2022 MLB Thread formerly the 2021 thread..

[Glasser]

Does A-Rod belong in the HOF? 

[Cool Chris]

John Clayton the NFL writer is on the radio a lot here in Seattle. He is a member of the Writer's Wing of the NFL HoF and a current HoF voter. He has been talking recently about how the NFL HoF works. It is not based on individual ballots like MLB. The voters get in a room, or now on a Zoom call, and discuss each candidate. And while they may discuss their off-the-field behavior, they are not allowed to include anything off-the-field when casting their votes. That's the simplistic summary anyway. He went in to much more detail. I thought it was interesting, definitely more collaborative than the MLB HoF.

[pg1067]

Curt Schilling's general jack-assery and politics aside, I still wouldn't vote him into the hall of fame. He was a good pitcher, even really good for a handful of seasons, but he was never great, in my opinion.

He had very similar overall numbers to guys like Kevin Brown, Orel Hershiser, and Bob Welch (who I think were all better than Schilling and are not in the HoF) and even guys like Tim Hudson, who wasn't necessarily better, but I don't think stands a snowball's chance in hell of getting into the HoF.

I think Schilling is on the bubble, but what puts him over the edge for me were his post seasons in both Arizona and Boston. Legendary. Plus, he was runner up 3 times for the Cy Young.

And Philly.  He was the 1993 NLCS MVP (in addition to his WS MVP with Arizona).  Also, while you're not incorrect that some of his numbers are similar to Brown, Hershiser and Welch (he had from 700-1,100 more strikeouts than any of those guys), his numbers compare favorably to some undeniable HOFers, particularly John Smoltz:

Schilling:  216 wins over 20 seasons.  Smoltz:  213 wins over 21 seasons (several of which were very limited action)
Schilling:  3.46 ERA.  Smoltz:  3.33 ERA
Schilling:  3,116 K over 3,261 IP.  Smoltz:  3,084 K over 3,473 IP
Schilling:  127 ERA+.  Smoltz:  125 ERA+
Schilling's postseason numbers:  11-2, 2.23 ERA and 120K in 133.1 IP.  Smoltz's postseason numbers:  15-4, 2.67 ERA and 199K in 209.0 IP (plus 4 saves)

Over his career, Smoltz's teams had a .526 winning percentage, while Schilling's had a .499 winning percentage.

Other than Smoltz having 154 saves and having played on the best regular season team throughout the '90s, they're essentially the same guy.  His numbers are very comparable to Roy Halladay (although I don't think he should have gotten in because he had no significant postseason resume) and Mike Mussina (who also shouldn't be in because he was not a very good postseason pitcher on teams that didn't win in the postseason).  Yet no one questioned Smoltz getting in.

The list of guys that make no sense to me includes Larry Walker, Tim Raines, Barry Larkin and Phil Rizzuto.

Does A-Rod belong in the HOF? 

In my view, he's in a different category than the other steroid guys because he tested positive -- twice -- AFTER the PED rules were put into place.  That said, the games he played in were official games that counted, so I'd have a hard time leaving him out.

John Clayton the NFL writer is on the radio a lot here in Seattle. He is a member of the Writer's Wing of the NFL HoF and a current HoF voter. He has been talking recently about how the NFL HoF works. It is not based on individual ballots like MLB. The voters get in a room, or now on a Zoom call, and discuss each candidate. And while they may discuss their off-the-field behavior, they are not allowed to include anything off-the-field when casting their votes. That's the simplistic summary anyway. He went in to much more detail. I thought it was interesting, definitely more collaborative than the MLB HoF.

I didn't know about the process, but I did know that character was expressly not part of the NFL voting process.  It's probably one reason why the annual debates about the baseball HOF don't plague the NFL.

[KevShmev]

To show the absurdity of it this way, if alleged (or proven) PED users are being kept out of the Hall, do other players who benefited because of it get docked their team accomplishments as a result?

I will used Derek Jeter as an example.  He won 5 rings, but won all of them playing with Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and/or Alex Rodriguez, all of whom are suspected or admitted PED users, so do some or all of Jeter's 5 rings get an asterisk?

[TAC]

To show the absurdity of it this way, if alleged (or proven) PED users are being kept out of the Hall, do other players who benefited because of it get docked their team accomplishments as a result?

