You can’t spell ‘no big contracts’ without RSN: 2024 regular MLB season thread!

We are about two weeks out from the most magical words of the preseason: pitchers and catchers report.

Tepid stove thread

2024 regular season threads for teams that I am personally aware of:

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays

I wonder who the Cleveland Guardians of ILB are: longest drought without a dedicated regular-season thread? A bunch of teams haven't had one for a while. And are there any Rockies-type teams who've never had their own thread?

(Rockies have had 7 seasonal threads)

Even the Expos have 4!

https://i.postimg.cc/N0kw0Vwv/IMG-5005.jpg

Incredible promo.

There is an inferior promo at one of the games I’m attending in April.

Miller Lite Happy Hour
Enjoy happy hour pregame at the Miller Lite Landing Bar and other locations for drink specials, games and more from the time gates open until first pitch!

that is beautiful

Happy Valentine’s Day! Most pitchers and catchers report today.

Catcher Keeps Signaling 'I Love You' https://t.co/LNIKAF2m3t pic.twitter.com/Z2SH3KDJ7p

— The Onion (@TheOnion) May 21, 2022

i'm going to be in NYC at the very end of march with my 13-year-old son who is totally uninterested in sports. i'm going to try to convince him that we should go to a mets game (probably not the home opener, more likely their second game).

What is he interested in?

oh you know, art/music/"geek culture" stuff, generally the same things i was into at his age. he'll probably be fine with going to a game if i buy enough snacks

You should tell him basically all the players are gamers and Lindor is probably the most stylish player in the whole leagues if he’s into drip at all

Padres manager Mike Shildt just announced that Xander Bogaerts will move to second base to clear the way for Gold Glover HSK to play short.

“My admiration for Xander went through the roof,” he said.

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) February 16, 2024

you know, rendon isn't *wrong* -- playing baseball is a difficult job that only becomes harder when your body starts to fall apart. i imagine most people in any line of work would say that family and faith were higher priorities than their work

but baseball players are entertainers, and part of the job is at least trying to make the fans happy. and the fans do not want to hear complaints from dudes who made $103 million while playing 148 games (badly!) over the last three seasons. you just sound like an asshole -- and people are going to treat you accordingly. there are no points for honesty in this; just mouth some platitudes a la jeter and go about your day

It’s a bad look when there are journeymen taking 12 hour bus journeys in the minor leagues who dream of making league minimum. It’s a hard game, it’s a grind, but both those things are easier with the big club’s accoutrements and all that money.

Come on, man

“It’s never been a top priority for me,” Rendon said regarding the game. “This is a job. I do this to make a living. My faith, my family come first before this job.”
…

But, he also recognizes he has a certain perception among the fanbase for his lack of on-field production combined with his public comments. Last season, for example, he injured his shin in July, declined interviews for two months, then claimed the Angels doctors misdiagnosed a fractured tibia as only a bruise. That came months after getting suspended for grabbing an Oakland A’s fan in the stands following the first game of the season.

it's fair for Rendon to feel however he wants about baseball, Larry Walker iirc for example was not really Ernie Banks when it came to love of the game, though he did have fun with it and most crucially was a guy who played hard and was putting up excellent numbers til the day he retired. But Rendon has been paid like a Trout-level superstar while delivering the numbers of a decline phase Jeff Blauser.

Rendon probably doesn't even like SpongeBob

You know who does though

“I feel like SpongeBob going into work” - Dugie pic.twitter.com/J21Rk50gaY

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 19, 2024

queuing this one up for gyac:

The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day
The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays
He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor
He knows the drink affects his speed, he's praying for a doorway
Back into the life he wants and the confession of the bench
Life outside the diamond is a wrench

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXiRbf-4RXc

(Did you know that Stuart Murdoch married a SF bay area gal after spending quite a bit of time here and he became a SF Giants fan whether by proxy or choice?

The first time I saw him live he was wearing a Barry Bonds jersey)

Thank you! I had been linked this song before and I didn’t know that about them.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3oBxgMSxtB/?igsh=dmN0bXEyeXY2dWhz

Teoscar is bringing some of the best vibes you can possible ask for to this team. Contagious smile

Spring training starts tomorrow people. Baseball is just about back!

Buenos días, fanáticos!

We are going to the Dodger-Angels game Saturday. My nephew wants to see Shohei.

Thanks, I hate this

Kodai Senga has a mild strain of his posterior capsule in his shoulder.

He will be shut down until symptoms subside and is expected to begin the season on the IL. pic.twitter.com/N9Ok7eVstW

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 22, 2024

Mets are so fucked

Speaking of, Sheehan has this to say about Pete Alonso

Hitters are losing value earlier and earlier in their careers, as power pitching and designer breaking balls put a premium on eyesight, reflexes, and hand-eye coordination. Lose even a tiny bit of that at 31, at 32, and you get run out of the league. Shortstops, center fielders, even catchers can make up for that with baserunning and defense. First basemen cannot.

Is he saying Alonso is already not ageing well? He’s projected to hit over 40 next year. Or is he suggesting this is why they haven’t extended him?

i'd be slightly wary about extending him, just due to the fact that while he's a good guy to have, i think he's not as good as the counting stats might indicate. he's more a Schwarber than a Judge. ftr i like Pete, but maybe not at whatever he'll eventually get paid.

he hit .217/.318/.504 with 3 war in his age 28 season. the homers are lovely, but yeah that's edging into schwarber territory. i'd pay him a fair bit of money on a four-year deal, but i'm sure he'll want 8+

not to be all 'wahh, boras' but boras' clients almost never sign extensions before hitting the market. and considering the deals he's gotten bogaerts and kris bryant and eric hosmer, that seems pretty effective! it only takes one sucker

if being a met means that much to alonso, i'm sure they can get a deal done -- boras works for him, after all. but they're all just posturing now

I was looking at this looking for parks that are friendly to right handed pull hitters who might be looking for a first baseman whose main skill is hitting it out, and I didn’t realise Citi field is actually so unfriendly to Alonso!

Also, now I understand why Alex Cora is always trying to get his left handed hitters to go oppo. Had no idea Fenway was that difficult for lefties.

yeah it’s a vast prairie out there in right for the most part

Unless you’ve got like 70 or 80 power or are lucky enough to reach the pole, I guess? I was surprised that Ted Williams claims he only had four oppo homers there.

Anyway, Alonso could do well in St Louis maybe? Goldy is still good but he’s a free agent at the end of 2024 at the age of 37, and they’d be able to pay Alonso if they want to.

so are they going to fix the uniforms?

word on the street is that of universal concern is the pant

word on the street is that of universal concern is the pant

there is spring training baseball on tv!

New statement on the pants from an MLB official: “The uniform pants have the same material and thickness as the uniform pants used last season. There were changes to the fabric of the jersey, not the pants.”

i.e. design and sizing changed but not the material, per the league. https://t.co/1km20Q3U3E

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) February 23, 2024

They’re going to be laughing on the other side of their faces when there’s a rainy game at Citi or Fenway and having to see Kenley or Pete Alonso exposed to the eyes of children. Otoh maybe players will finally start wearing cups again?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqEFzxpGQx0

Baseball.
On at Australian prime time.
Only 10 hours away?

We are so back

First AB of the 2024 MLB season ends with a pitch clock violated walk. Didn't have that on my bingo card

atmosphere sucks

Facts

Omg I love Ohtani

Look at his happy mother! Wholesome 🥰

Oof this padres catcher. Not quite the cannon arm is it?

I feel like Manny Machado's ears get even more elvish as the years go on

commentators keep going on about the passion of the fans in korea but all we see on tv are bored millionaires in half-empty leather seats looking at their phones

Tbf, that's the case behind homeplate for most games

maybe in LA lol

exactly the right pitch from darvish there

Well, they're full in la, and the bleachers make up for it.

Hyunjin ryu spotted. King

Wtf is that hat mullet yamamoto?!

Sheeeeeesh lotta spikes tonight on glasnow

And the first great AB and run of the year comes from: Tyler Wade?

Never doubt the -.6bwar guy

Tatis' cannon arm still blows me away

speaking of cannon arms, damn kim

Imagine having a functioning short stop

Okay wtf is this ump?

The duality of man those two tyler wade AB'S

Betts looking good at short so far

mookie betts is extremely good at baseball

how many ex red sox will come up big today?

welp defense doesn’t win ballgames but it can sure lose them

jay jaffe reports that every starting position player for the padres, except the catcher, was once a shortstop prospect

i guess this might be why they moved

tbf i guess it’s not cronenworth’s fault his glove failed

that is true

nice little ad for mlb’s owned and operated equipment mfg

I had to look at the replay after I saw Stats tweet this:

How does your glove break on a soft ground ball on opening day

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) March 20, 2024

Not me going through pictures of him like the Zapruder film trying to identify the glove

Wilson A2000, I apologise for my Rawlings slander

you sure? i thought i saw a rawlings logo

Very sure. 😎 A2000 in saddle tan.
https://i.postimg.cc/W4VVZw0V/IMG-7447.jpg

https://www.wilson.com/custom/gloves/a2000/

ah nm cronenworth REPLACED it with a rawlings.. fair enough

good sleuthing

Lotta weird ones for the first game: multiple pitch clock violations, broken gloves on soft grounders, umpire interfering and calling back an easy steal, no xbh's, a below 1 SO/W ratio, Korean stadium atmosphere, Tyler Wade

vry excited for yamamoto x musgrove tomorrow

Not great, Yamamoto

9 pitches, 2 hits, 1 hbp, 2ER, no outs

omg

Not a great 24hrs for the Dodgers billion dollars

Yamamoto’s probably going to be fine but MLB hitters are much better than NPB and used to his pitch mix more I guess. Yoshida hit like Tony Gwynn for like half the year last year and then trailed off for a while when the schedule and travel got to him. Japanese players usually take a while to adjust. There was so much hype around this signing and nobody ever says the second part though it remains true: it takes time to adjust!

