The Official 2018 Major League Baseball thread

[GaryH]

The owner of the Tampa Bay Rays announced today that the 3 year time period they had to start building a new stadium had passed. Therefore there will be no new stadium in Tampa.
Chris Russo on his MLB show went into a rant and said you can take it to the bank - the Tampa Bay Rays are moving to Montreal! LOL. "So you're saying there's a chance?"

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Blue Jays released Tulowitzki and now owe him $38 million to play for another team. That was an expensive acquisition of a guy who missed more games than he played. The Blue Jays answer to the Yankees’ Ellsbury fiasco. When a guy is significantly injury prone in his 20s what does that tell you about how things are likely to go in his 30s? These contracts are so bad but teams are starting to learn. When you put your hand on a hot stove and get burned you learn from the pain.

 

[GaryH]

This is so true. When the Yankees signed Ellsbury and a reporter questioned all his injuries, the reply was "Yes but they were all different injuries in different places." But that was the point - He couldn't stay healthy. This year take him to spring training: play him alot; he probably will get injured; put him on the DL; collect the insurance money. If he stays healthy, release hiim and eat the money.

 

[hungry101]

I agree. They are starting to learn. I think it is part of the massive salary dumps we are seeing around the league. At the same time, teams are much less willing to part with a good prospect for a playoff run. I remember just a few years back when at the deadline the Tigers decided to be sellers and sent Price to Toronto for two bonafide pitching prospects in Norris and Boyd (the latter being their most effective starter) and then they traded Cespedes for Fulmer (ROY) and another RH pitcher that the Tigers used to get Justin Wilson. Of course, those deals were made by Dombrowski and not the less capable Avila.

Now you make trades at the deadline to dump payroll and you get a warm body in return.

 

[smuler]

I would like to see a guy like Mickey Lolich get in. He is the Tigers career leader for strikeouts with 2679 and #5 in K's per 9 innings with 7.1. When you consider he also started the most games in franchise history, that is HOF worthey. No one who was alive at the time will forget the 1968 World Series where Lolich had 3 wins and hit his one and only career HR to boot to lead the Tigers over Cardinals in 7. This included a win in game 7 where he beat the great Bob Gibson with Lolich pitching on 3 days rest. The guy was a machine.

The "Machine" was a piece of shit by the time it pulled into Queens.. How the fuck did we trade " Le Grande Orange " for him ??

http://meetthemess.com/bad-met-trades-rusty-staub/

Best Regards
Smuler

 

[GaryH]

Before Baines, I would like to see a guy like Mickey Lolich get in. He is the Tigers career leader for strikeouts with 2679 and #5 in K's per 9 innings with 7.1. When you consider he also started the most games in franchise history, that is HOF worthey. No one who was alive at the time will forget the 1968 World Series where Lolich had 3 wins and hit his one and only career HR to boot to lead the Tigers over Cardinals in 7. This included a win in game 7 where he beat the great Bob Gibson with Lolich pitching on 3 days rest. The guy was a machine.

Here's a dumb idea that MLB may entertain. Since Jerry Reinsdorf got his favorite player into the HOF from the Chicago White Sox, why not let all the other Club's fans select their favorite player to get into the HOF? Hungry you can get Lolich in, Smuler you can get Keith Hernandez in, Rumples can get Dewey Evans in, and EB you can chose from Munson, Mattingly, or Bernie Williams. Would generate alot of excitement , passion and discussion and get people talking baseball during a slow part of the off season.

(I am not serious here. But since MLB has already lost alot of integrity with this HOF cronyism why not shed a little more.)

 

[EagerBeaver]

EB you can chose from Munson, Mattingly, or Bernie Williams.)

