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It's a good trade for all teams, basically putting the Dodgers and Twins in a better position to win now, the Red Sox in a better position to win later. Verdugo even as a rookie isn't a huge step down from Betts. The bigger variable is Price. If he rejuvenates, the trade will look like a steal for LA. But no one knows. I can only assume the Sox had decided there was no chance Mookie would stay with them. With that as a given, trading him was the obvious move. Mookie's numbers were better in Fenway, so will be interesting to see whether he declines offensively.

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You never know how changing leagues for the first time will pan out. Price may do really well. Same with Felix Hernandez with the Braves. At least once around the league, anyway. We"ll see if Mookie and Rendon can hit American League pitching. Albert had a decline when he went to the Angels.

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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It had to happen:

'Former major league pitcher Mike Bolsinger sued the Houston Astros on Monday, claiming their sign-stealing scheme contributed to a poor relief appearance in August 2017 that essentially ended his big league career.' [url:https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/former-blue-jays-reliever-sues-astros-sign-stealing-scandal/]clonk[/url]

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this article is saying that the Red Sox are trading MB to runner up LA as a sort of apology for "possible cheating", MLB is still investigating the Sox

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hey-baseball-we-still-need-some-answers-on-the-astros-11581342436?mod=hp_lead_pos9

 

Couldn"t read the article but in any case, there"s somewhat of a consensus that Boston got a lot of value in return for one year of Betts and Dave Price"s uncertain and expensive future, especially as the deal was restructured and consummated. Interesting way to say you"re sorry.

 

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Considering the discussion of whether the Astros' 2017 World Series title, consider what Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera did after he was caught cheating via PEDs in 2012:

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/8407726/san-francisco-giants-melky-cabrera-disqualifies-nl-batting-title

 

Quoting from the article: (Melky) "Cabrera was disqualified from the NL batting honor at his own request".

So he did not just tolerate this being done - he initiated this.

 

What is it that Melky Cabrera understood in 2012, that the Houston Astros do not understand today?

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Again, Times award winning columnist Bill Plaschke nails it. How is this NOT worse then Pete Rose betting on baseball and being banned for life ?! All these players should be banned. And this out of touch, delusional billionaire owner, Jim Crane , should be forced to sell his team and banned. He's living in the billionaire bubble of reality like Donald Sterling was. The NBA forced him to sell.

 

"They are a great group of guys..." hmm sounds all too familiar. :facepalm:

 

Also the spineless commissioner Manfred doo wah diddy diddy Mann should lose his job as well. It's disgusting - and I'm not even a Dodger fan !!

 

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2020-02-13/rob-manfred-inaction-as-damaging-baseball-as-astros-cheating?fbclid=IwAR3dcCHekkVoBTDwp2tqYYjyuhoXyBnYLko64HTWKEg91YCqZe6jb3Sc4E4

Ex Freaking Zactly!!!!!

 

Until MLB punishes these cheaters with the voracity of Bicycling (e.g. lifetime bans of Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong), I view MLB as professional wrestling. A Farce.

I cancelled my MLB Directv today.

 

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I don't see sign stealing as being on par with blood doping or PEDs. And even if it is, in some big picture way, as morally serious, there's still the problem of how to prove any particular player was in on it. Someone banged a trash can while they were at bat, is that enough evidence to convict them and take away their livelihood? That makes me a little uneasy.

 

I can't claim to know how major leaguers think and feel. In my imagination I believe they'll be more deeply motivated to beat the Astros. I don't think throwing at batters' heads actually helps you do that.

 

 

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Sign-stealing has always been part of the game. Hence switching signs with a runner on 2nd. It"s the ('because we can') over-use of technology by self-serving superstars, involving others outside of their bench, that should be punished.

 

Technology has been boring out the core of the game, with challenges to calls, super slow-motion replays, pitch clocks, and in the near future, AI-robotic umpires. Other rules implemented to 'speed up the game' such as facing minimum batters, limiting step outs & mound visits mitigate tactics, clearing time for appeals to New York to settle calls that could/should be imperfect anyway. Franchises have become so dependant on one player"s contract there"s no blocking the plate or disrupting double plays in fear of someone getting injured in what used to be aggressive plays both the defender and the runner were well-schooled in.

 

All, or at least most, have been implemented since Rob Manfred. And it will get worse.

 

Excuse the rant. I"ve been a consumed baseball fan since childhood... but last year was 'it' for me. It"s still the greatest game, the game that imitates life so closely, but the MLB has become a shadow of its former self. I prefer to go down to the local ball park and root for the true boys & girls of summer.

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It's pretty crazy. And it's not gonna stop anytime soon. These guys' heads are gonna get thrown at all year.

Manfred just announced harsher penalties for any pitchers throwing at batters.

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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  • 2 months later...
This just in: The Houston Astros have extended their official thanks to the Coronavirus that they will not have to play in front of any fans during the entire 2020 season.

I've been glad I haven't had to hear much about them. The most has been the last couple of days with the Red Sox punishment announcement.

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  • 3 months later...

