Heeeeeere, we go! Opening Day, folks. Will the new anti-sign stealing technology really speed games up? What's your team looking like? Who's trending? (good or bad). Damn, Max and DeGrom nicked up, already? Bryce looks poised to have another strong year. Fat Albert, Yadi and Waino...one last ride. Should be fun. LEGGO!!!

The turning point for this organization was when they paid Chris Davis over Nelson Cruz when it would have been cheaper to keep Cruz and have money to build the team around Manny.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Head scratching move to say the least.

>The turning point for this organization was when they paid
>Chris Davis over Nelson Cruz when it would have been cheaper
>to keep Cruz and have money to build the team around Manny.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sad to see freddie go, but hopefully olson will fill-in admirably stats-wise.

>Heeeeeere, we go! Opening Day, folks. Will the new
>anti-sign stealing technology really speed games up? What's
>your team looking like? Who's trending? (good or bad). Damn,
>Max and DeGrom nicked up, already? Bryce looks poised to have
>another strong year. Fat Albert, Yadi and Waino...one last
>ride. Should be fun. LEGGO!!!


At first it seemed like the Angels were gonna put together some hot trash around hinm and Trout again, but they shored up the bullpen and now suddenly things feel a lot brighter.

The starting rotation is solid, but if Ohtani can build on last year its solid+. If Thor has any type of come back season (but more importantly can stay healthy) then it becomes a good rotation.

the lineup is still scary if its healthy looking at the first 4
The bottom half has Fletch to solidify it. If Adell can continue on his end of year and spring training its even more dangerous.


----------
Ohtani
Trout
Walsh
Rendon

Stassi
Fletcher
Adell
Duffy
Marsh
-----------
Im not really sure about Ohtani leading off. Does that mean maddon is going in on letting him run the bases freely?

It also means on days hes pitching, he's the first one up.

Opens the game throwing 100 and 99 and has also thrown an 80 MPH curve

3ks tbrough 2

4 2/3 and 9ks with 1 ER
overall looked good to start the season, he struggled a bit with control and thats what got his pitch count up to 80 -- but didnt really struggle with walks.

The Angels bats (including him) looked like last seasons bats. They couldnt get anything going til it was too late.

Excited to see what Thor has going tonight

After his good spring i didnt expect him to be this bad, but its a long season.

I really dont like him batting leadoff though--- I think the stats and anecdotes show hes best in the two spot.

Joe trying to be too avante garde with his lineup.

Put Fletcher or Tyler Wade (when he plays) in the leadoff spot

Let Ohtani bat 2 and then Trout at 3.

(and as someone mentioned below) he doesnt always get 50/50 calls on either end.

He finally got the bat going over the weekend so hopefully he builds on that. Looks like Mike trout avoided a big injury, but may be out a few games. I still think Ohtani shouldnt be leading off though.

Perfect through 5
Ended up giving up a hit and got pulled with a 6-0 lead (also had 2 RBIs)
12ks

Hasn’t had a day out of the lineup yet this season

He hit two last night -- so hopefully he's heating.

Im glad theyve moved him out of lead off. Taylor Ward is still playing in God Mode, so with him leading off and Ohtani, Trout, and Rendon behind him -- thats pretty scary. Walsh is playing well and can now hit vs righties and lefties.

His pitching has really picked up two of the last 3 games. he tossed another masterpiece against Boston his last outing

and scored off a single to walk off the Nats in a game they had no business winning

some teams still like nah tho.

the umps announcing reviews is kinda cool

Did not know that shit, til yesterday. Makes it a little easier to understand why they didn’t fight harder for FF to stay. They chose their side.

but upon learning of the reasoning, it made sense.

i could totally see freddie on some "that's not how we do things around here", and i can also see acuna answering w/ a "foh".

wonder if that's why acuna cut his hair tho.

ultimately, i think acuna could have done himself a favor and let that shit go w/ freddie. free' responded to it all as professionally as possible, and i'm still sad to see him not there anymore.

glad it didn't get ugly.

but, if the story is true that he physically tried to wipe eye black off of Ronald’s face…that’s grounds for getting hands, lol. I guess BMac commissioned Freddie as Play the Right Way guy, before he left.

and chipper before him

After hearing more details from both sides it sounds a lot more like he meant to be saying that with Freeman gone that's the last vestige of the old Atlanta guard gone and it's completely up to the kids to set the clubhouse culture now, which is largely hispanic and Black, so losing Free doesn't really register for him and his happiness/outlook during the season. I don't think he meant to say he hates the guy or anything.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

I didn't get to watch the Rays because I was out of town. And actually, I won't get to watch them anytime soon because I have YouTubeTV. But that's another issue.

Anyways, the word is that they looked pretty sharp. The local sports writer wrote the following about how they played:

"Still, it was impressive the way the Rays pulled off the sweep. They had no errors, no wild pitches and no passed balls all weekend. They never trailed Their starting pitchers — including veteran Corey Kluber making his Rays debut Sunday — had a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings, and their bullpen was slightly better at 1.28 over 14 innings."

"There were a handful of highlight-worthy defensive plays, including shortstop Wander Franco covering 99 feet on the dead run Sunday to grab a pop fly in short leftfield with the Rays in a shift."

"What stood out, however, was the methodical approach of Rays hitters. They worked deep counts and forced the Orioles into the bullpen earlier than they would have preferred. The Rays also played the kind of small ball that was not often their style last season, driving in four runs with sacrifice flies and two more with groundouts during the three-game series."

And I didn't watch the game, so I'm relying on a 2nd hand account.

But no matter who they played, it sounds like everyone looked sharp. If things looked good at the plate & on the mound, that's a good way to start the season.

Lol, y’all gonna get tired of me more and more as he approaches 700…but, I am so fucking here for this.

On a micro level anyway. On a macro level, everything but the Rockies being tied for the division lead looks totally normal.

Nothing like small sample size observations!

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

GOATEST start of all time!

https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1514083092251693061?s=20&t=zRI2yV-_2lMIreLVP09ZRw

13k's and 80 pitches through 7 perfect innings...

Even more than the NBA, baseball is almost entirely decided by the guys playing the game. This is an epic failure on Dave Roberts’ part

They had to take him out. If it were any other pitcher, sure leave him in.

It’s was totally the right move. Plus he was at his pitch limit, and with him they
have to be exact.

They’re trying to win in October, not make headlines in April. Plus, baseball has simply changed and we’re gonna see more of this.

It seemed like both Roberts and Kershaw agreed it was the right choice. If this is some random pitcher on the Marlins, everyone can get mad. This is a vet who needs to stay healthy to help his team down the stretch.

>They had to take him out.

about leaving him for a selfish stat attempt in April.

.

4for4 w/ 3 dingers.

kid is special.

2 off Cole. 1 of those shouldve been impossible to barrel up. Then a single on an 0-2 count on a really hard pitch on the outside. Special is an understatement.

Baseball is wild

where he had the biggest night of his career. It means he isn’t juicing.

