All-Purpose MLB Thread! (2019-2021)
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Kevin Cash pulling Blake Snell from a game he was dominating is going to go down as one of the all-time World Series head scratchers. Sometimes trying to be clever just ends up making you look like a doofus. I'm happy for the Dodgers fans though. They've been waiting a long time for this. Also that Justin Turner news is crazy! Would they have delayed Game 7 by a week or would LA have had to sit Turner and whoever else tests positive in the next 24 hours for the most important game of the season? Clearly that's what would have happened but that would have sure stirred up some more of that 2017 ire! So I guess it was bound to be this...
no matter what! Just wear a mask while you're out there setting cop cars on fire this year fellas! Some of us still have to get to work tomorrow and we don't want to wade through a damp swamp of new Coronavirus germs.
On a personal note, despite living here for the last 19 years (I'm close enough to walk to Dodger stadium from my apartment) I've never felt very connected to any LA team aside from my alma mater. My sports loyalties were formed when I grew up in Northern California and it's so easy to follow any team out of market now that I haven't felt any reason to change that. But with Kobe dying tragically this year and Rondo on the team, I was still rooting for Miami, but I kinda don't hate the Lakers winning. Also we've been in lockdown since March 15th yet LA at some point over the summer became the Coronavirus capital of the world anyway. I go in to work twice a week with a mask and gloves and I have to sanitize every surface after I touch it. We had mandatory flu shots this month and they measure our temperature before we're allowed on campus. Most of the students are watching their classes on Zoom and WebEx. I get nearly all of my groceries delivered now. So as much as EFF LA is written in to my Kings fan bones, it does feel a little like we're all suffering through some tragic circumstances together. And that makes it a lot easier for me to push old loyalties aside and just appreciate that this brief moment of triumph is making a lot of people just a little bit happier at a time when they need that the most.
no matter what! Just wear a mask while you're out there setting cop cars on fire this year fellas! Some of us still have to get to work tomorrow and we don't want to wade through a damp swamp of new Coronavirus germs.
On a personal note, despite living here for the last 19 years (I'm close enough to walk to Dodger stadium from my apartment) I've never felt very connected to any LA team aside from my alma mater. My sports loyalties were formed when I grew up in Northern California and it's so easy to follow any team out of market now that I haven't felt any reason to change that. But with Kobe dying tragically this year and Rondo on the team, I was still rooting for Miami, but I kinda don't hate the Lakers winning. Also we've been in lockdown since March 15th yet LA at some point over the summer became the Coronavirus capital of the world anyway. I go in to work twice a week with a mask and gloves and I have to sanitize every surface after I touch it. We had mandatory flu shots this month and they measure our temperature before we're allowed on campus. Most of the students are watching their classes on Zoom and WebEx. I get nearly all of my groceries delivered now. So as much as EFF LA is written in to my Kings fan bones, it does feel a little like we're all suffering through some tragic circumstances together. And that makes it a lot easier for me to push old loyalties aside and just appreciate that this brief moment of triumph is making a lot of people just a little bit happier at a time when they need that the most.
chief bromden
Starter
The real statement: No one really cared that much.
chief bromden
Starter
I've never really watched Manfred speak before, but it seemed like the booing rattled him. During the MVP speech, I wasn't sure if he was going to make it through it as he was struggling to find the correct words. Or maybe he was already sipping on that sizzurp.
I give the swing a 9 out of 10. That kind of pull power would be even better from the left side in Oracle Park, but the bat speed is very impressive so I think he'll do just fine. The bat flip though -- now that is a perfect 10!
Of course they are. They're the Dodgers. It occurred to me a couple weeks ago when I was looking at my Oakland A's wish-list for this off-season...
Re-sign Marcus Semien for 2-3 years
Sign FA Kolton Wong to play 2B for 2-3 years
Find a veteran back of the rotation starter for a low 8 digit salary next year
Pursue Japanese star RF Seiya Suzuki for whatever his market value is -- $50-60 million for 4 years maybe?
...that the A's would be lucky enough to accomplish even one of those things but LA basically does all of them, every year. And that's the difference between winning a series in the playoffs once a decade and getting to the World Series 3 years out of the last 4. Baseball is free market capitalism at it's best/worst.
Re-sign Marcus Semien for 2-3 years
Sign FA Kolton Wong to play 2B for 2-3 years
Find a veteran back of the rotation starter for a low 8 digit salary next year
Pursue Japanese star RF Seiya Suzuki for whatever his market value is -- $50-60 million for 4 years maybe?
...that the A's would be lucky enough to accomplish even one of those things but LA basically does all of them, every year. And that's the difference between winning a series in the playoffs once a decade and getting to the World Series 3 years out of the last 4. Baseball is free market capitalism at it's best/worst.
