MLB Thread

[RoXer]

Enough with spring already, let's get it on.

Opening Day is Monday. Who's going?



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[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Jesus Christ Dice KKK? Fucking eh Mets. :n:

Not going. I've been to like one Sox game in like 5 years. I like going but would rather just watch at home.

[Bad News Gertner]

Fuck sakes, the Jays kept Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond and are going with a three man bench. 3MB. Heh.

[RP]

And with the 4th post of the 2014 MLB Thread, the Chicago Cubs have been eliminated from playoff contention.

[DaveWadding]

Can we start waiting for 2015 now??

[DaveWadding]

Worst-case scenario: Well, they’re the Cubs. Unless a meteor wipes out Wrigley Field, the worst-case scenario is pretty much the status quo.

[Emperor Smeat]

Considering its about the middle of Theo's 5 year rebuilding plan, how good or bad is the Cubs farm system right now?

Red Sox got really lucky their post-Theo rebuilding was just 1 year because of the Dodgers and having a decent to average farm system.

[screech]

Haven't been to opening day in years. That streak continues this year, sadly.

[screech]

Jesus Christ Dice KKK? Fucking eh Mets. :n:



When did "Fuckin a" come to be negative? Lawrence from Office Space taught me the opposite.

[RoXer]

Careful What You Wish For

<figure class="lead-photo"> http://www.sportsonearth.com/assets/images/3/7/4/70183374/cuts/mlb_replay_center_io1ese7x_j9y86bec@2x.jpg <figcaption>

Think you know how to watch a baseball game? Just wait until additional replays from every possible angle are available. (AP)</figcaption> </figure>



NEW YORK -- There are two contrasting facts about Major League Baseball's upcoming replay system, which was unveiled to the media on Wednesday during a three-hour presentation that seemed to capture every possible permutation of every possible baseball play imaginable, and these two facts are impossible to reconcile. Whether anyone can come close will determine how successfully replay is received by a public that claims it wants instant replay… but might not understand just what that means.

The first is that self-evident one: There is so, so much work going into the instant replay system. Every stadium will have 12 different camera angles, including an overhead cam especially installed at each stadium, fed into a Replay Operations Center in MLB Advanced Media's offices in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. (Also home of Sports On Earth's offices, but they don't let us anywhere near that stuff.) This room, 9,000 square feet equipped with 30 massive high definition televisions, will be staffed with eight umpires and tons of technicians, going over every possible play from every possible angle, slowing it down, speeding it up, going frame-by-frame.

This endeavor -- which will be a subplot at every single game played this year and spotlighted even more in the postseason -- has come at an almost infathomable cost, in both dollars and man-hours. MLBAM showed us the command center, and the plethora of fail-safes to make sure that every play is viewed and viewed again and viewed again until those poor umpires are all Clockwork Orange'd. The rules for replay challenges are scrupulously specific and have been agonized over by tons of intelligent people who have made this their life's work. Major League Baseball is about to have the best, most thorough instant replay system that humankind can come up with.

And then there is this other fact, presented to media alongside all these whirlygigs, that, well… this might not be all that necessary. While prepping their system and testing their readiness, MLBAM looked at 50,000 close, reviewable plays from the 2013 season. Do you know how many reversible calls there were from that 50,000? 377.

That's one wrong call every 6.4 games. Do you know how often they found a game in which there were two missed calls that would have been overturned in the same game? Once every 90 games. Three missed calls in the same game? Once every 810 games. Four missed calls? Never. There weren't any.

The mere scope of what MLBAM is trying this year is staggering. They have learned the lessons of the NFL: There will be no middle-aged men peering under a curtain. There are all the cameras. There is the control room. There are all the regulations. There is a state-of-the-art video processing system, pioneered by MLBAM, that is devoting every resource to the every possible angle. It can feel like NASA-level stuff. This is how you do a replay system. One thing you can be sure of: If this catches on, the NFL's replay system will be a lot better within five years, maybe sooner.

Except… baseball isn't football. Baseball umpires are better than NFL referees; there is less to call, less than only a camera can catch. Those stats tell the whole story: Two calls wrong in a game once every 90 games. For this we have called in NASA.

Maybe you say one call is all that matters: If one wrong call is overturned, it's worth it, particularly if it's one in the postseason. That makes sense, and the nine-year-old Will Leitch still stinging over Don Denkinger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Denkinger#The_Call) finds it difficult to disagree with you. But know that the game of baseball you're going to be watching over the next year is going to be a lot different than you're used to.

