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Season has started already. There was of course the big political topic with the relocation of the all star game but also some interesting games already. Cody Bellinger has lost a home run because he overtook runner justin turner who was running back because he thought it was caught.

Also some ace pitchers really did give up a lot of runs (Kershaw, darvish, Castillo, even bauer).

There are also news that apparently despite the announcements of mlb the ball in spring training was not less juiced.

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Not sure why I have even watched the last 2 Rockies games since they were written off after 2019 and Dodgers and Padres have locked up the NL West for the next few years. However there seems to be a few breaths of life left in the Colorado bats. After getting beaten by a bad bounce that began the Dodgers comeback tonight, Josh Fuentes tied up the game in the seventh by sending a pitch over the wall.

Baseball is fun.

I went to a game yesterday, and had a great time.  In fact, the restricted seating meant that no-one had to climb over your lap to get to and from their seats.  I guess some might miss that part of the experience, but I thought it was just fine not to have to deal with it.

The game had hits, home runs, booing, plays, double-plays, an error, walks, substitutions, a beautiful rendition of the national anthem, the organ, the jumbotron, sunshine, screamy kids, peanuts, all of it.  Now that I think of it, there were no pickoff attempts.

Continued a tradition with my kids that began 17 years ago, now they are both much taller than I am.  What could be better than that?

The Sux hitting will be better. The pitching will be worse. The upside is 74 wins. The downside is 68 wins if the pitching completely unravels. The win number will determine fourth or fifth place.

if Martinez is having a good year chances are he will be traded for prospects. I’ll push in all my chips on Ottavino being traded for prospects at some point before the trading deadline. With the money shortstops are getting Bogaerts will be traded by the trading deadline in 2022. He can opt out after 2022.

Last edited by RJM
@RJM posted:

The Sux hitting will be better. The pitching will be worse. The upside is 74 wins. The downside is 68 wins if the pitching completely unravels. The win number will determine fourth or fifth place.

if Martinez is having a good year chances are he will be traded for prospects. I’ll push in all my chips on Ottavino being traded for prospects at some point before the trading deadline. With the money shortstops are getting Bogaerts will be traded by the trading deadline in 2022. He can opt out after 2022.

Spot on RJM.  I have no problem pulling the trigger on trading prospects for Martinez and Ottavino when the time and terms are right.   But, I'm having an issue with Bogaerts 2022 opt-out.   The issue has nothing to do with the player or the club but the jacked-up shortstop marketplace with many talented free agents (Story, Seager and Correa) coming to market at the end of 2021.   Bogaerts (6yr/$120M) has seen Tatis (14 yr/$340M) and Lindor (10yr/$341M)  get their monster contracts.   I'd like to see the Red Sox front office get creative (yes, I know a big ask) to grow and extend Bogie's contract.  He's the leader, core and best player on the team.  He is underpaid given the new SS market.   Got to keep him! 

Tatis is young.  I believe SD is taking a big risk there and they overpaid, but it is worth taking.  SD is back in the MLB conversation...they got talent.   Tip of the cap to the Mets for getting a proven talent in Lindor in his prime years.   The way I look at it there are 4 elite shortstops...Tatis, Lindor, Bogaerts and Story.  Bogaerts is also entering his prime years.  If you have one of these guys you've got to keep him.   Certainly, there are new market pressures here.

@JCG posted:

What the heck is this?

These are Boston Strong uniforms. They will be worn on Patriot’s Day (New England holiday). Blue and gold are the Boston Strong logo colors. It goes back to the Marathon Day (happened on Patriot’s Day) bombing.

Other than last year and this year the marathon is held on Patriot’s Day. It’s a city sized party. The Sox play at 11am so after the game fans can stay in the city and watch the marathon. Kenmore Square (Fenway Park) is on the route a little over a mile from the finish line. When I was a little kid the Sox played a doubleheader at 11am and 2pm. It’s when games took 2:15 to 2:30 to play. Fans would go out into Kenmore Square between games.

I grew up on Heartbreak Hill in Chestnut Hill near Boston College. It’s the most challenging part of the marathon up and down hills. I would rather run it than bike it. I used to run it to get in shape for football summer sessions.

