March/April MLB News

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
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Jul 20, 2005
7,878
Boston, MA
A 28 year old outfielder with a career 127 OPS+ should be looking at twice that amount per year. I get that he's 3 years from free agency, but that still seems like a steal for the Pirates.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
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Jul 15, 2005
70,713
A 28 year old outfielder with a career 127 OPS+ should be looking at twice that amount per year. I get that he's 3 years from free agency, but that still seems like a steal for the Pirates.
His case is a bit complicated, his defense seems to be in decline already and he has already been moved to LF from CF, plus he didn't hit as well last year as the previous two full seasons (2019/2021).
 

bosox188

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Jan 11, 2008
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Marlborough, MA
So there's a video of Rendon confronting a fan and kind of taking a swing at him after last night's game. Might be trouble for him?

 

Sad Sam Jones

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May 5, 2017
2,494
Cleveland just lost a run on something I've never seen before and never will again. Mike Zunino hit a double off the left field wall that managed to fall between the video board on the left field wall and the screen that covers it. It was almost like watching Plinko on The Price Is Right. Will Brennan had to return to third with one out on the ground rule double and didn't score. Fortunately, Clase was nails and Cleveland wins without the insurance run.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,432
Adding Nashville and SLC and relocating the A’s to Portland (or Vegas) seems to make sense, but that still leaves 2 mostly fan-less teams in FL

I’d personally rather just have all 3 relocated
 

SemperFidelisSox

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May 25, 2008
31,084
Boston, MA
Adding two expansion teams will keep the leagues balanced, but two divisions are going to have six teams. I would guess Salt Lake would be in one of the West divisions and Nashville in the Central.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,432
Adding two expansion teams will keep the leagues balanced, but two divisions are going to have six teams. I would guess Salt Lake would be in one of the West divisions and Nashville in the Central.
Realignment with 8 teams in each division and 4 wildcards with 2 byes?
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,432
AL Atlantic
Red Sox
Yankees
Orioles
Rays
Blue Jays
Guardians
Tigers
White Sox

AL Pacific
Mariners
Angels
A’s
Rangers
Astros
SLC
Royals
Twins
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,432
NL Atlantic
Mets
Phillies
Braves
Marlins
Nationals
Pirates
Reds
Nashville

NL Pacific
Cubs
Brewers
Cardinals
Diamondbacks
Dodgers
Padres
Rockies
Giants
 

Green (Tongued) Monster

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Jun 2, 2016
1,006
Hanover, PA
What about eight divisions of four teams like the NFL while somewhat maintaining local rivalries?

BOS
NY
NY
TOR

PHI
PIT
BAL
WSH

TB
MIA
ATL
NSH

CLE
CIN
DET
MIL

CHW
CHC
STL
MIN

TEX
HOU
KC
COL

LAA
LAD
SD
ARI

SEA
SF
OAK/LV
SLC
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
7,878
Boston, MA
That seems like a bad idea in baseball. You can have an American League and National League team sharing the same market since they're selling mostly different opponents (even with the new schedule). Two teams in the same division are selling the same product in the same area.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
What about eight divisions of four teams like the NFL while somewhat maintaining local rivalries?

BOS
NY
NY
TOR

PHI
PIT
BAL
WSH

TB
MIA
ATL
NSH

CLE
CIN
DET
MIL

CHW
CHC
STL
MIN

TEX
HOU
KC
COL

LAA
LAD
SD
ARI

SEA
SF
OAK/LV
SLC
Is it that time of year already? Someone dig up the old realignment threads.

Can't see them abandoning the AL/NL designations like that.

I think re-aligning into eight divisions would necessitate adding more wildcards.
 

Green (Tongued) Monster

Member
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Jun 2, 2016
1,006
Hanover, PA
That seems like a bad idea in baseball. You can have an American League and National League team sharing the same market since they're selling mostly different opponents (even with the new schedule). Two teams in the same division are selling the same product in the same area.
Thats a good point. 4 team divisions probably would not work, also being complicated with the salary structure. The BOS/NY/NY/TOR division would be brutal.
 

Gdiguy

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Jul 15, 2005
6,231
San Diego, CA
Since the games are now moving quicker, many teams have apparently reacted by... extending beer sales into the 8th inning

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/36177129/phillies-matt-strahm-disagrees-mlb-teams-extending-alcohol-sales

"The reason we stopped [selling alcohol in] the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct?" Strahm said on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast. "So now with a faster-pace game -- and me just being a man of common sense -- if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up and drive home?

"Instead, we're going to the eighth, and now you're putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago."

...

To combat that time crunch, at least four teams -- the Diamondbacks, Rangers, Twins and Brewers -- have extended alcohol sales through the eighth inning. Others, such as the Marlins and Mets, still stop after the seventh inning but haven't ruled out changes.
 

JOBU

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Sep 22, 2021
8,385
I am actually OK with this. I don't think anyone is going to be any less drunk than if they stopped ten minutes earlier.
Probably mostly true but yeah the optics of this are pretty bad. If anything it should be moved to the 6th inning but you know like just about every other business, profits before safety.
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Shouldn’t they stop earlier? Like the 6th?
Using the "time from turning off the taps until leaving the stadium" as your standard, yes.

Using the "how long they have to get drunk considering the lines and also how much revenue we are losing due to games being quicker", no.

I wonder if they considered the loss of concession revenue in the Pace of Game discussions?
 

LogansDad

Member
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Nov 15, 2006
29,053
Alamogordo
I am actually OK with this. I don't think anyone is going to be any less drunk than if they stopped ten minutes earlier.
I don't know that I agree with the decision, as people who are already drinking in a public format tend to rely on the people in charge to mitigate bad decision, but to play devil's advocate:

It's possible the games are so much faster that people are not getting quite to the point of inebriation they were in the past, as well.

Realistically, though, it is nothing but a money decision.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
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Apr 25, 2002
90,016
Oregon
Team name ideas.. Mormons? Missionaries? Elders? Magic Underwear? Batter Day Saints?
They should stay with the inappropriate music names and call themselves the Rappers