MLB 2024 - May blossoming flowers.... and the race against the '62 Mets

[DragonAttack]

Not the aficionado I was back in the day when baseball started during the first week of April, and after the men's NCAA basketball tourney had concluded, but I thought I would start the thread.

2023 MLB thread   https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58237.0

Sports, at its best, often provides a much needed distraction.  To say that the Baltimore area needs a few hours of escapism at this time is an understatement.

For me growing up, to hear Ernie Harwell say this phrase for the Detroit Tigers' Opening Day of the exhibition season in Lakeland gave me goose bumps.  A tradition I heard for decades.  Now, I put in his CD and play a longer version of it for the Orioles season openers.  Ahh, the memories. 

And, as said at the end of 'Christmas Vacation'.....'PLAY BALL!' 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr0wonW9u1A

[T-ski]

Brewers/Mets….rained out. 

[pg1067]

Dodgers about to (re-)start the season in about a half hour.  Let's go BLUE!

[hunnus2000]

Rangers won the opening game to defend their title! 

[SoundscapeMN]

Twins win.
Royce Lewis goes yard in his 1st AB
Gets another hit
The gets hurt, lol.

[lordxizor]

Twins win.
Royce Lewis goes yard in his 1st AB
Gets another hit
The gets hurt, lol.

Sounds about right. The Twins best players have a hell of a time staying off the DL.

[Dream Team]

Mookie Betts!!! Raking like this after moving to the most important defensive position. What a talent.

[TAC]

Mookie Betts!!! Raking like this after moving to the most important defensive position. What a talent.

The guy is amazing. One of the most exciting players I've ever seen in a Red Sox uniform.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Well, if the Giants can address their bullpen issues, they might have a legitimate shot this year.

[T-ski]

Nice little sweep of the Mets to get the season started.

Brewers about to go 162-0.

[Dr. DTVT]

Nice little sweep of the Mets to get the season started.

Brewers about to go 162-0.

Nope, Pirates are going 162-0

[axeman90210]

The Yankees will meet you guys at the 162-0 club. A four game sweep of the the Astros in Houston is just a splendid way to start the season

[pg1067]

Nope, Pirates are going 162-0

The Pirates were my first Little League team, so they've always been my second favorite NL team.  Doesn't hurt that they've been lovable losers for most of the past three decades.  I'll be seeing the Bucs play the Mets when I'm back east in a couple weeks.  Still need to make a trip to Pittsburgh to see them at PNC.

As for the Dodgers, it was a solid opening series (not counting the two games against in Seoul).  The most encouraging thing has been the performance of the starters.  Tyler Glasnow, Yoshi Yamamoto and Bobby Miller delivered really strong performances.  Even Gavin Stone was solid last night.  The only real blemish was Joke Kelly's meltdown out of the bullpen to waste Yamamoto's start.  It'll be interesting to see how our temporary 5th starter, James Paxton, fares tonight against the Giants.

[DragonAttack]

Dodgers about to (re-)start the season in about a half hour.  Let's go BLUE!

I checked the sports section the day I posted this, and there were no standings, so I just thought the season started last Thursday. 

Amongst all the men's and women's BBall, along with college and pro hockey I've been following, I never saw one word about the games in Korea.  Oh well....

I do miss the old days of Opening Day taking place around and after April 8th, with the NCAA tourneys finishing in March.

Anyhoo....already the first no hitter of the season.  Quite the story behind this journeyman Ronel Blanco

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/astros-no-hitter-ronel-blanco-blanks-blue-jays-in-eighth-career-start-throws-earliest-no-no-in-mlb-history/live/

[pg1067]

The Korea games were stupid, IMO.  I posted about it in some of the last posts in the old MLB thread:  https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58237.msg3099068#msg3099068

Interesting background on Blanco.  Sounds similar to how Fernando Valenzuela ended up starting on opening day in 1981.  Also interesting that it wasn't a perfect game because of walks to former Canbeater George Springer to open the game and in the 9th.  Impressive that his pitch count was only 105 and that the manager let him keep going.

