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2020 General MLB off-season


Mo Horn

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2 hours ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

 

Yes, Keith. We’re asking MLB players to make the same decision every other American (with a job that requires interaction with people) to make. Welcome to 2020.

Keith probably prefers starting a runner at 3rd base in the bottom of the 9th in a tied game.

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2 hours ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

 

I'm pretty pro Union (and not just baseball), and I've liked some of Keith's stuff. But this pissed me off. He right though, it's not the same. Most of the 18M or so unemployed didn't get to have a choice. And I'm going to guess that most were not making at least the league minimum last year to have at least some sort of safety net.

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29 minutes ago, Jameslaw121 said:

I'm pretty pro Union (and not just baseball), and I've liked some of Keith's stuff. But this pissed me off. He right though, it's not the same. Most of the 18M or so unemployed didn't get to have a choice. And I'm going to guess that most were not making at least the league minimum last year to have at least some sort of safety net.

 

See, this doesn't apply at all, imo.  Have you seen what baseball owners make?  How much they have?  Whether or not others in this country are fucked has nothing to do with this. 

 

Edit: and as Law points out, things like service time and minor leagues just isn't something you get to compare to the 'average' American.

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1 hour ago, WBT said:

Exactly.  If you want baseball, get a satellite or cable subscription.  They have made the choice that that is better for their business.

Or a VPN.  It is 2020 after all.

reddit had better still work.   I think i missed one Astros game last season that I wanted to see...

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Did anyone watch the show on MLB network last night on the last day of the 2011 season?  It was fun seeing all those highlights again.  That was crazy with both WCs tied going into the night and both Boston and Atlanta losing to finish huge September collapses to miss the playoffs.  In my memory it seemed like all 4 games ended within 15 minutes of each other.

The Tampa - Yankees game was definitely the best.  Tampa was down 7-0 going into the bottom of the 8th but came back to force extras on Dan Johnson's 9th inning 2 out homer and then Longoria walked it off in the 12th.

Philadelphia also scored in the 9th to force extras and then won in 13 to knock Atlanta out.

Both of those games went too long though.  Should have had more ghost runners.

Here's Verducci's piece the following day:

https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/09/29/game-162drama

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15 hours ago, WBT said:

Did anyone watch the show on MLB network last night on the last day of the 2011 season?  It was fun seeing all those highlights again.  That was crazy with both WCs tied going into the night and both Boston and Atlanta losing to finish huge September collapses to miss the playoffs.  In my memory it seemed like all 4 games ended within 15 minutes of each other.

The Tampa - Yankees game was definitely the best.  Tampa was down 7-0 going into the bottom of the 8th but came back to force extras on Dan Johnson's 9th inning 2 out homer and then Longoria walked it off in the 12th.

Philadelphia also scored in the 9th to force extras and then won in 13 to knock Atlanta out.

Both of those games went too long though.  Should have had more ghost runners.

Here's Verducci's piece the following day:

https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/09/29/game-162drama

that was the best day of baseball in my life.  it was absolutely crazy, and if i recall the boston meltdown and TB comeback were happening right at the same time too.

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50 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

“Players not participating in the game will sit in the stands at least 6 feet apart.”

I’m excited about seeing players in full uniform kicking back like Joe Potbelly.

Odds on who will be the first guy caught sipping on a cold one?

I’ll take Miggy.

 

So, when they bring in a reliever, they're going to call him out of the stands??? Aggy is going to jizz over this

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14 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Is any team going to have the balls to run out a 4-man rotation?

This is a good question.

doubtful a straight up 4 man for 60 games but can totally see a middle of the pack team who’s biggest weakness is the back end of the rotation skipping a 5th starter every time off days allow for it.

starting every 4th game would equal 15 starts.

for reference, Verlander (league leader in GS last year) started 13 times from Jul 24-Sep 28 last year 

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I have somehow never managed to watch Ken Burns’ Baseball.

With the strangest season in the game’s history scheduled to resume this week, I’m starting it tonight. 

Only ten minutes in but I feel if Manfred/Clark/et al had just watched those 10 minutes, we’d be getting ready for real games this week instead of “spring” training.

 

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1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

Mike Leake becomes the 1st MLB player to opt out.

Fuck it.  I'll take his spot for the league minimum.  I can hit 70 mph when the weather is right.

 

On 6/26/2020 at 10:52 AM, UTexasFight said:

“Players not participating in the game will sit in the stands at least 6 feet apart.”

I’m excited about seeing players in full uniform kicking back like Joe Potbelly.

Odds on who will be the first guy caught sipping on a cold one?

I’ll take Miggy.

 

Seems like the risk will be far greater when they are traveling between cities.  So they are going to be on the same plane all the time, but are concerned about proximity in open air stadiums?  That seems like a move designed to get fans to follow the rules in their daily lives more than for player protection.

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Good ol’ Kurkjian 

Quote

ON THIS DATE IN 2005, Craig Biggio was hit by a pitch for the 268th time.

That broke the modern (since 1900) record set by Don Baylor, who, when asked which one hurt the most, replied, "None of them.'' Biggio would finish with 285, and he once told me, "I'm sure I've taken more Advil than any man alive.'' So we will celebrate a painful way to get on base.

Hughie Jennings (1891-1903) is the all-time leader in HBP with 287; he was the single-season record holder with 51 in 1896. Ron Hunt is the modern leader with 50 HBP in 1971. Minnie Minoso led his league in HBP a record 10 times. The Cubs' Anthony Rizzo has led the NL in HBP three times, and his 145 career HBPs are more than halfway to Biggio.

