i'm a casual baseball fan, mostly just the twins but this is really sad to me
i just did a twitter poll but i started to wonder - does the average non-sports fan know the name of ANY major league baseball player? i kinda doubt it
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 1 March 2022 22:48 (two years ago) link
Good question. I wonder if Derek Jeter (or maybe Ichiro) was the last time you could confidently answer "yes" to that. Mike Trout should be an easy yes, and so should Mookie Betts and Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, and then there's Soto and Tatis and Guerrero and Acuna. But I'm not sure if that's the case.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 1 March 2022 23:29 (two years ago) link
Is there any way to stop baseball teams from being owned by groups that actively hate baseball?
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 2 March 2022 00:00 (two years ago) link
xpost oh sorry I meant active players (I even put Jeter is retired in the question cuz I knew he'd be the one)
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 2 March 2022 00:33 (two years ago) link
I've never heard of Tatis or Acuna
This shit sucks. Two shortened seasons in three years? In a sport that’s already finding itself behind the times? I used to have Brewers games on constantly. I don’t even really know who’s on the team anymore.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 2 March 2022 00:44 (two years ago) link
jacke bradley jr has gone back to boston, for one thing….
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 2 March 2022 09:15 (two years ago) link
MLB took advantage of fan excitement for a new deal to push out propaganda about where the negotiations were at so that the players would look like assholes who changed their minds. https://t.co/wyEk1kujKr— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 2, 2022
― Andy K, Wednesday, 2 March 2022 16:01 (two years ago) link
uuuuugh
― the world's undisputed #1 fan of 'Spud Infinity' (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 2 March 2022 16:36 (two years ago) link
https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2022/3/1/22955596/mlb-lockout-february-deadline-end-point
the owners are russia
everyone knows they're wrong, it happens anyway
― the world's undisputed #1 fan of 'Spud Infinity' (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 2 March 2022 16:40 (two years ago) link
this whole thing sucks, i want my baseball in April
― Bee OK, Wednesday, 2 March 2022 19:28 (two years ago) link
I don't want baseball at all unless the players can hold the owners and Manfred down and beat them with socks full of soap.
― Everybody Loves Ramen (WmC), Wednesday, 2 March 2022 19:41 (two years ago) link
fuck april, i want my spring training games right now.
― the world's undisputed #1 fan of 'Spud Infinity' (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 2 March 2022 19:47 (two years ago) link
Doubt I'll read any of this, sure it's largely nonsense.
https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/a-letter-to-baseball-fans
― clemenza, Thursday, 3 March 2022 18:31 (two years ago) link
Manfred's the Mann.
― clemenza, Thursday, 3 March 2022 18:32 (two years ago) link
impressed that many major baseball writers -- rosenthal (athletic), passan (espn), kepner (nyt) -- are straight-up blaming the owners
i'm sure buster olney and jim bowden etc. will continue to scold 'both sides' but still
― mookieproof, Friday, 4 March 2022 06:03 (two years ago) link
Sources: As the two sides look to jump-start the CBA talks, the union has approached MLB with an offer to re-open talks on the 14-team postseason field, with the idea it can exchange this for more flexibility on the CBT numbers and other issues.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 4, 2022
this was always going to happen but............kill me
i don't think there's anything that would kill my interest in this sport than 80-win teams in the playoffs. what a joke.
― ✖, Friday, 4 March 2022 21:40 (two years ago) link
it's also fucking stupid for the union to say that, if they did, when the whole world knows they're already offering way more than the owners are and they shouldn't need to budge on anything else for the owners to move, and the owners are just trying to break them. i would much rather have this lockdown continue until the owners feel the heat and break than see the players agree to 14 teams, even if that means a 60 game season. fuck it.
― ✖, Friday, 4 March 2022 21:43 (two years ago) link
The whole world doesn’t know tho. I saw a group of old coworkers last night and a couple were chirping about over paid ball players; and I feel like this is going to be the default assumption for a lot of regular people unfortunately.
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Saturday, 5 March 2022 00:31 (two years ago) link
yep. if half a season gets canceled, some fans will show up in july and boo the players, no matter what. they can't boo the owners
― the world's undisputed #1 fan of 'Spud Infinity' (Karl Malone), Saturday, 5 March 2022 00:44 (two years ago) link
that's not really that important though!!
― ✖, Saturday, 5 March 2022 01:29 (two years ago) link
So sounds like the owners are finally agreeing to raising the payroll ceiling; which I guess might help resolve things
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 10 March 2022 03:21 (two years ago) link
Two weeks of the season have been cancelled. Since the season is 186 days and one year of service time counts as 172 days, they may have to renegotiate the service time clock rules as well.
To me, both sides still look hopelessly stuck.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 10 March 2022 12:44 (two years ago) link
@jaysonstKeep seeing/reading that Rob Manfred "canceled" another week of games last night. Wait. He didn't say thatThe phrase he used was "removed from the schedule."MLB says there's no significance to that. But I'm hearing they think they can still play 162 if they agree today"If!"
The phrase he used was "removed from the schedule."
MLB says there's no significance to that. But I'm hearing they think they can still play 162 if they agree today
"If!"
@jonmorosiHot Stove could resume hours from now. We are *that* close. 👀
― Andy K, Thursday, 10 March 2022 19:24 (two years ago) link
yeah, i was gonna say, despite MLB raising the intl draft as a major issue at the last moment, it still seems like they're more or less near agreement on almost everything
― the world's undisputed #1 fan of 'Spud Infinity' (Karl Malone), Thursday, 10 March 2022 19:28 (two years ago) link
baseball
― frogbs, Thursday, 10 March 2022 20:22 (two years ago) link
whooop. wonder what game-altering changes the players had to agree to to make this happen.
