2024 MLB Season Thread

[Coffee Warlord]

Didn't see one.

Scott Boras is not having a good offseason.

[Lathum]

Kodai Senga shut down already and will miss opening day. I swear every year with Mets aces. It's uncanny.

[Coffee Warlord]

Bellinger finally signs what's basically a 1 year deal with the Cubs (3 years, opt outs in both the first two years).

And I take great amusement that none of the other 3 Boras clients signed yet. Fuck Boras.

[Sweed]

Bellinger finally signs what's basically a 1 year deal with the Cubs (3 years, opt outs in both the first two years).

And I take great amusement that none of the other 3 Boras clients signed yet. Fuck Boras.

I'm with you on Boras. As a Cubs fan I think the Belli deal is very fair for a player with his history. He gets well paid in a controlled way that allows him to prove his worth. With all of the young talent they have coming along, like an NFL team paying a QB on a rookie contract, I think they can afford to take the risk with the 30 mil per the first 2 years. If he's great and ops out they can still sign him again. At the same time if their youngsters develop they could say "thanks" and let him leave.

His BABIP was the highest of his career suggesting he had some good luck. However he did "fix" his swing allowing him to get to pitches he wasn't getting to the last three seasons. So, was it the fix, luck, or both that drove last season?

Based on last season I didn't want the Cubs to commit to some 7-10 year deal in that 200 to 300 mil range. From the contract he got it seems the Cubs, and the league in general, is getting a bit smarter, and that sucks for Boras. :lol:

[Mota]

Given Bellinger's career trajectory, I don't think you could sign him for many years. He was borderline unplayable just one year ago. The real Bellinger in 2024 is probably halfway between 2022 and 2023's versions.

[stevew]

Kodai Senga shut down already and will miss opening day. I swear every year with Mets aces. It's uncanny.

I’ve already marked this down as season ending.

[Drake]

I'm still mad the Red Sox didn't at least take a flyer on Bellinger. I have no idea what our front office is thinking.

[Lathum]

Zack Wheeler gets a nice extension. 3/126.

[stevew]

That Wheeler deal seems like way too much to commit, especially with a full season left before it kicks in. I’m not sure who would be sprinting in line to pay more after this season. Is there some deferred component, because 42/year is like paying convenience store prices for a 12 pack of Pepsi.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Is there some deferred component, because 42/year is like paying convenience store prices for a 12 pack of Pepsi.

Not that I can find mentioned anywhere at this point. The only concession I see mentioned is that the new pay rate doesn't kick in until next season, which saves them on luxury tax this season.

On a side note, there's something wrong with the fact I can often now buy 2-liters at c-stores for basically grocery store prices.

[stevew]

Lucas Giolito absolutely tank bombing on 2 different teams to end 2023, and then signing a head scratching deal with the Red Sox and then now(likely) requiring season ending surgery is just wild. It’s like a joke that immediately has a punch line.

[Coffee Warlord]

I guess Angel Hernandez is already in regular season form. Ejects Lance Lynn for, surprise, arguing balls and strikes.

And then, ejects him from the outfield bullpen where he was trying to finish his work.

[stevew]

Betts moving to full time SS in year 10 is wild Not even sure what the parallel in other sports would be. Maybe if Shaq suddenly developed a 3 point shot and turned into a point forward.

[Lathum]

Looks like Gerrit Cole may have some issues. Getting an MRI

[SackAttack]

Betts moving to full time SS in year 10 is wild Not even sure what the parallel in other sports would be. Maybe if Shaq suddenly developed a 3 point shot and turned into a point forward.

More like if Steph Curry became a low-post banger late in his career, but even that isn't quite right. Shaq had physicality, but he wasn't athletic enough to go from C to SG, say.

Betts *is* a ridiculous athlete, and moved off middle infield to play OF after being drafted by Boston. It isn't as if he's never done it. It's a wild change, but this isn't the-horse-started-singing territory.

[Mota]

Looks like Cole will be out 1-2 months.
Blake Snell's phone may be ringing soon?

[Lathum]

Looks like Cole will be out 1-2 months.
Blake Snell's phone may be ringing soon?

as a Mets fan 1-2 months means the season

[stevew]

The Cole thing sucks for timing. Maybe he can get back by next July if he does the surgery now. But if they wait long it’s 2026. I guess by waiting you hope it’s something that can heal.

[Lathum]

Doing my first fantasy draft of the year. I had second pick. Dude who went first took Betts leaving me Acuna. Couldn't believe it

[stevew]

They keep cutting away to Ohtani’s wife and it’s ruining my ability to enjoy the game!

[Lathum]

They keep cutting away to Ohtani’s wife and it’s ruining my ability to enjoy the game!

Worse than Taylor Swift.

Crazy play just happened. Lux hits a slow line drive that Cronenworth easily getts to and his glove literally breaks and the ball goes through it into right field. After that the flood gates open.

[JPhillips]

Is Ohtani's interpreter a mastermind thief or was he placing bets for Ohtani?

[GrantDawg]

Man, that could end up being huge. That's a lot of money.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Lathum]

Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani's interpreter amid allegation of 'massive theft' - ESPN (https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39768770/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-interpreter-fired-theft)

[Ksyrup]

This is now 2 sports-related thefts related to gambling debts. Who would have guessed. How soon until we get the first arrests for point shaving or something similar impacting the integrity of the games?

[RainMaker]

That's a really weird story and I'm not sure I buy the excuse.

[JPhillips]

The charitable reading is the interpreter is telling the truth, but Ohtani knowingly paying the bookie is itself a crime so his lawyers are trying to save him.

That's not an unbelievable story.

[molson]

The charitable reading is the interpreter is telling the truth, but Ohtani knowingly paying the bookie is itself a crime so his lawyers are trying to save him.

That's not an unbelievable story.

Stole this from a reddit post:

Ohtani: "I was just trying to help out my frie-"

*Ohtani/Dodgers lawyers burst through the door and shove him aside*

"What Shohei was trying to say is that Ippei stole all that money."

[RainMaker]

Stole this from a reddit post:

Ohtani: "I was just trying to help out my frie-"

*Ohtani/Dodgers lawyers burst through the door and shove him aside*

"What Shohei was trying to say is that Ippei stole all that money."


I think this is it. :lol:

[molson]

It wouldn't be a morally terrible crime, but, seems like it wouldn't be great for him legally and that it probably violates MLB rules too, and that with all the attention paid to this, it's going to be all figured out.

Spicy!

[JPhillips]

Brutal couple of weeks for the Reds. Their CF is out for 2-3 months. Their 2b is out looking for a second opinion instead of season-ending shoulder surgery. Their top prospect is suspended for 80 games. Their second top prospect is out with season-ending shoulder surgery.

[RainMaker]

I think the fact the Ohtani team has changed their story makes the story a lot bigger than it could have been. Why lie if it was innocent?

[JPhillips]

I don't think the original story told by the interpreter was a lie. He said he gambled with a bookie and Ohtani paid the debt over several installments. The lie came after that story when the lawyers said the interpreter stole the money.

The lie, IMO, was said to try to protect Ohtani who is in trouble both legally and with baseball if he knowingly paid a bookie. The documents cited in the ESPN story don't prove Ohtani's innocence, but they line up well with this possibility.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I think the fact the Ohtani team has changed their story makes the story a lot bigger than it could have been. Why lie if it was innocent?

"innocent" and "within the applicable rules" seem to be quite possibly two different things

The "yeah, Ohtani paid his pal's gambling debts" story feels pretty plausible. But if he did it directly -- rather than giving his buddy the money to do it himself -- then he might be fairly well fucked.

[RainMaker]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ohtani vs Michael Jordan at 4am in Vegas at the blackjack table <a href="https://t.co/TSjoG61Qsr">pic.twitter.com/TSjoG61Qsr</a></p>&mdash; Noah �� (@Yordan4HOF2) <a href="https://twitter.com/Yordan4HOF2/status/1770578505060782560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[stevew]

Brutal couple of weeks for the Reds. Their CF is out for 2-3 months. Their 2b is out looking for a second opinion instead of season-ending shoulder surgery. Their top prospect is suspended for 80 games. Their second top prospect is out with season-ending shoulder surgery.

Eh the Marte suspension could be a blessing if he’s good. No rush to burn a full year of service time. Don’t they have surplus infielders anyways? Was looking like India had nowhere to play. I don’t know much about the reds though other than that McLain and Steer both look like pretty solid young players in addition to Elly

[stevew]

Ohtani is going to get suspended I bet.

[RainMaker]

The whole story is fishy. He was with his interpreter laughing during today's game. Did he really just find out about $4.5 million missing from his account when news reports came out? And if so, why initially claim it was debt he was covering?

So if it's stolen, how did he not know? That's a considerable amount of money to just be transferred out of your bank account. And how did an interpreter get access? This ain't a $50 Venmo transaction.

Curious to see how it's reported with Ohtani being a media darling and how much MLB needs him to succeed in LA.

[stevew]

How does his interpreter get that much (illegal) credit with bookies. Like he couldn’t possibly pay the vig on that

[JonInMiddleGA]

How does his interpreter get that much (illegal) credit with bookies. Like he couldn’t possibly pay the vig on that

Well he did make somewhere between $300k and $500k a year for that job so it's not quite as crazy as it might seem

[Ksyrup]

Otani's got warning track power now.

[JPhillips]

Eh the Marte suspension could be a blessing if he’s good. No rush to burn a full year of service time. Don’t they have surplus infielders anyways? Was looking like India had nowhere to play. I don’t know much about the reds though other than that McLain and Steer both look like pretty solid young players in addition to Elly

They had a surplus, but yesterday they had to make a trade with Toronto because Elly was the only SS on the 40 man roster.

