2021 MLB Season / 21-22 Offseason Thread

[gunnar hendershow]

The KBO also suspended its entire season.

[The Buscher]

Gary Thorne subbing in for Gary Cohen in the SNY booth this weekend.  It’s been a nice little bit of nostalgia hearing him, he was calling Mets games when I first started watching.

[gunnar hendershow]

6 hours ago, Buschie Kay said:

Gary Thorne subbing in for Gary Cohen in the SNY booth this weekend.  It’s been a nice little bit of nostalgia hearing him, he was calling Mets games when I first started watching.

I miss him calling Orioles games SO MUCH.

Their radio team got hit hard by retirements (it happens). But they had the very good Jim Hunter around to take over on radio while keeping Gary Thorne & Jim Palmer as the primary TV pairing. Instead they got rid of everyone besides Palmer, since you can't fire Jim Palmer as he is a deity here. The new lead TV guy is a longtime local news and talk radio guy who is terrible. Messes up the simplest things, loses his mind at pop flies he thinks will be HRs, gives subdued calls to sure thing HRs (until they leave the park), and is just generally bad. It's even more glaring on the heels of over a decade of Gary Thorne calling games on TV.

[The Buscher]

6 hours ago, damshow said:

I miss him calling Orioles games SO MUCH.

Their radio team got hit hard by retirements (it happens). But they had the very good Jim Hunter around to take over on radio while keeping Gary Thorne & Jim Palmer as the primary TV pairing. Instead they got rid of everyone besides Palmer, since you can't fire Jim Palmer as he is a deity here. The new lead TV guy is a longtime local news and talk radio guy who is terrible. Messes up the simplest things, loses his mind at pop flies he thinks will be HRs, gives subdued calls to sure thing HRs (until they leave the park), and is just generally bad. It's even more glaring on the heels of over a decade of Gary Thorne calling games on TV.

It's really odd to me when teams decide to jettison popular announcers.  The Mets have had the same core trio of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling since the launch of SNY in 2006 and they're usually always ranked in the top 3 announce teams in baseball.  Keith is definitely getting more crusty with the changes happening in the game and Cohen the past few years does seem to be falling into that trap of no longer being able to read a HR ball off the bat, but they're still very good. 

Can't really imagine letting popular announcers leave.  I can understand a contract dispute here and there as the broadcaster has some leverage, but it's not gonna break the bank for anybody.  And as far as I can tell Thorne's departure was more over some sort of disagreement on the Orioles' COVID protocols.

I know a lot of announcers hate having to call the road games just by watching on TV, but that's what Thorne is doing for the Mets this weekend.  Unfortunately the Mets aren't above the 85% and probably won't be so their announcers won't ever have the option of being on the road this year.  And networks like TBS are doing all coverage in studio regardless of vaccination status.  Ron does TBS games on Sundays and the most ridiculous thing I heard this year was despite him living in Connecticut and calling his games at Citi Field, TBS made him fly to Atlanta to call a game being played in Yankee Stadium.

[gunnar hendershow]

The Covid protocols for announcers are so strange, as illustrated by that Ron Darling point.

MASN also leaned in heavily on cost cutting across the board. Tom Davis, who is basically in my mind directly linked with Orioles TV broadcasts, was jettisoned as they decided to move their pre and postgame shows to online only. It wouldn't shock me if the disagreement with Thorne was as much a matter of trying to push him out as anything else.

Also there's this running joke that it's easier to call a game at Nationals Park now that you don't have to sit in their press box. Reminded of their press box that looks like someone forgot to build it and they had to attach it to the very top of the stadium.

[The Buscher]

Shooting outside of Nationals Park on the 3B side, leading to people instinctively rushing out of the CF and RF exits before they had to make an announcement over the PA system to stay in the stadium.  Game has been called off.

[gunnar hendershow]

Just now, Buschie Kay said:

Shooting outside of Nationals Park on the 3B side, leading to people instinctively rushing out of the CF and RF exits before they had to make an announcement over the PA system to stay in the stadium.  Game has been called off.