― na (NA), Thursday, 10 March 2022 20:41 (two years ago) link
just be happy 7-inning DHs and ghost runners are done for now
― ✖, Thursday, 10 March 2022 21:35 (two years ago) link
i love 7 inning games, bring them on
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 10 March 2022 21:50 (two years ago) link
I was legitimately shocked when I heard this on the way home. First guess, the players gave in and got screwed.
― clemenza, Thursday, 10 March 2022 21:51 (two years ago) link
it is intriguing that the eight-player executive board unanimously voted against it but the team reps voted 26-4 for it
max scherzer can afford to miss games more easily than his peers, which is exactly what the league counted on
― mookieproof, Thursday, 10 March 2022 21:55 (two years ago) link
damn i thought it would just die already
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 10 March 2022 22:48 (two years ago) link
12-team playoffs mean no more tiebreaker games and no more one-game wild card playoffs. kind of bummed about the loss of game 163 as it has led to some pretty exciting scenarios some seasons.
― na (NA), Friday, 11 March 2022 14:53 (two years ago) link
I don’t like it, but am curious about allowing advertising on jerseys. Is it just one patch or will be players be competitive to see how many patches they can get. Will they promoting their wife’s Etsy shop next to some crypto company etc.
― Michael F Gill, Friday, 11 March 2022 15:44 (two years ago) link
ugh, i didn't see the thing about ads. i get that it's ubiquitous throughout the world, and in most of the bigger US sports as well (except the NFL, somehow). i will get used to it, and i know it's always been part of the game (as i cheer when paul dejong almost hits a home run into BIG MAC LAND in the LF upper deck at Busch Stadium, which itself named after a company/family)
if anyone wears crypto shit i hope they get beaned though
― the world's undisputed #1 fan of 'Spud Infinity' (Karl Malone), Friday, 11 March 2022 16:11 (two years ago) link
i don't think the players would have any control over what dumb ads they have to wear?!
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 11 March 2022 16:23 (two years ago) link
i want a burger king logo right on the butt, B on the left, K on the right
― the world's undisputed #1 fan of 'Spud Infinity' (Karl Malone), Friday, 11 March 2022 16:26 (two years ago) link
NOT Brooklyn, BURGER KANG
burger king pantsbats with the balleverybody's lookin at yall
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 11 March 2022 16:52 (two years ago) link
can't wait for the pearl clutching when a player eventually covers up a sponsor logo for ethical reasons.
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 11 March 2022 18:47 (two years ago) link
Automatic strike zone in 2023 finally
― calstars, Monday, 21 March 2022 03:11 (two years ago) link
starting to have second thoughts about that. bitching about balls and strikes a pretty integral part of the experience. and do these robot umps really adjust for player height? no doubt it’s all been thought of, just maybe a little nostalgic for a simpler time..
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 March 2022 07:45 (two years ago) link
I hear that. But sometimes the calls are just really out of whack…Ultimately it will benefit the game I hope, make things more fair for both the hitters -and- the pitchers
― calstars, Monday, 21 March 2022 11:33 (two years ago) link
now that i'm thinking about it iirc the homeplate umpire can overrule the robocall, so that should provide ample opportunity for the traditional disgruntlement
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 March 2022 11:34 (two years ago) link
Ohhhh. Well then 😊
― calstars, Monday, 21 March 2022 11:35 (two years ago) link
A little nostalgic too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssx1hNSs4TI
― clemenza, Monday, 21 March 2022 12:49 (two years ago) link
pretty impressive to be ejected 91 times
― calstars, Monday, 21 March 2022 13:04 (two years ago) link
Earl Weaver aside, I want them to get calls right. I think about the checked-swing call that ended the Giants' season last year (but that would be outside the scope of a robot ump, no? just balls and strikes?).
― clemenza, Monday, 21 March 2022 15:51 (two years ago) link
i'm not necessarily against robo balls & strikes, but several things worry me:
as of four or five years ago, the automatic zone was not more accurate than human umps. i'm fairly confident that, like the new ball-tracking system, it is better now. but it is also my understanding that mlb's agreement with the umpires union allowed it to unilaterally impose automatic balls/strikes if implemented by a certain date. so i hope the system is actually ready and not just being rushed in while still possible.
with framing skills moot, i'm not sure how catcher valuations will change, but i'm guessing it won't be to their advantage.
be careful what you wish for: there are pitches that are technically strikes -- e.g. something completely unhittable that nicks the zone by a millimeter -- that we've spent 150 years collectively calling balls. there are going to be some *weird* looking pitches called the opposite of what we're used to, and it's going to take time for everyone to adjust to it. fortunately baseball fans are famously accommodating of change.
the system will be easy to abuse. mlb has already shown that it's willing to change the composition of the ball mid-season; there's really nothing to stop them from tweaking the strike zone algorithm to goose preferred outcomes at any moment. you can *tell* umps to call the high strike, but they may or may not do it and they'll be blamed by the fans either way. if the computer says that pitch is a strike (or ball), well, there's no one to argue with, is there?
all that said, iirc there were few complaints when it was tested in the atlantic league a few years ago, so maybe it'll be fine
― mookieproof, Monday, 21 March 2022 19:11 (two years ago) link
also it seems like placing cameras to study check-swings would be fairly simple, but first everyone would have to agree on what a swing actually *is*
― mookieproof, Monday, 21 March 2022 19:17 (two years ago) link