2016 Official Major League Baseball Thread

[EagerBeaver]

Rules Changes

I was listening to Commissioner Manfred talk about his obsessive desire to shorten baseball games. If he really wants to do this a simple, but quite radical, rule change will produce his desired result: this would be to change the rule of 3 strikes and you are out to 2 strikes and you are out. It would shorten games, promote aggressive first-pitch hitting, and reward strike throwing pitchers. What do you guys think? I know it's totally radical, but would it work?

 

[lgna69xxx]

Daivd Price chased already, not even 4 innings of work. He has not been a good postseason performer.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Daivd Price chased already, not even 4 innings of work. He has not been a good postseason performer.

I wasn't too happy when the Jays didn't re-sign David Price, although i didn't really blame them considering the crazy money the Red Sox threw at him. The Jays instead signed J.A. Happ & re-signed Marco Estrada. Happ pitched like a Cy Young candidate all season long and won 20 games for the Jays. Along with Aaron Sanchez, they lead their pitching staff. Plus the fact Happ came at a fraction of the price the Red Sox paid for Price. Estrada was solid also throughout the season, but missed some time due to a back injury. Note that both Happ & Estrada combined earn less than Price.

What is also true is that David Price has never been a very good postseason performer, and now the Red Sox are finding this out for themselves. As for Marco Estrada, he pitched brilliantly in game 1 against Texas, and Happ was solid today and got the win.

One more game left for the Jays to send Texas packing for the winter! Toronto's gonna be rocking Sunday evening and they have their ace Aaron Sanchez pitching! Go Jays! :thumb:

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Happ and Estrada signings were excellent moves by the Jays. I like the Jays chances in these playoffs. They have a team that is well balanced, moreso than the other American League teams. Their pitching is better than the Red Sox pitching is.

 

[hungry101]

I was listening to Commissioner Manfred talk about his obsessive desire to shorten baseball games. If he really wants to do this a simple, but quite radical, rule change will produce his desired result: this would be to change the rule of 3 strikes and you are out to 2 strikes and you are out. It would shorten games, promote aggressive first-pitch hitting, and reward strike throwing pitchers. What do you guys think? I know it's totally radical, but would it work?

The Catholic League tried that in my home state for HS baseball and they dropped it very quickly. I am not sure why but it did not work.

The length of games are fine. Those that do not like baseball are not going to all of a sudden like baseball if they can shorten the games by 20 minutes.

On the other hand I like what they did at the Ryder Cup. The kept rolling the match and cut the sound and put the commercials on the right half of the screen. Something could be learned here. Maybe not for baseball but certainly for football and basketball. Got to a football game and TV timeout ruin the experience.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Another terrific game in Cleveland this early evening. Francona has never managed better

 

[Passionné]

The Red Sox have been awful. They ended the season on a cold streak, their Cy Young pitcher got shelled, their $30 million pitcher did what he usually does in the post season and on top of that the best hitting team in the Majors has hit for SH*T. I never thought they were ready to win the Series, but I thought they would put up a fight...especially against Cleveland.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Happ and Estrada signings were excellent moves by the Jays. I like the Jays chances in these playoffs. They have a team that is well balanced, moreso than the other American League teams. Their pitching is better than the Red Sox pitching is.

As a Jays fan, i'm very afraid of Cleveland. Plus they have one of the best managers in baseball.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Red Sox have been awful. They ended the season on a cold streak, their Cy Young pitcher got shelled, their $30 million pitcher did what he usually does in the post season and on top of that the best hitting team in the Majors has hit for SH*T. I never thought they were ready to win the Series, but I thought they would put up a fight...especially against Cleveland.

I agree. Plus it's a shity way for Pappi to leave the game. I still believe the Red Sox will win two.

 

[EagerBeaver]

As a Jays fan, i'm very afraid of Cleveland. Plus they have one of the best managers in baseball.

I did not see that much of Cleveland this year but I like their pitching and I also liked the energy and excitement I saw their team play with in game 1. I can't recall seeing a team that looked as jacked as they did in their game 1 win over Boston. The Red Sox have their hands full with that crew which seems to me to have ample quantities of pride and guts, 2 things that serve a team well in postseason.

 

[Passionné]

I agree. Plus it's a shity way for Pappi to leave the game. I still believe the Red Sox will win two.

I'm not concerned about anything concerning Papi. He deserves and has gotten everything he's earned. All I wanted from this series was a good battle. I was happy they got near 90 wins. Taking the division is a fine achievement. Losing in the playoffs in the end was expected because of the team's weaknesses, but going down weakly in the first series is a little hard despite their holes in pitching.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I think the Red Sox will win their 2 home games and then Francona will save Kluber for a possible game 5. In game 5 Kluber, pitching in front of an electrified and euphoric tribe of Cleveland fans, will once again shut down the Red Sox in dominant, horse-like fashion.

I think the Jays will beat Texas in 3 or 4.

