2017 MLB Thread

[Gabriel]

3 hours ago, Twist said:

I suspect they're concerned about how long they can hold on to them which suggests they've thrown this season in the bin. They'd probably rather hold on to Rosario for an extra year.

That's exactly what it is. The MLBPA rules regarding free agency give the players no control over their destinies during their prospect years. Everything is up to their major league team, but a lot of the teams are hesitant to pull the trigger on call-ups, and insistent on playing guys that just aren't good enough, simply so that they can control their prospects longer... so that they won't lose them to another team unless they decide to make a trade, or so that they can keep their value artificially low for contract negotiation purposes.

The way that the early years of a player's career works in baseball is so fucked, and the only reason why I can stomach that some of these guys wind up making over $100 million during their careers. So many guys burn out or get injured before they get a chance to cash in, that the guys who do manage to do so really deserve it. That being said, I'd rather they change the rules to make them more player friendly and give the players more control, because I feel like even though younger guys may start asking for more money, that veterans who are fading won't have such an artificially high value because they know that their team won't want to burn years on the contract status of their prospects. I feel like salaries would even out given time, if they made a switch.

[gunnar hendershow]

Speaking as a fan of the team that kept Matt Wieters in the minors for an entire year too long I can say that holding them down too long stunts their development. AAA is too easy so their bad habits become normal and harder to break out of. You can wait a few weeks into the season so you can get them an extra season on the back end, but that's it. Having them waste a full year in AAA is almost always bad news.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Schwarber's been demoted from the Cubs to AAA. Only hitting .171 so far this season.

[Meacon Keaton]

A bizarre year for him. From getting hurt all season, to being one of the World Series heroes, to struggling pretty much all season so far. I think he'll be fine, but he clearly has some issues, which may just be mentality, to work out. Hope he can get back on track in the minors and come roaring back, because he's got a whole lot of talent. 

[gunnar hendershow]

It's a good chance for him to clear his head of whatever is causing his approach at the plate to be so messed up.

[Your Mom]

Yeah he'll be back. It was still weird news though

[GhostMachine]

Was watching the Red Sox game against the Angels, and one of the announcers made me laugh.

The Angels' lead off batter in the 8th took a called strike for the out.

The announcer commented :That was a Linda Ronstadt fastball. It blew by you."

 

[Meacon Keaton]

It cracks me up watching Daniel Murphy just continue to crush the ball. I really hope the Nats sent the Mets a nice thank you card for him. 

[gunnar hendershow]

It wouldn't matter given how their entire rotation imploded, but letting Murphy go to a division rival for free is just an egregious decision usually reserved for teams like the Orioles.

[The Buscher]

I've been really critical of Sandy lately but can't kill him for letting Murph go.  It was a sensible move in the moment.  He was a nice hitter for several years for the Mets but never anything to blow the doors down.  He went totally apeshit in the 2015 playoffs, but it came from literally out of nowhere.

Just look at his stat line with the Mets.  Over 900 games in the big leagues and he was generally averaging out to around .285 with 10 or so HR and 50 something RBI.  There was literally no reason to assume a ridiculously hot 7 game stretch was going to be the new norm for a 30 year old player who to that point in his career had been nowhere near that productive and also a defensive liability.

They made him the qualifying offer and he turned it down, and the consensus among baseball was that Neil Walker was an upgrade anyway.  Yeah it sucked when he signed with the Nats because I knew he was going to kill us, every former Met kills the Mets - but I didn't see him turning into possibly the best hitter in all of baseball.  And neither did anybody else.  Anyone who says they did is simply lying.

Oh, also - Murph has been outspoken about disagreeing with homosexuals' lifestyles and seems to believe being gay is a choice.  So don't be too happy about his success.

[Meacon Keaton]

Not so much celebrating his success as I am finding humor in the Mets lack of it.

[The Buscher]

Bet if the Mets had re-signed Murph he'd have been the slightly above average hitter he was the rest of his career.  That's just the way things go.

Anyway I went to Hartford last night to watch the Hartford Yard Goats host the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.  I love totally ridiculous minor league names.  Usually take pics of the Mets prospects I think have a good chance of getting to the bigs someday.  Also made sure to snap a pic of Brendan Rodgers who just got promoted to Hartford - I always take pics of highly ranked prospects when I happen to see them live just in case they turn out as good as advertised.

[GhostMachine]

Yeah, but...who won the game?

[Schlitzbrille]

1 hour ago, GhostMachine said:

Yeah, but...who won the game?

AMERICA

[The Buscher]

Miguel Montero publicly blamed Jake Arrieta for the Nats stealing 7 bases last night, saying he was too slow to the plate.

Cubs respond by cutting Montero today.

[Meacon Keaton]

The same guy who has yet to throw out a basestealer all season, being 0-for-31 trying to catch one. 

[Your Mom]

Miggy sucks at throwing out baserunners but he was absolutely right about our pitchers being horrible about holding people on.

 

Also I wish the Ricketts family wouldn't make it so hard to love the Cubs. A 2nd White House visit just so you can see your buddy Trump? Fuck off

[MalaCloudy Black]

3 hours ago, Busch Strowman said:

Miguel Montero publicly blamed Jake Arrieta for the Nats stealing 7 bases last night, saying he was too slow to the plate.

Cubs respond by cutting Montero today.

He's also reportedly a "disruption in the clubhouse" and described by Rizzo as "a selfish player".

EDIT: Now Arrieta's come out and said he's not upset or mad with him about his comments, and is sad to see him go.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Broken Cloyd

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

So the Blue Jays have a prospect named Bo Bichette (named the Top 100 MLB prospect). He's hitting .400. The best part... two worlds are colliding.

[Meacon Keaton]

Yeah, that's Dante Bichette's kid too so he's got some really good genes.