MLB Off-Topic

[Jhack99]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Big blow to the Mets farm system, Tebow has officially retired from baseball

Finally, was so tired of this. It went on way longer than it should have.

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[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Funny story which apparently is true.

One of the things which led to Donaldson being traded from Oakland was him calling Billy Beane "Billy Boy" and pointing to him after home runs and saying how the As will have to pay him.

[Blzer]

MLB Off-Topic

Funny story which apparently is true.

One of the things which led to Donaldson being traded from Oakland was him calling Billy Beane "Billy Boy" and pointing to him after home runs and saying how the As will have to pay him.

That doesn’t explain why he was so undervalued to be traded to the Blue Jays for only, who... Brett Lawrie and Kendall Graveman?

That’s all kinds of hilarious, nonetheless.

[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

That doesn’t explain why he was so undervalued to be traded to the Blue Jays for only, who... Brett Lawrie and Kendall Graveman?

That’s all kinds of hilarious, nonetheless.

Obviously Jays won it big time, but not like As didnt get guys who had potential.

Barreto ended up being a top 30 prospect in baseball while with the As. In AAA at age 21.

Graveman came off a 2014 season where he was in AAA and had an ERA below 2 in 6 starts.

Nolin was also a guy with a good showing in AAA in 2014.

[Madden08PCgmr]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Mariners just gotta Mariner..

Seattle forced their team President to resign (deservedly!) after making disparaging comments about multiple players, and basically admitting to manipulating service time.

The team just can't help but blow their foot off every chance they get.

Mather might miss out on one heck of a ride if this young team comes together.

[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Mariners just gotta Mariner..



Seattle forced their team President to resign (deservedly!) after making disparaging comments about multiple players, and basically admitting to manipulating service time.



The team just can't help but blow their foot off every chance they get.



Mather might miss out on one heck of a ride if this young team comes together.

I saw those comments yesterday and seems like people had mixed responses. Some saying "typical cancel culture", others agreeing with the backlash.

Main things that stuck out to me was saying how he hates paying interpreters for the foreign born players. And also mentioning how Seager was overpaid.

What's going on in the AL West. Seems theres controversy all around.

[Jhack99]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I saw those comments yesterday and seems like people had mixed responses. Some saying "typical cancel culture", others agreeing with the backlash.

Main things that stuck out to me was saying how he hates paying interpreters for the foreign born players. And also mentioning how Seager was overpaid.

What's going on in the AL West. Seems theres controversy all around.

Jomboy had a video breakdown of it. And yikes.

https://youtu.be/zBg8_44uDZ0

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[Madden08PCgmr]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I remember some allegations were brought against Mather before. Glad the Ms didn't give him a 3rd strike.

There was just no reason to be as candid as he was. It was like he was talking to his buddies, pounding beers at the bar.

Running Rodriguez down was pointless. And I supposed he didn't, in normal context. But to say your #2 prospect won't be in the Bigs for 2 more years? They are loaded in the OF (as far as prospects) so maybe its true?! But why say it publicly?

The Ms signed Seager to a bad deal. The deal was signed on Mathers watch, so he should probably take a long look in the mirror. Overall, Seager had been rock solid, through some really dark years. Its was a terrible look to run him down. And this is a young club.. that could get REALLY young in a big hurry. What he said about Seager just reinforces the Ms will kick you to the curb the minute they have used you up.

I find it really hard to believe there isn't some kind of contractual language written about the interpreters, for the players and teams. Kuma was another one of the few bright spots for this team. If Mather is going to whine about $75k... in relation to the millions he paid him, he is truly a sad little man.

Anyway, just another lowlight in the life of an Ms fan.

Just when we had the slightest bit of hope they turned it around..

[ggsimmonds]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I'm having a hard time seeing why what he said was so bad.

As someone that doesn't follow baseball closely this seems like the most overblown story in some time.

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I'm having a hard time seeing why what he said was so bad.

As someone that doesn't follow baseball closely this seems like the most overblown story in some time.

He complained that two pretty prominent foreign players in the organization (a long time big leaguer and top prospect) didn't/haven't learned English fast enough.

He spoke openly about contract negotiations, which just seems dumb for an executive rather than offensive.

He essentially said he's not going to let another one of their top prospects play at the mlb level because he didn't sign a 6 year extension to buy out his arbitration years. Again, just a stupid thing rather than offensive.

