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2021 MLB Thread

Discussion in 'Other Sports Forum' started by Unlucky 13, Jan 2, 2021.

  1. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/01/rays-tampa-montreal-timeshare-plans-nixed-by-mlb.html

    The Rays strange plan to try and play half of their games in Montreal is dead. Their lease in Tampa runs for six more years, but it looks like they may try to buy their way out of that before then now. There's apparently a group in Nashville who wants to buy the team and move it there, and they could potentially eat the money owed to Tampa in the process. I think that Nashville could be a good place for MLB to move into, and I wonder if such a move could lead to some realignment, given that they would then be in the Central Time Zone.
     
  2. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Nashville does a decent job supporting their nba and nhl teams particularly when they’re good. I would worry about a city that size supporting 81 home games but I suppose they’d also get traffic from surrounding areas/states. I wonder if putting a team in Vegas isn’t more sustainable? But I guess we may find out.

    in the meantime can we get this stupid lockout done with?
     
  3. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I don't think that the lockout is anywhere close to being over. Both sides are far too hard headed and hate the others. I'd like to see compromise on both sides, but they're all being crazy with their demands and its not likely to get very far. Worse, once they eventually do hammer something out, they're still going to fight and hate one another.

    Spring Training is supposed to start in a month, and I don't think that it will.
     
  4. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    And we have free agency after the owners ratify at 6pm! Play ball! Opening day 4/7
     
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  5. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Good luck to your Mets. My Cubs look to be lost in the wilderness for a few years to come. No desire to improve whatsoever.
     
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  6. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Well if Bryant would join us that'd be great. Around 601pm today would be great
     
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  7. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I want Nick Castalanos, but there doesn't seem to be much of a chance for that. After years of nothing but walks and homers, I want players who make regular strong contact and put the ball into play, and am more than willing to sacrifice power to make that work.

    On a related note, I'm thrilled that the shift is dead in 2023. Wish it was this season. Its helped to ruin the sport the last few years.
     
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  8. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Agree on the shift I respect the nerd hustle but I hate it. I understand what it's designed to do but what it's really done is limit contact and thereby excitement (to some degree).
     
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  9. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    It's killed guys who typically hit line drive grounders, and made it a lot tougher to knock in runs from scoring position with a single. I don't just hate it, I despise it. Now, most teams are playing all or nothing 1 through 9. It's so boring.
     
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  10. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Huge news.

    Starting in 2023, each team will play every other team every season. There will be a drastic reduction in division games. I love this. The exact setup is TBD.
     
  11. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    After the NFL ruined its playoff system by adding a 7th team to each conference and taking away the second bye, MLB has basically decided to go with the NFL's former system themselves. I love it. There will be six teams in each league that make the post season.

    The division winners with the two best records in each league get a bye in the first round, which is awesome. I hate seeing a 100-win team go down to an 83-win team in the first round due to a short series glitch. Its awful. I'd prefer that the first round was expanded to 5 games too, but its still only 3.

    Then the WC winners play the teams that got the by in a 5-game series to determine who goes to the LCS.
     
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  12. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    I'm just glad to have the season back on (though someone should make an official 2022 thread lol). Personally, I thought the owners were gearing up to just wreck the Union and would be willing to sacrifice the whole season to do it. Glad it didn't work that way.

    As for the playoffs, I agree and think the new structure is solid. I wasn't sure about the 7 teams from each league plan, but 6 seems about right. I actually like the shorter playoff series - I don't mind of a touch of randomness/streakiness to come into play, especially when it's the "lesser" playoff teams.

    I'm also glad for the NLDL though iirc you weren't. The tepid shift ban (but not really) will be something I have to see to judge. I started as a big "leave the shift alone" guy (just hit it where they aren't) but ultimately I've changed into a ban the shift guy. I get the desire and logic behind forcing hitters to adapt, but at the same time it IS a total fun sponge and weird aesthetically.

    The biggest miss is lack of a salary floor or minimum to force non-competitive teams with cheap owners to spend a bit more. I get and agree with tanking, but owners just pocketing profits while trotting out trash product is slimy. They need to either reduce ballpark/fan prices during down years or not take CB money.

    Manfred also transitioned into talking about adding another two teams. Montreal is a pretty obvious candidate, and probably Vegas would be a leader.
     
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  13. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I think that they have to sort out the Rays and As before they can talk about expansion. Neither situation is going to work permanently. So we're not really talking about two new cities, but four.

    And I know that I'm a realignment nerd, but if they do go to 32, then all of the barriers to switching to a geographic realignment are quickly falling away, given the universal DH, the expanded playoffs, and the teams all playing one another every season now.

    Northeast/South/Midwest/West, eight teams each.
     
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  14. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    Also to add, with the new schedules (might start next year though) all teams will play each other every year. I think that helps make a realignment more palatable. Hopefully they do a better job of it than the NFL and the Dolphins lol.
     
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  15. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Montreal is ideal imo but Vegas imo isn’t for baseball….baseball is just weird about gambling and that’s of course what Vegas is known for. The reminder not to gamble is on the door of every major and I believe minor league clubhouse door. Maybe they go for Portland, OKC Or New Orleans….
     
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  16. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Plus Nashville and Charlotte have both been talked about a lot as well.

    People talk about New Orleans a lot, but its only the 45th biggest market in the US, and with the weather and flooding issues, I just don't see it as a good move. Heck, metro New Orleans is smaller than Richmond, VA, and I don't expect to be getting a team in my backyard any time soon, lol. OKC is only a little bigger, and just seems like such a boring town and option.

