Support NeoGAF

[Mortemis]

Ready for underachieving Mariners baseball?

How do you underachieve when you never achieve 🤔

 

[sf2fanatic]

is there a gaf fantasy ba$eball league?

There's two on them.

 

[GK86]

Great news!

It's dead in the water for now.

 

[Malo]

How do you underachieve when you never achieve 🤔

 

[cashman]

What are some good baseball podcasts. I'm trying to step my podcast game up.

 

[Malo]

What are some good baseball podcasts. I'm trying to step my podcast game up.

Effectively Wild, The Ringer MLB Show, The Jonah Keri Podcast (isn't always about baseball but really good), MLB pipeline, Baseball America.

 

[Silver Arrows]

I would shill Productive Outs with Riley Breckenridge, but he's basically put it on indefinite hiatus with regards to being in Thrice and Less Art.

That being said, Malo hit most of the notes. Anyone remember theScore's MLB podcast, Getting Blanked?

 

[CosmicQueso]

What are some good baseball podcasts. I'm trying to step my podcast game up.

Those Malo noted. But also Cespedes Family BBQ goes directly to the top of any baseball podcast list.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

 

[Silver Arrows]

Those Malo noted. But also Cespedes Family BBQ goes directly to the top of any baseball podcast list.

Have they done anything? All I remember is one of them essentially getting hired by Cut4 to write articles.

 

[bonesmccoy]

I am a fan of BP Toronto's Astro Turf Wars pod.

 

[Alex Stroud]

Cards' offer to Fowler must've blown other interested teams out of the water for him to willingly steep himself in that...culture.

 

[leroidys]

#BostonWrong

 

[rekameohs]

Why do I actually want Curt to get in the HOF so I can hear his speech

 

[CygnusXS]

I want Curt to start his own HOF out of spite, with him and Pete Rose.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Have they done anything? All I remember is one of them essentially getting hired by Cut4 to write articles.

They make an incredibly entertaining podcast with interviews with up an coming minor league players and offbeat major leaguers? The fact that they're just a couple college kids doing it for fun comes across wonderfully.

 

[Sanjuro]

Put Milo in da hall.

 

[BFIB]

Cards' offer to Fowler must've blown other interested teams out of the water for him to willingly steep himself in that...culture.

Culture of 11 WS titles and 18 pennants along with the most playoff games and wins since 2004?

You are correct, he'd be a fool not to come here.

 

[Silver Arrows]

They make an incredibly entertaining podcast with interviews with up an coming minor league players and offbeat major leaguers? The fact that they're just a couple college kids doing it for fun comes across wonderfully.

I meant recently.

http://as.com/esports/2017/02/20/mas_esports/1487596763_463553.html#english-version

Luminosity Gaming, one of the top pro-gaming teams that competes — among other titles — in Overwatch, Hearthstone and CS:GO, has announced an unique signing within esports history. Trevor May, pitcher of the Minnesota Twins, has joined the organization.


Being a huge Overwatch fan, May has his own stream at Twitch.tv where he demostrates his commitment to the game playing live almost every day. Luminosity didn't want to miss the opportunity to offer him to work under their banner as an official stream partner and become the first esports organization to sign a traditional sports athlete.

"I look forward to working with Luminosity Gaming. They have quickly established themselves as one of the biggest names in eSports, and as a gamer I am, I can not wait to join them," stated May in the club's official announcement.

"The first time I spoke to Trevor, we talked at length. As the call ended, Trevor revealed to me that he was just about to start his baseball game. I was pleasantly surprised and I think it speaks volumes about his passion for esports and gaming in general. There is so much we can learn from the world of traditional sports, and I hope that Trevor can pass on some of his experience to our players and management." Said Steve Maida, founder of Luminosity Gaming.

 

[BigAT]

 

[BFIB]

Ankiel has a book coming out in April. He admitted after his 2000 meltdown in the NLCS he turned to vodka to calm his nerves.

His whole career is fascinating I'll be picking it up for sure. Still the best lefty curveball I've ever seen.

http://insidestl.com/rick-ankiel-talks-upcoming-book-on-career-admits-he-drank-before-game/1989507

Added link of how awesome he was in CF too.

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/0/v2655396/ankiel-shows-off-his-arm-with-two-great-plays

 

[Silver Arrows]

I love seeing Satalmacchia's name on jerseys.

 

[Sanjuro]

Still waiting for a player's name to extent to each butt cheek.

 

[rekameohs]

My favorite Salty jersey

 

[jbug617]

Wieters to the Nats

 

[Carpe Libertatem]

Cards' offer to Fowler must've blown other interested teams out of the water for him to willingly steep himself in that...culture.

