2022-23 MLB offseason thread

[tx 3 putt 77974]

 

[Helobious 9511]

Astros & Mets too high. Verlander was their best ace and he’s gone now, you don’t replace that so easily. Mets are just cursed despite the heroic efforts of cohen. Padres same story.

[WBT 20766]

I don't see how two teams in the same division can have the two highest WS winning odds.  By being in the same division, they both have a much higher chance of having to play the extra best of 3 crapshoot series than the Astros or Cardinals.

[kevwun 15945]

Justin Verlander was the 3rd best Astros starter in the playoffs.  He is a hell of regular season pitcher, but he's been worn out by the time October rolls around the last couple playoff runs.

[tx 3 putt 77974]

We’re a .500 team 

[Guest]

Astros have no shot at sweeping the Yankees again...

[Dutchrudder 11160]

9 minutes ago, slorch said:

Astros have no shot at sweeping the Yankees again...

A Gentleman's Sweep is still a sweep, right?

[Gourmand 7776]

On 2/10/2023 at 11:50 PM, Helobious said:

 Verlander was their best ace and he’s gone now, you don’t replace that so easily.

At least we still have those sweet booby moments with Kate to make us miss him less. 

[TonyTexas 10575]

Still don’t love it but don’t hate it like I did initially. The player’s support turned the tide for me. 

 

[tx 3 putt 77974]

On 2/11/2023 at 3:46 PM, kevwun said:

Justin Verlander was the 3rd best Astros starter in the playoffs.  He is a hell of regular season pitcher, but he's been worn out by the time October rolls around the last couple playoff runs.

urquidy should have had all his WS starts. We’d have another ring 

[WBT 20766]

3 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

Still don’t love it but don’t hate it like I did initially. The player’s support turned the tide for me. 

 

I still hate it passionately.  A handful of long extra inning games per year are cool and memorable.

[henrygandorf 29201]

3 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

Still don’t love it but don’t hate it like I did initially. The player’s support turned the tide for me. 

 

i understand how some teams may not like it, but since we're usually playing around 175 games per season, i'd rather save our strength.

[patrickdrinksbeer 796]

I still hate it passionately.  A handful of long extra inning games per year are cool and memorable.

agree 100%

[Sbbruin 21925]

47 minutes ago, WBT said:

I still hate it passionately.  A handful of long extra inning games per year are cool and memorable.

Nah.  No one wants to sit through a 15 inning game on Tuesday night.  

 

[WBT 20766]

No one?  Speak for yourself.

[tx 3 putt 77974]

*especially the players 

speed up the regular season, keep it OG for the playoffs 

[troph 24929]

What is this 10u little league? Fuck this runner on second extra inning nonsense.

[tx 3 putt 77974]

6 minutes ago, troph said:

What is this 10u little league? Fuck this runner on second extra inning nonsense.

 

[UTexasFight 9660]

25 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

 

[Vic Mackey 47404]

.

[tx 3 putt 77974]

 

[WBT 20766]

f the mets

[Guadaloopy 11069]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

[shadow_operative2.0 16065]

Bunch of words about balks. 

Quote

Major League Baseball plans to emphasize enforcement of the balk rule in 2023 as it implements sweeping rules changes, including a pitch clock that will place more focus on the arcane rule, league officials said Tuesday.

"We have slipped a little bit centrally with calling the rulebook illegal pitches and balks," said Morgan Sword, MLB's executive vice president of operations, at a media briefing to explain the rules in greater depth.

The balk, which is intended to keep pitchers from deceiving runners on base, can be called by umpires for more than a dozen reasons. Balks are assessed only with runners on. Prohibited deliveries with the bases empty are deemed illegal pitches. The import of both is especially acute with the new pitch-timer rule, which mandates a pitcher throw within 15 seconds of receiving the ball with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on. If a pitcher balks, runners advance one base.

Stressing the delivery of legal pitches matters because it coincides with the beginning of a delivery, which is when the pitch clock is supposed to stop. Pitchers who violate the rule are assessed a ball as a penalty. Similarly, if hitters are not in the batter's box and facing the pitcher with 8 seconds left on the clock, they will be given an automatic strike.

Trying to understand what constitutes a balk is tantamount to what makes a catch in the NFL. Umpires called 122 balks in 2022, the fewest in a full season since 1973, with some umpires more vigilant than others. Umpire John Tumpane assessed a major league-record three balks in one at-bat to then-Miami left-hander Richard Bleier during a late-September game. Bleier's three balks tied for the major league lead with left-handed reliever Will Smith last year.

A number of pitchers, including Houston's Luis Garcia, Toronto's Kevin Gausman, Boston's Kenley Jansen and the Chicago White Sox's Mike Clevinger, are expected to change their deliveries on account of the new rules.

