2015 Baseball season/Off Season Discussion

[TheBaconman]

The hottest team in baseball takes its act to New York to face the Mets tonight.

Big test for the Jays

Ha, it's been close to a decade that anyone considered the Mets a big test, but I'll take it!  Would love to see them make a playoff run this year.

I think this series will have RA Dickey's first start in Citified since the Mets traded him to the Jays.  He was adored by the fan base. 

The bum that is starting tonight for the Mets, was one of the young stars we gave up to get Dickey The Great.   hahaha....   Would of been nice to see them go head to head.   I dont even think Dickey will be apart of the rotation this road trip, he just pitched the other day.   Would be nice to get him out there, would love for him to get a standing ovation

[TheBaconman]

Heartbreaking loss last night for the Jays..  Thought for sure we would come back to win that.  Oh well new winning streak starts tonight.

I wonder if the Mets would like to do that Dickey trade again.  That rookie that they got from us last night, sure looked really really good.

Also..

I thought New York was a pretty big place...  Where were all the fans in the stands for the game?  Do the Mets not draw very well?

[GeorgeSteele]

Heartbreaking loss last night for the Jays..  Thought for sure we would come back to win that.  Oh well new winning streak starts tonight.

I wonder if the Mets would like to do that Dickey trade again.  That rookie that they got from us last night, sure looked really really good.

Also..

I thought New York was a pretty big place...  Where were all the fans in the stands for the game?  Do the Mets not draw very well?

What a game, thought it was over for sure after the Jays scored in the top of the inning.

Mets got a pretty good haul for Dickey, as they should have, he was the reigning Cy Young when they traded him.  Along with that pitcher, their catcher, Travis d'Arnaud was part of that trade.

Mets' attendance is atrocious.  For several reasons. 

 - They've been a losing team for 6 straight seasons and haven't been to the playoffs in 8 years.

 - Matt Harvey is a star in the making, but he's not there yet (in any case, he can only pitch once every 5 games), so the lack of star/celebrity players hurts. 

 - Since they demolished Shea Stadium and started playing in Citifield, they hiked ticket prices to ridiculous levels.  It's a beautiful ballpark, with great food and all the other stupid, unnecessary amenities, but most fans were happy with Shea and keeping the focus on the product on the field, while maintaining reasonable ticket prices.  Also, Shea had excellent sight lines from any seat in the house.  And it rocked.

 - Despite playing in the biggest market in the country, the team is among the league bottom in team payroll, so fans aren't too keen on paying top-shelf ticket prices when ownership takes a bargain basement approach to its talent.  This is all the more infuriating this year, when it was obvious the Mets would have a solid pitching staff this season, but nothing was invested into the lineup to field what could have been a legitimate World Series contender.  Although the ticket revenues are weak, the team still prints money from its TV network, so the money is there.

[faldor]

Time for a new sports controversy I guess.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13089501/report-fbi-investigating-st-louis-cardinals-hacking-houston-astros-database

[GeorgeSteele]

Time for a new sports controversy I guess.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13089501/report-fbi-investigating-st-louis-cardinals-hacking-houston-astros-database

The Astros?  Couldn't they have hacked a better team?  This is like Coca Cola raiding the trade secrets of Vintage Cola. 

[Falcon]

Time for a new sports controversy I guess.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13089501/report-fbi-investigating-st-louis-cardinals-hacking-houston-astros-database

This makes me long for the days of TLR putting the hit out on guys like Ryan Braun after the Brewers had hit Albert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9_GKkJJffE

A sign of the times I guess.

[TheBaconman]

Lets hope the Jays can do a little better agaisnt the Mets at home tonight, with real baseball rules!!  I am not a fan of seeing a pitcher hit...    Lets go Jays!

On a side note...

Damn there were a couple of huge one sided games..  What got into baltimores bats?   Woo   I hope they got that all out of there system as they face the Jays next!

[TheBaconman]

Heartbreaking loss last night for the Jays..  Thought for sure we would come back to win that.  Oh well new winning streak starts tonight.

I wonder if the Mets would like to do that Dickey trade again.  That rookie that they got from us last night, sure looked really really good.

Also..

I thought New York was a pretty big place...  Where were all the fans in the stands for the game?  Do the Mets not draw very well?

What a game, thought it was over for sure after the Jays scored in the top of the inning.

Mets got a pretty good haul for Dickey, as they should have, he was the reigning Cy Young when they traded him.  Along with that pitcher, their catcher, Travis d'Arnaud was part of that trade.

Mets' attendance is atrocious.  For several reasons. 

 - They've been a losing team for 6 straight seasons and haven't been to the playoffs in 8 years.

 - Matt Harvey is a star in the making, but he's not there yet (in any case, he can only pitch once every 5 games), so the lack of star/celebrity players hurts. 

 - Since they demolished Shea Stadium and started playing in Citifield, they hiked ticket prices to ridiculous levels.  It's a beautiful ballpark, with great food and all the other stupid, unnecessary amenities, but most fans were happy with Shea and keeping the focus on the product on the field, while maintaining reasonable ticket prices.  Also, Shea had excellent sight lines from any seat in the house.  And it rocked.

 - Despite playing in the biggest market in the country, the team is among the league bottom in team payroll, so fans aren't too keen on paying top-shelf ticket prices when ownership takes a bargain basement approach to its talent.  This is all the more infuriating this year, when it was obvious the Mets would have a solid pitching staff this season, but nothing was invested into the lineup to field what could have been a legitimate World Series contender.  Although the ticket revenues are weak, the team still prints money from its TV network, so the money is there.

