2023 playoffs

What are the Rays doing with their uniforms? Opening up with throwbacks was an interesting move but players all wearing different socks and belts. Looked really sloppy. I know it's one of those who really cares things but it looks pretty sloppy when there are at least four different sock/belt combinations being worn on field.

Yes I realize I probably sound like a grumpy old man yelling at the clouds.

Why would any decent player want to play for the Rays?  The organization doesn’t pay well. Fans don’t care enough to attend games. What player wants to play in a half empty stadium all the time? When popular teams come to town the visiting team has the home field advantage with the fans.

It’s hard not to pull for the Land of Nice. When Minnesota teams are good their fans are loud and enthusiastic.

@Dominik85 posted:

Who is going to win?

.................................................................

Phillies and astros might have a good chance too

Phillies over Astros in 6.

@RJM posted:

Why would any decent player want to play for the Rays?  The organization doesn’t pay well. Fans don’t care enough to attend games. What player wants to play in a half empty stadium all the time? When popular teams come to town the visiting team has the home field advantage with the fans.

The new stadium doesn't make any sense to me. Do they need a new stadium? Yes. But I still don't think anybody down there seems to care about them playing baseball where the stadium is going to pack the house. What is interesting is the stadium is going to have about 25% less seats. It will be the smallest stadium in baseball by quite a bit.

I still think they should have moved to Nashville. I'm glad Oakland is making their move. There are very few desirable cities remaining for a baseball team

@PABaseball posted:

The new stadium doesn't make any sense to me. Do they need a new stadium? Yes. But I still don't think anybody down there seems to care about them playing baseball where the stadium is going to pack the house. What is interesting is the stadium is going to have about 25% less seats. It will be the smallest stadium in baseball by quite a bit.

I still think they should have moved to Nashville. I'm glad Oakland is making their move. There are very few desirable cities remaining for a baseball team

Im surprised Charlotte doesn’t come up more often in MLB conversations.I’m surprised the A’s didn’t look at Sacramento.

@RJM posted:

Im surprised Charlotte doesn’t come up more often in MLB conversations.I’m surprised the A’s didn’t look at Sacramento.

I don't imagine Atlanta would like that too much. I suppose that is a possible reason Nashville has never come to fruition.

That whole area in CA is interesting - massive population but everything likely too close for multiple teams to work. The Kings and Sharks are both towards the bottom of attendance in their sports although the Sharks are not Sac.

I think Vegas is the right move. Even if it takes time to develop a fan base, you're going to get more tourists trickling in than you would regulars in Oakland. Hockey has killed it there. I would imagine it's an attractive city for free agents especially with the lack of income tax. I would not be surprised in the slightest if an NBA team moved in.

@RJM posted:

Why would any decent player want to play for the Rays?  The organization doesn’t pay well. Fans don’t care enough to attend games. What player wants to play in a half empty stadium all the time? When popular teams come to town the visiting team has the home field advantage with the fans.

Still the org does an amazing job competing with that low of a budget every year.

They are not only losing players but also tons of coaches, GMs and AGMs and they still keep it up.

Their approach of course is pretty simple, develope good players, keep them 3-4 years and then trade them when they get expensive in arbitration trade them for prospects and repeat. Only works with great player development and scouting of course

@Dominik85 posted:

Still the org does an amazing job competing with that low of a budget every year.

They are not only losing players but also tons of coaches, GMs and AGMs and they still keep it up.

Their approach of course is pretty simple, develope good players, keep them 3-4 years and then trade them when they get expensive in arbitration trade them for prospects and repeat. Only works with great player development and scouting of course

How many World Series have they won?

@RJM posted:

How many World Series have they won?

The marlins won 2 WS since the start of the century. I think sometimes it can be random.

But maybe the lack of superstars plays a part in that too.

I also get that for fans that revolving door isn't great for fans either, they have a lot of depth but not a lot of long term identification figures.

BTW does anyone think there are too many off days? Two days off after the WC series (would have been only 1 if there where games 3) and then another off day after game 1 of the DS. Imo that is distortion of competition as it helps teams with a more shallow rotation (braves, rangers) and hurts teams with more rotation depth but less top end talent like the Phillies or orioles.

I agree with Dominik85 about the Rays. One also say the same about the Marlins.

I gave up on the Marlins after J.T. left. Both teams don't pack the house unless the visitors are from big time markets.

Folks can say what they want but both did make the first round in the playoffs.

