Official Major League Baseball thread

[AJ_Radio]

On 4/2/2019 at 10:44 AM, skidmarkgn said:

Not gonna ride to high from the start that's happening because, like I said, we all know things will even out and the payroll teams will take their respective places on the top, but still, been fun so far.  My only complaint is the Harper obsession that's taken over the media.  I mean, he's not the king of baseball just because another team fell into the team killing contract trap but every national talking head can't go more than 30 seconds without bringing him up and licking his butt... meanwhile some scrub named Craig Yelish or some shit has been doing a thing or two over in Milwaukee.

 

Bryce Harper winning over the media is nothing new.

 

A-Rod was a shining spotlight before his steroid usage came out. Unfortunately for him, his votes when he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame will likely be the same as where Bonds and Clemens are in the percentages. A few of the voters in Cooperstown vote for them, but well short of the 75 percent needed to be a member of the Hall of Fame. 

 

I am very happy that Edgar Martinez made it into the Hall of Fame. I literally grew up watching the man play and he had a cherished playing career. The second Seattle Mariner to make it after Ken Griffey Jr.

 

Ichiro Suzuki should be a shoe in when he becomes eligible. A DH making it into the Hall should mean David Ortiz will be a shoe in. Derek Jeter will likely be the top candidate next year. 

 

I hope the Seattle Mariners at the least become eligible for the playoffs. I’m tired of seeing this team go on a winning streak in April - May only to burn out in June - August.

 

The Houston Astros are a serious threat thanks to Jose Altuve and the team itself being well rounded and ecstatic.

 

I lost a lot of passion for the Oakland Athletics as the team is no longer the AL West powerhouse like it used to be. Mike Trout is the LA Angels best player. Albert Pujols is old and aging and can no longer keep up with the younger players. 

 

It was only fitting that Adrian Beltre retired, ending a lengthy and fruitful baseball career with the Texas Rangers. 

 

It’s still too early to determine who will be on top this coming September. If Seattle can make it I will be very happy.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Spaz

[Beyondthegrave07]

Cards had the worst record in May and we just swept the Cubs. Good start to June, but I'm not holding my breath. Our pitching is inconsistent and Goldy seems like the only player who can hit a ball lately. We had the best NL record at the start of May and now we are fighting to stay over .500. SMH... We have so many issues right now it's not even funny.

 

We just drafted a SP from Kentucky. Hopefully, he'll turn out to be an asset in a couple of years. I guess I need to find hope somewhere in the season.

 

 

[skidmarkgn]

The team never did you right but you stayed anyways and carried them for years.  Thank you Felix.

[Fett36]

Congrats Washington Nationals for winning World Series 2019

[coldkillaaaaaaaa]

Giancarlo Stanton hitting bombs already, Yankees taking it all now that they are healthy.

[PalaceOfLove706]

Nobody probably believed in the Jays but with the aid of a short season they might get a shot at the title. Go Jays Go!

[AJ_Radio]

With the way baseball is played now, with the launch angle bullshit, there are far too many guys just trying to hit HR or go home. Growing up I made exceptions to players like Mark McGwire, because while they were mostly one dimensional sluggers, you had a far better variety of players who can run, hit and run, steal bases effectively when needed, and didn't come off as a bunch of scrubs who were better off playing a third line in American Football.

 

Joey Gallo is everything wrong with baseball today. This guy is completely one dimensional. Mark McGwire in comparison was a far more dynamic hitter. I watched him play back in the day and if I were to put them side by side, McGwire would probably outperform Joey Gallo, steroids or not.

 

These players of today can't hit for shit. Jose Altuve, who was supposed to be an all around great athlete despite his diminutive height of 5'6" (167.6 cm), is more about the power now than anything else. Mike Trout? More of a power hitter now. Even if Trout didn't get injured this year, his stats reflect that he's basically trying to hit for the fences. He is an exceptional outfielder, but he doesn't excite me like the way Ken Griffey Jr did. Bryce Harper? Not a good role model. Arrogant, Cocky, Impulsive. Seems to always get into trouble whether he wants to or not. His presence on social media isn't exactly great either.