[Bobble]

This is now 2 sports-related thefts related to gambling debts. Who would have guessed. How soon until we get the first arrests for point shaving or something similar impacting the integrity of the games?

Um... 1919?

[miami_fan]

The whole story is fishy. He was with his interpreter laughing during today's game. Did he really just find out about $4.5 million missing from his account when news reports came out? And if so, why initially claim it was debt he was covering?

So if it's stolen, how did he not know? That's a considerable amount of money to just be transferred out of your bank account. And how did an interpreter get access? This ain't a $50 Venmo transaction.

Curious to see how it's reported with Ohtani being a media darling and how much MLB needs him to succeed in LA.

I am only half joking when I say this. Didn't Ohtani just get married like last week? Or was it just revealing that he got married?

[Ghost Econ]

There's a certain irony about how every story or link I see about Ohtani has an ad for a gambling site.

[Ksyrup]

There's a certain irony about how every story or link I see about Ohtani has an ad for a gambling site.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Welcome back to SportsCenter Presented by ESPN Bet, for more on the Ohtani situation we go to our FanDuel MLB Insider Jeff Passan at our DraftKings Studio in Los Angeles brought to you by Caesar’s Sportsbook. Jeff, how could something like this happen?”</p>&mdash; JEFF (@jeffisrael25) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffisrael25/status/1770627912112185400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[RainMaker]

They have to put him on administrative leave, right? Any other player who wired $4.5 million to an illegal bookmaker would be until this is sorted out.

[Ksyrup]

And apparently had his team set up a press conference admitting it until his lawyers woke up on the other side of the world to shut it down and do a 180 on the story.

[GrantDawg]

Blaming legal gambling advertising for a player gambling illegally is like blaming drunk driving on beer advertising. It is ridiculous.

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[Ksyrup]

No, it's not the advertising. It's the linking of sports leagues, sports media and everything else involved in the mechanisms of running sports with gambling.

[Lathum]

Mets signing JD Martinez. I like it.

[stevew]

They have to put him on administrative leave, right? Any other player who wired $4.5 million to an illegal bookmaker would be until this is sorted out.

100%

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, allowing his people to set the narrative and then pepper the media with anonymous sources within the Ohtani camp backing that story, is certainly treating this like a special case scenario. You hope there's at least an MLB investigation behind the scenes going on, rather than just waiting for the Feds or CA or whomever to do something and then reacting. Which means it's almost certainly the latter - until someone breaks some news that makes it impossible for them to stay quiet, I suppose.

[GrantDawg]

No, it's not the advertising. It's the linking of sports leagues, sports media and everything else involved in the mechanisms of running sports with gambling.
Bull. How does that equate to someone betting millions of dollars to an illegal bookie? "I know it is illegal, but the league has a sponsorship with fantasy sports so why can't I place a million dollar bet with Lefty?"

[MrBug708]

Should be a simple open and close case with a guy confessing. MLB might need to clarify and make sure other players don’t allow friends to have their debts covered, but lesson learned for Ohtani. Glad he is going to cooperate with authorities, would be silly to to turn into a federal witness if you are actually the criminal mastermind. Haha

[miami_fan]

Bull. How does that equate to someone betting millions of dollars to an illegal bookie? "I know it is illegal, but the league has a sponsorship with fantasy sports so why can't I place a million dollar bet with Lefty?"

It doesn't. But for the last 100+ years outside the last five, ten years or so, the sports community at least publicly considered any association with gambling by a player as someone betting millions of dollars with an illegal bookie. Not the players, not the teams, not the leagues. It is why there wasn't legal gambling advertising before that time frame even though you could legally gamble in certain places in the country. They did not want to be associate with the negative gambling stigma. If the collective "we" are in a time where we don't look suspiciously at players being linked to legal or illegal gambling, cool. But I do understand why people would be suspicious of the links between leagues, teams and players and gambling again both illegal and legal.

[GrantDawg]

I think most people can tell the difference between taking advertising from legal gambling and associating with an illegal bookie. I think most players know they can't associate with illegal gambling because it is drilled into their skull on a regular basis. You have to really want it to somehow confuse or equate the two.

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[Ksyrup]

I'm guessing one (or both) of the postponed games were supposed to be the early starts, but it feels weird that the first game today doesn't start until after 3pm.

[miami_fan]

I think most people can tell the difference between taking advertising from legal gambling and associating with an illegal bookie. I think most players know they can't associate with illegal gambling because it is drilled into their skull on a regular basis. You have to really want it to somehow confuse or equate the two.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

Then baseball leadership really wanted to confuse the two up until two years ago. Up until two years ago, MLB prevented team personnel from being involved with gambling. In fact, baseball suspended Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle from the game in the 80s for being goodwill ambassadors for Atlantic City casinos with Bowie Kuhn saying at the time "a casino was “no place for a baseball hero and Hall of Famer.”

I am not giving anyone involved in baseball or any other sport a pass for engaging in illegal gambling, gambling on their sport or going against the gambling rules of their sport. However, there was a time when it was really black and white when it came to gambling. No one was allowed to have any association with gambling. Now we have shades of grey like we used to have in the college sports realm.

[miami_fan]

FYI if you are a T-Mobile customer, don't forget redeem your MLB.tv season pass.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Up until two years ago, MLB prevented team personnel from being involved with gambling.

I'm reminded of the old joke about offering the woman first $1 for a screw, which she declines with great offense. Then the same offer but with $10 million attached, which changed her attitude greatly. "We've now established you're a whore, all that's left is haggling over price"

That basically sports & gambling. Ted DiBiase would be proud.

[GrantDawg]

It is "shades of grey" if you really want it to be. I think most people know the difference between legal and illegal. Between betting on March Madness in a sports book and betting on your own performance. Between playing slots and placing $4 million dollars with an illegal bookie. Players aren't as confused as you are suggesting. The fact that MLB had an overbearing and ridiculous position on gambling in the past doesn't mean a more sensible approach is somehow "shades of grey."

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[Ksyrup]

It's not so much confusion. It's the promotion of gambling intertwined with the game that is the problem. I turned on the Tigers game and going to commercial break in the 2nd inning was an ad for a 3 player parlay. Get that shit off my fucking screen! I'd almost rather see crowd shots of Taylor Swift. It's everywhere. It's going to rub off on and tempt players. It has to. Whether or not it's illegal or legal betting.

It's similar to showing smokers in every movie. It has an affect. My wife watched the original Ghostbusters on a flight a couple of months ago. As I glanced over from time to time, every single main character in that movie except one or two had a cigarette in their mouth. That don't fly no more.

[CrimsonFox]

opening day

[JonInMiddleGA]

It is "shades of grey" if you really want it to be. I think most people know the difference between legal and illegal.

I gotta admit, the way the illegal site the interpreter was using has been described, I can almost completely buy that he didn't know the difference.

THAT is actually plausible to me.

[miami_fan]

The Astros now have 4 of the last 7 no hitters in MLB.

[Ksyrup]

I was watching the end of the Tigers game last night when they put it away with 5 in the 10th. The Pizza Pizza dugout HR celebration is awesome.

[BYU 14]

Clicked on the Brewers/Twins game on Sirius and was pleasantly surprised to hear Bob Uecker announcing. Had no idea he still did radio games for them, 90 years old and still sounds really good. He is a national treasure for sure.

[miami_fan]

Just as we all knew it would, everything about the A's move to Las Vegas has gotten even worse.

Athletics appear close to making Sacramento interim home - ESPN (https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39871807/athletics-appear-close-making-sacramento-interim-home)

The A's triple A team is in Las Vegas. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the major league club play there until the new stadium is built? They could start building the local fan base in Las Vegas.

[molson]

I was curious so I looked it up, the team is just going to be called "The Athletics", with no location designation, while they're in Sacramento.

I'm going to try to get to a mid-week game in Oakland this year. I have a couple of relatives in the area, I could make a little trip out of it. Like maybe a Tuesday night game against a low-profile opponent, something under 3,000 people will show up for. I remember going to a game in Montreal towards the end there and there's just something sad but interesting and surreal about it. And you can sit really close for cheap and no concession lines.

The stadium isn't great but but I had a great time there at a Red Sox series-deciding playoff game in 2003, I drove down from Eugene, Oregon a couple of months into law school.

[Ksyrup]

My daughter's boyfriend is a diehard Cleveland fan and they flew out to SF primarily to attend a game in Oakland (Cleveland was in town) because it was the last year in Oakland.

It's like gravesite tourism...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Like maybe a Tuesday night game against a low-profile opponent, something under 3,000 people will show up for. I remember going to a game in Montreal towards the end there and there's just something sad but interesting and surreal about it. And you can sit really close for cheap and no concession lines.

So basically the Atlanta experience for most of about 20 years lol

[GrantDawg]

So basically the Atlanta experience for most of about 20 years lol
I had been in Atlanta-Fulton County stadium when there weren't enough fans to fill up a school bus.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I had been in Atlanta-Fulton County stadium when there weren't enough fans to fill up a school bus.

When you couldn't wound two people with a full clip

[Ksyrup]

So basically the Atlanta experience for most of about 20 years lol

That's exactly what I told my daughter and her BF when they showed us the field - looked liked when my buddies and I would buy cheap seats at Fulton County Stadium, show up extra early to watch BP and try to get autographs, then hang around and sit in the boxes. So I could count Rafael Ramirez's errors up close.

[JonInMiddleGA]

That's exactly what I told my daughter and her BF when they showed us the field - looked liked when my buddies and I would buy cheap seats at Fulton County Stadium, show up extra early to watch BP and try to get autographs, then hang around and sit in the boxes. So I could count Rafael Ramirez's errors up close.

