The 2023 MLB Season Thread

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

If you ever watch concert security, they are just as aggressive if someone tries to jump on stage. I've never heard of a problem with a venue being sued for that but I'm sure it's happened. I wonder if we treat this differently because it's a bunch of athletes on the field and not Taylor Swift.

Anyway, I would chalk it up to "play stupid games, win stupid prizes".

They still have to act reasonable and in a non-negligent manner. In fact, bouncers/security often have a dual-edged sword because they have to provide a reasonably safe environment on one hand, but can't use force beyond what's reasonable in any given circumstance. They can even be sued (or criminally charged) if their actions go well beyond negligence and become intentional.

I don't know whether lawsuits came out of any of them, but I've seen plenty of videos of band members yelling at security or physically trying to prevent them from roughing up someone in a mosh pit or crowd-surfing.

[SirFozzie]

Oriole player drops game-ending popup. Red Sox then hit walkoff homer.

Adam Duvall's walk-off homer | 04/01/2023 | MLB.com

[sterlingice]

Brutal

SI

[Lathum]

Jazz Chissolm is terrible in center field

[JPhillips]

Don't you mean Jizz Chasm?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Don't you mean Jizz Chasm?

[Lathum]

Ohtani. My goodness!!

[JPhillips]

So maybe next time don't postpone baseball games almost twenty-four hours before they are scheduled to be played.

[sterlingice]

Hay, guys! Royals fan here. Long time listener, first time caller. The Spring Training games are fun but when does the season start?

SI

[Atocep]

T-Mobile extended their contract with MLB for 5 years so T-Mobile users will probably continue getting MLB.TV for free.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

So maybe next time don't postpone baseball games almost twenty-four hours before they are scheduled to be played.

Such a dumb move. Compounded by the fact I had to drive to Boston today and would have loved a ballgame to listen to.

[Lathum]

This is pretty amazing

today was the 11th 1-0 game in Coors Field history

the list, with winning team listed first ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/H1q9bdwRoX

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 6, 2023

[BYU 14]

That there has been so many 1-0 games in that launching pad? Agree

[JPhillips]

Chatanooga was no-hit last night.

And won 7-5. All seven runs came in the ninth inning.

[stevew]

All this developmental time in the Minors and nobody thought to teach Oneil Cruz how to slide.

[Ghost Econ]

Originally Posted by stevew

All this developmental time in the Minors and nobody thought to teach Oneil Cruz how to slide.

It also led to an injury to reliever Joe Kelly in the ensuing brawl. I mean technically he pulled a groin jogging in from the bullpen.. but a costly bad slide.

[Lathum]

Once Tatis comes back is there a better 4 hitter stretch than Soto, Tatis, Machado, and Bogarts?

That is an insane gauntlet. That doesn't even factor in Cruz Jr and 2 time all star Cronenworth.

That team is so loaded.

[Ghost Econ]

If the Braves get a fully healthy Michael Harris at the 9 spot they'd go Harris, Acuña, Olson, Riley. That's pretty close. After that they still have Albies and either Murphy/d'Arnaud (or 1 DHs) who have both been pretty good hitting catchers.

Of course, after that they roll out Arcia and Ozuna/Rosario.. so left field is a black hole.

[stevew]

Forget everything nice I said about the Royals. That team is Dookie.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Of course, after that they roll out Arcia and Ozuna/Rosario.. so left field is a black hole.

I don't believe it holds up but currently Arcia is second on the team in hits and leads the team in WAR.

[GrantDawg]

Arcia for MVP!

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[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by stevew

Forget everything nice I said about the Royals. That team is Dookie.

You said something nice about the Royals?

This season?



SI

[Swaggs]

Interesting butterfly effect at work with the pitch clock. Games are shorter, so beer sales are down. Stadiums are starting to sell beer after the 7th inning to compensate, so likely going to lead to more folks not being able to 'sober up' before the end of the game.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Interesting butterfly effect at work with the pitch clock. Games are shorter, so beer sales are down. Stadiums are starting to sell beer after the 7th inning to compensate, so likely going to lead to more folks not being able to 'sober up' before the end of the game.

So you are saying the pitch count is literally going to kill people?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

So you are saying the pitch count is literally going to kill people?

Phillies' Matt Strahm disagrees with MLB teams extending alcohol sales

I mean he is not wrong. However it is naive to expect the owners to say the quiet part out loud in this case. The quiet part is they think it is none of their business if those fans drive drunk.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

So you are saying the pitch count is literally going to kill people?

I'm more thinking that the owners are going to realize that they could kill the pitch clock and still allow people to be served up until the game ends in order to maximize $$$.

[Swaggs]

Baseball-related - I went to a college game over the weekend and a drunk woman that was around my age was telling some college aged guys that they should take their shirts off and show some spirit. One of the guys clearly looked uncomfortable and she kept doing it. He was sitting in front of me and I heard him tell his friend it was the first time he had been to a baseball game.

