2015 MLB thread

[panerd]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Has any game featuring the Royals on the road been anything but at least 50% Pro-Royals?

Major League Baseball is approving a plan where the Royals season ticket holders would buy 162 games and they would attach Kaufman Stadium to a giant blimp that will take it to opposing cities. Then the Yankee, Red Sox, Cardinal, Ranger, Angel... (you know the fanbases that can't support their team like the Royals fans) will be allowed to buy the several hundred leftover tickets on the rare days that the Royals don't sell out the stadium.

[Young Drachma]

Baseball is old. The sport's fan base is older than every US major sport but golf. This is how Kansas City is able to do this. Small devoted fan base for a team starved of anything and a place where there isn't exactly that much to do.

It's a great baseball story, but you know, because it's not the Sawks or Yanks or maybe Chicago/LA, we're not as captivated.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by lungs

Weekday night game... Royals get out to a nice lead, most of the crowd leaves, a few hundred Royal fans start chanting "Let's Go Royals" in the 8th inning and MBBF extrapolates that the crowd is 40-50% Royals fans

I'm not sure the Brewers crowd ever bothered to show up.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'm not sure the Brewers crowd ever bothered to show up.

Milwaukee always has a decent chunk of the crowd passed out drunk in the parking lot.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by lungs

Milwaukee always has a decent chunk of the crowd passed out drunk in the parking lot.

More so this year than most I would assume.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

More so this year than most I would assume.

In Wisconsin we both drink to celebrate and to drown our sorrows, so I'd say it's neutral.

[MrBug708]

Brandon McCarthy ✔@BMcCarthy32
in keeping with baseball tradition, a Houston exec should walk into the STL offices and hit their best front office guy with a fastball

[stevew]

So this whole entire hacking scandal consists of some dumbass who doesn't change passwords?

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by stevew

So this whole entire hacking scandal consists of some dumbass who doesn't change passwords?

and may have been guilty of theft of intellectual property in the first place.

[Vince, Pt. II]

The Phillies waved the white flag yesterday.

So down 17-3, Philly put Jeff Francoeur to pitch. Got through the first inning perfectly, but they left him in for the second. Gave up a homer, walked a few guys...the dugout tried to call the bullpen, but the bullpen phone was off the hook. So they started waving a white flag from the dugout to get the attention of the pen. You can't make this shit up.

[MrBug708]

Couldn't someone have just walked?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by stevew

So this whole entire hacking scandal consists of some dumbass who doesn't change passwords?

It doesn't matter. It's still a felony.

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

and may have been guilty of theft of intellectual property in the first place.

There's no evidence of that. The only mention thus far is that the Cards broke into it to see if he stole any data from them. There's no confirmation of what you stated. And even if they thought that information was taken, the proper way to handle it is to alert authorities, not break into the system.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

dola

Here's some of the stolen info for those that haven't seen it before.

What The Cardinals Learned From Hacking The Astros

[Arles]

Here's what we know (from the St Louis beat writer):

"What was the intent? The argument here it was a malicious attack...were they trying to gain a competitive advantage or were they just playing a prank or trying to humble the Astros. I'm tending to think...they were trying to humble the Astros or try to show off they could. At the time...the Houston Astros' Ground Control was available, you could have found it. It wasn't cloaked very well. Now some of these teams have cloaked their internal (network). Then a story ran in the Houston Chronicle in March 2014 that included a photo and in that photo the address of their internal database on the web was available. Through that portal there were multiple attempts...of unapproved access to their internal database. Now, which one was the Cardinals? What were the Cardinals trying to do? That's what's not clear. It will become clear. What they know is at some point in time, they found an entry point from a computer at a home in Palm Beach that was being used by multiple Cardinal front-office officials."

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

There's no evidence of that. The only mention thus far is that the Cards broke into it to see if he stole any data from them. There's no confirmation of what you stated. And even if they thought that information was taken, the proper way to handle it is to alert authorities, not break into the system.

That's pure conjecture as well. We don't know who did or why it was done. It could have been some ex-Cardinals staff mad at Ledlow for not taking them to Houston. It could have been lower level guys on the Cards or it could have been John Mozeliak himself. We just know it was from a CPU in Florida at a place where some Cards front office guys were staying.

The Deadspin article is ridiculous as well. Deadspin basically piggybacked off some random hackers a year ago and are now claim it "could have been" from Cardinals Execs. The reality is once the database location was posted, anyone could have hacked in. Time will tell the extent of what Cardinals employees did.

I think this will sort itself out pretty quickly. DeWitt has made a pretty strong stance on penalties for those involved:

“These are serious allegations that don’t reflect who we are as an organization,” DeWitt said in the release. “We are committed to getting to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible, and if anyone within our organization is determined to be involved in anything inappropriate, they will be held accountable.”