His body has to recover. The power that is utilized to hit homer runs takes
a lot out of the soft tissues of the body. Muscle fibers have to repair themselves,
so it’s only natural for a player to come out flat the next day.

Now, had he come out the next day knocking the ball all over the park, then that
would be a red flag that he is juicing out his mind.

Bonds would come out blasting the ball in back to back games with
big ass melon head. Juiced!

Ohtani didn't have it all the way (his slump to start's been a real bummer) but it really felt like the fix was in from behind the plate


There was even that weird bit where Ward/Wade (one of those two I'm pretty sure) had a swing and a miss and reacted like that was the case but the ump kept him at the plate? Just an all around poorly called game for both sides, it felt like nearly every strikeout looking was followed by a screen showing a ball clearly outside the zone, a player shaking their head and the announce booth (Rangers team for me) tip toeing around it.


Hated that game. Was nice to see the Mariners' bats wake up earlier in the day, though. And yes, I'm rooting for the M's and Angels in the same division. Whatever.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

sounds abt right.

atleast him and acuna made nice for the cameras before the game.

Corbin is the only proven starter, and he's only been okay. Everyone else is getting hit around and learning to be starters.

I know they are rebuilding, but I expect them to move Cruise for a vet starter.
______________________________________________________________________________

"To Each His Reach"

but.....

Fuck aliens.

If we can ever get the degrom/scherzer pairing fully functional it will be a sight to behold

BUXTON!

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/33827168/los-angeles-dodgers-trevor-bauer-suspended-two-seasons

But he always seemed creepy to me. I never would have thought he was capable of treating sexual partners this way though.

I wonder if the Dodgers suggested to the league office to suspend Bauer 2 years because that's the length of the remainder of his contract.

Even with the criminal case lacking enough evidence to go to trial, there was no way he could ever pitch for LA. The community would have been in an uproar. So this way, the Dodgers don't have to pay him to sit out for two years.

I'm sure another team will pay him at some point. Because sports are gonna sport (c) Cari Champion. But it won't be in LA.

cannot stand these indoor tax-abatement monstrosities. went for the first time this week -- 74 degrees and overcast; roof is closed because of a 5% chance of rain. loud music bouncing off the enclosed walls like a damn cheap club. even with the roof open, the enclosed concourses has all the character of an outlet mall.

and a perfectly good outdoor stadium 100 yards away.

-- 74 degrees and overcast; roof
>is closed because of a 5% chance of rain.

I was pretty disappointed with the Diamondbacks stadium when I visited a few years back, and this was a big part of it. They closed the roof cause it was too warm, and then the stadium just looked like it could’ve been anywhere. Nothing about it felt special.

Taylor Ward coming out of nowhere- is it a hot streak or is he actually decent?

And they have a bullpen?

Out of zone swing percentage. He legit has more walks than strikeouts, at this point. Even if his bat cools off, plate discipline is an actual thing.

horseshit.

Baseball never did shit like this before intentionally! That’s what
your weakest pitcher is for.

I guess this is the new way of surrendering games...throw softball pitches
so batters and pitchers can’t pad their stats. That one guy from
the Twins was out there pitching 40 mph.

didn't even realize they passed the mets in the standings.

12th on the all-time managers win list.

greatest black manager in mlb history.

respect due.

But to call Dusty Baker the greatest BM of all time is blasphemous to
black managers who actually won WS titles. Dusty has choked away
a lot of games similar to Doc Rivers, but at least Doc won a title.


Cito Gaston won back to back with the Blue Jays....back to back.

4 American League titles
2 American League Pennants
2 WS titles.

Dusty is ONE of the greats, but some see him as being overrated.

neither of us have a vote.

*shrug*

>to call Dusty Baker the greatest BM of all time is blasphemous to black managers who actually won WS titles.

give him his.

gotta love those crazy early season stat lines.

Weak ass lineup, average pitching with an ace stuck in injury hell and ownership looking to sell so no real incentive to get any better...dude is gonna hit a lot of solo homers and get put on first an awful lot, both intentionally and as a matter of course because even more than Trout or even Bonds the kid absolutely will not swing unless he likes what he gets


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

I saw most of it and it was weird I didn’t know for like half the game he had a no no going. He was pitching fine but it wasn’t a dominating performance if that makes sense.

He had 2 Ks- it’s one of a handful of no hitters with 2ks or less.

Meanwhile the angels steamrolled Cluber for 8 runs in 2 innings

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10035537-noah-syndergaard-appears-to-take-shot-at-mets-on-ig-after-reid-detmers-no-hitter

Thor's cockiness did not win favors from the gods -- and they dumpstered the angels season

And is now behind matsui (175) and ichiro.


Taylor Ward is having an insane season. Dude hit his second grand slam of the season and just seems really locked in

Pirates scored on a fielders choice, in the eighth.

.

After that start.

I wonder if it tanks the season. Maddon had a bunch of issues but seemed to be liked by the players. He’s the one that has opened up Ohtanis playing time. I don’t know how many managers would’ve done that besides crazy old Joe.

Like, it still wasn't inarguably the best team in the AL West but the sky seemed like the limit those first two months. Ohtani wasn't being as superhuman as last year but Trout was making up for last time and, again, the newer faces were really making their mark while the holdovers were living up to expectations for once.



....But now....this. Absolutely stunning how consistent this Angels franchise is at being inconsistent.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Sox are in second place and dealing with a lot of injuries, but critics and fans
are clamoring for LaRussa to be fired, which is insane.

We will be there when it matters, we just need to get healthy.

The lack of patience in this day and age is outrageous.

Been fun going to the games I’ve been to 4 so far
Copped an Acuna and a Swanson jersey.
The battery is lit as fuck

It'll be a big test for us. I think they're about 9bgames up. I would love to see us show that we can run with them this year. And close this 9 game gap too.

https://www.mlb.com/news/oneil-cruz-sparks-win-in-2022-pirates-debut

According to this MLB Pipeline tweet,

3 innings into his 2022 debut, Pirates Oneil Cruz has registered:

*The hardest throw by an infielder in MLB this year (96.7 mph)
*The hardest hit ball of the year by a Pirate (112.9)
*The 3 fastest sprint speeds of the year by a Pirate (31.5, 30.7, 30.3).

https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1539045418172092418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1539045418172092418%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2022%2F06%2F21%2Fpirates-oneil-cruz-has-wild-2022-debut-to-remember%2F

.

I mean, as a lifelong Seattle resident, I know that.

It's just me and my homie, a season ticket holder (he's into self-harm), were talking about just how bad they are (another season down the drain barring a miracle) this year and historically.

It's really mind numbing, some of the failure put into numbers.

back to back.

Literally not done before in baseball history and Angels are sitting 4 games under .500.


