in, I go in the front yard and have him hit this thing: https://www.amazon.com/SKLZ-Trainer-Baseball-Batting-Training/dp/B0019GII3U
Reps are also huge with throwing and catching, of course. First thing to overcome is usually them being afraid of the ball (that's also a factor in batting). Even at the 9 & 10 year old level I'm seeing kids in Little League that try to move their bodies out of the way when they catch, which tells me they never conquered that fear. For Tommy I started out with one of those soft baseballs and told him it wouldn't hurt him if he missed. Then once he could catch reliably we moved on to a regular ball. Some kids never seem to have the fear, so you may be lucky with that.
With throwing and catching you can come up with some games to make it even more fun. One thing that Tommy & I did when I started teaching him how to pitch, for example, was to play a game we call "Ten Pitch", where the goal is to throw a certain # of strikes out of 10 pitches. I give play-by-play commentary on each pitch. We started out with an easy goal of 3 strikes and then over time have moved that up to 6 or 7. With my kid at least, if you compartmentalize the workout into small games he enjoys it a lot more and looks forward to doing it the next day.
Quote from: katmai on December 13, 2017, 09:47:38 AM
Quote from: derspiess on December 13, 2017, 08:55:19 AM
Just glad the Cards won't have to face him next year. Sorry about your O's, though :(
:nelson: Stanton thinks Cards suck!
Apparently. The statement the Cards organization made to the fans almost had me in tears :(
Quote from: derspiess on December 13, 2017, 08:55:19 AM
Just glad the Cards won't have to face him next year. Sorry about your O's, though :(
Potshots from 1998 aren't really potshots anymore, derniggerhater.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8OfDDBs87g
Wiffleball championship
Quote from: Benedict Arnold on December 12, 2017, 03:22:54 PM
Stanton is an injury issue guy as well.
True - he's been in the league 8 years, but played 120 games or more only 4 of those 8 years. For the Yankees it's really a hedge - if they get 1.5 seasons of production between the two it's worth it.
I had my San Francisco Giants jacket on the other day when I picked my Five Guys order up.
The burger guy started trying to talk to me about the Giants, which is odd given that very few people around here give a shit about MLB (YEW KAY and YEW VELL is all they follow).
I smiled politely, turned my back on him, and left.
I know fuck all about the Giants. :)
Heh. When we were in San Fracisco many years ago it was raining (quite a shocker I know). I ducked into a store to buy a hat, and got a Giants ball cap. At the airport to come home someone started talking to me about the Giants. I had to smile and nod because I, too, know fuck all about the Giants.
Guys, if you're going to bandwagon a SF team, shouldn't it be the Niners?
Quote from: Eddie Teach on December 13, 2017, 03:26:10 PM
Guys, if you're going to bandwagon a SF team, shouldn't it be the Niners?
I bought it because it was raining. I didn't care that much about the logo on the front.
:rolleyes: It's your responsibility to learn at least a little bit about a team before you buy apparel.
Quote from: derspiess on December 13, 2017, 04:54:43 PM
:rolleyes: It's your responsibility to learn at least a little bit about a team before you buy apparel.
:( Guess I really shouldn't have bought that Yomiuri Giants baseball cap then.
Ewww Caliga And Jets fanboi with Giants gear.
My brother is getting me an Atlanta United sweatshirt for Christmas and I barely know what sport they play. :yeah:
Bunch of nerds!
Quote from: Barrister on December 13, 2017, 05:02:51 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 13, 2017, 04:54:43 PM
:rolleyes: It's your responsibility to learn at least a little bit about a team before you buy apparel.
:( Guess I really shouldn't have bought that Yomiuri Giants baseball cap then.
You have a hole in your swing.