[panerd]

Meh... as a Cardinals fan I find it annoying that other Cardinals fans and Cardinal writers try to blow this off and make excuses. The defend your side at all costs mentality of sports teams (especially college sports teams) has gotten sad. My thought when this came up (and also when a rape story was on ESPN about Mizzou this weekend) is to think about Patriots fans during the "deflate-gate" and then decide do I want to look foolish like them fighting the rest of the world?

Could it end up being nothing? Absolutely, though with the FBI involved it looks highly unlikely. Could it be a rogue employee with no connection to the top? Sure but again this kind of excuse in the politics thread is laughed at by me so how can I be different now that it is "my team"? Are there certain fanbases (and posters on FOFC) that will try and play every angle to make St. Louis look bad? Yes. But unlike Arles I am willing to put my head down and join in to question why a great organization like this would be involved in crap like this instead of making excuses.

[Arles]

I'm not absolving the Cardinals of any wrong doing - I'm just saying let's wait and see. I have a hard time believe the brainpower of the Cardinals decided to illegally commit a felony and hack into another team's database from inside their own location in spring training (easily traceable). Seems pretty stupid and not something that Mozeliak would likely be a part of. Now, does that mean the Cardinals are innocent? No, it looks like someone in the organization did this and should be punished - I just can't see this being something that goes up the chain of command.

[lungs]

I've been too busy anguishing over the Royals destroying the Brewers and taking over Miller Park to get too worked up about the Cardinal "hacking" scandal.

Really though, it's a big deal in ways, but not really in other ways.

[PilotMan]

I think it would be hilarious if it turned out that they all got drunk one night and someone said,"look what I can do!". And no one remembers it.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by panerd

Meh... as a Cardinals fan I find it annoying that other Cardinals fans and Cardinal writers try to blow this off and make excuses. The defend your side at all costs mentality of sports teams (especially college sports teams) has gotten sad. My thought when this came up (and also when a rape story was on ESPN about Mizzou this weekend) is to think about Patriots fans during the "deflate-gate" and then decide do I want to look foolish like them fighting the rest of the world?

Could it end up being nothing? Absolutely, though with the FBI involved it looks highly unlikely. Could it be a rogue employee with no connection to the top? Sure but again this kind of excuse in the politics thread is laughed at by me so how can I be different now that it is "my team"? Are there certain fanbases (and posters on FOFC) that will try and play every angle to make St. Louis look bad? Yes. But unlike Arles I am willing to put my head down and join in to question why a great organization like this would be involved in crap like this instead of making excuses.

Who gives a shit about the FBI? Have you not watched J. Edgar?

Seriously I doubt any of this is going to turn out like a huge scandal.. but then again, who knows? Like you I wonder why this organization would even dabble in this shit.. so that makes me believe it was some rogue type deal.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Who gives a shit about the FBI? Have you not watched J. Edgar?

Seriously I doubt any of this is going to turn out like a huge scandal.. but then again, who knows? Like you I wonder why this organization would even dabble in this shit.. so that makes me believe it was some rogue type deal.

To me this is bigger than deflategate as far as the overall picture goes but meaningless as far as the game being played. It's a freaking federal felony. Someone will be getting in serious trouble for this but it shouldn't mean much on the field.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

To me this is bigger than deflategate as far as the overall picture goes but meaningless as far as the game being played. It's a freaking federal felony. Someone will be getting in serious trouble for this but it shouldn't mean much on the field.

I would agree with this.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by rowech

Sick of hearing that Jay Bruce is underachieving and that he is so much better than what we're seeing. He's not. He's not a kid anymore. This is who he is.

His average still stinks, but he's up to an OPS+ of 110.

[Easy Mac]

The braves have been doing just enough this year to keep me from completely tuning out this baseball season. It's quite annoying.

[cartman]

I figured the Rangers starting pitching was done for after Yu Darvish needed Tommy John surgery, and Derek Holland got hurt in the first game of the season.

But the starters have been a pleasant surprise. Last night broke a 12 game streak of the starters registering a quality start, the longest streak in team history. Chi Chi Gonzalez has been a great addition. He has a 0.90 ERA through his first 4 career starts.

[ISiddiqui]

So Boston has benched Pablo Sandoval for checking Instagram during a game, LOL! Apparently he was going to the bathroom and grabbed his phone and clicked like on a few pictures while he was going #2.

I think its a biiiit of an overexaggeration by the Red Sox... but when you are in last, I guess you gotta do something.

