MLB 2021

[John_8581]

The one that made me mad is the Orioles will be paying Chris Davis for many years. The thing that made no sense when they signed him to a 10 year $ 161 million deal was that the previous year he tested positive for performing enhancing drugs the the Orioles made the playoffs but with his positive test he was not allowed to play plus the team could not replace him with another player, so you lose a player, hurting the team which they lost to the Royals and then rewarded him with that contract. Three of out of the last 5 seasons he was batting way below .200 and the the other 2 not a high .200 plus avg. This year he did not play and will not after having hip surgery I believe. His injury was unknown in spring training and into the the beginning of the season. They weren't talking kept saying he had a mysterious injury. Plus 1 year left.

Yup. Chris Davis is out in 2021 after undergoing hip surgery.

 

[gmase]

The one that made me mad is the Orioles will be paying Chris Davis for many years. The thing that made no sense when they signed him to a 10 year $ 161 million deal was that the previous year he tested positive for performing enhancing drugs the the Orioles made the playoffs but with his positive test he was not allowed to play plus the team could not replace him with another player, so you lose a player, hurting the team which they lost to the Royals and then rewarded him with that contract. Three of out of the last 5 seasons he was batting way below .200 and the the other 2 not a high .200 plus avg. This year he did not play and will not after having hip surgery I believe. His injury was unknown in spring training and into the the beginning of the season. They weren't talking kept saying he had a mysterious injury. Plus 1 year left.

The Davis contract will expire and free up some cash just in time for the youngsters to hit their prime. 2023 or bust.

Think of it this way, his ‘injury’ solved the problem of playing him because of the contract.

Davis has a slash line of .196/.291/.379 since he signed his 7-year deal in 2016. He has also had a negative WAR value each season. His 0.0 this year will be his best since 2016.

 

[John_8581]

What Jacob deGrom and the Mets have chosen to do is a point of discussion. deGrom has said that he will not attend the All-Star Game in Denver and the Mets have backed that up. I believe the feeling was mutual from what I've been reading in the papers. Both Jacob deGrom and the Mets liked the idea. He is saving his time to be with his family and he will start the game in Pittsburgh when the Mets season resumes on Friday July 16, 2021. That is his prerogative.

We all know that he's not going to pitch. But not to appear in Colorado is the point of contention. It's an honor to be named to the team. But not to attend? Is that being selfish? That's a big question to ask. Many MLB contracts add incentive dollars if a player is named and/or selected to the All-Star Game. Some awards can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. With the contracts these days, a million dollar incentive is not far reaching nor is it out of the box. They probably have those types of awards in the contracts. So Jacob deGrom is getting this money regardless. Otherwise, there would be a grievance filed with his union, the MLB Players Association against the Mets. And don't say the travel schedule and the difficulty in dealing with flights. Jacob deGrom would have to be there on Monday. The game is on Tuesday night. The season starts back up on Friday. Plenty of time to get back and rejoin the team. Back when I was a little kid, fans came out by the carload and busload to see Tom Seaver tip his cap when he was on the foul lines during the National League's introductions regardless of where the All-Star Game was played. That's old school baseball.

Speaking of old school, both Mike Krukow (Giants announcer) and Orel Hershiser (Dodger announcer) were kind of shocked that deGrom has turned down the offer. Krukow even discussed it further during a game with the Diamondbacks last week. He talked about the tradition and the honor of being named to the National League team. Mind you, Krukow grew up a Dodger fan in Southern California. He was a big fan of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

Instead, Taijuan Walker (their number three starter) will be the Mets lone All-Star Game representative. It will be his first All-Star Game. Good for him. Watch the Mets and let's see how they will need him on Sunday, July 18, 2021. And if he doesn't pitch well against the Pirates? Pshaw!!

 

[legmann61]

 

[legmann61]

deGrom has said that he will not attend the All-Star Game in Denver and the Mets have backed that up. But not to appear in Colorado is the point of contention. It's an honor to be named to the team. But not to attend? Is that being selfish? That's a big question to ask.

Sorry John, but no it's NOT a point of contention and the BEST pitcher on the planet is not at all being selfish.

Every Mets I know fan would rather save their ace for actual competition. This holds true for any contending team.

By my last count, at least a dozen players have been held back.