Okay Ohtani is still Ohtani, that's good

Send him back out you cowards

Why is Manny Machado DHing? Is he injured? I assumed he’d play 3B today if they DHed him yesterday but maybe he’s actually hurt.

Jackson Merrill, 20 years old, 1st major league hit. They’ll have to keep that ball for him!

He had surgery on his elbow at the end of the season last year. Think he should be back soon.

Yeah, Freddie threw it over to him, Ken Griffey Jr. taking photos of it too

hour and a half and we still haven't finished the 3rd. Love this sport

Easy to question Lux's spot as an everyday bat looking at his stats to date, but man that swing puts away all doubts. So smooth, vry pretty

WTF was Bogaerts doing sliding in face first on his dodgy wrist like that

Mark Prior screenshot that looks like it could be a reaction image for user felicity
https://i.postimg.cc/jjQHdZwL/IMG-7580.jpg

"I would have taken the over on this game"

-Shohei Otani Ippei Mizuhara

how is this game 1. still going, 2. currently 12-11?

Got some dismal mid august baseball in march

I guess this seals JMont coming to LA...

I would have said infield was the weakest part of this team. Pitching is probably still rusty. They’ve used a ton of pitchers though and have to play on Sunday. Guessing that’ll be triple A kids mainly.

The dodgers infield defense is real bad. Front office just hoping and praying that muncy/lux can somehow get themselves to league average after half a season and Mookie can settle into a new role well

Yamamoto's spring was dismal (8.38 ERA/1.97 WHIP) but his debut made his spring line look impressive in comparison.

Insane to think Spencer Strider (also 25yo) signed for effectively 60% less ($75M/6y=$12.5/y vs. $375M/12y=$31.3M/y)

Savant doesn't have 2024 data yet but saw some reports that Yamamoto averaged 100.7mph exit-velo against.

Aaron Judge led MLB last year with 97.6mph exit-velo.

😬 😬

I mean, you can blame infield defense til the cows come home but when you're allowing Tyler Wade to barrel the ball like Barry Bonds...

imo give yamamoto another month and check back in

Every team in the league needs to do this so I never hear commentary butcher a player’s name again

The Sox just published a page of every player pronouncing their own name:https://t.co/1kAKW0zZqa

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) March 21, 2024

Savant doesn't have 2024 data yet but saw some reports that Yamamoto averaged 100.7mph exit-velo against.

Aaron Judge led MLB last year with 97.6mph exit-velo.

😬 😬

xp
i think every team does have a mlb media guide, which almost always include either a single page that lists the pronunciations of every players name, or at least include pronunciations on a page dedicated to each player's stats/background. most of them are available online somewhere for free, but i'm not sure there's a single repository. there should be!

there is (pressbox.mlb.com), but it requires approval

xp I didn’t know that, what are commentators excuses then!

it's kind of mean but i think a lot of them just don't care about baseball anymore. it's a slog, in a way, traveling all the time, constantly being at the stadium. the tv crew all wants to go home. listening to the cards announcing team the last 10+ years, it seems clear that none of them really follow the game, not just "advanced stat" stuff like you might find of fangraphs, but even the minor league system, prospects, that kind of stuff.

there was an infamous spring training game a while back, 20212, when uber-prospect oscar taveras was making his first appearance. i remember, i was watching and was psyched to see taveras play (he had an incredibly graceful and beautiful swing). the cardinals broadcasters had no idea who he was, so when he reached first base they referred to him as "minor league guy" and made a bunch of dumb jokes about it. the previous year, 2011, oscar 'minor league guy' taveras had a wRC+ of 190 (!) as a 19 year old at A level, destroying everything he touched, was near the top of all the prospect lists, etc. just an unbelievable "we don't actually know anything about this team" moment from the entire crew

https://i.imgur.com/nsTkuW5.png

anyway, imo all the information is there for the broadcasters; some of them just no longer care

Yeah that’s fair. I only watched last year ofc but I got an idea of good and bad. I remember the Tigers commentators last year had some fella with a voice that could cure insomnia. I know Tracer Hand always watches Sox games with the radio commentary on (Joe Castiglione and Will Flemming). Obviously, SF has great broadcasters on both TV (Kruk & Kuip) and the radio (Jon Miller & Dave Flemming). It really adds so much to a game when they have interest and passion in the subject.

On that note, this was cool!

Red Sox announcer Will Flemming and his brother, Giants announcer Dave Flemming, share the booth with each other for an inning of Sunday's series finalepic.twitter.com/EVgdKvdx5g

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 30, 2023

the Giants / Dodgers / NYM broadcasts are so good, i'm very jealous of fans of those teams

I can’t recall the Mets off the top of my head but I’ve heard that. I don’t know who does the Dodgers now but I will tell you I’ve watched old Giants/Dodgers games on YouTube purely to hear what Vin Scully said.

Dodgers fantastic when you get Jorel (Joe Davis and Orel Hershisher). The two have great chemistry and you can tell they have a deep friendship outside of the job. Sadly Joe is away doing the fox broadcast a lot and Orel doesn't fly solo so you get a bunch of fill in, perfectly serviceable guys and girls for half the games

i grew up with harry kalas and richie ashburn, whom i only now know to be among the all-time greats

the current mets guys are OK but they're no kalas/ashburn!

tigers should be much better with jason benetti this year

feel bad for steve stone -- after all those years with hawk, he seemed reborn with benetti. guess we'll see how schiffren is with him

Whenever Gary Cohen (life-long passionate Mets fan) is not calling a Mets tv game, it is really a drop off. I don’t know how they will be able to replace him.

keith is 70, gary is 65, ron is 63 (and has had cancer). enjoy them while we can : /

I'm biased, but I love the Mets broadcast.

i almost always watch games muted, partially to not annoy the rest of my family but mostly because the commentary is usually inane and useless. but i do enjoy the cubs radio team (pat hughes and ron coomer) - they aren't particularly informative but they seem to genuinely enjoy each others company. it's more of a good vibes broadcast.

Idk where to put this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1bmah2f/the_portland_pickles_opened_a_bar_and_these_are/

2 and a bit days. Thank you good Lord for giving us a public holiday that aligns with opening day. Antipodean supremecy strikes again

did all sorts of juggling to make room for opening day, turns out it's gonna rain. not sure if it'll be the kind of rain that calls a game, but i dunno if i wanna spend the money to find out....

okay so the plan is this
we wake up at 5am
we've got 5 minutes to make a coffee
we struggle to hit that time but thankfully the tv is visible from the coffee machine
we see big dawg corbin burnes pitch an immaculate inning and adley rutchman goes 6/6 before 6am at which point we switch on the dodgers
we see tyler glasnow strike out 3 but give up a run on a walk, hpb and 2 wild pitches
after shohei goes yard, we switch over to the royals and twins because we never watch the AL Central because it's a bad division so we need to get some reps in early in the season
it's now about 9am, the appropriate time to have a beer or two.
we heat up some nachos in the microwave after Webb gets pulled in the third inning for giving up back to back jacks to tatis, croenenworth and machado
we fall asleep on the couch for an hour
wake up in time to see louis castillo pitch a no-hitter
we check in with ippei who is blown away that our opening day parlay has hit; we cash out for 4.5mil, letting him pay back ohtani and I become ohtanis new best friend in the process

can't wait

fr tho Pablo Lopez vs. Cole (Carl) Ragan (Sagan) is a fire matchup

I just got MLB.TV for free via T-MOBILE, second year in a row after paying DirecTV for probably 20 years.

Nice! Good luck to your Giants tomorrow Bee

Amazing, just got it too. Thanks Bee Ok!

NL West is going to be so much fun this year, can't wait. It will be the Dodgers on top, but with expanded playoffs, who knows how the rest will shake out.

Big bias here, but it definitely feels like the division to follow this year. Gonna be a lot of NL West and AL East watching for me

ESPN must be giving up on MLB as they used to have three games on Opening Day, this year-1.

I took the day off, even if I'm only watching one game.

I can only watch Giants-Padres today because of timezone but I’ll be following all the scores on the app. I’m excited. Lee has huge potential to be A Guy on this team. Also watching Tatis is always fun.

