Bleacher Bums Forum
General Category => Bleacher Bums Forum => Topic started by: Dave23 on August 03, 2015, 09:26:24 am
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Luzardo the IL with shoulder stiffness for Philly.
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Ohtani replacement DePaula--a top-10 prospect--hit a 3-run homer in his 7th ML AB. Has 4 walks already.
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Brewers have scored 33 runs the last two days.
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Phillies getting tonked, 1 game lead about to be restored.
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Braves trailed going into the bottom of the 9th, 10th, and 11th and get 2 off ex-Cub Brooks Raley to pip the Phillies.
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Braves steal one from the Phillies.
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Brewers now have wins of 22-0 and 20-0 the past three weeks.
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Kyle Tucker has a single, triple, grand slam, and 5 RBI tonight.
Dodgers about to be 7-0 without Ohtani.
Anybody sorry the Cubs didn't sign Kyle Tucker?
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Kyle Tucker has a single, triple, grand slam, and 5 RBI tonight.
Dodgers about to be 7-0 without Ohtani.
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Check that.
17-0 Brewers
Up to 20 hits.
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Brewers up 13-0 in the 5th. They have 18 hits.
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Recent ex-Cubs 2026 bWAR:
Bateman 1.4 (28 games)
Tucker 0.3
Caissie -0.2
Ballesteros -0.5
C. Smith 1.2 (but slugging .486 since the break and hot as heck lately).
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Schwarber is pretty good.
Still one of my most favorite Cubs. Right behind Sandberg. PCA is gaining ground on me though.
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Dodgers struggling yet again without Ohtani, up 9-1 in the 5th.
Check it: 11-1
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Schwarber is pretty good.
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Phillies trailed Houston 4-0 and 6-4, now leading 11-6 after a Schwarber grand slam.
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ERA of almost-Cub Reid Detmers since the break:
1.37
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Rays DFA Hunter Bigge. They're better at this pitcher thing so you'd be inclined to trust their judgment on this, but would be no surprise if the Cubs had interest. Bigge is down 1 MPH this season but still throws hard, issues come down to walks pretty much (both in MLB and AAA).
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Mike Petriello
@mikepetriello.bsky.social
Pete Crow-Armstrong has faced 28 teams and 286 pitchers in 22 stadiums so far this season, which isn't over yet.
Joe DiMaggio faced 7 teams and 321 pitchers in 9 stadiums in his entire (regular season) career, which spanned 13 seasons between 1936-1951.
It's a different sport now.
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Ohtain 0-3, 2 K in his return.
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Phillies win again behind another Schwarber homer and a 2-hit, 12-K shutout by Luzardo.
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In the latest episode of the Ump Show, Doug Eddings decides to demand that a Cardinals rookie relief pitcher straighten his hat, and manager Oli Marmol comes out to argue, and Eddings calls a pitch clock violation because he's arguing after being tossed. Then he makes a terrible call to seemingly gift the Rockies a run in retaliation.
Now the whole Cardinals team is wearing their hats crooked in solidarity. I can't see why Eddings had to do this; plenty of other players have worn their hats like this, including Pedro Strop and Fernando Rodney for us. And to a rookie in what I think was his first game.
Not only many (not all) of the Cardinals but some Rockies players wore their caps sideways in support as well. Just a total dick move by Eddings, who apparently said "That kid isn't wearing his hat that way on my field".
Eddings told reporters postgame that he confronted Rincon after a Colorado hitter complained. Goodman was the only hitter to face Rincon at the time of the warning, and the catcher told MLB.com on Saturday that he did not complain to Eddings.
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In the latest episode of the Ump Show, Doug Eddings decides to demand that a Cardinals rookie relief pitcher straighten his hat, and manager Oli Marmol comes out to argue, and Eddings calls a pitch clock violation because he's arguing after being tossed. Then he makes a terrible call to seemingly gift the Rockies a run in retaliation.
Now the whole Cardinals team is wearing their hats crooked in solidarity. I can't see why Eddings had to do this; plenty of other players have worn their hats like this, including Pedro Strop and Fernando Rodney for us. And to a rookie in what I think was his first game.
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Dodgers 3-0 since Ohtani was sat.
And the Japanese media is finally learning that there are major league players other than The Protagonist. The Japanese news channel Fuji devoted a full segment to Imanaga and his good outing the other day, and today they even mentioned Okamoto in Toronto and Kikuchi in Anaheim, whom they had almost completely forgotten.
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Dodgers 3-0 since Ohtani was sat.
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The Cubs also haven't had a starter go beyond seven innings yet this year. Until just a few years ago, the Cubs had never finished a season without a complete game, and until the 2000s, no team ever had.