All they had to do was not go on a 14 game losing streak lol

June

5 starts (includes a Yankees whipping)
29.66 ip
1.52 era
38 k
7 BB


Last 4 starts
26.23 IP
.34 ERA
36 k
6 BB

.

he has Ace stuff for sure -- but his lack of consistency felt like you never knew what you could expect and I wouldve pegged him as a solid #1 or really good #2 guy in your rotation, but not in the elite top 5-10% of starters.

This run has shown otherwise. even though he gave up a run last night - a lot of the streak had been vs average lineups. Last night he ran through that tough Astros lineup.

Basically hes won the team 6 straight games. Judge because of his #s and the Yankees astronomical lead in that division is probably the MVP - but #'s and defining what a most valuable player is has to put Ohtani right there.

He's still an outside horse in the Cy young race because Mclanahan and Verlander...but he's creeping there too. Would be cool to see him win a Cy Young after an MVP

.

Ive never seen a team who looked just solid like they did at the beginning of the season just fall apart.

The bullpen looks like trash after a good month. Iglesias is now a dumpster fire as a closer.

The hitting fell apart. Its like no two guys hit well in the same game. Trout will have a great game but nobody else will, etc. repeat


Feels like the team culture and atmosphere is also in the dumpster. Is now the time to move trout? I dont think Ohtani stays for this...so maybe you just keep trout?

and they were questioning if the Angels will even be able to keep Ohtani...saying it's going to take an unprecedented contract and do the Angels have the stomach for it.

And realizes the power of a star to fill seats even if your team sucks.

The bigger problem for them is I think from what I’ve heard — Ohtani and his team want to win. They know his window is small to do both these things well for a long time.

Now that Ohtani rules are in place and there is is universal DH I think the world is his oyster.

I can see a Mets signing of the angels don’t get their shit together.

1.5 games out.

We went back to Ohio to see friends and fam over the 4th of July. t worked out well since the Rays were visiting Cincinnati the following weekend. We just took the whole week of the holiday off. We decided to hit the Friday and Saturday games.

A walk-off balk? Yep. A blown 3 run lead that we lose in extra innings? Yep. And then we give up 10 runs to one of the worst teams in baseball. This was the Reds' first sweep of the season. And to top it all off, we lose Wander Franco & Kevin Kiermeier to injuries...again.

This isn't how you wanna go into a 7 game homestand against division foes Boston (who is back to looking tough) and Baltimore (who is closing the gap).

Absolutely ridiculous.

I gave them hell for getting swept by the Reds.

But they turned it around and will at least split this 4-game series against the Red Sox. And that's with an MLB-leading 16 guys on the injured list.

I gotta give respect where it's due and they gutted out some wins in an important series even with all the injuries.

This team is gonna drive me crazy...

***

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34233666/tampa-bay-rays-push-injured-list-major-league-high-16-left-hander-josh-fleming-oblique

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays' injured list increased to a major league-high 16 when left-hander Josh Fleming was placed on the IL with right oblique tightness on Tuesday.

Fleming was hurt in Monday night's series opener against the Boston Red Sox.

Shortstop Wander Franco had surgery Tuesday for a fractured right hamate bone and is expected to be sidelined for five to eight weeks. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said the team received a report the procedure was "pretty clean."

Injured players also include center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who is to see a specialist about his ailing left hip after the All-Star break. Catcher Mike Zunino is out indefinitely with a left shoulder injury.

Second baseman Brandon Lowe, sidelined since May 16 with a lower-back injury, was in the lineup for the first of three scheduled games with Triple-A Durham on Tuesday. He will be reevaluated.

For the road team Tuesday, All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sore back as the Red Sox dropped a 3-2 decision to the Rays. The loss also featured the return of Boston ace Chris Sale, who worked five scoreless innings in his season debut.

https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1547015037163905024?s=20&t=nMhhHJj1Qp9oUFz2kIf76Q

I know, it's a pipe dream but a dream.


If they can keep growing next year when they don't have to play division opponents 19 times each, they could make some noise.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While in the other two divisions there are a total of 4 teams.

I hope the Rays get some momentum from taking this series from Boston.

Is it weird to say that this Orioles-Rays series is kinda crucial? Usually, nobody cares about either of us.

He's giving me big Ken Griffey Jr. vibes.

have been the second richest contract in American sports history. Either he
really wants out of Washington or he is seeking 500 million.

Scott Boras, god dam that dude is the devil ( and I mean that as a compliment). You
offer a heart, and Scott will ask for the brain for his client. He makes NBA contracts
look like Monopoly money.

Die hard Nats guy here, but if this is how it’s gonna be I’m content with a Herschel Walker haul for this dude that will make us relevant again in 3 years.

I can’t imagine the nerve. Basketball guys catch so much shit, but that’s nothing compared to the gall on display here

If I were Soto’s agent I’d turn that down too. Give him the same money over less years and I think he’s more open to the idea, but I do understand how he’s think he could get more when everybody is bidding on him with all kinds of packages


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

…there’s guys who Soto is more valuable than now who are already making a higher AAV, like Max Scherzer for example

And that’s TODAY

I definitely get it but I’m still disappointed

good grief that was awful.

first time seeing him - hell of a first impression.

This kid is amazing.

It’s crazy how standards have changed. I remember when McGwire hit 13 in the first round and everyone lost their minds. Acuna Jr. hit 19 and barely got a reaction cause people were waiting to see Alonso beat him lol.

Everyone was really pulling for Pujols. Great moment to see him make the semis. I was rooting for Julio in the finals cause it’s a shame to see those first 2 rounds go to waste, but hey, that happens in the derby pretty often.

in some years…obviously because of Albert. Fun watch, all around. Crazy how much stamina/power these guys have…those swings have to add up.

Julio hit almost 30 more HRs than Soto. HOW is he not the HR derby Champ.

and even with this bum ass format, just because a ball didn't travel 10 more feet he lost by not getting an extra 30 seconds.

this shit huff.

to quote someone's sig: "yes I'm mad. let's move on."

(to your original point - it's crazy how few HRs were hit in these from the mid 80s all the way up to the early 00's - it started to pick up from there)

certain derbies stand out in my mind and I feel like you’re exactly right with the timing. Like, I distinctly remember a joint aroun 04 or 05 when Miguel Tejada hit close to 30 jacks and folks went insane…then the very next year, Bobby Abreu shattered that and hit somewhere in the 40s.

it used to be a team event (AL vs. NL) and i'm not sure when they started to declare a single player player winner, but some of those guys back in the mid 80s were hitting like 3 HRs.

the format has obviously evolved to allow for more HRs, but the low numbers back then definitely shocked me.

fuck fans! (not "we fuck fans" - iykyk)

i'm just saying, if a guy hits 30 more HRs than the next guy it feels really wrong that he's not the HR Derby champ.

there's gotta be a better solution.

like i said, i'm mad and bitter. we can move on.

If a player makes all of his 3pt attempts in one of the rounds, that score doesn’t
carry over to the next round.

The total resets to zero for the next round.

When this format first came about four or so years ago you could see that winning was almost lucky, but now you see guys who are really picking their spots for when they go for it and when they don’t.


