MLB 2020/2021 Off-Season Thread

[DYSI]

Mets are having a helluva offseason! 

 

Frees up 20+ mil in the books for next season for a guy no where near worth it. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by DYSI

[The Buscher]

Cano's salary wasn't a constraint under Cohen but it does mean if they acquire multiple big names this offseason they could still come in below the luxury tax.

[Meacon Keaton]

A guy e-mails me in my Strat league. I have the #1 overall pick and he has the #6 (out of 20 teams). He offers me Max Fried for the #1 pick (which could and most likely will be Luis Robert) and I send him an e-mail saying I'd need a first round pick in return and he freaks out demanding to know why I think the #1 overall pick is worth #6 overall and Max Fried. I never said that. I said I'd need a first rounder in return. This is also the same guy who e-mailed me at 1:00 in the morning offering a trade and when I didn't respond by 3:00 in the morning had a hissy fit and said he'd go offer a trade to someone else. What an utter psycho. 

[Schlitzbrille]

1 hour ago, Meacon Keaton said:

A guy e-mails me in my Strat league. I have the #1 overall pick and he has the #6 (out of 20 teams). He offers me Max Fried for the #1 pick (which could and most likely will be Luis Robert) and I send him an e-mail saying I'd need a first round pick in return and he freaks out demanding to know why I think the #1 overall pick is worth #6 overall and Max Fried. I never said that. I said I'd need a first rounder in return. This is also the same guy who e-mailed me at 1:00 in the morning offering a trade and when I didn't respond by 3:00 in the morning had a hissy fit and said he'd go offer a trade to someone else. What an utter psycho. 

You clearly don't take fantasy baseball seriously if you don't answer trade offers at 3 AM.

[Meacon Keaton]

Playoff hero Randy Arozarena has been arrested in Mexico for apparently trying to kidnap his daughter from her mother.

[The Buscher]

Rogers Communications plans on demolishing the Rogers Centre and building a new stadium for the Jays.  Their preference is to build on the site of the existing park, which would mean the Jays would have to play elsewhere in the interim.

Even though it's not been said publicly, I have to assume they were already planning on opening 2021 in Buffalo.  While I hope the vaccine is well underway before April, I feel like Canada won't want to fully reopen borders until we're truly in the clear.  So they might stay in Buffalo until the summer, if not the whole season.

But whenever we're past the pandemic and the stadium construction starts, I wonder if they'll try to find a temporary home elsewhere in Canada.

[Lowerdeck]

40 minutes ago, B-li Manning said:

Rogers Communications plans on demolishing the Rogers Centre and building a new stadium for the Jays.  Their preference is to build on the site of the existing park, which would mean the Jays would have to play elsewhere in the interim.

Even though it's not been said publicly, I have to assume they were already planning on opening 2021 in Buffalo.  While I hope the vaccine is well underway before April, I feel like Canada won't want to fully reopen borders until we're truly in the clear.  So they might stay in Buffalo until the summer, if not the whole season.

But whenever we're past the pandemic and the stadium construction starts, I wonder if they'll try to find a temporary home elsewhere in Canada.

 

Montreal's stadium still usable?

[gunnar hendershow]

44 minutes ago, B-li Manning said:

Rogers Communications plans on demolishing the Rogers Centre and building a new stadium for the Jays.  Their preference is to build on the site of the existing park, which would mean the Jays would have to play elsewhere in the interim.

Even though it's not been said publicly, I have to assume they were already planning on opening 2021 in Buffalo.  While I hope the vaccine is well underway before April, I feel like Canada won't want to fully reopen borders until we're truly in the clear.  So they might stay in Buffalo until the summer, if not the whole season.

But whenever we're past the pandemic and the stadium construction starts, I wonder if they'll try to find a temporary home elsewhere in Canada.

Expect a big push for them to spend a lot of time playing in Montreal if that's the case. They already play some spring training games there every year I believe.

I liked Rogers Centre when I was there. It felt very 80s interpretation of the stadium of the future. Much like Stade olympique in Montreal is the 70s interpretation of the stadium of the future. But I assume there's a lot of money to be made in a more state-of-the-art stadium.

[Meacon Keaton]

I know I’m lol traditionalist but I hate the state of the art stadiums. They have no personality. Rogers Center has personality.

[Lowerdeck]

It just feels like anything built in the last 30-40 years ought to have a longer life span than this.   Seems like a colossal waste of money to get a new stadium once a generation.  (Like Atlanta or Dallas.)

[gunnar hendershow]

3 minutes ago, Lowerdeck said:

It just feels like anything built in the last 30-40 years ought to have a longer life span than this.   Seems like a colossal waste of money to get a new stadium once a generation.  (Like Atlanta or Dallas.)

This is the biggest thing. It's even been discussed with Camden Yards that they left money on the table by not having a second level of suites and the lack of open concourse reduces the standing room seats they can sell and inhibits the amount they make in concession sales. All sorts of things. Meanwhile you go to a stadium in DC that has both of these things and it's horrendous. Staircases everywhere and as much shit crammed in there as possible trying to get you to spend money.

15 minutes ago, Meacon Keaton said:

I know I’m lol traditionalist but I hate the state of the art stadiums. They have no personality. Rogers Center has personality.