[stevew]

The Pirates are pretty hot lately

[cartman]

MLB says it has canceled as many as 65 million All-Star ballots | MLB | Sporting News

[stevew]

Yes. But that is already accounted for in the numbers, right?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Congrats to Ned Yost on reaching the top of the list of most wins by a Royals manager (411). He passed Dick Howser last week and Whitey Herzog tonight. Two great managers and now Ned has passed both of them.

Nice to have a four game sweep of the Brewers. Granted, they're not good, but you hate to stub your toe against a team like that.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

So Boston has benched Pablo Sandoval for checking Instagram during a game, LOL! Apparently he was going to the bathroom and grabbed his phone and clicked like on a few pictures while he was going #2.

I think its a biiiit of an overexaggeration by the Red Sox... but when you are in last, I guess you gotta do something.

Actually, it's because he accessed social media during a game, which is considered working hours. A lot of teams in professional sports have that rule in place, where athletes can't access social media during games or other working hours (don't know if any leagues have it as a league-wide policy, however).

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Congrats to Ned Yost on reaching the top of the list of most wins by a Royals manager (411). He passed Dick Howser last week and Whitey Herzog tonight. Two great managers and now Ned has passed both of them.

Nice to have a four game sweep of the Brewers. Granted, they're not good, but you hate to stub your toe against a team like that.

Shoot, Mattingly has almost 400 himself

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Shoot, Mattingly has almost 400 himself

Howser obviously would have won a lot more if he wasn't taken so soon.

[stevew]

Wait, 5 seasons of .500 managing makes you the winningist manager in a team's 40 some year history? That's crazy

[cartman]

Bizarre end to the Rangers-Dodgers game last night. It was an epic pitcher's duel, and the score was 0-0 in the bottom of the ninth. LA got a couple of guys on, but then hit into a double play, advancing one runner to 3rd. The Rangers reliever looked like he was going to get out of the jam and send the game into extra innings, but on a 1-2 count he balked, and LA got the walk-off win.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Actually, it's because he accessed social media during a game, which is considered working hours. A lot of teams in professional sports have that rule in place, where athletes can't access social media during games or other working hours (don't know if any leagues have it as a league-wide policy, however).

+1

The Red Sox have a rule that all player phones must be turned off by 6:30 for a 7:10 first pitch.

[Logan]

Maybe Sandoval should switch sports and go play for the Niners.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good article about the All-Star voting. Covers a lot of reasons for the voting surge. Also notes that the 20% 'fraud' rate is in line with past years.

Why Kansas City Royals are dominating MLB All-Star Game voting

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Congrats to Ned Yost on reaching the top of the list of most wins by a Royals manager (411). He passed Dick Howser last week and Whitey Herzog tonight. Two great managers and now Ned has passed both of them.

Nice to have a four game sweep of the Brewers. Granted, they're not good, but you hate to stub your toe against a team like that.

While nobody really misses Ned's in-game tactics, I do genuinely think he's a good guy and am happy to see him have some success.

[Arles]

Good insider article on ESPN by Buster Olney on the Cardinals situation. Here's some excerpts:

In every Major League Baseball game, baserunners on second try to interpret the signs from the catcher to the pitcher, so that with the turn of their head or a placement of their hand or some other subtle signal, they can relay that intelligence to the hitter. Most of the time, players say, they are unsuccessful in their quest to steal signs, but sometimes it works. Sometimes the hitter learns the location of the next pitch, or he'll receive even more information.

But what is never revealed in these situations is what the runners and hitters have ascertained, because once the vulnerability in the communication between the pitcher and the catcher is exposed, the information gleaned becomes meaningless.

This is worth remembering as we try to assess the practical impact of a breach of the Houston Astros' computer system, which is being investigated by the FBI.

This is a serious matter, and it could lead to charges. It could lead to somebody being fired, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred could levy a significant penalty.

But based on the information that has been published to date, executives with other teams believe that the real value of any information viewed by some unauthorized party is negligible.

Some executives believe that the way this appears to have played out -- with the Astros' trade data published in a Deadspin story -- suggests that this was more about an attempt to embarrass Houston GM and former Cardinals executive Jeff Luhnow than to extricate pivotal intelligence.

A high-ranking executive posed this rhetorical question: "If you wanted to gain a strategic advantage, why would you let anyone know that you could get into their files? Wouldn't you just quietly keep accessing their information?"

Additionally, any advantage gained in infiltrating any team's system would be so serendipitous and specific in its use, executives explain, that the theoretical hacking would have to take place over a long time for the invaders to benefit.

When teams make trades, there is always the question of what they don't know about the opposing team's players: medical information, personal information, internal scouting reports, etc. If the Cardinals wanted to talk about a trade with the Astros and had access to Houston's internal documents, it would be like being able to see the hand of another player in a game of cards.