Full article

[TheStoicPaisano 9940]

For Vic’s ladies…

Edited February 15, 2023 by TheStoicPaisano

[tx 3 putt 77974]

7 hours ago, WBT said:

f the mets

[Massive Horn 41]

5 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Bunch of words about balks. 

Full article

About time. Enforce the rules. It really isn't that hard. Jansen, Gausman and Garcia (and others)  have gotten away with too much bullshit. 

They might also want to ban whatever the fuck the Latin pitchers on the Astros had on the inside of their belts. Thought a couple of them were trying to rub one out in between batters last year. 

[Helobious 9511]

Lulz at trying to stop the Astros from cheating. It’s in their DNA

[Beau Vine 54951]

New book out!

[Helobious 9511]

Cue a bunch of posts from crying offended Astros fans about why it’s ok to cheat and the book is garbage.

[Hank Chinaski 6324]

The book apparently details lots of stuff about what teams other than the Astros were doing as well; y’all should read it.

Also - if history has taught us anything, it’s this:

9 hours ago, Helobious said:

Lulz at trying to stop MLB teams/players from cheating. It’s in their DNA

 

[Helobious 9511]

Right on cue

[Dutchrudder 11160]

9 hours ago, Helobious said:

Lulz at trying to stop the Astros from cheating. It’s in their DNA

Don't forget to ban "wind" too

 

 

 

[Hank Chinaski 6324]

40 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Right on cue

I guess that was “crying.” But for real, the book has some interesting stuff about sign-stealing strategies from multiple teams. If you’re actually interested it is probably worth reading. 

[Beau Vine 54951]

9 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

I guess that was “crying.” But for real, the book has some interesting stuff about sign-stealing strategies from multiple teams. If you’re actually interested it is probably worth reading. 

 

Quote

“On the sign-stealing front, the Astros and Dodgers were suspicious of one another. One member of the Dodgers said during the 2017 season, they indeed did use a baserunner scheme, determining sign sequences with the help of their video room, an analog to what the Red Sox and Yankees had done in recent years, and to what the Astros were doing on the road. Another member of the Dodgers said that everyone was doing that until MLB cracked down on it in 2018. But there is no known evidence that the Dodgers were doing something as flagrant as the Astros’ trash-can system.”

 

[Wulaw Horn 19265]

4 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

 

 

There’s no known evidence because mike Fiers is the only piece of shit to ever break baseballs code of Omertà in real time. 

[The Dog 44216]

 

[Huckleberry 33613]

38 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

 

 

ha

It's well known that nobody else did something as dumb as bang a trash can. But all the other stuff was cheating, too.

[Dnaguy 12367]

On 2/9/2023 at 12:12 AM, gsoda3 said:

The bay area and Sacramento as a CSA? That's a stretch.

 

On 2/9/2023 at 8:56 PM, HornOnTheBayou said:

Agreed, until I was in Sacramento and heard about people making daily commutes to the Bay Area. I laughed out loud thinking it was a joke and then realized that, holy shit, that actually happens. 

 

On 2/10/2023 at 8:26 AM, gsoda3 said:

the cost of renting got so high in the bay area. you'd hear about entry level workers living in cars or places like stockton and commuting to mountain view everyday but i always thought they were the extremely rare exceptions.  

Sacramento and Oakland are only 1 hr 20 minutes apart. - 82 miles

Roughly the same time / distance as San Antonio and Austin. - 79 miles

 

 

 

[Gourmand 7776]

 

[kevwun 15945]

Warmups must have gone horribly wrong for him.

[Helobious 9511]

Cashman is one of the worst GMs in baseball history, change my mind.

[henrygandorf 29201]

10 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Cashman is one of the worst GMs in baseball history, change my mind.

you are wrong.  i believe he deserves another extension.

[WBT 20766]

1 hour ago, Helobious said:

Cashman is one of the worst GMs in baseball history, change my mind.

He's one of the best ever at keeping his job

[tx 3 putt 77974]

4 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

Don't forget to ban "wind" too

 

 

 

Just have to hit the ball harder.

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by tx 3 putt

[tx 3 putt 77974]

2 hours ago, Helobious said:

Cashman is one of the worst GMs in baseball history, change my mind.

1000% correct. Steinbrenner would have shit canned him long ago. 

[Planet Houston 4943]

On 2/10/2023 at 11:50 PM, Helobious said:

Astros & Mets too high. Verlander was their best ace and he’s gone now, you don’t replace that so easily. Mets are just cursed despite the heroic efforts of cohen. Padres same story.

Yankees too high. They fucking suck. Oh and that Montas trade is looking great. But not as great as the sweet taste of your tears. 

[tx 3 putt 77974]

 

[tx 3 putt 77974]

3 hours ago, Helobious said:

Cashman is one of the worst GMs in baseball history, change my mind.

 

[tx 3 putt 77974]

Bringing that positive enegy to the clubhouse !