While Blanco's no-hitter is the earliest in the calendar year, Bob Feller and Leon Day threw opening day no-hitters in 1940 and 1946 respectively (Day's was in a Negro National League game and was his first game pitched since 1943 after having served in the Army (European theater) in 1944 and 1945).

[DragonAttack]

May flowers
In the AL, teams that are continuing to blossom are the O’s, Yankees, Guardians, Royals and Twins.  The NL has the Phillies, Braves, Brewers, and Dodgers.  Cubbies are right in the hunt.  The AL West exists.

Three teams challenging the ’62 Mets are the Marlins, Rockies, and especially the White Sox. 6 and 26!?!?!  Seriously?

Surprising disappointments so far:  Astros, Rays, and Giants

[pg1067]

Surprising disappointments so far:  Astros, Rays, and Giants

A couple of those are incredibly pleasant.   

[Cool Chris]

A guy at a recent Mariners game caught two foul balls. On consecutive pitches!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dor2sOZup3U

[pg1067]

A guy at a recent Mariners game caught two foul balls. On consecutive pitches!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dor2sOZup3U

Didn't look like he caught the second one, but that's some crazy precision by the batter to place two consecutive foul balls in the same 4x4 square nearly 300 feet away!

[T-ski]

Angel Hernandez is retiring effective immediately. So many legendary blown calls. He’ll be missed. 

[ProfessorPeart]

Angel Hernandez is retiring effective immediately. So many legendary blown calls. He’ll be missed. 

Just saw that. Sounds like it might be a forced retirement (and well deserved, if so). I wondered how he hasn't trended in a few weeks. Hasn't worked a game since May 9th.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/umpire-angel-hernandez-after-long-and-controversial-run-in-major-league-baseball-set-to-retire-014420572.html

EDIT: Hah! Just checked Twitter and he is trending HUGE. The one thing to bring us all together as a country, the end of that man's awful career.

[Cool Chris]

EDIT: Hah! Just checked Twitter and he is trending HUGE. The one thing to bring us all together as a country, the end of that man's awful career.

Right! Quick, someone recount any other time in their life when an MLB umpire retired.

[ProfessorPeart]

Right! Quick, someone recount any other time in their life when an MLB umpire retired.

Well, I can cite Cowboy Joe. The next time I will celebrate is when CB Bucknor rides off.

Before the Cubs World Series Year, Bob Brenly was the color guy in our TV booth. Len Kasper always announced the umpires every game and where they were stationed. Any time CB ump'd a Cubs game and Len would say his name, Bob would let out a loud groan. I loved that. He never had a nice thing to say about CB.

[Dream Team]

Angel Hernandez is retiring effective immediately. So many legendary blown calls. He’ll be missed. 

Oh thank goodness. What a complete clown. Worst ump in history.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Well, I can cite Cowboy Joe. The next time I will celebrate is when CB Bucknor rides off.

Before the Cubs World Series Year, Bob Brenly was the color guy in our TV booth. Len Kasper always announced the umpires every game and where they were stationed. Any time CB ump'd a Cubs game and Len would say his name, Bob would let out a loud groan. I loved that. He never had a nice thing to say about CB.

One thing I can say about CB is his strike 3 call is amazing!

Good riddance to Angel Hernandez. Talk about being completely not self-aware. The way he defended himself over the years was just  Worst umpire of all time....That should be on his Hall of Fame plaque 

[Dream Team]

Change that to "Hall of Shame" and we're in agreement.

[pg1067]

Angel Hernandez is retiring effective immediately. So many legendary blown calls. He’ll be missed. 

Just like many of his calls.  No we just need to get rid of C.B. Bucknor.

Oh thank goodness. What a complete clown. Worst ump in history.

Eric Gregg would like a word.

[Dream Team]

Just like many of his calls.  No we just need to get rid of C.B. Bucknor.


Eric Gregg would like a word.

Isn’t Gregg mostly famous for that terrible series with the Braves, not a decades-long run of ineptness?

[Cool Chris]

That was my thinking. I only know him for that one game in the 1997 NLCS(?) and his atrocious strike zone.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Yeah, Eric Gregg was the worst umpire for 1 game. Angel Hernandez was the worst umpire for his entire career.