Also, having an east coast team to follow when your beloved Mariners are constantly playing at 2am (my time) constantly backfires when they are starting the season in Seattle. I’m just…not taking sides there. Kirby is now so good he’s the Mariners #2. Have so many hopes for all my faves this year but above all: STAY HEALTHY

Delete one constantly there, the second one

doing some file cleanup and found one not in my meme folder labeled 'george bush smashing pumpkins.mp4' pic.twitter.com/py5X6dkvg3

— Will (@WillemDaFro) January 31, 2024

Trout is back!

Just saw that.

He makes it look so easy

Adley 2 for 2, the parley is looking good!

How can you pitch to these orioles hitters sheesh. Everything thr bat touches Is a hit

The Angels lineup is so fucking bad, obvious exception aside.

Do you think Mike Trout is standing in center field right now thinking, "man, this fucking sucks."

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) March 28, 2024

trout leads the league in WAR. he’s back baby

Tatis is wearing cleats dedicated to Peter Seidler
https://i.postimg.cc/k41T4YGz/IMG-8144.jpg

The Angels lineup is so fucking bad

they have 3 potentially interesting/valuable young guys in their line up so of course they gotta have ron washington around to bat them 6, 8 and 9

Omg dodgers stadium is a painting right now. Gotta turn my TV brightness down

Jung Hoo Lee has a little patch on his sleeve that says debut!

https://i.postimg.cc/6p1WwtfN/IMG-8133.jpg

Okay after watching ohtani try stretch that double to a triple, I'm convinced, he is the gambler

Haha they’re interviewing 20 year old Jackson Merrill’s parents, they’re younger than like 60% of ilx

Tim Anderson’s lack of power last season was pretty bad; however he was hitting for extra bases towards the end of his spring training and hopefully his health/personal circs etc mean he’s back being good at the plate?

Tim Anderson with an RBI double in his first Marlins at-bat! pic.twitter.com/gef7fy7lHV

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 28, 2024

The lefty-lefty matchup in Tigers-White Sox is too good. Tarik Skubal is him, sadly.

Framber Valdez walking the bases loaded and hbping two runs in is too funny.

I shouldn’t cos they’re playing the Giants but Tatis going first to third is electric! What a player.

i still kind of can’t believe how trash the uniforms are, it’s very obvious on today’s hi-def sets

hader’s not bad huh

filthy

i think he missed the tag but there’s no angle that shows it

Astros have a good pen but their rotation isn’t it

Wow even the road greys look awful

pic.twitter.com/KxbHCCfLwm

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) March 28, 2024

yanks actually went to a new away uniform look for the first time since 1971 or something they were saying on the broadcast. don’t think the sweat stains were part of the plan tho lol

90% of the league is very large men who sweat a lot, what’s their plan for when someone inevitably shows something they shouldn’t

This runner’s lane stuff is dogshit

(xposts) How can you not post this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYFbknzeVNM

Abbot kinda getting booed in TX

xp I thought about it but I thought someone else would!

That was actually directed at myself; what I meant was, you can't talk about the Yankees and uniforms and sweating and not have me post that. I'm helpless.

I actually saw that episode for the first time recently (I’ve only watched Seinfeld episodes here and there, I’m married to someone who’s like “why haven’t you watched Seinfeld yet”, trust me I know)

Justin Steele left the game after this play. pic.twitter.com/hK0ROAFPaS

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 29, 2024

The matching clip, from earlier in the episode, explains the great "All of a sudden there's a problem with Tartabull's swing" line. (I know, I know--enough already, season's started.)

Hey talk away! Anyway your fave Adolis just homered

An ALL TIME pimp job from Adolis García. pic.twitter.com/8HWVBM20cs

— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) March 29, 2024

For .3 seconds I was confused at why he was acting like he just hit a lazy pop fly after the ball came off that bat like that, then it all made sense at .4 seconds

Rocktober cannot come soon enough.

(this game is not in Denver)

16 runs. Wow.

Omg wtf rockies

Kinda funny of them to commit to the bit of being the Rockies right from the first game of the season. Gotta respect it

Hold up they batted through the order.... TWICE?

Luv u Dylan moore

Dbacks heard clemenza talking smack about their run differential last season and got straight to work

Tyler O’Neill breaking the home run record is unreal, only player to homer in five consecutive Opening Days. Clemenza, you may remember that he’s Canadian!

Tyler O'Neill is the first player in MLB history to homer in five straight #OpeningDay games! pic.twitter.com/qOwIKjvYZA

— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2024

Alex Cora got a loud chuckle when he explained why it's Tyler O'Neill over Wilyer Abreu in RF tonight:

“I got a five-game losing streak on Opening Day, and he has a four-game home-run streak (on Opening Days) so, analytics.”

— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) March 29, 2024

I’m watching the Braves-Phillies game and laughing at the Phillies commentators who are unashamed about pulling for their own team

Jarred Kelenic’s at the plate and they’re talking about the Mariners and Braves trying to fix his batting stance.

Commenter 1: So they said his hands stayed low and they (Braves hitting coach) are trying to get him to keep his hands up?

Commenter 2, disgusted: Well you’d THINK that would be the correct way to do it if you’d ever hit a BASEBALL in your life but some of these so-called EXPERTS say different

Fairly sure Bryce Harper’s walk up song is Look What You Made Me Do - the man is a born reality star

Seymour Wiener is the Mets Veteran of the Game. Baseball is so back pic.twitter.com/jNGoCRvuYi

— Dylan Hornik (@_Hornik_) March 29, 2024

btw from last night:

https://i.imgur.com/iuThpEy.jpeg

Astros outhitting the yankees 13-8 and still losing was a thing

Adam “Daddy” Duvall coming off the bench to drive in two runs and tie the game with a single…he’s him.

Also, there was a bench clearing brawl I missed in the Mets game cos I’m watching this one:

Rhys Hoskins. Always a Phillie. pic.twitter.com/hFloEHDdub

— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) March 29, 2024

The benches clear between the Mets and Brewers after Jeff McNeil takes exception to a hard slide into second base from Rhys Hoskins pic.twitter.com/NN4ee8ea0Y

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 29, 2024

best bullpen is baseball* not looking so bestly...

*https://www.mlb.com/news/best-mlb-bullpens-2024

Faced with protecting a 2 lead, the PHI bullpen gives up 9 runs in the 7th/8th (including letting ATL bat around ++), I've forgotten how loud the PHI fans can get even against their own team.

i was getting some crackerjacks when it happened. ran back over as fast i could

https://i.postimg.cc/vBmdqvvV/IMG-7996.jpg

I’m watching this game and the eighth inning was just relentless. What a waste of six shutout innings.

xp people are saying the slide was legit but didn’t Chase Utley break someone’s leg that way? I assume that’s their problem with it, he was a mile out

not just anybodys leg, ruben tejada! mets dont have a good history with people sliding into second

They take a lot of unnecessary knocks

This Mets hit by pitch statcast graphic is hilarious pic.twitter.com/79atGS7oWx

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 9, 2023

i can understand why mcneil is upset, but that is a legal slide by the letter of the law. mcneil has to step to the side or he's gonna get hit every time

utley really went out of his way -- although still within reach of the bag -- to hit tejada. hoskins just went through the bag without veering

i gotta say that was one of the slower dugout clears i’ve seen. i had time to select a tip and make it over before the bullpen fully emptied

Mets offense in midseason form, I see.

mookieproof: Hoskins went heat-seeking mode spikes-up into McNeil's right ankle, totally unnecessary.

It wasn't an utley slide, but it was 100% cynical. Late as you could be while still staying in the letter of the law. No harm no fould and seeing McNeil's temper is always good TV so I'm not fussed either way

oh i'm not saying it was *necessary*

hoskins was obviously trying to break up the double play; it was a late and hard slide. but also he did it within the letter of the law and every middle infielder of the last 100 years would tell mcneil to step aside and never put your plant foot *there*

possibly it should be banned! but it hasn't been

The fact that Hoskins literally sprinted off the field and then proceeded to chirp from the safety of the dugout is all you need to know about the sanctity of that play.

I keep flipping from disgust to bemusement at Hoskins. That "whoops did I do that?" grin as he sprints of the field directly afterwards is peak scumbag but also very funny

I’m Assuming he’s getting plunked in the not too distant future

Bobby Miller is absolutely carving the Cards right now. 5.2ip currently with 10K/0BB/0ER.

Ah wtf jinxed it, just walked Goldschmidt. Paul hates the dodgers

Lads are the cardinals crud?

literally sprinted off the field

hoskins actually laid prone on the ground for several seconds before jogging off the field

absolutely he'll get plunked tomorrow, and will have earned it (as long as it's not at his head)

11ks!

Jimmy, Bobby Miller is a very very very good pitcher. Signs of greatness last season with some rookie troubles peppered throughout (he's the kinds guy who looked to get in his head the moment something went wrong, very emotional). Glasnow and Miller is a tough way to start the season.

But in answer to your question: yeah probably lol

I tuned into the dodgers game for a bit and holy shit did Millers stuff ever look good. Throwing in the 98-100 range and nailing his spots perfectly.

His ceiling is insanely high. Very similar to Walker Buehler. His biggest downside is he's obviously going to have to get surgery in 6 months as all dodger rookies throwing like that do

Was thinking that. Dude just casually throwing 100mph in the first game of the season - gotta take a toll to keep that up all season

100mph on his 91st pitch of the game too. Something tells me that's not sustainable....