 

The current commissioner of MLB is putting home runs and slugging back into the game, but it doesn't carry any of the excitement or emotion that the Steroid Era had. The players of 20 years ago were far more dynamic. Sammy Sosa could still run and steal a base. Rafael Palmeiro was still an all around great athlete, could of been on the Hall of Fame had he not pulled that act in the courtroom.

 

The guy I was most excited for is Shohei of the Los Angeles Angels. A solid pitcher, a solid slugger, very rare combination. Makes Hideki Matsui a bit small in comparison.

 

As far as the teams go, it's basically commonplace for every team to strike out 15 - 20 times. Every other pitcher is like a Nolan Ryan, even though I wasn't old enough to watch him first hand.

 

Is it any wonder why MLB is declining in popularity? It wouldn't of mattered if COVID-19 happened or not. These rule changes and the way the game is played, I can't even watch the playoffs on a day to day basis.

Edited October 10, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[skidmarkgn]

On 10/9/2021 at 11:07 PM, AJ_Radio said:

*snip for space*

 

Yeah, the game's in a tough spot right now.  The art of hitting seems to be dead, even when a team shifts everybody they have to one side of the field there's only a very select few that can actually do anything about it (honestly even a crappy bunt looks like a guaranteed base hit with how extreme some of these shifts are).  It's weird too, maybe I'm in the minority but a base hit, steal, sac-bunt, sac fly to generate a run is far more entertaining to watch than someone swinging out of their shoes every AB and eventually catching one in between the zillion strike outs and putting it over the wall.

 

Can't say I'm against all the rule changes though, the runner on 2nd rule for extra inning games I 100% love, especially since it encourages actual strategy to get the runner in, if they decide to add an inch to the bases as well, so be it, not super for, not super against.  I'd be totally on board for a "pitch-clock" to put an end to the damn staring contests that some pitchers love to do and PLEASE bring in robot umps to call balls and strikes.  There'd still need to be an ump at the plate to call safe/out when necessary but the strike zones that range from inconsistent at best to absolutely absurd (and biased) at worst can't go away soon enough.

 

Edit - almost forgot about baseball's #1-beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-no-questions-asked-big-blue-whale-of-a-problem... Rob freakin' Manfred.  Not enough room on the internet to list everything that's wrong with his "leadership".

Edited October 11, 2021 by skidmarkgn

[AJ_Radio]

3 hours ago, skidmarkgn said:

 

Yeah, the game's in a tough spot right now.  The art of hitting seems to be dead, even when a team shifts everybody they have to one side of the field there's only a very select few that can actually do anything about it (honestly even a crappy bunt looks like a guaranteed base hit with how extreme some of these shifts are).  It's weird too, maybe I'm in the minority but a base hit, steal, sac-bunt, sac fly to generate a run is far more entertaining to watch than someone swinging out of their shoes every AB and eventually catching one in between the zillion strike outs and putting it over the wall.

 

Can't say I'm against all the rule changes though, the runner on 2nd rule for extra inning games I 100% love, especially since it encourages actual strategy to get the runner in, if they decide to add an inch to the bases as well, so be it, not super for, not super against.  I'd be totally on board for a "pitch-clock" to put an end to the damn staring contests that some pitchers love to do and PLEASE bring in robot umps to call balls and strikes.  There'd still need to be an ump at the plate to call safe/out when necessary but the strike zones that range from inconsistent at best to absolutely absurd (and biased) at worst can't go away soon enough.

 

Edit - almost forgot about baseball's #1-beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-no-questions-asked-big-blue-whale-of-a-problem... Rob freakin' Manfred.  Not enough room on the internet to list everything that's wrong with his "leadership".

 

I was around when Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run way back in 1998, only for Barry Bonds to break that record a few years later. These guys were obviously on the juice, with Mark McGwire basically being a one dimensional slugger in his last playing season before he retired. Barry Bonds amazingly, even with steroids affecting his body, could still steal a dozen bases and could make some great plays in the outfield. Despite the fact that I never liked Bonds, he was a proper five tool player. Mark McGwire when he needed to, could do a bit of defensive play and action aside from the home run slugging.

