MLB Thread - 2022

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member

dude had the first base coach right next to him telling him to tag and he still half-assed his way into getting tagged out lmao
This is how teams stay in last place for half a decade. I particularly love how Sean Murphy subtly used his foot to block him off the plate like a boss. That's a gold glove winning catcher in action right there. Ray Fosse would have loved it. :)
 
Get A's to relocate to Sacramento damn it! Problem is Sac political leadership poor not unlike worthless political leadership in Oakland. If Sac made bold promise to A's can construct new baseball stadium or expand Sutter Health Park now 22 years old decent chance A's make the move to the River City. Everyone knows Sacramento/West Sacramento perfect for summer nights baseball and just as good hot summer days - no chilly fog like Bay Area! https://www.yahoo.com/sports/oakland-mlb-discouraged-fans-coming-172330739.html
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member

Totally forgot the A's got Shea in the Olson deal. With Pache rapidly ascending and Shea hitting like this, this is like the complete opposite of the Josh Donaldson trade when the A's got completely fleeced.

I was sad to see Olson go, but I also knew the A's weren't going to re-sign everybody and even before we started seeing results it already looked like the talent coming back was worth investing in. I didn't mind the Bassitt trade either -- that was just maximizing value on a proven starting pitcher coming off his best season. There's enough pitching depth to lose one member of the rotation and Bassitt was the best sell high candidate. Oakland has consistently made smart trades like these over the past 20 years and that's a big reason why they continue to have one of the best overall records in baseball over that time period.

However, recently we've also seen the team make desperate money saving trades like the subsequent fire sales of Chapman and Manaea, and those are the ones that continue to pee me off. Neither one brought back much value -- just organizational depth which likely won't amount to much. What they did accomplish was saving the front office millions of dollars that every other team in baseball would have paid, even the cheap ones. The team is playing well right now and when Laureano comes back they should get even better but they're going to top out at the same 80-90 wins they get every season unless the front office is willing to invest $100 million -- which is still less than half of what all the top franchises are spending.

Currently there's a whopping $1 million in guaranteed contracts on the books for 2023. This is a team gearing up to leave. That's why nobody is going to the games. When the Maloof led Sacramento Kings did this the fans stepped up and made their voices heard. The Oakland approach of disappearing is basically rubber stamping their inevitable exit, and yet I also can't blame people. When you jack up the prices and put a bargain basement product on the field you're basically saying "we don't care if you come, in fact we'd prefer that you didn't". I'd like to get excited about the future of the team, but I don't think they'll be there much longer. I haven't completely given up hope but Howard Terminal still looks like a longshot and the A's are already securing land in Vegas "just in case". The odds seem to favor them leaving California for good.
 
Teams whining about the Giants breaking UNwrITTeN RuLEs is going to be my favorite subplot of this season.

Kick rocks, Washington
Unwritten rules in pro sports is absolutely insane to me. Livelihoods are decided by the outcomes of these games and 6-8 run leads aren't guaranteed to win the game. Maybe don't have your starter give up 7 runs in a 1.2 IP and you wouldn't have this problem?
 
Nice, Nother dub and a fairly clean save from Doval. Good confidence booster. Bats are starting to wake up with Craw, Yaz, Flores all hitting a bit more.

It is frustrating watching Suzuki hit barrel after barrel on the Cubs though. Would be absolutely perfect and much needed middle of the order bat for this team. Could have easily been an "over the top" piece.
 
Go back in time three years: Is there a single person on the planet that expected this of Gabe Kapler?

I’m listening to his postgame, just so much good stuff.
Yes, because Philly is very very dumb.

Just shows how easy things can be when everyone is on the same page. Farhan to Harris to Kapler are all in sync and it's showing on the field with the team's we're fielding. And one great thing about the Giants is we never hear about the ownership with regards to the on the field product. Makes such a big difference. The few A's fans in this thread can attest to that.

The Kings meanwhile have had nothing but dysfunction in their Ownership/FO/Coaching dynamic. And predictably that has shown itself on the court with 16 years of suck.
 
Go back in time three years: Is there a single person on the planet that expected this of Gabe Kapler?

I’m listening to his postgame, just so much good stuff.
Yes, because Philly is very very dumb.

Just shows how easy things can be when everyone is on the same page. Farhan to Harris to Kapler are all in sync and it's showing on the field with the team's we're fielding. And one great thing about the Giants is we never hear about the ownership with regards to the on the field product. Makes such a big difference. The few A's fans in this thread can attest to that.

The Kings meanwhile have had nothing but dysfunction in their Ownership/FO/Coaching dynamic. And predictably that has shown itself on the court with 16 years of suck.
Did I expect this? Not quite. Did I expect anything else? Not quite. Bottom line here is that I really did not know what to expect. I wasn't sure about the hire when it first happened. But, as I do with any, and all, of my other sports teams, I was willing to give Gabe a chance.

He hasn't disappointed me yet.