MLB has done everything it can to keep the flow of the game, thanks in large part to input from Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre, who also spoke today. ("Managers now have something they never had before," Torre said. "They have a chance to change the outcome of a game. Maybe they'll have fewer sleepless nights.") This is the main reason for the manager challenge system, criticized by some for being too football-like, too imprecise. Sure, someone in Chelsea could buzz the earpiece of an ump on the field and tell them a play needs to be looked at again … but that's the quickest way to stop a game dead in its tracks, no matter how efficient the system is.

That's why the managers are there: On close plays, they've often slowed the game to a stop to argue anyway, so the replays have been built into the system. Now a manager starts the process: It's on them to get the replay system going, not the umpires and not Chelsea. This works, because by the time the umpire requests a ruling from Chelsea, the play has already been watched dozens of times: They don't wait around to be told to look at a close play. This does make it go faster, and there's even the neat transparency of MLB now allowing the stadiums to show close plays on the jumbotron (something that was previously not allowed) and then, once a play has been overturned, an edited highlight package explaining exactly why. Again: They're doing this right. The problem is that this system can't possibly be perfect. There are too many plays that are inconclusive, that no human, no matter how many cameras he or she had at their disposal, could ever figure out what happened. We saw a few of these today, including one where Cardinals farmhand Stephen Piscotty, during Arizona Fall League action, may or may not have been hit on the hand with a pitch. There was no way to decipher, no matter how closely you looked at it. The play was… inconclusive.

But this is a lot of work for inconclusive. The reason replay is here is not because umpiring has been bad: It hasn't, as MLB's statistics clearly show. It's here because umpires haven't been perfect. We live in an age of instant outrage, of Twitter, of millions of people loudly pointing out mistakes at once, and all of them being heard. With that sort of noise, MLB had to respond, and they had to respond in the biggest way possible. (Which they have done: Seriously, the NFL's replay system sort of looks like two octogenarians trying to figure out how to rewind their DVD player now.) But they still won't get everything right. We won't like that an obvious ball-strike call can't be overturned. We won't like that tag-up play that can't be overturned. (For this year anyway, tag-up plays are not reviewable.) We won't like that the guy in Chelsea thinks it's inconclusive when, dammit, we are sure it's conclusive. It will drive us irrationally crazy. It's not fair, but it's how it is. Now that the door has been opened, w'ere going to become more demanding, not less.

Meanwhile, they're getting better than ever at this, teaching us things about the game we didn't know, and changing some others. The MLB cameras put rest to the notion that the "tie goes to the runner;" by definition, when it comes to nanoseconds, there is no such thing as a "tie." Right now they can't get that down, but they will. Also, the replay system now must determine, precisely, what a "catch" is. Is it when the ball hits the glove? Is it when the glove is closed? Is it when the ball is transferred? Video can tell us... but are we sure we want to know? Our muscle memory of decades of watching baseball is about to get upended. It is something we should all prepare ourselves for.

This is the next step in baseball, and in sports. This is what we wanted, this is what technology brings us, this is the way human progress is supposed to work. But it is all for something that was not nearly as broken as we felt, emotionally, it was. Baseball is about to unveil the best replay system in all of professional sports. It's terrific that they're going all in. But it's still not going to be perfect: We're still going to criticize it, all the time. And the game itself, what we think of it (http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/63016062/), can't help but be a little bit different. It's still baseball. They're doing everything to protect it, and keep its core. But it won't be exactly the same. It'll be better, probably. But it'll be different. I hope you're all ready for what's coming. It's amazing. But it really is a lot.


http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/70183162/major-league-baseball-instant-replay-may-be-overwhelming

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Miguel Cabrera’s new deal is expected to be the biggest in MLB history. It includes 2 years from previous deal &amp; is 10 years/$300 million.</p>&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/statuses/449322622644649984">March 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[ClockShot]

:nono:

[owenbrown]

off-topic of the upcoming season, I'm watching the 30 for 30 documentary "Catching Hell" about the Steve Bartman incident. Just fucking wow.

[ClockShot]

Angels lock up Mike Trout. 6-years, $144.5 mil.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>If the Mets hitters don't lead the league in K's this year, I'll eat my hat.</font>

[ClockShot]

Gentlemen, we have arrived. I don't recognize those games played in Australia, but today is Opening Day. Well, for at least the Dodgers and Padres. Everyone else starts either tomorrow or Tuesday.

