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Post by achilles on Mar 28, 2019 15:05:58 GMT
Okay, I know there HAS to be at least a few MLB fans here, after all, it is ahem, "America's National Pastime". Today is of course opening day for the regular season. For those of you looking for TV games that don't have a service, you can purchase MLB.com's coverage or just watch their free game of the day, which randomly selects games every day during the regular season. I find that a great thing, since it's free, and you get to see different teams.
For example, while my home teams are of course the er...Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, (yeah, I don't get that one either, Anaheim is about 80 miles away from the city of Los Angeles, and in fact is in Orange County, near to Disneyland, (which is also in the city), right across from the Pond, where the Mighty Ducks hockey team play, and also near Knott's Berry Farm amusement park, but far from LA), and the Dodgers, famous for not being able to win the World Series, (though a great looking Steve Garvey is still the Dodger's spokesman---I want to look as good as that guy when I'm his age---one of my idols from when I was a little kid), I've come to be a fan of several other teams. Like the Atlanta Braves with their star player Captain Marvel Jr., (Shazam Jr.?), and the Colorado Rockies with their great home stadium with a small forest in center field. And the hapless Nationals, and the Phillies.
These games are great to relax to at the end of a workday with a beer or other beverage of your choice.
Interesting off-season moves include the huge signings of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Harper had the largest contract in pro sports, a 13 year guaranteed deal worth something in the mid $300 million range....until the best player in baseball over the past 7 or so years, Mike Trout resigned with the Angels for a 12 year deal worth in the mid $400 million range.
Personally, I'm not in favor of those deals, despite wanting the Angels to keep Trout. These guys will each play about fiver or six years, (for Trout), and maybe 4 years for Harper at their highest level, then they'll start losing their ability, based on age. Which means for have or more of those contracts, the teams will be paying for over the hill players.
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Post by achilles on Mar 28, 2019 15:12:51 GMT
Clayton Kershaw is for the first time in a number of years is not starting for the Dodgers on opening day, (today), due to injuries. A word about the Dodgers' inability to win the big one; it's because they play sabermetrics, playing the stats, but they don't understand that only works over the long haul, (which is why the team has gotten to the post season for the last few years), and use it in the postseason and the series, which is unsuited to the sabermetrics approach. They need to dump that approach when they get to the postseason and just go with the old style baseball where the manager lets players on a hot streak keep on playing without substituting with respect to sabermetrics.
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Post by chap22 on Mar 28, 2019 16:11:19 GMT
With the addition of Goldy and the movement of my boy Dakota Hudson into the starting rotation, I'm looking for my Cards to reclaim the NL Central and make some noise in the playoffs this year (though I think a WS championship is out of the question).
I'm also very interested in watching my adopted second team, the Padres (thanks to my boy Hunter Renfroe) and their season. They've been stocking the farm system for years and are finally taking a chance on the kids, with highly touted prospects Francisco Mejia and Fernando Tatis, Jr. both on the Opening Day roster, in addition to going out and spending big to bring in Machado. It's gonna be fascinating to see what they can get out of their young arms and whether it's enough to keep them relevant though the season and maybe make a run at a wild card.
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Post by achilles on Mar 28, 2019 16:32:22 GMT
With the addition of Goldy and the movement of my boy Dakota Hudson into the starting rotation, I'm looking for my Cards to reclaim the NL Central and make some noise in the playoffs this year (though I think a WS championship is out of the question). I'm also very interested in watching my adopted second team, the Padres (thanks to my boy Hunter Renfroe) and their season. They've been stocking the farm system for years and are finally taking a chance on the kids, with highly touted prospects Francisco Mejia and Fernando Tatis, Jr. both on the Opening Day roster, in addition to going out and spending big to bring in Machado. It's gonna be fascinating to see what they can get out of their young arms and whether it's enough to keep them relevant though the season and maybe make a run at a wild card. I've had a soft spot for the Padres for a long time, (sort of my third hometown team), thanks to people like the great Tony Gwynn, but my hopes for this season are tempered by the thought that they'll play as horribly as possible. I suppose I'm a glass totally empty sort of person...
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Post by achilles on Mar 29, 2019 14:04:09 GMT
I ringed in the season with the free game of the day, KC vs the White Sox. Decent game, rain delay, started raining in the latter innings too, but no delay there. The Royals won 5-3, with Whit Merrifield extending his 20 game hitting streak from last season to 21, and he stole two bases, (he was last seasons MLB leader in hits and stolen bases. They collapsed in the final inning and almost lost, but their closer...closed out the last out. Other Opening Day results, Dodgers won big, Angels lost, Braves lost, Red Sox lost, Yanks won. The Dodgers hit a MLB record 8 home runs on their Opening Day...
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Post by achilles on Mar 31, 2019 17:01:11 GMT
So...Dodger fans continue with their winning ways. One fan who attended yesterday's game is in critical condition after fights broke out in the stands. Reminds me of the thing a few years ago when some gang banger put another fan into a coma, and left him brain damaged for life. And this is why I don't go to Dodger games anymore. Dodger stadium used to be a safe place to enjoy a baseball game, but now...
The Angels may suck, but at least you can be fairly sure you'll survive the game.
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Post by achilles on Apr 1, 2019 0:06:36 GMT
The guy at the Dodger game is on life support. He's toast. One punch, evidently. Never mind the Dodger's inability to win the big one, they have to make Dodger Stadium safe again.