It’s what made Harper’s performance in D.C. the iconic example of why this format is fun: he touched it out to the finals, nearly got sabotaged by his dad getting wild, called a timeout, and had the stamina to bang at a ludicrous pace and steal the win.


It’ll probably be more common that somebody crushes the first two rounds but loses than not, but even just looking at these two players the profile tracks: Kid Jr. is an eager carnivore that hooks everything on power swings, while Soto covers the entire outfield with quantic optimization.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

he lost because a ball only went 430 feet instead of 440, so Soto got 30 more seconds to hit.

also, the fact that Julio hit like 12 to 14 more HRs than Soto in the first couple rounds could speak to his round to round stamina, no?

anyways, whatever.

.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mike-trout-injury-update-angels-star-diagnosed-with-rare-back-condition-says-hell-play-again-in-2022-season/

I mean...we defenitely have the package to offer, but...this is such an UNCardinally thing to do. Shit, I'm still waiting on them to trade for Troy Tulowitzki. I wouldn't believe they would go get Soto until I went to Bush Stadium, myself and saw him standing in the the batter's box.

>I mean...we defenitely have the package to offer, but...this
>is such an UNCardinally thing to do. Shit, I'm still waiting
>on them to trade for Troy Tulowitzki. I wouldn't believe they
>would go get Soto until I went to Bush Stadium, myself and saw
>him standing in the the batter's box.

and they want your TOP FOUR PROSPECTS.

As bad as the M's farm system has been for too long, it's finally in a good place so I have faith it can be re-stocked in the right way.

We need an ace pitcher for one. He'd be a galactic upgrade in the lineup.

Also, we can't seem to beat Houston to save our lives, so we need help there.

Finally, there's no better team for a Japanese player than here. One of his heroes, Ichiro, is on the staff and the ownership is Japanese and alladat plus Japanese baseball fans already love the M's cuz of Ichiro.

selfishly id love it if the Mets were in the mix

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/shohei-othani-trade-rumors-teams/ehzxkp6mr1xyo4rrljvet3wu

Trading players is like like getting up in the morning
and getting coffee….no matter how big of star you are or
how much money you make…you will get traded.


No hard feelings either way.

finally traded to the Padres for two pitchers and two prospects, per Passan.

.

.

I don't expect it by any means, but a hater can hope.

.

and team!!!
Ridiculous.

for the Mariners as much as possible.

i mean, there's a good chance we still miss the playoffs especially with our recent spate of injuries at the worst time, but i'll take anything that helps.

did you know that the M's haven't made the playoffs in 20 seasons, but in the last 10 seasons EVERY OTHER team in the majors has been in the playoffs.

so yeah, we need some breaks.

once he evolves into a coveted player. They take in new prospects and cash to build
upon. The orioles got 2 top 20 prospects for a first basement/DH who is batting .268
with 10 home runs. His story is a feel good story, but ain’t that feel good.

Astros got a rental DH to help them go after the title,
because his contract is optional next year I believe.

Orioles came up.

This ain’t basketball where prospects might not pan out or take forever to pan out…in
baseball top 20 will be productive or turn into an allstar.

I wish basketball was more like baseball with trading players…
We wouldn’t have to deal with Lavine getting a focking Max deal
when he isn’t worth it.

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.

that's the first rule of message boarding.

Nats get:
CJ Abrams, Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana

COTDAMN, the Padres fucking went for it. Tatis isn't even back, yet.

who, per Jon Heyman..is Eric Hosmer. Hosmer has to waive his no-trade, for the deal to be completed. LOL…imagine this not going down, because of Eric Hosmer.

C: Austin Nola, trade
1B: Josh Bell, trade
2B: Jake Cronenworth, trade
SS: Fernando Tatis Jr., trade
3B: Manny Machado, free agency
LF: Jurickson Profar, trade
CF: Trent Grisham, trade
RF: Juan Soto, trade
DH: Brandon Drury, trade

SP: Yu Darvish, trade
SP: Joe Musgrove, trade
SP: Mike Clevinger, trade
SP: Blake Snell, trade
SP: Sean Manaea, trade
CL: Josh Hader, trade


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

.

Angels have Trout and Ohtani leading their team a few steps above the basement

glad it was the Padres instead of the Dodgers

a reminder that 2019 was a cosmic event and could not be replicated -- but flags fly forever

.

.

for outfield prospect Mickey Moniak.

for starter, Jordan Montgomery. Bye, Harrison.... :(

.

now they just need to get Dansby reupped

just say healthy man...degrom/scherzer in a 7 game series would be insane to watch.

.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2022/08/03/brayan-bello-christian-vazquez-alex-cora-astros-dugout/

If Alex Cora hadn’t noticed that pitching prospect Brayan Bello was in discomfort on Wednesday, the Red Sox would have been fine — an old friend was on the case.

According to Cora, former Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez flagged him from the Astros dugout to note that Bello looked uncomfortable during his fourth-inning appearance in the Red Sox’s 6-1 loss.

“There was a catcher on the other side paying a lot of attention too, pointing it out,” Cora told reporters. “I’m like ‘I got it.’ Hopefully it’s nothing serious and in X amount of days he can be okay.”

Bello and starter Rich Hill were supposed to reset the bullpen for the Red Sox, but Bello threw just 16 pitches. He hit 97.7 mph on his four-seam fastball and 97.4 on his sinker, according to Baseball Savant.

The Red Sox were sad to see their good friend Vázquez dealt at the trade deadline, although Red Sox fans might be encouraged by the early performance by Enmanuel Valdez, the primary prospect target in the deal. Valdez — who has excellent numbers in both AA and AAA this season — hit an opposite-field homer in his second at-bat with the WooSox on Wednesday.

Still, that won’t make Vázquez’s good friends on the MLB roster feel much better.

“I don’t want to say in particular the white flag, but it was a big move,” Xander Bogaerts told reporters on Tuesday. “ was a big piece of the team, but it was at least trending that direction.”

As for Bello, Cora said the 23-year-old wanted to keep going briefly.

“Obviously he’s very important,” Cora told reporters. “He felt like ‘Give me one more pitch to get this thing over with.’ But if I let you throw and you get really hurt, I’ll be going to Caguas (Cora’s hometown).”

.

SWEEP.

Lars had himself a series and Nolan Arenado is a walking Web Gem. Dude just does something amazing, at least once per game.

give up now Orioles.

back to back.

It was fun watching those redneck bandwagon Yankee fans go home sad after they had spent money on all that Yankee gear.

Dodgers
Phils
Mets
Cards

Mets v Phils should be fun this weekend.

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1558227695678459904?s=20&t=xRAXFu3sxzVWFzrW_F7ndQ

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/padres-gm-preller-says-they-need-to-get-to-a-point-of-trust-with-tatis/

Get out as soon as you can.

needs 8, to pass Arod and 11 to reach 700. More importantly, taking 2 out of 3 from them puts the Cards in the division lead.

The way he responded to pressure situations is promising for October. Plus Jeff McNeil scrapping the fuck out of an insurance run.