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[screech]

Yessss. Playing Centerfield on my show today to celebrate.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Can't imagine any season being as satisfying as 2013. A truly improbable dream season. Now the title defense begins.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Mets Opening Day lineup:

1. 2B Eric Young Jr
2. CF Juan Lagares
3. 3B David Wright
4. RF Curtis Granderson
5. LF Andrew Brown
6. 1B Ike Davis
7. C Travis d'Arnaud
8. SS Ruben Tejada
9, P Dillon Gee

...god damn that is an awful Opening Day lineup. At least Daniel Murphy should be back for Game 2, his wife is in labor. Sucks that Chris Young suddenly got sidelined with a quad strain, he had a great spring.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>
AL East: Red Sox, Yankees (WC 1), Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays
AL Central: Tigers, Royals (WC 2), Indians, Twins, White Sox
AL West: Rangers, Athletics, Angels, Mariners, Astros
NL East: Nationals, Braves (WC 1), Mets, Phillies, Marlins
NL Central: Cardinals, Reds (WC 2), Pirates, Brewers, Cubs
NL West: Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies

Wild Card: Yankees over Royals, Braves over Reds
Division Series: Dodgers over Braves, Cardinals over Nationals, Tigers over Yankees, Rangers over Red Sox
Championship Series: Cardinals over Dodgers, Tigers over Rangers
World Series: Cardinals over Tigers

AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
AL Rookie of the Year: Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Grady Sizemore, Red Sox
AL Manager of the Year: Ned Yost, Royals
NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez, Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
NL Rookie of the Year: Billy Hamilton, Reds
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Starlin Castro, Cubs
NL Manager of the Year: Matt Williams, Nationals</font>

[DaveWadding]

I'm officially waiting for next year.

[RP]

Quick! Start the playoffs!

[RP]

Cubs will make the playoffs this year behind Mike Olts power bat and Starlin's electric jerry curl.

[DaveWadding]

wait, I hope those Cubs jerseys are specials or alternates.

[Nicky Fives]

Streaming Cubs/Pirates online.... Cubs are going to be terrible.....like worse than Blue Jays terrible

[DaveWadding]

shut up Nicky.

[RoXer]

IT'S HERE!



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[RoXer]

Happy Opening Day to you and yours.

May you be #blessed on this Opening Day and may you live to see many Opening Days to come.

Peace be with you.

[DaveWadding]

#TeamCagedBirds

[RP]

You're not making me feel good Starlin

[DaveWadding]

GODDAMMIT JEFE.

[DaveWadding]

STARLIN CASTRO DRAWS A WALK!

MVP MVP MVP

[RoXer]

(Sung to the tune of Jingle Bell Rock)

Opening, Opening, Opening Day!
People are playing baseball today!
Throwing... and hitting... and having some fun!
That's because baseball has begun.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>2 relievers, 8 pitches, 8 balls, 0 outs. Tie game. Thanks Mets bullpen!</font>

[RP]

Strope! Mowing them down!

[RP]

LETS DO THIS MIKE OLT!

[DaveWadding]

I hope by Mike Olt, you meant Luis Valfuckinbuena. :|

[RP]

Extra innings. Would love to see Starlin get a big hit.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

The champs don't even get to have opening day at home?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Sizemore with the wind assisted home run. Wooo!

[RP]

GO CUBS GO

[DaveWadding]

Sigh.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

"Go Cubs Go!"

3 seconds later they lose.

Vintage Cubies.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Mets about to lose in extras.</font> :(

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Good lord this bullpen is so bad. Jose Valverde was the only one with any life.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>If the Mets hitters don't lead the league in K's this year, I'll eat my hat.</font>

<font color=goldenrod>18 K's by Mets batters on Opening Day.</font>

[screech]

Pleasantly surprised that the old ass Phillies threw up two touchdowns today.

[Emperor Smeat]

:-\ Red Sox lost the opener although Lester pitched well.

[The Fraze]

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:yes:
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[ClockShot]

Anyone else know that Joe West is that umpire in New York handling all the replay calls?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

I'd be more pissed if it was Tim Tschida.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Poor Don Baylor's knee turned into a noodle.</font>

http://instagram.com/p/mOu7QMIr7l/#

[Ermaximus]

BJ Upton and Dan Uggla are useless on offense.

[Bad News Gertner]

Well at least I have David Price on my fantasy team. That's about the only good that came out of the Rays vs Jays game.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Actual Wall Street Journal headline.

http://i1.wp.com/www.diehardsport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Screen-Shot-2014-04-01-at-9.10.48-AM.png

18 times is a lot for a week, never mind a 4 hour baseball game.</font>

[ClockShot]

Granderson better start hitting soon Vito, or else.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Bobby Parnell partially torn UCL. Jose Valverde is now the new closer and Kyle Farnsworth is being added to the roster. Good lord.</font>

[DaveWadding]

<font color=goldenrod>Actual Wall Street Journal headline.

http://i1.wp.com/www.diehardsport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Screen-Shot-2014-04-01-at-9.10.48-AM.png

18 times is a lot for a week, never mind a 4 hour baseball game.</font>

Maybe tonight they can make it to 37.