I think that covers most of the controversial stuff

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[ggsimmonds]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

He complained that two pretty prominent foreign players in the organization (a long time big leaguer and top prospect) didn't/haven't learned English fast enough.

He spoke openly about contract negotiations, which just seems dumb for an executive rather than offensive.

He essentially said he's not going to let another one of their top prospects play at the mlb level because he didn't sign a 6 year extension to buy out his arbitration years. Again, just a stupid thing rather than offensive.

I think that covers most of the controversial stuff

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Speaking on the not learning english fast enough, I thought it was a badly kept secret that foreign players often take advantage of having an interpreter. Ichiro was famous for this. They use it as a get out of interview card.

The guy had to resign cause he was honest. Not offensive, but honest. Shouldn't the takeaway from this be "maybe MLB has some problems?"

[kehlis]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Speaking on the not learning english fast enough, I thought it was a badly kept secret that foreign players often take advantage of having an interpreter. Ichiro was famous for this. They use it as a get out of interview card.

The guy had to resign cause he was honest. Not offensive, but honest. Shouldn't the takeaway from this be "maybe MLB has some problems?"

Manipulating service time is an MLB problem but it's also a terrible, unethical practice to admit to doing. It's not something that makes playing in his organization very attractive.

It's a practice a lot of teams partake in unfortunately but blatantly admitting to it is was a pretty risky strategy.

[ggsimmonds]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Manipulating service time is an MLB problem but it's also a terrible, unethical practice to admit to doing. It's not something that makes playing in his organization very attractive.

It's a practice a lot of teams partake in unfortunately but blatantly admitting to it is was a pretty risky strategy.

Yeah it was dumb to say those things in a recorded virtual meeting. But first I saw the Mariners official statement where they apologized for what he said and saw a few comments from different people expressing outrage, then I watched the video expecting some racist type comments. Instead of hearing anything offensive my reaction was wow maybe a little too transparent there chief.

But to me the apology from the team chairman was more offensive lol

[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Something that Donaldson brought up which does mention a good point.

Does the actual admission of the obvious now give the PA the power in the upcoming CBA negotiations? We already knew the service time was going to be a talking point, and everyone knew what the deal was with teams suddenly bringing a guy who should've made the roster up in late April or whenever it was, but with actual proof now, I don't see how the MLB can even stand by that service time stuff in the next CBA.

[CBoller1331]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Yeah it was dumb to say those things in a recorded virtual meeting. But first I saw the Mariners official statement where they apologized for what he said and saw a few comments from different people expressing outrage, then I watched the video expecting some racist type comments. Instead of hearing anything offensive my reaction was wow maybe a little too transparent there chief.

But to me the apology from the team chairman was more offensive lol

Yeah I tend to agree that some of the outrage over his comments was a bit misplaced. A Q&A at the local rotary club is definitely not the time or the place to open up about industry "secrets." Mariners were probably in the right to let him go, however*. Some of the stuff about players currently in the Mariners organization was definitely inappropriate to be sharing with anyone outside the organization.

Some of the specifics:

--Service time manipulation is a part of the game (for now), so Mather essentially admitting that the Mariners do it doesn't really upset met. I think Donaldson makes a good point that this should give the MLBPA some ammo to change it in the upcoming negotiations. I do wonder how changing service time rules may affect older veterans though. If younger (presumably cheaper) guys get called up earlier, how does that affect the 33-year old free agent looking to cash in on the open market for the first time?

--As far as the comments about foreign players learning English, he definitely took some unnecessary shots. His flippant comment that Julio Rodriguez doesn't speak very good English was in poor taste. The kid is 20 years old and a native Spanish speaker, cut him some slack! With that being said, I do think it would behoove most foreign players to try to learn English. A major turning point in Yu Darvish's (devastatingly short ) Cubs career was his decision to do interviews in English starting in 2019. He went from a guy that was easy to write negative things about, to a guy who could better convey his thoughts about his starts and let some of his natural humor come out. But at the same time, there should obviously be some patience for someone living in a foreign country and trying to learn things about the culture and language all while trying to develop as a ballplayer. Expecting that to happen in just 1 or 2 years is unrealistic

*EDIT: Mather resigned Mariners did not fire him.