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Thread: MLB Thread 2019

  1. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by ml242 View Post
    early openers do suck, but i hope they were smart enough to schedule them down south...
    First 5 games are in the Bronx. At least the Sox are on the road for the first 10 or so, at SEA->OAK->ARI

    The London shit is pretty wack.

    We fully expect the Yanks to compete hard this year but hope AFB comes though for us when it counts.

  2. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by iceman View Post
    I think they'll kill the game by trying to make it "modern", that it's best preserved and appreciated as it is. But that's exactly what an old guy would think, so I dunno.
    If you want to get families in the ballpark and cater more to kids, knock the ticket prices down, knock the concession prices down, play more day games, and maybe play around with some weekday twilight starts. 7:15 starts and $25 bleacher tickets aren't a fun experience for a family of four to watch the Reds go 75-87 or whatever.

    Moving games out of prime time and resisting the urge to soak people for $12.00 hot dogs won't make MLB more profitable this quarter. The question is whether that is more important to you than having the game be profitable in 30 years.

  3. #28
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    Get rid of the shift and institute 3 batters minimum per pitching appearance (outside of injury) and you cut 25% of the game time down. Offense goes up also.

    Chicks dig the long ball, not crIcket players. The shift is dumb.

    But moving more games to like 4 on a Thursday will do nothing but hurt the game. What family man who needs cheaper tickets and concessions is going to blow off work on a midweek day? About zero.

    You can still go see a double a game for about the price of a Starbucks coffee. You can bring the whole fam and get food for like 50 bucks. There is your affordability right there, and you can do it locally more often than not.
    Live Free or Die

  4. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by AdironRider View Post
    Get rid of the shift and institute 3 batters minimum per pitching appearance (outside of injury) and you cut 25% of the game time down. Offense goes up also.

    Chicks dig the long ball, not crIcket players. The shift is dumb.
    .
    Shift is smart because it works.
    Hitters need to adjust.

    How does it slow game down? batters stepping out of the box to adjust gloves & crotch take more time.

  5. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sirshredalot View Post
    If you want to get families in the ballpark and cater more to kids, knock the ticket prices down, knock the concession prices down, play more day games, and maybe play around with some weekday twilight starts. 7:15 starts and $25 bleacher tickets aren't a fun experience for a family of four to watch the Reds go 75-87 or whatever.

    Moving games out of prime time and resisting the urge to soak people for $12.00 hot dogs won't make MLB more profitable this quarter. The question is whether that is more important to you than having the game be profitable in 30 years.
    im with you. a kid with memories of seeing their favorite players do something special with their dads and then telling the story to their children is going to keep the game going.

    their improvements are stupid and will only alienate real fans without bringing new blood in to compensate. shitshow.
    j'ai des grands instants de lucididididididididi

  6. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy View Post
    Shift is smart because it works.
    Hitters need to adjust.

    How does it slow game down? batters stepping out of the box to adjust gloves & crotch take more time.
    Yup- limit batter fidgets. Cuts an hour out of the game easily. I think those gloves are tight, get to batting.

  7. #32
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    I think you could speed things up by replacing pitchers with pitching machines. Program them from the dugout so they throw a pitch every 7 seconds.
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  8. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy View Post
    Shift is smart because it works.
    Hitters need to adjust.

    How does it slow game down? batters stepping out of the box to adjust gloves & crotch take more time.
    I would agree that batters stepping out is a time suck also. I can remember physically aging watching any Nomar at bat back in the day.

    No doubt the shift works, it is also fucking stupid. It covers up players who suck ass at defense and eliminates most of the benefits of defensive skill players ala Ozzie and Vizquel.
    Live Free or Die

  9. #34
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    tell these fools to drop a bunt once in awhile or learn how to go the other way. problem solved.
    j'ai des grands instants de lucididididididididi

  10. #35
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    If they institute the 20 second pitch rule, batters won't be able to fidget as much. Limiting mound visits already helps

  11. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by AdironRider View Post
    I would agree that batters stepping out is a time suck also. I can remember physically aging watching any Nomar at bat back in the day.

    No doubt the shift works, it is also fucking stupid. It covers up players who suck ass at defense and eliminates most of the benefits of defensive skill players ala Ozzie and Vizquel.
    A few points on the shift:

    1. It turns contact into outs and suppresses offense a bit. This speeds the game up.

    2. It puts better defensive players in position to put their glove on the ball. If you really like watching Arrenado pick it, you should be hyped to see him playing shortstop with left handed pull hitters at the dish.

    3. It's become much more widespread in the past couple years, but it was first widely deployed in the 1930s against Williams. People played all over the diamond back in the 19th century. Idunno why supposed old school guys dislike it.