 

Try to say that about Joey Gallo, or Jose Altuve, or Aaron Judge, or Bryce Harper. Mike Trout is probably the closest guy we got to a five tool player, but he honestly looks like he belongs on an American Football team somewhere. I'm not kidding. His rookie season of 2012 is legendary, but ever since then I have cared less and less for Trout. Now he is hampered with injuries, and because of the launch angle shit, and the fact that home runs among young players are off the charts, his frequency of stealing a base is drastically reduced. Don't get me started on Bryce Harper.

 

I cannot watch the playoffs regularly anymore. So far I've watched two games this month, and apart from a few plays defensively, I honestly haven't been impressed. These hitters just suck. A lot of them aren't even trying to hit for average or even just try to make contact with the ball. In the past you would regularly see hitters get anywhere from 50 to 150 strikeouts, with some exceptions.

 

Joey Gallo just finished the 2021 season with over 200 strikeouts, less than 100 base hits, over 35 home runs, and less than a .200 baseball average. That is fucking terrible. This guy is 27 years old. Only 27 years old. Mark McGwire at age 27 was a far more dynamic player. His 2001 baseball season is comparable to what Joey Gallo did this year, but McGwire was washed up at that point. That was the end of his career, and his last season was mostly marked for the home runs he hit. Joey Gallo in contrast already looks washed up. How can you look like a fuck up at 27 years old?

 

I don't agree with the runner on second rule. I feel that is more to do with analytics and the fact that baseball has been declining in popularity for a long time now. The New York Yankees are seeing declining attendance rates, which already started before COVID-19 hit. But like I said already, even if COVID-19 didn't exist, the attendance rates would already be declining due to the rule changes. I can't see the runner on second rule being any good unless the game was going into the 15th inning, which we wouldn't see often anyway. It gives the other team defending another problem to deal with.

 

Robot umpires..... are we basically going full on Detroit: Become Human now? Because the entire story of that game was giving androids/robots the same freedoms as regular humans. Human umpires have real emotions, personality and feeling. All things that robot umpires don't have.

 

It's the system in place that is ruining the game. We love statistics if we're baseball fans, but once you start reading those spreadsheets and start using computers to do everything for you, including the playing field itself, you basically suck the soul out of baseball.

[starcrunch061]

Dude, an official MLB thread, and no one even mentioned my Bravos?!?

 

Congrats to the Atlanta Braves for winning the World Series! I wonder if anyone placed bets on them in July when they were 40-1?

[skidmarkgn]

24 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

Dude, an official MLB thread, and no one even mentioned my Bravos?!?

 

Congrats to the Atlanta Braves for winning the World Series! I wonder if anyone placed bets on them in July when they were 40-1?

 

Yeah, it's a pretty dead thread.  Anyways, major props the the Braves, after seeing Atlanta lose the All Star game because of freakin' politics it was pretty awesome seeing them get the last laugh.  Didn't hurt that they took out the Dodgers and the cheatin' Astros in the process too ?

[starcrunch061]

Just now, skidmarkgn said:

Yeah, it's a pretty dead thread.  Anyways, major props the the Braves, after seeing Atlanta lose the All Star game because of freakin' politics it was pretty awesome seeing them get the last laugh.  Didn't hurt that they took out the Dodgers and the cheatin' Astros in the process too

 

It's like, every single person you want to have a bad day gets a bad day. Dodgers fans. Cheating Astros. Huff Post crowd. 

 

Good times. As a follower who grew up with the terrible teams of the 80s, who remembers the unused potential of the 90s (there were 4 first-ballot HOFers on that team, with 3 in the starting rotation!), the decline in the 2000s, and the recent resurgence, it feels good to FINALLY see that second title. The memories of Jim Leyritz's HR against Mark Wohlers have finally been put to rest.

[skidmarkgn]

1 minute ago, starcrunch061 said:

 

It's like, every single person you want to have a bad day gets a bad day. Dodgers fans. Cheating Astros. Huff Post crowd. 

 

Good times. As a follower who grew up with the terrible teams of the 80s, who remembers the unused potential of the 90s (there were 4 first-ballot HOFers on that team, with 3 in the starting rotation!), the decline in the 2000s, and the recent resurgence, it feels good to FINALLY see that second title. The memories of Jim Leyritz's HR against Mark Wohlers have finally been put to rest.