I don't know what to think about the position players pitching. I used to love it because it was so unusual and weird and everybody had fun with it. Somehow seeing it before the last inning feels like more of a mockery; maybe the existing rules (it already has to be a blowout if it's not extra innings) could be tweaked so that the lead has to be bigger and it has to be the bottom of the 8th or later.
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John Smoltz made an observation last night about pitching. Cubs have had 39 pitchers this year. MLB average is about 30. 30 teams that's 900 pitchers. Smoltz said that's unsustainable. Current strategy is akin to human sacrifice. Are his statistics correct?
He also said that MLB needs to fix the position player pitch rule. I agree. First of all, unless it's a novelty thing, I don't pay to watch eephus pitching. Secondly, it makes some hitting statistics bogus. Thirdly, some managers are using the rule to rest their pens. Last Monday night when Murphy started using position players in the 7th, it resulted in a rested pen for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I may have these numbers wrong but announcers said that 247 position players have pitched this year compared to 24 in 2024. Really?
Pitchers and their livelihoods are being abused.
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Ohtani sitting against the Cardinals.
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Ohtani K'd four times tonight.
7-51 with 20 K's last 13 games.
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Phillies finally lose, 1-0 to Arizona.
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Phillies win their 15th of 17, take the WC lead.
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Reds leave Wrigley and get shut out.
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Another 0-5 for Ohtani today. His OPS the past 11 games is .450.
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Brett Bateman 0.7 fWAR
Kyle Tucker 0.2 fWAR
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He’s got umm 7 years at 70 million a year with 68 million differed per year in his contract.
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Ohtani is 6 for his last 40 (.150) with 3 extra-base hits and 2 RBI.
His OPS has dropped 35 points since leaving Wrigley on August 5th.
His return to the mound tomorrow has been scratched.
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I'd rather face the Phillies in Wrigley than in Philly.
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Phillies get a pinch-hit grand slam with 2 out in the 9th to beat Anaheim. Cubs lead in the WC is dissolving.
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Edgar is illustrative but not in a way that flatters Schwarber. He had 68+ WAR and a .933 career OPS. He also played 564 games at 3B and statistically at least wasn't terrible there. If he's the standard by which a DH can get into the HoF, it doesn't bode well for Schwarbs.
I love Kyle and I hope he does get in. But he needs a minimum 550 homers to be a serious candidate, and 600 to seal the deal.
Edgar was mentioned because he was omitted for some time because he was a DH. Nothing to do with WAR or number of homers.
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Unless can come up with a Schwarber comp with somebody already in the HOF, it’s just spitballin.
Thirty years ago, the 500 HRs-and-you’re-in discussion was about Dave Kingman. He came off a 35 HR season that got him to 442 HRs and folks were seriously concerned about how to deal with that. Of course no way on the planet was Dave Kingman going to be in the HOF, 500 homers or not.
Fortunately, nobody wanted Kingman even after a 35 homer season, so that discussion went away.
Schwarber is, if course, way better than Kingman on many levels, including in the clubhouse, but you need more than 500 homers when so many other HOF indicia are subpar. That’s the point.
Love the guy but think that that Schwarber will have to exceed 500 by a very significant margin to get in, seems to me. Otherwise, show me a comp.
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I think Edgar Martinez settled that issue.
Edgar is illustrative but not in a way that flatters Schwarber. He had 68+ WAR and a .933 career OPS. He also played 564 games at 3B and statistically at least wasn't terrible there. If he's the standard by which a DH can get into the HoF, it doesn't bode well for Schwarbs.
I love Kyle and I hope he does get in. But he needs a minimum 550 homers to be a serious candidate, and 600 to seal the deal.
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Clearly, Kyle Tucker.
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If Schwabs maintains his sub 14 pa per hr pace. Hes a 2nd ballot hof player out 500 hrs nothing else needed.
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Bregman is a cheating piece of shit that shouldn’t be brought up in conversations about the hof. No offense to him personally.
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If he gets to 500, he should be a lock for HOF. the only players in the 500 club to not make it to the HOF are implicated of, or admitted to using PEDs'. Hes' also hitting HR's at a very impressive pace in terms of PA per hr. Harper has hit 390 in his career, and has taken 8236 PA to do so, Schwarber is at 380 in 5957.
Schwarber has 22-24 career WAR depending on the WAR system. Voters really look at this now and he’s woefully short. Harper has 57 WAR. Schwarber worlds away from Harper WAR.
No way that 500 homers alone is getting Schwarber in HOF.
Bregman has twice the career WAR of Schwarber and has a long way to go to be a strong HOF candidate. Also has a much better OPS+ than Schwarber.