They’ve seen the Mets at Shea South in DC, but this was their first real game.

Scrappiness Over Replacement Player (c) dat 'eye

guess 8 games under .500 is unacceptable when you add Cory Seager, Marus Semien and Jon Gray.

with a GRAND SLAM for HR #690....A-rod, we coming for YOU, NIGGA!! (c)

.

and playing like shit this year

Pujols moves one step closer to 700 HRs with big blast off MadBum 💪
https://www.thescore.com/s/22556298

https://twitter.com/CardsNation13/status/1561160888811413505?s=20&t=kYwqTqY4jYCVbMqGtqSJeQ

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FaJM7-bXgAAeHTk?format=jpg

HR 6️⃣9️⃣3️⃣ For Albert Albert Pujols
https://www.thescore.com/s/22574636

Now 3 HRs in the last 3 days?

the homerun last night was way a fastball way up in the zone and he still was able to get around on it and pull it into left-center. He's locked in...even coming in as a pinch-hitter.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2022-08-23/arte-moreno-angels-sale

BY SARAH VALENZUELA, MIKE DIGIOVANNA, BILL SHAIKIN
AUG. 23, 2022 1:37 PM PT

Arte Moreno, whose 20-year ownership of the Angels started with the most successful decade in franchise history but is now mired in a dreadful eight-year run in which the team has failed to make the playoffs, announced Tuesday that he has begun to explore the process of selling the franchise.

“It has been a great honor and privilege to own the Angels for 20 seasons,” Moreno, the first Mexican-American to own a major sports team in the U.S., said in a statement. “As an organization, we have worked to provide our fans an affordable and family-friendly ballpark experience while fielding competitive lineups which included some of the game’s all-time greatest players.

“Although this difficult decision was entirely our choice and deserved a great deal of thoughtful consideration, my family and I have ultimately come to the conclusion that now is the time. Throughout this process, we will continue to run the franchise in the best interest of our fans, employees, players, and business partners.”

Moreno does not have a potential buyer lined up, with one person familiar with his thinking but not authorized to speak publicly about it likening Tuesday’s announcement to the owner a putting a “for-sale sign on the lawn.”

Moreno began considering the possibility of selling the team in recent months, the person said. Moreno doesn’t have a succession plan. He has three adult children, but none have been involved in the running of the team or were interested in taking over.

In March, Forbes valued the team at $2.2 billion, but that number could climb because the Angels are one of four teams in Major League Baseball’s two biggest markets — the other three are the Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees.

Moreno bought the team from the Walt Disney Co. for $183.5 million shortly after the Angels won their only World Series championship in 2002 and was praised for lowering beer prices in Angel Stadium and his hefty free-agent investments that brought 2004 American League most valuable player Vladimir Guerrero, 2005 Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon and pitcher Kelvim Escobar to Anaheim.

Those players — along with several holdovers from the 2002 team and newcomers such as pitcher Jered Weaver and shortstop Erick Aybar — helped fuel a highly successful run in which the Angels won five AL West titles and reached the American League Championship Series twice from 2004-2009.

But a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the 2009 ALCS in Anaheim would be the Angels’ last playoff victory. The Angels have made the playoffs only once since, in 2014, when they were swept in a three-game division series by the Kansas City Royals.

They are on their way to their seventh straight losing season and eighth without a playoff berth.

It hasn’t been for lack of spending. The Angels been among baseball’s top 10 spending teams in every year Moreno owned them, but they haven’t spent their money very wisely.

Moreno was the driving force behind the 10-year, $240-million deal for Albert Pujols before 2012, the five-year, $125-million deal for Josh Hamilton before 2013 and the seven-year, $245-million deal for Anthony Rendon before 2020, and not one could help deliver a playoff win.

Pujols, 32 when he signed with the Angels, was hampered by lower-body injuries and age and was a shadow of the slugger who put up Hall-of-Fame numbers in St. Louis for 11 years. He was released in May of 2021.

Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP with the Texas Rangers, had a history of substance abuse problems and suffered a relapse in the spring of 2015. He was traded to the Rangers that April, the Angels eating $61 million of his contract.

Rendon has played just 103 games in the past two years, suffering a season-ending hip injury in July 2021 and a season-ending wrist injury this June.

The Angels have also employed two of the best players in baseball for the past five years, three-time AL MVP Mike Trout and two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, and they have not even had a winning season with the pair.

Moreno’s refusal to exceed the luxury tax threshold prevented the Angels from competing for several free agents who could have been difference-makers for them, including pitcher Gerrit Cole, third baseman Adrian Beltre and first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Moreno instructed then-general manager Billy Eppler to fire manager Brad Ausmus after the 2019 season so he could hire long-time favorite Joe Maddon, who had spent more than three decades with the organization before moving on to manage the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs.

Moreno then fired Eppler after the 2020 season — only a few months after giving Eppler an extension through the 2021 season — and hired Perry Minasian as the team’s GM.

Moreno approved Minasian’s decision to fire Maddon in early June, with the team near the end of an eventual 14-game losing streak, and Maddon has not spoken to the owner since his dismissal.

Trout told reporters in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Angels are in the middle of a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays, that he was still processing the news of the potential sale and that he appreciates that the Moreno’s have taken care of him.

A former Angels star made his thoughts clear on Twitter.

“Well, this is happy news,” Hall of Famer Rod Carew, the former first baseman who has been estranged from the team for several years, said. “I have renewed hope that my relationship with the Angels organization can be fully restored.”

Moreno, 76, is the oldest of 11 children of Maria and Arturo Moreno, who immigrated from Mexico. He grew up in Tucson, Ariz., graduating from high school in 1966, was drafted into the U.S. Army and fought in the Vietnam War.

After returning from the war, Moreno attended the University of Arizona, graduating with a degree in marketing in 1973. He took a job in the advertising industry and was hired by a Phoenix-based billboard company called Outdoor Systems in 1984.

Moreno eventually became the company’s president and chief executive office, and the company’s stock soared after he took it public in 1996. Moreno sold Outdoor Systems to Infinity Broadcasting for $8 billion in 1998.

A love of baseball prompted Moreno to join 17 other investors in a 1986 purchase of the minor league Salt Lake Trappers in 1986. The group owned the team until 1992.

Moreno was unsuccessful in his 2001 attempt to purchase controlling interest in the Arizona Diamondbacks, but two years later, his purchase of the Angels was approved by Major League Baseball.

In 2005, Moreno announced the team would be called the Los Angeles Angels, the better to emphasize to potential advertisers and sponsors that the team played in the second-largest media market in the United States.

There are close to 20 million people in the Los Angeles media market; the city of Anaheim is home to 350,000 people.

The city sued, citing a stadium lease clause that required the team name to “include the name Anaheim therein.” Moreno said the full team name would be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

An Orange County Superior Court jury ruled in his favor, but the awkward two-city name prompted anger in Orange County and ridicule elsewhere. Ultimately, a judge said Moreno could use the name “Los Angeles Angels” for marketing purposes, and the “of Anaheim suffix” eventually disappeared.