[ClockShot]

Good god. I think the Yankees could have used another week of spring training if they were this bad.

[Dragon]

Skinny CC is not a good look. 88 MPH fastballs aren't fooling anyone

[Droford]

LJ Hoes homering off Sabathia makes me feel bad about the Bud Norris trade.

[Bad News Gertner]

Drew Hutchison!

[Innovator]

Doesn't look good for CC to lose velocity and location at once

[screech]

Dammit, Phillies. Burnett pitched well, and Bastardo actually had a clean inning, though. Good signs at least.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>This should probably be sticky'd.</font>

[Droford]

Nelson Cruz is the new Chris Davis

[OssMan]

2.5 is the over under for how many games I will watch this year

Watched 1 inning of both Nationals/Mets and Orioles/Red sox then stopped

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Now 31 strikeouts for Mets batters through 2 games. Yes, I will be counting. Deal with it.</font>

[RP]

Come on Cubbies. Pull one out!

[RP]

LETS GO CUBBIES

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-murphy-wfan-francesa-rips-paternity-leave-calls-scam-gimmick-article-1.1743733

Good god...Francesa is an asshole. I already knew this but this is ridiculous even by his standards.</font>

[RP]

COME ON CASTRO

[RP]

Castro is done.

[RP]

I wanna do the " whisper " thing with Lilly's vagina.

[RP]

Cubs bulpen...not bad at all.

[RP]

RIZZO BOMB!!!!

[RP]

What a fucking at bat lol

[Ermaximus]

Vito, I can almost assure you that by the time the Mets reach 100 K's as a team, BJ Upton will be at about half that by himself.

[RP]

Typical fucking Cubs. Cant stand this shit anymore.

[RP]

Holy shit Veras made it out

[RP]

This cubs pirates game is nuts.

[Ermaximus]

Yeah, it really is. Neither team wants to win it seems.

[Ermaximus]

Bottom of the 14th

[Ermaximus]

This is getting ridiculous. Who is left in the Cubs bullpen RP?

[Corndad]

Yes! Chant during 15th Inning of Pirates Game Last Night. Love it.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BkRWpefCUAAYlHA.jpg

[ClockShot]

Come on, Yankees. It's the Houston "Lowest payroll, 100+ losses, new to the AL, bunch of nobodies" Astros.

You get swept by them, something is wrong.

[RP]

Good news is, Bonifacio is like 9 for 11 at the plate in the first 2 games. Even has a couple of steals. Bad news, the rest of the Cubs haven't reported for regular season play.

[screech]

Phillies :(

Everyone is pooping on Papelbon but if they'd played double play up the middle with runners on the corners, Phils likely win 3-2.

[Evil Vito]

Swept to start the season. Lovely.

[RP]

Woooo Cubs win. Tonight's gonna be a good night. Jason Hammel, who knew?

[DaveWadding]

CUBS WIN

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/A9XtDyDUjIU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[RP]

EMILIOOOO

[ClockShot]

WELL IT'S TIME, IT'S TIME, IT'S TANAKA TIME, TIME, TIME, TIME, TIME, TIME, TIME, TIME

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

The way Tanaka sees it to be fourth in the American League East....

TANAKA WILL BE SUCCESSFUL!

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Ring ceremony time

[RP]

FUCK YOUR RINGS

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Go fuck a goat.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Get Beard: Red Sox World Series rings have beard illustration on inside, along w/ &quot;Bearded Brothers&quot; inscription. <a href="http://t.co/UAYyzIZcB5">pic.twitter.com/UAYyzIZcB5</a></p>&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/statuses/452158234380353536">April 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[screech]

Lol awesome

[ClockShot]

Hey, Jostens.

Didn't know Boston went with the company that made class rings. Wonder if I can get those on the cheap.

[screech]

Jostens does the World Series and Super Bowl rings.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>WOOOOOO Mets avoid going 0-162</font> :cool:

[Innovator]

Yangervis Solarte. Learn the name.

[RP]

I love the look on Tanakas face after he gave up that home run. It was a " I'm gonna murder your entire family " look. Encouraging.

[RP]

I'm really concerned about Starlin Castro. I really need a 3 hit performance today at the least.