Sometimes, I like to think about how things would look if the genders were reversed and this was one of those occasions. Thinking about how it would look if a 40s/50s year old, drunk guy was saying something similar to a college-aged girl.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Baseball-related - I went to a college game over the weekend and a drunk woman that was around my age was telling some college aged guys that they should take their shirts off and show some spirit. One of the guys clearly looked uncomfortable and she kept doing it. He was sitting in front of me and I heard him tell his friend it was the first time he had been to a baseball game.

Sometimes, I like to think about how things would look if the genders were reversed and this was one of those occasions. Thinking about how it would look if a 40s/50s year old, drunk guy was saying something similar to a college-aged girl.

I dunno what it is about college baseball and drunks but that's my primary impression of the sport in person. It's a higher percentage than football. At least at Ole Miss they're pretty happy go lucky drunks, elsewhere it's been a far less pleasant experience.

The exception? Miami. I didn't really see a drunk there all night, and at least in the lower seats, it was primarily hardcore baseball people. I saw more people keeping scorecards at that game than I'd seen in probably a decade combined.

[Lathum]

I think it’s cool that the Rays have decided they are just never going to lose another baseball game again.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Aaaand Braves announce Arcia to the DL with a microfracture in his left wrist.

[GrantDawg]

We cursed him.

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[Lathum]

Regarding the alcohol. If you are too shitty to drive inning 7 you are likely too shitty to drive when the game is over. The whole "sobering up" concept is pretty stupid.

[B & B]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I think it’s cool that the Rays have decided they are just never going to lose another baseball game again.

shhhh

some of us are stacking paper. like RL paper. mortgages. ride or die.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Regarding the alcohol. If you are too shitty to drive inning 7 you are likely too shitty to drive when the game is over. The whole "sobering up" concept is pretty stupid.

I looked around to see if there was much justification on why the 7th (similarly, most football stadiums I have been to stop serving at the end of the 3rd quarter).

I guess there was a study that said that crime (and violent crime) are reduced around the stadium when they allow some time to sober up. I'm like you - was thinking about the drinking and driving, but it makes sense that there would be less fights and vandalism after the games if folks have some time to sober up, stop having that extra hour or so of drinking, and I'd assume a lot of folks start trickling out and head elsewhere once they are no longer being served.

I don't know about other sports, but I have seen more fights and near fights than I care to think about at and after WVU football games, so I can see it making sense there. I've only gone to a handful of NFL and NBA games, so I can't speak much to them. For MLB games, I don't know that I have ever seen a physical fight or argument and I have probably been to more than 100 of them.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

. For MLB games, I don't know that I have ever seen a physical fight or argument and I have probably been to more than 100 of them.

Never been to a Giants / Dodgers game I take it

As far as the drinking cutoff, I think it really varies by person. If you think about, in recent years a 3 hour game would average 20 minutes per inning, so assuming the home team takes their last at bat you are looking at 40 minutes, plus anywhere from 10-20 minutes to get on the road after the game ends, so potentially an hour.

Again, it depends on how much you drink, size, tolerance etc. Just using my self as an example, if we go to a party I will usually pound 3-5 mixed drinks, catch a nice buzz, then drink water the last hour before we leave. That is more than enough ime for me to lose most of the buzz and be in a good condition to drive. Of course if those 3-4 drinks were 7-8, probably not the case and to be fair, as expensive as beer/drinks are at the ballpark I don't think many people would be downing a beer/drink an inning. Maybe I am wrong, but Baseball crowds usually don't tailgate, which is the biggest issue with people at Football games and fights, as people are already smashed before kickoff.

[GrantDawg]

In the days of the old Fulton County Stadium, there wasn't a game without a fight. Of course, back then the fights were better than the product on the field most of the time. New stadiums sorts of "santized" the stands, I can't remember seeing one since. Winning also probably helped.

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[Swaggs]

To be fair, I'm a Pirates' fan and most of the games I have been to are in Pittsburgh. Not the most passionate fanbase and, while I personally hate a lot of teams, I don't feel like the Pirates have any great rivalries going. I'd guess most older fans would consider the Reds or Phillies their rivals and that most current fans would consider it to be the Cardinals because they are always the team to beat. But the Phillies haven't been in the same division since MLB added the central divisions (had to look it up - it has been since 1995, which is crazy to me!) and the Pirates and Reds haven't really been relevant at the same time (or much at all) for quite awhile. And, the Cardinals are just a well-run, successful franchise that all the other NL Central teams are jealous of, so we all probably have one-sided rivalries with them, but I would guess they probably don't think much of the Pirates, Brewers, or Reds at all.

And definitely agreed on the tailgating aspect of football (and particularly college football). WVU didn't sell alcohol in the stadium until 10 or 15 years ago and one of the arguments for adding it was that it would encourage people to leave their tailgates to come in and keep them from leaving early to get back to the tailgates. It seems like the fan reputation has gotten a little better with that change.

[stevew]

Phillies vs Pirates def brings out the bickering still. It’s a vibe.

[cartman]

Philly fans gonna Philly

$1 Hot Dogs Are Not Projectiles, Phillies Fans

[Solecismic]

In the intersection of the Venn Diagram of baseball involving things that you'd never include in a simulation and reasons why the Athletics are not going to be in Oakland much longer... the Mets' broadcast team couldn't use the visiting team's broadcast booth because of a possum infestation.

