MLB 2019-2020 Offseason Thread

[Meacon Keaton]

27 minutes ago, damsher hatfield said:

Hot Stove speculation is brutal now. Too many people try to get in on it. It's like the NFL off-season in terms of 3 months of random, unconfirmed rumors.

I’ve downloaded a laundry list of fantasy baseball podcasts. No speculation on who is going where. Just speculation on how guys will play next year. No “Gerrit Cole! Stephen Strasburg!” And more “Sandy Alcantara! Jose Urquidy!” which is so much more entertaining.

[DMN in the House]

37 minutes ago, damsher hatfield said:

Hot Stove speculation is brutal now. Too many people try to get in on it. It's like the NFL off-season in terms of 3 months of random, unconfirmed rumors.

Neither of them have shit on the NBA off-season.

[GhostMachine]

11 hours ago, Meacon said:

Is it spring training yet? Hot Stove podcasts can only do so much. I’ve got some serious withdrawal going on right now.

Relax, relax. The Yankees will start preparing to not make it to the World Series again soon enough.

[Meacon Keaton]

Roasted again! You got me, GhostMachine. One of these days I'll get you, but it clearly won't be today!

[Lowerdeck]

The Yankees, as of now, are the favorite to win the AL East.  That's even before whatever they accomplish in free agency.  The Rays and Red Sox should be competitive enough to prevent a runaway, but I don't expect either to beat New York.

It bums me out as a Boston fan to see another likely Yanks vs. Houston ALCS.  I might even have to root for the Yanks on that one.

[GhostMachine]

Boston is supposedly going to try to lower their payroll, so they likely will not be contenders. 

I'd like to see Toronto do better. Not my favorite team, but I have a fondness for them because the local farm team (before it moved to another county well over a decade ago) was a Blue Jays affiliate for a long time. (Tony LaRussa actually coached here for a bit when they were with the ChiSox before that.)

And nothing whatsoever could ever make me root for the Yankees, unless they suddenly decided to use baseball instead of war to settle things. 

 

[Meacon Keaton]

You’re such a closeted Yankee fan. Your aggressive public hatred is like the hardcore conservative that publicly shames homosexuals but hires male escorts. You watch the ‘96 World Series highlights on YouTube and cry, don’t you? 

Cry with me, GhostMachine! Cry with me!

[GhostMachine]

Okay, Meacon, I hate to tell you this, but its time for an intervention. You've clearly gone over the edge, trying to use misdirection to hide your own little secret from everyone, and make me look like a Yankees fan, to hide the fact you really aren't but are afraid to admit it. Its okay to stop into the light as a Boston Red Sox fan, and that the last Yankees player (aisde from Mariano Rivera....even i have to give him his props) that wasn't overrated was Yogi Berra. You probably have the lyrics to "Sweet Caroline" memorized and sing it in your sleep! And hey, its okay to want to spit on Yankees Stadium. Everyone in their right mind wants to. So don't be afraid to admit that the Green Monster is better than any feature any Bronx stadium has ever had and that Carlton Fisk > Therman Munson. 

We all care about you, buddy. After all....friends don't let friends be Yankees fans!

 

[gunnar hendershow]

17 hours ago, GhostMachine said:

Boston is supposedly going to try to lower their payroll, so they likely will not be contenders. 

I'd like to see Toronto do better. Not my favorite team, but I have a fondness for them because the local farm team (before it moved to another county well over a decade ago) was a Blue Jays affiliate for a long time. (Tony LaRussa actually coached here for a bit when they were with the ChiSox before that.)

And nothing whatsoever could ever make me root for the Yankees, unless they suddenly decided to use baseball instead of war to settle things. 

 

Boston wants to get below the luxury tax while the Yankees appear to both want to make a move from their position player depth and pay for pitching. I definitely think NY is going to run away with that division next year.

That said, Boston had a lot of down years from players who you'd expect to bounce back. And NY had some amazing years from players you'd expect to regress.

I think a lot will come down to how Boston sheds payroll. Do they move Betts or find other ways around this. And if they do move Betts, do they get guys who are major-league ready or guys who still need another year of development?

[DMN in the House]

10 hours ago, GhostMachine said:

Okay, Meacon, I hate to tell you this, but its time for an intervention. You've clearly gone over the edge, trying to use misdirection to hide your own little secret from everyone, and make me look like a Yankees fan, to hide the fact you really aren't but are afraid to admit it. Its okay to stop into the light as a Boston Red Sox fan, and that the last Yankees player (aisde from Mariano Rivera....even i have to give him his props) that wasn't overrated was Yogi Berra. You probably have the lyrics to "Sweet Caroline" memorized and sing it in your sleep! And hey, its okay to want to spit on Yankees Stadium. Everyone in their right mind wants to. So don't be afraid to admit that the Green Monster is better than any feature any Bronx stadium has ever had and that Carlton Fisk > Therman Munson. 

We all care about you, buddy. After all....friends don't let friends be Yankees fans!

 

You're really out here trying to play up that ugly ass ballpark in Boston? The best thing to ever happen there was the shootout in The Town.

If you really cared about aesthetics, you'd both turn to the visually stunning boys in blue and white, who play in a stadium nestled in a ravine, backdropped by the mountains and the lovely city of Los Angeles.

Compared to our blue heaven, Dodger Stadium, Chavez Ravine, The Green Monster looks like a bad Christmas decoration. As for Yankee Stadium, well, at least it ain't the Polo Grounds.

[GhostMachine]

My three favorite stadiums in no particular order, belong to Boston, Chicago (Cubs, not ChiSox!) and the Dodgers. The Reds are my favorite NL team, but Riverfront was better looking than the monstrosity they play in now.

Amd I will be pissed if Boston moves Mookie!

[ThrillhouseMAX]

Patiently waiting for the Mets to either make no moves and/or be way too cheap this off-season. Wheeler's gonna get a lot of money, but it won't be from us. 

[Maxx]

On 01/12/2019 at 11:57, GhostMachine said:

My three favorite stadiums in no particular order, belong to Boston, Chicago (Cubs, not ChiSox!) and the Dodgers. The Reds are my favorite NL team, but Riverfront was better looking than the monstrosity they play in now.

Amd I will be pissed if Boston moves Mookie!

They play at a ballpark and not a fucking concrete donut with AstroTurf now. This is the worst of your takes.  The worst!

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

1 hour ago, Maxx said:

They play at a ballpark and not a fucking concrete donut with AstroTurf now. This is the worst of your takes.  The worst!

Hey! Some of us are still playing in a concrete donut with AstroTurf!

[Maxx]

You’re on field turf, with a dirt infield inside a dome!

[Meacon Keaton]

Plus Canada doesn’t count.

Mike Moustakas has agreed to a four year deal with the Reds.

[ThrillhouseMAX]

Good on Moose for finally getting a good deal. I always liked him. 

[Maxx]

Terrible deal, poor guy has to play half is game in that monstrosity of a ballpark 

[gunnar hendershow]

It's neither Great nor American!

[Toe]

Just now, damsher hatfield said:

It's neither Great nor American!

But it IS a ball park!