I will used Derek Jeter as an example.  He won 5 rings, but won all of them playing with Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and/or Alex Rodriguez, all of whom are suspected or admitted PED users, so do some or all of Jeter's 5 rings get an asterisk?

Well, but Derek Jeter is a WINNAH!

[pg1067]

Looking at next year's ballot...the only first-timer who has ANY shot of getting any significant votes is Carlos Beltran.  That may bode well for guys like Scott Rolen, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner, all of whom got more than 50% of the votes this year.  I think, however, that Wagner's numbers will tail off.  Helton is way more deserving than Rolen IMO, but he's got the whole Coors Field stigma to deal with.

After that, Adrian Beltre's a lock for 2024, but I don't think anyone else is.  Ichiro Suzuki is a lock for 2025, but no one else, and I don't see any new guys making it in 2026 unless Pujols, Kershaw or Molina retires this offseason (although that might not make them eligible until 2027).

[TAC]

Jeremy Giambi dead at 47. Wow!

[Glasser]

Jeremy Giambi dead at 47. Wow!

WTF? Gerald Williams died Tuesday at 55 and now this? Sad and Scary. R.I.P.

[pg1067]

Jeremy Giambi dead at 47. Wow!

I really tried to come up with a joke about him not sliding, but I couldn't come up with anything good enough to justify how distasteful it would be.

The funny thing was that, on Monday, I was talking about baseball with a guy at my office, and Jason Giambi's name came up.  He said he thought Jason had died, and I said I didn't recall that.  We looked him up, and he's still very much alive.  I then brought up the Jeremy Giambi/Derek Jeter play and lamented Jeremy's failure to slide.  Then, when I saw yesterday that Jeremy had died, I sent the story to my friend and commented that it was creepy given our discussion two days earlier.

[Glasser]

Jason Giambi cause of death: Suicide by gunshot to the chest. Whatever he was struggling with won the battle and that breaks my heart.

[DragonAttack]

I was going to remark on the universal DH, and then I read this page about Giambi.  What can I say.....?

[Dream Team]

Nice write-up by the great Poz on the lockout:

https://joeposnanski.substack.com/p/walker-player-ranger?utm_source=url

Some real nice points there, a few nuances that I wasn't aware of. As always, eff the owners.

[hunnus2000]

Nice write-up by the great Poz on the lockout:

https://joeposnanski.substack.com/p/walker-player-ranger?utm_source=url

Some real nice points there, a few nuances that I wasn't aware of. As always, eff the owners.

That was a good write-up and got me to thinking how much evil geniuses the owners are. Turn the players' salaries against them so the fans will blame them and not the oligarchs that run sports franchises. I saw an interview with Dave Wannstedt and he said that there are only about 10 or 12 good franchises in the NFL which I suppose could translate into MLB as well.

This got me to thinking that some owners don't care about championships so if they lose money then they just write it off which reminded e of this gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkkhrAQyrAs
 

[T-ski]

If the reports coming out today are true, expect a lot of cancelled games this year.

[Glasser]

I wonder if this was the final straw that caused Jeter to leave the Marlins.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Money, greed, and the absolute inability to work together/compromise on anything has ruined baseball. The owners don't care about the game of baseball at all, they only care about how much money it will make them and if the players association doesn't agree, then the owners are basically doing the whole taking the ball and going home routine. It's the equivalent of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Only these guys are millionaires/billionaires. Just meet the demands of the players, have a full season of baseball and you will still line your pockets with more money than you will know what to do with... 

[Glasser]

Money, greed, and the absolute inability to work together/compromise on anything has ruined baseball. The owners don't care about the game of baseball at all, they only care about how much money it will make them and if the players association doesn't agree, then the owners are basically doing the whole taking the ball and going home routine. It's the equivalent of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Only these guys are millionaires/billionaires. Just meet the demands of the players, have a full season of baseball and you will still line your pockets with more money than you will know what to do with... 

You're 100% right!    I'd rather watch college baseball.

[Cool Chris]

Maybe a bit of schadenfreude, but I am hoping that the season is delayed till May/June, and once games start up, literally no one shows up to the stadiums. I know that only hurts the players, but that would be a sight to see, the fans saying collectively "piss off, we have other things we can spend our time and money on..."