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Post by achilles on Apr 2, 2019 17:23:12 GMT
So...evidently one of my favorite teams, the Nats, tried to resign Harper...but damn, that offer was made to be turned down. It was for $250 million over 12 years, down from their first offer of $300 million for 10 years. The kicker is that the Nats tried to include deferred money....and they would be paying him until...get this...2072! Odds are, the guy, and everyone associated with the Nats will be DEAD long before 2072, unless they finally get that tech that allows people to upload their consciousness to computers. No wonder he turned them down. Meanwhile, I don't get the Angels. They resigned Trout, the best player in baseball over the last 7 years, to the biggest contract in pro sports history...and then failed to get him any support, thus guaranteeing the Angels won't even get to the postseason. I guess they don't understand that ONE guy, no matter how good they are, to win a World Series. It takes a team, and the Angels need EVERYTHING. Their pitching sucks, (worse now that Otani won't be able to pitch until next year...if ever. They have no one who poses a threat on offense comparable to Trout, with average, power, and stolen bases all on the table with him. So they need hitters, pitchers, and some good Gold Glove types. And they did nothing else of note.
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Post by achilles on Apr 9, 2019 13:25:46 GMT
Guess I'm the only one here who's a MLB fan. Too bad, but not unexpected. Attendance at games is terrible for the most part. Probably due to rising prices, and mostly due to the deals MLB stuck with pay cable, satellite, and streaming services, which means that you can't watch your home team on free broadcast TV anymore. But by not following MLB, you miss moments like last night when Orioles star Chris Davis made history with his record hitting streak...oh, no, wait, he made history with his record setting HITLESS streak with 49 consecutive at-bats without a hit. Futility now has a new champion. However, I'm sure he can console himself by swimming in a pool filled with the money he's earning this season, $23 million.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2019 16:37:00 GMT
Guess I'm the only one here who's a MLB fan. Too bad, but not unexpected. Attendance at games is terrible for the most part. Probably due to rising prices, and mostly due to the deals MLB stuck with pay cable, satellite, and streaming services, which means that you can't watch your home team on free broadcast TV anymore. But by not following MLB, you miss moments like last night when Orioles star Chris Davis made history with his record hitting streak...oh, no, wait, he made history with his record setting HITLESS streak with 49 consecutive at-bats without a hit. Futility now has a new champion. However, I'm sure he can console himself by swimming in a pool filled with the money he's earning this season, $23 million. Blue Jays Red Sox at 2 p.m. today! Whoo hoo!
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Post by achilles on Apr 10, 2019 12:03:57 GMT
So, I was watching SF vs SD, and something bothered me that I've seen countless times. SF was trying to turn a double play, and the second baseman was about three feet from touching the base, but the runner was called out. That happens all the time, mostly on first to be sure. And sometimes they call it. Is there some sort of rule that allows that, or is it like travelling in the NBA, something that happens all the time and is technically against the rules, but is almost never called?
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Post by chap22 on Apr 10, 2019 15:15:42 GMT
So, I was watching SF vs SD, and something bothered me that I've seen countless times. SF was trying to turn a double play, and the second baseman was about three feet from touching the base, but the runner was called out. That happens all the time, mostly on first to be sure. And sometimes they call it. Is there some sort of rule that allows that, or is it like travelling in the NBA, something that happens all the time and is technically against the rules, but is almost never called? Ah yes, the old "phantom tag". That play generally happens so fast, if the guy covering (SS or 2B) touches the bag at some point, he gets the out call, even though a LOT of the time he drags his foot over an off of the bag before the ball is technically officially in his glove. Unless it's just blatantly obvious (and sometimes even if it is), it's usually a "benefit of the doubt" call.
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Post by achilles on Apr 10, 2019 15:22:40 GMT
So, I was watching SF vs SD, and something bothered me that I've seen countless times. SF was trying to turn a double play, and the second baseman was about three feet from touching the base, but the runner was called out. That happens all the time, mostly on first to be sure. And sometimes they call it. Is there some sort of rule that allows that, or is it like travelling in the NBA, something that happens all the time and is technically against the rules, but is almost never called? Ah yes, the old "phantom tag". That play generally happens so fast, if the guy covering (SS or 2B) touches the bag at some point, he gets the out call, even though a LOT of the time he drags his foot over an off of the bag before the ball is technically officially in his glove. Unless it's just blatantly obvious (and sometimes even if it is), it's usually a "benefit of the doubt" call. Ah, that's what I thought it was. This one was obvious to the people in the cheap seats, I don't see how the ump could have missed it. And I see it with throws to first all the time.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2019 19:03:29 GMT
Ah yes, the old "phantom tag". That play generally happens so fast, if the guy covering (SS or 2B) touches the bag at some point, he gets the out call, even though a LOT of the time he drags his foot over an off of the bag before the ball is technically officially in his glove. Unless it's just blatantly obvious (and sometimes even if it is), it's usually a "benefit of the doubt" call. Ah, that's what I thought it was. This one was obvious to the people in the cheap seats, I don't see how the ump could have missed it. And I see it with throws to first all the time. That tag has been around forever. I was reading an old copy of the Baseball Encyclopedia and there was an editorial cartoon from the 50s in there making fun of those phantom tags.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2019 0:13:17 GMT
I know it is very early in the season, but the Red Sox look terrible right now.
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