Now maybe if it were a simulation sponsored by Termin-X... you could have a Possum-X budget, and if you don't spend enough... say goodbye to Ron Darling and crew. Trainers could be rated for their ability to deliver effective antidotes to various animal bites. More of an Oregon Trail vibe to that, though.

Speaking of the alcohol, though... age definitely brings an end to any thought of more than one mixed drink in an evening. Either that, or the tolerance I built up in college has finally disappeared (how else can you handle 8:00 am lectures?). I just viewed a video of the White Sox fanbrawl over the weekend. Alcohol does funny things. I've seen quite a few fights at sporting events, going back to the days when I covered high school sports for local papers. Rarely serious enough to cause any real harm and almost always involving young women rather than men. I wonder why that is. Maybe men prefer their drunken brawling without an audience. Or maybe one of the participants is always sober and competent enough to deliver an effective punch before it involves two dozen people.

At any rate, I don't think it's a good idea to reverse the ban on late-inning alcohol sales.

[stevew]

When you wanna go back to bed but instead go down a rabbit hole about the crack smoking voters in the 1974 MVP races.

Those guys loved ribbies.

[Ksyrup]

The new Atlantic League experimental rules...

I've been beating the drum for years about how softball has way more action, pace, and strategy than baseball so it's amusing to me to see them continue to tinker with softball rules in baseball. The latest one being the designated pinch runner, which is similar to (but more restrictive than) softball's re-entry rules. I don't have an issue with it, but then I don't mind the Manfred Man either.

The Double Hook is freaking stupid. We've already done away with pitchers hitting. Why would we attempt to re-introduce it now? I guess it wouldn't be so bad if there were exceptions, like injury or just plain old shitty performance. I get wanting to get rid of "bullpen games" but what about the guy who goes 2 innings, gives up 8 runs? The only way back into that game is to hit, and so you're going to double-penalize the losing team by taking away a hitter? Or, is this fair to Texas every other game Jacob DeGrom pitches when he has to leave with an injury after 3-4 innings? Stupid.

The pitching rubber disengagement seems to be going fine right now, so I don't see the need to limit it even further.

[sterlingice]

MLB to test three new significant rule changes in Atlantic League | Yardbarker

I hadn't even seen what the double-hook was:

The "double-hook" designated hitter rule, used by the ALPB last season, has sparked the most controversy. The rule will force teams to lose their DH if the starting pitcher fails to throw at least five innings. In that situation, the pitcher's spot would bat in place of the DH for the remainder of the game.

I think what I'd really like to see as a rule change is a limit to the number of pitchers on the roster, coupled with rules that prevent shuttling pitchers up and down from AAA.

SI

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I think what I'd really like to see as a rule change is a limit to the number of pitchers on the roster, coupled with rules that prevent shuttling pitchers up and down from AAA.

SI

They have those rules. 13 pitcher max on the 26 man roster and a position player going down to AAA must stay 10 days while a pitcher has to stay 15 unless they're serving as the extra player for a double header or replacing someone going on the IL.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Atocep

They have those rules. 13 pitcher max on the 26 man roster and a position player going down to AAA must stay 10 days while a pitcher has to stay 15 unless they're serving as the extra player for a double header or replacing someone going on the IL.

I thought it was still 14 (I think that was last year). It still needs to decrease to 12 or, ideally, 11.


SI

[Atocep]

Watching the Mets/Dodgers, and Scherzer just got ejected. It looks like Scherzer had rosin on his glove and made him swap gloves. The new glove didn't have a pitch com in it so after the inning the Mets taped a pitch com into it and apparently that tape left some residue on Scherzer's left hand (glove hand) and since he got the warning for the rosin on the first glove they ejected him.

EDIT: Guys on the field say it was rosin and sherzer was screaming at the umps that it's just rosin

I like the crackdown on the sticky stuff, but the inconsistency is BS. Domingo German is allowed to throw 6+ innings with multiple warnings and Rocco Baldelli is the one ejected for it. This game Scherzer gets ejected.

[Lathum]

It was ridiculous. Fans don’t come to watch the umps or Jimmy Yacabonis.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I thought it was still 14 (I think that was last year). It still needs to decrease to 12 or, ideally, 11.

But then you're looking at the 26 man roster needing to go back to 25 realistically -- cause with little need for pinch hitters now there's hardly anything more pointless than yet another position player -- and there's no way that's gonna fly with the players union

[Lathum]

Oakland moving to Vegas.

[Young Drachma]

Oakland A's agree to purchase land near Las Vegas Strip

The A's aren't going to spend until 2027 as a lame duck in Oakland. They'll move after this season, buy the old AAA stadium or play in the AAA stadium of the current Vegas team, because the Blue Jays normalized for MLB upgrading a AAA park for a season plus and it'll be better for 3 years than having them in a limbo market where people will eventually stop coming more than they already have.

Cashman Field, the old AAA park is also empty being occupied by the XFL right now and would be an easy place to retrofit for cheap and play out of it, certainly cheaper than playing at Allegiant (which surely could be awkardly retrofit for baseball)