Schwarber has a career .232 batting average. Lowest non-catcher BA in HOF is Killebrew who was .256 BA and almost 600 homers (573).
Killebrew had 60 WAR and very little non-homer value. The case for Schwarber is as a Killebrew comp but he’s probably going to be way short of Killebrew in WAR. Also, Killebrew was a 13-time All-Star, won a MVP, and had 7 Top 10 MVP finishes. Schwarber has not won a MVP, 4 All-Stars, and only one Top 10 MVP finish.
Think that Schwarber will need a bunch more 50 homer seasons well into his 30s—and an MVP would help. Maybe he can do that. But 500 homers alone won’t be enough. All the other components of HOF status are well short absent an incredible showing to come in future years. Would not put that past him, so maybe— but long way to go I think.
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I think Edgar Martinez settled that issue.
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500 he makes it. IMO it’s just too big a milestone to ignore, and what he lacks in other aspects of his game he makes up for in rate of hrs. I think the voters let him in if he gets to 500.
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If he gets to 500, he should be a lock for HOF. the only players in the 500 club to not make it to the HOF are implicated of, or admitted to using PEDs'.
Hes' also hitting HR's at a very impressive pace in terms of PA per hr. Harper has hit 390 in his career, and has taken 8236 PA to do so, Schwarber is at 380 in 5957.
Bur Harper plays a position and has 50 more points on his career OPS.
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If he gets to 500, he should be a lock for HOF. the only players in the 500 club to not make it to the HOF are implicated of, or admitted to using PEDs'.
Hes' also hitting HR's at a very impressive pace in terms of PA per hr. Harper has hit 390 in his career, and has taken 8236 PA to do so, Schwarber is at 380 in 5957.
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500 maybe, 550 definite maybe, 600 absolutely
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Before the Bonds/McGwire/Sosa era, 500 career HR was basically a lock for the Hall of Fame. With that in mind, is Kyle Schwarber ultimately going to go into the HOF? He hit is 40th of the season and 380th of his career last night.
Since 2022, he has averaged 45 HR a season (and that average will probably be around 46 or 47 by the end of the season since he'll hit a few more this year). He's under contract until 2030, so he only has to average 30 HR/season for the rest of his contract to get to 500. He'll also still only be 37, so he might go year-to-year for a few years after that.
He's not going to come close to the modern WAR benchmarks, but it's more likely than not that he's going to get to 500 HR (if he ages well, he might push 550 or even 600). Add in the fact that everyone in the media loves him (something you couldn't say about Bonds/McGwire/Sosa/Palmeiro), and I could see him making it.
If he gets to 600 he's making it for sure, and he should.
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Big Schwarber fan but don't think he's a HOF player.
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Before the Bonds/McGwire/Sosa era, 500 career HR was basically a lock for the Hall of Fame. With that in mind, is Kyle Schwarber ultimately going to go into the HOF? He hit is 40th of the season and 380th of his career last night.
Since 2022, he has averaged 45 HR a season (and that average will probably be around 46 or 47 by the end of the season since he'll hit a few more this year). He's under contract until 2030, so he only has to average 30 HR/season for the rest of his contract to get to 500. He'll also still only be 37, so he might go year-to-year for a few years after that.
He's not going to come close to the modern WAR benchmarks, but it's more likely than not that he's going to get to 500 HR (if he ages well, he might push 550 or even 600). Add in the fact that everyone in the media loves him (something you couldn't say about Bonds/McGwire/Sosa/Palmeiro), and I could see him making it.
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Dustin May was drilled on the shoulder with a 106 mph line drive on the first pitch of the game tonight and was removed. The Brewers then limped to a 8-1 win with their pen.
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18 runs in 8 games for the Nationals since the Cubs left town.
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Misiorowski shut down the Braves and beat Sale.
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Moises Ballesteros has a .324 OPS in 50 PA with the Angels.
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Since putting up 19 runs in 3 games against the Cubs, the Nats have scored 8 runs in 4 games.
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Joe Pompliano
@JoePompliano
Mark Walter has been looking for cash to fund billions of dollars in loans for months, and he isn't just trying to sell his sports assets.
According to
@Ourand_Puck
, Mark Walter engaged Charter Communications to see whether the company wanted to exit its local TV deals for the Lakers and Dodgers several years early in exchange for a lump-sum payment, but those talks went nowhere.
The Dodgers currently have one of the best local TV deals in sports — 25 years, $8.35 billion for an average of $334 million annually — but Walter was willing to exit the deal early in exchange for upfront cash today.
