MLB Thread - 2024
- Thread starter SLAB
- Start date
The A's are negotiating a lease extension with Oakland again. I'm not too optimistic at this point, but they're still the Oakland A's until they officially leave town. Not sure I'll have the stomach to watch them more than once or twice. Don't think I'll go to a game in Oakland either but I might go see them at Angel Stadium when they're in town and wear the hat while I still can.
I'm pretty excited for this year. Lee should be a lot of fun and we're finally committing to giving our young guys a serious look. Harrison/Hicks/Winn/Beck as the projected guys around Webb this year while Cobb and Ray are out? At least gives a reason to tune in just about everyday.
It's just the wrong year to sign a Snell/Chapman type. The best time to add those guys is like 2 years down the line if/when Lee/Bailey/Luciano/Matos/Harrison, etc are really exploding and you need 1 or 2 pieces to really put you over the top. All those dudes do is make sure you don't get a look at your young guys and not get you any closer to actually competing in the playoffs.
It's just the wrong year to sign a Snell/Chapman type. The best time to add those guys is like 2 years down the line if/when Lee/Bailey/Luciano/Matos/Harrison, etc are really exploding and you need 1 or 2 pieces to really put you over the top. All those dudes do is make sure you don't get a look at your young guys and not get you any closer to actually competing in the playoffs.
Matt Chapman has been inconsistent with the bat but he's in a very small pool of players who are in contention for "best overall defender in baseball" status every year. Watching him play 3B in Oakland for 5-ish years (2020 only sortof counts) was a supreme privilege and it makes me sad that he can't seem to find a team willing to lock him up for what should be the prime years of his career. In an alternate world, he would still be the face of the Oakland A's -- because even with Marcus Semien, Matt Olson, and Sean Murphy all absolutely crushing the ball and contending for Gold Gloves every year, Chapman felt like the leader of the A's the entire time he was on that team.
Well, I'm pretty sure you'll get your hope, as the Dodgers would appear to be done building this year's team. But I wouldn't drop a lot of money on the field vs. the Dodgers for the next few years. Playoffs add a lot of randomness and the Braves (and perhaps Orioles/Yankees) are very good but the Dodgers are set up to absolutely burn out the lights on the scoreboard.
Oh???
Absolutely insane deal for a dude who's been a 4 WAR player each of the last 3 years. Frustrating hitter at times with his strikeouts, but as hdr has alluded to, dude has a claim as the best defender in baseball. And he's got some power, absolutely.
Can't say Farhan isn't cooking. Hicks, Chapman, Soler, Lee, Ray while basically fully getting rid of the disaster off-season last year is incredible. Still probably not close to matching the Dodgers, but I think we should be a lot of fun this year.
Congrats Giants fans! Matt Chapman is a joy to watch play baseball and your pitching staff will love him. If he can recover some of his early career offensive production (he finished 4th in the AL in WAR in 2018 and 5th in the AL in WAR in 2019) he's an MVP candidate. If he continues to chase home runs at the expense of every other aspect of offense, well he'll still be a joy to watch play defense and occasionally frustrating at the plate.
I had already forgotten that the Giants signed Bob Melvin to be their manager too. Making an early play for converting Oakland fans over to the Black and Orange by bringing in two of the most universally beloved former A's personalities is a smart business decision. I'm pretty much done with MLB for the next decade if this Las Vegas move happens but after that... who knows. I might be shopping for a new team eventually if I miss watching MLB bad enough and the new commish isn't a complete fraud like the current one.
If my orientation is correct, I think that's more north or northwest than directly west. Northwest, of course, could still be a problem, but the sun might be setting behind the casinos at its most northerly extent.
It kind of looks like the entire roof is an LED panel, so there are your lights...I don't know how that would be to field a fly ball, but it might be OK - since the ball would be darker than the background rather than lighter, it might be somewhat like fielding during a day game. Obviously they couldn't have the LED panels in the roof be too bright, but one would hope they have considered that. One would hope.
It kind of looks like the entire roof is an LED panel, so there are your lights...I don't know how that would be to field a fly ball, but it might be OK - since the ball would be darker than the background rather than lighter, it might be somewhat like fielding during a day game. Obviously they couldn't have the LED panels in the roof be too bright, but one would hope they have considered that. One would hope.
Interesting option for LED lights built into the roof panels - I wonder if they would have color options, etc., to do things like fake fireworks after a grand slam, or winning the game, or whatever.
Hmmm, this gives me an idea - they should build, like, this big Sphere-ical building with LEDs on the inside to be able to use as backdrops for concerts, etc., for a totally immersive experience instead of just a small rectangular one used on a case-by-case basis for various artists! Oh, they could even have LEDs on the outside to advertise things and make cool videos of things that are round! Now that would be cool.
Hmmm, this gives me an idea - they should build, like, this big Sphere-ical building with LEDs on the inside to be able to use as backdrops for concerts, etc., for a totally immersive experience instead of just a small rectangular one used on a case-by-case basis for various artists! Oh, they could even have LEDs on the outside to advertise things and make cool videos of things that are round! Now that would be cool.