Maybe Colorado realized they can't compete with LA's payroll (or San Diego's spending spree) and they've decided to go full Astros with a multi-year mega tank job instead?
In other news... please sell the team John Fisher. This off-season is beyond embarrassing.
In other news... please sell the team John Fisher. This off-season is beyond embarrassing.
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Man... I’m a huge baseball fan, and I’m shockingly unenthusiastic about the Giants. Even Year Magic seems like a lifetime ago.
Luckily they have their own potential Tatis Jr knocking on the door because this team desperately needs a jolt of excitement. Excitement that Zaidi’s free agency pulls have none of
Luckily they have their own potential Tatis Jr knocking on the door because this team desperately needs a jolt of excitement. Excitement that Zaidi’s free agency pulls have none of
Opening day baseball is now just 2 days away!! I see the schedule makers at MLB headquarters were cheeky enough to pick things up where we left off with the trAstros getting 4 straight games in front of Oakland fans to be reminded of what they missed out on in 2020.
It looks super bad at first, but it kind of looks like Correa was going full speed at a point a step behind where Chapman was going to be, with the intention of tagging Chapman's back as he ran past and then using his momentum to help the throw to first. Then Chapman unexpectedly put on the brakes and Correa tried to stop but didn't have enough time to avoid the collision. I mean, look, I COMPLETELY understand the sentiment but it just doesn't look to me like Correa was trying to be dirty there.
When you play the same team 19 times a year it becomes easier to read between the lines and see the intentions behind the body language. Having (likely) seen more Houston vs. Oakland games in the last 5 years than anyone who isn't a Houston Astros fan, from my point of view that was 100% a dirty play.
Judging by the results of that first series, Oakland might be headed for a let down season and another fire sale. It's possible management completely under-estimated the effect that cutting costs and shipping out three core leaders in the midst of a contention window would have on team morale. On paper Elvis Andrus and Mitch Moreland might come close to replacing Marcus Semien and Khris Davis' production (also Tyler Soderstrom replacing Liam Hendriks as closer) but just like with the Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson situation, you also have to account for their impact in the locker room and the confidence their presence in the lineup/bullpen instills in everyone else. I just hope there's a new stadium at the end of this saga somehow and not relocation because those are really the only two choices.
In better news, I'm happy to see Shohei Ohtani has bounced back from his injuries and looks better than ever. Cause that's just good for baseball. I'm already bracing myself for the end of the Matt Chapman era in Oakland. I might have to watch more NPB this season instead. This is almost certainly Seiya Suzuki's last season with Hiroshima and the chances he signs with Oakland are about 0.01% so it's going to get a lot less fun to root for him when he joins MLB.
In better news, I'm happy to see Shohei Ohtani has bounced back from his injuries and looks better than ever. Cause that's just good for baseball. I'm already bracing myself for the end of the Matt Chapman era in Oakland. I might have to watch more NPB this season instead. This is almost certainly Seiya Suzuki's last season with Hiroshima and the chances he signs with Oakland are about 0.01% so it's going to get a lot less fun to root for him when he joins MLB.
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Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Might have spoken too soon because the A's are suddenly the hottest hitting team in baseball and the pitching staff remembered that they don't completely suck.
I don't think they'll be as "good" as they were last season but, considering their best player is still obviously working his way back from an injury, there is a chance that they might hit their stride at the right time.
I'm happy to be wrong! Losing 4 in a row at home to the same Houston team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year was demoralizing and following that up with a series against the defending champs didn't help. But since losing those first 6 games seems to have lit a fire under the players, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I don't believe in this pitching staff yet (with the possible exception of Lou Trivino who seems to have rediscovered his 2018 fastball) since they've all been both awful and exceptional for about equal stretches. But Oakland usually manages to find enough good pitching to be league average at worst. Luzardo, Montas, and Puk all need to mature in a hurry for us to repeat as division champs.
Here's a brief list of things I like so far (ranked by order of Awesomeness)...
(A1) Ramon Laureano potentially bringing the stolen base title back to Oakland, where it belongs.
(A2) Jed Lowrie back from his very expensive two year sabbatical on the Mets Injury Reserve (lol) showing he's still got at least 1 more All-Star year in him.
(A3) Mark Canha leading off the order and looking good doing it (I'm going to need some more bat flips though Mark)
(A4) Seth Brown hitting bombs! Been a long time coming!
(A5) Chad Pinder diving catches aplenty!
(A6) Elvis Andrus might be a slight upgrade at short defensively, and he's got nowhere to go but up on offense right now. Walking to first on Ball 3 was a nice try though. I like that kind of outside the box thinking.
Hopefully they can keep it up and put some pressure on the Dodgers this season.
Nah, still don't believe it. They'd better win another 12 in a row now just to emphasize how wrong I am.
Telemachus
Starter
Can someone explain to me how the Giants are somehow in first place? I think they are still hitting around .200 as a team.
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