That's crazy
2 insurance companies he owns loaned him or other companies he owns $16 billion. The loans weren't reported that he was loaning himself the money, so he is facing an insurance fraud investigation and possible jail time. He's trying to raise as much as he can to prevent himself from going to jail.
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Apparently, this is part of the “4 out rule” that manifested itself several days ago and puzzled many.
Of course it's called the "4 out rule" instead of the "5 out rule" out of respect...
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Joe Pompliano
@JoePompliano
Mark Walter has been looking for cash to fund billions of dollars in loans for months, and he isn't just trying to sell his sports assets.
According to
@Ourand_Puck
, Mark Walter engaged Charter Communications to see whether the company wanted to exit its local TV deals for the Lakers and Dodgers several years early in exchange for a lump-sum payment, but those talks went nowhere.
The Dodgers currently have one of the best local TV deals in sports — 25 years, $8.35 billion for an average of $334 million annually — but Walter was willing to exit the deal early in exchange for upfront cash today.
That's crazy
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Poor Leo Rivas; a position player out there trying to get the last outs, and his center fielder forgets how many outs there are and tosses a fly ball he just caught into the stands.
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Brewers win 22-0.
According to MLB, Brewers tonight get credit for TWO wins (and Mariners two losses) for winning a game by three or more touchdowns. Apparently, this is part of the “4 out rule” that manifested itself several days ago and puzzled many.
Learn something new every day in baseball.
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Brewers win 22-0.
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Brewers up 19-0.
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….Smith is a young guy, still only 23, with lots of years ahead of him, so he may blossom into a star in time. We've seen PCA improve in unbelievable ways, may Smith will do that over the years ahead. But thus far, he's not really been that hot. .671 OPS last year, .687 this year, with sub-.300 OBP. Trading for a rental would burn a lot worse if the guy you traded blossoms into a star. May still happen, but not so far.
Guessing that Cam Smith is a 2027 breakout candidate. Some guys need 800-900 or so MLB PAs before figure it out and Smith will be over 1000 by end of this season. Hardly any minor league seasoning of course. Slugging .468 since the Break this season (less than 100 PAs). May well be just on the verge. That’s my expectation.
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Cubs fans had various frustrations regarding the Tucker situation. First, that he wasn't productive after the first couple of months. Second that the Cubs made no effort to make a competitive extension offer. Third, that they trade Cam Smith for a one-year rental.
Smith is a young guy, still only 23, with lots of years ahead of him, so he may blossom into a star in time. We've seen PCA improve in unbelievable ways, may Smith will do that over the years ahead.
But thus far, he's not really been that hot. .671 OPS last year, .687 this year, with sub-.300 OBP. Trading for a rental would burn a lot worse if the guy you traded blossoms into a star. May still happen, but not so far.
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Tucker drops (https://x.com/ChadMoriyama/status/2089545118437257350) another routine and meekly (https://x.com/js9inningsmedia/status/2089561323667427818) grounds out against a non-pitcher...
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Walters is now selling his 12% stake in Chelsea soccer club. Possible the Dodgers and Sparks could be for sale as well or it may just be the Lakers and Chelsea.
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Nice catch Tucker... (https://x.com/noahcamras/status/2089120989666054546)
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Brewers beat Skubal and take 3/4 in LA.
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Misiorowski shuts down the Dodgers.
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Dodgers pen managed not to piss this one away, lead back to 3.
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Brewers score 3 in the 9th to beat the Dodgers 5-4.
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Dustin May trade paying off for the Brewers.
Nice of the Cardinals to trade him intra-division.
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Mark Walters is selling the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5 billion. Speculation is it is due to cash shortage or legal issues. Walters also owns the Dodgers and Chelsea soccer club.
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Taillon left Monday's game with forearm discomfort.
https://www.mlb.com/news/jameson-taillon-exits-blue-jays-game-with-injury
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And Milwaukee wins in the 10th.
Good teams find ways.
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Brewers should've lost another Misiorowski start but Luis Lara has made two of the best catchers you'll see to keep them in a tie game.
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This run that Boston is on, didn't the Indians do that or was it just a movie?
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Bateman a double and two walks in his MLB debut.
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If you subscribe to The Athletic, link below is a really interesting piece about team baseball revenues, in this case the Braves—the only franchise who has to file publicly available financial reports specific to team revenues.
Point is that the Forbes/Spotrac annual guesstimates of other clubs, such as Cubs, pale in comparison to actual factual data.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7494925/2026/08/05/atlanta-braves-revenue-battery-bravesvision/
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Brett Batemen called up by Toronto. Given their awful lineup, he could get a real opportunity.
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Brewers have passed the Dodgers as #1 seed in NL.
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Peralta gave up 7 runs in 3-2/3 in his Rays debut.