It was so sparsely attended that my young self could heckle Bob Horner about his steadily ballooning weight and he could hear me clear enough to react.

[Ksyrup]

We once sat on the 1st base line and figured out the Dodgers steal sign. At one point my buddy and I yelled STEAL STEAL before a pitch and the 1B coach turned his head after the pitch and looked in our direction.

[stevew]

Pirates walk it off on a throwing error | 04/07/2024 | MLB.com (https://www.mlb.com/video/pirates-walk-it-off-on-a-throwing-error)

I’m not sure I can ever recall a game ending like this, but I’m sure it’s common. Anyways, the Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth. The hitter comes up and hits it pretty much straight up the middle, should be the end of the game. Henderson makes a wild dive at it, snags it, tap with his hand, and throws the first, wildly, ending the game.


Just a crazy play with everything on the line.

[miami_fan]

https://www.mlb.com/news/the-three-broadcast-calls-of-hank-aaron-s-715th-home-run

50 years ago today Hammerin' Hank passed the Babe. Still gives me all the chills to watch it years later. I can't imagine what it would have been like and felt like to watch it in real time.

No slight intended but I'm pretty sure this is the first time I heard Curt Gowdy's call of that home run. I only ever remember hearing Milo Hamilton's and Vin Scully's calls.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Gowdy's call is what I was watching when it happened. The game was on NBC

[Swaggs]

Pirates walk it off on a throwing error | 04/07/2024 | MLB.com (https://www.mlb.com/video/pirates-walk-it-off-on-a-throwing-error)

I’m not sure I can ever recall a game ending like this, but I’m sure it’s common. Anyways, the Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth. The hitter comes up and hits it pretty much straight up the middle, should be the end of the game. Henderson makes a wild dive at it, snags it, tap with his hand, and throws the first, wildly, ending the game.


Just a crazy play with everything on the line.

The Pirates have won 2 extra inning games in a row and 3 already this season, which matches their entire total from last season.

The (no longer) new extra inning rule, with the runner starting on second, is still so strange to me. I'm not sure if I like it better or not. With pitchers dropping like flies, it seems like a no brainer to try to shorten the games to reduce injuries, but there was always something really cool about seeing a marginal reliever occasionally pitch like 5 or 6 scoreless innings or the option that, after the 15th inning or so, you might see a position player come in to pitch or starting pitchers come in. Or seeing pitchers get to pinch hit. Now, it feels like a run is more likely to come in each half inning than not.

[Lathum]

I like it better. No one wants a 16 inning game where your pitching options are tomorrows starter or your utility infielder.

[GrantDawg]

But you miss the classics, like the 19 inning Pitates-Braves game in 2011 that went to 2 A.M. with the little girl yelling "LET'S GO PIRATES" so loud you could hear it in the whole stadium and on the television. To this day she is still my favorite fan for a team I don't root for.
Girl who wouldn't quit yelling... Braves-Pirates - YouTube (https://youtu.be/pFx4chKxHss?si=re1d_Nv3h59bExOf)

[JonInMiddleGA]

I like it better. No one wants a 16 inning game where your pitching options are tomorrows starter or your utility infielder.

Just another further dumbing down of the sport.

For literally decades teams were somehow able to manage their bullpens adequately for those odd occasions. I don't recall any epidemic of position-player-pitching in tie games.

[GrantDawg]

Just another further dumbing down of the sport.

For literally decades teams were somehow able to manage their bullpens adequately for those odd occasions. I don't recall any epidemic of position-player-pitching in tie games.
Pitching has changed. I'm not so crazy about it, either but I have no idea how to stop it. Pitchers put full effort in every pitch, and everyone is throwing with crazy velocity and spin rates. Pitchers are ripping their arms apart.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Pitching has changed. I'm not so crazy about it, either but I have no idea how to stop it. Pitchers put full effort in every pitch, and everyone is throwing with crazy velocity and spin rates. Pitchers are ripping their arms apart.

Stop giving in to the madness (baseball overall, not you specifically I mean) and they'll learn otherwise.

Instead, like most shit, we just play into the idiocy.

[Ksyrup]

Just another further dumbing down of the sport.

For literally decades teams were somehow able to manage their bullpens adequately for those odd occasions. I don't recall any epidemic of position-player-pitching in tie games.

That's because they didn't have any way to objectively quantify how inefficient to winning it was. Now they know, and it's almost derelict not to take it into account.

Now, the point about so many arms being ripped to shreds - maybe some team will decide to modify their approach based on a cost basis, but I don't see it happening. But certainly, the sport could kinda force teams into adjustments. Fixing a limit on the number of pitchers on the roster, cracking down on using the IL as extra roster spots for even more pitchers, etc.

Somehow I don't see that happening.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Somehow I don't see that happening.

It's been so long since a good decision was made in baseball that a) don't remember the last one, and b) can't imagine one ever being made again.

It's a pity, but it is what it is. I just don't watch.

[RainMaker]

The pitch clock was a good decision. I'm not watching 4 hour regular season games.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The pitch clock was a good decision. I'm not watching 4 hour regular season games.

You do you.

I never once complained about a baseball game taking too long.

[Swaggs]

The pitch clock was a good decision. I'm not watching 4 hour regular season games.

Pitch clock is a definite win. I think they instituted it during the covid season, so we didn't go to any games that year, but the first few games we went to in person, it was so much better.

[RainMaker]

You do you.

I never once complained about a baseball game taking too long.

It just removed the most boring parts of a baseball game. Guys adjusting their batting gloves between each pitch or a pitcher shaking off signs before another mound visit. Why would anyone miss that?

[Ksyrup]

It's just raging against the dying light. The problem is, as we get older, what we want doesn't matter as much anymore. It's just a fact.

Things that were perfectly acceptable to us when we were younger get changed because the people whose eyes on screens and butts in seats matter more think differently than we do.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It just removed the most boring parts of a baseball game. Guys adjusting their batting gloves between each pitch or a pitcher shaking off signs before another mound visit. Why would anyone miss that?

It's a rhythm of the game thing.

One of the joys of baseball was that it had its own pace. My attention span simply isn't so short that it requires the idiotic pitch clock.

A 2:02 Maddux gem was perfectly fine. So was a game that happened to last 3:41. Each occurred ... organically.

Like pretty much every sport these days, rule changes are designed largely for people who don't actually like the sport.

DH's , ghost runners, pitch clocks, shift rules to protect one dimensional hitters who can't adapt, starting pitchers who can't last 5 innings but that's okay, it just adds up to lowering the talent level to match shortened attention spans. And it's not really something that interests me to watch anymore. {shrug} I'm not the target and that's fine, but after spending decades highly engaged and immersed I figure I'm allowed to be kinda sad about it.

[stevew]

I think they need to patch the 40 man roster during the offseason for extended injuries. Allow teams to put guys on the 60 day but then they aren’t eligible until July 1 or something. If you have three or four guys with Tommy John surgery you’re at a disadvantage with your 40 man roster.

[Ksyrup]

And Jon, I feel your pain, I've just learned to adapt. I don't love any sports as much as I did when I was younger, so that helps a lot. But when I fire up OOTP and start a fictional universe, I always go with 70s/80s league modifiers because that's the era I enjoy the most. Such a coincidence that's when I fell in love with the sport growing up.

I'm sure in 3 decades, you're going to have some now-20 year old wistfully wishing for the good ol' days of the 2020s.

[RainMaker]

I dont' think it's shorter attention spans. The rule changes bring the game in line to where it was 40 years ago. The 3.5 hour games is a new phenomenon. And there's just not a lot of people that have that kind of free time for 162 games a year. Nor that find a player adjusting his gloves 12 times an at-bat to be entertaining.

The talent level is higher than it's ever been. Most teams from the 80's wouldn't be able to score against modern pitching staffs. Most of the teams have a shortstop who can not only defend as well as someone like Ozzie Smith, but also hit 20+ homers. And that counts for every other position too. I understand it might make the game more boring, but hard to argue the talent level is down.

[RainMaker]

I find it less enjoyable due to the lack of balls in play. Defenses getting so elite is somewhat fun to watch but you also miss out on a lot of action that used to be there. Contact hitters are kind of worthless. But I don't really know how you change that aspect of the game.

[molson]

Pitching has changed. I'm not so crazy about it, either but I have no idea how to stop it. Pitchers put full effort in every pitch, and everyone is throwing with crazy velocity and spin rates. Pitchers are ripping their arms apart.

Teams should adjust like NFL teams have done for running backs.

[RainMaker]

Teams should adjust like NFL teams have done for running backs.

They sort of have. TINSTAAPP (there is no such thing as a pitching prospect) has been the strategy for a number of teams for years. Teams are now just loading up on tons of hard throwers and assuming a small percent will make their way through.

You're also seeing it with the contracts being given out. Sure a handful of arms are getting paid, but it's not like it was. The fact Blake Snell couldn't cash in tells you all you need to know. There just isn't going to be the same kind of investment into individual pitchers as there way.

[Lathum]

It just removed the most boring parts of a baseball game. Guys adjusting their batting gloves between each pitch or a pitcher shaking off signs before another mound visit. Why would anyone miss that?

Totally agree with this. I am as big a baseball fan as anyone here. I will watch any game. I play OOTP every day. I play tons of fantasy and DFS. I love the game and I think every change has been a positive. Makes it way more enjoyable.

[Atocep]

Totally agree with this. I am as big a baseball fan as anyone here. I will watch any game. I play OOTP every day. I play tons of fantasy and DFS. I love the game and I think every change has been a positive. Makes it way more enjoyable.