But typically, any two teams only intermittently make trades. It's not as if the Astros and Cardinals have been making deals weekly.

Rival executives are fascinated by the developments in this case and wonder how and why it happened, and some who are looking to piece all of this together note that the online leak of the Astros' information appeared shortly after Sports Illustrated published a story with a headline declaring Houston as the champions of 2017.

These executives wonder: Was the leak of the data some sort of response to that? Were one or two of Luhnow's former colleagues fed up with the credit he has received for his draft decisions? Luhnow was a polarizing figure in the Cardinals organization when he was in it, liked by some and despised by others. So was the publishing of the Houston information retribution? Revenge? Luhnow took some members of the Cardinals organization with him. Was the invasion of the Astros' computer system an act by someone left behind?

More information is needed to determine any of that, and somebody may well pay the price.

But some rival executives feel certain that the data breach couldn't have led to the mining of any important, pivotal secrets or major advantages gleaned by the Cardinals.

High-level St. Louis executives were not involved in the hacking of the Astros, writes R.B. Fallstrom, according to a law firm representing the Cardinals. GM John Mozeliak and managing partner Bill DeWitt were not aware, the Cardinals say.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

So Boston has benched Pablo Sandoval for checking Instagram during a game, LOL! Apparently he was going to the bathroom and grabbed his phone and clicked like on a few pictures while he was going #2.

I think its a biiiit of an overexaggeration by the Red Sox... but when you are in last, I guess you gotta do something.

How did they find out?

[MrBug708]

It seems like this posturing from the Cards seems a lot like the thief who maintains that the car had the keys in it, so it's not really stealing

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

How did they find out?

A reporter brought it up on twitter during the game, I believe.

[Arles]

I don't think anyone is saying that if members of the Cardinals staff accessed the Houston database, they shouldn't be punished. They broke the law and should lose their jobs for that action.

The interesting point of Olney's article is to deal with the "cheating" shots taken at the St. Louis organization. As if access to another team's scouting database in March once or twice someone invalidates the team's success over the past few years. It looks more and more like a dumb prank by some Cardinals front office people either A) upset with the credit Ludnow was getting in Houston or B) upset he didn't take them with him when he left.

I think anyone found to be involved with this should be fired and I'm fine with Manfred issuing a fine/lost draft pick for "organizational control" even if the GM and owner were found not to be involved. Yet, this isolated idiocy shouldn't tarnish the success that the Cardinals have had on the field for the past 10 years.

[cartman]

The Cards better hope the Nolan Ryan doesn't decide to "Robin Ventura" any of their employees.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Grover

A reporter brought it up on twitter during the game, I believe.

How did he know?

Point of my question is, the only for way anyone to know would be if Panda posted a photo from the shitter to Instagram (a photo based social media), which in my opinion deserves a suspension for stupidity.

"Hey everyone! Look at the log I just laid out! Never eat three bowls of chili from Bob's Beanery!"

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

How did he know?

Point of my question is, the only for way anyone to know would be if Panda posted a photo from the shitter to Instagram (a photo based social media), which in my opinion deserves a suspension for stupidity.

"Hey everyone! Look at the log I just laid out! Never eat three bowls of chili from Bob's Beanery!"

From the story, he "liked" two pictures by other people while on the shitter. These likes were timestamped during when the phone embargo was supposed to be taking place. Had he just browsed and not liked anything, he probably would have been fine.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

How did he know?

Point of my question is, the only for way anyone to know would be if Panda posted a photo from the shitter to Instagram (a photo based social media), which in my opinion deserves a suspension for stupidity.

"Hey everyone! Look at the log I just laid out! Never eat three bowls of chili from Bob's Beanery!"

He liked some photos, which anyone can see if they're following him.

Jared Carrabis on Twitter: "Not to blow up the dude's spot, but uh...is Pablo Sandoval on Instagram during the game? http://t.co/q8X4HoFDOT"

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Arles

From the story, he "liked" two pictures by other people while on the shitter. These likes were timestamped during when the phone embargo was supposed to be taking place. Had he just browsed and not liked anything, he probably would have been fine.

Okay, that makes more sense then.

[JPhillips]

The interesting point of Olney's article is to deal with the "cheating" shots taken at the St. Louis organization. As if access to another team's scouting database in March once or twice someone invalidates the team's success over the past few years.

More developments in the Cardinals-Astros hacking case, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports that, contrary to what has heretofore been reported, the illegal accessing of the Astros computer system by Cardinals employees went back as far as 2012 — a good year earlier than first thought — and “was not limited to one or two occasions.”

.

[ISiddiqui]

Oops.