Don't think I agree.

Rays play in a shithole nobody wants to visit, but they've been consistently competitive for most of the last decade. If they could get approval to build a new stadium, I think things would look up for them (but I don't think St. Pete or Tampa want to be on the hook for the cost of building it).

The Marlins are a victim of their own legacy. When you keep burning it down, it doesn't matter how awesome your new stadium is, nobody's going to want to get attached to players they know stand a very real chance of being gone the next year.

Neither of those are "MLB can't win out" issues.

Looks like the theoretical plan is "early season in FL / rest of the season in Mon" rather than any sort of alternating deal.

The notion being that such an arrangement would allow a non-domed new stadium to be built in Tampa & cutting the costs there.

Honestly, I think the end game will be playing out the lease and exiting FL after 2027. This just started the bidding war early.

Just look at all the talent right now that should be playing for the Marlins.

Paddack
Castillo
Deitrich
Stanton
Yelich
Realmuto
Ozuna

Yeah. I was just talking about which games should be where. Figure all the Canadian games in Canada and throw the Tampa Bay people a couple NY and BOS series which sell well in Florida. Especially if they’re in the early part of the season when transplants haven’t went home yet

Am I just an old crab ass when it bothers me Cardinals fans give Pujols a standing ovation every time he comes to bat this series?

I get it his first AB, but jeez..

They should appreciate every ounce of poison he pumped into his veins for the Cards.

Still crazy that his career BA is over 300 even though he has been avg or worse in that for 8 years now. I suspect he'll be in the high 290s fairly soon. Maybe within 3 weeks or so

Mets pretty much HAVE to use this opportunity (the bizarre blowup at a reporter) to offload Callaway, don't they?

Nah, you're right.

But clueless twits buy tickets too so {shrug} I guess.

Of course he's appreciated.. probably the best player I've witnessed in person, but I would cheer him his first AB and definitely wouldn't give him a curtain call on a HR and every at bat.

I wouldn't cheer Brett Hull coming back against the Blues. :D

:lol:

Just seems a bit over the top to my crabby butt.

That's because it is.

It's not like he's a guy who was traded away & bid the club a tearful goodbye.
Nor is it like the club didn't make him a solid offer before he left.

He opted for the $ over the club. Fine ... but he's not some sort of martyr to be tearfully welcoming "home".

I don't think anyone enjoyed it. Angel fans were going nuts because Pujols legged out a single in one of the games. Angels fans were frustrated because he hadn't done that in years, but he goes back to Busch and suddenly does it for the fans there...

They're probably just trying a little bit too hard to continue to be The Best Fans in Baseball.

Thanks.. I feel better now. :) Thought I was the only one.. although my dad felt the same as I did.

I was wondering how Angles fans felt about the whole thing.

I hate that saying.. lol... most obnoxious fans maybe.

You forget that we have the worst ownership in baseball.

At this point it seems like it'd probably be the best thing for the guy.

Bob Nutting says hi from his luxury resort

If Nutting fires Huntington to hire Scott Boras he can be in the discussion. Until then, the Wilpons are in their own tier of bad.

Well, this Angels fan didn't notice Pujols running or not running (to be fair, I was working for most of all three games). But I personally don't care if he legs it out or not, or puts any effort into it. I'm just waiting for his contract to end and hoping he gets more days off (and then occasionally hit a HR to help the team).

The standing ovation for Piscotty was pretty cool last night in St. Louis. I know Cardinals fans can be a little insufferable (and this next line is probably evidence of that :D ) - But, it takes a special group of fans to give a standing ovation to a player who left for more money and one for a guy who requested a trade. Granted, the trade request was to be close to his sick mom (which the Cards granted). Still, I can't see many other fanbases showing appreciation like that to both guys.

I approve of the Piscotty ovation! The 100 Pujols ovations.. not so much.



;)

I was going to make a snide comment about Cardinal fans but then remembered that the fanbase of my team gave Ryan Braun and Josh Hader ovations after their..... problems.

My fan base still idolizes Pete Rose, so nobody's perfect.

Ryan Braun is a perambulatory dumpster fire. Fuck him.

I don't think I can be a Mets fan anymore.

Love it! :lol:

Reading the ongoing story about the beat writer saying "See you tomorrow" to the manager, and him getting all bent out of shape, then the PLAYERS going after the writer, THEN the terrible apologies has been entertainment enough.

Maybe the manager should worry about his bullpen management instead of what the media is saying.

Is the manager to blame for the bullpen management? Honest question. IF the GM has significant input as to when pitchers should be in the game or not, I don't know if the manager actually has the control of bullpen decisions that they used. I don't know.

No.

Honestly at this point I feel bad for Mickey. It is obvious BVW is calling the shots. Mickey is just the fall guy and deserves better. The hiring of BVW was a joke in the first place.

I am done supporting this ownership group. I won't watch any more game, go to games, or buy merchandise.

I have been a fan since I was 11 years old and I am done. I'll be rooting for the Indians the rest of the way.