    I'm all for limiting trips to the mound and cutting down on batter fidgeting. But the shift Seema fine to me.

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by warthog View Post
    Yup- limit batter fidgets. Cuts an hour out of the game easily. I think those gloves are tight, get to batting.
    I think that was the real reason we traded Nomar...


    Was so sick of that dance every plate appearance.
    Screw the net, Surf the backcountry!

  13. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy View Post
    Different crew for sure. Was @ Yankee Stadium when they took over and it was pretty amazing.


    I could be down for that, wish I knew any other Dodger fans in the area.
    That looks pretty serious... gotta love it. I'm sure there will be many Dodger fans at Fenway for that series. Brooklyn's not that far?!
    Screw the net, Surf the backcountry!

  14. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddy View Post
    I think that was the real reason we traded Nomar...


    Was so sick of that dance every plate appearance.
    But you kept Pedroia
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  15. #40
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    Favourite Nomah moment.
    Love he does the games for LA now when I watch on MLB.

  16. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timberridge View Post
    But you kept Pedroia
    Definitely irritating at the plate.

    Nobody in LA can say Nomar's name right.

  17. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by iceman View Post
    Definitely irritating at the plate.

    Nobody in LA can say Nomar's name right.
    Not hard to pronounce Mr Mia Hamm

  18. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by iceman View Post
    Definitely irritating at the plate.

    Nobody in LA can say Nomar's name right.
    In my spare time I coach teenage baseball. Last summer I had one kid who would raise his hand, and step out of the box to adjust his cup after every pitch. I told the parents either get him a cup that fits or don't wear one at all. Kid shows up next game, same shit, so I told him if his hands leave the bat at any point, I will bench him for the remainder of the game. He eventually got the message. The OCD stuff that hitters do needs to be caught early and discouraged.
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  19. #44
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    another reason posada was so good. that dude didn’t even need gloves.
    j'ai des grands instants de lucididididididididi

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timberridge View Post
    In my spare time I coach teenage baseball. Last summer I had one kid who would raise his hand, and step out of the box to adjust his cup after every pitch. I told the parents either get him a cup that fits or don't wear one at all. Kid shows up next game, same shit, so I told him if his hands leave the bat at any point, I will bench him for the remainder of the game. He eventually got the message. The OCD stuff that hitters do needs to be caught early and discouraged.
    AFAIK, you can ask for time and step out of the box, but the ump doesn't have to grant it. Getting a called strike while you're stepping out would be an eye opener.

  21. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timberridge View Post
    But you kept Pedroia
    That was who I pictured as I typed.

  22. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sirshredalot View Post
    A few points on the shift:

    1. It turns contact into outs and suppresses offense a bit. This speeds the game up.

    2. It puts better defensive players in position to put their glove on the ball. If you really like watching Arrenado pick it, you should be hyped to see him playing shortstop with left handed pull hitters at the dish.

    3. It's become much more widespread in the past couple years, but it was first widely deployed in the 1930s against Williams. People played all over the diamond back in the 19th century. Idunno why supposed old school guys dislike it.

    I'm all for limiting trips to the mound and cutting down on batter fidgeting. But the shift Seema fine to me.
    Agreed- and the rule changes needed to actually eliminate it would make the game more new school and complicated, not less- see https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/07/25/de...baseball-rules It's sort of fun anyway, especially when a batter beats the shift by not hitting it where expected. If we need more offense, lower the mound like has been done before (and limiting pitching changes as discussed above is intriguing, especially since that would actually speed up the game).

    Now what about balls and strikes called by the computer. Super new school obviously and "takes out the human element" but I'm not sure it's such a great human element (umpire skill and pecidillos). I mean if we hadn't had the technology to chalk lines on the field we would have had to rely on umpire judgment on that too (hmm turns out that's how the game was originally played the fist few years- foul poles were originally used to judge balls landing inside the park as well- see http://www.19cbaseball.com/field-9.html )

  23. #48
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    What are the point of positions in baseball if you are just going to run a shift all the time? Seriously I don't get it. I want to see guys like Ozzie kill it within the parameters of their position. Not parking him between 1st and 2nd because it makes getting an out easier. Nothing in sports should be made easier IMO.
    Live Free or Die

  24. #49
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    robot umps or a guy calling from the control room into an ear piece would be huge improvements.
    j'ai des grands instants de lucididididididididi

  25. #50
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    Clayton Kershaw had a baseball in his left hand yesterday and that makes me happy

    Last year was one of his worst years but he struck out nearly a batter per inning, and struck out more than five times as many batters as he walked. He reduced his vulnerability to the home run & of the starters who threw 160 innings or more, only six finished with a lower ERA. Yeah he is a year older but he is in a better place physically than he has been in last 2 seasons.
    Not bad for our #2

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