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Mets call up Jefry Yan (https://x.com/GrantPaulsen/status/2084609743897723032).
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Christian Franklin was traded from the Nats to the Orioles in a “prospect deal”, and is now getting the call to the show.
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98+ MPH pitches thrown by Paul Skenes in each of his 78 career big league starts:
32, 38 34, 30, 46, 42, 32, 33, 21, 32, 21, 44, 22, 23, 14, 24, 30, 33, 40, 35, 31, 21, 11, 19, 26, 12, 29, 21, 25, 10, 22, 17, 26, 35, 27, 35, 29, 34, 29, 32, 40, 28, 30, 30, 25, 49, 35, 26, 27, 27, 35, 37, 7, 22, 17, 7, 15, 0, 11, 3, 20, 0, 9, 1, 7, 2, 8, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0, 0
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I seriously think the Dodger acquisition of Skubal means no baseball in 2027. Our only hope is if someone dethrone them.
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Blue Jays pick up Taillon.
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Misiorowski threw 80% strikes in 7 innings today although is on the hook for the loss due to a home run allowed and no support.
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Skenes's ERA is now 3.90 after a rough outing in Cincy tonight.
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Jeff Passan @JeffPassan
Trade news: The Texas Rangers are acquiring right-handed reliever Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe from the Los Angeles Angels, sources tell ESPN.
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I dont get these fringe players thinking they are indestructible...maybe I am just old...
Vitello also provided a bizarre update on Harrison Bader, who has been out since late May with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Bader reinjured his foot in a scooter accident on Saturday night and was sent for imaging on Tuesday. The team hasn’t announced results of the testing. As Guardado and Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News point out, Bader was previously injured in what was believed to be an alcohol-related scooter accident while in his sophomore season at the University of Florida in 2014. The Gators suspended him for 19 games.
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With Major League Baseball heading towards the trade deadline next week, teams are actually weighing more than just the needs for this season. They're also taking an impending work stoppage into account.
It could go on for longer than fans would like.
With baseball's CBA set to expire on Dec. 1, everyone around the game expects there to be a lockout in 2027. At least publicly, the owners and players are extremely far apart on key issues. The main point of contention is looking to be the owners' desire to implement a salary cap in 2027.
And while there's often posturing on both sides as a means of negotiating, some owners reportedly don't expect baseball to be played at all in 2027. That's what ESPN MLB reporter Jeff Passan said in a Monday Q&A on Threads.
Now, baseball fans have been awfully familiar with work stoppages in recent years. There was a lockout in 2022 that was resolved in March and delayed the season by a week. There was also a contentious negotiation over the pandemic-shortened season in 2020.
But a full-season lockout? That would be devastating for baseball. We'll have to see if the two sides can avoid a lost season, but the pessimism is obvious at this point.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Some MLB owners reportedly expect a lockout to cancel the entire 2027 season
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Heyman:
Top 3 in NL in OPS: Soto and 2 guys traded for Soto (Wood and Abrams).
(PCA is 4th)
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Cal Raleigh went from 60 homers, 125 RBI, and a .948 OPS to hitting .165 with a .569 OPS and 101 K's in 273 at-bats.
That’s Baseball.
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Cal Raleigh went from 60 homers, 125 RBI, and a .948 OPS to hitting .165 with a .569 OPS and 101 K's in 273 at-bats.
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Of the 83 pitches Misiorowski threw on Sunday, 66 were 100+ mph.
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Misiorowski being kept on a shorter leash now:
5-1-1-1-0-12
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I can't believe it's been 28 years. Yeesh.
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28 years after pitching the greatest game of all time, Wood is tossing behind-the-back curveballs for the Bananas.
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Kerry Wood with a unique strike for the Savannah Bananas.
https://x.com/josh_frydman/status/2081155472397074534?s=61&t=KXtv2THs2nUXxUqCADsfww
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Zac Gallen has a 6.34 ERA for AZ, with 18 HR. Some moves that you don't make are the best!
But 5.32 FIP!
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Zac Gallen has a 6.34 ERA for AZ, with 18 HR. Some moves that you don't make are the best!
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Nicky Lopez is batting .326 for the Rangers (141 PAs).
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Keith Law’s updated top 70 just posted at The Athletic…
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7459011/2026/07/23/mlb-prospects-ranking-top-70-kade-anderson-jesus-made/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=138727&source=dailyemail
Hartshorn is at 38, Rojas at 62
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Here is the DRS folks point of view on some discrepancies and commonalities.