But, aside from throwback and City Connect uniforms, the team wore “Angels” on their jerseys, not “Los Angeles.” The Angels’ charitable foundation focused on efforts in Orange County.

The Angels said in a statement that the organization has taken on Galatioto Sports Partners as financial advisors for the process.

We're 8-2 in our last 10. Some of our injured cats are starting to return. I hope Manuel Margot can get back to the same form he had earlier in the season.

Randy Arozarena is getting hot. he hit his 5th HR in the past 12 games. He has 19 RBIs this month, which leads the American League.

Tyler Glasnow is throwing in the upper 90s in live batting practice. He said he hasn't closed the door on coming back this season.

I was worried that we were running out of gas with all the injuries. But these cats still have something left in the tank.

Pujols' 694th career HR comes off record 450th different pitcher 💪
https://www.thescore.com/s/22637687

2 run Jack, scoreless no more, 695
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1566546382638415873?s=20&t=3usLLB4ILV1Yb9RaaG6tDA

>2 run Jack, scoreless no more, 695
>https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1566546382638415873?s=20&t=3usLLB4ILV1Yb9RaaG6tDA

.

Now I think Ohtani may be closing in with a month left.

I know people argue that as long as Ohtani has regular seasons (for him) hes default MVP.

With how the yankees were playing and how Judge was leading the team -- it was foregone. Now Judge is still on fire, but the Yankees are faltering.

It isnt a team award, but it feels like if Judge doesnt catch Maris - then the door is open for Ohtani to win it. His last couple weeks has been phenomenal.

4th in wRC+, wOBA, and extra base hits, 5th in OPS+, 2nd in Triples(!), 1st in intentional walks

AND

2nd in pitching bWAR, FIP, and xFIP, 5th in ERA+ and K/BB, 6th in WHIP


He's 3rd in the AL in pitching fWAR and 14th in fWAR for position players. Total bWAR has him a close second to Judge in all of MLB.


This is astonishing.


THIS IS ASTONISHING!!!


Judge is having an incredible season himself and has already pretty much been crowned MVP, so it'll be hard to overcome that momentum even with the Yankees' August swoon. But it's hard to overstate just how astounding it is what Ohtani is doing. This is Roy Hobbs / Field of Dreams type shit, I never thought I'd see this in real life.

probably makes it look less incredible to people. Well he is doing the same thing he did last year. Its time to give the award to someone else. Ohtani deserves it while he is putting up numbers on both ends like this.

that also lay out these stats. It's even more insane to READ them, than it is to hear them. If this is not MOST VALUABLE...nothing is.

How many pitchers just roll out new pitches and pitch sequences midseason throughout the season?

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/shohei-ohtani-new-toy-breaking-down-his-filthy-turbo-sinker





>Now I think Ohtani may be closing in with a month left.
>
>I know people argue that as long as Ohtani has regular seasons
>(for him) hes default MVP.
>
>With how the yankees were playing and how Judge was leading
>the team -- it was foregone. Now Judge is still on fire, but
>the Yankees are faltering.
>
>It isnt a team award, but it feels like if Judge doesnt catch
>Maris - then the door is open for Ohtani to win it. His last
>couple weeks has been phenomenal.
>
>

Mike Schur dropped this yesterday...his OPS is currently between Altuve and Freddie Freeman and his Fielding independent pitching is between Max Fried and Justin Verlander. LMAO! He was like, imagine if the best QB in the league and the best LB in the league were the same person.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34542980/radio-host-doug-gottlieb-admits-made-false-claim-freddie-freeman-contract-talks-atlanta-braves

was trying to break MLB news, especially front office gossip


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

one of the few good things Manfred has done so far. he said fuck the players opinions! and I agree -- they will never want a pitch clock, but the games are getting longer and longer every year. players' fault.

that seems impossible to physically happen. Bryon Buxton has 28 homeruns...with FIFTY ONE RBI. WHAT???????????? There were some other less egregious examples given, but DAMN, lol. Getting rid of the shift will have some affect on that, for sure...but, geez. On this same show, they said that the league average OBP is .312!!! COTDAMN, man. That's lousy as fuck, lol.

>that seems impossible to physically happen. Bryon Buxton has
>28 homeruns...with FIFTY ONE RBI. WHAT???????????? There
>were some other less egregious examples given, but DAMN, lol.
>Getting rid of the shift will have some affect on that, for
>sure...but, geez. On this same show, they said that the
>league average OBP is .312!!! COTDAMN, man. That's lousy as
>fuck, lol.

it' still insane. He's hitting .145 with RISP and he's 1-19 with a man on 3rd. Here's a couple of others:
Kyle Schwarber 36/78
Mike Trout 31/61
Folks striking out, hitting it DIRECTLY to a fielder or hitting a solo shot.

https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1568770565942435844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1568770565942435844%7Ctwgr%5Ec2bad5aaa621a4101f7cae410094965fc57b44a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thescore.com%2F

It's easy to wonder how his career would have played out if he stayed in STL, rather than moved to Anaheim.

He was a solid player in LA, but nothing near the legend his career projected out based on his play in STL.

His stats in STL were so good (.326/.417/.612) that his overall career splits of .296/.374/.543 came while hitting .256/.311/.447 for ten years in LA.

He still averages 37 HR and 116 RBI overall, even with the borderline replacement level production in the latter half of his career.

If he stayed in STL and was even 3/4 of the player he was in the first 12 years of his career, he'd probably have nearly 800 HR at this point.

https://twitter.com/Jared_Carrabis/status/1569055193702010882?s=20&t=7M6FPclug9ZynSOzlYMfuA

.

Pujols creeps closer to legendary 700-HR club with No. 698 🚨
https://www.thescore.com/s/22835767

as they vote is some version of — “if Judge breaks Maris or doesn’t… what kind of season does a player need to have to beat ohtani as an MVP- if he has what seems like another regular “good” season for him. I think it’s a semi valid question - but at the end of the day you gotta look one season at a time. There’s no guarantees ohtani does this again even next season. He could get hurt - something could change- so you gotta celebrate the specialness of the moment in MLB history.

You wanna be a voter who when history looks back at the season in a wider context and they see Ohtani’s unrepeated stats ask “her why didn’t he win MVP this year?”

he also leads in OBP, OPS, walks, runs, and his 214 OPS+ is eighth best in MLB since integration began in 1947 (only higher were Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle in 1957, McGwire in 1998, and Bonds in 2001-04)

Judge is having a historically great season, the Yankees are in first place largely thanks to him carrying them on his back in the second half while the rest of their offense was tanking, and he's hit 60 homers and counting. If he were to win the triple crown on top of that, the MVP vote might be damn near unanimous.

That being said, I agree with you that Ohtani is having an even more historical season (I repeat: THIS IS ASTONISHING!!!) But the Angels are 18 games below .500, and he already won the MVP last year - not at all his fault and not fair, but that's the way these things go.

is the Blackest thing I've seen in baseball since Oscar Gable's afro.

