MLB 2024

[Gabriel]

I see there are some people talking about free agency being a problem with so many surprising names still available so late.

This is one of those times though, where I laugh at them because what's good for the goose is good for the gander, right? When fans complain about how much money that a player makes, one of the arguments that I hear frequently from players/teams/agents is that the market dictates the value and if a team is willing to pay that market price, then fair play to the player and let them get theirs.

When there are players that aren't signing for as much money as they expected to, it becomes a problem? Nah... nah bish. If the market dictates that all you can get is a one year deal for significantly less money than your agent told you that you could expect... well, that's fair play to the owners, GMs and everyone else.

You can't argue for ungodly amounts of money under the guise of a fluctuating market and team needs... but then call foul when the market crashes and teams don't need or desire to spend that amount of money. If it's a case of teams actively refusing to better themselves, that's a problem... but if it's a matter of teams legitimately feeling like they can get the same or better production out of cheaper players or whatever, then it just is what it is. Hammer out a one year deal with someone, do the work and try again next off-season.

[Your Mom]

Lisa was right!  

[The Buscher]

It’s a 3-year, $80 million deal for Bellinger with opt outs after each year.

So if he has a year like last year, he goes back to the market.  If he regresses, he stays.  Seems like a good deal for the player and the appropriate amount of risk for the team.

Exactly the kind of deal all parties should be looking for at this stage of the offseason.

[gunnar hendershow]

Baseball is so back

 

[Your Mom]

Anyone go to games alone? I was thinking about it and realized I'm missing out on a lot of trips to Wrigley because arranging someone to go with can just be way too much of a pain most of the time. Like I know when I'm available to go so why don't I just go right? Also if you have done this any tips on how to make it fun and maybe not feel a little odd about the whole thing? Like I'm up for it but it's a little different than going to a movie and just hiding in the dark for a couple hours

[gunnar hendershow]

I've gone to O's games alone. Often when the person or people cancel and I already made the time or bought tickets. Those are the games where I hang out in the flag court of Camden Yards which is a great spot to watch a game if you are fine standing for a couple of hours.

Also in my experience that kind of area is where the other solo attendees are. Not sure what the Wrigley equivalent is but I'm sure it exists.

[The Buscher]

My favorite part of spring is when you hear some little kid in the stands screaming their head off in the late innings.  There's such an innocence to it.  Like, of course a kid would be the only one there to actually be invested in the on-field results of a spring game.  The idea of "meaningless baseball" doesn't really occur at that age and you also never know when or if they've ever been to a regular season game - if they live in a part of Florida far away from the Major League cities, this might be the closest to a big league game they can go to.

Some poor Mets minor leaguer was on the mound with the bases loaded, no outs in the 8th yesterday and this kid was screaming "WE WANT DIAZ!"  This may as well have been a World Series game to him.  Bless him.

[Toe]

Manoah really struggled in his first spring training start. With the mediocre signings the Jays made in the off-season, the rotation has to be excellent to give them any chance at another playoff appearance this season.

[The Buscher]

 

[Lowerdeck]

On 26/02/2024 at 15:17, Your Mom said:

Anyone go to games alone? I was thinking about it and realized I'm missing out on a lot of trips to Wrigley because arranging someone to go with can just be way too much of a pain most of the time. Like I know when I'm available to go so why don't I just go right? Also if you have done this any tips on how to make it fun and maybe not feel a little odd about the whole thing? Like I'm up for it but it's a little different than going to a movie and just hiding in the dark for a couple hours

 

I've gone to Sox games alone a bunch of times.  I like going to games, and trying to get other people on board is a pain in the ass.  So, I just do what I want to do.

 

[Your Mom]

Such a simple call but it still gets me every time I hear it  

[GhostMachine]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

Such a simple call but it still gets me every time I hear it  

Still my favorite home run in World Series history, though Kirk Gibson's barely can walk homer against Eckersley in Game One in `88 is a close second.

 

[Toe]

Being from a town just outside of Toronto, I've probably heard that call thousands of times. It never gets old. 

[Meacon Keaton]

Gerrit Cole went in for an MRI today, because the Baseball Gods want me to cry.

[gunnar hendershow]

 

 

[gunnar hendershow]

 

[The Buscher]

The Mets' refusal to sign JD Martinez is infuriating.  We're less than 2 weeks from Opening Day, realistically he probably only needs a week or so of ABs to be ready but this means he's gotta sign soon and at his age it's tough to imagine Boras is still demanding a 2-year deal.  The Mets are way above the CBT thresholds this year, they have to pay a 110% tax premium on any player they sign now, but who cares?  It's peanuts to Cohen.  Zero impact on the 2025 budget.  I get Martinez is 36 but he had a great year last year, if he really regresses that badly they don't have to be beholden to him and keep forcing him out there.  Or if he's good and the team sucks he's an easy trade chip.

But that I have to sit here and watch David Stearns in every presser go on about how important it is that Mark Vientos be the Opening Day DH and play every day, it's a joke.  I do think he's got the raw power to hit 20 jacks if he plays every day but in the process he'll hit like .205 with 200 Ks and a horrible OBP.  The kid is 24 yet unplayable in the field, you need to be a 30-40 HR bat to be strictly a DH at that age.  Shouldn't he be in AAA playing 1B and 3B every day if they really want him to add some value to the big league team?  I want to be wrong about the kid but god damn, the insistence on playing him in the face of a clear and obvious proven upgrade is just Stearns reminding people every day that it's a punt season even as he keeps saying "we expect to compete for a playoff spot this year".  Sure seems like you don't.

Also, the fact that Stearns spent $10 million on Harrison Bader who, while a stellar glove, is putrid offensively and makes the lineup even weaker than it already was.  That decision looks even worse now that Michael A Taylor (awesome glove), Adam Duvall (OF pop), and Gio Urshela (3B insurance) signed for the same cost as Bader combined.  None of those guys would've been sexy signings but adding all three instead of Bader would've given the Mets a deeper, more well-rounded club.

My basic concern with Stearns is that he's gonna want to prove he's the smartest guy in the room and will overthink things as a result.

[gunnar hendershow]

The saga that is the teams finally squaring up and punching back against Boras continues. Snell to the Giants. 2 years/$62 million w/ an opt-out.

[The Buscher]

The Boras freeze-out has had some ramifications within the MLBPA.  Evan Drelich reports that there's a lot of unrest in the union after this offseason, with Tony Clark being pressured to replace Bruce Meyer as his second in command with former MLBPA lawyer Harry Marino.  Non-Boras clients have often complained that Boras holds far too much influence with union decision-making and Meyer's firmly denied that. Marino also did most of the heavy lifting with getting the minor league players into the union, and in turn the minor leaguers now have nearly half the seats on the MLBPA executive board.

Enjoy the next three seasons because the 2026-27 lockout will probably be even worse than the 2021-22 one.

[The Buscher]

As the season started today I have to just reiterate again how fucking boring Ohtani and Yamamoto going to the Dodgers was.  Just from the standpoint of the health of the game.  Those are two guys that could've elevated B-tier teams up to the A-tier, which surely would make for a more fun regular season as these signings could have a real impact over 162.

Instead they go to the team that already wins 95-100 games annually.  So nothing really changes over the season.  The rich get richer, the team already a lock for a first round bye just solidifies it further and basically the Dodgers' spree means nothing as far as the regular season is concerned.  It won't mean anything until October.

Obviously, if I were a Dodgers fan I'd love it and would be embracing the villainy.  But it's like, damn, just sucks that the best player in baseball has a 6 month extended spring training instead of playing meaningful games.