@PABaseball posted:

What are the Rays doing with their uniforms? Opening up with throwbacks was an interesting move but players all wearing different socks and belts. Looked really sloppy. I know it's one of those who really cares things but it looks pretty sloppy when there are at least four different sock/belt combinations being worn on field.

Yes I realize I probably sound like a grumpy old man yelling at the clouds.

I noticed this as well. I get letting the players show their individual flare, but that s### looked stupid. They can accessorize with wrist bands, cleats, short pants vs long pants, but the crazy belts and 9 different types of socks drives me crazy.

The Rays make the playoffs and fans don’t show up. Attendance is worse during the regular season. They’re the baseball tree that falls in the forest. Does it make a noise? No one cares.

The Rays were the visitors in Philly.

Iowamom's son was drafted by the Rays last year.

He seems to be doing pretty well. FB looks pretty good!

Are Texas people for Rangers or Astros?

@anotherparent posted:

Are Texas people for Rangers or Astros?

Both. People in North Texas are for the Rangers. People from South Texas are still for the Astros for the most part. Walmart fans are more for the Astros. The two fan bases don’t like each other and Houston media has poured a lot of gasoline on that fire.

@RJM posted:

Why would any decent player want to play for the Rays?  The organization doesn’t pay well. Fans don’t care enough to attend games. What player wants to play in a half empty stadium all the time? When popular teams come to town the visiting team has the home field advantage with the fans.

You get what you get and don’t throw a fit… The A’s would be way worse - lol.  Obviously most players have zero control, and are just happy being able to step between the lines at any MLB field…

From my couch, I like the Rays FO choices… They put competitive teams on the field with a limited budget (unlike Pittsburgh - although PNC park is amazing). The Ray’s venue is lousy and the fans don’t show up. Too bad they couldn’t find a way to get the new stadium in downtown Tampa - seems a better choice than St. Pete.

@JucoDad posted:

The Ray’s venue is lousy and the fans don’t show up. Too bad they couldn’t find a way to get the new stadium in downtown Tampa - seems a better choice than St. Pete.

https://www.wusf.org/sports/20...stadium-are-released

Big win by Texas, especially in a 1 run game. This year Baltimore had the second best record in 1 run games (30-16) while the rangers where below 500.

@TPM posted:

https://www.wusf.org/sports/20...stadium-are-released

They could build the Taj Mahal and fans still won’t show up. There will be a short term bump on the curiosity of the new stadium. Then attendance will go back to terrible. 18,000 fans for a playoff game is putrid. It doesn’t matter if they’re playing in a dump.

The last play of the Braves Phillies game has to be one of the great last play of the game, defensive plays of all time.

https://x.com/braves/status/17...GoZj58V_RNJO_nqsGnjg

I think part of the problem for the Rays is them letting players go and the fans not having a steady favorite player. Letting them go is probably the right move from a competitive standpoint, but it doesn’t do much for the fanbase. The argument of the Rays being a visitor in their own stadium isn’t going away anytime soon. It doesn’t matter where you build the stadium or how good the team is. There are generations of fans from the northeast and midwest that are never going to switch caps. When the Eagles play the Bucs there are just as many Eagles fans there.

One thing I find interesting is the Lightning drew very well in the same venue. That could be due to more snow birds being in town than during the summer months.

@RJM posted:

The last play of the Braves Phillies game has to be one of the great last play of the game, defensive plays of all time.

https://x.com/braves/status/17...GoZj58V_RNJO_nqsGnjg

it was epic...I can't go great being a Phillies fan! Harper was scoring off the bat and the kid made a hell of a catch.

Can't leave 11 on base, your 30m SS can't boot a throw in from the outfield to give up a run and the manager with one of the quickest hooks I have ever seen leaves his ace in a batter long.

great game sad night.

Loved the whole game, especially since I didn't really care who won.

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

I think part of the problem for the Rays is them letting players go and the fans not having a steady favorite player. Letting them go is probably the right move from a competitive standpoint, but it doesn’t do much for the fanbase. The argument of the Rays being a visitor in their own stadium isn’t going away anytime soon. It doesn’t matter where you build the stadium or how good the team is. There are generations of fans from the northeast and midwest that are never going to switch caps. When the Eagles play the Bucs there are just as many Eagles fans there.

One thing I find interesting is the Lightning drew very well in the same venue. That could be due to more snow birds being in town than during the summer months.

This has been my issue with the Sox the last three years. I look at the roster and think these guys won’t be on the team when they’re good again.

