Topic: 2020 MLB Thread...

[Shemp_Diesel]

I suppose it's not too early for this; spring training in 2 weeks approx., Mookie Betts maybe getting traded for the Sawx; cheating motha' fuckin' Astros & the Mets fighting with the Fish and Phillies for the NL EAst cellar.

Play Balll....   

[Paul Pain]

Afros and Red Sux should have to vacate, but that's just me.

Over-under for Marlins losses is set at 97.  Takers?

[metaldams]

Afros and Red Sux should have to vacate, but that's just me.

Over-under for Marlins losses is set at 97.  Takers?

Leave the titles as they are.  After having grown up through the steroid era, been preceded by greenies, Gaylord Perry, Whitey Ford, 1919 Black Sox, the stolen sign of the “shot heard round the world” and God knows what else, I’m convinced you’d have to vacate more of baseball history than we’d care to admit.  If they vacate, I also hope you mean have the league vacate the titles, because if I were a Dodger fan, being rewarded a championship like that would feel hallow.

Yes, the cheating is wrong, but I’ve become so desensitized to it all and it’s a part of the game, sadly.  I’m also in the let Bonds and Clemens in The Hall camp.

....and yeah, Mookie got traded.  Good luck to him, hope he has a great career and earns mega bucks.  As far as Boston, we’ll have to wait and see, on a lot of things.

[Paul Pain]

Leave the titles as they are.  After having grown up through the steroid era, been preceded by greenies, Gaylord Perry, Whitey Ford, 1919 Black Sox, the stolen sign of the “shot heard round the world” and God knows what else, I’m convinced you’d have to vacate more of baseball history than we’d care to admit.  If they vacate, I also hope you mean have the league vacate the titles, because if I were a Dodger fan, being rewarded a championship like that would feel hallow.

Yes, the cheating is wrong, but I’ve become so desensitized to it all and it’s a part of the game, sadly.  I’m also in the let Bonds and Clemens in The Hall camp.

Vacating is vacating.  No re-arrangement of the titles, but there was definitely inadequate punishment and this is basically open season now for everyone to anything and everything to win a title.  It's hard to compare isolated cases or individual behavior, like Whitey Ford, Roger Clemens, etc. to an entire franchise, top to bottom, systematically cheating with the effective consent and approval of everyone involved for an entire season or more.  There is no genuine comparison unfortunately.

Greenies have always made me scratch my head because, although I understand the "performance enhancing" side of them, the risk always, on paper, seems large compared to the reward because you heighten certain senses at the expense of others.

[metaldams]

Vacating is vacating.  No re-arrangement of the titles, but there was definitely inadequate punishment and this is basically open season now for everyone to anything and everything to win a title.  It's hard to compare isolated cases or individual behavior, like Whitey Ford, Roger Clemens, etc. to an entire franchise, top to bottom, systematically cheating with the effective consent and approval of everyone involved for an entire season or more.  There is no genuine comparison unfortunately.

Greenies have always made me scratch my head because, although I understand the "performance enhancing" side of them, the risk always, on paper, seems large compared to the reward because you heighten certain senses at the expense of others.

At the very least, before vacating titles, I think they need to investigate how widespread in baseball this really is.  Something tells me this goes way beyond Houston and Boston.  Something also tells me this would open up more of a shit storm than MLB would like, already losing popularity to the NFL and NBA as it is.

As far as punishments, Houston’s manager and G.M. were suspended and then lost their jobs.  Alex Cora quit the Red Sox out of fear of being a distraction.  Carlos Beltran lost his manager position with The Mets before ever managing a game.  People were punished and others will think twice about doing this as a result until they can find another way to get away with it.

Perhaps I am too blasé on this and I realize I’m cynical, and it’s not just because my team is involved.  I’ve been like this for years after being more idealistic when I was younger.  You’re right, it is worse on a team level than individual, but I also have trouble believing in the majority of cases, teams didn’t know about individuals and let it slide anyway.  I also do feel bad for the players who play the game right.

