OT Red Sox - say it ain't so Alex

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by EDS

(lack of draft capital can result in a lack of young, cheap talent going forward).

some baseball teams may not be afraid of having no future (I live in Seattle)

[veloduffer]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

some baseball teams may not be afraid of having no future (I live in Seattle)

That was funny, but sadly true (add the Orioles).



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[veloduffer]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

I totally hate the idea of robo umpire. I know it’s coming but to me the way the zone has always been a bit dynamic, depending on the umpire, has been part of the fun of watching baseball. It encourages controversy, posturing, and is a dance between at minimum the pitcher, catcher, hitter and umpire.

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I would miss that fun too. It was highly entertaining to watch Earl Weaver and Billy Martin yelling so vociferously that spittle was coming out while nose to nose with the ump, and the beautifully childish antic of kicking dirt on the umpire. And I believe it was Weaver who invented turning his cap backwards so he could get closer yell in the ump’s face.





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[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by veloduffer

That was funny, but sadly true (add the Orioles).



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I kinda thought Seattle was at least pretending whereas the O’s just resigned themselves to sucking. Could be that as a BoSox fan I’m more tuned in to the AL East too. Regardless, the business of the game is becoming ever more apparent.


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[trener1]

There was a piece about it today on the radio, from what I understand it is NOT illegal for the runner on 2nd base to steal signs and pass it along to the hitter, and not MLB or any of the teams have any issues with that, it however illegal to use electronic devices and runners coming from the clubhouse etc...

Full story here
https://theathletic.com/1510673/2020...gally-in-2018/

Originally Posted by 72gmc

I get what you're saying, but electronics are just an available tool, like a military scope in the 50's. The illegal part is what's been going on forever.

https://nypost.com/2002/07/29/51-gia...ealing-scheme/

[wc1934]

Astros fire GM and manager
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/13/us/ho...ion/index.html

Have to think Alex Cora's fate will be the same - so who will the be the new Sox manager?

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by wc1934

Astros fire GM and manager
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/13/us/ho...ion/index.html

Have to think Alex Cora's fate will be the same - so who will the be the new Sox manager?

How about Bruce Bochy, at least for a couple years and another World Series.

[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by donevwil

How about Bruce Bochy, at least for a couple years and another World Series.

Bruce would be a great choice, assuming he's interested.

[GonaSovereign]

Maybe the Astros should truck it over to LA and hand the Dodgers the 2017 MLB hardware.

I'm sure that would be as fulfilling (or unfulfilling) as Frischknecht getting Chiotti's rainbow stripes.

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

I kinda thought Seattle was at least pretending whereas the O’s just resigned themselves to sucking. Could be that as a BoSox fan I’m more tuned in to the AL East too. Regardless, the business of the game is becoming ever more apparent.


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The Os will never be winners under current ownership. They refuse to play in the expensive free agent game. Which is good for me, because I'm a Yankees fan, and spend a lot of time in Baltimore, so I can walk up to the window and buy a good seat face value at Camden, a really nice ballpark. I swear there are more Yankee and Sox fans in the seats when they visit.

Speaking of managers, I'd like to see Buck Showalter get a job with a good team again. He did wonders with what was an awful Oriole team when they hired him for his last job, but, alas, he needed some support from the top at trade and free agent time, and never got it.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by GonaSovereign

Maybe the Astros should truck it over to LA and hand the Dodgers the 2017 MLB hardware.

I'm sure that would be as fulfilling (or unfulfilling) as Frischknecht getting Chiotti's rainbow stripes.

The Astros didn't win the whole shee-bang because of some cheaters wrt stealing signs...

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

The Astros didn't win the whole shee-bang because of some cheaters wrt stealing signs...

Are we sure about that? They absolutely pounded three of the best pitchers on the planet who were on fire that postseason.

Knowing what's coming certainly had to help.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

It is probably blasphemy, but why not give the pitcher and catcher a little ear piece like the QB gets in football.

Have the pitches come in from the coach, and allow the pitcher or catcher to shake them off. Combine this with a faster pitch clock, and maybe the game would speed up a bit.

To purists, it is blasphemy. Many don't want anything that wasn't happening in 1898.

[ScottW]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

The Astros didn't win the whole shee-bang because of some cheaters wrt stealing signs...

Here are some home vs. away splits for Astros hitters during the 2017 playoffs (not just WS). These are incredibly disparate numbers as baseball stats go. If these guys were cyclists, they'd be the guys who ride at 2 w/kg in real life but somehow manage 4-5 w/kg in Zwift.