I know how much you hate the Mets my friend, but this is clearly NOT a Mets-only thing.

 

[gmase]

Watching Trey Mancini’s opening round, we noted this - and I cant believe the announcers were mum on it. I liked how the security lady turned away in horror.
https://www.tmz.com/2021/07/13/mlb-...g-for-home-run-derby-ball-avoids-catastrophe/

 

[John_8581]

The San Francisco Giants are mourning the loss of Dick Tidrow. He passed away at age 74.

https://www.mlb.com/news/dick-tidrow-dies-at-74

 

[John_8581]

The Padres scored 3 three touchdowns and kicked a field goal. They beat the Nationals 24-8. Jake Cronenworth hit for the cycle. Third Padres player to hit for a cycle in their history.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...ronenworth-hits-cycle-vs-washington-nationals

 

[gmase]

The Padres scored 3 three touchdowns and kicked a field goal. They beat the Nationals 24-8. Jake Cronenworth hit for the cycle. Third Padres player to hit for a cycle in their history.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...ronenworth-hits-cycle-vs-washington-nationals

What a series
https://apple.news/ARpKY7YwITwmeAwFffTFo2Q

 

[gmase]

More shenanigans from last night.’ Was it a full moon?
Walk-off grand slam sinks Mets
https://www.mlb.com/news/jacob-stallings-hits-walk-off-grand-slam-to-beat-mets
Bronx cheer:
https://theathletic.com/news/red-so...-throws-baseball-at-alex-verdugo/JbzgTQZXk50S

 

[John_8581]

Heart-breaking loss for the Mets yesterday. Up six nothing. Then 7-5. Both Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz had meltdowns.

.... Instead, Taijuan Walker (their number three starter) will be the Mets lone All-Star Game representative. It will be his first All-Star Game. Good for him. Watch the Mets and let's see how they will need him on Sunday, July 18, 2021. And if he doesn't pitch well against the Pirates? Pshaw!!

I guess not. Six runs bottom of the first. The Pirates are still batting. Walker did a Tom Glavine. Actually he was much worse than Glavine in 2007. Glavine got two outs against the Marlins. That was the day after the John Maine two hitter. With a big lead, 9-1, Jose Reyes was stealing bases. Led to a huge fight with the Marlins. The Marlins took it out on Glavine and the Mets on the last day of the season in 2007. Phillies went on to win the NL East. Anyway, Taijuan Walker only got one out. Drew Smith is now pitching.

Looks like a sweep is definitely on the way. Actually I take that back. Three run home run by Travis Blankenhorn. Never die Mets. Mets are now only down by two.

Let's go Mets!

As for the Mets, both Jacob deGrom (right forearm tightness) and Francisco Lindor (oblique strain) have been moved to the IL. With deGrom, they better be careful with this injury. It's caused by elbow issues. deGrom has experienced that too during this season. If I was a betting man, deGrom should be moved to the 60 day IL right away. Bad news for the Mets and Mets fans. Though better to do that than to have him pitch. It will only get worse as the 2021 season progresses.

Matt Cain had forearm tightness in 2015. It is the precursor to Tommy John surgery. (Something that Jacob deGrom has had already.)

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2015/4/6/8357043/matt-cain-has-forearm-tightness-sent-for-mri
Matt Cain missed the start of the 2015 season. He missed a significant amount of time during that season as well. He was out about 60% of the time. He came back in 2016. Two more seasons and he was finished. 2015 was his second season of big injuries. 2014 was his first with that oblique injury. You might say he really wasn't the same since the 2013 perfect game season.

Very similar to Johan Santana. Santana wasn't the same pitcher after his no-hitter.

 

[gmase]

The Guardians of the Mistake by the Lake*:
https://www.mlb.com/news/cleveland-indians-change-name-to-guardians
* Excepting the weather it is a fine city.

 

[John_8581]

I'm watching the Pirate-Giant game. And John Nogowski is playing first base for the Pirates ...

Spring Training has been over for a two months, but the Pirates need a rules refresher. Two outs, runner on third - just make the force out at first. No runs score!
https://www.mlb.com/video/tyler-anderson-in-play-no-out-to-javier-baez-rnodaw?t=key-moments

The Pirates designated Will Craig for assignment and released him.

