2021 MLB Season / 21-22 Offseason Thread

[gunnar hendershow]

I was just thinking about the "if every team makes the playoffs no one will spend" argument and that feels like the one the union will relent on as it gets closer. NBA and NHL franchises both make ridiculous decisions in terms of spending just to have a shot at the 8-seed. There will always be a handful of teams that try and tank but right now in baseball about 1/3 to 1/2 are actively not trying to be good. Expanded playoffs definitely trims that down to 6 or 7 teams at very most. Which is basically the peak of where NBA teams not even pretending to care are in any given season and probably more than there are in the NHL where margins are so thin a bad team can easily make the playoffs.

[MalaCloudy Black]

soooo I'm checking my emails and I get one from MLB.com Insider, and it turns out I guess the MLB has its own NFT marketplace.

sigh.

not at all surprised (wow rich people want to jump on whatever's trendy to make more money?!), but still. sigh. 

[The Buscher]

MLB has officially killed the Rays' plan to split a season between Tampa and Montreal.

They need to either commit to building a new stadium, relocating, or sell the team.  Tropicana Field is an eyesore.

[gunnar hendershow]

We'll be having this discussion for another 5 years, they're stuck in St. Pete until then.

[The Buscher]

And so arrives the day when two of the best players of all time in Bonds and Clemens officially miss out on the Hall of Fame and then have to wait for the Veterans Committee.

Real great system to have writers who have never played being the gatekeepers of baseball's highest honor.

[gunnar hendershow]

Congrats to David Ortiz, America's favorite roid guy

[GhostMachine]

Ortiz tested positive for something in 2003, but it was never revealed exactly what that was. He apologized, but on the other hand he also did try to explain it away.

Bonds had connections to BALCO, aka Roids Inc., but continued to deny using anything when it was obvious he was despite never testing positive for anything.

Clemens, however, is the most obvious. He tested positive and continued to vehemently deny it, even after the person injecting him confessed. 

Clemens was at one time my favorite pitcher, but I don't believe he should be inducted. 

I hate Barry Bonds, and believe his entire career post-Pirates is questionable. But I could make a case either way for inclusion or exclusion.

Me, personally, I don't believe Bonds, Clemens or A-Rod should ever be inducted.

Then again, the Hall is a joke until Shoeless Joe's ban is overturned and he is inducted. 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by GhostMachine

[The Buscher]

I support Ortiz going in but I also support nearly all the PED guys going in, with maybe Manny and A-Rod being the only ones that would give me pause because they tested positive at a time it was very clearly against the rules.

But yeah, the writers here exposed what is really important to them.  Ortiz has always been affable with the writers and media whereas Clemens, Bonds etc were contentious.  And so it goes.

[GhostMachine]

I've heard several stories both inside and outside of baseball about Bonds being an asshole.

 

[gunnar hendershow]

Harold Baines meanwhile was a very nice guy.

[Mick]

Asshole or not, Bonds deserves to be in the hall of fame. Unfortunately, sports writers just want to keep their boyhood, baseball card in the bicycle spokes image of the game untarnished, while overlooking the noted personality deficiencies of some of the players that have been enshrined since 1936. 

[The Buscher]

Meanwhile, MLB and MLBPA negotiated for two days in a row and reportedly made good progress with both sides agreeing to some early concessions.  Still a ways to go but there's a lot more optimism today than Sunday that they'll get it done and avoid losing any games.

But once Bob Nightengale tweets about the season starting on time, the season is over.

[gunnar hendershow]

Ball is probably in the owners' court now since they can hang game cancellations/prorated pay out there to get the last few concessions from the MLBPA.

[The Buscher]

Looking at the first-time HOF eligibles for next year, the only guy who has the numbers that warrant enshrinement is Carlos Beltran who will almost certainly not be going in due to his involvement in the sign stealing scandal.  I'd be surprised if he was universally rejected enough to get under 5% and fall off the ballot but he'll likely just kick around on the ballot for a decade and never get in.  Rolen, Helton, and Wagner all made positive gains this year and are at least trending in the right direction - Rolen at 63%, a near 10% jump from the previous year.  He's at least within striking distance for next year.

But the real story of the 2023 Hall of Fame will, ironically, be all the same guys who just fell off the ballot.  The "Today's Game Era" committee which elects players from 1988-present has their next meeting in December.  Bonds, Clemens, Schilling, and Sosa will all likely be up for induction again but this time it would only take 12 of 16 votes, and the committee members change every time so it's really a crapshoot depending on who is voting.  One loud voice in the room can sway people one way or the other.  Tony La Russa pretty much single handedly convinced 11 other people to vote for Harold Baines.  Also 15 of 16 members voted in Selig, who helped profit from PEDs.

IF any of these guys make it in via the committee immediately after the BBWAA rejected them for 10 years, I guarantee you'll hear a bunch of writers moan and threaten to quit voting, feeling like the process is now pointless.

[gunnar hendershow]

Good, I hope that happens and those dumbass writers quit voting. Especially the moron who only voted for Jeff Kent.

[The Buscher]

Houston is the first thing to jump out here, since they've been a powerhouse for 5 years now.  Easy to forget they were the poster boys of tanking for several years which helped get them to that point.

[Maxx]

Rays just quietly out Aing the A’s

[The Buscher]

Bonds should be on the ballot for another year because his career should've carried on past 2007. Very obvious collusion. He still wanted to play in 2008 yet all 30 teams looked at his stat line and supposedly said "nah" despite a league-leading .480 OBP AT AGE 42!!!

[gunnar hendershow]

I remember that year because there was a huge assumption in Baltimore we'd sign him. Similar to Angelos finally getting the team to sign Vlad after he was washed. When he loved a player he'd try to get them here no matter their age.

[The Buscher]

There were totally baseless Mets rumors kicking around too, which anyone should've been able to debunk quickly because they already had a 41-year old Moises Alou on the roster.  Bonds and Alou manning the corner outfield in their 40s, what could've gone wrong?  Beltran's knees probably would've exploded from having to cover that much ground.