Last year it got to the point where I recorded games to watch Bello’s starts and Casas’ at bats. This year started the same way with Rafaela and Abreu added down the stretch.

I went to two games this year. Both times were free invites to a club box with free food … Opening Day and July 4th. It was more of a party than a game.

https://community.hsbaseballwe...95#76912805949783695

great kid and great family as well!

Os really got beat up by Texas. Such a short series often is a bit of luck too but I think the Os played the trade deadline a little too safe, the only trade they did was 3 very minor prospects for flaherty.

I understand they see themselves only at the beginning of a 5-6 year window and you don't want to give up cost controlled assets but they could have done more than trading two prospects that were ranked in the late 20s by fangraphs and one that was unranked, they have a lot of guys in the 7 to 20 range of their farm system who probably won't be regulars on their roster anyway.

They will probably trade some of them this winter so why not trade some of them this summer for some non rental pitchers that help them in 2024 and give them a better chance in 2023?

@Dominik85 posted:

Os really got beat up by Texas.......

3 AL East teams went down in flames.  They spent the whole season beating up on each other, and now there is nothing left.  I was really surprised how poorly Toronto played....they circled the drain every game.  I have a good friend who is a Blue Jays fan, and he refuses to talk about it a week later.  He's inconsolable.

My four picks are still alive today.  Tomorrow is another story:

I knew the Orioles were toast due to youth and inexperience up against a pitcher (Eovaldi) who has been there and done it.

As WBZ sports anchor always said, “Why can’t we (Sox) get guys like that (Eovaldi).

Replace Eovaldi, Rodriguez and Wacha’s 39 wins against the 18 their Sox replacements gave them and you have 99 win Sox season.,

Braves poked the bear. Harper is locked in tonight.

Well I guess all of Texas is happy now.

@anotherparent posted:

Well I guess all of Texas is happy now.

Not really. The Rangers vs Astros is not a healthy rivalry.

Adbono, I hope y'all are planning your Sunday team activities around the ALCS. I'm sure your team has kids from both north and south Texas sides and it will be a fun series for them to watch together.

Don’t both teams have to be competitive over a historical period of time to call it a rivalry. Isn’t it more Rangers fans are jealous of the Astros success?

I lived in San Diego in the Eighties for a couple of years. Padres fans thought they had a rivalry with the Dodgers and reveled in any victory. I lived in LA for years. Dodger fans saw San Diego as a team they just beat on a regular basis. I believe what really ticked off Padre fans was how many Dodger fans would be in the stands in San Diego.

Go to San Francisco and talk up the Dodgers. Now that’s a rivalry! Ask Johnny Roseboro.

I was raised on Red Sox-Yankees. Even living in Southern CA didn’t change the intensity. There were plenty of ex NYers in LA.

I was saved from the dark side at age seven. We lived in Connecticut. The Yankees were always winning. The Sox sucked. I was a Yankee fan until we moved to Massachusetts in 1962. Yaz, then Tony C, then Boomer, then 1967 flipped me. My first live baseball game was in 1961. My grandparents took me to see the Yankees with Mantle and Maris chasing the home run record play in Fenway Park.

Makes me feel like a schmuck the first game I took my daughter to was the Phillies-Marlins at the Vet (a dump). My son’s first game was also at the Vet. But it was Schilling versus Brown (Phillies-Dodgers)

@RJM, over the past 14 years the head to head record between the Rangers and the Astros is 106 - 106. The Astros have been dominant over the past 7 years. The Rangers dominated in the prior 7 years.  One of the important factors in which team has been better than the other is Nolan Ryan.

@adbono posted:

@RJM, over the past 14 years the head to head record between the Rangers and the Astros is 106 - 106. The Astros have been dominant over the past 7 years. The Rangers dominated in the prior 7 years.  One of the important factors in which team has been better than the other is Nolan Ryan.

Is it a rivalry when one team wins championships and the other team rarely comes in first?

3 of the 4 bye teams are eliminated as are all 3 teams who won 100+ games this year. In the WC series also only once the higher win RS team prevailed.

No team who advanced to the CS has won more than 90 games (but 3 have exactly 90).

To me the astros are the favorite. They weren't super dominant this year but they also missed a lot of games of altuve and Alvarez due to injury but now they are back.

The astros pitching isn't as great as it was in prior years but I feel it is stil better than the rangers who will have to rely on their huge offense but don't have the deepest pitching.

Pretty funny…….

I'm officially a Phillies fan for the rest of the playoffs.  Being a small market fan is so, so hard.