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

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