I remember a few years back, Michael Pineda of the Yankees got busted twice having illegal pine tar on him and Boston had to call him out on it.  I got the hidden message the rage wasn’t so much he was cheating, it was more so that he was so blatant.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Well, in case I forgot, the titles still have to be won of the field. Unless I'm missing something again, sign stealing has been around longer than Pete Rose. Also, I believe Curt Schilling is supposed to get into the Hall of Fame, but since he supposedly shoots off his mouth too much about politics, he has to wait his turn....

 

[metaldams]

Well, in case I forgot, the titles still have to be won of the field. Unless I'm missing something again, sign stealing has been around long than Pete Rose. Also, I believe Curt Schilling is supposed to get into the Hall of Fame, but since he supposedly shoots off his mouth to much about politics, he has to wait his turn....

It’s a crime Schilling is not in.  One of the best postseason pitchers ever - for three teams, and I believe the best K/BB ratio ever.  * There are voters who publicly admit they won’t vote Schilling because he’s right wing and outspoken politically.  Last I checked, that’s not what the Hall is about.

* Looked that up, best among pitchers with 3,000 K’s.  Still impressive.

[Moose Malloy]

Schilling will get in. Lying ass Rose never will . Every team cheats to the best of their ability.  90% of players are on PED's. The masking agents are 99% effective. Everybody gets off of them as soon as they get the big contract.

The game is too slow. Free agency has wrecked the game. Pitching/hitting is too lopsided. K's are out of control. Nobody chokes up, even when a single will win the game. Baseball is damn near broke but I'm still a fan

[Shemp_Diesel]

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-considering-new-postseason-format


Nothing concrete, just a proposal to expand the playoffs & by expand, I get the sour feeling that more teams in the postseason would dilute what is to me the perfect system in team sports already.

Although, I think I have said in the past that maybe expanding on the Wild Card round from "one and done" to a best of three wouldn't be an egregious change....

[metaldams]

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-considering-new-postseason-format


Nothing concrete, just a proposal to expand the playoffs & by expand, I get the sour feeling that more teams in the postseason would dilute what is to me the perfect system in team sports already.

Although, I think I have said in the past that maybe expanding on the Wild Card round from "one and done" to a best of three wouldn't be an egregious change....

I think it’s simply a case of MLB trying to keep more teams in it longer and also play more games, hence producing more revenue.  With half the teams tanking for a few years to build a farm system, they have to do what they can.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Banging on a trash can to let the hitter know a slider is coming. But, does banging on a can allow someone to mash that pitch out of the park. The cheating lingers on....

[Moose Malloy]

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-considering-new-postseason-format


Nothing concrete, just a proposal to expand the playoffs & by expand, I get the sour feeling that more teams in the postseason would dilute what is to me the perfect system in team sports already.

Although, I think I have said in the past that maybe expanding on the Wild Card round from "one and done" to a best of three wouldn't be an egregious change....

I'm with you on that. One and done is not baseball.

What's the deal with the Red Sox? I hear them mentioned along with Houston but not nearly as loud. What exactly did they do?

My thoughts on Altuve:  His excuses for the suspected buzzer is bullshit, and like Trump he doesn't care that everybody knows it's bullshit.

[Shemp_Diesel]

I guess if this proposed 60 game season gets started this month, the Astros and their troubles will be forgotten or the world will remember there's more pressing issues at the moment.


I'm still thinking the game is getting watered down in ways I don't like, such as 16 teams in the postseason & the DH in both leagues, but I guess i'll suffer through it....

 

[metaldams]

Even before the COVID-19 thing, I can’t remember the last time I was less excited about a baseball season.  I’ll follow anyway.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Holy shit, Batman! It's MLB opening Day; can you feel the excitement?




Of course, nothing wrong with Lauren Shehadi on the MLB Network, woot.....