My friend is at the game. They initially thought the shooting was inside the stadium because of how loud it was (assumed now it happened right outside the gates on the 1B side). After a few minutes they got back on the PA and told everyone to calmly leave through the CF and RF exits. So at least it appears the situation is now under control.

[The Buscher]

Just the sight of people running out is some scary shit.  Can’t imagine.

[The Buscher]

And I thought having a 5-0 first inning lead on the Pirates only to lose 6-5 last weekend was bad....

Mets held a 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the 8th against the Pirates again. Seth Lugo, one of the best relievers in baseball the last few years, completely melts down, Mets narrowly escape the inning up 6-5. Score an insurance run in the 9th only for Edwin Diaz to load the bases and allow a 2 out walkoff grand slam for a 9-7 loss.

Not to sound over-reactionary but I don't even know if I want the Mets to be buyers anymore. Maybe if they can make small moves like the Braves did getting Joc Pederson and Stephen Vogt without giving up anything important. But there are so many glaring problems with this team and it's now even worse with deGrom getting yet another injury and Lindor who was finally starting to hit being out til September. Four guys in their bullpen who were lights out and amazingly have now been terrible once the sticky stuff crackdown started.

Do small upgrades or just stand pat, but just don't think it's worth trading a major prospect from an already pretty weak farm system just to try to eke out a win of this terrible division.

[GhostMachine]

Rob Manfred finally has said something that I hope it true: That the new rules that limit doubleheaders to 7 innings and put a runner on base in extra innings probably won't last.

The runner on base is absolute rubbish.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh dear...

 

[The Buscher]

And despite that clown show and yesterday’s horrible collapse, the Mets somehow came back to win 7-6.

Glad that’s the end of the season series.  I’d rather strap my nuts to a car battery than see this Pirates team again.

[gunnar hendershow]

19 minutes ago, Buschie Kay said:

And despite that clown show and yesterday’s horrible collapse, the Mets somehow came back to win 7-6.

LOL. Real "who wants it less" vibes from that game.

[The Buscher]

The four month journey of Yermin Mercedes:

One of the best early season stories, the 28-year-old rookie won April Rookie of the Month for the White Sox.  Up through May 18th he was slashing .344/.396/.547 with 6 HR in 139 plate appearances.

He dared to hit a home run off of a position player in a blowout, leading to his own manager Tony La Russa publicly browbeating him for violating the "unwritten rules".

After that very incident, his slash line plummeted to just .190/.220/.196 with 1 home run over 118 plate appearances, ultimately leading to him being demoted to Triple A on July 2nd.

Since his demotion, he's slashed .309/.377/.655 with 4 home runs in 61 plate appearances in Triple A.  But the White Sox seem to have no plans to call him back up as they already have a roster crunch looming with Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert on rehab assignments.

Last night, Mercedes put up an Instagram post indicating that he was retiring.

[gunnar hendershow]

Tony La Russa won the war.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Quote

"I want to apologize to all those who I inadvertently offended as a consequence of my immaturity like members of the radio, television, and press," Mercedes wrote in his post. "To all the team's members where I was involved with, I'm sorry for failing as a human being and for not accepting some of their decisions. I'm stepping aside from baseball indefinitely."

Did he say something else or is this literally all about the home run you mentioned? 

[Krabby]

Just boggles my mind, put in a mercy rule at that point if you don't want guys slamming a HR off of non-pitchers

[The Buscher]

Aaaaand the White Sox say Mercedes is back with their Triple A team and in uniform tonight.

 

[The Buscher]

Rays get: DH Nelson Cruz, RHP Calvin Faucher 

Twins get: RHP Joe Ryan (Rays' No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline) and RHP Drew Strotman (No. 17)

[MalaCloudy Black]

The longer Bryant doesn't get dealt the more it hurts. Just rip the bandaid off, already! Trade him! I'm never going to be ready but the longer the wait..