What’s dope about this run is it personifies his clutch hitting.

It seemed like a long shot for awhile, but once the target became in reach, dude didn’t wilt under pressure- he went out and got the job done.

God given talent, study of pitchers and always working on his craft. The pitch he hit for #700, it ran in on his hands and he was STILL able to get around on it and go to
left-center. Plus, like you said...the ability to do it under this much scrutiny...when everyone is expecting it.

when he hit @700 and they flashed to Yadi and HE was crying.

>when he hit @700 and they flashed to Yadi and HE was crying.
>

Hitting all them bombs inbetween the amount of times he was walked is insanity.

Judge hasnt been walked even close to as many times and last night was annoying af.

as if we know for certain that Judge is clean?

they're cutting into cfb games to show Judge's at-bats and I'm wondering who really gives a shit about this...

To avoid all Roids talk.

>they're cutting into cfb games to show Judge's at-bats and I'm
>wondering who really gives a shit about this...

I mean I do and I hate the Yankees.

>I mean I do and I hate the Yankees.

I'm sure there are some demographics that care...but not that one.

We have a better chance of seeing someone hit .400 than seeing 234 walks again. That combo of having a great eye and being feared by everyone was incredible.

His eye was incredible, and if you threw him anything good he was probably launching it.

Best player I’ve ever seen.

If your are a baseball purist, aka super nerdy white guy, I suppose you could say he has tied the record for most HRs in AL history but he isn’t close to breaking the MLB record.

>If your are a baseball purist, aka super nerdy white guy

or probably a bit of both since most baseball fans are older and white?

like I'm thinking that the younger generation doesn't a. care as much about drugs as previous generations and b. doesn't care as much about baseball in general and even more specifically these types of historical records. but I could be way off on all fronts.

It's just interesting to me how much genuine excitement there is for Judge hitting 61 vs manufactured hype. And how mlb and the tv networks are trying to wipe Barry from our collective consciousness.

game season. All of Josh Smith homeruns aren't counted properly.

Was it MLB or the Yankees footing the bill to fly the Maris family around to all the Yankees games the past couple week?

>game season. All of Josh Smith homeruns aren't counted
>properly.
>
>Was it MLB or the Yankees footing the bill to fly the Maris
>family around to all the Yankees games the past couple week?

Probably the Yankees, but every team does this when something historic happens. Who cares? Also, 61 homers is Roger Maris’ legacy. He’s not in the hall. Let his family have it.

>>game season. All of Josh Smith homeruns aren't counted
>>properly.
>>
>>Was it MLB or the Yankees footing the bill to fly the Maris
>>family around to all the Yankees games the past couple week?
>
>Probably the Yankees, but every team does this when something
>historic happens. Who cares? Also, 61 homers is Roger Maris’
>legacy. He’s not in the hall. Let his family have it.

Its normal for the home team to invite an athlete or his family to a game if the record is imminent but I don't remember them doing that for home and road games for 2 weeks.

For me its the whole thing about sport media trying to hype this up and totally erase the legacies of Bonds, McGwire and Sosa.

Are we going to ignore the records of players that played before baseball was integrated?

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/roger-maris-jr-says-aaron-judge-should-be-considered-true-record-holder-if-he-hits-62-home-runs/

https://sports.yahoo.com/roger-maris-jr-discredits-barry-033210529.html

have that opinion. Whats the big deal?

I'm just laughing at them cutting into this houston/tulane football game to show this nonsense lol

>Its normal for the home team to invite an athlete or his
>family to a game if the record is imminent but I don't
>remember them doing that for home and road games for 2 weeks.
>

Who cares? The Yankees now have 3 players at 60+ homers in a season. I despise the Yankees, but couldn’t care less how they celebrate this moment.

>For me its the whole thing about sport media trying to hype
>this up and totally erase the legacies of Bonds, McGwire and
>Sosa.

I mean yeah, there’s an element of that, but they’ve also framed it as the AL record to avoid the conversation. 60+ homers after the roids era is historic though. I don’t get all the whining about this. While those 3 players deserve to be in the hall, no one has put asterisks next to anything Bonds, McGwire, or Sosa did, and I can fully enjoy Judge’s accomplishment without pretending it’s THE record.

>
>Are we going to ignore the records of players that played
>before baseball was integrated?

If’s there a single season record I don’t know about? You mentioned Gibson, who is believed to have 800 career homers, but there’s not really an accurate count and that’s got nothing to do with single season accomplishments.

8ip/ 0er 1 walk 2 hits 10ks

Had a no hitter going through 7 2/3
Hardly used his 4 seam FB


Went 2-4 with an RBI

It should be his 15th win for a 70 win team

His second half run is movie type stuff, really. Love it.

Idk how I got to be in the position of Red Sox fan defending a Yankee player, but the hatred he’s getting for an objectively great achievement is so weird to me.

and interrupting CFB games to split screen him at bat is a bit much. Did they do that for Pujols?

>and interrupting CFB games to split screen him at bat is a
>bit much. Did they do that for Pujols?

And there is a 0% chance they are testing him this season

Just get word to him somehow that there’s no “random” tests scheduled for him 😉💪⚾️.

He gets to 700. Everyone is happy.

when it comes to drug usage within the sport.

which is why i find all of this to really be on some goofball shit.

i don't care what happens after this. i deadass thought this day might not happen in my lifetime the way things have been.

let's get Julio back and get hot in the playoffs.

...of the King Felix seasons. Like, how is it possible that Hernandez never pitched a play-off game? During the wild card era? As a fan of a division rival, that's just baffling.

Waino, Pujols, Yadi get standing ovation after leaving game early together ❤️
https://www.thescore.com/s/23034992

>Waino, Pujols, Yadi get standing ovation after leaving game
>early together ❤️
>https://www.thescore.com/s/23034992

A more a pressing concern is Wainright’s struggles going into the postseason and why he thinks he should come back next season

and I've had more than a few

Atlanta has been thee best team in baseball the 2nd half of the season. The mets were right there in every game, they just couldn't get big/timely hits.

They had a great regular season, should get passed the WC (if they blow that, then lets talk) and will have to see the best 2 teams in baseball to keep it going. But i mean getting swept by Atlanta aint' the end of the world. They are really really good.

Disappointing...sure but this doesn't compare at all.

I said *one of* the lowest moments and I stand by that.

was it as bad as Beltran going down looking in the NLCS? no, but this was pretty bad. and the playoff ramifications are huge. sure, the mets could bounce back and get hot and maybe a month from now we'll be able to laugh this off as some sort of galvanizing moment but I seriously doubt it. the psyche of this team can't be very good right now heading into the playoffs.

and losing the division was more than just getting swept by the braves this weekend. never should have been in that position to begin with regardless of how well the braves have been playing the 2nd half of this season.