[ClockShot]

Ladies and Gentlemen. Fellow Yankee fans. After two long years, we are sorta kinda proud to introduce to you, Michael Pineda.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Holy shit Ike Davis with the walk-off pinch hit grand slam.</font> :eek:

[Bad News Gertner]

Fear the knuckleball

[DaveWadding]

I'm really concerned about Starlin Castro. I really need a 3 hit performance today at the least.

3 singles. How you feelin?

[RP]

Waiting for 2015

[ClockShot]

Bald Vinny couldn't make it to the Yankees home opener today. :(

[ClockShot]

Sheesh. SuperNova and company burned out today.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Bartolo Colon rules.</font>

[Damian Rey]

The fucking Padres are driving me nuts. They haven't hit all year, but their pitching has been decent. Them, they clobber the ball against the Indians. but play shit defense and Tyson Ross seems to be a fluke to two starts into the season.

On the plus side, Yasmani Grandal is not only back super early from his season ending knee injury from last year, he's been raking since getting in the lineup. 4-5 tonight with a double. His timing looks really locked in and his swing looks smooth.

Now Headley and Alonso need to wake the fuck up, and somebody not named Andrew Cashner needs to get deeper in the game. The bullpen is getting over worked 2 weeks in the season.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

3 singles. How you feelin?

Two dingers tonight too.

[RP]

Castro is heating up. Rizzo is raking, Bonifacio is from another planet right now. It really should start translating to some wins right now. Cubbie just keep getting snipped by 1 run against the Pirates. They really could easily be 5-2 right now, but the Bucs have our number.

[Droford]

Sheesh. SuperNova and company burned out today.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ass kicking. Think it was the game the O's needed to get out of their funk.

[ClockShot]

Can't believe it's been 5 years since Nick Adenhart died.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>THIS JUST IN: Angels OF Josh Hamilton out 6-8 weeks because of torn ligament in thumb that needs surgery.</p>&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/statuses/454020917610684416">April 9, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[DaveWadding]

Paul Goldschmidt is Tim Lincecum's daddy.

[RP]

Travis Wood owes the Cubs a gem today.

[RP]

The Cubs first base coach is like five Bonifacios

Speaking of Bonafacio, lead off walk and a steal already. DOING WORK!

[RP]

Then he gets gunned at third

[RP]

Rizzo just worked another count for a walk. Rizzo is starting to come around big time.

[RP]

BONI FUCKING FACIO!

[RP]

Travis has his stuff today.

[RP]

It's amazing what happens when the bats start hitting.

[RP]

CUBBIES PLAYING BASEBALL THIS MONTH. WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

[RP]

Schlitter just threw one from the shitter and Snyder flushed it.

[Droford]

Pineda with pine tar all over his hands

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/images/uploads/article/Bk5lKBeIUAAf3c_.jpg

No clue how he got away with that

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Fucking cheater.

[El Fangel]

Trying to keep up with baseball so I pop on Sportsnet to watch the Jays get spanked by Houston. :(

[ClockShot]

Pineda with pine tar all over his hands

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/images/uploads/article/Bk5lKBeIUAAf3c_.jpg

No clue how he got away with that

Dirt mixed with sweat. At least that's the theory going around.

[Innovator]

It is amazing how Bucholz's hair stays wet for 2+ hours

[DaveBrawl]

Jeri curl activator

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Dirt mixed with sweat. At least that's the theory going around.

....or Pine tar.

[RP]

GO CUBS GO

[Bad News Gertner]

Lol Dustin McGowan

[RP]

If the Cubs could sweep the Cards, that would make forget about the last two months of garbage I've seen from the Pacers.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

hate baseball

[ClockShot]

Ah. There's the Brian McCann we were waiting for.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>If Billy Hamilton could hit even .270, he'd be a gamebreaker. Just retarded speed.</font>

http://cdn.fangraphs.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/HamiltonSF2.gif.opt_.gif

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>As soon as I saw Ibanez coming up to bat as the tying run, I knew it was gonna be tied. Fuck you Valverde.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2llUpTmIkdc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<font color=goldenrod>Jeff Francoeur was pranked by his teammates into believing a pitcher on the team was deaf.</font> :lol:

[RP]

RIZZO BOMB

[Bad News Gertner]

Mr. Mark Buehrle. Professional pitcher.

[screech]

Utley still doing stuff. Marlins swept. Niceeee!

[ClockShot]

So about a dozen games in and replay being used atleast once a day, is it working? I know they blew it big time in the Yanks/Red Sox yesterday. And I see John Farrell got tossed today over a replay ruling.

Just wanna hear what the rest of the TPWW village thinks.

[DaveWadding]

Barry Zito celebrated the final year of his $126 million contract by setting fire to any chances San Francisco might’ve had of making another playoff run.