The Mets are like the Bengals. From game to game or year to year you can find plenty of fault with individual players and coaches, but the consistent problem that holds back the team is ownership. Just like the Bengals, the Mets real problem is ownership.

dola

Votto is closing in on an .800 OPS after going 4-4 tonight. He's not a top player anymore, but he's not finished either.

Re: Pujols

I read what all of you guys said. And agree with all of it. But here is my perspective. Pujols was the best player the fans have seen since Musial. Had he stayed in St.Louis, there would be a statue outside of the stadium. He was as loved a player as you will ever get. More than Ozzie, because he was home grown. And his leaving was the best thing for the franchise unless he was going to give them a big home town discount. Cardinal ownership is money conscious. We lose wainwright and Molina if we sign Pujols.

I dont think I would give a standing ovation every at but get why the fans did. He is Babe Ruth or Ted Wiliiams or Stan Musial. The difference is he left in a business move.

May have been discussed before, but who cares.

Yanks/Red Sox have a 2 hour 3 inning start to their game, in London.

Way to represent the game. Ugh.

How about MLB goes to 3 balls and 2 strikes.

Does this make the pitchers healthier in the long run?
Do starters go longer in games making the pens less valuable then they are, which is too much?
How much faster would the games be?

a 5 hour game in London is going to bore the snot out of those people. Shoot, it would me.

Probably not that much

Incredibly, I couldn't seem to find a result by count for the current season at the cumulative level. Failing that, I'll share this instead.

There have 284 pitchers start an MLB game this season

Here's a look at the median starters by WHIP (#141 Jose Quintana and #143 Homer Bailey ... cause #142 has only made 7 starts this year compared to their 15 and 17 each)

Quintana:
2-2 count or less: 300 AB
more than 2-2 count: 46 AB

Bailey:
2-2 count or less: 262 AB
more than 2-2 count: 45 AB

That's 562 of 2-2 or less, 91 of more than 2-2
That's 86% of AB already settled by the standard you mentioned

And tonight's example it would have probably made even less difference since the thing extending the innings was more the 19 hits allowed in the first three innings, not the combined 10 walks+strikeouts.

Wanna shorten games? Get people out.

When you score 30 runs, it's going to take a while.

Good stuff and I agree about getting people out BUT wouldnt a pitcher pitch differently if they only had to get 2 strikes? I think there would be an adjustment that pitchers would be more aggressive.

Starting 0-1 or 1-0 or 1-1 would change your perspective as a pitcher.

I played in slo-pitch softball games that lasted an hour and had a 30 run score.

We already have an abundance of pitchers that can't get people out, and you want them to be more aggressive?

I strongly suspect that what you suggest would lead to 17-13 games becoming more commonplace ... and that, in turn, lengthens games rather than shorten them.

But here, lemme throw you a bone. How about allowing hitters something like two foul balls with two strikes and then the next one counts as a strike? Bet that cuts more pitches from the game than your original suggestion.

Good idea.

I prefer a 1-0 game to a 17-13 game.

The ending of that Dodgers/D-Backs game last night. Wow. I have never, ever seen that before.

Just a gut punch. Losing a game in which you were up one with 2 out in the bottom of the ninth and the bases empty is bad enough, but to do it on five straight walks is absurd.

In other news, it's hilarious to me that the Giants are only 6.5 games out of the 2nd wildcard spot. They've scored 10+ in three straight games, and my mom is amped - we've got a friendly wager going on the team. She thinks they're going to make the playoffs, while I think they really are crappy (we're both huge fans, I'm just a little more realistic about things). I couldn't in good conscience allow her to make a playoff bet, so I settled for .500 - if the Giants get to 81 wins, I make my mom dinner for a week straight. If they don't, she makes me dinner for a week straight.

It's a fun little side hustle on the regular season, and it would be awesome if the Giants actually made a run at .500.

The Dodgers broke the D-Backs again last night. Arizona goes up when Kenley gives it up in the 9th and Hammond comes on again. A lead off double and a single down the line tie it up, and LA loads the bases again. Hammond is pulled after the BS, and AZ gets out of the jam with an inning ending double play. Bellinger ends it in the 10th with his 2nd of the game. His first career walk off HR. The Dodgers win 4-3 after being down in the 9th for the second night in a row. Is their 5th straight home walk off win. Bellinger breaks the Dodger record for HR's before the break, held by Gill Hodges.

This season has a special feel about it.

Bellinger is just amazing to watch right now.

The Mets don't deserve Pete Alonso

That was a seriously anti-climatic finish after the 2nd round hammer fest between Guerrero Jr and Peterson. Guerrero had to be gassed.

Behind The Athletic paywall but a good read on the first use of a RobotUmp in the Atlantic League All Star game. Seems like it was a pretty clear success with just a couple minor issues, impressive for a first run.

‘You can’t get mad at TrackMan’: A day under the watchful eye of the RoboUmp – The Athletic

Alas, hard to take the league too seriously -- or give any credence to anything they do -- when the agree to ideas like "stealing first". (which kicks in after the all-star break apparently).