Darvish was tipping his pitches
https://deadspin.com/report-yu-darvish-tipped-his-pitches-in-the-world-seri-1821216289
QuoteAccording to a Houston player, the Astros often knew what Darvish was about to throw by the way he brought the ball into his glove in the set position. (Darvish pitches exclusively out of the stretch.) The player said it worked like this: Darvish holds the ball at his side when he gets the sign from the catcher. Whether he re-grips or not as he brings the ball into his glove was the tip-off whether he was going to throw a slider/cutter or a fastball.
Did we have a baseball thread this year? Or last year?
I just want to say that I think that wild card teams winning the world series is illegitimate and discredits the entire season.
My point of view is that the reason teams play 162 games is because baseball is fundamentally a random sport--as someone (inaccurately) said, when you start the season, you know the best team will lose 60 games and the worst team will win 60 games. It is what happens in those other 40 games that makes all the difference.
The nationals didn't win their division. They weren't the best team in the division, but results in a 1, 5, or 7 game series are a lot more random. I find it annoying that I'm supposed to follow a season for 162 games only to see the result overturned in a short series (I'd definitely bet on the dodgers over the nationals in a rematch, but in a 5 game series anything can happen...).
Also, the world series has been permanently diminished by interleague play, which was primarily introduced because it generated excitement for a few seasons as fans got to see the other league. Ie--baseball compromised one of its greatest assets for short term profit. God bless America.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 09:22:14 AM
the worst team will win 60 games.
Tell that to fans in Baltimore or Detroit. Or Miami, if the Marlins actually have any fans.
I do mostly agree with you, but I couldn't resist the dig at the Orioles, and it wouldn't have been fair to do that without mentioning the Tigers and Marlins, too.
I would like to think the Orioles are tanking to follow the Astros' model to glory...but how they actually got to this position proves that to be false and they just suck ass :P
They are kind of entertaining just in a "I cannot believe that guy gets paid so much to be so bad at baseball" sort of way.
Anyway I agree sort of with Dorsey's claim. It is kind of funny that the Marlins have won two World Series despite never finishing the regular season in first place. However the Wild Card was pretty much made for the Nats who have been the best team in baseball after their disastrous start. It is hard to really seriously argue they were not the best team in their division come September.
Anyway without Seedy around the baseball thread just wasn't the same. I think having just a permanent baseball thread instead of a new one for each season probably fits our current forum status anyway.
Quote from: Valmy on December 13, 2017, 09:05:12 AM
I don't think the Os have much of a chance next season anyway.
That turned out to be a massive understatement :lol:
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 09:46:43 AM
I would like to think the Orioles are tanking to follow the Astros' model to glory...but how they actually got to this position proves that to be false and they just suck ass :P
I get tanking in basketball, where there are like a dozen stars in the sport and you need a couple of them to win a title, and only a couple guys in the draft are realistically likely to become one of those guys.
I get it in football to a lesser extent.
I don't get it in baseball at all. Talent takes forever to develop, some of the guys are right out of high school, and the first few rounds do not produce predictable stars the way they do in other sports. Plus tanking turns off fans, and with less revenue sharing than in other sports and much more dependence on your own TV contracts and attendance, means less money to spend. (I know the Astros are an obvious counterargument.)
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 10:04:24 AM
I don't get it in baseball at all.
It works very well. Both the Royals and Astros tanked to win the World Series. Sure it takes a little while, but it is a proven pathway to success for the teams that lack the payrolls of the Red Sox and Yankees.
It is why most teams will intentionally strip themselves down to barebones from time to time.
The Orioles did not do that though, they just collapsed and are still carrying big salaries.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 09:22:14 AM
The nationals didn't win their division. They weren't the best team in the division, but results in a 1, 5, or 7 game series are a lot more random. I find it annoying that I'm supposed to follow a season for 162 games only to see the result overturned in a short series (I'd definitely bet on the dodgers over the nationals in a rematch, but in a 5 game series anything can happen...).
The Nationals were the best team in the division. No question they were and are a stronger team then the Braves - their run differential was considerably better and their record reflects a troubled start of the year, which was overcome. As of October 1, 2019, they were easily the best team in the division.
