I put a a couple of small wagers on Vlad to lead MLB in dingers at +700 and Corbin Byrnes to win the NL CY at +750

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Chris Sale's on the 60-day DL again, which means we'll get to hear for months about what a great "trade deadline" acquisition he'll be. He'll make a few mediocre starts in late August and then get shut down out of "caution".

Only $84 million left on the contract.

Somebody is going to to get crossed up due to the catcher having fat fingers.

Tigers and Orioles mutually agreed to cancel today's exhibition game due to a lack of available pitching. Insert joke here.

I don't understand what this means

Probably the new electronic pitch-calling device that the catcher wears on his wrist to signal pitches to the pitcher. I don't know what it looks like, but if it's like a wristwatch with numerous buttons, I could see someone accidentally calling the wrong pitch. But apparently those who tried it during ST liked it.

fucking Astros

I think it's a great thing. Imagine the Red Sox and Yankees in the playoffs NOT taking 90-120 seconds between pitches with a runner on 2B because the pitcher/catcher can't get on the same page about the pitch call without changing signs 3 times and conferencing twice between every pitch.

Albert Pujols to start in his 22nd opener. What a great achievement in itself.

Hoping for some magic this season. The parade after a WS win with the 3 old men retiring would be epic.

It'll still take 90-120 seconds with them dicking around in the box. It'll just save the 60 seconds after that like you said

Once again, showing that MLB's cynical PR calculations paid off. The Astros get branded as the only ones cheating despite the Yankees and Red Sox getting fined for DOING THE EXACT SAME THING THE EXACT SAME YEAR in 2017. And a number of non-Astros sources around baseball said that between a half dozen and 10 teams did it - basically any of the ones that were any good (Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, Nats, Indians, DBacks, Jays) and even some that weren't (Rangers got named a couple of times)

SI

The hobby market on Topps Chrome is going madness with Witt, Rodriguez and Torkleson all on opening day rosters. That allows topps to include them in this years Chrome product. Jumbo boxes are around 1000$ for preorder, which is roughly 2-3X what 2021 Chrome was going for(sells at approx 350$ right now, dunno what it was last year). Wander Franco hobby hype has already been huge and he will also be in this set. As will Oneil Cruz and some other prospects who debuted in late 2021(Shane Baz, although pitchers have suspect hobby value)

garbagecansayswhat?

Yup, worked like a charm

SI

Through all the steroids and sign stealing, we’ve never had to worry about the Pirates being good enough for people to worry about them cheating. The only wave that they ever rode was cocaine in the 80’s (and they weren’t good then either).

MLB to allow pitchers, catchers to use anti-sign-stealing technology during regular season

The article has a short video of a catcher using the device.

Have to laugh at the sentence talking about this as a big phenomenon over the last 10 years. This goes back to the late 1800's and has never gone away.

check out this article, and the advanced technology for the time period

The shocking history of sign stealing in baseball

My favorite sign-stealing story was this one (SIGNS OF THE TIMES – Sun Sentinel)



Where's that groundswell of support to kick Lemon and Feller out of the Hall of Fame?

Or how Bobby Thomson's "shot heard round the world" was probably sign stealing enabled, using a buzzer device. Or how the 1980s White Sox used a bulb on the scoreboard.

I might have even written like 8000 words about it: The Astros and the long history of sign-stealing in baseball - Royals Review

But, of course none of that matters, right? Let's just put our hands in our ears and talk about how it was just the Astros and in the late 2010s. It's never happened before or since. And it definitely was just the Astros and a couple of people connected to the Astros. That definitely wasn't a cynical play by MLB to try to sweep this all under the rug. And it definitely didn't work.

It's especially stupid to see people like Brian Cashman blame his Yankees woes on that when they got fined in 2017 for it. Or that jackass Joe Kelly endearing himself to Dodgers fans by going after the Astros when, of course, he was on the Red Sox team that also got fined in 2017 for stealing signs. Then again, pretty much every source named the Dodgers as a team doing it, too, but, no, Dodger fans insist their team must be clean. You know, a team that loved to fake injuries to pitchers to manipulate the 40-man. Pure as the driven snow.

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It doesn't feel the same as year's past, with it being delayed and the major sports outlets talking golf or basketball or whatever. I think the lockout has drawn some attention away, especially with everything delayed and moved around.