Will Craig was a first round draft pick in the 2016 draft. He was the twenty-second player selected. If you think this botched play with Javier Baez did not play a role in all of this, you are sorely mistaken. This is contrary to what Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Ben Cherington, Pittsburgh's GM have/had said that his mistake would not affect his playing status.

 

[Mr. Daystar]

Well my home team now has the name of a WNBA team. For fuck sakes, they couldn't come up with something better then "The Guardians"?!?!

They should have just left it as Cleveland. Or The Cleveland Tribe. The word tribe is far from exclusive to the Native American community. Fuck, calling them "Er's" would have been better. The Cleveland Er's, take the field'

But no, and WNBA, team name....or worse, a soccer or arena football team name.

It's a dark day on the shores of Lake Erie.

 

[gmase]

Well my home team now has the name of a WNBA team. For fuck sakes, they couldn't come up with something better then "The Guardians"?!?!

They should have just left it as Cleveland. Or The Cleveland Tribe. The word tribe is far from exclusive to the Native American community. Fuck, calling them "Er's" would have been better. The Cleveland Er's, take the field'

But no, and WNBA, team name....or worse, a soccer or arena football team name.

It's a dark day on the shores of Lake Erie.

From my days in Erie, I can attest it doesn't take a name change to be a dark day on the north shore

https://fox8.com/news/local-sheriff...name-change-on-behalf-of-the-silent-majority/Cleveland fans have mixed reactions to the name change, some saying they would’ve preferred that the team be renamed the Spiders, a throwback to the club’s name from the 1890s.

Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the US, said about the name change, in part: “Such a disgrace, and I guarantee that the people who are most angry about it are the many Indians of our Country.”

The football team is named after Paul Brown. Maybe the Indians should have gone with the Trumps? I like the Spiders.

 

[Mr. Daystar]

I wonder, just simply out of curiosity, what George Thorogood thinks. I hear he's a HUGE Cleveland fan, and when he tours, he tries to set a Cleveland date, that allows him to see a game.

 

[John_8581]

From my days in Erie, I can attest it doesn't take a name change to be a dark day on the north shore

But then you have the crazies, like me, who will never surrender!

Alex, I'll take Chief Wahoo and the Indians for $200.00.

 

[gmase]

I have been waiting for pirates to demand action because they are represented by the Pittsburgh baseball team. But, hey, after getting swept by MLB's worst team they won the series against baseball's best team.

And, the Orioles swept the Nationals. When - and where - does Scherzer go?

 

[sj1]

The Nationals have owned the DMV area ( D.C., Maryland and Virginia) and to get swept by the Orioles is not a good sign. They have a lot of injuries so they can put Scherzer on the trade block, could trade him and if he signs no deal with another team return to D.C. Plus teams are going to want to add pitching, starting pitchers. Teams are always looking to add to their rotation. Just alone the Dodgers, Giants and Padres are in full win now mode so at least those 3 teams could bring a lot of value in return to D.C. Just weigh which team makes the best offer if do you not like any of the deals make no deal. Depends on the National's prospects along with the positions they need to fill. Plus pending free agents. Maybe keep Scherzer depending on Strasburg's health plus they still have a lot of money invested in him.

 

[John_8581]

Yes, the wild wild NL West. Giants won last night 2-1 against the Dodgers on a very bad throwing error by Cody Bellinger. He tried to throw across the diamond to Justin Turner in an attempt to pick off Buster Posey. Instead he threw it twenty feet over Turner's head. Dave Fleming is the play by play announcer. Mike Krukow is the analyst.

Padres made the first deal before the trade deadline. They traded for Adam Frazier. Pittsburgh's All-Star second baseman for three prospects. There is talk of the Padres trading away Eric Hosmer. Frazier would then play first base. He played left field last night in the 7-4 victory over the Oakland A's. Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr. each had home runs. It was Tatis Jr's 31st home run.

@sj1 - Here you go ...

https://sports.yahoo.com/why-the-gi...-to-gain-at-mlb-trade-deadline-205406131.html

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...red-sox-among-many-teams-after-craig-kimbrel/

Newsday's David Lennon wrote a story in yesterday's paper about the Mets having interest in Max Scherzer too. They picked up veteran LHP Rich Hill on Friday from Tampa Bay.