    Portland is 25th, and for a lot of reasons, I think that they're most likely. Nashville gets talked about more than Charlotte, but Nashville is only the 36th biggest market, while Charlotte is 22nd. People in Nashville seem to think that there'd be a ton of fan interest though.

    No one ever seems to talk about Indianapolis with MLB, but perhaps the midwest is already oversaturated, and all the fans already have teams.
     
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  17. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    First major signings post lockout….
    Kershaw back to LAD(shocking)
    Rodon to SF

    Mets are talking to a few teams about trades for SP including Cincy (supposedly talking about Mahle)
     
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  18. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Bassit to the Mets for JT Ginn (Mets #5 prospect). Don't love giving up Ginn but happy to get a good SP
     
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  19. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Rumors are that there are a bunch of free agent deals that are basically done, but agents are holding off because they want to get other guys signed before news breaks. Weird. Might end up being a massive news dump all at once.
     
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  20. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Looks like more trades are kicking in....twins were busy today....getting Sonny Gray for a prospect, and getting Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela for Josh Donaldson....
     
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  21. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I like the mets signing Ottavino. Seems like a good bounceback candidate after a so-so year. Mets fans like a good heartattack now and again and with Diaz and now ottavino there will be no shortage even with Familia gone to Philly.
     
  22. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2022/03/16/reports-seiya-suzuki-has-chosen-the-chicago-cubs/

    The Cubs finally do something! They've signed 27 year old Japanese RF Seiya Suzuki to a five year contract. He's been the best player in Japan the last four or five years, and put up a few seasons there statistically that would be All-Star numbers if in MLB. But obviously, those numbers don't often translate when guys come to the US.

    Hopefully, he can still hit for average, hit a lot of doubles, hit 20+ HRs instead of the 30+ he was getting over there, and play solid defense. That's what the projection systems think he'll do, and I'd be cool with that. Apparently, he's already lost most of his speed and isn't a threat on the base paths.

    If he pans out, he should be a solid 5 or 6 hitter in the lineup on a good team. On the 2022 Cubs, he probably hits in the middle of the order.
     
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  23. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Kris Bryant to the Rockies on a 7 year deal. He'll probably hit 50 Homers a year if he stays healthy.

    An extra kick in the pants is that Colorado apparently did in fact try to trade Arenedo for Bryant in 2020, but the Cubs, being cheap idiots, said no.
     
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  24. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Kinda wanted him for the Mets but not at that price. He's an 800-850 ops guy the last few years. Now his stats will be inflated by coors which is good for fantasy baseball but not so great in real life imo.
     
  25. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I think that he'd have done well at Citi if healthy. But left and left center are deeper than Wrigley, so probably fewer homers and more doubles.

    I saw it pointed out that Bryant, Baez, Rizzo and Schwarber all signed for less than the Cubs offered them as extensions. Maybe taking the offer in hand is the best choice sometimes. Everybody loses.
     
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  26. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    The Cubs are signing well traveled middle infielder Jonathan Villar to a one year deal. He actually had a really good year for Baltimore in 2019 before Covid, but has been down since then. If he could get back to that form, then he'd be a good short term answer at short for Chicago. I guess we'll see.

    But more than anything, Cubs fans are bummed because this along with the earlier signing of SS Andrelton Simmons almost certainly means that they're out on Carlos Correra and Trevor Story.

    I'm still hopeful they might be in on someone at LF, 1B, 3B. DH.
     
  27. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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  28. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Bobby Bonilla day comes to Cincinnati lol
     
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  29. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Villar is a nice utility player. He played well for the Mets last year. But his base running will make you gauge your eyes out. He thinks he’s Rickey Henderson….and he is…Rickey Henderson at age 70 is how he moves at times lol
     
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  30. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I noted that he actually stole 62 bags on 80 attempts back in 2016. Before that, he'd never attempted more than 26 in a season. The Twins must have just given him the total green light. He had 40 on 49 in 2019 as well. These days, that's a ton.

    My guess is that the Cubs are actually signing him in the hopes of trading him in July. The team that would pick him up would only owe 2-3m the rest of the year. Otherwise, signing a one year contract with an aging player on a non-contending team is just worthless. As a switch hitter, he probably bats second, so he'll get a lot of chances to put up numbers.
     
  31. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    In the last week the Mets have thrown a no hitter vs Philly (with 5 pitchers) for their 2nd no no in franchise history. Now tonight they added a 7 run 9th for further embarrassment :clap::cool:
     
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  32. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Having a 6.5 game lead over Atlanta by the first week of May is certainly impressive!
     
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  33. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    That's the only team that concerns me. They're a good team, just getting acuna back, no Freddie but replaced him with Olson and a better pen....

    Philly is a team that mashes....sometimes. They're going to have to slug their way in. Theyve scored 7 or more runs 7x already but put or 1 run 7x already. Their defense aside from Harper and Realmuto is just mediocre or bad at every position. Didi and Segura are average...the rest not so much. And their pen is only marginally improved from having only 1 place to go but up.

    The Marlins always give us fits but unless they pitch like this all season I don't think they're built to win this year. Maybe when Bleday is ready to be an impact bat its different. And the Nats just suck right now.
     
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  34. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    The Marlins have been Kryptonite for the Cubs for ages too. No matter how bad they are.
     
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