Still, it's one of the best sports days of the year. Happy Opening Day!

SI

YAY for opening day!

Baseball is a sport made to find loopholes (cheat).

Oof

KeBryan Hayes signs a 70 million dollar deal then gets hurt and has to leave the first inning of opening day.

Mind telling me what happened? I missed a few at bats while getting my son off the bus.

Nevermind. It was on the bloop by Carlson apparently.

One in the books baby!

Got hurt in the opening series last year.

One in the books!

I promise I won't do this all year

Just the first 10 or so :D

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Joey Votto just set himself up for a couple million dollars as a TV analyst/commentator after he retires. He did a full interview/commentary throughout the bottom of the fourth inning...

while playing first base.

Especially about asking Albies if he should get a gold or diamond tooth.

If you can find the video on this, DO IT. Watch it the whole way through

I’m enjoying the start of this yankee game.

This game is drunk.

I know it is what it is, but Joe Maddon making 2 out pitching changes always makes me hate baseball.

Also Joey Gallo in midseason form already.

Old but seems relevant to the Angels.

every time I see an Angels highlight it's like "Mike Trout hit three homes runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn't been done since 'Tungsten Arm' O'Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3"

— ℳatt (@matttomic) May 18, 2021

Hell of a come from behind win by the Tigers. They are gonna be pesky, especially if Mize takes a step forward.

I realize I am spoiled by the best broadcast crew in baseball with the Mets, but this crew doing the Apple TV game is, not great...

If we're going to ban or alter pitching changes, I'm for banning pitching changes with 1 or 2 outs and no one on base (except in case of injury - and if a player is "injured", they have to go on the IL for like 10+ days so you can't just fake an injury).

SI

Second best.

The Mets are the only broadcasting team I can think of that successfully pulls off the 3 man booth.

It makes me think that I was too harsh on ESPN.

I know I am a Mets fan, but I watch a ton of baseball and they are the best. Giants are great also. I really like Seattle and Colorado as well. Remmy is great in Boston but Eck is a mess. I love Baltimore as well. Thorne is great.

Yeah, the Mets have a great team. They're the only setup I would put on the same level as the Giants. And I'm a homer and a half, so it's probably fair to say that I am not an unbiased judge and that the Mets broadcast team may, in fact, be better than the Giants.

Unfortunately, Remy was great.

Shit. I didn't realize.

Bummer. We vacation in Nantucket every August, his calls are like the soundtrack to my summer. Thats a real downer.

If we're talking radio broadcasts, I love the Tigers radio team. Best in the league for me.

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Brewers have now hit 4 Cubs players in 2 games. Including Wilson Contreras twice.

Interesting structuring to Ke’Bryan Hayes’ deal.

Jason Mackey on Twitter: "Ke'Bryan Hayes' contract structure, per source:
2022: $10M
2023: $10M
2024: $7M
2025: $7M
2026: $7M
2027: $7M
2028: $8M
2029: $8M
2030: $12M club option/$6M buyout
$70M guaranteed/$76M possible"

Super front-loaded. Could be really helpful to small market team, like the Pirates, if/when they ever hit their window to compete.

Is it sad that the first thing I saw there was that it's super tradeable if they don't?

SI

Nats pitchers have hit 5 Mets in the first 20 innings of the season, including 2 in the face.

Will be interesting to see if it’s a Ricky Williams MasterP type awful

I don't think it's a bad deal. We have to remember with the current system, he would have only been earning $700k this season and next. Then some arbitration numbers that would at best be around what he's going to be making.

So he makes considerably more than he would have for the next 5 years. And in return, he gives up 3-4 years of potentially making a lot more if he turns into a star (which is unlikely).

To me, $70 million is a ton of money. If I'm Hayes, the risk is too high to pass that up.

Understand that he probably does get 21 million “early” on the first 4 years but that backend is 29-35 million for his first 4 free agent seasons which is roughly his age 30 to 33 years. He should be a 2-4 WAR player each year. How much is 3 war going to be worth in 2028? Like conservatively 30 million? I don’t think he’s going to be a huge star but this deal is near his realistic floor, not the ceiling. He was considered a 60 rated prospect who projects to hit around .300 with 15-20 homers and near elite defense. His hand was messed up all season and he still posted positive war despite his power being dramatically affected.