His arm motion looks so nice

Bobby Miller, Overpowering 98mph Heater. 🚀

11th K...and is Fired up. pic.twitter.com/cv3rOXibZt

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 30, 2024

rhys hoskins is killing the mets

I’m at that game, the crowd is very quiet

Yohan Ramírez gets a standing ovation from the crowd at Citi Field for throwing a 94-mph fastball behind Rhys Hoskins.

And now, after a delay, Ramírez has been ejected. pic.twitter.com/HoXWEC4os3

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 30, 2024

my fiancé says george kirby looks like the young private who dies early in a WWII movie to get us feeling sad

— anna (@rockmeannadeus) March 30, 2024

Mets trying to walk it off against brewers

lmao xpost

Insane play

Bryce Harper remained in the game after falling over the railing and into the first base dugout pic.twitter.com/iDtMLIENl9

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 30, 2024

doesn’t seem like changing boroughs has cured luis severino

Max Fried is struggling so much in the first inning that Jesse Chavez is warming up in the bullpen. He’s thrown over 40 pitches & rolled his ankle coming off the mound to field a pitch

https://imgur.com/a/hgq5bQA

max fried got boned pretty bad here. inning should’ve been over, after the bad call he walked in a run and gave up a 2-run hit

Can’t see your picture

I hate Imgur. Just take my word for it I guess.

Whose AB was it

Here is the 2-2 pitch that preceded the Castellanos bases-loaded walk. Fried would have escaped the inning unscathed. Now he exits having recorded just two outs and with the Phillies leading 3-2 in the first. pic.twitter.com/UEPVxElp6s

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 30, 2024

What! What a joke. The umpire scorecard for that is going to be entertaining.

Everyone is too hot tempered, it’s two games in you losers

Totally normal and sane reaction to a bunt smh pic.twitter.com/eXJWpbGjjR

— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) March 30, 2024

Angels may be a bit shit

a bit

as someone like ralph kiner might say, they're lucky to be only 0-2

I might just be tuning into the wrong games, but I've seen a lot of straight garbage umping so far. Not like "how come you didn't call that borderline call the way I want!" type garbage, but a strike down the middle is a ball and a ball 5 inches of the plate is a strike kinda garbage. The JaysxRays game yesterday was horrendous too

Oh no

C Chadwick Tromp (@trompicalstorm) switches from number 48 to number 45. Last worn by LHP Brad Hand in 2023. #Braves pic.twitter.com/WZbtsEKNmw

— MLB Jersey Numbers (@NumbersMLB) March 30, 2024

Jeff McNeil, Only-Illegal-If-They-Say-It-Is Slidepic.twitter.com/LV22QKNvsA

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 1, 2023

lol

Totally normal and sane reaction to a bunt smh

So that was not a “reaction to a bunt”. I guess it’s a rays account, so they are going to try to make the jays player look bad here - and shoving him was probably not the right reaction - but dude got thrown out a 3rd, overran the bag and then bumped into Cabrera who was backing up the play and then starting jawing at him. Cabrera did get physical after the yapping - but he’s not the one who originally got bent out of shape over nothing, and I don’t think anything here really had anything to do with the bunt.

Look I hear you, Caballero is known for being a shithouser. I chose that account cos it wasn’t one of the Jomboy-associated ones that has been promoting Trevor Bauer for months.

Caballero, when he was a Mariner, would fuck about with his pitch clock timeouts a ton. Last season he tried it with Gerrit Cole and the entire AB was incredible. Cole turned around and looked the other way while he was fucking about and then Cole struck him out and wagged his finger at the Mariners dugout in a very I Think You Should Leave fashion.

Now Gerrit Cole and José Caballero will be seeing each other much more frequently in the AL East.
pic.twitter.com/ginb2BV4Yi https://t.co/wccyMLxYdg

— John Sparaco™ (@JohnSparaco) January 5, 2024

Absolutely love to see that. Cole finger wag too funny

Oh no

oh no but also kinda funny, I gotta say

>>>
I might just be tuning into the wrong games, but I've seen a lot of straight garbage umping so far
>>>

It’s not you. I wonder if the pitch box has more statcast “accuracy” than before and so the error bars for human umps are smaller

i watched the pitching ninja opening day recap and there were a lot of terrible calls

Yamamoto pitching again: essential watching for dodger haters

Okay psyche, he struck out the side (and looks fantastic). Don't tune in

Hicks looked vry good today. Conserved the speed on his pitches, looked like a proper starter. If he can keep that performance up, then the Giants are gonna get crazy value out of that contract

Bases loaded bottom of the 10th 2 outs and Ohtani's up

popped it up lol

The 9th and 10th was very fun baseball. Mookie is incredible

aww ty

Sorry mate, it is Betts > Proof, but honestly it's closer than most would think

Few more cat compliments and we can flip the ranking

New mlb app feature I'm really liking: every (or at least most?) Player had a "story" reel which shows the results of all their most recent ab's. Zoomer tech used right imo

Just click on the tip performers, or go to a players page and click the story button

https://i.postimg.cc/cJYpnLHt/Screenshot-20240331-193136-MLB.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/5yt2xC3M/Screenshot-20240331-192535-Chrome.jpg

Had some fun (?) following Mariners-Red Sox series this weekend. The game that just finished - only one in my timezone, pain of having two west coast teams had an unusual feature - the Red Sox starter (Whitlock) was a rule 5 pickup from the Yankees and the reliever who closed the game was a rule 5 pickup from the Mets. Clemenza or Shasta might know the minutiae but given a lot of rule 5s are basically lottery tickets, I feel the likelihood of that is quite high?

Anyway, George Kirby remains elite and a sleep demon that haunts the dreams of batters. He’s got multi Cy Young potential if he stays healthy, so enjoy him now before he inevitably replaces Gerrit Cole as Yankees ace in a few years.

https://i.postimg.cc/vH1vfmr5/IMG-8370.jpg

The gf and I had watched that series too. Last nights game was a fun one. That Rodriguez kid has a bright future too!

lol I think we all know Julio is going to be a multi year MVP for years to come

Anyone watch these Pirates games? They actually looking good?

Impressed to see them come back from 5-0 in the 1st to win 9-7 in extras

"He's a DAWG" - Alex Verdugo on Juan Soto

Love the chemistry on this team🧪🔥pic.twitter.com/2EpgrFURKL

— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) March 31, 2024

"I mean.... pshhh.ye.....DAWGH"

Duggie giving a subtle nod to this Aussie classic in his post game dog impersonation. Cultured man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27zx1ZV7nHQ

looks like the mets are gonna start out 0 and 4 :[

NL east now 5-16 and -32

This theory about why the A’s sent down their best player is insane, and when I saw it yesterday I honestly thought it was a tasteless April Fool’s. But no!

https://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/esteury-ruiz-optioned-triple-a-brent-rooker-ldb-19380203.php

Rooker benched, Ruiz sent down.

One has to wonder why… pic.twitter.com/tscp9KnFnQ

— Last Dive Bar 🏟 (@LastDiveBar) April 1, 2024

The Yankees bullpen has given up one run in 19.2 innings thus far.

Pirates 5-0, all 5 on the road

xp my favourite pitching stat atm is the Red Sox rotation giving up one walk in 28 innings.

Struggling to think of a more appropriate surname for James Outman...

lol

tbf, he's been plenty unlucky this game

Sister’s cat yowling his head off woke me up an hour ago unexpectedly and so I was awake to see Cedanne Rafaela make this quite literally game saving catch. I’m in awe of this kid!

RAFAELA SAID NO ONE'S SCORING. pic.twitter.com/ehFOXc68Dn

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 3, 2024

welcome to pittsburgh (or more likely indianapolis) joey bart, erstwhile Next Buster Posey/Previous Adley Rutchman

fwiw i had a dream about tony sanchez a couple nights ago; probably an omen

I posted about this in this necro thread:

The Oakland A's of Fremont new stadium talk

but it looks like the A's are heading to....

Sacramento for 2025-2028 (with an option for 2029) at the same stadium that used to be their AAA affiliate (currently SF's AAA affiliate).

It appears Vegas is still an eventual option but this makes me think that there are additional concerns, despite the Fantasyland-esque stadium concept art.

They should just move to Sacramento and skip all the other stuff.

i would love for that to happen

metes fail to walk it off, leave 2 on base :(

I’m watching. I think this is a rescheduled rain delay game right? Nimmo is so fast I’m kind of surprised they didn’t send him again.

yeah it's gonna be a doubleheader

nimmo is fast but that was a terrible jump he got

eury perez has been defeated by tommy john :(

The undefeated Tiggers rallied back from 0-3 deficit to tie the uh... defeated Metropols.

tigers pen has some great facial hair... eastbound and down lookin crew

Tigers are 7000-1 to win the WS.

#freeIppei

tigers pen has some great facial hair... eastbound and down lookin crew

eury perez has been defeated by tommy john :(

bold move to put the guy who lost the last game to the tigers in extras in so he can also lose this game to the tigers in extras too

Angel Hernandez at the plate here but although he’s had some shit calls you can’t really stick this one on him

mendoza looks constipated. he needs a W!

