2020 MLB Thread

posted by Laley23

Don’t know your thoughts on steroids, but I hope you don’t care at all about them.

I think it’s telling that so many MLB players are coming out and saying the Astros basically aren’t respected anymore within the game. That’s pretty bad when all your peers think what you did was bullshit and can’t stand you for it.

I’m not sitting here in my Jose Altuve jersey

posted by HitsRus

If you love the game, I don’t see how you can’t care.... and if you don’t care, I don’t see how you're not condoning it.
Rules are there to keep competition fair, and if some are following the rules and some are cheating then the competition isn’t fair. If you don’t care if someone is cheating, then you are condoning it. Why should anyone follow the rules if by doing so, puts you at a disadvantage?

Ok fine I’m fucking pissed off and it’s all fucking bullshit! I’m not watching a single pitch until everything is fixed and honest.

Sorry I’m not enraged like 80% of Twitter, guess I’m too old with enough of my own issues to sit around and be pissed off about it.

I'm not as vocally pissed about the Astros as some on here, mainly because my team wasn't one that can credibly say they got fucked over by them, but do feel the Astros are trash for this shit. One thing to be stealing signs and stuff (gamesmanship forever!), but to go to this level is pretty insane. But, overall, I'd say I'm more annoyed by Manfred's lame response more than anything, which basically resulted in a few managers/execs suspended and then fired for either their roles or simply not doing anything to stop the players from pulling this off, while the only player who got any punishment is the player who moved on to managing (Beltran) and the team got to keep its championship and accolades. And then, to make it even more pathetic, dude tried to impose what is essentially a gag order on all the other franchises to not voice opinions on the matter.

Talking about a very, very high $$$ business here. Things like roids and now this are pretty good indicators that a lot of players are willing to gamble that they can sneak outside the rules, at least long enough to get their share of that money AND with a case like this, to get rings in a scenario that would have been executed flawlessly if a former pitcher didn't snitch. And let's be real, if you're a player and you see that your whole clubhouse can get in on a high-tech cheating  plan, possible ride it to a title and while league-mandated consequences might be faced by someone, it's not going to be you, well, there's a lot more money in being a dishonest winner than a honest loser.

I will admit to being really interested in what happens when a team decides to take "discipline" into their own hands, which I think is pretty obvious will happen at some point due to how they all got a free pass from the league. Everyone is really digging into that clip of Altuve telling his teammates to not rip at his jersey under the assumption he didn't want it ripped due to it concealing some sort of communication set-up. So, what happens when he inevitably gets blasted by an "errant" fastball?

It’s just getting started, this is FAR from over I’ll bet....and instead of getting to watch my favorite sport by the greatest in the world....this will dominate the talk....and that I do hate and care about. I wanna watch 2020 and not talk about 2017 and 2019 but it will likely be impossible.

Go Reds

posted by Ironman92

It’s just getting started, this is FAR from over I’ll bet....and instead of getting to watch my favorite sport by the greatest in the world....this will dominate the talk....and that I do hate and care about. I wanna watch 2020 and not talk about 2017 and 2019 but it will likely be impossible.

 

Go Reds

Well, that’s exactly what I’m talking about and why I am so pissed. We are just getting past  the PED crap and now this. Unless MLB makes the penalties for cheating severe enough so that it outweighs the monetary rewards for taking the risk, then cheating will just continue and poison the game. Just as Heretic posted above, there are huge $$$ awards for performance... hitting 30 points higher, knocking in 25 more runs, 10 dingers over the course of a season.... means a lot of money for your next contract. Unless the penalties outweigh the rewards, some players are going to take advantage.

The title should be vacated and the players on those teams should be subject to a similar penalty that is levied for PED use.

Dusty Baker the new Asterisks, I mean Astros, manager.

posted by justincredible

Dusty Baker the new Asterisks, I mean Astros, manager.

Looks like Correa will bat 2nd

You'd think there would be something in his contract that prohibits this...

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/madison-bumgarner-uses-a-fake-name-to-regularly-participate-in-rodeos-diamondbacks-say-they-were-unaware/

posted by BR1986FB

You'd think there would be something in his contract that prohibits this...

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/madison-bumgarner-uses-a-fake-name-to-regularly-participate-in-rodeos-diamondbacks-say-they-were-unaware/

Yeah, that's why he used the fake name, I'd guess. I remember the whole thing about all the stuff forbidden in player contracts coming out a couple years ago when he got injured on a dirt bike and missed a few weeks. Bumgarner basically seems like one of those good 'ol boys who doesn't care much for rules telling him what he can or can't do and, for most of his career has been talented enough that his team has had to deal with it because what would you rather have: a reckless superstar ace or no ace at all? But now that he's pretty much fallen back into the pack, I can't imagine Arizona being overly cool with an aging former superstar doing reckless stuff in violation of his contract if he's not capable of those 20-5, 2ish ERA seasons any longer.

Madison is a girls name.

posted by justincredible

Madison is a girls name.

He's also up there with Arrieta and Wacha as far as guys I want to see die in a fire due to ruining Pittsburgh's one good stretch over 25+ years by pitching horribly-timed dominating performances against them in the playoffs.

Happy Opening Day.

Ok

https://twitter.com/reds/status/1247149346925264896?s=21

That looks dangerous. He's gonna break his neck.

posted by justincredible

That looks dangerous. He's gonna break his neck.

Not even up against a wall. I’m not sure that neck would break. 

Not loving the Indians proposed division. But, if it’s the only way to have a season, bring it on.

posted by Laley23

Not loving the Indians proposed division. But, if it’s the only way to have a season, bring it on.

Don’t think Indians fans can complain about being in a tougher division. The AL central has been a joke (outside the Indians) for about 4 straight seasons. 

posted by SportsAndLady

Don’t think Indians fans can complain about being in a tougher division. The AL central has been a joke (outside the Indians) for about 4 straight seasons. 

The Indians had more wins than they did in the mid 90s runs last year and didn’t make the playoffs. But the previous 3 years were relative cake walks, yes.