I went to several Mariners games last year and, although I've always loved baseball, watching in person could be a slog depending the game. With the rules changes the game moves at a solid and consistent pace regardless of what's happening.

[Lathum]

I went to several Mariners games last year and, although I've always loved baseball, watching in person could be a slog depending the game. With the rules changes the game moves at a solid and consistent pace regardless of what's happening.

I miss going to games there. Used to hop on the bus in Ballard. Take it to Belltown. Barhop through Pioneer Square then hit the game.

Always a great time.

[Ksyrup]

We went to a game there last fall after our Alaska cruise. Fun park.

[bob]

I’m with Jon (except I liked the AL having DH and the NL not - not 100% sure where he stands on that).

It’s similar to college football. "Oh all other leagues and sports have a playoff, why shouldn't college football?"

Because, it's different! That's the cool part. That's what makes it special. That's what makes college football beautiful, fun, intriguing. If you don't understand that, you aren't a college football fan... you're a football fan. There is a difference.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I’m with Jon (except I liked the AL having DH and the NL not - not 100% sure where he stands on that).


I'm anti, have been since seeing it debut.

AL-only was better than what exists now, I simply didn't watch much of the AL.

[bob]

I sorta figured you were an NL guy.

I was born in an AL city post the DH (‘73?) so I’ve always known it, and always loved the World Series seeing the managers having to adapt to the other way when on the road.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I was born in an AL city post the DH (‘73?)

Yep, Ron Blomberg (an Atlanta area native, a very mild bit of trivia that apparently stuck with me)

[Lathum]

Byron Buxton. Good Lord

[JPhillips]

Still too many Ks, but Elly showed what he can do tonight with a 450 ft HR and an inside the park HR where he went from home to home in under 15 secs.

[miami_fan]

Like pretty much every sport these days, rule changes are designed largely for people who don't actually like the sport.


Preach! This is my #1 sports complaint. I did not need baseball to be played in in ninety minute like soccer or fit into the 1pm to 4pm window like the NFL.

Now I would be lying if I said I did not appreciate the pitch clock. I have no issue watching four hours of baseball. I have a problem watching four hours of strikeouts, walks, home runs and pitching changes If that is the game I am watching, by all means let's get this over and done with as fast as possible. I love the reappearance of the running game. I enjoyed the flow of the game more last year than I did in years past without the changes that were made.

Unfortunately I still could not shake the feeling that I was watching someone playing a baseball video game on Twitch with a ton of house rules to compensate for a broken game engine especially in person.

[stevew]

The Pirates already have a closer problem. Yeah David Bednar is a two-time All-Star, but he’s also one of the only good players on the team the last two years. Everybody gets an All-Star. He’s out there chucking meatballs.

[Swaggs]

The Pirates already have a closer problem. Yeah David Bednar is a two-time All-Star, but he’s also one of the only good players on the team the last two years. Everybody gets an All-Star. He’s out there chucking meatballs.

I like that his playing weight is 225. He must use the same scale as Trump.

[stevew]

I think I blame the renegade hotdog. It’s a foot-long hotdog with pot roast and pierogies on it. More appropriate renegade sandwich would be one giant meatball on a piece of bread because he’s fucking garbage right now. I’m sure he’ll get better though.

[Danny]

I want that hot dog

[stevew]

I like that his playing weight is 225. He must use the same scale as Trump.

They should have traded him last year when I think he had a lot of value. But they wouldn’t because he’s a Yinzer and “one of us.” There’s another guy from Mars high school that goes to WVU and is projected to be a top 10 draft pick. I’m really hoping we can dodge that guy in the draft. I’m sure you might be familiar. Wetherholt is his last name but I’m sure I’m butchering the spelling.

They really need to get Holderman and Mlodzski(sp) back. I don’t trust this starting pitching, and I don’t trust at least half of the relievers.

Might be nice if Contreras can put some solid innings together out of the pen. I was really high on him but he was absolutely terrible in 2023 and out of options.

[stevew]

I have no idea why the Orioles didn’t just break camp with Jackson Holiday on the active roster. He is so good at baseball that it would shock me if he doesn’t finish first or second, in the rookie of the year voting, which would automatically give him a full year of service anyways.

[Swaggs]

They should have traded him last year when I think he had a lot of value. But they wouldn’t because he’s a Yinzer and “one of us.” There’s another guy from Mars high school that goes to WVU and is projected to be a top 10 draft pick. I’m really hoping we can dodge that guy in the draft. I’m sure you might be familiar. Wetherholt is his last name but I’m sure I’m butchering the spelling.

They really need to get Holderman and Mlodzski(sp) back. I don’t trust this starting pitching, and I don’t trust at least half of the relievers.

Might be nice if Contreras can put some solid innings together out of the pen. I was really high on him but he was absolutely terrible in 2023 and out of options.

I think some of these pitchers that are bigger guys are legitimately struggling with the pitch clock. Bednar seems like a good guy, but he flirts with disaster a lot more than I would like from my closer - even when he's on. I'd love to see what he could do with an offseason of really good conditioning, but I don't know that we'll ever have that opportunity.

We have WVU season baseball tickets. Wetherholt is the probably the best college player I have ever seen in person (Josh Jung may be the best and Alex Manoah was a beast when he was on). Granted, I've only been going to college games for like the last 8-10 years. I'd be happy with Wetherholt on the Pirates but he's projected to go fairly high. He's been injured most of this season and I think his size/durability and that he mostly plays 2B are his downsides. I haven't seen his scouting grades, but I would have to think his hit tool and speed are near elite and he has good power. He is supposed to play more SS this season (WVU had a really good senior SS last year that is currently in the Rockies system), so if he looks competent there, that would help. The guys just hits the ball hard and can fly.

It sounds like Holderman will be back tomorrow. Chapman has been pretty awesome. He's lost a little zip, but he's still hitting 98/99 multiple times per outing. Kind of crazy that someone else didn't pick him up. I assume Skenes will be up as soon as the service deadline hits - he's pitched 6 innings and given up one hit and one walk and struck out 11, so far. He's hit 101 multiple times per statcast. He's ready, but I get the franchise not wanting to trade 6-8 starts for a full year of service down the road, but it is frustrating.

[Mota]

We have WVU season baseball tickets. Wetherholt is the probably the best college player I have ever seen in person (Josh Jung may be the best and Alex Manoah was a beast when he was on). Granted, I've only been going to college games for like the last 8-10 years. I'd be happy with Wetherholt on the Pirates but he's projected to go fairly high. He's been injured most of this season and I think his size/durability and that he mostly plays 2B are his downsides. I haven't seen his scouting grades, but I would have to think his hit tool and speed are near elite and he has good power. He is supposed to play more SS this season (WVU had a really good senior SS last year that is currently in the Rockies system), so if he looks competent there, that would help. The guys just hits the ball hard and can fly.

What do you think of Sam White? He is from our home town in Canada, used to play hockey with my son and went to school with him. Sam was always the best at every sport he played, he was just one of those guys. He was a goalie in hockey, but he'd jump in as a forward in a tournament, and be one of the top scorers. Volleyball tournament in grade school? He'd be the star. He just had that level of focus that let him be great at whatever he did.

I see that he was already starting most games as a freshman last year, so obviously they think well of him.

[stevew]

When Chapman is on it’s like watching a giant cat play with a mouse. I have no idea how you hit that guy.

Hoping to get some baseball players in my Uber this year. Last year all I really got was Jarlin Garcia, who was technically on the roster, but basically just robbed Nutting. Markus Golden was the best overall athlete so far

[Ksyrup]

The Cardinals CF has had a game to forget. Completely misplayed a ball in the 1st inning that led to 2 runs. Later, looked like he timed a dive on a looper (instead of sprinting in and catching it on the run) that came out of his glove (it was ruled a hit based on the dive), and just now, he hit a swinging bunt single down the 3B line but for some reason made a turn toward 2B, and decided to play it off and lollygag back to 1B as if no one saw it, and was tagged out.

Should have just stayed in bed.

[RainMaker]

Unfortunately I still could not shake the feeling that I was watching someone playing a baseball video game on Twitch with a ton of house rules to compensate for a broken game engine especially in person.

I don't understand this argument. The game is now being played at the same pace it was 40 years ago. The 4 hour baseball game was a new phenomenon and this rule changes simply brings it back to the pace of an era that traditionalists claim they love.

[RainMaker]

I also think a lot of the complaints about baseball and rule changes is due to the fact that modern athletes sort of broke the sport. It was not designed to have a stable of guys on a team that could hit 98 with spin and throw crazy sliders. Or have freak athletes throughout the diamond playing defense. Or have most of the roster capable of blasting a 420 foot homer whenever someone leaves a pitch up in the zone.

There's some rules I find silly like the ghost runner and shift rule. But I also think there has to be changes to a sport when players get so good that it turns it into something it's not. The reason the game isn't the same as it was in the 80's is because players are so much better that it's practically a different sport.

[dubb93]

I love baseball but you know what I don’t love? I don’t love watching a pitcher scratch his ass. I don’t love a hitter that feels the need to step out of the box 5 times during a single at bat. I don’t love endless throws to first base or a pitcher that won’t go home because he knows as soon as he does the guy at first is going to take off.

At some point these guys stopped playing baseball and made the league step in. I also love the pitch clock because I don’t even notice it during the game. You know what I do notice? 2 hour and 20 minute games. I notice that and I love it too.

[dubb93]

There's some rules I find silly…..shift rule.

I don’t think the shift rule goes far enough.

[Bobble]

I don’t think the shift rule goes far enough.

So it should be ... shifted?

[dubb93]

So it should be ... shifted?

I just think SS and 2B can still play too deep and too far to the other side of the field. I’d like to see it restricted further.