 

I'm a Mariners fan so believe me, I know the pain of seeing superstars being wasted.  Gotta admit though, I'm on board with what Dipoto's been doing since his arrival, maybe hopefully one day soon our teams can square off in the big one.

[skidmarkgn]

Guess I shouldn't be surprised they robbed Servais but that doesn't make any less lame.  Congrats to Cash for taking a team that was projected to win their division and winning the division... whoop-di-doo.

[MidnightDragon]

I remember the strike of the mid-90s. Not vividly, but definitely do because I remember my great-grandmother complaining about the Royals not playing. Took baseball a long time to recover. I wonder how long the lockout will last.

[Jermster_91]

On 12/9/2021 at 11:50 PM, MidnightDragon said:

I remember the strike of the mid-90s. Not vividly, but definitely do because I remember my great-grandmother complaining about the Royals not playing. Took baseball a long time to recover. I wonder how long the lockout will last.

 

This one only lasted 3 months, 1 week and 1 day or 98 days.

[starcrunch061]

On 12/9/2021 at 11:50 PM, MidnightDragon said:

I remember the strike of the mid-90s. Not vividly, but definitely do because I remember my great-grandmother complaining about the Royals not playing. Took baseball a long time to recover. I wonder how long the lockout will last.

 

I felt for the poor Expos fans. The franchise had seen terrible times, but was having a surprising year (my own personal favorite, the Braves, had dominated the national league in the 90s, but were not playing up to par). They were cruising into the playoffs, but the season was canceled, and they never recovered. Ultimately, they lost their franchise.

[djb5f]

27 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

 

I felt for the poor Expos fans. The franchise had seen terrible times, but was having a surprising year (my own personal favorite, the Braves, had dominated the national league in the 90s, but were not playing up to par). They were cruising into the playoffs, but the season was canceled, and they never recovered. Ultimately, they lost their franchise.

I was one of those poor Expos fans!  How?  I don’t know, I was young and would see them a lot on WGN (Cubs) and WTBS (Braves) and adopted them.  They had some good teams in the 80’s and early 90’s but never good enough to win the division.  And this was before the Wild Card of course.  
 

The Expos would develop a good club with young talent only to see the rising stars get poached but organizations with deep pocketbooks.  That there is no salary cap in baseball still baffles me.  Talk about an unlevel playing field.

 

Anyway, that ‘94 team was finally the year the Expos would make the playoffs, best record in baseball.  Then the strike.  
 

It pretty much ended my baseball fandom.   More recently, I started watching a little bit playoffs here and there, most notably the Nationals World Series run in 2019 (my current team but follow very casually at best).  
 

The Nationals though need to do a better job of recognizing the Expos history, throwback jerseys, ring of honor, etc.  I take joy in seeing fans with Expos gear at Nationals Park though!

[skidmarkgn]

This was the year they said.  We're gonna spend and finally contend they said.  The farm system's top tier and we're calling up some serious future stars they said.  The drought's ending they said.  Same.  Old.  Mariners.

[skidmarkgn]

Man, fuck the Astros.  They're losing to my lowly Mariners so they throw behind France (Seattle's best hitter, and honestly one of the most underrated guys in the AL) and hit him, then head-hunt Suarez followed by hitting and causing an injury delay to Julio, one of Seattle's brightest potential stars.  I really hope the next series against those thin skinned p--sies Servais lets Munoz put 103 right in Bregman's ribs.

[Jermster_91]

On 6/8/2022 at 9:13 PM, skidmarkgn said:

Man, fuck the Astros.  They're losing to my lowly Mariners so they throw behind France (Seattle's best hitter, and honestly one of the most underrated guys in the AL) and hit him, then head-hunt Suarez followed by hitting and causing an injury delay to Julio, one of Seattle's brightest potential stars.  I really hope the next series against those thin skinned p--sies Servais lets Munoz put 103 right in Bregman's ribs.

 

My Astros will be competing for another World Series appearance while your Mariners get to spend time at home with the family.