[Glasser]

Players are going to play in other countries or retiring. Josh Reddick just signed to play 2022 in Mexico.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Players are going to play in other countries or retiring. Josh Reddick just signed to play 2022 in Mexico.

The owners are going to screw around so much to try to figure out how to make as much money as possible, they are going to completely kill baseball. Then they will make no money. Jokes on them........ and all the fans of the sport   

[TAC]

I love baseball. I love coming home and unwinding at night with a game. Even if the Sox aren't on, I can sit through any national game. But WTF? Why should I care?

[hunnus2000]

I love baseball. I love coming home and unwinding at night with a game. Even if the Sox aren't on, I can sit through any national game. But WTF? Why should I care?

Because baseball is a great game!

But the oligarchs that control the game have done nothing to improve it and the TV ratings of the last 10 years prove this out as baseball is a slowly dying sport for TV.

[TAC]

I love baseball. I love coming home and unwinding at night with a game. Even if the Sox aren't on, I can sit through any national game. But WTF? Why should I care?

Because baseball is a great game!

Yes, I get that.

[KevShmev]

Baseball used to be a great game, but the way it is played now is so boring.  4-hour playoff games, stupid shifts, players too much preoccupied with hitting home runs, 9 pitching changes per team in playoff games, etc.  I used to be a HUGE Cardinals fan, but now I cannot even name five players on the current roster. That is how much my interest in baseball has plummeted in the last decade.

[King Postwhore]

Kev, completely agree.

[Cool Chris]

It is, and always will be, a great game. Right now, and for the past 10+ years, it has been a horrible professional sport. And it isn't one or two things. It is suffering from death by 1,000 cuts, completely unaware, or caring, that it is bleeding out.

[Glasser]

It is, and always will be, a great game. Right now, and for the past 10+ years, it has been a horrible professional sport. And it isn't one or two things. It is suffering from death by 1,000 cuts, completely unaware, or caring, that it is bleeding out.

This is all true and the ironic part is they have been saying they want to recapture the younger audiences again by shortening seasons, innings, pitch clock, batter can't step out of the box, take away shifts for more offense etc... And then a lockout hits that has left players unsigned and uncertain, fans disgusted. The business end of baseball reared its ugly head. I absolutely love the game itself but it feels like its demise is coming. Sad.

[gmillerdrake]

It is, and always will be, a great game. Right now, and for the past 10+ years, it has been a horrible professional sport. And it isn't one or two things. It is suffering from death by 1,000 cuts, completely unaware, or caring, that it is bleeding out.

This is all true and the ironic part is they have been saying they want to recapture the younger audiences again by shortening seasons, innings, pitch clock, batter can't step out of the box, take away shifts for more offense etc... And then a lockout hits that has left players unsigned and uncertain, fans disgusted. The business end of baseball reared its ugly head. I absolutely love the game itself but it feels like its demise is coming. Sad.

yep.  I like many grew up playing baseball and used to love watching it. However, I'd say in the last 10 years I've steadily grown less interested in watching to the point now where I can honestly say it's been a solid 5 years at least since I've watched a full game. I live in a fantastic baseball city (St. Louis) where Cardinal opening day is basically a holiday and the true fans are just nuts. But, the game itself.....for me.....is incredibly slow and boring. It's painful to even try and watch a game. Especially when compared to a much more competitive and fast paced sport like Hockey. The arrogance of the 'modern day' player is a massive turn off along with the ridiculous amounts of money they make. For that type of money it should at least be entertaining but it's not. Throw in the greed of the owners and the sport is just one big 'turn off'. I respect those of you who still love it....what I'm saying is merely how I feel and I know it's not 'fact'....so, more power to you. I just can't do it. 

I get that the nuances of baseball and the 'strategy' and all that are supposed to be what makes the game great and all....but man....it's a freaking chore to try and sit through one full inning for me. If a game is on at someone's house I go to I'll watch it....but if you said you'd give me $100 if I told you the last time I intentionally looked up a baseball game to watch it your money would be safe.

[pg1067]

Baseball used to be a great game, but the way it is played now is so boring.  4-hour playoff games, stupid shifts, players too much preoccupied with hitting home runs, 9 pitching changes per team in playoff games, etc.  I used to be a HUGE Cardinals fan, but now I cannot even name five players on the current roster. That is how much my interest in baseball has plummeted in the last decade.