Who are they even going to bring out to relieve in the night game?

this game'll be over before sunset. no night needed

“Jake Burger sends that one into Big Mac Land.”

If I was a broadcaster for a team that had a dude named “Burger” I would also be incapable of not going wild with that name.

Mets getting no hit by Detroit's #7 SP/AAA-call-up is something.

nm, they just took him out after 90 pitches, thought he was gonna go all the way.

METS WALK IT OFF

the sac bunt is back baby!!~

Small ball and long ball gets it done

What a relief, really thought they were going 0-6 there.

Now if someone can get the Marlins a win…

Bobby Miller.

User felicity if you’re around I’m watching the Cubs game & Mark Prior just had a mound visit

Bobby Miller.

― H.P, Friday, April 5, 2024 1:49 PM (thirteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

...gave up a home run to dansby swanson
...threw a wild pitch that led to a run scoring
...took almost 60 pitches to get through 1 2/3 innings
...got pulled before he got through two innings

Yeah, but did you see the 1st? 😍

(Poor kid, on his birthday, in front of his whole family 🫠)

i wasn't trying to be mean, btw, he's obviously a talented pitcher. i just think it's fun when you see bobby miller vs. kyle hendricks and expect one outcome and then something different happens

As soon as Dansby hit that absolute bomb, it was all over. Big hole in Millers game is that when things go bad, things go bad

Athletics putting four earned runs on Skubal I did not expect to see

Skubal looked great the first couple times through the order but his velo dropped in the 7th and they left him in to overcook.

Kinda like Miller who looked great for about 5 mins.

Oh, he gave up 2 home runs as well, he had just 4 last year in 80 innings (returning from injury)

xp Skubal is one of my favourite lefties, I love watching him pitch

Some big defense on these cubs

Nico Hoerner made a near identical play to that when I saw the Cubs-Cards game in London & I’m pretty sure the Cards fans in front of us didn’t enjoy the did you fucking see that?! I came out with. Like the stuff you’d hear at any MLB stadium is the height of class, gents!

DET-PIT World Series -- book it

Don't love watching Skubal throw a dugout fit

The jays are 3-0 up against the Yankees but only have one rbi - the other two came off wild pitches with bases loaded.

User felicity if you’re around I’m watching the Cubs game & Mark Prior just had a mound visit

― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Friday, 5 April 2024 18:58 (one hour ago) link

I was at lunch! But that's exciting, I will review. I am sure it will be in the MLB condensed replay of the game ;)

I mean it might be notable that they had a mound visit in the first two innings! I wonder how many people in the crowd are wearing his shirt.

Sounds like a total serve. Wish I were there!

It looks breezy there, everyone’s wearing snoods

It was snowing a few days ago.

I remember, it was freezing when we were there in March. Wind is No Joke. At least the hotdog sellers will be doing a brisk trade, except for when Morel is up to bat.

It’s too bad Ohtani didn’t hit his first Dodger home run at Wrigley, they’d have thrown it back on the field for free and they could have avoided the unnecessary pr bungle.

yeah the sun is out but it's still pretty chilly, april baseball in chicago is not ideal

those dangly earrings that a lot of the dudes on the rays wear make me nervous, feels like someone's lobe is going to get ripped out during a slide

My thoughts exactly! Throw it back and be legends. It is wonderful thinking of Mark Prior on the mound at Wrigley again too.

xp I was there in March two years ago (great city btw, can understand exactly why Imanaga fell in love with it) and the wind was like a free chemical peel every day. 😭 Wrigley is on the list for sure.

Steve Shasta outed as Cubs announcer

Ohtani flies out

Announcer 1: it’s gone a little quiet on Ohtani’s announcer
Announcer 2: FOR SURE IT’S GONE QUIET, we were hoping to hear…

Thank you for mentioning the fact that infielders don’t wear cups anymore!

After seeing Millers first game, was not expecting him to have gotten lit up today before I could even turn the game on. His stuff is just filthy.

I guess today that boy ain’t right.

God having an infield defence looks so nice

Vry good game

Omar, felicity, what is that song they play for the win 😭

Aaron Judge said that he felt the earthquake this morning. Asked where he was and what he was doing, Judge laughed and said: “I don’t want to say.”

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) April 5, 2024

watching o's-bucs. three rivers stadium looks pretty cool! some sort of octagon spiral staircase thing in left field. kinda like the NYC hudson yards schwarma thing except i hope nobody has jumped from there.

one of the announcers has a silver tongue. i like him!

gyac are you disparaging “Go Cubs Go”?!?!?? jk it is an awful song

gyac are you disparaging “Go Cubs Go”?!?!?? jk it is an awful song

Rays Rockies is wild, Rockies were winning 6-2 going into the top of the ninth, and now the Rays have scored 5 in the top of the ninth and they’ve batted around. However if any Rockie (Rocky?) can walk it off or force extras it’s probably Nolan Jones.

Yeah that particular song really nails a specific era in Chicago music history, I don't know what else you can call it except Northside hand clap music, a really really specific subgenre influenced by probably both The blues Brothers and centerfield by John fogerty and channeled through Steve goodman after one too many Bud lights in the bleachers. Respect to goodman, but it's not a good one.

Nah I’m not disrespecting too hard, it was cute seeing all the kids in the crowds singing to it. It’s definitely for them!

It's better than the Beach boys song "here come the Cubs" (1987)

It makes Kokomo look like God Only Knows.

Things I hate to wake up in the middle of the night to read

Strider’s elbow was bothering him. He’ll get a MRI tomorrow

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 6, 2024

Peeking at the savant data rn...

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?date=4/5/2024&gamePk=747143&chartType=pitch&legendType=pitchName&playerType=pitcher&inning=&count=&pitchHand=&batSide=&descFilter=&ptFilter=&resultFilter=&hf=pitchVelocity&sportId=1#747143

4SFB speed/inning:

1st: 96-98mph
2nd: 95-96mph
3rd: 93-96mph
4th: 94-96mph

His 4SFB career average = 98.3mph so yeah, see you in 2026 sweet prince.

Trevor Story landed badly on his glove shoulder, hoping nothing broken or torn. Injuries the worst part of the game.

This was cute

Beach ball don't lie pic.twitter.com/LZCbtlLrp9

— MLB (@MLB) April 6, 2024

Teoscar Hernandez has 14 RBI in 10 games. I'd normally just call that a fluke, but if he stays in the lineup and spends the year hitting behind Mookie/Freeman/Shoei and Will Smith, I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up knocking in 150.

https://x.com/soxnotes/status/1776661528210555367?s=46&t=rtT3cdbYeAygZueky17QvA

Last night, Kenley Jansen moved into 6th place on MLB’s all-time saves list.

He needs only 1 more to move into a tie for 5th.

1. Mariano Rivera 652
2. Trevor Hoffman 601
3. Lee Smith 478
4. Francisco Rodríguez 437
5. John Franco 424
6. KENLEY JANSEN 423
7. Billy Wagner 422

— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) April 6, 2024

miss u bby

man, the marlins

wearing a pirates cap, i was hailed on the streets of brooklyn today with 'buccos off to a great start!'

They’re not wrong. Joey Bart homer!

joey bart as a pirate: 1.000/1.000/4.000

https://i.postimg.cc/BnCV6XQx/IMG-8723.jpg

yamamoto had another rough start to the game since about the fifth batter has more or less been mowing down the cubs. guys swing and miss on his fastball a lot and his breaking stuff is nasty

The shadows are definitely benefiting both pitchers; some uncharacteristically ugly hacks from good hitters esp in last few innings

^ I’ve revised this opinion after seeing the Cubs reliever waste Wicks good start. They should have left him in to get the third out!

This giveaway is happening today & they spent most of Ohtani’s at bat cutting to the crowd wearing these (Pat Hughes sweater day giveaway). There was an amazing twenty second shot of Pat Hughes putting a real Pat Hughes sweater on over his giveaway one.

Pat Hughes sweater day at Wrigley!! pic.twitter.com/ncl8igUfJa

— Adam Kinzer (@adamkinzer1) April 6, 2024

I'm working on a Saturday, boo me. Anyways, I turned on the Pirates game because of the Joey Bart talk in this thread. He has stuck out looking and then swinging at both at bats that I saw. Including bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th. Pirates fans chatting Joey, Joey as I was just laughing because he can't hit. That being said, I'm rooting for him but his new fans will find out soon enough. He might hit enough not to be cut but not much more than that.

stop jinxing joey bart bee ok

nooooooo doubt about it

I didn't jinx him as I wrote that after his strikeout in the 10th. 😀

They still won tho

xps Patrick Bailey didn’t exactly set the world alight with his bat last season either

Patrick Bailey is a much better catcher than Joey Bart, arguably sure. The Giants picked the right guy. It really was between Murphy and Bart which is yet to be determined.

I like Tom Murphy a lot. I don’t really get the inclination of fans to follow players who’ve been traded off the team and hope for them to fail. Mariners fans were gloating over Kelenic’s poor spring training. Unless the player leaves under a cloud it just seems unnecessary.

