Board 8 > MLB Offseason Topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have decent excitement and expectations for the Rangers this year.

send help

at least you can watch their games without dying the sun anymore

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GeneralKenobi85 posted...

Oh and maybe some hope for the Mets too.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-09/new-york-mets-are-for-sale-again-the-price-may-have-just-soared

Spoken like a true fan of any other team but the mets. You think there should be any semblance of hope after a deal was killed specifically because Jeff Wilpon wanted to sell the team for over 2 billion and still have full decision making g control?
Why would that all of a sudden change? There is no way he is selling without giving up control. This article is pure speculation


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Also here is yet more proof jeff wilpon is the biggest fucking scumbag in the world

https://twitter.com/AnthonyDiComo/status/1226948128391286784?s=19

https://twitter.com/NickFrancona/status/1226967901544075264?s=19

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Also also Manfred wants 7 teams per league in the playoffs by 2022 because hes a fucking dumbass

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WiggumFan267 posted...

Spoken like a true fan of any other team but the mets. You think there should be any semblance of hope after a deal was killed specifically because Jeff Wilpon wanted to sell the team for over 2 billion and still have full decision making g control?
Why would that all of a sudden change? There is no way he is selling without giving up control. This article is pure speculation

I said maybe some hope.

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Selling the team is a meaningless gesture now, theres nothing left to hope for except for him being forcibly removed due to some kind of major scandal

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https://twitter.com/MarcCarig/status/1227207151397097478?s=19

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WiggumFan267 posted...

https://twitter.com/MarcCarig/status/1227207151397097478?s=19

According to the Brewers, they're still trying to win. It's laughable! People here want to see Yelich so Mark Attanasio knows he's going to sell tickets no matter what.

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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28673912/sources-mlb-weighing-major-changes-postseason-including-growing-number-teams-14

I think I dislike everything in this proposal, which is pretty impressive.

The #1 teams getting byes is a pretty clueless gesture especially since byes are usually death in baseball. Teams that sweep the CS have a very bad record in the WS against teams who won it in 6-7, and are usually out within 5 games. Washington just won this way, but they are not the norm. The extra days off generally hurt more than help.

Most teams aren't going to want the loss of rhythm that comes with that bye. It's a punishment for doing too good.

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Even though that would greatly benefit my Brewers, I don't like it. Making the playoffs in Baseball is special because of how few teams get in. You keep expanding and soon it's more like the NFL or the NBA.

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That's just old timer talk tbh. Playoffs are fun, when we get down to the final few teams it will be just as awesome.

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I don't necessarily hate having more teams in, I hate having an entire bye round and I hate the dumb proposal to let the higher seeds pick their opponent. This isn't pro wrestling.

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Picking opponents is dumb.

Just do seeding entirely based on record.

I dont get why so few sports do that.

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Nelson_Mandela posted...

I don't necessarily hate having more teams in, I hate having an entire bye round and I hate the dumb proposal to let the higher seeds pick their opponent. This isn't pro wrestling.

Kind of the opposite for me. My main hold-up with this is the increased number of teams. I guess the idea of it cheapens the playoffs for me, but I can't really come up with any concrete reason why I dislike it either. But being able to choose opponents is a really interesting aspect of it to me. Granted it also seems really gimmicky.

DoomTheGyarados posted...

That's just old timer talk tbh. Playoffs are fun, when we get down to the final few teams it will be just as awesome.

That is true, because MLB playoffs are inherently fun and I don't think there's anything too disastrous they can do to change that. I think there's still some legitimate issues with the idea though, like the one addressed in the tweet Wigs posted.

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Looks like beltran was a big cheatyface after all. That's very disappointing.

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Having an actual meaningful regular season is fun. When all that matters is the top seed and your team has no chance at it as early as August but has no chance of missing the playoffs, September has lost all meaning.

This is killing September drama so a couple of 81-81 teams can make the playoffs every year.