I suppose this is why MLB clubs have their own proprietary metrics measuring defense.
https://www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/06/04/study-defensive-runs-saved-fielding-run-value-are-inching-closer-to-each-other/
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For a typical player, is it typical that one of the four defensive metrics is so way out of line with the others? Or are the PCA and Bregman cases unusual in their divergence? In most cases, is DRS right on spot with the others? And for other cases, is DRS right on spot with two of the others, and any of the four might be way different?
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DRS is done by the Fielding Bible folks. Has withstood the test of time. A really good stat.
Not too concerned about the occasional statistical anomaly. That’s Baseball.
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reb, thanks for some of those defensive metrics notes. I've never been a close student, and the fact that different defensive metrics sometimes have such widely different values has made me question the accuracy or reliability. In your two examples, PCA and Bregman, DRS is giving massively anomolous scores.
Q1: Are those two cases fluky? Or does DRS frequently bounce around and diverge from the other three metrics?
Q2: If so, does the internal consistency of the other three prove they are more accurate, and that DRS is variably less useful?
From a logician standpoint, if three measurements are consistently pretty consistent, and the fourth measurement is often divergent, one logical explanation is that the outlier is less useful. However, an alternative logical chain might be that their are underlying premises or procedures used for the "semi-consistent" ones. *IF* underlying components of the calculations are shared and are hypothetically misborn, that might cause all three to be in semi-coherent error.
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Heh heh, we could have re-signed Tucker and added Framber? :):). How happy would we be now had Hoyer done that?
That note about Tucker vs Conforto salary, of course, doesn't actually factor in the 3rd-consecutive-year tax, plus the surcharge, that the Dodgers are paying. So I think they are effectively putting out >$100M more for Tucker than Conforto.
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The Cubs being cheap finally paying dividends.
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@iamcogs
Michael Conforto has hit 2 more homeruns than Kyle Tucker in 200 less AB, has a OPS 130 points higher, just .1 WAR behind him, has an OPS+ 25 points higher, wRC+ 20 points higher, and makes 58 million less.
9:44 PM · Jul 21, 2026
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNxlLj5XkAAifCp?format=jpg&name=small)
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https://www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/07/17/why-does-andy-pages-have-more-runs-saved-than-pete-crow-armstrong/
DRS is a really good stat but they discussed the PCA/Pages comp because DRS, in this case, is a statistical anomaly with Pages over PCA.
So, OAA has PCA up over Pages 17-5, DEF (defensive runs above average) has PCA up over Pages 16.3-7.8, FRV has PCA up 18-10. Not very close in these metrics.
By the way, Bregman and Matt Chapman have a close race in these defensive stats. Bregman is up over Chapman in OAA 5-4. Chapman over Bregman 15-10 in DRS, Bregman up over Chapman in DEF 5.5-4.7, Chapman over Bregman in FRV 5-4. Very comparable.
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https://www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/07/17/why-does-andy-pages-have-more-runs-saved-than-pete-crow-armstrong/
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PHOENIX -- The Athletics placed rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer on the 10-day injured list Tuesday following emergency surgery for a ruptured testicle caused by a foul ball the night before.
oooooooooooooooooooooo
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Ohtani would probably have to be shelved the rest of the year for that to happen.
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Dodgers will be keeping Ohtani off the mound indefinitely due to left knee inflammation, opening the door for MVPete...
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The Brewers are so good they're cutting Misiorowski's innings and still winning routs.
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Patrick Flowers of Bleacher Nation is usually quite good. He's my favorite of the Bears writers on that site.
But I stumbled upon this gem of his, writing about tonight's MLB All-Star Game:
The 96th Midsummer Classic will mark the first-ever All-Star starting-pitcher matchup between a Phillie and a Blue Jay, and a rematch of last October’s World Series, which Toronto won over the Dodgers.
Patrick, every ASG is a rematch of the previous year's World Series. Oh, and Toronto didn't win. Minor detail.
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What I learned during the HR Derby last night...
Kyle Schwarber should have never been pushed out of Chicago. He will always be my favorite Cub until he retires.
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@UmpireAuditor
Umpires missed 14,441 calls during the first half of the season and had 3,217 calls overturned. These were the 10 worst (https://x.com/UmpireAuditor/status/2076785763468112023) called strikeouts.
4:48 PM · Jul 13, 2026
That’s really not very good. 22% miss rate on all called strikes. If only about 20% (according to Google) of pitches are “borderline”, the miss rate on these has to be well north of half (so not as good as a random call generator). Bearing in mind that a lot more could be overturned because teams either couldn’t challenge (all used) or were saving their challenges for a better moment. (Google also says that 92% of strikes are called accurately, though.)
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@UmpireAuditor
Umpires missed 14,441 calls during the first half of the season and had 3,217 calls overturned. These were the 10 worst (https://x.com/UmpireAuditor/status/2076785763468112023) called strikeouts.