Be playing the wild card at home...youd be happy. Regardless if we won the division or not, the braves and dodgers are looking like the best teams in the NL.

We'd still have to beat one of em to get to the world series

This doesnt even compare to any time degrom hits the DL or matt harveys fall lol

>Be playing the wild card at home...youd be happy. Regardless
>if we won the division or not, the braves and dodgers are
>looking like the best teams in the NL.
>
>We'd still have to beat one of em to get to the world series

And now we'd potentially have to beat both of them. And potentially without going to war with Degrom/Scherzer in a 7 game series.

>This doesnt even compare to any time degrom hits the DL or
>matt harveys fall lol

I don't really see those as relevant comparisons. Watching Harvey fall from grace is whatever to me.

Comparing this to 2007/2008 would make more sense. At least with this year the team will get a chance to redeem itself so we shall see.

They owned the Division even though the Braves were the best team in baseball for the majority of the year (and the Dodgers 2nd)?

If the goal is a mets world series win, they will need to beat whoever is in their path.

The mets have the 4th best record in baseball, their 4th 100 win season in their history and you're comparing this season to one of the biggest collapses in MLb history? lol

and as a fan I absolutely fucking hate losing to the braves and it sucked to watch it go down like this.

>They owned the Division even though the Braves were the best
>team in baseball for the majority of the year (and the Dodgers
>2nd)?

I don't understand the reverence for the braves as if the mets dont belong on the same field as them. They basically split the season series and the Mets won 4 out of 5 during the home series in August. Mets had every opportunity to secure their lead and win the division comfortably despite ATL's outstanding play over the 2nd half of the season.

>If the goal is a mets world series win, they will need to beat
>whoever is in their path.

Yes, and as I said, one of the paths was exponentially easier if they had taken care of business.

>
>The mets have the 4th best record in baseball, their 4th 100
>win season in their history and you're comparing this season
>to one of the biggest collapses in MLb history? lol

All I said was that *for me personally this was one of my lowest moments as a fan*. You told me that 'it doesn't compare' but didn't mention anything specific so was doing my best to fill in the blanks.

With that said, I believe the mets are one of only a few teams to have lost a 10+ game division lead in the division after June 1st.

Again, we'll see how things play out form here. I'm encouraged that the bats have woken up here against Washington especially since these were meaningless games that they easily could've mailed in.

you just gotta tip your cap to the other team. The braves have been playing .700 ball outside of the first 2 months of the season. That's a 112 win clip. The mets were .600 which is pretty good but not at the level the Braves/Dodgers have played.

The playoffs is a different animal...so we'll see what happens.

But the mets losing the division is more about what the braves did, then about what the mets didn't do. I guess that's my point.

oh and yeah, comparing it to 07/08 collapse is just crazy talk lol

>But the mets losing the division is more about what the braves
>did, then about what the mets didn't do. I guess that's my
>point.

It was awhile ago but I don't recall having WS expectations for those 07/08 teams like I did/do with this team.

Degrom and Scherzer on the same staff is pretty impressive and I wanted to see them get after it in a 7 game series.

Agreed with Degrom and Scherz. Let's see what happens. Buck might got some tricks up his sleeve.;

.

.

No disrespect to Pujols, one of the greatest hitters to play the game….
last year that dude couldn’t hit a beach ball and was clearly washed…now he can’t miss in
these last few games….

Still ain’t fucking with Barry or Hank

>No disrespect to Pujols, one of the greatest hitters to play
>the game….
>last year that dude couldn’t hit a beach ball and was
>clearly washed…

False. He was solid for the Dodgers.

Before being traded to the dodgers, He was 5 home runs with 12 rbis batting .198 though 24 games for LAA. He was batting below the Mendoza line, which means a player shouldn’t be in the majors. He was definitely washed.

And even as a dodger he hit 12 hrs with 38 rbis through 85 games. It was a slight improvement, but not solid in my opinion. It’s decent at best.

I’m not hating on him. The way he is being sent off is quite obvious. He is clearly being
allowed to stat pad. It’s cool.

>
>Before being traded to the dodgers, He was 5 home runs with 12
>rbis batting .198 though 24 games for LAA. He was batting
>below the Mendoza line, which means a player shouldn’t be in
>the majors. He was definitely washed.

Note that I clearly said FOR THE DODGERS.

>And even as a dodger he hit 12 hrs with 38 rbis through 85
>games. It was a slight improvement, but not solid in my
>opinion. It’s decent at best.
>

Solid.

Some say if he had never left the Cardinals he would be the undisputed GOAT.

Just as silly as it is for people to try to discount the accomplishments of Bonds and others for substance abuse, hitting a baseball out of a major league park is NOT easy.

It’s not like Pujols didn’t already have 670+ on the books and started hitting home runs out nowhere lol.

Are people pitching him as hard as Judge? Probably not. Is Judge hitting in a lineup with 2 other guys that might be MVP candidates? Definitely not. You can’t really “pitch around” Pujols when you have to face Goldschmidt and Arenado in the same lineup.

FOH.

He isn’t a five tool player…That’s why his ass played first base….
weakest defender plays first.

He is in the Ted Williams category…great hitter …that’s it.

He ain’t 40/40 or 30/30 like Bonds, Griffey or Mays …nor does
he have GGs like they do. I think he has what 2?

Great hitter…that’s it.

Bonds, Griffey, Mays, Ruth ….are the only candidates for pure GOAT status

>FOH.
>
>He isn’t a five tool player…That’s why his ass played
>first base….
>weakest defender plays first.
>
>He is in the Ted Williams category…great hitter …that’s
>it.
>
>He ain’t 40/40 or 30/30 like Bonds, Griffey or Mays …nor
>does
>he have GGs like they do. I think he has what 2?
>
>Great hitter…that’s it.
>
>Bonds, Griffey, Mays, Ruth ….are the only candidates for
>pure GOAT status

I don’t disagree with any of that, but as far as hitting, he could definitely possibly be up there. As far as all around players I don’t consider Ruth in the same convo with people like Bonds, Mays and Griffey.

besides being a phenomenal player, is he doesn’t do player-speak. He’s not an outwardly big personality like an Acuna or Jazz…but he says real shit. He’s been pretty direct when talking about the season he’s having, him turning down the Yankees offer, being the best player on the team, the record chase…I’m a fan.

well deserved.

will start with a "3" and that a team like the Giants (Judge is a Cali kid) or the Mets could put a scare into the Yankees and push well into the threes.

So Stephen Vogt ending his career with a HR, just like he began it on the A's years ago, made me smile.

Just about the rest of this season sucked tho.

from his kid's announcing him to the dad dance he did going around the bases. Thumbs up to that kind of content.

Desperate and pathetic move by the Mets.

plenty of L's to go around

Showed how awful he was.

Not that cool that when musgrove pitched when i heard it in the 7th...i was like oh shit

That was hilarious - I couldn’t believe they did that.

Mets are just a tacky ass operation, always.

Like I’m sure that’s on some default shit to play it whenever he comes in. Whatever.