I said I'm rooting for Joey Bart, it's not me to wish ill well unless they become a Dodger.

Wacky Braves game, another big comeback after Max Fried gave up 6 in the first. Braves are up 9-8 in the 8th.

Okay, I'm going to indulge in one completely petty and nasty post for the year because this has been stored up for a while:

Haha Astros

HERE COME THE MARLINS

It’s great to see Luis Arraez start hitting again

https://media.tenor.com/AbX0VH8t1u4AAAAM/pittsburgh-pirates.gif

I wasn’t watching the Cubs-Dodgers game but wow Imanaga was cruising until the rain delay. Shame that’s probably him done now since he won’t get the win if they resume.

The Giants have played the Padres, Dodgers and the Padres again. The Padres are a really good team, hard to believe they couldn't put all together with Soto and Snall.

*it

Jackson Merrill had 4 hits in the game! Unreal.

I still don't understand what happened to the 2023 padres

they were choking dogs

they weren't clutch

heard there's a n*-h***** going on right now? 🤫

now a one-hitter 🤧

YOU

Joey Bart with another "Bart dart"! These pirates know how to hit

Oneil Cruz just hit into a triple play. Vid in a sec...

Lies!

nimmo breaks out of his slump in a big way!

Byron Buxton has an all time defensive play every game. Man is ridiculous

I don't know if I've ever seen someone make that play Alvarez just made - a wild pitch went by him ricocheted off the backstop back to him, then he threw out the guy running from first to second on the wild pitch.

Yeah that was sick

WELCOME BACK TO CENTER FIELD BYRON BUXTON

Baseball is better when Byron Buxton is playing Center Field
pic.twitter.com/j0MO7eHnHg

— Baseball Legends (@Leg_baseball) April 9, 2024

So close to a double play too

nimmo breaks out of his slump in a big way!

― 龜, Monday, April 8, 2024 8:50 PM (forty-three minutes ago)

Thanks braves!

8-0.
8-9.

🫨🫨🫨

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-04-09/julio-urias-charged-with-five-misdemeanors

Cya later

Jackson Holliday getting called up

might be a little early to avoid super 2! which is cool

(if that's even still a thing in the new CBA; i haven't been paying attention)

a podcast feed of all the old radio broadcasts people have uploaded to Youtube would be cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w7Kt1vo-3Y

current California baseball standings by win%:

LAD .714
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California .545
SDP .429
The Oakland Athletics of Sacramento/Las Vegas, Nevada .364
SFG .333

I haven’t really seen Holliday before and he looks 12

Looks like he should be in a very unpleasant production of death in venice

I totally missed Hader going to Houston, why is he in the game when they're down 4?

Even when you're on a losing skid, you need your 7/8/9 guys to get work.

I like that there's a guy named Shane Bieber. whenever I see Justin Bieber I think "that guy looks like a Shane"

w/r/t Houston, they are currently:

2.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics of Sacramento/Las Vegas
4 games behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California

If it wasn't for the White Sox (2-11), the Astros would have the worst record in the AL (4-11).

Angels are .5 game out of first in the ALWest. #freeIppei

Rough inning for third baseman and pitcher Zach McKinstry

Twins Top 12th
Ryan Jeffers reaches on a fielding error by third baseman Zach McKinstry. Willi Castro scores. Christian Vázquez scores. Austin Martin scores. Ryan Jeffers to 2nd.

Z. McKinstry pitching for DET

Matt Wallner homers (1) on a fly ball to right field. Ryan Jeffers scores. Manuel Margot scores.

over/under on a dodgers/padres game being delayed due to rain? doesn't matter who's home. wonder how many times that's happened.

Will Smith calling JProfar "irrelevant" is gonna come back to haunt him (WS) imho.

cutch 300 homers <3

Was hoping to see that next week but good for him I guess :(

JProfar didn’t wait

He missed a GS by about 15".

That would have been the end of the season.

Turns out Soto was what was holding this Padres team back

Will Smith calling JProfar "irrelevant" is gonna come back to haunt him (WS) imho.

profar getting pissy about an inside fastball when the pitcher had a perfect game going was next-level

Oh he’s a clown no doubt but it’s the bulletin board material thing isn’t it

Hader got lit up

My condolences

Earned runs Hader has allowed:

2023: 8
2024: also 8

Poor Astros :(

How's Glasnow's velo?

I only got to watch bits and bobs off the game being at work, but it didn't look too bad? Stayed around the 96mph fb average at the start and started being more 95mph towards the end when I tuned in. Slider was still the bor.al wicked 92/93mph. You know something I don't?

All the top arms in Houston’s pen have gone sideways. It’s early and everything - but looked like the best pen in baseball going into the season. Hader, Abreu and Pressly ERAs are all north of 6.

Hader looked so bad last night the first thing I did this morning was see if he was injured.

Mookie 5 for 5 today, 3rd time in his career

Two in the zone, one borderline, two well outside the zone. Everywhere was his hotzone

tbf he was hitting against Patrick Corbin

Haha fair point. Poor guy 😞

When was the last time the Nats took a series in LA (other than the 2019 NLCS)?

Two years ago. Nats-Dodgers is always fun. I was getting into baseball on the tail end of 2016 and that Dodgers-Nats NLDS was a big tipping point where I realised "oh hell yeah, this is sport"

I don't know who fangraph is pic.twitter.com/59VypfZNgQ

— John Sterling Calls (@JSterlingCalls) August 31, 2020

i never listen to john sterling, but this is wack to me. i mean, not reading fangraphs, i get it, but to have never even heard of it, even though it's mentioned all the time in other publications, the writers often filter in and out between fangraphs and other sites, etc...it's like a geometry teacher rolling their eyes at this thing called calculators (does this mean the teacher doesn't know about calculus, or that they don't know about calculators? it depends on what you think of vikings in dreams...)

also,

"you know what the percentage was for the mets to win? it was 99.8% *laughter* they didn't win!"

wait, you're telling me that if, in 998 out of 1000 scenarios we expect something to happen, that in 2 out of those 1000 scenarios something won't happen? *laughter*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAKw6kN3M38
bad news: nasty nestor was informed today that his (amazing) week-old pump-fake delivery is illegal

Travis d'Arnaud has 4 HR in his last 5 AB.

little d's hot streaks are some of the hottest hot streaks in the game (tho few and far between). Good for him!

lil d

Is Jackson Holliday's ice cold start one of the worst in history?

.071/.037/.108 is one of the most brutal lines I've ever seen for an everyday player.

He’s only a twenty year old rookie, seems premature.

Griffey Jr? Mike Schmidt? Jared Kelenic (lol)?

It certainly hasn't been fun to watch :(

Those were the only 2 that I could recall offhand and looking back they sure got a lot of grief for basically being Cody Bellinger:

KGjr: .584 OPS after 14 games
Schmidt: .645 OPS after 17 games

I'm sure someone with better search skills could find "worst career MLB starts for notable players"...

Guy named Mays started off 1-26.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=mayswi01&t=b&year=1951

Never heard of him

Teams now are more likely to give young guys a leash especially if they’ve done everything they’re going to in the minors. Red Sox did it last year with Casas and Orioles with Henderson.

Pirates games with both me and user Sharivari in attendance: Pirates get swept 3-0

Pirates games with just Sharivari in attendance: Pirates win both, Cutch homers in each, Bednar fixed

manaea taken out with 1 out to get to qualify for a win against his former club. brutal, but he had 101 pitches and there were 2 on with soler coming up to bat

Astros' preaseason (3/19/24) odds* to win the WS: 7-1 (3rd only to LAD 3.2-1 & ATL 4.5-1)

They are currently 7-18, in last place in the ALW, 3 games behind LAA & 2 games behind OAK.

* #freeippei

it gets late early out here

coming into today's game, the white sox, in 24 games, had had 11 plate appearances with the bases loaded, in which they went 1-for-10 with a sac fly, resulting in two runs

i didn't look up everyone else's splits, but:
PIT: 36 PA, 7-for-30, 4 BB, 2 SF, 25 R
TOR: 23 PA, 6-for-16, 3 BB, 4 SF, 26 R
OAK: 11 PA, 1-for-8, 3 BB, 0 SF, 6 R

overall the league is hitting .248/.295/.405 with the bases loaded and producing one run per 1.37 PA

it gets late early out here

― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Thursday, April 25, 2024 6:30 AM (ten hours ago)

TH: "Astros have lost 5 straight, 8 of their last 9, and 9 of their last 11 and here's why that's a good thing!"

no i mean it is genuinely late, for the astros! a run that bad leaves you very little room for error

I can tell you why it's a good thing

it’s not as sweet as the dodgers or Yankees going 7-18, that’s for sure

Do y'all understand the current Super 2 rules? I'm trying to figure out when prospects might be called up this year, but it seems like there's no set date and a lot depends on minor league service time.

think it's averaged out between all the players that get called up? something like that?