The Dodgers are a stronger team but in a short series the Nationals have equal top of rotation strength to match them. So it's crapshoot who wins. I don't see how the Dodgers have a right to complain.
Because each league has 3 divisions, there has to be some system to allow a 4th qualifier - the WC system as it presently exists seems eminently fair. Qualifying as a Division Champ is still very meaningful as it doubles the chance of getting the WS as opposed to being the WC.
The old 2 division system would not work well in the expanded league and historically had problematic results. In 73 a Mets team went to the World Series that barely had a winning record. (in the 3 division system the Padres won their division 05 despite allowing far more runs they scored) The WC ameliorates the potentially skewing effects of unbalanced divisions.
Going to 4 divisions would only heighten the risk of unbalanced results
EDIT almost forgot the 94 season where the Rangers were "winning" their division with a 52-62 record until the strike wiped out the season. I don't think winning a division is really meaningful in that context other than as a statement of lack of divisional balance.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 10:17:50 AM
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 10:04:24 AM
I don't get it in baseball at all.
It works very well. Both the Royals and Astros tanked to win the World Series. Sure it takes a little while, but it is a proven pathway to success for the teams that lack the payrolls of the Red Sox and Yankees.
Did the Royals really intentionally tank or are they a small market team that just sucked?
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 12:55:30 PM
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 10:17:50 AM
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 10:04:24 AM
I don't get it in baseball at all.
It works very well. Both the Royals and Astros tanked to win the World Series. Sure it takes a little while, but it is a proven pathway to success for the teams that lack the payrolls of the Red Sox and Yankees.
Did the Royals really intentionally tank or are they a small market team that just sucked?
For a lot of years they just sucked, but then they intentionally tanked.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 12:55:30 PM
Did the Royals really intentionally tank or are they a small market team that just sucked?
Yes. They burned it all down in 2004 and rebuilt...and had to do so a few more times after that :P
But it eventually worked out. The Astros copied them intentionally.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 31, 2019, 11:06:08 AM
The Nationals were the best team in the division. No question they were and are a stronger team then the Braves - their run differential was considerably better and their record reflects a troubled start of the year, which was overcome.
Over the length of the season, the Braves had a record of 97-65 and the Nationals a record of 93-69. The Braves had the head to head edge of 11-8. The Nationals had a better run differential but then that isn't what teams are targeting and the Braves didn't push hard at the wire (because the division was wrapped up, while the Nationals were competing for the wild card).
If you are discounting "a troubled start of the year", that is an argument for shortening the season perhaps, but the beginning of the season should also count.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 01:06:01 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 31, 2019, 11:06:08 AM
The Nationals were the best team in the division. No question they were and are a stronger team then the Braves - their run differential was considerably better and their record reflects a troubled start of the year, which was overcome.
Over the length of the season, the Braves had a record of 97-65 and the Nationals a record of 93-69. The Braves had the head to head edge of 11-8. The Nationals had a better run differential but then that isn't what teams are targeting and the Braves didn't push hard at the wire (because the division was wrapped up, while the Nationals were competing for the wild card).
If you are discounting "a troubled start of the year", that is an argument for shortening the season perhaps, but the beginning of the season should also count.
Over the length of the season, the best team in the NL was the Dodgers. It makes absolutely no logical sense at all to split the league into arbitrary divisions and decide the whole thing by by a few five and seven game series when the Dodgers already won the league during the regular season.
But it is more fun. And that is the same reason the Wild Card's existence. I get what you are saying but that ship sailed after 1968.
If all you care about is the regular season you can pretty easily ignore the postseason. I almost succeed at it every year without trying.
I mean I went through that angst in 1997 when the Orioles were the best team in the AL all damn season and won 98 games. Then they lost to the fucking Indians, who only won something like 85 games and were shitty but got lucky because the Orioles star reliever sucked shit in one stupid game and blew the whole thing. FUCK!!!111
But that is just how it goes. They were the best for 162 games but not in the six that counted most.
