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

some of these guys probably think they’re playing in front of “london fans” but a good 80% of the crowd is going to be megafans who have made the trip over and combined it with a summer holiday

Plus Americans who live in London

AJ Pierzynski isn’t a great listen, I’ll tell you that for free

When in the UK #LondonSeries ⚽️

(Cut4 x @CoronaUSA) pic.twitter.com/esgARUOtjC

— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 8, 2024

Pierzynski’s mic wasn’t working in their first link and he had to use someone else lmao, he was very rattled

I fell asleep. Just woke up lol. Good game?

It wasn’t very competitive.

Anyone up? 😴😴😴

Kiké Hernández committed an error during an in-game interview on Friday night. Asked after the game if the interview impacted him on the play, the Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman said, “Maybe a little bit.” Subsequently asked if he’d reconsider being mic’d up during a game, he replied “No, because we’re getting paid.”

According to the Associated Press story that quoted Hernández, “Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement calls for a player to receive a $10,000 stipend for wearing a two-way microphone for at least one inning of a regular-season game. The amount rises to $15,000 in the postseason.” The story went on to say that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t aware that his third baseman was being interviewed while on the field.

if you listen to the broadcast of that he says something cool

what'd he say? i'm almost always amazed that they don't yell "shit!" the second the ball is put into play

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1dauyo9/ball_hit_my_penis/

He said on some interview I watched that he doesn’t wear a cup either

Phillies-Mets London series second game:

Pluses:
- what a fucking game! How many games do you get a blown save, a bases loaded 2-3(!) double play to end the game and a home run robbery
- Alvarado‘s song was a banger but obviously the Phillies weren’t expecting him to shit the bed that badly. They had to hastily warm a guy up and throw him on to get out of the inning.
- I never have to see that FUCKING STUPID London series ad with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhinney again
- Phillies fans lived up to the reputation, one guy in front of us turned and pointed “HA! HA! HA!!!!” when Dahl homered
- Mets turned several great double plays including the game winner
- HBP is objectively one of the funniest ways to get a go ahead run
- Fun facts on the scoreboard still rule
- Bryson Stott & his walk up song got one of the biggest cheers when he pinch hit. He ground out on one pitch.

Minuses:
- So many pitching changes, damn. Really offset the pacing gains of the clock.
- Francisco Lindor didn’t get a hit
- I think the gloomy weather and claggy air turned most things into warning track outs

Walk up songs of note:

- Francisco Lindor’s is My Girl
- Bryce Harper alternated between three British choices: Wannabe, Here Comes the Sun and ?
- Both Brett Baty & Christian Pache both walked up to Million Dollar Baby

Shirt watch: mostly Harpers and Lindors but saw one Burrell(!), one Lincecum (❤️), a few Ohtanis, one Yamamoto. Tons of Nolas

Sounds like a good time and crazy last three innings.

One last minus: I still have Tracer Hands comb

Himself: I liked the guy who just showed up, hit a dinger and left. (David Dahl, who pinch hit for Rojas in the 7th and who was in turn pinch hit for by Pache to play centre field).

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GPqDZ5RWAAAuPvy.jpg:small

Fuck MLB for pushing sports gambling, and fuck these lowlifes.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/06/09/mlb-players-starting-to-fear-for-their-safety-from-gamblers/74028741007/

It has become so appalling that fans are now requesting payment from players for their lost wages in bets.
"Fans used to just say normal things like, 'You’re a bum,’" said Chapman, a seven-year veteran. "Now, that they have all that money on us, fans will talk a lot of (expletive) to us. I’ll even have fans Venmo requesting me for money. I had to change my Venmo."
Said Giants veteran reliever Tyler Rogers: "I had to make my Venmo private because I’d blow a game or something, and people would find me on Venmo, and they’d send me requests. 'Hey, you cost me $1,500. You better pay me back.'