[Corndad]

http://piratesgifs.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/yesmove.gif?w=640

[Corndad]

:eek: at this Pirates/Reds Game.

10 Home Runs (Pirates 3 back to backs) and now a Rain Delay lol

[ClockShot]

Astros are calling up their top guy George Springer to the major league roster. Hot tip for anybody in a fantasy baseball league.

[RP]

Go Cubs Go!

[ClockShot]

Sleeper trade went down as the Pirates acquire Ike Davis from the Mets for Zack Thornton and a PTBNL.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>It had to be done. Having both Davis and Duda on the team was like playing with a 24 man roster.</font>

[Emperor Smeat]

http://media.giphy.com/media/4LZMbup4Z7AYH95Gut32/giphy.gif

[Bad News Gertner]

Lol Mark Buehrle, wow.

[road doggy dogg]

why are Trout and Harper constantly compared? I get that they're both "young phenoms" and the future of the game etc but Trout is in a completely different league than Harper right now

[road doggy dogg]

why are Trout and Harper constantly compared? I get that they're both "young phenoms" and the future of the game etc but Trout is in a completely different league than Harper right now

Yeah, the AMERICAN League :roll: :roll: :lol:

[screech]

It's an easy story. Two young guys succeeding and "playing the right way."

[road doggy dogg]

Except most of the "baseball purists" think Harper is a cunt who is an asshole because he shows a shred of personality

[screech]

But he plays hard so they just call him "brash" and "eccentric."

[ClockShot]

Ivan Nova starring down the barrel of Tommy John surgery.

Sucks. This season was going pretty good for the Yankees.

[RP]

I feel like the Cubs won the Garza to Texas trade like four times now.

[screech]

Pujols joins the 500 club with two homers in a win.

Love Pujols.

[road doggy dogg]

Wish he did it 2 days earlier when I was at the Angels/Tigers game. Actually kinda glad he didn't because h8 cheering for guys on other team @ games. But would've been awesome to see.

[road doggy dogg]

MLB Facebook page is all "100 YEARS WRIGLEY PARK WOO!"

Are there actual Cubs fans? Feel like being a Cubs fan is the most hipsterish baseball thing to do. Who the fuck is a fan of the Cubs

[road doggy dogg]

like every legit person from Chicago I've met has been a Sox fan.

[screech]

Other than RP, I'm not sure.

[road doggy dogg]

how is RP a Cubs fan, I always pictured him as a greasy sketchball (spoken with as much endearment as that description allows) which naturally makes him seem like a Sox fan 2me

[RP]

Cubs need to remind me what a sweep feels like.

[RP]

I'm a glutton for punishment I guess

[screech]

GO CUBS GO

[ClockShot]

Pineda just got nailed for Pine Tar.

[Innovator]

So is Buchholz going to have nice and dry hair next time they play?

[owenbrown]

DaveWadding is a Cubs fan I believe

[owenbrown]

Pineda just got nailed for Pine Tar.

http://deadspin.com/michael-pineda-again-isnt-discreet-about-his-pine-tar-1566851178/all

dumbass

[Innovator]

http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4348071/tarejection.gif

Very stupid and not well hidden at all. The only thing worse than the suspension and fine he'll get is the shameful head bob Jeter gives him.

[Emperor Smeat]

Pineda just got nailed for Pine Tar.

Was really stupid considering the scrutiny from the previous game.

Think Farrell said it wasn't until around the 6th inning last time that he was sure Pineda was using tar. Didn't bother today and went right for the request once Pineda started to suddenly look good again.

[RP]

I can't stand the Cubs anymore

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Did anybody actually believe his story that it was dirt and sweat other than Skankee fans?

[Innovator]

No one believes it was dirt and sweat

[road doggy dogg]

http://i.imgur.com/0MxytEo.jpg

[road doggy dogg]

h8 posting images but i liked that one

[Evil Vito]

Granderson finally had his first decent game in weeks last night. So of course he's getting a day off today so 40 year old Bobby Abreu can get in the lineup.

I hate Terry Collins.

[screech]

Woo Bobby Abreu!

[Nicky Fives]

since when does Abreu play for NY, he was at Spring Training in Philly, must have missed that one....

[Innovator]

Pineda gets 10 games

[ClockShot]

Tonight's Yanks/Red Sox game looks to be one of those "long ones".

