2024 MLB Season Thread

[UAEebs86]

[EastCoastCat]

The season just started and already the Dodgers are broiled in controversy. Wonderful.

[Chicat]

The good news is that they found a fall guy for Ohtani so they don’t have to go all Pete Rose on him.

[EastCoastCat]

And you know MLB will be protecting Ohtani to the ends of the earth. He’s their meal ticket.

[SCCats]

Too big to fail, for sure.

[SCCats]

MLB begins probe

UH OH!

[EastCoastCat]

MLB begins probe

UH OH!

Probe is just for optics. Will bet anything that he gets exonerated.

[Alieberman]

MLB will save face by putting Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame

[Merkin]

[CatsbyAZ]

I can't remember when there's been less interest or anticipation for the Red Sox. Maybe not since the 90s? Franchise has gone Meh the last 5 years. Ticket prices way down. Fans remembering the past players more.

[Chicat]

Red Sox have realized what the White Sox did a decade ago. You can turn a tidy profit by finishing around .500 yearly. You don’t actually have to try and win, you just can’t be out there trying to finish dead last and pissing off the whole fanbase.

[UAEebs86]

[MrBug708]

Dinelson Lamet, closing out games for the Dodger, just like we expected.

[Chicat]

Shane Bieber out for the season. Tommy John.

Sucks because the Guardians were off to a great start.

[Chicat]

I’m glad pitched injuries are getting talked about widely in the media now because it’s a huge issue that MLB does not give a fuck about.

Manfred & Co. (and I include the owners there) would rather see a young guy who gets brought up to replace a vet who is hurt, get lit up, because they think more runs = more interest.

Pitchers are getting injured for a few factors (in no particular order):

A) MLB changed the ball so the seams don’t stand up as high at the same time they eliminated sticky stuff, so pitchers now have to grip the shit out of the ball to get any feel for their pitches. This is putting crazy strain on their elbows and forearms.

B) The current crop of pitchers came up through scouting systems and junior leagues and minor leagues where velocity and spin rate were all that mattered. So these dudes are yanking the fuck out of the ball trying to add a few more mph to their top speeds. 95 doesn’t cut it when everyone is throwing 100.

C) The pitch clock has sped up these guys who are gripping the ball like their lives depend on it to crank up the velo and spin and their mechanics are for shit. It’s no longer a smooth easy motion. Now it’s torque and weight shift and driving their shoulder down while letting their elbow bear the brunt of all that forward force.

D) Coaches now plan on replacing their starter in the 5th or 6th inning so they instruct their pitchers to go all out early since they don’t need to pace themselves. If they are only going to throw 80-95 pitches, each one can get maximum effort. When pitchers thought they may have to throw 120 pitches, those first few innings they were trying to get weak contact, not get to two strikes and a punch out.

The whole attitude around pitching has to change. Or MLB risks losing not only young pitching stars, but the fundamental nature of the game.

[azgreg]

[Chicat]

He’s still an umpire because their union doesn’t want to set the precedent of telling someone they are so bad they don’t deserve a job.

[Merkin]

Wow, dude has a history.

[Chicat]

Angel Hernandez being absolutely terrible is a decades-long story. Literally

[gronk4heisman]

Angel Hernandez alone may be the reason that umpires may be replaced by robots in the near future, the union should realize that protecting this guy is hurting them as a whole.

[Chicat]

The Hernandez situation is made more complicated because he sued MLB for racial discrimination. The court decided it wasn’t racial anything, he just sucked. But that lawsuit has been active for like the last six years so he couldn’t be fired during that time (which I think was his whole goal).

[Chicat]

What is happening here

[UAEebs86]

^^^ I think he's a WWII vet and yes that's his real name.