“Super Two” players, or the two-year class

“Super Two” players are those with service time among the top 22 percentile of those who’ve been in the league between two and three years. This often includes players with at least 130 days of service time, but not quite at 172 days, though it varies from year to year. If a player is determined to have Super Two status, they are eligible for arbitration after two years instead of the standard three. Super Two players, though, do not reach free agency any earlier. They are arbitration-eligible for four years instead of the standard three.

This offseason’s cutoff for Super Two arbitration eligibility has been set at two years and 118 days of service time, as Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported on Friday. That is down from last winter’s cutoff, which was two years and 128 days.

Does "172 days" mean "172 games played in the majors" or "172 days on a roster"?

172 days on the roster or IL.

Tommy Pham said money was the tiebreaker in picking the White Sox over the Padres rather than opportunity, saying he wanted San Diego’s offer to account for higher taxes.

He said he lost weight and is looking forward to playing CF.

— James Fegan (@JRFegan) April 26, 2024

must not be doing too well in vegas

They are better off without him

Thank fuck

As @ChrisCotillo and @CraigMish reported, the Sox are acquiring 1B Garrett Cooper from the Cubs. Sox are sending cash to the Cubs.

— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) April 27, 2024

This HOU @ COL game (in CDMX which has even higher elevation than Denver!) is pretty great.

Elevation:
Coors Field = 5200'
Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium = 7250' 😳😳😳

did they bring the humidor?

white sox extra innings walk-off win!

TWO IS A STREAK

jesus christ stop putting bednar out there

managed to save a three-run lead, god bless

Fuck you, j/k but it did come against My team

What a bullshit call

This was *not* called interference on Aaron Judge. pic.twitter.com/NCFGKCzq7l

— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) April 28, 2024

Watching some of the Giants Pirates game & laughing at the SF fan who’s near one of the broadcast mics, like a third rowdy commentator in the box with Kruk & Kuip.

Tyler Fitzgerald steps to the plate
YOU GOT IT, TYLER BABY

Jung Hoo Lee refuses to swing at an outside pitch
GREAT EYE, BABY!

But! There’s also a Pirates fan near a mic, who keeps shouting LET’S GO PIRATES and calling UNDOOOOOO at strike calls. Amazing they haven’t muted them or moved away.

i can see underwear through these red sox uniforms

also what are the chances there are two asian americans both named connor in the mlb right now

nice walk off

other notable gen-z names AAPI edition:

Corbin (Carroll, half-taiwanese)
Kolten (Wong, hawaiian, chinese, filipino, and portuguese)
Keston (Hiura, half chinese, half japanese)

src: https://japanball.com/asian-americans-in-baseball-mlb-players-coaches-and-executives/

xp Connor Wong is the handsomest and also maybe my favourite on this team atm. I saw him get two hits in a game I was at, it ruled

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_Worley

Travis Ishikawa mentioned!

xp #vanimal

my better half found this and snagged it for me:

https://i.postimg.cc/BQBWcJqT/IMG-1172.jpg

some more cool history and photos here https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/chinese-baseball/

https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/chinese-baseball/#jp-carousel-14595

Imanaga’s little side glance to his interpreter at David Cone calling him “Imaga-san” amused me

https://streamable.com/ol0g6k

love this picture of the hovering glove of the Cardinals’ Michael Siani as he tried to catch yesterday’s walk off home run by the Mets Mark Vientos

https://ibb.co/3cYQBWP

That was an exciting walk-off - and happy for the Mets & Vientos

the twins lucky sausage is the most exciting storyline in the mlb right now

Yes!

https://www.mlb.com/news/lucky-summer-sausage-keys-twins-seven-game-win-streak

Fwiw before I looked it up I had never heard the term “summer sausage”.

Always shocked to find the power relationship between MLB and BEES(!) leans towards the bees.

Now that I think of it, there’s not many human institutions that can’t be overpowered with a swarm of bees. Need to get my bee guy to congress, stat

Dodgers commentators speculating perhaps the Dbacks planted the bees to shake up their losing streak. I’m buying it

Nice finds 龜

xps to 龜!

MLB is proud to celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and the many contributors to our great game from the AAPI community. #AAPIHeritageMonth pic.twitter.com/qOsEAzacOp

— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024

Yamamoto got his ERA to a number starting with 2 as of today, and without that disaster in Korea it's a number starting with 1. That $325 mil starting to look a little less foolish. The dark void I used to feel in my stomach whenever he gave up a hit has gone. Man is looking far more locked in and like a real ace. Now rocking 4 shutouts in 7 starts

Soler power

Jorge Soler annihilated his bat after hitting a laser right at Rafael Devers 😬 pic.twitter.com/1gsRruvMZC

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 2, 2024

Lawrence pitched a perfect ninth for the Rockies, then strikes out the first batter he faces in the 10th and is pulled. But there's an automatic runner on second, and so Lawrence gets the loss after the next reliever blows it. Such a bizarre rule!

i hate it

No time for that Kyle Farnsworth is a bodybuilder now

his title is Professor; show some respect

Brent Rooker - Oakland (sic) Athletics DH - 2 HRs in the 3rd inning.

the a's are about to be .500 after they finish murdering the phish today. I didn't think they'd be this competitive.

Fisher said win a ring and MAYBE I'll turn this car around

if the a's won, fisher would give them old-school pop-can tabs for rings

He’d probably ship all the players out for making him look bad

Noted #1 star of the Dodgers and epitome of the Baseball Body, Max Muncy with a 3hr night

DO IT MUNCE

Also for those unaware, Andy Pages has been the most entertaining player on the Dodgers since he was called up a week or so ago. He has a .338 average in 65 PA but with 0 walks, and an absolute disgust for balls thrown of the plate. Last night he walked off the braves in a 4 hit game after winning the award for “ball fouled off furthest from the plate in a game H.P. has watched”. Man absolutely REFUSES to be walked.

https://i.postimg.cc/52gDh90c/IMG-0497.jpg

Like look at pitch 7? Just disgusting

Probably only a couple of pitchers currently in the league I ever wish an actual shelling on (Chapman, Germán) and one of them (Clevinger) has given up 3 runs to Tampa after two innings and 46 pitches. Hoping for more of the same till he gets pulled.

Only 4 ER in two innings cos the White Sox pulled him out after he gave up three successive hits and a walk, the reliever they put in got out of the inning unscathed and neither inherited runner scored :(

Also, Jhoan Duran’s closer entrance rules.

Jhoan Duran's entrance, just like I always wanted to see on the #MNTwins broadcast. Awesome. pic.twitter.com/ieBzKe1pNo

— Chris Hanel, Baseball Enthusiast (@GoTwinkiesGo) May 4, 2024

That’s so stupid i love it

Oh huh - they do something similar for Romano too

cubs got too cute leaving imanaga in the game late

guess it doesn't matter tho lol

Braves won but they still look very bad. Acuña's head is on another planet.

also absolutely brutal shot to the arm that contreras took from jdm. oooooouuuuuuccccchhhhhh

I can’t bring myself to watch that video. Poor Contreras :(

Max Muncy continues to be Max Muncy, hitting an oppo granny in the 1st

20 strikes in a row from Yama as well to start the game, 18 off Bartolo’s silly record which I want to see broken

goldschmidt may never get a hit again the way he’s looked the past two games against the mets

Paul Skenes is pitching on Saturday!

Please stay off the pulled pork thread Skenes

He’s only twelve years old, he’s got lots of time before he hits the sandwich shop

I heard he got rizzed up by lizzy

Steele(!!!! He’s back!!!!) vs Skenes has the potential to be the most interesting pitchers duel of the day.

I've been reading about Skenes--mlb.com has no fewer than five links up:

Skenes arrives ready to go: 'Just want to put us in a position to win'

Get to know MLB No. 1 pitching prospect Paul Skenes

Is Skenes the best pitching prospect ever? Let's take a look...

Paul Skenes has 5 (!) pitches -- and here's his take on all of them

Are MLB's top two pitching prospects in the same org?

Dylan Crews(Skenes’ teammate at LSU) is now the most high ranked prospect still to debut. The Nationals drafted him 2nd overall last year. He’s still in double A but his ETA says 2024. September I guess?

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/

mlb has been going HARD on skenes it's kind of amazing. never seen this sort of thing before even from like Baseball America. i've having all these articles pushed up to the top of my app i'm like, did i press the wrong button?? wha happen

I saw people compare it to the hype around Stephen Strasburg’s debut?

I did search and Strasburg had a thread on here over a year before his debut!

Post by Andy K from Stephen Strasburg, pitcher and Scott Boras client on ILX - Stephen Strasburg, pitcher and Scott Boras client

My gf hardly ever talks about the NL, but was talking about Skenes weeks ago. Dude is def getting a lot of hype

My mlb.com login still works, so I think I'll make an effort to watch (free today).

lol same except with my husband

https://i.postimg.cc/MH59DQJx/IMG-0614.jpg

meanwhile today mets prospect christian scott is pitching his second game ever against... the braves. that'll be a litmus test

These commenters are a trip. “You saw it, just minutes before he left the dugout the sun came out”

Retire now!

Lol

Glad I switched to the Skenes game

A walk? WASHED

I wanted that third K...Game was three pitches in when I got home, so I'll never be able to say I saw his first pitch.

