MLB 2018

Yesterday featured the first of the spring training games, and I watched parts of two of them on MLB network. This season should be interesting -- it may even feature a huge lawsuit and/or a player walkout over the owners' seeming collusion over signing free agents.

The Astros had a great off-season, making few changes to their 2017 juggernaut, while the Marlins completely dismantled their roster. The flashiest signing was Stanton going to the pinstripes, but the most improved franchises were in National League with two last place clubs revamping to go from last to playoffs -- the Giants and Phillies. And we're likely to see a player have 25 starts on the mound and 350 at bats.

My predictions? There'll be entirely too much of the Yankees and the RedSox on Fox, MLB, and ESPN. The Cubs will have real competition from the Brewers and the Cardinals. The Yanks won't be as good as everyone in the media prays they will. Arizona won't make the playoffs. Minnesota will be the class of the AL Central. The Astros and Nationals will lead their respective leagues in wins. Games will continue to get longer because of video replays and constant trips to the mound by catchers, and blame for it will be placed on aspects of the game that have remained unchanged since the days when the length of the average 9-inning game was around 2 hours.

Let's play us some baseball!!!!!!

 

I thought they were limiting the trips to the mound this year to 6 per 9 innings. And in extras, they get 1 per inning?

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https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...t-limits-no-pitch-clocks-shorter-commercials/

Yup (with some exemptions), and commercial breaks will be shorter this year too.

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Well, that's brightened my day a bit. Thanks, Senator! Now if they'd just get rid of TV replay ... .

 

I used to work in the Twin Cities, and my eldest brother still lives there. He sends me articles from time to time. Here's one y'all might find amusing.

http://www.startribune.com/some-half-fast-ways-to-pick-up-baseball-s-pace-of-play/475615793/

 

NBCSports.com's MLB headline: "Tebow Homers in AA Debut"

Pssst, the "ML" stands for MAJOR LEAGUE.

 

I've bored many people on here railing against the DH, and I've been an Astros fan since their first game ever ... but HatterMom was a Junior Angel at the age of 13, so our house is happily divided, and we both love what Ohtani is doing.

 

Which idiot devised the April schedule? First of all the Giants and Dodgers play each other in three series this month. Second of all the Yankees and the Mets were BOTH in NYC for fun in the snow, and today's schedule calls for both the White Sox and the Cubs playing at home today -- BOTH GAMES ARE DAY GAMES.

Is MLB trying to cut back on attendance? Screwiest schedule ever.

 

and, somehow, the White Sox lost in 9 innings this afternoon ... and, somehow, in the same city, the Cubs game was postponed due to snow.

WTF?

 

Was doing about 52 things earlier today when the Minnesota v. Cleveland game was on FS1. I don't know who the color guy was, but the announcer asked him if strikeout records for pitchers have been devalued because batters no longer see a problem in striking out. The color guy -- obviously a former pitcher -- said no, strikeout numbers today mean nothing. The announcer then said that the average relief pitcher today -- AVERAGE -- has a better K per inning ratio than Koufax did.

Later on -- down to about 25 things doing -- the Cubs and Mets were playing and THAT announcer said that Rizzo was rare among modern players in that he took a different approach to hitting when he had two strikes. Stand by for OFR [old fart rant].

I've loved baseball since I was a little kid, and I especially like minor league ball, but the stats asshats have about ruined it for me. "Launch angle" "escape velocity" "spin rate" -- all breaks down to "baseball consists of home runs and strikeouts." Now this is fine for a video game, but the artistry in the game disappears when -- using a Texas team for an example -- a guy can hit 35 homers and struggle to escape the Mendoza line and have a "successful season." The Rangers had that last season with their first and second basemen. Joey Gallo draws a shift that basically leaves the entire 3rd base line and the 20 yards of fair territory next to it unmanned and he REFUSES to slap the ball and get his team an easy double. Instead, he continues to hit .200 and the occasional homer for a last place club.

By contrast, the Astros play BASEBALL, and are fun to watch. They go for gappers more than sky scrapers. They still hit home runs, but they also have players who do so while hitting at or near .300. They also play solid fundamental baseball -- one reason why their pitching staff has such amazing ERA stats. Everywhere else in the majors, I see players making 7 figure salaries incapable of executing a simple relay from outfield to catcher, playing individual and team defense at a level that would have been unacceptable for my high school team, not to mention a corporate unwillingness to go for productive outs.

AND, those damn kids keep stomping all over my lawn.