[miami_fan]

I don't understand this argument. The game is now being played at the same pace it was 40 years ago. The 4 hour baseball game was a new phenomenon and this rule changes simply brings it back to the pace of an era that traditionalists claim they love.

I am not a serious enough baseball fan to be considered a traditionalist IMO. Guys stepping out of the box every pitch, lefty/righty pitching changes every other batter and stuff like that never bothered me personally. That was just the game.

As I said, I appreciate the pace of play rule changes. But for me, when I watch or go to a baseball game, I expect to see nine innings of baseball but I understand the potential of rain outs, shortened games and extra innings. I don't consider how long those nine innings are going to take. Over the next couple of weeks, my son and I are going to two Rays games. One is on a Tuesday, the other is the following Wednesday. As we have done in the past, we will stay until the end of the game. Last year, it meant getting home by ten. Before that it meant getting home right around midnight if we were lucky. If getting home at midnight was not an option we did not go to the game that night. The issue was never the length of the game, it was whether it was enjoyable or not. I will much rather have a four hour game with good pitching, hitting, fielding and base running as opposed to a two hour game with thirty strikeouts, fifteen walks, five home runs and zero stolen bases.

Let's put it a different way. Do we know if the teams want to play this way? Because at least at the games I have watched, teams looked like they were forced to play this type of baseball which they are under the new rules. Now I understand that part of that is teams and organizations were developed for the old rules and it takes time to make those changes organically. However, I suspect that if teams thought that stealing bases, no shifts, and making relief pitchers pitch to at least three batters increased their chances of winning, they would have already been doing it and we would not have needed the rule changes.

[Danny]

Im sure players want to get paid with money from fans actually watching the games. They can go play their way fir free somewhere.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Im sure players want to get paid with money from fans actually watching the games. They can go play their way fir free somewhere.

Yeah, fuck those players that actually play the game the right way instead of some convoluted horseshit designed to sate short attention spans.

How dare they.

[dubb93]

Game time is down by a half hour and attendance is up. Players should just do their job. Players don’t make the rules. They did this themselves by playing so slow. Games are still longer with a pitch clock than they were in the 70s. Other sports leagues make rules and the players adjust. Baseball will die if the games continue to take 4 hours. NFL games are 3 hours and you play 17 of them. Baseball can’t play 162 4 hours game and continue to thrive. There is a reason they have fallen so far and that is a major part of it.

[RainMaker]

Yeah, fuck those players that actually play the game the right way instead of some convoluted horseshit designed to sate short attention spans.

How dare they.

They are playing the game the way it's been played for a hundred plus years. The "take a minute to re-do my batting glove between every pitch" is something we've only seen in the last 10-15 years. The game is now at the same pace as it was for most of its existence.

I get if people like the slower pace but that's never been how baseball was played.

[dubb93]

The game is now at the same pace as it was for most of its existence.

Sorta. Last season had the lowest average game time since 1985. Every season prior to 1985 had shorter games than last season though. That is why they cut the pitch clock this season. Sucks they are only down 1 minute so far.

[miami_fan]

I also think a lot of the complaints about baseball and rule changes is due to the fact that modern athletes sort of broke the sport. It was not designed to have a stable of guys on a team that could hit 98 with spin and throw crazy sliders. Or have freak athletes throughout the diamond playing defense. Or have most of the roster capable of blasting a 420 foot homer whenever someone leaves a pitch up in the zone.

There's some rules I find silly like the ghost runner and shift rule. But I also think there has to be changes to a sport when players get so good that it turns it into something it's not. The reason the game isn't the same as it was in the 80's is because players are so much better that it's practically a different sport.

All of this has more bearing on the game than anything to do with the pitch clock for me. I want to see the great athletes do the great things. Give me all the great athletes doing great things on the field and I will hang around. I will make the time to watch them do so no matter how many times they readjust their batting gloves. I recently caught Greg Maddux's 1997 game against the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader It was not memorable to me because it only took two hours and seven minutes. It was memorable to me because he threw 75+ pitches and 60+ of them were strikes. I would watch three hours of a Maddux masterpiece

Again, I am not against the pitch clock. If that is the change that is needed to make it a better watch from everyone else, that's great. For me, none of that matters if all I am seeing during those two hours and forty two minutes are strikeouts, walks and home runs with the occasional single to the opposite field. The thing that brought me excitement watching baseball was aggressiveness on the base paths. Even with the larger bases, has it suddenly become rewarding enough to have more base stealing attempts the data showed it was not worth the risk just a couple of years ago. Beyond that, are we still only going to bringing hitters whose swing have the proper launch angle to hit 420 foot home runs? Is it still going to be sacrilege to have say a Tim Wakefield chucking knuckle balls to the plate every fifth day as opposed to the guy with 98+ and the crazy sliders. In other words, if the modern athlete has broken the sport, where are the changes that actually fix the sport outside of stopping them from fixing their gloves for thirty seconds in between each at bat.

I am not sure where we came up with the 162 four hour games. As best as I can tell the highest average game length time was 3.11 hours in 2021. I have no issue watching 3.11 hours of baseball as long as it is quality baseball (both offensively and defensively) in the same way I don't have a problem watch 3.11 hours of quality football.

[Lathum]

But you can watch the same 3.11 game in 2.20 now. Nothing has changed with the athletes.

[Swaggs]

What do you think of Sam White? He is from our home town in Canada, used to play hockey with my son and went to school with him. Sam was always the best at every sport he played, he was just one of those guys. He was a goalie in hockey, but he'd jump in as a forward in a tournament, and be one of the top scorers. Volleyball tournament in grade school? He'd be the star. He just had that level of focus that let him be great at whatever he did.

I see that he was already starting most games as a freshman last year, so obviously they think well of him.

He's looked pretty good with hitting this season, but is striking out probably a little more than you'd like to see. This is a pretty good, talented team and he has been bouncing around hitting in the top half of a pretty goodt lineup (when he's healthy). We have had a lot of injuries and one of our better players is a catcher named Logan Suave (no joke!). Suave had been out for an extended period of time and has returned. White was doing the majority of the catching for a big chunk of the season, so that could have affected his hitting/concentration some. He needs to find a position (he's been bouncing around between C, 3B, LF, and RF) and cut down the strikeouts. I don't know enough about his defense as a catcher, but if he can stick at C or 3B, I'd imagine he'll be one of the more "featured" players on the team next year and will have a good shot at being drafted, when he is eligible, after next season.

I don't know if ESPN+ has the same broadcasting rights in Canada as it does in the US, but if so, most of the home and Big 12 conference games are available to watch there. Not always the greatest quality of production, but if you are into baseball, you could catch some of his ABs and see J.J. Wetherholt, who is one of the best draft eligible college players in the country this season.

[Mota]

Thanks Swaggs! I've been checking out the results every week or two on the WVU website, that's the only access that I have. We have very little college baseball on the Canadian sports channels. We don't get ESPN at all in Canada, we have our own national sports channels that make their own licensing deals specifically for Canada. I'll look up Wetherholt though!

[stevew]

Carlos Carrasco pitching for Cleveland today reminded me that he was one of the main pieces in the Cliff Lee->Philly trade. That era seems like a lifetime ago.

And Lee came to Cleveland from the Expos for Bartolo Colon. Which oddly enough colon pitched 3-4 more years than Lee despite being about 5 years older. Wasn’t like Lee had a short career either.

[Swaggs]

Thanks Swaggs! I've been checking out the results every week or two on the WVU website, that's the only access that I have. We have very little college baseball on the Canadian sports channels. We don't get ESPN at all in Canada, we have our own national sports channels that make their own licensing deals specifically for Canada. I'll look up Wetherholt though!

I went to the game today. He had a walk, drove in a run on a groundout, and then smashed an opposite field homer. Last night, I only caught a bit of the game, but he threw out a runner at 2B with a strong throw from right field. WVU won both games over #17 UCF and are currently in first in their conference.

[Atocep]

Jeff Pearlman, former SI writer/journalist, has a tiktok account where he's been telling stories of his time coving sports for SI. He has some great stories and some line up with what we knew or felt a the time, but it's nice to hear his context added.

He said the worst athlete he covered was Barry Bonds. I guess when he signed with the Giants SI decided to do a story on him and assigned it to Pearlman. They rented one of the city's cable cars and wanted to do a cover shoot with it. Bonds agreed and then no showed multiple days. It cost SI a couple hundred grand altogether and Bonds just shrugged his shoulders and didn't address it when asked.

Albert Belle was the scariest player he ever covered. He said Belle would just stare at you if approached his locker and asked a question. Then if you still lingered or tried to ask again he'd just say "get the fuck away from locker".

He has a couple of Bo stories were about his speed. He said at his first camp with the Raider Tom Flores had guys running 40s and, in pads, Bo ran a 4.19 on his first attempt. Flores had them remeasure the distance and had Bo run again, the 2nd time he ran a 4.17.

He said John Rocker was certifiably crazy. I guess Rocker was driving them somewhere while he was doing his first piece on Rocker and I guess Rocker bitched about Asian drivers, flipped off and hung his head out the window to yell fuck you to another driver, and hocked a loogie on a toll booth.

He did say Sean Casey was hands down the nicest player he ever met. Knew the kids names of Reds beat writers, would speak to each individually the first day of spring training, and invited all Reds beat writers to his wedding.

Way too many fun or interesting stories to cover here. Some steroid era stuff, stories about how nice Shaq genuinely is, and what it's like as a young baseball writer peeing next to Vin Skully.

[GrantDawg]

I have seen some of those and they are good.

[JPhillips]

John Sterling is immediately retiring due to health concerns.

[Thomkal]

Former Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog has died at 92.