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yeah, really dont like the cheapening of the regular season. I like that it has meaning and the rivalries and all that.

though I wouldn't mind too much if they shortened that to 154. like from a fan point of view obviously i prefer more baseball, but the players don't really have enough off days.

here's some excerpts from the beltran article btw
https://twitter.com/deeh_nyc/status/1227341688668069890?s=21

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Lol people think the Mets well win the division dream on mets stink most likely it well be either braves nationals or Phillies lol poor marlins

I would definitely support a 154 game season.

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http://insider.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/28678985/hate-mlb-expanded-playoff-proposal-here-why

I'll just pull the quotes since I'm sure everyone doesn't have espn+

A 14-team playoff field could undermine the integrity of the 162-game season.

Actually, you could make the case that in a sport without a salary cap, with enormous payroll disparities between the big-market and small-market teams, there is too much rigidity in a season of six months, because the financial strengths and weaknesses are borne out too clearly. The Dodgers and the Yankees are extremely well-run franchises with extraordinary resources, and over the course of six months, those advantages play out year after year. The Yankees spend $153 million on Jacoby Ellsbury, get almost nothing from him, and it doesn't matter because of the depth of their roster. They still win more than 100 games.
We've seen the emergence of the superteams in recent years, with the Dodgers, Yankees and Astros all winning more than 100 games annually -- and from the perspective of the small-market teams, there is little to no chance of competing with that. It's like a 250-pound boxer going up against flyweights, and this has contributed to the growing number of teams that have tanked, stopped spending and stopped trying to compete. Look at the Baltimore Orioles, who slashed their payroll, cut just about anybody making big dollars (other than the untradable Chris Davis) and lost 18 of 19 to the Yankees last year. With a larger pool of playoff teams, their path back to relevance could be shorter -- and they don't necessarily have to overcome the Yankees or the Red Sox over 162 games to make that happen.
There will be more hope for more teams, more hope for more fans and more chances for players to participate in the postseason. Imagine you are a fan of the San Diego Padres, who haven't made the playoffs since 2006 and haven't been .500 in a decade. The Padres are getting better, more competitive -- and yet even if they make operating decisions with near perfection, they still might not catch the Dodgers, who've won seven straight division titles. The additional wild-card teams would give Padres fans and players more hope to share in October glory as the club ascends.

Additional wild-card teams might erode the value of success in the regular season.

To some degree, this is true. But there will still be major incentive for teams to finish at the top of the standings to have the first-round bye. There will continue to be major incentive to win your division, to potentially pick your opponent in that first series and host up to three games in the wild-card round.

And the opportunity to be a wild-card team could compel teams to make the type of improvements we haven't typically seen in recent years -- the move for a starting pitcher who might be the difference between 84 and 86 wins, or the position player who could be the difference between the No. 4 seed (and home playoff games) and the No. 5 seed. Teams projected to win 78 games during their winter evaluations would seemingly have more incentive to get better before the season and in the days leading up to the trade deadline.

The proposed system would add too many days to what is already an interminable season.

Actually, it would add no days. Under MLB's plan, the tiebreakers and play-in games that sometimes filled the Monday and Tuesday after the close of the regular season would be eliminated, with MLB deferring to a tiebreaking system based on the results of the regular season. The three-game wild-card round, if that's what we want to call it, would fill the exact same four-day window as the current wild-card format.

This would mess with tradition.

Let's be real about this: There is no real tradition. For almost seven decades, baseball operated under a system in which only two teams made the playoffs, with the National League champion facing the American League champion in the World Series. Then, in 1969, MLB went to four divisions, and four playoff entrants. Before the 1995 season, Bud Selig proposed the addition of a wild card, and as a traditionalist, I thought it would be a terrible idea. I was 100% wrong. It was great, and it has been great -- more teams involved, more fans involved, more postseason games. The initial AL series involving a wild-card team, the Yankees versus the Mariners in 1995, was one of the best postseason series ever.
Later, baseball switched to three divisions, and later still, a fifth playoff team was added. The initial objections to the wild-card game were loud -- and yet, it has generated some of the highest-rated games ever.
By the way: By moving from the one-game wild card to a three-game wild-card series, the new system would address some of the concerns expressed by players (hello, 2014 and '15 Pirates, who were beaten in successive years by Jake Arrieta and Madison Bumgarner) over the serendipitous nature of the current wild-card game.