[DaveWadding]

Have yesterday's Cubs/DBacks game on the DVR. 100th birthday game. Wouldn't do something so stupid otherwise.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>The Mets have had such a weird season. So far this year they've gotten saves from Jose Valverde, Kyle Farnsworth, and now Daisuke Matsuzaka.</font>

[Droford]

Have yesterday's Cubs/DBacks game on the DVR. 100th birthday game. Wouldn't do something so stupid otherwise.
You can have a piece of the official 100th birthday cake

https://s3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/7MU_IhGR.Eh6YQHgLyYlTg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2014-04-24/0848b240-cbe8-11e3-aa95-150d9738533f_E4gDBDl.jpg

The guy from Cake Boss made it, but apparently it sat out too long so they just threw it in the dumpster. The upper deck part that fell down s where im sitting in August looks like an earthquake hit.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Hahahahah

[Supreme Olajuwon]

hate baseball

[ClockShot]

Sick of these back and forth blowouts the Yankees are involved in as of late.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>lol @ Cano getting booed by the Yankee fans. Not a single fan booing Cano yesterday would have turned down $240 million over 10 years.</font>

[screech]

Did they really chant you sold out at him?

[Damian Rey]

Yeah. I will never understand why teams boo ex players who took the money and ran. Here in San Diego, Adrian Gonzalez gets boo'ed every time he plays here, which is baffling, considering he was TRADED away, and didn't chase dollars upon hitting free agency.

Fans are dumb sometimes.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Yeah. I will never understand why teams boo ex players who took the money and ran. Here in San Diego, Adrian Gonzalez gets boo'ed every time he plays here, which is baffling, considering he was TRADED away, and didn't chase dollars upon hitting free agency.

Fans are dumb sometimes.

He probably gets booed just because he became a Dodger not that he left just that he's a Dodger now.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Also I remember hearing reports after he left Boston that he was kind of a dick.

[screech]

Werth got fans here to cheer him just by tipping his cap. I was in that crowd and couldn't believe it lol

[ClockShot]

You got your homegrown players and your mercenaries. Homegrown guys who've been in the organization and REALLY contribute, you sorta expect them to stick around for life. Mercs work for the highest bidder.

I expected Cano to stay and take a hometown discount for the fans and organization's sake. But Seattle ponied up the cash, and as the song goes "Money Talks". Proper etiquette for matters like this is cheer him his first time at the plate, boo him every other time.

It's pretty sad, Jeter's on his last season. How many active players across the league have played for 1 team across their entire career?

[Nicky Fives]

any Yankee fan booing any former-Yankee for selling out and "taking the money" is a bit ironic, no?

[road doggy dogg]

Don't know why I even follow the MLB Facebook page, every time they post anything the absolute worst cretins of the internet have to chime in with terrible comments that make me weep for humanity.

(this is true of internet anything but this particular example is currently bothering me)

[screech]

I try not to read comments on that stuff because it is that awful.

[road doggy dogg]

Like just posted a picture of the Cleveland Indians' pitchers bowling wearing matching V-necks and headbands. Hilarious photo, fantastic. All the comments are the worst and make me not want to like human being lifes.

[screech]

That sounds like a great photo, for sure.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>The Mets and Rockies seem to play at least one 4 game series every year and the Rockies just absolutely obliterate the Mets every single time. I can't be bothered to check the official numbers but I know this is at least the 4th straight year the Rockies have completely bent the Mets over.</font> :(

[RP]

Cubbies are coming!

[ClockShot]

Rays DFA Heath Bell.

Remember when he was good?

[DaveWadding]

No. #heathbellexperience

[road doggy dogg]

I like when the Tigers play the Royals

[ClockShot]

CC only goes 3.2 innings.

Getting to the point where all the batters know what's coming out of his hand these days.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Glad the Mets could grab one in Colorado. Hopefully they can win the series in Miami.</font>

[Evil Vito]

Rays DFA Heath Bell.

Remember when he was good?

<font color=goldenrod>Mets fans regularly gave Omar Minaya a lot of shit when he started beasting it up in San Diego as the Mets bullpen completely melted down the stretch in both 2007 and 2008.

I dunno though. Easy to say it was a bad trade but Bell's stats sucked for the Mets in 2005 and 2006. Really seemed like a crap-for-crap trade and the Pads just happened to strike gold. I doubt Bell ever would have gotten a chance to close in NY so he may never have reached the levels he did in SD.</font>

[RP]

Apparently Dusty Baker is managing the Cubs again because Samarzidja is near 130 pitches.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Sick of these fucking oldass relievers year after year. Sandy - you have like 4-5 legit SP prospects in Triple A and no apparent vacancy in the rotation. If you aren't gonna make a trade, get some of these guys into the pen. I've had enough of Valverde and Farnsworth. Dice-K has been halfway decent in relief but he takes about 3 innings to warm up.