How is Bellinger back already after fracturing his ribs and swinging away? I guess he self medicates for the pain. 😮‍💨

xp first pitch was a ball, he stopped and stood on the mound for a second and looked slightly awed before he remembered the pitch clock existed

meanwhile today mets prospect christian scott is pitching his second game ever against... the braves. that'll be a litmus test

In other electrifying news, Vlad pushed his average over .260 and Bo hit his second HR today.

Look as someone who grew up watching football (soccer) can I just say that MLB ad where they try to liken the two sports using the Wrexham club is FUCKING INANE

It’s enough to make me think about watching on BT sport again, which has the worst ads of all time

xp is Bo injured or playing through something? He seriously looks nothing like himself this year.

Thanks for reminding me that this monster is going to be a free agent at 27 if he stays healthy and isn’t pulled pork by then

Quite possible. He really lost it on an umpire the other day, which was very out of character.

First it was the slurve, then the cutter, then the sweeper, now the splinker...I think they keep making up new names for the same pitch, but whatever it is, Skenes has an impressive one.

Wow that surprises me from what I know of him.

Oneil Cruz just sent a missile into the Allegheny at 114mph right after Connor Joe hit a three run bomb. Justin Steele…washed?

xp one of the Red Sox commenters is always talking about the “slutter” (slider/cutter) but I think that’s something different now. Isn’t a sweeper like a slider with more horizontal break?

Not seeing a future for the "slutter" as a popular term...I think so, but to me, it just looks like a big curve that goes sideways instead of down; I think both types have always been around, so I don't know if the pitch itself is new.

I’ve seen some players say the same as you and others think it’s a variation or a whole new pitch. I’ve also seen it called a frisbee slider, which makes me think of Giants legend and Immaculate Grid hero Sergio Romo.

They'll probably give him a chance at the win, but they're getting into a dicey pitch count here...I honestly don't know. I wish I were better at remembering stuff like that--how Blyleven's curve broke might be instructive--but I'm not.

I think Koufax threw a drastic 12-6 curveball.

Too bad--one just inside the line and an infield hit. Good debut, though.

Yeah I mean honestly great debut, no matter how good the pitcher is they need practice at getting out of jams and that’s hard enough for veterans who aren’t on a pitch count. He’ll have plenty of wins in his career

Actually didn't care about the win, I more wanted to see him finish with a third out (as opposed to mid-inning). But they had no choice.

Storm delay and a tie game in PNC Park. There’s audible thunder. Dramatic!

I think Koufax threw a drastic 12-6 curveball.

69 Seconds of Barry Zito Curveballs. 😍 pic.twitter.com/Uth8lJeHaz

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) December 28, 2021

With Bo - two years ago he got off to a terrible start. Like, just brutal for two months. then he turned into an unrelenting pitcher destroying machine for the rest of the season. His august- September, iirc, was one for the books.
I’m hoping he can turn it around again in similar fashion. last three games he’s 4/13 with a home run.

MLB app indicating ongoing no hitter mets/barves. hope the app jinxes it!

I hate how they flag up no hitters after like the fourth inning. At least leave it till the sixth you cowards!

With Bo - two years ago he got off to a terrible start. Like, just brutal for two months. then he turned into an unrelenting pitcher destroying machine for the rest of the season. His august- September, iirc, was one for the books.
I’m hoping he can turn it around again in similar fashion. last three games he’s 4/13 with a home run.

MLB app indicating ongoing no hitter mets/barves. hope the app jinxes it!

vintage degrom game for sure

today a pirates reliever threw 12 straight balls with the bases loaded

i suspect that hasn't happened (or been allowed to happen) too often

(his replacement then walked the next guy on five pitches)

xp one of my favourite baseball follows has this as their pinned, the pain and ecstasy of those years

when the Mets broadcast tells you that Jacob deGrom is not coming back out for the 4th inning and they’ll have more info later pic.twitter.com/tzfLhnLghw

— M Y A S S I N J A C K P O T (@vodkasnowflake) March 8, 2022

Jim Rice is the grumpiest (not pejorative) postgame broadcaster

watching the Dominican rapper El Alfa laughing before the game with David Ortíz and Brayan Bello

Look at all that jewellery. I’d get tired carrying that around.

Tom Caron: maybe one piece? Maybe you could borrow one to see? Do you speak Spanish?

JR: (sternly) No.

today a pirates reliever threw 12 straight balls with the bases loaded

i suspect that hasn't happened (or been allowed to happen) too often

(his replacement then walked the next guy on five pitches)

Watching Skenes reminds me of facing Strasburg after his call-up. I took a fastball in my first at-bat, looked up, and saw ‘100’ on the board. I thought, ‘Uh oh.’ The next pitch? The best curveball I’d ever seen—gulp. Same could be said about the changeup later. I was like, 😕.…

— Joey Votto (@JoeyVotto) May 11, 2024

His reply to the first comment is interesting too.

I was talking to my friend about Goldy & his history against Tim Lincecum (which she didn’t know about). Ended up linking her this legendary supercut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1uozyrIMaQ

What I hadn’t realised was that very first hr of his career was off Lincecum - and it was his last fully good season too. Really impressive how well he saw him. I wonder if this will be his last season.

braves catcher chadwick tromp is wearing #45 💀

There was an article in The Athletic about this recently where he was like, I wanted to change my number, I didn’t make the connection till I realised people kept cheering me

Up to now I've been pretty sanguine about Ronald Acuña's slow start at the plate, thinking at least when he does get on, he's turning that walk or single into a double via the steal. But now he's been picked off at 1B three times in 10 innings, yesterday and today. He just doesn't seem to have any focus.

His career splits by month are a real on/off switch: April/June/August excellent, May/July so-so (September's more of a mixed bag).

big papi continues to own New York:

Today in Albany, the New York State Senate will honor a man who can only be described as an Empire State folk hero:

...
...
...

David Ortiz pic.twitter.com/LWAjtKDaAF

— Jon Campbell (@JonCampbellNY) May 13, 2024

This walk off photo ruled:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNljLR4WwAE0f67?format=jpg&name=large

The truth behind the photo wasn’t so elegant:

With the Red Sox luck, genuinely surprised Kutter Crawford’s leg didn’t snap in half here pic.twitter.com/tbWiFjgGBW

— Garrett Mashburn (@G_Mashburn) May 15, 2024

that is a pretty nice outing from paul skenes

6 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 11 K, 100 pitches, 22 swings-and-misses, 7 balls in play, 1 of them in the air, game score 82

Beauty to watch

🥵

...so the pirates could have had cole and glasnow on this squad in addition to skenes and jones?

Wasn’t Glasnow bad in Pittsburgh and didn’t the Rays sort him out when he went there?

He was awesome as a Pirates minor leaguer. I think he just needed more time and a better situation.

Yeah, same as Zack Wheeler not taking off with the Mets I guess

Should have put my Cy Young bet down on Detroit's Scooby-Doo.

...so the pirates could have had cole and glasnow on this squad in addition to skenes and jones?

the pirates were never gonna pay cole and glasnow what they could earn in free agency, so not really

(this does not excuse the pirates trading him *and* austin meadows *and* shane baz for chris archer in 2018. among the worst trades of this century, even if meadows and baz haven't exactly worked out)

also while i really like glasnow, and hope he does well, he is nowhere near cole

After 9 starts, Imanaga has an ERA of 0.84

!

Thing is, Ranger Suárez of the Phillies--whose name I don't recognize at all, even though I apparently watched him pitch in the World Series two years ago--is right there with him:

Suárez - 59 IP, 8-0, 1.37 ERA, 0.763 WHIP, 2.5 WAR
Imanaga - 53.2 IP, 5-0, 0.84 ERA, 0.913 WHIP, 3.0 WAR

It's really close.

i haven’t seen suarez pitch this year but i have seen imanaga and he is very, very impressive

i think you have to also factor in that the Cubs are being carried by their starting rotation so far this season - their bullpen has been bad, their offense and defense have been subpar, and they're still contenders. Javier Assad has a 1.49 ERA and somehow Jameson Taillon has a 2.20 ERA. Justin Steele's numbers aren't great but he hasn't been off the IL long.

In 1998, my first classroom ever, a grade 3 kid named Ranger Goyette told me that kids needed to feel the "flow of freedom." So I'm already a big Ranger Suárez fan.

if your team is in the NL East, ranger Suarez has been a constant fixture for the Phils for 5-6 years.

Ranger went undrafted in the ILB fantasy league which is a relatively deep league imho.

(xpost) I saw that when I checked his career log--even had a great swing year in 2021. Whenever I say I haven't heard of such-and-such, it always has more to do with my tunnel vision than the player in question.

We’re only two or so years removed from the Mets playing their divisional rivals like 18 times a year, so I got to know those lesser known team members pretty well. I’d end up saying things like “What do you mean people don’t know about Roman Quinn? I can’t get away from him.”

the Cubs are being carried by their starting rotation so far this season

except for kyle henricks, alas

Imanaga and Assad and pray for raincloud

Speaking of pleasantly suprsing elite pitching:

Chris Sale

Currently riding 20 straight scoreless innings + .86 WHIP + 2.22 ERA