There were plenty of Cubs fans on Twitter saying the same things, fwiw (glad you're gone etc).

Baseball fans are shitty! Not sure why this surprises anybody.

Spoiler

at least the Cardinals don't have any vocal Trump supporters on the team like Arrieta

 

[BFIB]

There were plenty of Cubs fans on Twitter saying the same things, fwiw (glad you're gone etc).

Baseball fans are shitty! Not sure why this surprises anybody.

Spoiler

at least the Cardinals don't have any vocal Trump supporters on the team like Arrieta

Pretty sure Majestic Matheny is a conductor of a Trump Train.

Fowler is Wong's locker room neighbor and has promised to play Bob Marley every day.

Fowler is going to be so much fun.

 

[Beckx]

Baseball fans are shitty! Not sure why this surprises anybody.

Yeah, the general fan base isn't that different from the general player base. it's just that the Cardinals bring it on themselves by pushing that Best Fans stuff.

A small (relatively speaking) % of Americans really love nasty bullying behavior in connection with politics. Unfortunately on a Venn diagram there's a big overlap with "loving baseball" too.

 

[Carpe Libertatem]

Pretty sure Majestic Matheny is a conductor of a Trump Train.

Fowler is Wong's locker room neighbor and has promised to play Bob Marley every day.

Fowler is going to be so much fun.

Well, there definitely are plenty of Trump supporters on the Cardinals (just like any baseball team)

They don't go on Twitter to rant about how Hollywood liberals should just leave the country though

The worst thing a Cardinal has done on Twitter is when Carlos Martinez accidentally favorited a bunch of porn (except that was also kinda hilarious)

 

[BFIB]

Well, there definitely are plenty of Trump supporters on the Cardinals (just like any baseball team)

They don't go on Twitter to rant about how Hollywood liberals should just leave the country though

The worst thing a Cardinal has done on Twitter is when Carlos Martinez accidentally favorited a bunch of porn (except that was also kinda hilarious)

I also liked that tweet.

 

[bonesmccoy]

“Toronto was always my first option, but I had never been a free agent, and anybody who gets to free agency wants to find out what’s out there,” Encarnacion told Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today Sports. “I think they got too hasty in making their decision, but now I’m with Cleveland and I’m happy to be here.”

“I didn’t know free agency was going to be so challenging,” said Encarnacion, who relied on his then-girlfriend and now fiancée for support. “There were times when I wasn’t drawing the interest I thought I would, and it got me down. She would support me and tell me not to worry, that it’s in God’s hands and He knows where to lead you. [It] helped because as much as you try to avoid it, you get worked up about these things."

The Jays f/o obviously made some missteps - Morales probably could've been signed for way less than 3/30 - but I'm still amused by Encarnacion's views on what should've happened.

 

[CosmicQueso]

You guys check out the softball pitcher playing dodgeball yet? Sign her up.

 

[Silver Arrows]

The Jays f/o obviously made some missteps - Morales probably could've been signed for way less than 3/30 - but I'm still amused by Encarnacion's views on what should've happened.

Should be noted too that Fangraphs rated the entire Edwin business as the second worst transaction of 2017:

When Edwin Encarnacion wouldn’t take their money, the Blue Jays quickly pivoted to Plan B, not wanting to get outbid by whatever other team was super excited to give a three-year deal to a below-average (and aging) designated hitter. But while I don’t think we can judge the Blue Jays’ signing solely by the fact that the market for bat-only players immediately crashed after that move, I do think it’s fair to wonder why they were so anxious to lock up a mediocre player.

Sure, they wanted a left-handed bat to balance out the lineup, but it’s not like Morales was the only left-handed hitter out there. Or even the best left-handed hitter out there. If the Jays released him tomorrow, he still wouldn’t be the best left-handed DH available in free agency, since Pedro Alvarez remains unsigned even after spring training has begun.

Given what the market did to similar hitters this winter, Morales probably should have ended up with a one-year deal. He’s Brandon Moss without defensive value and less speed, and Moss got 2/$12M only by taking a back-loaded contract. Why the Jays felt the need to give Morales an early-market three-year deal with a host of alternatives sitting out there remains a bit unknown to me, and given what transpired after that decision, I would imagine they’d already take a mulligan if offered one.

The good news is that losing Encarnacion allowed them to retain Jose Bautista, so it worked out in the end, but had they played their cards a little better, perhaps they could have had Bautista and someone actually worthy of a three-year deal.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-worst-transactions-of-the-2017-offseason/

This move is probably going to define the Atkins / Shapiro regime for a long time, especially in terms of their hastiness to sign Morales and the subsequent cratering of the market.