4:48 PM · Jul 13, 2026
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Pawol's first call (https://x.com/Bmac0507/status/2076460727477407762) behind the plate. Was not as bad as her challenged call in the preseason (https://x.com/JonnyRoot_/status/2034847988699599085). People are already calling her Angela Hernandez.
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Pete Fairbanks was a name often suggested for Cubs bullpen this winter. He got his 13th save tonight... while carrying a 6.75 ERA! Crazy.
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Justin Verlander has announced he’s retiring at the end of the season.
Too bad he and Scherzer didn’t retire at the end of last year. Along with Kershaw, that would’ve set up an all-time great HOF class.
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29 teams don't have Hoyer running their club. The explanation for why the Brewers have been so successful probably lies elsewhere.
But it definitely helps.
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29 teams don't have Hoyer running their club. The explanation for why the Brewers have been so successful probably lies elsewhere.
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The Brewers don't have Jed Hoyer running the team, that's the main reason they're better than the Cubs.
Hoyer has bungled Cubs into 5th best record in MLB.
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Brewers have 5 1/2 games lead on the Braves for a first-round bye. Closing in on Dodgers, 1 1/2 back.
Cubs have a better record than every AL team, except for the Rays.
$367M payroll Mets trying to hold off Rockies for worst NL record, 1 game up over Rockies.
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The Brewers don't have Jed Hoyer running the team, that's the main reason they're better than the Cubs.
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Brewers have put up 10 on the Cardinals, about to go to 41 wins in 60 games.
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Brewers found a way to win yet again even as Misiorowski gave up two homers in St Louis. He was impeccable otherwise of course.
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Cardinals blow a 3-0 lead in the 7th and lost to Milwaukee. Probably for the best as the Cubs aren't catching the Brewers.
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Kinda sad that a moderator/administrator of this board resorts to this.
Better here then what they do on the bears board.
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I’ll tell you what I do believe…you’re a buffoon…
Seeing half this conversation and imagining the other half is more fun than you can possibly imagine.
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I’ll tell you what I do believe…you’re a buffoon…
Kinda sad that a moderator/administrator of this board resorts to this.
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I’ll tell you what I do believe…you’re a buffoon…
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It’s a simple point. He had a choice. He could have said No.
Whether it made “no sense” to refuse, you don’t know that. Why do you say that? Based on what?
Maybe it was a tough choice for him. Who knows. For a lot of folks, when to retire is not obvious or “easy.” You don’t know the details. He accepted, as did other umpires. That’s what we know. Everybody who accepted probably weighed somewhat different factors
The point is that be had a choice. You initially said “not by choice.” If you don’t believe that anymore, you’re on the right track.
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OK, I’ll try a 3rd time…
They made him an offer that made no sense to refuse. It was a good offer for someone that close to retirement age anyway.
Is that helpful?
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I know how buyouts work.
They made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Is that better?
You said that accepting the offer was “not by choice.” Now you say “he couldn’t refuse.” Sounds the same to me.
Let us agree that Buckner and some other senior umps simply accepted attractive offers that made rational sense for them to accept. Sometimes happens in the workplace. Some folks decline to accept and some decide to accept. This is not Don Vito Corleone making an offer you can’t refuse. MLB was pleased they accepted. They made an offer and presumably hoped that it would be accepted.
Not a matter of “not by choice” or “couldn’t refuse.” An offer and an acceptance. No drama. No nothing.
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mlb has 76 umps, many of them not young. 10 umps retired after 2022. So 7 doesn't really seem inordinate. There may or may not be any linkage to the introduction of the ABS system.
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I know how buyouts work.
They made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Is that better?
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MLB is buying him out. It’s not by choice.
Buckner did not have to accept the buyout offer. It was offered and he chose to accept it, as did several other senior umps.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/controversial-umpire-c-b-bucknor-220854552.html
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Didn't he just come off the IL? Regardless, I agree. Go for it.
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Marlins pulled Eury Perez after 7 perfect innings today.
92 pitches.
24 Perfect Games in MLB history.
Granted, protecting a young pitcher and all that….but something is lost in baseball by this.
Almost cost Marlins the game too. 8-0 lead became a close 9-8 win (with winning run at bat in bottom of 9th too).
Boo.
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MLB is buying him out. It’s not by choice.
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CB Bucknor retiring after this year.
Oh no. We won't need automated system anymore.
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CB Bucknor retiring after this year.
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Ex-Cub Nicky Lopez is batting .355 with the Rangers (100 PAs), with OPS+ of 134.
