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The MLB 2016 Season Thread

 
 
 
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rousseau

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Media threads never seem to be that active, but why not? At the very least I can ramble about the Jays and Tigers for the next 7 months.

Will the Jays win the AL East again? Will the Nationals be the most bloated under-performer? Will Kansas City single their way to another championship? How will Mike Illitch's ego come into play as the Tiger's slide into obscurity?

More, starting this Sunday.
 
Tigers, obscurity!?! Neva!!!

They always seem to blow it in the playoffs though. :mad:
 
I'm a Dodgers fan but they have been off my TV for two seasons now. I'm still mulling over changing from Direct TV to Time Warner/Charter to get the games. We have a new manager to replace "Mr Baseball", Don Mattingly but I doubt that will improve our prospects of getting to a World Series. We've lost Greinke to Arizona. Fecking Arizona ?!!! We still have Kershaw but his playoff appearances are a bit shakey. I don't know who else is in the bullpen, I've not been keeping track. So, while the Dodgers have been missing I've been watching the Angels and they have grown on me. Trout, Pujols, Calhoun what's not to like ? Sad to see Cowgill move on after his lengthy injury.
 
ZiprHead said:
Tigers, obscurity!?! Neva!!!

They always seem to blow it in the playoffs though. :mad:
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They've got cash, and luckily Cabrera should keep a few people in the seats, but it looks like they're in 're-build denial' right now.

I think the big question mark is the health of their players, injuries seem to have plagued them the last few years and I don't see that getting better, especially with Cabrera who's a good player but a bit of a dummy who seems to hurt himself.

Then there's the bull-pen which goes without saying.. should be better this year but likely still shaky. I think they could get a wild-card depending on how the season goes but I don't like them for the Central.

Needless to say I'll be following the Jays a little closer this year than the Tigers, as I did down the stretch last year. Tigers are who I jumped on when I got into baseball, though, owing to my dad's fandom that pre-dates the Jays, so I'll still be keeping an eye on them.
 
ZiprHead said:
Understood. You always got to support the home team.
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I just like following teams who compete and whose games matter. No interest in watching a bottom of the division Jays or Tigers. This year I'll be watching the Jays because they should be pretty good.. and yea they're the home team.
 
I'm always excited about Felix Day, especially the opening day each year. Felix has been the best pitcher in baseball on the worst team for a long time. But I fully expect the M's to suck again this year.
 
Jays have scored two in one inning so far on Archer who's pitching a little wild.

Fully expecting the Jays bats to get hotter this year. Their line-up stayed pretty much the same, and none of their players seem to be weakening. I guess their fielding will tighten up a bit, too, for that reason, especially with Tulowitzki for the whole year.

Another story to watch is Stroman, who's become the lead man in their rotation. Two years ago he was in the minors, and last year he barely played due to injuries, but pitched well at the end of the year.
 
rousseau said:
Yea it's nice to see a league make sane rules to protect their players.
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there was another curious ruling about the "in the neighborhood" play at second base in the Dodger game. Not sure I agree with that play being review able.
 
Talking about rules there are some weird ones in BB.

An random sample:

THE ACTUAL RULE from the rule book​
A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that is on or over fair territory when bounding to the outfield past first or third base, or that touches first, second or third base, or that first falls on fair territory on or beyond first base or third base, or that, while on or over fair territory touches the person of an umpire or player, or that, while over fair territory, passes out of the playing field in flight.​
A fair fly shall be judged according to the relative position of the ball and the foul line, including the foul pole, and not as to whether the fielder is on fair or foul territory at the time he touches the ball. If a fly ball lands in the infield between home and first base, or home and third base, and then bounces to foul territory without touching a player or umpire and before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball; or if the ball settles on foul territory or is touched by a player on foul territory, it is a foul ball. If a fly ball lands on or beyond first or third base and then bounces to foul territory, it is a fair hit.



Please note we are still in doubt about whether the fair side of the foul line or the foul side of the foul line determines whether the ball is fair or foul. It is if the ball touches the foul line from fair territory In fact the rule is the same as it is for soccer when the whole ball is out of bounds it is foul except when it lands fair beyond first or third base then bounces foul ....

I wonder what would happen to averages if all balls that wound up out of bounds were considered foul and whether making the rule so would have any real impact on either fielding or batting averages. I'm pretty sure it would change how batters learned to hit to the corners and how pitchers pitched in on base situations. I'm pretty sure the game would not only be simpler it would probably be more interesting, faster, and take less time to play a game.

Now a sane rule from soccer on out of play in soccer.

A. The ball is out of play when it fully crosses either the goal line or the touch line.

the rest of Law nine of 17 laws in soccer.

B. It is also out of play if the referee stops play for any reason.

Clarification as if any were needed: If, for any reason, the ball strikes the frame of the goal or the referee and remains within the goal and touch lines, it is still in play.

Don't you just wish baseball rules could be put a bit more simply?

I mean the balk rule. Geez!!​
 
Watching the Tigers beating the Pirates. 7-3 in the bottom of the 8th. The Tigers at present have the hottest bats in baseball.

ETA: Just started watching in the bottom of the 7th. Didn't realize it was a replay of yesterday's game. DUH!
 
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I watched the Dodgers beat the Giants on ESPN yesterday. Good win for the Dodgers in a tough game. Puig is barmy but he scored. That boy can shift. Anyway, the commentary on ESPN is fucking awful and their coverage is all over the place. It really does take away from enjoying the game. I miss Vin.
 
ZiprHead said:
Watching the Tigers beating the Pirates. 7-3 in the bottom of the 8th. The Tigers at present have the hottest bats in baseball.

ETA: Just started watching in the bottom of the 7th. Didn't realize it was a replay of yesterday's game. DUH!
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Think I've only watched one Tigers game this year so far, but will be tuning in to see them play the Royals tonight. They're the team to beat.
 
I didn't buy into the pre-season hype, but its getting hard not to think that the Cubs have a real chance this year. They aren't just winning, they are destroying their opponents with amazing offense, defense, and pitching.
Their average run differential of 3.75 is double that of St. Louis, who are themselves double the next teams below them.
 
rousseau said:
ZiprHead said:
Watching the Tigers beating the Pirates. 7-3 in the bottom of the 8th. The Tigers at present have the hottest bats in baseball.

ETA: Just started watching in the bottom of the 7th. Didn't realize it was a replay of yesterday's game. DUH!
Click to expand...

Think I've only watched one Tigers game this year so far, but will be tuning in to see them play the Royals tonight. They're the team to beat.
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I didn't get to watch last night and haven't heard how it came out.

I just turned on the game against Cleveland. Verlander has 8 strike-outs so far in the top of the fifth.
 
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