Thanks for the answer.  You seemed to sum it up very well

It just really bothers me, to see this half filled stadiums on TV, in places that have millions of people living there...

Torontos is an other example...  How all those millions of people cant find time after work to go see a game blows my mind.   

[TheBaconman]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

[pilferk]

Ok....what the actual fuck....

http://m.mlb.com/video/v172197183/tbwsh-souza-bunts-for-hit-scores-after-two-errors/?partnerId=as_mlb_20150618_47727546&adbid=611355223089508352&adbpl=tw&adbpr=18479513

Thats gotta be the shortest inside the parker, ever. Yes, i know...errors, but still....

[faldor]

Ok....what the actual fuck....

http://m.mlb.com/video/v172197183/tbwsh-souza-bunts-for-hit-scores-after-two-errors/?partnerId=as_mlb_20150618_47727546&adbid=611355223089508352&adbpl=tw&adbpr=18479513

Thats gotta be the shortest inside the parker, ever. Yes, i know...errors, but still....

Little league style there. Souza is having a weird/good week. He hit an actual HR tonight and the other night he walked FIVE times, all unintentionally. The guy has good pop, but on the surface it looks like they were being a little too careful with a guy who barely hits .200.

[faldor]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

The AL East is hitting its stride. Actually look like some good baseball teams of late. Except for the Sox of course. They're still terrible. Should get a top 5 draft pick out of this disaster of a season though on the bright side. 

[pilferk]

Ok....what the actual fuck....

http://m.mlb.com/video/v172197183/tbwsh-souza-bunts-for-hit-scores-after-two-errors/?partnerId=as_mlb_20150618_47727546&adbid=611355223089508352&adbpl=tw&adbpr=18479513

Thats gotta be the shortest inside the parker, ever. Yes, i know...errors, but still....

Little league style there. Souza is having a weird/good week. He hit an actual HR tonight and the other night he walked FIVE times, all unintentionally. The guy has good pop, but on the surface it looks like they were being a little too careful with a guy who barely hits .200.

I was going to say something similar, in the first post, about little league style...but having just come from a little league game (son's playoffs), I didn't want to insult the little league players.

Seriously, I get that its wet and all but...3 bases worth of throwing errors? I don't even see THAT at my sons level, that often.

[GeorgeSteele]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

Ha, nice win for you guys.  This is how it's been watching the Mets this season, they either speak out gut-wrenching extra-inning wins or they get the shit kicked out of them.

[TheBaconman]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

Ha, nice win for you guys.  This is how it's been watching the Mets this season, they either speak out gut-wrenching extra-inning wins or they get the shit kicked out of them.

The Mets just had that one rookie pitcher come out for middle relief and well........   

Hope we see him again tonight!!!!

[GeorgeSteele]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

Ha, nice win for you guys.  This is how it's been watching the Mets this season, they either speak out gut-wrenching extra-inning wins or they get the shit kicked out of them.

The Mets just had that one rookie pitcher come out for middle relief and well........   

Hope we see him again tonight!!!!

No chance, they sent him back the minors straight after that debacle. 

On a related note, I always thought that rookie hazing rituals were idiotic when done as 'tradition' for the sake of it.  But when a rookie fucks up to such a degree, in that case, I think it's appropriate to have the veterans drag his ass into the clubhouse and just beat the crap out of him.

[TheBaconman]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

Ha, nice win for you guys.  This is how it's been watching the Mets this season, they either speak out gut-wrenching extra-inning wins or they get the shit kicked out of them.

The Mets just had that one rookie pitcher come out for middle relief and well........   

Hope we see him again tonight!!!!

No chance, they sent him back the minors straight after that debacle. 

On a related note, I always thought that rookie hazing rituals were idiotic when done as 'tradition' for the sake of it.  But when a rookie fucks up to such a degree, in that case, I think it's appropriate to have the veterans drag his ass into the clubhouse and just beat the crap out of him.

I think your idea is very appropriate.

I would like to use it on the Jays as well.  Every time they start a first or third baseman in left field.   And that said baseman forgets how to catch a pop fly!!!!!!!!!!   

My little boy, who is 6, can field better than some of these guys I have seen

[pilferk]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

Ha, nice win for you guys.  This is how it's been watching the Mets this season, they either speak out gut-wrenching extra-inning wins or they get the shit kicked out of them.

What's funny, given the participants in the conversation, is the Jays have been the exact opposite: Losing 1 run games at a rate that is historic...and kicking the shit out of the teams they beat.

[TheBaconman]

It's great to be home for the Jays!!!!   Take that you stinking Mets!!!    Got to hand it to the rest of the Al east.  Looks like everyone wins tonight......    Oh ya, sorry Boston. 

Ha, nice win for you guys.  This is how it's been watching the Mets this season, they either speak out gut-wrenching extra-inning wins or they get the shit kicked out of them.

What's funny, given the participants in the conversation, is the Jays have been the exact opposite: Losing 1 run games at a rate that is historic...and kicking the shit out of the teams they beat.

Oh the lack of low scoring clutch wins for the Jays really is starting to scare me.   I still say they need another starting pitcher.  That's really it. 

They can't keep scoring all these runs can they???   The thing is with the Jays is there big bats are not even on fire yet.   Lots of the scoring has come from the bottom and middle half of the order.   So to answer my own question. They just might be able to keep up this scoring pace.   If the big bats ever get going

[TheBaconman]

So has anyone checked out the leading vote gyters for this years allstar game?   How the hell is KC pretty much rostering the full wests starting line up???

Josh Donaldson has been nothing short of a allstar this year and is close to MvP levels.    Where is the love?!?!?