[JPhillips]

It's been quite an encouraging opening to the season for Elly. He's going to cool down some, but if he can get on base at even an average clip his speed and power will really play. He's got superstar written all over him.

[stevew]

I’m really tempted to buy Pirates tickets for Weds. it seems like a probable Skenes debut.

[whomario]

Holy Shit moment for Yamamoto yesterday ... Also, those sounds are just bonkers

Watch 2024-04-25 15-31-11 | Streamable (https://streamable.com/hnqy58?src=player-page-share)

[cartman]

the Rangers' young phenom Wyatt Langford hit his first career home run today. It was an inside the park home run.

[JPhillips]

Barring injury, it looks like a conservative estimate for his season might be 30hr and 60sb for Elly.

[stevew]

Bought amazing seats for Pirates/Angels next week and Trout is now hurt. The Pirates are the only team he hasn’t homered against.

[Swaggs]

Bought amazing seats for Pirates/Angels next week and Trout is now hurt. The Pirates are the only team he hasn’t homered against.

I read that Skenes is a possibility on Monday.

[CrimsonFox]

Wow Chris Guccione is a piece of shit

[stevew]

I read that Skenes is a possibility on Monday.

That’s the one I’m going to, fingers crossed

[GrantDawg]

Often unsung heroes:
<samp class="EmbedCode-container"><code class="EmbedCode-code"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I love that a beekeeper saved a baseball game last night, threw out a first pitch, amped up the crowd, and did postgame interviews. Make him the MLB commissioner. <a href="https://t.co/ONbBf7BZ7L">pic.twitter.com/ONbBf7BZ7L</a></p>&mdash; Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kantrowitz/status/1785657478635524484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </code></samp>

[GrantDawg]

I loved this commercial so much....
<samp class="EmbedCode-container"><code class="EmbedCode-code"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On May 2, 1999, Nike’s “Chicks Dig The Long Ball” Commercial with Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux first aired.<br><br>(via YouTube/The Bricks &amp; Ivy Archive) <a href="https://t.co/ZTQ1pw4Mi1">pic.twitter.com/ZTQ1pw4Mi1</a></p>&mdash; Braves on TBS (@BravesOnTBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/BravesOnTBS/status/1785987674299342863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </code></samp>

[stevew]

Why is Pete Alonso running the bases for himself in a pivotal play at the plate? Surely anyone the Mets have someone on the bench that’s a lot faster than him

[Swaggs]

I loved this commercial so much....
<samp class="EmbedCode-container"><code class="EmbedCode-code"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On May 2, 1999, Nike’s “Chicks Dig The Long Ball” Commercial with Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux first aired.<br><br>(via YouTube/The Bricks &amp; Ivy Archive) <a href="https://t.co/ZTQ1pw4Mi1">pic.twitter.com/ZTQ1pw4Mi1</a></p>&mdash; Braves on TBS (@BravesOnTBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/BravesOnTBS/status/1785987674299342863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </code></samp>

I refuse to believe this was 25 years ago.

[Swaggs]

Pirates send down former overall #1 pick Henry Davis. He had a -1.4 WAR last year in 224 ABs, playing out of position as a RF. He came into this year winning the starting C job, with the help of injuries, and hit .162/.280/.206 with -.4 WAR in 83 plate appearances. Dude hit with power and discipline through college and the minors and, while he wasn’t the consensus #1 (Jack Leiter and Jordan Lawler were in the mix, as well as Brady House for a good part of the year), he was seen as the safest with a “high floor” type of outlook.

This is now year 5 of the Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton rebuild and the team is now 14-18 and they don’t have a starting batter with an OPS over .750. The pitching in the minors looks a little better, but things are looking bad.

[Atocep]

Pirates send down former overall #1 pick Henry Davis. He had a -1.4 WAR last year in 224 ABs, playing out of position as a RF. He came into this year winning the starting C job, with the help of injuries, and hit .162/.280/.206 with -.4 WAR in 83 plate appearances. Dude hit with power and discipline through college and the minors and, while he wasn’t the consensus #1 (Jack Leiter and Jordan Lawler were in the mix, as well as Brady House for a good part of the year), he was seen as the safest with a “high floor” type of outlook.

This is now year 5 of the Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton rebuild and the team is now 14-18 and they don’t have a starting batter with an OPS over .750. The pitching in the minors looks a little better, but things are looking bad.


I wasn't all that high on Davis and didn't like the pick for the Pirates. Catchers are such a mixed bag that unless the defensive tools are there to raise the floor, it's difficult to justify them in round 1. Then the Pirates threw more variables into the equation by seeming to not be able to decide if they wanted his bat in the lineup or have him behind rhe plate, which is going to hurt development. You have to go all in on one or the other.

I liked Lawler and Mayer in that draft. I saw Leiter as more of a 3 starter.

[Swaggs]

I wasn't all that high on Davis and didn't like the pick for the Pirates. Catchers are such a mixed bag that unless the defensive tools are there to raise the floor, it's difficult to justify them in round 1. Then the Pirates threw more variables into the equation by seeming to not be able to decide if they wanted his bat in the lineup or have him behind rhe plate, which is going to hurt development. You have to go all in on one or the other.

I liked Lawler and Mayer in that draft. I saw Leiter as more of a 3 starter.

I was onboard at the time because they got a few overslot guys later on, but became real concerned last year when he got called up. His defense and arm were supposed to be MLB ready in college and then they stuck him in RF when they called him up.

[JPhillips]

Elly ranks 17th in MLB in steals by a team!

[Swaggs]

What do you think of Sam White? He is from our home town in Canada, used to play hockey with my son and went to school with him. Sam was always the best at every sport he played, he was just one of those guys. He was a goalie in hockey, but he'd jump in as a forward in a tournament, and be one of the top scorers. Volleyball tournament in grade school? He'd be the star. He just had that level of focus that let him be great at whatever he did.

I see that he was already starting most games as a freshman last year, so obviously they think well of him.

Sam White had a 2-homer game yesterday in WVU’s 5-4 win at Cincy. They are in the hunt for the Big 12 regular season title (1 game back from Oklahoma and WVU has the tiebreaker due to sweeping them head to head).

White is now slashing .323/.422/.538 with 8 homers and leads the team in games played and started (44-43).

Here is a twitter link to the home runs (not the best camera angles): https://x.com/WVUBaseball/status/1786522115694321943

[Atocep]

Elly ranks 17th in MLB in steals by a team!

I saw yesterday, I think, that the reds are on pace for 300+ steals. That would be the most by a team since the 1985 cardinals.

[JPhillips]

If they had anyone hitting besides Elly they would be a really fun team to watch.

[PilotMan]

Elly is so much fun to watch. He's young, and he fucks up from time to time, but man, he's fun.

I was looking at the old late 90s Reds teams, and they have some legit talent. Even when they weren't really competing, they had a handful of vet starters, and players. Maybe not the top of the top, but Schott did her best to put a good team on the field. These kids are exciting, but they are kids, and they slump together. It's going to be a long season. However, they have some stellar young pitching. Lodolo, Greene, and Abbott are very, very talented.

[CrimsonFox]

*DOINK*

Mets catcher Tomás Nido hit Bryce Harper with a throw back to the pitcher (https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/bryce-harper-hit-mets-catcher-tomas-nido-throw-reaction?csp=trueanthem&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0SiCnVVo9ejn0Xppsyqnw4PHTv3VkpsWI7_cq1QU0twnQ2wgS_1i1l6lw_aem_AQdgiq5_GanshfMQ5ThNuwCFQkcZaEbRtcnEzuOf_EIBKLFt6SDQqNsWU9zu5E4Tpv2u1cum8Vgfhac6l2SfEi-C)

Another MLB first...

[RainMaker]

Paul Skenes is nasty. Struck out the first 6 batters today.

[Ksyrup]

Impressive - especially considering this is the same team he faced in his first start.

[RainMaker]

Ended up striking out the first 7. Perfect through 3. He's on a strict pitch count I believe so he won't be going deep but good lord his stuff is electric. Like watching a young Strausberg.

[JPhillips]

Elly already has 30 steals. He plays so hard I think he's at an elevated risk for injury, but damn he's fun to watch. He had four steals last night and none of the throws were even close. Too bad the Reds won't spend enough to build a team around him. He'll be a Dodger in a few years.

[stevew]

#Skenes

[RainMaker]

Elly already has 30 steals. He plays so hard I think he's at an elevated risk for injury, but damn he's fun to watch. He had four steals last night and none of the throws were even close. Too bad the Reds won't spend enough to build a team around him. He'll be a Dodger in a few years.

6th player to reach 30 stolen bases this fast in a season. The others are Rickey Henderson (x3), Kenny Lofton, Vince Coleman, Tim Raines, and Lou Brock. Pretty elite company.

[whomario]

Ended up striking out the first 7. Perfect through 3. He's on a strict pitch count I believe so he won't be going deep but good lord his stuff is electric. Like watching a young Strausberg.

Had him go to a round 100 in an 8-0 game ultimately, so propably less strict than anticipated (his 84 in his first start already 9 above any in AAA). Going to be fascinating how this is handled going forward. Thinking cynically: the odds of him staying healthy very long might not be that great anyway and the odds of him signing an extension loooong term at any point seem less than stellar ... Sooo ... Do you maybe just milk what you can while he's cheap considering how good he already is?

[Ksyrup]

I've already thought about that in general. Are we going to see a 180 from some teams who basically decide to treat these guys like they are college pitchers?

[Ksyrup]

Maryland Eastern Shore went winless. 0-48. I'm not sure the statement "soul crushing" adequately expresses how bad that must suck.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Maryland Eastern Shore went winless. 0-48. I'm not sure the statement "soul crushing" adequately expresses how bad that must suck.