Borrow a philosophy from the Cardinals, the most well-run organization in baseball. Get some of your hard throwing prospects some bullpen exposure. They can't possibly be worse than the geezers in there now.</font>

[Ermaximus]

Oh the Braves won a game finally. Neat.

[screech]

Dammit Phillies

[Emperor Smeat]

Yankees to retire Joe Torre's #6 number with the ceremony itself to occur in August.

[DaveWadding]

so no Yankee will ever wear numbers 1-10 ever again. nice.

[Damian Rey]

Fucking Bud Black. I know the Padres aren't more than a 500 team, if that. But, fuck me, it's like he doesn't even know what getting on base means. He continually bats guys with sub .300 obp at the top of the order on a team that can't score runs. How the fuck does he expect to score at all? Arrrrrg.

[ClockShot]

Brew Crew got the throwbacks on tonight. I like 'em.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Questionable error call is erased Yu Darvish loses his no-hitter bid with a basehit up the middle by David Ortiz with 2 outs in the ninth.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Thank god Ortiz got that hit. Otherwise it would just be a never-ending media shitstorm about whether or not it was a real no-hitter.</font>

[road doggy dogg]

What a stupid thing to say. Fuckin' rough luck for Darvish. He's good enough that I hope he does eventually get his no-no or PG

[RoXer]

What a stupid thing to say.

No, I think it's fair to assume there would have been an ongoing debate over whether or not it was a "true" perfect game. The game caused controversy even though it was broken up in the 9th. If he actually managed to pull it off, I think Vito is right in how it would be covered.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Yep. It would have always been known as the "yeah, but..." no-hitter. Mind it would have been more well known than your average no-hitter, but still.

I think Darvish will get one eventually though. Dude is filthy.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Rollins. Utley. Howard. No matter how broken down and old the Phillies are, those 3 fucking assholes will always kill the Mets as long as they can physically take the diamond. I wish all 3 could be stricken with some bizarre ailment that causes them excruciating pain when they come within 100 yards of the Mets but otherwise lead perfectly healthy lives.</font> :(

[screech]

I'm sure Pat Burrell could make a quick return if it would make you feel better, Vito :)

[ClockShot]

Vito, what's the 411 on Rafael Montero? Is he the goods? Just grabbed him for fantasy.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>He's been great in the hitter-friendly AAA. Has some seriously electric stuff. By calling him up now the Mets are basically saying the hell with his potential Super 2 status...but that's fine with me. I was initially worried about debuting Montero in such a pressure cooker series, but he seems ready. Mejia just can't get out of the 5th inning...he's better suited for the bullpen.

Jacob deGrom could be getting the call soon as well to add another power arm to the pen. Best case scenario the Mets dump Valverde and Farnsworth and go all out with the youth movement.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Tonight's game. Holy cow.</font>

[ClockShot]

Yankees bullpen sucks right now. Kuroda can't catch a break when he's starting.

[road doggy dogg]

Jose Fernandez sounds like he might need Tommy John. Fuck, was one of my fav young pitchers to watch

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>That sucks. At this point they should just make all pitchers get Tommy John before they get called up. It seems to be a given at this point.</font>

[Innovator]

I see you Josh Reddick

[RoXer]

:love:

[RoXer]

http://deadspin.com/everyone-loves-josh-reddicks-sexy-walk-up-song-1576293724?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[Innovator]

I love Masahiro Tanaka and I don't care who knows it

[Evil Vito]

No shame in losing that one. Tanaka is ridiculous.

[screech]

This Jose Abreu fellow is PrettyGood

[ClockShot]

Quite the pitchers duel the Yankees & Mets rookies put on last night.

Until Girardi blinked first and pulled Chase Whitley at 74 pitches.

Good game regardless.

[Bad News Gertner]

Lol Ricky Romero walked 9 batters in 2.2 innings in Triple A tonight.

Wow, just wow.

[screech]

Earning his big league spot back for sure!

[RoXer]

Does anybody know what a "Chief Baseball Officer" is?

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I think an umpire is a baseball officer.

CB Bucknor is the law.

[DaveWadding]

Does anybody know what a "Chief Baseball Officer" is?

a Dude who is now holding Kevin Towers accountable for his shitty management?

[DaveWadding]

The MLB At the Ballpark app has a ridiculous feature where you can catalog past games that you've been to all the way back to 2005 and it will spit out ridiculous shit like the Diamondbacks are 23-8 in games I've attended since 2007.

[road doggy dogg]

Damn that's sweet. I gotta enter games nice been to in it. Always forget to use the app when im actually physically at games