Quote from: frunk on October 31, 2019, 01:18:54 PM
If all you care about is the regular season you can pretty easily ignore the postseason. I almost succeed at it every year without trying.
How? Because your team is usually not in it? :P
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 01:22:19 PM
Quote from: frunk on October 31, 2019, 01:18:54 PM
If all you care about is the regular season you can pretty easily ignore the postseason. I almost succeed at it every year without trying.
How? Because your team is usually not in it? :P
I don't really care about baseball, and the Languish Fantasy League is no more.
Quote from: frunk on October 31, 2019, 01:24:16 PM
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 01:22:19 PM
Quote from: frunk on October 31, 2019, 01:18:54 PM
If all you care about is the regular season you can pretty easily ignore the postseason. I almost succeed at it every year without trying.
How? Because your team is usually not in it? :P
I don't really care about baseball, and the Languish Fantasy League is no more.
Ah.
I guess I took from your post that you do care about the regular season. Carry on then. Baseball is now a rather niche obsession.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 01:17:22 PM
Over the length of the season, the best team in the NL was the Dodgers. It makes absolutely no logical sense at all to split the league into arbitrary divisions and decide the whole thing by by a few five and seven game series when the Dodgers already won the league during the regular season.
But it is more fun. And that is the same reason the Wild Card's existence. I get what you are saying but that ship sailed after 1968.
The real issue is that you have a 162 game regular season, and if you didn't have a wild card the playoffs for a division / league could ultimately be decided well before the all star break. There was little doubt the dodgers would win their division, for example. If there was only a national league/no divisions, it would be hard to maintain fan interest in the dodgers walking away with everything.
Nevertheless, right now 10 teams make the playoffs in some form or fashion - 1/3 of baseball teams. I find it frustrating to have such a long regular season and so many playoff teams. Though the 1 game wild card game isn't a terrible solution to the issue of the first paragraph, I still hate the expanded post season.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 01:26:06 PM
I guess I took from your post that you do care about the regular season. Carry on then. Baseball is now a rather niche obsession.
The games are too long.
The unfortunate part is that this should be fixable. Just cut out the mid inning breaks, for example, and you could dramatically lessen the time of the game (if everyone went to the DH the pitchers could stay warm while their team batted). I do understand this would cut into advertising revenue.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 01:45:15 PM
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 01:26:06 PM
I guess I took from your post that you do care about the regular season. Carry on then. Baseball is now a rather niche obsession.
The games are too long.
The unfortunate part is that this should be fixable. Just cut out the mid inning breaks, for example, and you could dramatically lessen the time of the game (if everyone went to the DH the pitchers could stay warm while their team batted). I do understand this would cut into advertising revenue.
Originally of course there were no mid inning breaks and prior to TV baseball games would rush by at breakneck speed, usually ending in under 2 hours. It is also why I preferred college baseball more for years...but now college baseball is also on TV most games so that one advantage was lost.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 01:17:22 PM
I get what you are saying but that ship sailed after 1968.
That's a good point.
If you are a purist about the regular season being meaningful in determining the champion then the true original sin is the divisional system.
In 1973 the Big Red Machine crushed the rest of the league but lost 3 of 5 on the NLCS so a weak 83 win got to represent the NL in the World Series.
The WC system is a categorical improvement on that because the WC is almost always better than at least one the divisional qualifiers and sometimes better than 2. The chance of a truly weak sister team getting through is lower, although it can still happen as in 2006.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 31, 2019, 02:49:27 PM
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 01:17:22 PM
I get what you are saying but that ship sailed after 1968.
That's a good point.
If you are a purist about the regular season being meaningful in determining the champion then the true original sin is the divisional system.
In 1973 the Big Red Machine crushed the rest of the league but lost 3 of 5 on the NLCS so a weak 83 win got to represent the NL in the World Series.