They did it against only quad 3 (0-16) and quad 4 (0-32) opponents too.
Only 3 one-run games in those losses too.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sources -- Ex-Angels IF David Fletcher bet with Mizuhara bookie - ESPN (https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40166891/angels-david-fletcher-bet-bookie)

[RainMaker]

There's still something real fishy about that whole story with Ohtani. And not just hiw quick they buried it.

[SirFozzie]

Not everything has to be a conspiracy theory.

[Danny]

Biden ordered the hit job on Mizuhara

[RainMaker]

Millions of his money was spent with an illegal bookmaker over a long period of time. His closest friends were betting and he was oblivious to it. No real investigation by the league, no real investigative journalism in this.

I just can't imagine the average player would have been treated that way with all that information out there. They put players on administrative leave over accusations on social media. But not when your money is being used in a huge illegal betting ring?

Not saying he's guilt of anything but it is wild how such a potentially huge story just sort of went away overnight.

[stevew]

Fletcher is still owed somewhere in the neighborhood of $13-$15 million on his contract so a suspension would be pretty devastating to his financials. He’s in AAA at the moment.

[stevew]

I’ll just be happy if we get in the playoffs one time with Skenes, Jared Jones and another functioning starter healthy(Keller?)

I may as well start setting Google alerts for Skenes, forearm tightness and Dr. Neal ElAttrache

[stevew]

I was hoping to see “Grandson of the Wind” Lee next week but he’s going to miss the rest of the season. Brutal for the Giants.

[whomario]

He’s in AAA at the moment.

Pitching Knuckleballs as a reliever a couple days ago as well

[CrimsonFox]

Twins OF Willi Castro threw ball out of stadium after losing track of outs (https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/twins-willi-castro-forgets-outs-throws-ball-stadium-reaction?csp=trueanthem&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1X1soDQgurWl-gTXvy5s2UBBwxSeP6gE5OCd2L0Z4mdJAdsAKCu_fQVM4_aem_AUO1W4jz83tuK5r8F22QK8X-DfAYaqOLk_Z9Z8RKfeOp7SXHqcwCjYVUK_J2krpWQWeTAQIAeZ17skFFMg9u0AEn)

Perhaps this guy should switch to quarterback

[stevew]

Timmy Trumpet definitely is a sleeper agent for the Phillies. Edwin Diaz has seen his career unravel since the grandiose display.

[stevew]

I really like the guardians city connect jersey. Most of them have been garbage, but they really did well with that one.

[MrBug708]

There's still something real fishy about that whole story with Ohtani. And not just hiw quick they buried it.

The FBI did the heavy work here. Not sure people under indictment are going to speak with MLB investigators to appease fans who decided guilt/innocence when Ohtani was still in Korea for that opening day series vs the Padres.

[GrantDawg]

My son is at the Blue Jays game in Toronto. He and some of his friends drove over to spend several days there and to catch a game. I'm super jealous.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Swaggs]

Sam White had a 2-homer game yesterday in WVU’s 5-4 win at Cincy. They are in the hunt for the Big 12 regular season title (1 game back from Oklahoma and WVU has the tiebreaker due to sweeping them head to head).

White is now slashing .323/.422/.538 with 8 homers and leads the team in games played and started (44-43).

Here is a twitter link to the home runs (not the best camera angles): x.com (https://x.com/WVUBaseball/status/1786522115694321943)

I’m not sure if Mota has checked the thread lately, but Sam White was named as an honorable mention to the Big 12 All Conference team today. Pretty big honor as a sophomore. He finished the regular season at .316/.413./.526 with 10 homers and 39 RBI. He led the team in hits, runs, ABs, and games played. I think he probably would have had even a little better season if he had not had to play catcher (16 games) early in the season. If he settles in as a corner OF (likely) or, even better, at 3B (possible with a graduating SR leaving, but he’ll have some competition) and has another good summer league, hitting with wooden bats, I think it’s likely he’ll go pro after next season.

[CrimsonFox]

geez the reds really fell off the mountain there. lol

people already calling for david bell's head.
and maybe cruz needs to do something other than just go for stats

and wow they just had their 3rd player leave the game due to being hit by a pitch

[Swaggs]

geez the reds really fell off the mountain there. lol

people already calling for david bell's head.
and maybe cruz needs to do something other than just go for stats

and wow they just had their 3rd player leave the game due to being hit by a pitch

This is Bell's sixth season and he is like 50 games under .500 with a playoff appearance during the Covid year (when playoffs were expanded). He's the longest serving manager in the NL Central and has had a pretty good chance. I don't think they are putting the best product on the field, but guys often get much shorter leashes than he has gotten.

[JPhillips]

The Castellinis don't care about winning.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I don't have to like a team (at all) to notice what they're doing, so with that in mind ...

SEC tournament, #11 seed LSU beat projected top 8 national seed Georgia 9-1 in the first round. Today they beat projected #1 overall national seed Kentucky 11-0.

Umm, that ain't exactly supposed to happen. I guess they wanted to get off the tournament bubble as quickly as possible. Jeez.

[Swaggs]

Yeah - I agree.

I think Bell is a perfectly fine manager and would almost certainly win more if the Reds added talent. I just think it is strange to frame it that they are "already calling for his head." That type of talk is more for managers that have had a small sample size. Bell seems like a "give me 75-80 win talent and I will go out and win you 75-80 games" type of manager.

[RainMaker]

<samp class="EmbedCode-container"><code class="EmbedCode-code"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Pirates broadcast just asked this kid what is his favorite thing about Paul Skenes<br><br>&quot;His mustache and LIVVY DUNNE&quot; lmfao <a href="https://t.co/bOcCOYLOEY">pic.twitter.com/bOcCOYLOEY</a></p>&mdash; James Schiano (@James_Schiano) <a href="https://twitter.com/James_Schiano/status/1793703392952652166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </code></samp>

[albionmoonlight]

In this age of hyperbole, it is easy to say "this is the worst call I've ever seen" for every bad call.

This might be the worst call I've ever seen.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Andrew Vaughn is called for interference after an infield fly rule. An Absolutely BRUTAL call to end the game.... <a href="https://t.co/AyhCWwiHeY">pic.twitter.com/AyhCWwiHeY</a></p>&mdash; White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWhiteSox/status/1793837883142402434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[RainMaker]

I saw some online arguing that by the letter of the rule, it's technically correct. But I've never seen that called in my life and an atrocious way to end a game.

[CrimsonFox]

ump: "I do what I want"

[JonInMiddleGA]

I saw some online arguing that by the letter of the rule, it's technically correct. But I've never seen that called in my life and an atrocious way to end a game.

That's roughly my thinking after watching it. Both things you typed. And it seems even the White Sox manager agrees

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol acknowledged the call was correct. "Their shortstop had plenty of time to catch the baseball ... He wasn't trying to impede Gunnar from catching the fly ball. He wasn't doing that. It has nothing to do with the way the umpires called the play. I just have an issue with the rule,"

[RainMaker]

<samp class="EmbedCode-container"><code class="EmbedCode-code"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I guess this is the rule. <a href="https://t.co/036VTPAYEA">pic.twitter.com/036VTPAYEA</a></p>&mdash; Jim Margalus (@SoxMachine) <a href="https://twitter.com/SoxMachine/status/1793839891580854485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </code></samp>

[RainMaker]

Or maybe not?


<samp class="EmbedCode-container"><code class="EmbedCode-code"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">League reached out to the White Sox, per source. Essentially told them the obstruction call to end the game should not have been made. There IS some discretion there. <a href="https://t.co/gxCSWcXwb2">https://t.co/gxCSWcXwb2</a></p>&mdash; Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseRogersESPN/status/1794092691313037751?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </code></samp>

[stevew]

It’s fun that Judge has decided to do his best Bonds impression this month. 1.489 OPS

[GrantDawg]

Ronald Acuna went down with a non-contact knee injury. Doesn't look good.

[GrantDawg]

Acuna says it didn't feel like a tear. He said it felt more like his hyper-extension in 2018 that had him out a month or so. Hopefully that is the case.

[GrantDawg]

Well f. It is a complete ACL tear and Acuna will miss the rest of the season.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Lathum]

I'm hearing total tear

[RainMaker]

That's some really crappy news. The guy is a blast to watch.

[Swaggs]

I was watching that game live and pretty well knew his season was over. Whenever you see an athlete, with no one around them drop like they’ve been shot with a rifle, it is bad news.

[stevew]

I was watching that game live and pretty well knew his season was over. Whenever you see an athlete, with no one around them drop like they’ve been shot with a rifle, it is bad news.

I’m sure Greg Brown was absolutely befuddled on the audio call.

[stevew]

Angel Hernandez retired on a questionable call.

[GrantDawg]

And it is like Christmas on social media.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[PilotMan]

Angel Hernandez retired on a questionable call.


Wow, this is amazing. I don't think I've ever heard of any umpire retiring immediately. So amazing.

[stevew]

MLB probably got rid of him for some amount similar to the cost of one Bobblehead night per team. Should have happened to him years ago.

[Ksyrup]

I love that his agent texted someone from the Athletic to say "He was NOT forced out." OK.

I didn't read it, but the timing is interesting seeing as Athletic just did what sounded like a puff piece on him. Either it was a way to get a friendly story out about him as his career ended, or an attempt to save his job by getting his human interest story crap out in the public.

[bhlloy]

I still think the Athletic is good value and I would pay for it just for its NHL draft and prospects coverage plus nostalgic 90s soccer stories, but it’s very noticeable that since the acquisition they go more towards the edgy/controversial topics to try to drive engagement and clicks. Lots of borderline troll pieces by local writers that seem to be something you’d read on Grantland which I tend to just ignore.

