MLB 2022

[Slogger]

4 hours ago, damhausen said:

The Orioles were involved in a 1-0 game today. Not too noteworthy except they actually WON this one. What the actual hell? I had no idea this was allowed.

2nd best ERA in the AL! Worst offense in the AL...

One of those two things won't last.

Personally I'm hoping the bats get hot and we become like a .700 team

But you and I both know the pitching is finally going to remember that we're the Orioles and we'll be begging for GreyRod by this time next month.

[gunnar hendershow]

4 hours ago, Slogger said:

Personally I'm hoping the bats get hot and we become like a .700 team

But you and I both know the pitching is finally going to remember that we're the Orioles and we'll be begging for GreyRod by this time next month.

Speaking of him. He had another great start in Norfolk - 5 innings pitched, no runs, 8 strikeouts.

Also in the majors last night Shohei Ohtani reached base 3 times but only allowed 2 baserunners across 6 innings. All to go along with 12 strikeouts. Needless to say that hasn't happened in, well, probably ever.

[The Buscher]

 

[gunnar hendershow]

Jose Iglesias being the first one to congratulate him was the good stuff.

[MalaCloudy Black]

The Cubs shut the Pirates out 21-0 today. According to their Twitter, this is the largest shutout victory in franchise history since 1901.

[gunnar hendershow]

Any time you can shut out the Steelers like that it's great. The Bears have got to be feeling pretty good about themselves.

[MalaCloudy Black]

[gunnar hendershow]

 

 

[GhostMachine]

How the hell Hernandez still has a job is beyond me. He's easily the most imcompetent umpire I've ever seen. And I've been watching baseball longer than a good chunk of posters here have been alive.

 

[The Buscher]

I'm generally pro-union but Angel Hernandez is a perfect example of one of the main reasons people complain about them.  The stronger the union, the more likely it is you can keep your job even if you're clearly incompetent.

[The Buscher]

Scott Boras announced that Michael Conforto underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.

Conforto declined a 9-figure extension from the Mets before the 2021 season that was said to be around $120 million.  While it's understandable that he decided to bet on himself as the free agent market still would've paid him more had he played to his normal levels of production...his terrible season killed those hopes.  But turning down the qualifying offer after the year he had was genuinely baffling.

Boras obviously gets a lot of praise but this is an example where the agent has a completely different risk profile than the player.  He has a massive portfolio of expensive players on long-term, lucrative contracts.  He's always going to advise his players to hit the market.  If a small percentage of his portfolio gets screwed over by these tactics, it really isn't a dent to him as he's clearly beating the market with all the other deals.

Conforto meanwhile, had he taken the extension, would be looking at $135 million or so in career earnings through his age 34 or 35 season.  Instead, his prime years netted him only around $25 million in career earnings and he's now rolling into his age 30 season coming off of a major surgery and 2 years removed from the last time he was good.

[The Buscher]

 

[GhostMachine]

On 25/04/2022 at 10:51, CM Busch said:

Scott Boras announced that Michael Conforto underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.

Conforto declined a 9-figure extension from the Mets before the 2021 season that was said to be around $120 million.  While it's understandable that he decided to bet on himself as the free agent market still would've paid him more had he played to his normal levels of production...his terrible season killed those hopes.  But turning down the qualifying offer after the year he had was genuinely baffling.

Boras obviously gets a lot of praise but this is an example where the agent has a completely different risk profile than the player.  He has a massive portfolio of expensive players on long-term, lucrative contracts.  He's always going to advise his players to hit the market.  If a small percentage of his portfolio gets screwed over by these tactics, it really isn't a dent to him as he's clearly beating the market with all the other deals.

Conforto meanwhile, had he taken the extension, would be looking at $135 million or so in career earnings through his age 34 or 35 season.  Instead, his prime years netted him only around $25 million in career earnings and he's now rolling into his age 30 season coming off of a major surgery and 2 years removed from the last time he was good.

I read somewhere that the contract was closer to $100 million. But considering he's got a career batting average just barely over .250, and isn't exactly a home running machine, I have no sympathy for him for turning that down. 

Going back to Angel Hernandez, when he sued MLB claiming racial discrimination because he was being overlooked for promotions and World Series officiating, they should've compiled a video of his greatest fuck ups, gone to trial, then canned his ass. Because his bullshit calls have been going on almost as long as he's been around. I was happy when Joe West retired, but I will fucking celebrate with gusto when this moron is gone. 

 

 

 

[The Buscher]

The Mets have been hit by pitch 18 times in their first 19 games, 4 of which have been headshots including 2 for Alonso who nearly charged the mound last night.  And I don't blame him.  None of the HBPs had intent but at a certain point intent only gets you so far and the human reaction is to just say "OK fuck this".

Older members of the fanbase feel the Mets are partially to blame themselves because they have yet to respond on the mound and "protect their hitters".  Yeah in previous eras you would've beaned the other team as a way of telling them to stop throwing inside, but that's not how the game is now and I don't see why risking a suspension is worth it.

The real issue, as Chris Bassitt told reporters after the game, is that the grip on the new baseballs sucks, every pitcher in the league knows it and MLB does nothing about it.  And when you already have a bunch of pitchers in the league with control issues, this is just gonna keep getting worse.

I will say though I wouldn't be opposed to an immediate ejection for any hit by pitch above the shoulder.  The pitcher should at least assume some level of risk when he decides to throw up and in.

[gunnar hendershow]

Anthony Rizzo had probably the least impressive 3 home run game in MLB history last night. The average distance of all his homers was 350 feet!

Yankee Stadium is a bit of a joke.

[GhostMachine]

2 hours ago, CM Busch said:

The Mets have been hit by pitch 18 times in their first 19 games, 4 of which have been headshots including 2 for Alonso who nearly charged the mound last night.  And I don't blame him.  None of the HBPs had intent but at a certain point intent only gets you so far and the human reaction is to just say "OK fuck this".

Older members of the fanbase feel the Mets are partially to blame themselves because they have yet to respond on the mound and "protect their hitters".  Yeah in previous eras you would've beaned the other team as a way of telling them to stop throwing inside, but that's not how the game is now and I don't see why risking a suspension is worth it.

The real issue, as Chris Bassitt told reporters after the game, is that the grip on the new baseballs sucks, every pitcher in the league knows it and MLB does nothing about it.  And when you already have a bunch of pitchers in the league with control issues, this is just gonna keep getting worse.

I will say though I wouldn't be opposed to an immediate ejection for any hit by pitch above the shoulder.  The pitcher should at least assume some level of risk when he decides to throw up and in.

I also wonder if getting rid of the DH will lead to an increase of batters being HBP in the NL, since pitchers don't have to worry about being retaliated against due to not batting any more.

[gunnar hendershow]

16 minutes ago, GhostMachine said:

I also wonder if getting rid of the DH will lead to an increase of batters being HBP in the NL, since pitchers don't have to worry about being retaliated against due to not batting any more.

I don't believe this has ever happened in the AL.

[GhostMachine]

Well, since the AL has had the DH since 1973......

[The Buscher]

The pitcher very rarely got plunked in retaliation anyway.  The guy who got hit would depend on the team but it was either:

1 - whoever had the misfortune of leading off the next inning
2 - whoever played the same position the guy who got hit played
3 - the other team's best player

[Toe]

I went to the Jays game last night, and the Red Sox just beat the stuffing out of the Jays bullpen. Merryweather did not look good, and once the number was crooked Charlie started going to his depth guys like Saucedo, Bowden, and Francis. 

Still a fun time, though. Keeps up my streak of only ever going to the Rogers Centre when the roof is closed.