2021 MLB Season / 21-22 Offseason Thread

[The Buscher]

Feel good journeyman story:  Braves calling up 36-year old infielder Sean Kazmar, last played in the big leagues with the Padres in 2008.

[The Buscher]

THE METS RALLIED IN THE 9TH TO COME BACK AND ACTUALLY WIN FOR DEGROM.  THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

[gunnar hendershow]

The impossible has happened!

[gunnar hendershow]

This Mookie Betts fella is pretty good. I'm sure if he was part of my organization I would make sure to keep him for the rest of his career and never, ever entertain the idea of trading him.

[Meacon Keaton]

After today’s game, Jay Bruce is retiring. 319 career home runs. A quietly solid career.

[gunnar hendershow]

Chris Davis considers retiring a selfish act.

[Draevyn]

After a double header yesterday, this is not the time for Robbie Ray to shit the bed but so far in two innings he has loaded the bases twice and is at 50 pitches. He’s been lucky so far but the leve is going to break hard I think.

[Draevyn]

...and it’s not even Ray that gives up the game ☹️

[gunnar hendershow]

So how much longer does Aaron Boone have as manager?

[Meacon Keaton]

3 minutes ago, damshow said:

So how much longer does Aaron Boone have as manager?

I was talking to my dad about this yesterday. He was convinced he's safe, but if they don't make the playoffs, he's 100% gone. 

That said, it's not all his fault, though a lot of it is. Brian Cashman and his patch-job pitching rotation is a fucking joke. Tanaka is pitching Japan, while we have the rehab squad. And on days like today where Gerrit Cole pitches, we still lose because nobody on this team outside of DJ hits the ball, so they don't score more than two runs. Watching them play has been infuriating. They all are playing like shit. No just in the batters box, but in the field and on the base paths too. They all look like they just couldn't give the smidgest of fucks about anything right now. 

[gunnar hendershow]

I was thinking more along the lines of Boone not making it to Memorial Day. Yanks don't even seem to be scuffling, they just seem to be bad. And when you're spending that much on a team that is aging as the Yanks are you have to do whatever you can to win right now because that window is closing sooner rather than later. Making a change at the top strikes me as a nearly necessary decision if they're close to falling too far behind.

[Meacon Keaton]

The only issue with firing Boone, is he's essentially a Cashman puppet. The decisions he makes is based on how Cashman believes he's built the team. That's why they have friggin' Aaron Hicks hitting third every damn game. Maybe a manager change will motivate the players a bit more, but if they just bring in another on-field Cashman, it's not really going to matter. You have to assume that because it's baseball, the bats will wake up eventually, but there is no excuse for all the poor fielding/lack of concentration/just moronic plays they do on defense or the bases. The players do need to be held accountable to that extent. I hate to pick on Hicks again, but back to back plays in center field today he bobbled the ball and allowed two runners to score, which of course, they lost by two. 

[The Buscher]

I feel like the Yankees lineup is much too good to stay this bad for too long.  Eventually they’re bound to break out.  The starting rotation seems very uninspiring though.  Cashman really needs to go if he can’t find a way to improve that rotation before the end of those season.

Mets still can’t hit a lick either for the most part, frustrating watching these guys taking home run cuts every AB when they really don’t have to.  Stroman just had to carry the game by throwing 8 innings of 1 run ball in Coors. 

[Lowerdeck]

It's been a while since the Yankees have been in last place, and I'm enjoying this for the time being.

[gunnar hendershow]

9 minutes ago, Meacon Keaton said:

The only issue with firing Boone, is he's essentially a Cashman puppet. The decisions he makes is based on how Cashman believes he's built the team. That's why they have friggin' Aaron Hicks hitting third every damn game. Maybe a manager change will motivate the players a bit more, but if they just bring in another on-field Cashman, it's not really going to matter. You have to assume that because it's baseball, the bats will wake up eventually, but there is no excuse for all the poor fielding/lack of concentration/just moronic plays they do on defense or the bases. The players do need to be held accountable to that extent. I hate to pick on Hicks again, but back to back plays in center field today he bobbled the ball and allowed two runners to score, which of course, they lost by two. 

Aaron Hicks is an interesting situation since they weirdly signed him to that 7-year extension a few years back. So they're basically stuck with him on the team and it appears that leads to treating him like a player they have to start.

[The Buscher]

Stroman with your everyday behind the back 7-hopper

[DYSI]

The catch was amazing.. but wth was going on with that throw? He had plenty of time and he sends out a warmup dribbler. 

[gunnar hendershow]

His entire momentum was carrying him in the opposite direction and as a pitcher he's probably very unable to adapt that quickly.

[The Buscher]

Mets got absolutely shellacked yesterday.  That said, this was ruled a four pitch walk.

Feels like there have already been a lot of egregiously bad calls happening leaguewide, and not just from the normal set of bad umps.  It's like they see the writing on the wall with the automatic strike zones being tested in the minor leagues and have decided to just make everyone's life a living hell.

[Meacon Keaton]

Yeah, the strikes and ball calls have seemed unusually poor this year. 
 

Not as poor as the Yankees offense, but not many things are.