Baseball 2021

[F.I.R.E User]

I like Dusty but as a Giants fan he made a bad decision in 1993 and 2002. I think history repeats itself. Braves in 7 in extra innings. Sorry Mattress Mack, again.

 

[txtig]

I like Dusty but as a Giants fan he made a bad decision in 1993 and 2002. I think history repeats itself. Braves in 7 in extra innings. Sorry Mattress Mack, again.

If it goes to a 7th game, I think the Astros would be awful hard to beat at home. If the Braves are gonna do it, they’re going to have to do it in Game 6. I think Mack may be smiling when this one’s over.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

If it goes to a 7th game, I think the Astros would be awful hard to beat at home. If the Braves are gonna do it, they’re going to have to do it in Game 6. I think Mack may be smiling when this one’s over.

I love MM. He is a local hero.

 

[aja8888]

I like Dusty but as a Giants fan he made a bad decision in 1993 and 2002. I think history repeats itself. Braves in 7 in extra innings. Sorry Mattress Mack, again.

Mack has his bet hedged with insurance.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I like Dusty. But must admit, the way he manages pitchers gets he head scratching and rolling my eyes (2002, 2003-NCLS Bartman game) and most recently, game 4 this WS.

Comes down to can the Astros win 2 home games before the Braves win 1 road game? Plus, played in November .

Don’t disagree.

 

[txtig]

Mack has his bet hedged with insurance.

His bet is the insurance. If the Stros win the WS, he has to refund his customers that bought furniture under his WS promotion. But in that case, he wins the bet, which covers the refunds (and possibly a lot more).

 

[Car-Guy]

^^^^^


I've bought furniture from Mattress Mac a time or two and I actually got to talk to him a couple of times....His TV's adds back in the day were not "acts"... He talks and acts the same way in person as he does on TV, although his language in person can be a little more colorful and maybe not always politically correct.

 

[aja8888]

^^^^^


I've bought furniture from Mattress Mac a time or two and I actually got to talk to him a couple of times....His TV's adds back in the day were not "acts"... He talks and acts the same way in person as he does on TV, although his language in person can be a little more colorful and maybe not always politically correct.

We bought furniture from him when he worked in the old store that burned down. He's a good guy and loved here in Houston.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Dusty just can’t win the big one. It’s a wrap. See you next year. Let’s go Giants.

 

[Dean56]

Braves win!!!

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

Dusty just can’t win the big one. It’s a wrap. See you next year. Let’s go Giants.

Let’s Go Giants!

 

[Car-Guy]

IMO, the Astros played like they just didn't care in game 6... Braves deserved the series win....


Hey I called it (post 89) that the series would go 6, and it did... Ok, so I picked the wrong team. With that logic I'm batting 500.

 

[steelyman]

Good for the Braves! They didn’t seem as cocky. I’m ready to forgive them for getting Maddux from the Cubs as well as MVP Soler, an ex-Cub

 

[easysurfer]

Good for the Braves! They didn’t seem as cocky. I’m ready to forgive them for getting Maddux from the Cubs as well as MVP Soler, an ex-Cub

Congrats to the Braves. The game was lost in the 1st inning when the Astros couldn't capitalize on runners on 1st and 2nd, no outs.

Soler is a beast. Now in ex-Cub World Series immortality like Joe Carter.

 

[MuirWannabe]

A little hot stove baseball.

Very excited to see my Rangers ponying up major dough for pitching, fielding, and hitting. Something was drastically needed after last year. But to their credit, they’re doing drastic things. And word is they aren’t done yet.

Go Rangers!

 

[easysurfer]

The lockout has begun.

MLB locked out its players just after midnight ET Thursday, triggering the league’s first work stoppage since the 1994 strike that canceled the World Series. It is a long expected, but still significant, escalation of the tense negotiations to craft a new collective bargaining agreement and shape the future of the sport.
The existing CBA, an expansive document that governs everything from payroll rules to travel accommodations, expired Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Minutes later, the league moved to lock out its players — a move that commissioner Rob Manfred strongly hinted at last month, reflecting the league’s preference to control the timing of a work stoppage and avoid missing games. Team owners across American sports have come to favor the approach of initiating a lockout in the offseason rather than allowing players the opportunity to gain leverage and wreak havoc on the season by going on strike when games are on the schedule.

https://www.aol.com/news/mlb-locks-players-officially-initiates-050938062.html

 

[GTFan]

Billionaires vs. millionaires, again.

 

[Trooper]

I hope this results in some flavor of a salary cap, but I doubt it.

 

[easysurfer]

I there is an eventual strike, I hope there won't be a steroids era part 2 to bring fans back.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Billionaires vs. millionaires, again.

The average major league salary has fallen 6.4% since the start of the 2017 season. Of 902 players on opening-day 2021 rosters, 417 (62%) had salaries under $1 million, including 316 (35%) under $600,000.

 

[JoeWras]

Here are some interesting stats:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/misc.shtml

A few highlights.
- Indeed, a drop in salaries after the pandemic
- Attendance topped in 2007 and has been drifting down slowly since, even before the pandemic
- Salaries went up disproportionately to attendance 2007 to 2019 with steady rise until 2020

Of course, there is TV money and I have no idea what those numbers are. But attendance is a canary in the coalmine. The league has a problem.