Assuming I could take only 1 of the 3 in, it would be Mattingly. He is the best first baseman the Yankees ever had besides Lou Gehrig. He won 9 Golden Gloves, 2 less than Keith Hernandez’s 11, but if it were not for a back injury that led to his premature demise as a player, he would have won 2 or 3 more. There is nobody I have seen at first base since who is anywhere close to Mattingly either as a hitter or defensively. Mattingly’s only weakness as a player was he didn’t have a lot of speed. On another note, I met him personally and got an autographed photo weeks after his 1985 MVP award, but managed to lose it.

 

[hungry101]

The "Machine" was a piece of shit by the time it pulled into Queens.. How the fuck did we trade " Le Grande Orange " for him ??

http://meetthemess.com/bad-met-trades-rusty-staub/

Best Regards
Smuler

He pitched 13 seasons here. He is one of 21 MLB pitchers to strike out more than 2,800 batters. He started, completed, and won games 2, 5, and 7 in the 68 World Series and he is the one of 8 pitchers to win 3 games in a World Series and the last to pitch three complete games. He was the starter, the middle reliever, set-up, man and closer in one package. One Father's day, June 16th 1974, Lolich, after a string of 8 complete games in a row, threw 170 pitches and 11 innings and striking out 11 to beat the Royals. He also pitched two more complete games for a string of 11 complete games in a row. His 2,679 AL K's is all-time 2nd highest for all AL left handers. His 2832 K's in both leads was in the top 10 All-Time when he retired.

He was a 48 WAR pitcher over his 13 years as a tiger and he was a 1 war pitcher for the Mets. I'm sure you guys have had worse pitchers. And his career WAR is better than 22 pitchers currently in the Hall of Fame.

He was paid a salary of $25,000 in 1968 when he was the World Series MVP!

One interesting factoid about Lolich. He never had a sore arm in his entire career. I never made it through a season without a sore arm. He told a local football coach his method to take care of his arm. He used to take a shower and he used to get a wash cloth as hot as he could stand, and fold it in two it and put it over the shoulder of his pitching arm. He would then go back under the water and crank up the heat.

He threw out an opening day ball this year for the 50th anniversary of the 68' WS Championship. He was in a wheel chair. Not too long ago, his catcher, Bill Freehand, another candidate for the Hall in my opinion, passed this year.

 

[smuler]

Not too long ago, his catcher, Bill Freehand, another candidate for the Hall in my opinion, passed this year.

Freehan mi amigo ...:whip::doh:

Here's another Mess bonehead trade : http://meetthemess.com/bad-met-trades-nolan-ryan/

Best Regards
Smuler

 

[EagerBeaver]

According to his wiki Bill Freehan is not dead:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Freehan

 

[hungry101]

It's Freehan. I know this. I feel bad for making this mistake of such a gifted baseball player who is arguably HOF worthy.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/jaws_C.shtml

This is like Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "I'm not quite dead yet."

He is in hospice and has been there since October. He has Alzheimer's very bad and his wife received an award on his behalf this summer for the 50th anniversary. I read an article about Bill and his family and technically he is not dead. Just the 11-time All-Star and 5-time Gold Glove no longer knows who he or anyone else is.

 

[hungry101]

Smuler - I can only hope that in about 5-10 years you are posting a link to an article about the Cespedes-Fulmer trade.

 

[smuler]

Smuler - I can only hope that in about 5-10 years you are posting a link to an article about the Cespedes-Fulmer trade.

Yes Papi Chulo..but Cespedes has been a decent player for us , just lately nagged with injuries

Fulmer ..I do hope that he becomes a great player for you

Best Regards
Smuler

 

[hungry101]

Loved having Cespedes in a Tigers uniform. I believe you can call him a 5-tool player. He certainly can field his position.

Fulmer has been ailing on and off since his ROY year. Boyd, a crafty lefty we got from Toronto in the Price trade, was our best pitcher last year but Fulmer has better stuff. I am waiting for Avila to peddle Fulmer for some shitty prospects because the organization feels that he will be past his peak by the time the franchise wins again. Scary stuff when you think about it. Fulmer will be 26 years old next season. Avila and the new owner (Chris Ilitch) are fucking horrible.