Personally, I wish after eight years the city could let go. I decided that morning to get a new iPad. I was standing on Boylston Street not far from the Apple Stiore.  I was a block from one of the bombs. It was my first venture out of walking my neighborhood after life saving surgery and being released three weeks earlier. The next day I had to go back in the hospital. My BP was still 200+/100+.

Pro teams are into alternate uniforms for revenue generation. These will probably sell well.

Last edited by RJM

Yesterday there were two brushes with perfection. Carlos Rodon with the White Sox pitched perfectly into the ninth. A pitch down and in went a little too far down and in and hit the batter on the top of his shoe. In the end, Rodon still finished his no-hitter facing only 28 batters.

On the other side of the globe, Brock Dykxhoorn, formerly of Team Canada, lost his bid for perfection in the third inning of CPBL's Uni-Lions game by surrendering a single to a player who was quickly "assassinated" (as Google translate calls it) on the following double play. He faced the minimum 27 batters.

What a great day for both pitchers and the defense behind them.



LOL!

Toe Hitter

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Last edited by TMM_Dad
@Dominik85 posted:

After losing the first 3 the red sox have won 8 in a row and are now in first place

Going into the season the over/under was 75.5. I still believe they will finish 75-87 or worse. The current pitching is a mirage. Their starting pitching is an ace (Rodriguez) coming off missing a season and likely to have endurance issues. Their #2 and 3 (Eovaldi, Richards) go to the IL every season. Their #4 (Pivetta) is unproven and already failed in another city. Their #5 (Perez) is a .500 pitcher with a 5.00 era over the past three years. Their bullpen closer (Barnes) often starts strong and hits mediocrity by the all star break. In the wings is a Sale. It will be a gift if he returns after the all star break and doesn’t experience pain regardless of performance. I would prefer Houck to be part of a six man rotation than be the ace in AAA.

By nature I’m an optimistic person. I don’t see much about the pitching to be anything but realistic.

Last edited by RJM

Is anyone else bothered by MLB's association with the gaming (gambling) sites? I really don't like it one bit.

Today I tuned in to a game on the MLB channel and the announcers were participating in some stupid guessing game on what the outcome would be for the current at-bat. The mess was linked to one of those sites.

I'm losing interest in MLB fast.

I have been desensitized to this. Was this a natural progression from fantasy sports? maybe it's a chicken/egg argument but given the long history of other societal vices linked to sports advertising, this is just another.  Given the growing national tolerance of cannabis, we should all brace ourselves for the remake of the  "this bud's for you" commercial.

Seems like the ball change that mlb tried to get more balls in play was a big failure.

Apparently the ball is slightly lighter creating both higher pitch and exit velos but also more drag creating shorter fly balls and better breaking balls.

Bottom line is homers are (very slightly) down but K rate is actually up, league K rate is at an all time high of 24.3%. Also league batting average is one of the lowest ever at .234 so far albeit part of that is a .284 babip which should come back up close to .300 when we compare it to the last years.

@Dominik85 posted:

Seems like the ball change that mlb tried to get more balls in play was a big failure.

Apparently the ball is slightly lighter creating both higher pitch and exit velos but also more drag creating shorter fly balls and better breaking balls.

Bottom line is homers are (very slightly) down but K rate is actually up, league K rate is at an all time high of 24.3%. Also league batting average is one of the lowest ever at .234 so far albeit part of that is a .284 babip which should come back up close to .300 when we compare it to the last years.

Just move the mound back a few feet and all fences back 30 feet.

@Dominik85 posted:

Seems like the ball change that mlb tried to get more balls in play was a big failure.

Apparently the ball is slightly lighter creating both higher pitch and exit velos but also more drag creating shorter fly balls and better breaking balls.

Bottom line is homers are (very slightly) down but K rate is actually up, league K rate is at an all time high of 24.3%. Also league batting average is one of the lowest ever at .234 so far albeit part of that is a .284 babip which should come back up close to .300 when we compare it to the last years.

It doesn’t matter how the ball carries if contact isn’t made.

From the article in the Boston Globe cited by RJM in another thread:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/20...their-young-hitters/

As of Monday, the cumulative batting average across the majors was just .234, with a .391 slugging percentage. The strikeout percentage is up to 24.1 percent, and the .311 on-base percentage is the lowest since 1968.  "I think what people don’t understand is that this is a stuff-over-command league nowadays," [J.D.]Martinez said. "It’s guys that throw 100 miles per hour. You see it every day, every team."

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