 

[metaldams]

Between the Red Sox trading Mookie Betts, this COVID-19 thing having cardboard people in the stands, the worst on paper Red Sox starting pitching staff I’ve seen in my lifetime, a 60 game schedule, cheating scandals and just general societal things creeping into the game - which I prefer baseball as an outlet to escape from - I’ve never been less excited.

Like a hopeless addict, I’m following anyway.  Go Sox.

[Shemp_Diesel]

deGrom dealing in NY today, but as usual, no runs by the offense....   

[metaldams]

deGrom dealing in NY today, but as usual, no runs by the offense....   

You got your run.  1-0 feels almost like 3-0 this year.

[metaldams]

The Red Sox starting pitching staff is so far just as dreadful as predicted.  One bit of good news for me...Fernando Rodney, 43, is likely to sign with Houston.  This means 2020 will not be the first year there are no players older than me. 

[Shemp_Diesel]

Mets in 1st place after 5 games & the starting pitching after deGrom hasn't been as bad as feared (where do I buy postseason tickets)....


 

[Paul Pain]

Am I the only that thinks it's absolute bull$#¡t that the Marlins had to scrape together a rag-tag team of minor league players when they lost 18 players to COVID, but the MLB out the Cardinals and Tigers seasons on hold for over two weeks now because of 8 Cardinals players?  Worse, every team the Cardinals and Marlins were supposed to play got put on hold... except the Yankees, who quickly had multiple doubleheaders scheduled for them so that they only lost three days of games.  So,e of these other teams have lost 7-15 games with no such efforts made for them.

[metaldams]

Am I the only that thinks it's absolute bull$#¡t that the Marlins had to scrape together a rag-tag team of minor league players when they lost 18 players to COVID, but the MLB out the Cardinals and Tigers seasons on hold for over two weeks now because of 8 Cardinals players?  Worse, every team the Cardinals and Marlins were supposed to play got put on hold... except the Yankees, who quickly had multiple doubleheaders scheduled for them so that they only lost three days of games.  So,e of these other teams have lost 7-15 games with no such efforts made for them.

This whole season is a disaster on several levels.  You make perfectly valid points and the fact this deep in, St. Louis has only played five games is absurd.  The cardboard fans, the piped in crowd noises...I was watching the Red Sox game yesterday.  Their pitching staff is non existent, all those conditions I just mentioned and a drone was flying over the field, causing a six minute delay.  It was one of those moments where I just took stock of all the absurdity.  Two years ago I’m watching an all time great team play to packed stadiums playing 162 game seasons and now it’s come to.....this.  Opening day Oakland hits a walk off grand slam, I’m watching the replay.  You think there would be pandemonium, excitement.  Instead, piped in crowd nonsense, the moment, which should have been special, just dead.  Can’t imagine what it’s like to be a Cardinal fan now. 

[Paul Pain]

This whole season is a disaster on several levels.  You make perfectly valid points and the fact this deep in, St. Louis has only played five games is absurd.  The cardboard fans, the piped in crowd noises...I was watching the Red Sox game yesterday.  Their pitching staff is non existent, all those conditions I just mentioned and a drone was flying over the field, causing a six minute delay.  It was one of those moments where I just took stock of all the absurdity.  Two years ago I’m watching an all time great team play to packed stadiums playing 162 game seasons and now it’s come to.....this.  Opening day Oakland hits a walk off grand slam, I’m watching the replay.  You think there would be pandemonium, excitement.  Instead, piped in crowd nonsense, the moment, which should have been special, just dead.  Can’t imagine what it’s like to be a Cardinal fan now.

I was watching that game when the stupid drone flew over the field because, obviously, being in Florida, we have both Marlins and Rays fans in the house.  It is lacking a ton with this piped in noise.  I had plans on practically living in the Trop this year.

[Moose Malloy]

And now we have the social injustice issue to interrupt games, Commendable but it won't do squat. The murdering cops know they are being filmed and still maim and murder black people. The Nazi Brown Shirts got NOTHING on them

[Shemp_Diesel]

I find myself wanting the Tampa Rays to go the distance and win the World Series...