A seven-team playoff field in each league makes it more likely that the best team doesn't win the World Series.

This would be nothing new. The 1988 Dodgers were the worst of the four playoff teams before Orel Hershiser's and Kirk Gibson's magic carried them through the World Series. The 2006 Cardinals crawled into the playoffs with 83 wins, gathered momentum, pushed through the NL playoffs and beat the Tigers in the World Series. The 1914 Boston Braves, the 1969 Mets, the 2010 Giants and, heck, the 2019 Nationals were not considered to be the best teams, and they prevailed in the World Series.

Some folks in the game might see it as a travesty if a No. 7 seed were to win the World Series. But think about the mountain a team like that would have to climb -- a best-of-three series, with all games played on the road; a division series, probably against the well-rested, well-aligned No. 1 seed; the league championship series; and then a World Series, following a late-season scramble. It would be like a No. 13 seed winning the NCAA tournament: possible, but very, very unlikely, and the journey would generate interest.

This would be about television ratings and a money grab.

Yes and yes. And the players would benefit. The proposed playoff selection show on the Sunday night after the regular season would be sold and get high ratings. The players would get their share. The wild-card round would have more games and generate more money, for both sides. It's professional baseball, created to make money, and through the CBA negotiations, the players would get more.

To review: There could be more incentive for teams to win and

Hot take: The season should only be like 100-120 games.

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so this offseason, not even yet at spring training has featured:

Cole signing i guess?
Cespedes ATTACKED BY A WILD BOAR
Wilpons cheap out on Wheeler
3 Batter Minimum Rule added
mlb trying to murder the minor leagues
Astros/Red Sox scandal
Beltran firing & deeper involvement and Mets hire 2 managers in one offseason
universal DH possibility re-emerges
Arenado and Bryant contract/arbitration issues
Steve Cohen purchase of Mets falls through. Because Wilpon tried to sell the team and have full control.
Betts/Price trade
Possible Playoff Changes
Wilpons tell their minor leaguers they cant use new clubhouse renovations as an "inspiration"
And don't forget THE JUICED BALL, Manfred put out a report on it in like December

this offseason theres been like 2 noteworthy things that involve a player changing teams.

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Definitely been an eventful offseason. Can't wait for baseball to start. I'm hoping to go to a Mets-Nats game down in DC this year.

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yeah and like all of it has been stuff thats bad for the game

i looked back through this topic for reminders and i guess they removed marijuana from the drug testing program so there was that in the good column

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I missed reactions to the 3 batter minimum, but I actually like that one. It gets rid of one strategy but replaces it with a different kind of strategy while reducing downtime

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I didn't think it was possible for the Astros to make themselves look worse than they already did before today.

"Oh"

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Yeah the astros responses today were completely unacceptable. They were not genuine, lacked actual remorse, and then you have Crane saying that he thinks them stealing signs "had no impact on the game". What a joke.

ALSO
FUCK THE WILPONS
https://twitter.com/NYPost_Mets/status/1228082240715882499

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Dallas was here, fuck Houston

@WiggumFan267

https://nypost.com/2020/02/14/alex-rodriguez-emerges-as-potential-mets-buyer/

I will pray to whatever gods I can to make this happen

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please baseball start

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The Astros are really making themselves out to be the most hateable franchise in sports

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Eh why am Im not surprised

please baseball start so I can see how many pitchers get ejected for throwing at Houston batters

Reg posted...

please baseball start so I can see how many pitchers get ejected for throwing at Houston batters

Is Mike Trout going to do anything but hit home runs versus the Astros this year? They pissed off the best baseball player of a generation. They might never win another game again~

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Even LeBron is piling on!