12 Marlins test positive. That's it folks, the season is over.

 

Or it should be, in my opinion. Not to protect people's health (though of course that matters), but because you can no longer call it a sport when the competition really comes down to which team can best avoid the virus. If a team can lose 12 players for 2 weeks, the playing field is no longer level.

 

The good news, at least for my original home team Padres, is that Eric Hosmer will win the MVP. No one saw that coming!

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12 Marlins test positive. That's it folks, the season is over.

 

Or it should be, in my opinion. Not to protect people's health (though of course that matters), but because you can no longer call it a sport when the competition really comes down to which team can best avoid the virus. If a team can lose 12 players for 2 weeks, the playing field is no longer level.

 

The good news, at least for my original home team Padres, is that Eric Hosmer will win the MVP.

 

Sorry...jumping in here without following this thread (not a regular MLB follower). But my comment is how the heck are the NBA/NFL going to play when MLB can't get through a week without this happening?

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The good news, at least for my original home team Padres, is that Eric Hosmer will win the MVP. No one saw that coming!

 

 

Damn right

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12 Marlins test positive. That's it folks, the season is over.

 

Or it should be, in my opinion. Not to protect people's health (though of course that matters), but because you can no longer call it a sport when the competition really comes down to which team can best avoid the virus. If a team can lose 12 players for 2 weeks, the playing field is no longer level.

 

The good news, at least for my original home team Padres, is that Eric Hosmer will win the MVP.

 

Sorry...jumping in here without following this thread (not a regular MLB follower). But my comment is how the heck are the NBA/NFL going to play when MLB can't get through a week without this happening?

 

I don't know about the NFL, but the NBA seems to (so far) be running a fairly safe bubble. NHL teams just went into the bubble yesterday, but they haven't had any positives over July 18-25 I believe. The MLB and NFL scenarios are much riskier, which is why you're seeing the Blue Jays play their games in Buffalo this year. Toronto is an NHL bubble hub, but having baseball teams roll through all summer long (even if they only went from the airport to the field and attached hotel) was too much. Of course, the fact that the NBA/NHL are finishing off truncated seasons presents a much different set of requirements than the MLB and NFL, who are trying to play full seasons (albeit a shortened one for baseball).

 

BTW, how about that runner at second in extras? I like it. Olson gunning down Ohtani was nice.

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As much as I hate to say it, I agree, we shouldn't be playing baseball at this time.

 

It makes sense that we should crave any return to normal, during this chaotic, disruption of normal life; but yeah, returning to normal isn't possible under these conditions.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

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MLB was making plans to restart the season at a time when most people thought opening day would see flattened or even down bending curves.

 

I love the part about Lou Williams of the Clippers attending a funeral and then ending up in a strip club. Funeral's are tough -- a guy's gotta blow off stress somehow, right?

 

They're playing baseball in Tawain, but the differences are many.

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Formula One is going to multiple venues, so far they've been to Austria and Hungary and will be at Silverstone this weekend. Despite the number of teams and people, no positives. However, they announced they won't be coming to the Americas at allâ¦

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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And that's a big difference. I can't speak to the individual protocols of each league (I only know what the TSN/ESPN/etc insiders are telling us), but a lot of the impetus for moving the Jays games was potential hotspots, Miami and Tampa being obvious concerning opponents. It's possible F1 has more rigorous testing and travel insulation than the MLB, but I can't imagine their protocols would be so different to render so much better results by themselves. Also, didn't they run two races in Austria or something? They changed the GP name and raced the same track to avoid moving to another for some reason?
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They are doing some doubles such as Austria and Silverstone, and three tracks in Italy. They're trying to squeeze a full season in a few months' time, picking tracks on availability, safety, and probably other stuff like housing all those people. Silverstone offered to host the entire season but the FIA didn't want to do that since it would be a bit boring (as I'm sure you know the changes in tracks is part of the challenge, vs. other sports where the field of play is pretty much the same from venue to venue [except the outfield in baseball]).

 

But each team is supposedly in their own bubble, there's not much interaction between drivers unlike other sports, so auto racing has some advantages in that regard. I haven't heard about any outbreaks in other racing series either, but I have not checked.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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They need to pump more crowd noise. Some of the games are getting really snippy. Guys can hear better on the field and are getting edgy when they hear insults they used to not hear. I heard the Blue Jays announcer a couple of weeks ago on ESPN radio say they need crowd noise because it is too easy for broadcasts to pickup vulgarity coming off the field. ð

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Interesting, so teams that can't play the full 60 games will have their standing for the playoffs determined by winning percentage. Which basically means winning percentage is the only metric that matters. It makes a weird season even weirder, but it allows MLB to make health-protective decisions. What would be really messed up is if some teams played 60 games and others only, say, 30. If it's more like 60 versus 55, then there's a reasonable assurance of statistical parity.

 

A major outbreak 5 games into the season makes it hard to be optimistic that this can work. The statistical probabilities are not favorable, and it doesn't seem like enough players are doing all they can to keeping the season going and keep getting paid.

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