2016 MLB Thread

[ThrillhouseMAX]

I've always thought that online fan vote for the All-Star Game was dumb. I like the old way, like Meacon suggested, was good, but I think a better way could be a player vote. 

[Meacon Keaton]

I think it would stink to take the vote completely out of the fan's hands, but something needs to be done. Maybe a limit of two or three players from each team should be the next step so we don't have fanbases with the most free time on their hands voting in all their guys.

 

[The Buscher]

13 hours ago, ElTibbio Bastardo said:

I've always thought that online fan vote for the All-Star Game was dumb. I like the old way, like Meacon suggested, was good, but I think a better way could be a player vote. 

I'm not so sure about that.  As it is now, the players elect 5 starters, 3 relievers, and a backup at each position (8 in the NL, 9 in the AL).  So that's just about half of the roster.  And while they're typically good with the pitchers and often will often vote in guys who blatantly should have been picked to be the starters...they've also had a fair amount of times when they've voted guys in entirely out of reputation.  The worst I can remember was the players putting Jason Varitek on the team when he was hitting like .215.  I'm also willing to bet that even if Posey surpasses Molina in the fan polls, Yadi is going to make the team no matter how he's playing and probably will as long as he's a starting catcher in the league.

And it's not like allowing writers to vote would be any better, as HOF/awards voting shows.  There isn't any real perfect solution other than finding a way to actively prevent ballot stuffing. 

[MalaCloudy Black]

D'awww.

[Meacon Keaton]

It's really impossible not to like A-to-the-Rizzo.

[The Buscher]

The Mets are in huge trouble.  It feels weird to say that about a team 5 games over .500 just over a third of the way through the season, but they are so unbelievably bad offensively.  The starting pitching is still strong but they almost have to pitch a shutout to win games at this point.

And the thing is, while the early 2015 Mets had a dreadful offense - it was to be expected when they had to run out guys like Eric Campbell, John Mayberry Jr, Anthony Recker, Johnny Monell, Darrell Ceciliani, and Danny Muno.  Raise your hand if you've even heard of most of those guys.

Right now though the Mets lineup includes Curtis Granderson, Asdrubal Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes, Neil Walker, James Loney, Michael Conforto, and Wilmer Flores.  That's seven guys who are bona fide Major Leaguers...and they still have looked miserable offensively except for a week or two in late April/early May.  They don't do situational hitting, they don't run, they can't bunt.  They either swing for the fences or take meatballs down the middle of the plate trying to work the count.  Kevin Long's approach is killing this team.

They're just fortunate that the Nats, while better than a year ago, haven't run away with it.  But this 3.5 game deficit is going to grow in a hurry if the offense doesn't find its way soon.  And with seven more games against the Nats before the break they are going to need to scratch and claw to avoid having their division title hopes killed early, like the Pirates' already have been.

[gunnar hendershow]

Mets need to get on the phone with Milwaukee and ask about Ryan Braun.

In fact, both New York teams need to ask about Braun. The Yankees would be lethal if they had Braun to bring home Ellsbury/Gardner.

[Meacon Keaton]

Word was we called and asked about Braun during the offseason and we didn't have what Milwaukee thought was equal value.

I can only imagine we're even further away now that Braun is hitting .350. :/ It'd be damn nice though.

[gunnar hendershow]

Also I needed to mention this.

You can't spell Manny Machado without Man. Fuck Ventura. He got what was coming.

[Meacon Keaton]

Ventura and Machado both are punks. You could cut a fart near Machado and he'd throw a punch at you. And you could step in the batter's box and Ventura would throw at you. Two brats.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Machado's got a nice DDT.

[Lowerdeck]

On 6/8/2016 at 09:32, damshow said:

Mets need to get on the phone with Milwaukee and ask about Ryan Braun.

In fact, both New York teams need to ask about Braun. The Yankees would be lethal if they had Braun to bring home Ellsbury/Gardner.

 

Beltran's been on fire lately.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Heh, the Mariners drafted Trey Griffey... in round 24.

[ThrillhouseMAX]

But... he doesn't play baseball. 

[MalaCloudy Black]

It's a symbolic thing. He was drafted in round 24 (his father's number), as a center fielder (his father's position). A lot of teams will draft guys who don't play solely as a way of honoring their parents, who are usually former players.

[EddieG]

In the year his father goes into the HOF, too.

[gunnar hendershow]

It's a really nice tribute even though he'll never play for them.

I know it's far-fetched but Bumgarner has been really angling to get into the home run derby. The whole concept has grown stale and my friends and I were talking about having an all-pitchers home run derby and how neat that would be. Take it to the next level and have hitters like Chris Davis throw to pitchers.

[Meacon Keaton]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/16174518/police-cite-man-threw-bottle-ryan-howard-philadelphia-phillies

I heard about this the day after it happened. Just another thing to laugh at the Philly fans for when they say, "All we've ever done was throw snowballs at Santa and that was twenty years ago!"

[The Buscher]

I think I'm about to check out of Mets baseball for a week or two.  I can accept losing, I've seen plenty of it over the years.  I can't accept having an offense so unbelievably lethargic that the game feels lost the second the team surrenders a run.  When deGrom surrendered a 2-run bomb to make it 2-0 in the 6th inning, the outcome of the game became a formality.  The only question left was whether or not Jameson Taillon would complete the no-hitter in his second career start.

It's just flat out not fun to watch and when you only have a few waking hours at home on weekdays it becomes very hard to justify the time commitment.  Congrats 2016 Mets, I now view you the same way I view Monday Night Raw.

[Your Mom]

Pete Rose is right.

 

 

 

Excuse me while I go throw up