 

[BFIB]

To be fair, for a weak FA market, it moved a lot slower than I think most anticipated. Wanting to replace one of the two bats the Jays were about to lose made sense to move quickly.

 

[Silver Arrows]

To be fair, for a weak FA market, it moved a lot slower than I think most anticipated. Wanting to replace one of the two bats the Jays were about to lose made sense to move quickly.

Yeah, at the time I could understand the idea of the front office wanting to move now in order to lock up what they believed was a premier bat in FA before anyone else. But it's the term, the three years, that makes it look terrible. And in hindsight, as the Fangraphs article states, the best left handed bat on the market is still available now in Pedro Alvarez.

 

[bonesmccoy]

Plus Dave Cameron is the reverse kiss of death. Kendrys will hit 40

edit: I didn't realize that Cameron had listed the Bautista re-signing as the #4 best move of the off-season. Tsk!

 

[17 Seconds]

c'mon don't pick on the cards for playing the game the white way

 

[XiaNaphryz]

You guys check out the softball pitcher playing dodgeball yet? Sign her up.

I saw it on Friday I think on MLBN's Intentional Talk, didn't get around to posting it here though as I was on the road for a good chunk of the holiday weekend.

 

[Malo]

A-Gawd in camp. Béisbol is officially here.

 

[Silver Arrows]

How baseball players are trying stem cells to avoid Tommy John

On the day he hoped would save his elbow, Garrett Richards laid face down on a table with his back exposed. A doctor guided a needle into the iliac crest of his pelvic bone and began to extract bone marrow. Richards was wide awake, the blessing of local anesthesia saving him from physical pain but not the anxiety that crept into his head: Is this really going to work?

Within a few minutes, the harvested marrow was hurried to a centrifuge, spun to separate the good stuff, mixed into a slurry of platelet-rich plasma and readied to inject into Richards’ damaged right elbow. Rather than the standard tear across his ulnar collateral ligament, Richards’ ran lengthwise along the middle of his UCL, a rare manifestation of an increasingly commonplace injury that almost always ends with Tommy John surgery. Not in this case. While he could have chosen that route, he wanted to explore first the efficacy of the aforementioned good stuff: stem cells.

He doesn’t know, and that’s an important distinction as orthobiologics grows exponentially. In 2004, voters in California pledged to provide $3 billion for stem-cell research and create the Caifornia Institute of Regenerative Medicine. It remains a benefactor for an industry trying to find its place in the United States.

Across the world, stem cells have far greater potency. U.S. law prevents doctors from manipulating the cells in any way. They are extracted and put back into patients’ bodies as is. In Switzerland, for example, doctors will harvest stem cells, manipulate them to promote greater healing capacity and then inject them. At least one star pitcher this offseason sought a stem cell injection in the United States, according to sources, while another veteran traveled halfway across the world to Zurich, seeking the comparative lack of regulations just as Peyton Manning did in 2011 to help heal a neck injury that eventually needed surgery.

The future of orthobiologics domestically doesn’t end with the FDA loosening rules on stem cell usage. Doctors see significant promise in stem cells from a baby’s umbilical cord or a mother’s placenta, both of which can be frozen. Already they’re capable of harvesting stem cells from old patients and engineering the cells into an immature state. The possibilities going forward are endless.

 

[Carpe Libertatem]

c'mon don't pick on the cards for playing the game the white way

Well, don't think that the Cards were the team whose ownership spent millions for the Trump campaign. Not to mention the one board member who currently works in the administration..

I think that team is called the Cubes or something

 

[zulux21]

Well, don't think that the Cards were the team whose ownership spent millions for the Trump campaign. Not to mention the one board member who currently works in the administration..

I think that team is called the Cubes or something

can't we just agree that the NL central is crappy in general, either because of team political views or just because the team in general is indeed very crappy with the talent they put on the field ?

lets just get rid of them in general, and then rebalance the NL central by moving boston and new york there so they end up playing 81 games against each other and then the higher ups can use those as how to figure out how they want to fix the pace of play as I imagine after the 20th straight 4+ hour game they will want to change something

 

[Beckx]

can't we just agree that the NL central is crappy in general, either because of team political views or just because the team in general is indeed very crappy with the talent they put on the field ?

lets just get rid of them in general, and then rebalance the NL central by moving boston and new york there so they end up playing 81 games against each other and then the higher ups can use those as how to figure out how they want to fix the pace of play as I imagine after the 20th straight 4+ hour game they will want to change something

This is absolutely dreadful content.

We've hit the rock bottom of the offseason.

 

[zulux21]

This is absolutely dreadful content.

We've hit the rock bottom of the offseason.

good thing the offseason is almost over.