One problem is with the continued push off of local TV, the kids won't see it. The kids aren't playing as much either.

I think these negotiations are going to be difficult.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Here are some interesting stats:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/misc.shtml

Thanks for the link, that was some fascinating stuff. Also the other tabs at the top of the page were intereresting.

I think these negotiations are going to be difficult.

I'm not seeing why it should be difficult, but I agree that it will be. It all boils down to three main issues:

* Service time
Players essentially get paid league minimum for 3 years, then are arbitration eligible for 3 years and then after 6 years become free agents. But owners can manipulate their service time by keeping players in the minors just long enough for that 6 year threshold to actually be 7 years. (Remember Kris Bryant?) Or drag out parts of the first 3 years to make arb eligible happen in the 5th year. Players want to change this, and rightly so, IMO.

* Luxury tax
Teams that have a total payroll above a set number have to pay a penalty to the league; the money collected is distributed to the teams with the lowest payroll. Players don't like the luxury tax because they see it as a de facto salary cap. Technically not a salary cap, but works like a weakened cap. Owners want to lower the threshold from $210M to $180M and institute a salary floor, whereby teams would have a minimum payroll number. Obviously players will object to lowering the threshold, but why would they object to a salary floor?

* Expanded Playoffs
Owners want to add another team to the playoff picture and have the #2, #3 and #4 seeded teams pick their opponents from the #5, #6, and #7 seeded team. (#1 seed gets a bye in the first round.)

* Rule changes. Universal DH? 15 second pitch clock? Computer laser umpires? Probably won't be discussed much because the commissioner can unilaterally implement these rules if desired next year.

So how about a discussion on your position on these issues?

 

[easysurfer]

I think the rule changes mentioned are terrible. IMO, the commissioner tries to make baseball into football. Baseball was meant to be played without clocks.

I personally don't mind a long, drawn out strike.

 

[GTFan]

* Rule changes. Universal DH? 15 second pitch clock? Computer laser umpires? Probably won't be discussed much because the commissioner can unilaterally implement these rules if desired next year.

Yes please, all of the above. Biggest issue I have with BB is that the games drag out way too long with pitchers/hitters farting around all the time. The folks saying keep it as it is are whistling past the graveyard IMO, because they're losing the younger audience that doesn't have the patience for it. Manfred has commented on it many times.

And we all know about the bad pitch calls that umpires make, because they're human. Take away the dumbness (e.g. Eric Gregg) and individual ump strike zones.

 

[JoeWras]

The NHL has had more labor strife and have learned a few lessons. They managed to avoid another lockout last year by renegotiating the contract and extending it based on the realities of covid. The players had to eat a <crap> sandwich of sorts by deferring a lot of payroll. So I take some of my comments based on watching the NHL's mess through the years.

* Service time: I agree the players have a point. The NHL has similar, but the rules are very strict and this kind of manipulation isn't possible. The one thing the CBA gave to the owners was the ability to play a rookie 9 games in their first year for not counting as an major league year. But it is just 9 games. Most come for 1 or 2 and go back. Players who make it to 9 are usually so good they make it to 10 and immediately are promoted to the major contract.

The Kris Bryant thing was ridiculous.

* Luxury Tax: I'll just say this... as a small market fan of an NHL team, the hard salary cap (no such thing as luxury tax) is our salvation. Small markets would have no prayer. There is healthy rotation of good and bad teams because of it.

The players hate it, of course. The bone thrown to the players are escalating clauses based on revenue. This worked well and resulted in healthy cap raises -- until the pandemic. The owners wanted to use a clause to effectively lower the cap (through a complex calculation they call "escrow") in the recent renegotiation. They compromised and essentially froze the cap until this pandemic works out.

Of course players will want no cap, de-facto or otherwise. The fans will suffer.

* Expanded playoffs: more wear and tear on the body for what? Again, my NHL comparison... The players nearly work for free. The only thing keeping them going is the mystique of the Stanley Cup. I think the players get the shaft -- except for the fact that it does enhance revenue and results in that salary cap going up.

* Rule changes: something has to be done for the pace. Baseball is very different than the game I knew as a kid. Batters wore a glove, maybe. That's it. No time outs for re-doing velcro on their pads and gloves every pitch. Pitchers played a lot of complete games, no constant changing of pitchers and their associated warm ups.

Although I liked the pureness of baseball being a unique "no clock" sport, it is time to make some changes. Moneyball is forcing it. I don't live in an MLB market anymore, so I go to minor leagues from AAA down to short A. I've seen some of the clock stuff (and other rules) tested. I like the pitch clock. Just my opinion. DH? Well, heck, why not. Even though I grew up an NL bigot, DH is OK with me. Games did go quicker when pitchers were constantly an automatic out though.

---

It is a different world today. Young people have no patience watching the slow pace of baseball until they reach 21 and go to the games to drink beer. But then they are just going to the games to drink beer. Is that a good thing if they never have a passion for the game?