I think the first wave of parks that took a note from Camden Yards are mostly great but once you get into the next wave (Citizens Bank Park, Nationals Park, etc) they're missing something. A lot of is that Camden, PNC, Petco, etc. are basically part of the cities they're in. You could reasonably just be out for a day downtown and go "hmm I feel like catching a baseball game" and walk over there. You can't do that with the wave of stadiums after that for the most part and as a result they mostly all feel sterile.

[The Buscher]

Yeah my dad and I loved PNC when we took a road trip there for a Mets series in 2011.  You just leave the hotel, walk right over the bridge and you’re there.  And the whole city skyline is there as a beautiful backdrop while you watch the game.  I’d be going to games all the time if I lived in Pittsburgh.

One of the games there happened to be fireworks night and they were shooting them off not only from the bridge but from the skyscrapers across the river.  It was so cool.

[Lowerdeck]

I went to Camden a few times from like 2005 to 2008.  It's a really nice stadium from what I remember.  It's been a while, but there's no real need to replace that in the near future.

I looked it up, and Rogers Centre is already the 7th oldest stadium in the big leagues.  Fenway, Wrigley, Dodgers, Angels, Oakland, and Kauffman are older.  Camden isn't terribly far behind.  If Red Sox fans are willing and able to put up with Fenway being 110 years old with cramped seats and poles in the way - some of these other cities can put up with some renovations now and again.

[gunnar hendershow]

2 hours ago, B-li Manning said:

Yeah my dad and I loved PNC when we took a road trip there for a Mets series in 2011.  You just leave the hotel, walk right over the bridge and you’re there.  And the whole city skyline is there as a beautiful backdrop while you watch the game.  I’d be going to games all the time if I lived in Pittsburgh.

One of the games there happened to be fireworks night and they were shooting them off not only from the bridge but from the skyscrapers across the river.  It was so cool.

My wife and I visited Pittsburgh right after the end of baseball season sadly, but it was incredible how close PNC (and Heinz Field) are to everything. 

Oracle Park might be the only stadium that has it beat in terms of view from behind home plate. Camden used to have an amazing view when you could see the Bromo Seltzer tower but the giant Hilton hotel ruined that.

Having a stadium in the proper downtown area is hard to beat. When I started my new job about half a mile from Camden Yards last fall I was so excited to spend summer of 2020 just fucking around and walking over to watch a game after work. ALAS

[The Buscher]

It’s tough to beat a good backdrop that adds to the over aesthetic of the stadium.  PNC has something of a double whammy as well because you can walk around the entire park through the concourse and take in the game from different angles, which is something I really love about Citi Field.  I’ve bought a dirt cheap ticket before and switched locations every few innings.

My dad and I generally watch the 9th inning standing along the railing in the left field concourse, and the exit is right behind us and we bolt outta there right as the game ends.  Such is what happens when your dad stresses endlessly about avoiding being stuck in traffic 

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

I am fine if they build a stadium but there better not be any tax payer money put into it.

[GhostMachine]

Regarding stadiums, the Braves got a new one too soon. They didn't even use Turner Field for 20 years, but were in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for over 30.

Baseball stadiums used to be more like palaces than just stadiums. The modern ones seem to be too....cold. Boring. I'm sure when fans go to Wrigley or Fenway its more like making a pilgrimage than just going to a game. And not just because of the history of those places. They're frickin' shrines, yes, but they've also got excellent designs compared to most of the modern ones. The aforementioned Camden Yards was the last stadium built with a design I that actually like.

I have a framed photo of the Reds' old Riverfront Stadium, which I went to back in the early 90's. (Reds lost 3-1 to the Florida Marlins, but Kevin Brown was pitching so that was a given.) I've no desire to go visit their current stadium at all. 

[gunnar hendershow]

For what it's worth Turner Field was not exactly well-regarded. The teardown from Olympic stadium to baseball stadium didn't exactly make it a good ballpark to watch a game in. Then Cobb County offered them a ton to move out there so they jumped at the opportunity.

Rangers desperately needed a new ballpark despite getting one in the 90s because no one figured "hm it gets hot as hell in summer here, maybe we should build a roof" last time around. I would like to find a way to blame George W. Bush for this. Anyone got a way I can?

I agree stadiums really shouldn't be abandoned after a few decades but sometimes there are exceptions to the rule.

[Schlitzbrille]

4 hours ago, damshow said:

Rangers desperately needed a new ballpark despite getting one in the 90s because no one figured "hm it gets hot as hell in summer here, maybe we should build a roof" last time around. I would like to find a way to blame George W. Bush for this. Anyone got a way I can?

Quick Wiki research shows George W Bush was at least the on-paper owner of the team from the '89 to '97 seasons so there's something 

[Maxx]

On 27/11/2020 at 13:18, Lowerdeck said:

I went to Camden a few times from like 2005 to 2008.  It's a really nice stadium from what I remember.  It's been a while, but there's no real need to replace that in the near future.

I looked it up, and Rogers Centre is already the 7th oldest stadium in the big leagues.  Fenway, Wrigley, Dodgers, Angels, Oakland, and Kauffman are older.  Camden isn't terribly far behind.  If Red Sox fans are willing and able to put up with Fenway being 110 years old with cramped seats and poles in the way - some of these other cities can put up with some renovations now and again.

Kaufman’s been renovated, Angel Stadium had work done during Disney’s ownership.  But both it and Dodger Stadium will probably remain for a long time because the price to get enough new land in southern California to build a new stadium would outweighs the benefits.

Oakland however, that stadium is a shithole, sometimes literally.  I hope the A’s get something new soon.