The WC system is a categorical improvement on that because the WC is almost always better than at least one the divisional qualifiers and sometimes better than 2. The chance of a truly weak sister team getting through is lower, although it can still happen as in 2006.
I think the true sin was overexpansion.
The nationals finished tied for the 8th best regular season record in baseball.
There is context for that record though. They sucked shit at the beginning of the year and then got really really good. I mean there is getting hot and there is being excellent from June to October so it was no fluke.
Umping was pretty shyte this year. Bad on balls and strikes, unforgivable on the interference call.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 03:18:25 PM
There is context for that record though. They sucked shit at the beginning of the year and then got really really good. I mean there is getting hot and there is being excellent from June to October so it was no fluke.
Valmy, if you want to discount the relevance of games in April and May, then don't play those games.
In Atlanta, I see a lot more excitement surrounding the MLS team than the MLB team. If you told me that would be the case 20 years ago, I'd say that was insane. The reasons that is the case aren't hard to figure out. Among them:
-Baseball games are really long, soccer games are comparatively short. Baseball games are bloated to allow for the better part of an hour of commercials a game, soccer games never break.
-Baseball plays an absurdly long regular season to get to a postseason where literally 1/3 of teams qualify in some form. There isn't nearly that level of commitment to be a soccer fan.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 03:28:17 PM
Valmy, if you want to discount the relevance of games in April and May, then don't play those games.
Of course the games are relevant but the point is they aren't decisive of a team's destiny. You can suck it in April and still come back to contend.
The team that improves the course of the year and is strongest at year end will always have an advantage in the postseason over the team that starts strong and limps across the finish.
And I don't see the injustice of a 93 win team allowed to compete in the playoffs when there is already a 91 win team that is in.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 03:28:17 PM
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 03:18:25 PM
There is context for that record though. They sucked shit at the beginning of the year and then got really really good. I mean there is getting hot and there is being excellent from June to October so it was no fluke.
Valmy, if you want to discount the relevance of games in April and May, then don't play those games.
I don't discount the relevance. They were not the division champs and had to grind their way through the wild card for a reason. But nothing I said is untrue. It is not some kind of fluke they won the World Series, they have been dominant. They weren't some shitty team that got lucky.
QuoteIn Atlanta, I see a lot more excitement surrounding the MLS team than the MLB team. If you told me that would be the case 20 years ago, I'd say that was insane. The reasons that is the case aren't hard to figure out. Among them:
-Baseball games are really long, soccer games are comparatively short. Baseball games are bloated to allow for the better part of an hour of commercials a game, soccer games never break.
-Baseball plays an absurdly long regular season to get to a postseason where literally 1/3 of teams qualify in some form. There isn't nearly that level of commitment to be a soccer fan.
Ok dude 12 of the 20 MLS clubs make the playoffs every year, more than half. 1/3rd of the teams qualifying is small for most pro leagues. And MLS plays an even longer regular season calendarwise (going form early March until late October) AND additional tournaments. How that is not also absurdly long is beyond me.
Listing that shit as a reason MLS is better than Baseball is laughable.
The first part is fair enough. But Soccer has that advantage against every single one of the big 4 American sports.
Edit: Ok I just realized there are more MLS clubs now so 12 of 24 make the playoffs....still though.
Valmy, the Nats weren't really dominant--over the last 30 their record was 19-11, which was 7th in baseball. Houston was best at 22-8. (that is the longest period I can find for the latter half of the season, though I didn't look that hard)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2019-standings.shtml
I agree that the Nationals weren't some shitty team that got lucky. There were an above average team thrown into the roulette wheel of postseason baseball.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 03:35:05 PM
Listing that shit as a reason MLS is better than Baseball is laughable.
I'm not saying MLS is better than MLB. I hate MLS and wish it would leave Atlanta and never come back. And not like how the Braves left by just moving to the suburbs, but by totally disappearing from the face of the earth - sort of like how the Atlanta hockey team did by moving to Winnipeg.
Still a 34 game schedule is much easier to follow than a 162.