 

[BFIB]

If any team is gonna move, it's TB to Montreal.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/18732954/sammy-sosa-maintains-was-clean-open-return-chicago-cubs

Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg, Kerry Wood ... many former Chicago Cubs legends took part in the 2016 World Series celebration, but one was noticeably absent: Sammy Sosa. And from what he's saying, a reunion isn't likely anytime soon.

Former Cubs media relations employee Chuck Wasserstrom spoke with Sosa over Skype recently and wrote about their conversation on his personal blog. Sosa, who played 13 years with the Cubs, said he regrets how he parted with the team but said he won't come begging to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch.

"I never say 'No' to that. I owe something to the people -- to the crowd in Chicago," he said. "For that, I would come back. But I'm not going to go up there and say, 'I'm here. Please bring me back and give me a chance.' No way. I'm not hungry. I have too much pride. They know where they can find me."

Sosa left the Cubs' game early on the last day of the 2004 season, incensing some teammates, who smashed his boom box. After initially lying about leaving the clubhouse, Sosa later said he had permission from then-manager Dusty Baker. It was a messy situation that followed whispers of steroid use and Sosa getting busted for using a corked bat in 2003.

The Cubs traded the outfielder to the Orioles after the 2004 season, and the sides have not reconciled.

"I never wanted to leave Chicago. I should have handled that situation differently, yes indeed," Sosa told Wasserstrom. "I recognize my mistake. But look, I have my pride, and I know I had a tremendous career in Chicago. When nobody knew who Chicago was, I put Chicago on the map. Like you said, if I could have done it again, I would have done it differently."

Sosa's reputation was further tarnished when he denied using PEDs in congressional testimony, and lawmakers considered charging him with perjury based on a New York Times report that he tested positive. He was not charged.

All of it made Sosa feel persecuted.

"A lot of people say so many things, but I'm telling you -- they have nothing on me," Sosa said. "I'm not going to go out there begging, because they have no case. They had the Mitchell report trying to find something, but they had nothing on Mr. Sosa."

He added: "Chuck, it's like Jesus Christ when he came to Jerusalem. Everybody thought Jesus Christ was a witch [laughing], and he was our savior. So if they talk s--- about Jesus Christ, what about me? Are you kidding me?"

Sosa said his business ventures in his home in the Dominican Republic and around the world are doing well. He has no interest in coaching and would only return to baseball as an owner. He said he was happy to see the Cubs finally break the curse and win a World Series, but he needs an invitation from the team to return to Wrigley.

"Hey, if they send me an invitation, then I would definitely say 'Yes,'" he said. "This is my house -- no matter what happened [at the end]. My numbers -- nobody is going to take them from me. Not even Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, hit that many home runs. And I did it with style [laughing]. But if they invite me, why not? One day, if they invite me, a lot of people will be very happy about it."

 

[17 Seconds]

Well, don't think that the Cards were the team whose ownership spent millions for the Trump campaign. Not to mention the one board member who currently works in the administration..

I think that team is called the Cubes or something

i'm a fan, i can't control that, just like cards fans can't control that their favorite organization cheated or that their players have a history of driving drunk. cards fans CAN control the holier than thou attitude that surrounds them, and most of them choose to embrace it. the cards fans in this thread are cool, i'm not talking about you guys.

 

[HarryDemeanor]

Kenta Maeda: Professional Asshole

Oh and here's a Lasorda.

 

[billeh]

i'm a fan, i can't control that, just like cards fans can't control that their favorite organization cheated or that their players have a history of driving drunk. cards fans CAN control the holier than thou attitude that surrounds them, and most of them choose to embrace it. the cards fans in this thread are cool, i'm not talking about you guys.

I mean Laura Ricketts and Epstein supported Clinton, Tom is kind of in the middle. The dad isn't exactly close to the team and Todd couldn't even sell hot dogs at Wrigley, so it makes sense he's in Trump's cabinet. Just the nature of the game though, support the good players .. Indifferent on the dudes that you don't.

The "keep politics out of baseball" thought train is so lol-worthy regardless of fandom, like when has baseball not been intertwined?

 

[Silver Arrows]

I mean Laura Ricketts and Epstein supported Clinton, Tom is kind of in the middle. The dad isn't exactly close to the team and Todd couldn't even sell hot dogs at Wrigley, so it makes sense he's in Trump's cabinet.

The "keep politics out of baseball" thought train is so lol-worthy regardless of fandom, like when has baseball not been intertwined?

Replace bolded with 'any sport'

I can remember distinctly that politics was the reason Yunel Escobar (Rightfully) got booted from the Jays. It's another way for (majority white) fans to basically tell black and Latin American players to shut up and entertain your masters.