Altuve (bats R):
Home: .472 BA, .513 OBP, 1.028 SLG, 1.541 OPS, 17 H, 6 HR & 12 RBI
Away: .143 BA, .268 OBP, .229 SLG, .497 OPS, 5 H, 1 HR & 2 RBI

Correa (bats R):
Home: .371 BA, .421 OBP, .743 SLG, 1.164 OPS, 13 H, 3 HR & 10 RBI
Away: .211 BA, .231 OBP, .395 SLG, .626 OPS, 8 H, 2 HR & 4 RBI

Bregman (bats R):
Home: .273 BA, .342 OBP, .515 SLG, .857 OPS, 9 H, 2 HR & 6 RBI
Away: .154 BA, .175 OBP, .333 SLG, .508 OPS, 6 H, 2 HR & 4 RBI

Gattis (bats R):
Home: .300 BA, .464 OBP, .550 SLG, 1.014 OPS, 6 H, 1 HR & 3 RBI
Away: .200 BA, .333 OBP, .200 SLG, .533 OPS, 2 H, 0 HR & 0 RBI

McCann (bats L):
Home: .300 BA, .382 OBP, .467 SLG, .849 OPS, 9 H, 1 HR & 7 RBI
Away: .037 BA, .161 OBP, .037 SLG, .198 OPS, 1 H, 0 HR & 0 RBI

Because the Astros ballpark is smaller than most (especially to the left field fence) it could reasonably be expected that batters would hit more homers, and therefore have more RBI and higher slugging and OPS at home vs away. Homers also affect, but to a lesser degree, their batting average and OBP (which includes walks), and it's these numbers that remain glaring despite any differences in outfield fence distance between ballparks. These guys hit better and walked more because they knew what was coming (via center field cameras and/or using replay systems to decode signs and relay them to batters in real time) so they could gear up for fastballs and spit on the breaking stuff.

There are also some batters whose splits were even and not the least bit suspicious (Gurriel). The obvious [potential] explanation being that he was less dependent, or not at all dependent, on illegal sign stealing methods in order to hit decently.

Gurriel (bats R):
Home: .303 BA, .361 OBP, .576 SLG, .937 OPS, 10 H, 2 HR & 5 RBI
Away: .306 BA, .324 OBP, .472 SLG, .797 OPS, 11 H, 0 HR & 3 RBI

Originally Posted by GonaSovereign

Maybe the Astros should truck it over to LA and hand the Dodgers the 2017 MLB hardware.

Lance doped to the gills during training and the TdF, eventually stripped of titles. His are left vacant, though subsequent TdF wins have been retroactively awarded to runners-up due to doping.
USC 2004 football national championship vacated because they had a player on their roster (Reggie Bush) who got a few dollars from unapproved sources that season. Not doping or cheating to gain any competitive advantage. Title stripped and left vacant.
Louisville 2013 hoops title stripped due to unscrupulous off-the-court behavior, not doping or cheating or any competitive advantage gained, title left vacant.
Over a dozen other NCAA division 1, 2, 3 titles stripped over the years and left vacant. A few for illegal substances conferring competitive advantage, but most for monetary infractions.

MLB found evidence the Astros cheated during the 2017 playoffs. Title should be stripped and left vacant as is the norm with team sports.
Won't happen though. On MLB's own MLB Network last night, the commentators were all toeing the company line of "this was an unprecedentedly harsh punishment" and similar malarkey. The players have not been punished one iota. All position players (those in the dugout) knew about it in detail and many actively utilized it. They should be suspended for 20 or so games this season so there's at least some monetary penalty for them. Their pitchers certainly knew about it (the guy who ratted was a pitcher) but would not have been involved in the implementation and may not (?) have been in a position to stop it if they were in the bullpen most of the time, so maybe I'd give them a pass on the suspensions. The entire team should be made to forfeit their WS championship rings. Of course, this is all in Fantasy Land where the commissioner has a spine.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by ScottW

MLB found evidence the Astros cheated during the 2017 playoffs. Title should be stripped and left vacant as is the norm with team sports.
Won't happen though. On MLB's own MLB Network last night, the commentators were all toeing the company line of "this was an unprecedentedly harsh punishment" and similar malarkey. The players have not been punished one iota. All position players (those in the dugout) knew about it in detail and many actively utilized it. They should be suspended for 20 or so games this season so there's at least some monetary penalty for them. Their pitchers certainly knew about it (the guy who ratted was a pitcher) but would not have been involved in the implementation and may not (?) have been in a position to stop it if they were in the bullpen most of the time, so maybe I'd give them a pass on the suspensions. The entire team should be made to forfeit their WS championship rings. Of course, this is all in Fantasy Land where the commissioner has a spine.

The commissioner works at the pleasure of the owners. Spine's got nothing to do with it.

And the commissioner made a call to give the players immunity for their testimony, rather than punishments languish in artibitration purgatory for a long time with the union who (rightly) would defend against suspensions for the players.

Crane and Manfred got their scapegoats in the Astros GM and a couple managers.