That 2017 season sure took a long time to play out.
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 31, 2019, 04:57:57 PM
That 2017 season sure took a long time to play out.
No fucking shit. 30 something spring training games, 162 regular season games interrupted by an all star break, followed by 4 rounds of playoffs.
But it wasn't any longer than any other baseball season.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 06:53:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 31, 2019, 04:57:57 PM
That 2017 season sure took a long time to play out.
No fucking shit. 30 something spring training games, 162 regular season games interrupted by an all star break, followed by 4 rounds of playoffs.
But it wasn't any longer than any other baseball season.
Look at the title of the thread, then the date of the latest posts.
This Nats victory hurts. It is full of what could have been. ☹️
Quote from: Grey Fox on October 31, 2019, 08:09:03 PM
This Nats victory hurts. It is full of what could have been. ☹️
...if Montreal had DC's payroll.
Quote from: alfred russel on October 31, 2019, 03:56:04 PM
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 03:35:05 PM
Listing that shit as a reason MLS is better than Baseball is laughable.
I'm not saying MLS is better than MLB. I hate MLS and wish it would leave Atlanta and never come back. And not like how the Braves left by just moving to the suburbs, but by totally disappearing from the face of the earth - sort of like how the Atlanta hockey team did by moving to Winnipeg.
Still a 34 game schedule is much easier to follow than a 162.
Well the baseball regular season is just kind of there whenever you need it. Which is what I like about it. Whenever you feel like watching a baseball game well there is always one on from April to November.
But the NBA and NHL are also ridiculously long with absurd numbers of games. At least the MLB playoffs are over in just one month.
The NFL is the only pro league that is notably short compared the MLB and that is just because if it was any longer all the players would be dead.
Anyway I am all for making changes to baseball but only to make it better for baseball fans. Stuff like the robot ump strike zone and stuff. But I think people just love the stats too much to shorten the regular season.
Quote from: Grey Fox on October 31, 2019, 08:09:03 PM
This Nats victory hurts. It is full of what could have been. ☹️
Yeah sorry Montreal. Now you know how Quebec felt watching the Avalanche win.
Now that the Expos/Nats have appeared in the World Series only the long suffering Seattle Mariners have yet to win a league pennant....and let's just say they might have to wait a bit to win one.
Quote from: Valmy on October 31, 2019, 10:19:06 PM
The NFL is the only pro league that is notably short compared the MLB and that is just because if it was any longer all the players would be dead.
Yeah, they should really change it to an 18 week season with each team getting 2 byes. The postseason is too frequently about whichever team has the least critical injuries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wRP7Vi6wc
^_^
In vino veritas -_-
Poor Fox :lol:
That's some quite big changes.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28526167/mlb-rule-changes-2020-need-know
The pitcher rule for number of batters or to the end of the inning is good for fans, I like it.
The roster rules are fine.
The rule about position players pitching sucks. I hate that one.
The three batter rule needs another exception for 3 or more runs scoring. Otherwise a guy who goes in and gets pounded has to just stay out there.
I wonder what the combined effect of all the roster changes will be on pitcher injury rates.
I like the old expanded Sept rosters. It gives young players a chance at ML experience; it gives fans of non-contenders a chance to view top prospects in action.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on February 21, 2020, 01:06:55 PM
The three batter rule needs another exception for 3 or more runs scoring. Otherwise a guy who goes in and gets pounded has to just stay out there.
The new rule is that a pitcher has to face 3 batters, not get 3 outs. In theory, a pitcher could enter the game and walk 3 batters in a row, and then be replaced. He wouldn't have given up a run, but would have faces 3 batters.
There's no way a pitcher can be charged with 3 runs allows without facing 3 batters. Even if a reliever enters the game with the bases loaded and gives up a grand slam, he's only charged with 1 run allowed; the 3 runs scored by the inherited runners would be charged to the pitcher who allowed them to reach base.
Oh good point. Never mind then.
Still want my sept 40 man