Still, despite the inherent danger, not only to players but to the potential integrity of the game, Major League Baseball endlessly promotes gambling websites.
"You cannot watch one set of commercials between innings without a gambling commercial," Sewald said. "FanDuel. DraftKings. MGM. Caesars. We’re promoting the hell out of this, and then to say, 'Oh, I don’t know what guys are gambling'?"

Totally agree with you, and even more appalling to me is when players sign on to do commercials. Don't know if this a problems with baseball yet, but I've seen famous hockey and basketball players (some retired, but I don't think all) promoting gambling site.

"sites"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q45L0wPTB8I

nice writeup gyac

listening to the game on the radio the mets booth was mentioning how the field was way bouncier than parks in the states

watching the replays and yeah, that's a bouncy and fast green

Yeah there was some play towards the end of the game where a ball hit the turf at the end and went SPROING that was hilarious. But there weren’t too many moments like that that impacted scoring. Also, Tracer Hand stood up and shouted ¡Vamanos, Vientos! in the worst Spanish I’ve ever heard in my life right before he drove in the tying run

the play at the plate where torrens missed the catch - definitely seemed like the ball bounced a bit higher than he was expecting

also bohm fumbling that vientos chopper

guess it all evened out in the end!

I think Bohm is kind of fraudulent because of stuff like that and I’ve seen him misplay balls like that even in non-circus turf situations

Was just skimming this year's players poll...For most overrated (which players were reluctant to answer, so a smaller sample size), Juan Soto and Yordan Alvarez both received votes, but Vlad didn't. Maybe someone can explain that to me. (The most obvious answer, I guess, is that Vlad isn't thought highly enough anymore to be considered overrated.)

I read the initial piece and two things in reference to your question:

1) the survey was taken in spring training before the season began
2) one of the Jazz comments references his MLB the Show cover. Literally it’s not a great analysis, it’s probably some player with their then current copy of the game saying it.

Now, based on that logic, you should expect to see Vladdy show up in next year’s survey. The Soto comment was dumb as well:

On Soto:

“Could be a spite pick, to be honest. I feel like all he does is walk and hit singles, and doesn’t hit for power like he’s portrayed. Also not a good fielder.”

That would explain it, thanks. I was going to post the Soto quote too--singles hitter with a lifetime slugging pct. of .531.

Buster Olney got hacked

Shohei Ohtani has been banned for life from the MLB, in connection to charges with gambling. His trial is on August 28th, it is speculated he could get life in prison

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 10, 2024

I Hate METS

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 10, 2024

lol

Who was that kid who was in the tor system with the huge lower half

Oh holy shit… he came over in the halladay trade iirc

I was close. The jays traded Michael Taylor (the other Michael Taylor), whom they had gotten in the halladay deal, to the A’s for him. Brett Wallace.

YES

I feel like I'll enjoy this Braves-Orioles series a lot more if I just switch allegiance now before first pitch.

Hope you listened to your best intentions

How bout these O’s huh

They're pretty good, and the barves are pretty bad.

skenes being v. slightly outdueled . . . by miles mikolas!

The Houston Astros released first baseman José Abreu. He is owed more than $30 million on the free agent deal he signed last year.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 14, 2024

oof but he's been so so bad

even (a little) worse than fellow former white sox star tim anderson

That organisation seems deeply cursed

don't worry i might be seeing them at candlestick in june - that'll be the turning point for a long slow slide back below .500

well they didnt need to wait for me it looks like

Braves are just getting one bad break after another. Honest miracle they haven’t gone full-on Mets yet.

I feel like that team generally has a horseshoe up their ass

This is cute af, however
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GQNj0HzbQAAXhyL?format=jpg&name=large

Craig’s son

After yesterday's start, Skenes has a K/BB ratio of 53/7. How often do you see that with a 22-year-old starter? Going back to Jose Fernandez, his was 4.21 for his four seasons, and that was really impressive; Skenes is at 7.57.