I don't have as good a handle on the NL series. I think Chicago is a very deep and talented team and well managed by Maddon but somehow I feel like they are not as good as their regular season record and could get beat. I just haven't seen enough of the other teams to know how good they are.

 

[Doc Holliday]

All I wanted from this series was a good battle. I was happy they got near 90 wins. Taking the division is a fine achievement. Losing in the playoffs in the end was expected because of the team's weaknesses, but going down weakly in the first series is a little hard despite their holes in pitching.

If they do get eliminated by Cleveland, what kind of moves do you expect they'll make during the offseason? Is Farrell's job safe? Do you expect any players will be moved? Who will they look to add?

 

[Doc Holliday]

I don't have as good a handle on the NL series. I think Chicago is a very deep and talented team and well managed by Maddon but somehow I feel like they are not as good as their regular season record and could get beat. I just haven't seen enough of the other teams to know how good they are.

I feel the same way. I haven't watched a single NL game all season. I mostly spend the season concentrating on the AL East and i never miss a Jays game. My guess in regards to the NL is that it'll either be the Giants or the Cubs to make it to the World Series. In the AL, i'm picking either the Jays or the Indians, giving the edge to Cleveland.

 

[Passionné]

If they do get eliminated by Cleveland, what kind of moves do you expect they'll make during the offseason? Is Farrell's job safe? Do you expect any players will be moved? Who will they look to add?

All year long there's been the idea the GM has been looking for a reason to get rid of Farrell. The kind of game moves he makes have been questioned all year long. Fans overall are expecting he would be gone quickly with an early playoff exit and it's widely believed Dave Dombrowski has wanted it for a long time. Everyone is also extremely dissatisfied with David Price, but what can be done with his salary. In the case of Buchholz it's been hoped he would show some value so he can be traded. The relief also needs revamping, in fact it seems as though there isn't one safe pitcher except Porcello.

In the field and hitting there's a very different feeling of solidity. They're mostly young, very talented, can hit like hell. We're much more comfortable with Hanley Ramirez. Only replacing Papi's production is a real concern. Yeah, there's a few questions but overall it's very different from the pitching situation.

 

[Doc Holliday]

In the field and hitting there's a very different feeling of solidity. They're mostly young, very talented, can hit like hell. We're much more comfortable with Hanley Ramirez. Only replacing Papi's production is a real concern. Yeah, there's a few questions but overall it's very different from the pitching situation.

I do agree that there's nothing wrong with the offense, even with Ortiz retiring. By the way, i know it's too late, but there's no reason why he should retire. He's still one of the most productive hitters in baseball.

David Price reminds me of his days with the Tigers. He was very good, but for whatever reason it seemed that more was expected out of him. We loved him in Toronto last season, but that was for only 2+ months. He pitched very well in the playoffs and was the victim of bad luck. I'd take him on my team anytime....the players loved having him as a teammate and he fit right in with the team....but i wouldn't want him back for the kind of money he's currently being paid. He had mentioned after signing with Boston that Toronto hadn't even tendered him an offer. I wasn't happy to hear this. But let's face it, it would have been a waste of time since everyone knew the kind of money he was asking for and it was well-known that a few teams out there would be offering the kind of money he was seeking.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Ortiz is retiring because his feet are a huge problem and he is in pain between starts even though his stats don't show it. Even a DH has to run hard to first. If your feet are a problem and aren't getting better pro sports isn't an ideal thing to be doing. In his interview with Pedro Martinez, Papi said he is looking forward to being a tourist in his own country. There is evidently much of the DR he has not seen. He also said he is interested in mentoring young Dominican players on how to be professionals and develop themselves and their professional skills on and off the field. He wants to start a academy or mentorship program and his tourism of the DR will probably be to figure out where to build the Papi Academy.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Another great & dramatic win by the Jays last night as they swept the AL leading Texas Rangers!!!! Go Jays!!

They'll likely face the Cleveland Indians next Friday. The Indians hope to sweep the Red Sox today in order to rest up for a few days. I'll be pulling for the Red Sox. I'd rather see them face the Red Sox.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I am seeing some horrible body language from the Red Sox players. It is hard when a high octane offense which feasts on poor pitching then gets into the playoffs and sees high calibre playoff level pitching. But you can't come close to getting ejected arguing balls and strikes as Pedroia has on a couple of occasions. The frustration level for the Sox hitters is very, very high.

If this score stands will be a sweet and satisfying revenge for both Coco Crisp and Terry Francona, who were both shooed out of Boston. While Francona possibly bore some of the blame for the 2011 fried chicken and beer in the Clubhouse scandal, the main culprits were 3 players who were not good clubhouse guys. Along with Showalter and Girardi, Francona is one of the 3 best managers in the AL.

But right now some shaky relief pitching for Indians since Miller left the game............

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Red Sox have been swept.............!!!!!!!!!!! Their pitching was a bit flawed but I did not see a devastating sweep and what, 7 runs in 3 games..????......................