I turned on MLB Network Monday night, and Harold Reynolds did a breakdown of a couple at-bats from the 1983 World Series.  Despite featuring several HOFers, it's a pretty obscure and not a very well-remembered Series (probably because the Orioles batted .213 and the Phillies .195), so I'm not sure why Reynolds picked that series or these particular at-bats.  They were from game 5, and Charlie Hudson was pitching to Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray in the top of the 4th.  Reynolds put a pitch clock on Hudson.  He delivered the majority of his 6 pitches to Ripken 12-15 seconds after delivering the prior pitch.  After Ripken walked, and even with a runner on base and Eddie Murray arguing the called strike on the first pitch, he delivered his two pitches to Murray in about 20-22 seconds.  This was a 2:21 game that featured a complete game shutout by Scott McGregor and four pitchers for the Phillies (but NO pitching changes during innings).  The longest game of the 1983 Series was 2:50.  By comparison, the 2019 World Series' shortest game was 3:19, and two of the seven games were over 4:00.

I don't personally have a huge problem with game lengths (although I sometimes struggle to stay up for the ends of games), but it's a big issue -- especially when you have kids who only want to consume games via highlights.

[dparrott]

LOCKOUT OVER!!! MLB SEASON STARTS APRIL 7!!!

[Glasser]

LOCKOUT OVER!!! MLB SEASON STARTS APRIL 7!!!

Also playing the full 162 games. Buckle up for free agent signing frenzy.

[ProfessorPeart]

Eh, I wish I could care. Since the Cubs are, at best, a decent AA team right now there is not much interest to watch. Plus, I just put a 6 month suspend on the TV service that I get the Cubs RSN from. Needed to cut some costs and that got the axe. Paying $80 a month for a service that I really don't use at all except for sports. I might not even turn it back on when football starts as I installed a long range antenna to get my locals over the air. I'm learning to live on streaming alone with no OTA type TV service.

[pg1067]

LOCKOUT OVER!!! MLB SEASON STARTS APRIL 7!!!

AWESOME!!!

So...I haven't had time to look for all the details, but I think the following are true:

- Universal DH

- Larger bases

- Pitch clock (last numbers I heard were 14 and 19 seconds)

All correct?  None of the rest of the stuff really concerns me, but I'm kind of excited about the pitch clock (notwithstanding my March 3 post).  The issue, of course, will come when a pitcher doesn't pitch on time or a batter dicks (or, perhaps, "Nomars" would be a better word) around outside the box.  Are the umpires really going to assess balls and strikes?  The other thing they really ought to do is institute strict bans on managers leaving the dugout for an argument and players leaving the dugout for brawls.  If the batter wants to charge the mound, then whatever ensues ought to be one-on-one.  Players who leave their positions or the dugout to join get an AUTOMATIC one-game suspension with no right of appeal.

From a Dodgers perspective, does Kershaw return?  I have no idea, but I really hope he either retires or returns to the Dodgers.  I'd hate to see him in any other team's uniform.  Do the Dodgers sign Carlos Correa?  I don't think we need him, so I'd rather we don't do it.  Do the Dodgers sign Freddie Freeman?  This one I'd like to see happen.  Freeman at first.  Max Muncy or Gavin Lux at 2B/DH, Trea Turner at short and Justin Turner at 3B (for at least another season or two).  And...the biggie...WTF with Trevor Bauer?  Dodgers can't do anything until MLB takes him off "administrative leave."  Personally, I want him back because he's good and that's really all that matters to me, but I completely sympathize with those who hope he crawls into a hole and dies.

Now I just need to figure out which road games I go to!

[Glasser]

Looks like they're banning the shift. I disagree with that. That's strategy. Players need to adjust to the shift instead of hitting into the teeth of it.

[ProfessorPeart]

Looks like they're banning the shift. I disagree with that. That's strategy. Players need to adjust to the shift instead of hitting into the teeth of it.

I'm actually glad they banned it. It never felt right to me. Was almost always a guaranteed out.

What I really hate is the NL getting the DH. I love the strategy that managers had to mess with to work around the pitcher.