"Jason Kendall and I had a side bet one year to see who could get hit the most,'' former infielder F.P. Santangelo said. "We bet a case of beer. I'd see him on the field before a game and say, 'I'm at 17.' And he'd say, 'I'm at 18.' I think I still owe him a case of beer.''

The HBP is clearly not for everyone. Mark Lemke holds the major league record for most plate appearances (3,664) without ever being hit by a pitch. Sandy Alomar Sr. holds the record for most appearances in a season (739 in 1971) without being hit by a pitch. Tony Gwynn was hit 24 times in his career. Mickey Mantle was hit 13 times. Garrett Anderson went 5½ years without being hit by a pitch. John Kruk was hit by a pitch twice in his career, spanning 4,603 plate appearances. I called him in his hotel room after he was hit by a pitch (by the Pirates' Randy Tomlin) the first time, which came in his eighth MLB season.

"Is this all you have to do with your life, to bother me about getting hit by a pitch?'' he asked. I have spoken to hitters for 41 years. Most can't remember specific at-bats, even their biggest at-bats, but every one of them can remember the worst time they were hit by a pitch. For today, we won't even discuss the worst beanings of all time. They are too scary.

"Danys Baez hit me with 97 [mph] in the ribs in 2002,'' Torii Hunter said. "I lost my breath. I was gasping for air. I just picked up the ball and threw it back at him. It hurt so much, I was seeing red. I couldn't think straight anymore.''

Mark Reynolds said: "The ribs are the worst. It's like getting hit with an uppercut but without boxing gloves on. When you see a guy bending over at home plate, he is making sure everything is still there.''

Shelly Duncan was hit in the back by Matt Lindstrom at 100 mph. "The pain eventually went away,'' he said, "but when someone touched me on the place where I was hit, it would hurt for a couple of weeks. The bruise starts out black and blue, it looks like the eclipse of the sun, the area around the mark that's left by a ball. Then it gets really blue. It is pretty neat-looking.''

Adam Jones said: "That blue is just beautiful. It's awesome what blood can do.''

Nick Swisher said: "I got hit in the back of the elbow by Jered Weaver. My fingers were locked in a fist for five minutes.''

Aaron Boone said: "Jamey Wright broke my thumb with a pitch in September. I stayed in the game, but for the next 24 hours, the pain was unbearable. The next season, I got off to a really bad start because I couldn't grip the bat. I couldn't take a swing in the on-deck circle without pain. My thumb still hurt from September.''

Will Rhymes was hit in the left forearm by Franklin Morales in 2012. "As soon as it hit me, I knew I broke my arm,'' he said. "When I got to first, I was angry because I knew my season was over. Then I started getting nauseous. I passed out. While I was out, I had a dream. I can't remember about what. When I came to, I was looking at the ceiling of [Tropicana Field].'' Adam LaRoche was hit in the knee by a 90-plus mph cutter by Josh Johnson. "The ball hit me so hard, it bounced halfway back to the pitcher's mound,'' LaRoche said. "I went straight to the ground. When I got back up, I had to take a knee. I was just trying not to throw up.''

Kevin Brown hit Santangelo, breaking his kneecap, but Santangelo played for two months with it. Five years ago, he told me, "My knee still hurts today ... all the time. He hit me in 1997.''

Other baseball notes for June 29

In 1950, the Yankees called up Whitey Ford, who would become the greatest starting pitcher in the history of the team. He won 236 games with a 2.75 ERA and a .690 winning percentage.

In 1977, Willie Stargell hit his 400th home run. His nickname was "Pops." He was a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest teammates ever.

In 1990, Dave Stewart and Fernando Valenzuela threw no-hitters.

In 2000, the Yankees hit three sacrifice flies in one inning. How? Jose Vizcaino reached base on an error by Tigers left fielder Bobby Higginson, but since the fly ball was deep enough to have scored the runner from third, Vizcaino was accurately credited with a sacrifice fly.

 

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On 6/26/2020 at 9:52 AM, UTexasFight said:

“Players not participating in the game will sit in the stands at least 6 feet apart.”

I’m excited about seeing players in full uniform kicking back like Joe Potbelly.

Odds on who will be the first guy caught sipping on a cold one?

I’ll take Miggy.

 

I was watching a YouTube video about a test cricket match from back in the late 1990's (yeah yeah... I know) where one of Australia's top bowlers was in the pavilion with a pint in one hand and chain smoking Marlboros with the other.

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37 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

I was watching a YouTube video about a test cricket match from back in the late 1990's (yeah yeah... I know) where one of Australia's top bowlers was in the pavilion with a pint in one hand and chain smoking Marlboros with the other.

That’s great but I’m sure no different than what guys like Dykstra and Kruk were doing just off camera in Philly around the same time period.  (Except something a wee bit stronger than Marlboros and pints)

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On 6/28/2020 at 9:25 PM, UTexasFight said:

I have somehow never managed to watch Ken Burns’ Baseball.

With the strangest season in the game’s history scheduled to resume this week, I’m starting it tonight. 

Only ten minutes in but I feel if Manfred/Clark/et al had just watched those 10 minutes, we’d be getting ready for real games this week instead of “spring” training.

 

Man, the narration to end the first episode, discussing the game at the end of the 1800s sounds familiar. Eerily familiar, in fact.

 

”The decade ended with the Orioles winning 3 championships. The Beaneaters 5. Attendance dwindled dangerously for those clubs in other cities that never seemed to arise above 11th or 12th place. For many fans, the long season--one of the game’s great strengths--now seemed pointless. 

Then, a national depression cut further into profits, and the owners slashed player’s salaries.

Clergymen and the newspapers denounced the rowdy-ism and scandal that followed the game everywhere.

And the owners seemed incapable of doing anything. By the end of the 19th century, the professional game was in trouble.”
 

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