This pleases me.

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much better way of getting revenge on cheaters than physically harming cheaters tbh

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WiggumFan267 posted...

much better way of getting revenge on cheaters than physically harming cheaters tbh

Disagree

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WiggumFan267 posted...

much better way of getting revenge on cheaters than physically harming cheaters tbh

No shit, Sherlock

But a huge number of pitchers have thrown at a huge number of batters over far less, therefore I am interested in how far it will go over this.

I'm expecting lots of accidental HBPs getting pitchers tossed, umpires basically starting Astros games with a warning to the other team and probably particularly harsh suspensions for intentional hits.

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Honestly at this point right now I'm more interested in the proposed changes to the playoffs never happening than anything else.

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Imo the punishment should have been like

Vacated title
Stripped individual accolades
Team 0-162 record (the players records stay the same because that causes too many problems for like trades etc. This is more to hit the organization and management).
Player statistics permanently marked with an asterisk.
Post season ban for a year
A portion of revenue the team makes for x period of time is cut and distributed to the other teams (kind of like luxury tax. I know this probably cant happen but the thinking here is that I think the Astros are going to profit off of this whole thing simply because people will go just to boo them and they did "win" a world series which should also increase attendance. They should not benefit from this.)
Plus the actual penalties that were issued

Martin Prado retirees

KokoroAkechi posted...

Imo the punishment should have been like

Vacated title
Stripped individual accolades
Team 0-162 record (the players records stay the same because that causes too many problems for like trades etc. This is more to hit the organization and management).
Player statistics permanently marked with an asterisk.
Post season ban for a year
A portion of revenue the team makes for x period of time is cut and distributed to the other teams (kind of like luxury tax. I know this probably cant happen but the thinking here is that I think the Astros are going to profit off of this whole thing simply because people will go just to boo them and they did "win" a world series which should also increase attendance. They should not benefit from this.)
Plus the actual penalties that were issued

Nothing else will actually happen if they refuse to investigate the buzzers in 2019.

The only additional "punishment" we can hope to see is Altuve and Beltran never getting into the HOF.

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I'm aware. But I'm just saying that's the kind of punishment that should have been handed out if you dont want to suspend players and want the team to suffer immediately

Here's hoping the 2018 Red Sox get caught egregiously cheating and the MLB is forced to open up the buzzer investigation

I really think 2017 and 2018 (and 2019 even though the Astros miraculously lost) are going to wind up with major asterisks.

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Reg posted...

No shit, Sherlock

But a huge number of pitchers have thrown at a huge number of batters over far less, therefore I am interested in how far it will go over this.

oh i know, that wasn't directed at you or anything. just in general. definitely here for every team putting in extra effort vs houston. mets have one of the very first series vs them actually this year.

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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Here's hoping the 2018 Red Sox get caught egregiously cheating and the MLB is forced to open up the buzzer investigation

I really think 2017 and 2018 (and 2019 even though the Astros miraculously lost) are going to wind up with major asterisks.

apparently the nats changed signs for EVERY BATTER and even like in the same at bat for the world series. That's fucking insane.

Not sure what to bother saying, but, it was probably a giant mistake in 2017 to tell all the teams that the players won't be punished for using the replay room/electronic devices after the Red Sox Apple Watch usage.

Cora's weird, bitter post-London presser about Beltran makes a lot more sense now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFZFlPXLGCo

I hope the Sox only did something dumb like confirm scouting reports, "who cares" type thing. Best case scenario is they basically eat punishment that they should have had for the Apple Watch. Worst case, I don't even wanna think about. But hey maybe this is the last post about baseball you ever see from me.


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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Here's hoping the 2018 Red Sox get caught egregiously cheating and the MLB is forced to open up the buzzer investigation

I dont want to have to go through this again lets not.

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