They did a puff piece on Scott Foster right before they did one on Hernandez. My guess is they will do Tim Peel next.

[Lathum]

I was today old when I learned Stephen Vogt is the Indians manager

[Ghost Econ]

Andrew Benintendi is currently on pace for -6 WAR this season.

[Swaggs]

Andrew Benintendi is currently on pace for -6 WAR this season.

I can't believe he's still only 29. It's pretty nuts to have a 4.8 WAR season at 23 y/o (plus three other years of 2.5+ WAR) and then negative value by the time you are 29.

I think he belongs on the "I Can't Believe They Are Only X-years old Team" of players that feel like they have been around forever and should be closing in on retirement, but are instead barely over 30, along with Jason Hayward (34 - feels like he should have retired 10 years ago), Michal Wacha (32), Gerritt Cole (33), Bryce Harper (31), Mike Trout (32), Kris Bryant (32), and Manny Machado (31).

[Lathum]

Diaz went in the IL today then in his first AB Alonso took one on the hand and left the game. I love being a Mets fan.

[Lathum]

Kid on the Nats just got hit in the head. Weird play, totally unintentional. Kid was squaring to bunt and the pitcher lost one and it went way inside. Kid seems fine.

Probably an unpopular opinion but I feel like if you hit someone in the head you're out of the game. Not even because it was intentional, but your head just can't be in the right place after doing that.

[Jas_lov]

The umps just made that same infield fly rule interference call on Juan Soto in the Yankees-Angels game, so I guess they didn't learn anything. They've gotta fix that because it's a really dumb call when the batter is already out on the infield fly rule.

[Atocep]

The umps just made that same infield fly rule interference call on Juan Soto in the Yankees-Angels game, so I guess they didn't learn anything. They've gotta fix that because it's a really dumb call when the batter is already out on the infield fly rule.

Eh, that one was the right call. Not a great situation to be in as a runner, but Soto could have actually made some effort to avoid the fielder.

[Lathum]

Eh, that one was the right call. Not a great situation to be in as a runner, but Soto could have actually made some effort to avoid the fielder.

He absolutely made an effort to avoid the runner. The fielder misjudged the ball. The call was terrible

[Atocep]

He absolutely made an effort to avoid the runner. The fielder misjudged the ball. The call was terrible

Not really, the infield fly is a live ball and the runner can advance on his own judgement. There's no reason for him to be off the bag or do anything other than quickly get back to the bag. Soto takes his sweet ass time seeing the ball in the air and starts slowly making his way back to the bag before he saw the infielder misjudged the ball and was in his path back to the bag. At that point he panicked and ran into him. That's textbook interference.

Soto is an awful baserunner. People today complain all the time about how bad baserunning is in today's game. This is an instance of that. The majority of highschool and lower players would have played that better than Soto. That was lazy baserunning and he paid the price.

[Atocep]

I can't believe he's still only 29. It's pretty nuts to have a 4.8 WAR season at 23 y/o (plus three other years of 2.5+ WAR) and then negative value by the time you are 29.

I think he belongs on the "I Can't Believe They Are Only X-years old Team" of players that feel like they have been around forever and should be closing in on retirement, but are instead barely over 30, along with Jason Hayward (34 - feels like he should have retired 10 years ago), Michal Wacha (32), Gerritt Cole (33), Bryce Harper (31), Mike Trout (32), Kris Bryant (32), and Manny Machado (31).

Jurickson Profar is still only 31, Ahmed Rosario and Alex Verdugo are both 28, Wilmer Flores is 32. All mind blowing to me.

[Ksyrup]

I agree with the tweeter!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gonna choose to believe Rhys was heading to the Phillies dugout with JT before remembering he was a Brewer <a href="https://t.co/SuZWHnfLDp">pic.twitter.com/SuZWHnfLDp</a></p>&mdash; Nick Piccone (@_piccone) <a href="https://twitter.com/_piccone/status/1797834458600784267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[stevew]

Chris Taylor has done the impossible and is now hitting under 100. 80 some at bats.

[stevew]

Also, why is it so hard for them to make a pair of batting gloves that actually fits? Guys just love to just step out and fix their stupid gloves.

[stevew]

Hey swaggs, What’s up with Nick Gonzales? I’m starting to think that this might be a little bit real. He finally looks like the player we drafted.

I keep waiting after the games to get a ride taking rowdy to the airport, I imagine that has to happen soon. He gets an impressive amount of boos.

[Swaggs]

Hey swaggs, What’s up with Nick Gonzales? I’m starting to think that this might be a little bit real. He finally looks like the player we drafted.

I keep waiting after the games to get a ride taking rowdy to the airport, I imagine that has to happen soon. He gets an impressive amount of boos.

Not sure, but I sure wish Henry Davis would catch whatever Gonzalez has.

I think Tellez will end up on the DL at some point and then we’ll never see him again.

[Ksyrup]

There was a Phillies fan at the London game yesterday wearing a shirt that said something like, "Britain blew a 13 colony lead." I LOL'd.

[CrimsonFox]

https://external.fluk1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/emg1/v/t13/13013651593756401669?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cincinnati.com%2Fgcdn%2Fauthoring%2Fauthoring-images%2F2024%2F06%2F12%2FPCIN%2F74067256007-usatsi-23527009.jpg%3Fcrop%3D3090%252C1738%252Cx0%252Cy161%26width%3D3090%26height%3D1738%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp&fb_obo=1&utld=cincinnati.com&stp=c0.5000x0.5000f_dst-jpg_flffffff_p500x261_q75&ccb=13-1&oh=06_Q399YgQI1KruMle4xR-ciXMSAJJjc42CVyZl6HSNvBdPLiY&oe=666D57A3&_nc_sid=c63717

Johnny Bench tweeted this pic of a fan being tasered at a Reds game

[CrimsonFox]

Now this is what I love about baseball!

First Grand Slam After 12 pitch battle! (https://www.si.com/mlb/royals-mj-melendez-belts-first-career-grand-slam-thrilling-12-pitch-at-bat?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2REG2Jmbzuz1DlMhNfYf_R3N42a6P9nqbPYr90mHmT5u4w5Bpj5TVFDaM_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw)

[CrimsonFox]

Ge La Cruz scores from second on a bad pickoff throw

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">INSANE speed Elly <a href="https://t.co/bE3GOr0K87">pic.twitter.com/bE3GOr0K87</a></p>&mdash; Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1802413080057680099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[RainMaker]

This pitch is just stupid filthy. I don't know how anyone can hit it.


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[CrimsonFox]

heh... the "splinker"

[JonInMiddleGA]

Crazy thing on those pitches is that almost every one was at the same speed (95 mph, or at least 94)

[RainMaker]

And with his fastball topping 100, you're basically just guessing whether or not the pitch is going to drop when you swing.

[CrimsonFox]

why doesn't EVEYRONE have that pitch.

[CrimsonFox]

oh man....and he's a starter too! Wonder how long he can keep that up.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez gets 80-game ban for PED violation - ESPN (https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40413967/blue-jays-orelvis-martinez-gets-80-game-ban-violating-ped-policy)

2 days (and 1 game) after being called up, popped.

[stevew]

He’s probably full of shit but “supposedly” A quick Google Search said something to the effect that It can significantly increase your sperm count. If you wanna have a baby, which is what he said. Like 3 to 4 times as many swimmers.

[stevew]

It’s pretty amazing how much Edwin Diaz has had his career derail since the “spiking of the football” Timmy Trumpet entrance. Mets fall apart in 2022. Diaz tears ACL and misses 2023. Earlier this season, he hast to step back from the closer roll due to ineffectiveness. Then the Mets get that Grimace bounce. And now he’s missing 10 games for having funky ass sticky hands.

[Swaggs]

It is hard seeing Paul Skenes come up and deal this way, have him and Jared Jones on minimum salaries for the next few years and not see the front office add a couple of even league average bats to the lineup. The NL Central and NL, in general, is down this year - if the Pirates don't act now, I don't know when they ever will.

They are sitting with the second lowest payroll in MLB (behind the A's) at $85.5M, with their three most established players under contract now for at least the next 4 years (Reynolds, Hayes, and Keller) and still fielding a team that has negative WAR at catcher, 1B, and corner OF. So hard to be a fan.

[Ksyrup]

They're shooting for 2027, after his inevitable TJ surgery.

[JPhillips]

It is hard seeing Paul Skenes come up and deal this way, have him and Jared Jones on minimum salaries for the next few years and not see the front office add a couple of even league average bats to the lineup. The NL Central and NL, in general, is down this year - if the Pirates don't act now, I don't know when they ever will.

They are sitting with the second lowest payroll in MLB (behind the A's) at $85.5M, with their three most established players under contract now for at least the next 4 years (Reynolds, Hayes, and Keller) and still fielding a team that has negative WAR at catcher, 1B, and corner OF. So hard to be a fan.

Change a few names and this is me as a Reds fan. Almost 30 years since they have advanced in the playoffs and we're still always playing for next year.

[Swaggs]

They're shooting for 2027, after his inevitable TJ surgery.

That's the thing - between Jones, Skenes, and Keller, there will almost certainly be at least TJs in the (I think) 4 years they have them all under control. This is one of them.

[Swaggs]

Change a few names and this is me as a Reds fan. Almost 30 years since they have advanced in the playoffs and we're still always playing for next year.

I feel you. It seems like the Cardinals have never been bad in my adult life, and now that they are, everyone in the Central is just shooting for .500.

[RainMaker]

The Cubs should be steamrolling this division every year but are too cheap to act like the Dodgers and Yankees despite the revenue.