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Brewers about to actually lose a game, and with Misiorowski on the mound too. The Miz was mostly dominant but did give up two homers including a 358-footer that killed him.
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Rays have gained seven games on the Yankees in ONE WEEK.
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Mets defense hasn't improved: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49221216/mets-miscues-lead-little-league-homer-springer-jays
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The Mets are not good (https://x.com/BarnHasSpoken2/status/2071735152481292513)...
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Watching MLB Now discussing the 2021 Angels and money not so well spent…
Anthony Rendon got 245 million for 224 hits and 22 HR…simple math shows 1.1 million per hit, and 11 million per HR.
That’s painful.
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WSox with 41 total bases in that win over the Royals.
But, All-time record for total bases by a team in a game is linked below.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS195006080.shtml
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HLyVf8NXcAApbEJ?format=jpg&name=small) (https://www.mlb.com/player/mitch-spence-687765)
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Royals have been outscored 35-3 the last two games.
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We passed on him before the Jays got him.
That was before Brown and Cabrera went down for multiple months.
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I doubt the Angels will trade with us in the near future.
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Simeon Woods Richardson DFA'd by the Blue Jays. Expect he'll be a Cub by the end of the weekend.
We passed on him before the Jays got him.
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The Royals should've left their starter in tonight.
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Simeon Woods Richardson DFA'd by the Blue Jays. Expect he'll be a Cub by the end of the weekend.
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Now it’s down to just TWO AL teams with a positive Runs Differential after Tuesday’s games. Kind of amazing.
American League is -134 on the year in run differential during inter-league play.
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Mets have rewarded their manager with a well deserved vacation.
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Only three AL teams have a positive Runs Differential.
Now it’s down to just TWO AL teams with a positive Runs Differential after Tuesday’s games. Kind of amazing.
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Woodruff returned from injury for the Brewers tonight:
6-1-0-0-0-10
Must be nice.
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Reds are promoting Julian Garcia, a 10th round pick in 2016 from Metropolitan State University of Denver. He's making his MLB debut at 31: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/06/reds-to-promote-julian-garcia.html
Looking at Baseball Reference, he didn't play professionally in 2023. He spent 2024 in the American Association and Puerto Rico. He was a longshot to ever make it to MLB when he was drafted. So it's always fun to see a guy who stuck with it into his early 30s finally make it to MLB.
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Only three AL teams have a positive Runs Differential.
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Do the Brewers have some sort of fairy dust that gives them an edge?
Ron we normally avoid political and sexual preference comments.
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Brewers have now passed the Braves for the #2 post-season bye (Dodgers #1).
Do the Brewers have some sort of fairy dust that gives them an edge?
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Brewers have now passed the Braves for the #2 post-season bye (Dodgers #1).
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I was at the Sunday night game at Fenway where the Scots invaded. The game itself was ok, it the atmosphere the Scots fought to the game was amazing.
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Pomeranz DFA’d…
We may need him as a starter.
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Owen Caissie has struck out 79 times in 193 PAs (41% K rate).
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Pomeranz DFA’d…
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Pitching perfection is the only thing that can hold these Sox back. Terrible defense at times. But they will hit the ever loving crap out of the ball.
Sox not hitting like the Nationals!
Runs: Nats 392 Sox 333
Slug: Nats .422 Sox .412
Iso Power: Nats 175 Sox 172
wRC+ Nats 107 Sox 105
Actually, thanks to defense, Cubs have the 3rd best position player fWAR in MLB—behind only Dodgers and Yankees.
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Yamamoto is perfect through 7 against the White Sox.
Pitching perfection is the only thing that can hold these Sox back. Terrible defense at times. But they will hit the ever loving crap out of the ball.
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@UmpireAuditor
Umpires missed 1,028 calls the week of June 8-14 and had 239 calls overturned. These were the 10 worst called strikeouts (https://x.com/UmpireAuditor/status/2066623914848215475) by distance missed.
3:48 PM · Jun 15, 2026
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Yamamoto is perfect through 7 against the White Sox.
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Jayson Stark @jaysonst
Fastballs at 101 mph or harder:
Jacob Misiorowski:
36 tonight
The entire Phillies staff:
25 all season
It's amazing what Misiorowski is doing right now. But you really have to wonder how long his arm is going to be able to hold up.
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Twins' Bailey Ober blames elbow woes on slick baseballs at Fenway
Interesting. There's also a viral video making the rounds which appear to show a disparity in the size of the baseballs.
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https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-prospect-zyhir-hope-two-home-runs-double-a
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Logan Webb has a no hitter through 6 innings, but he has thrown 85 pitches. This could get interesting. Teams don't let their pitchers go 125+ pitches for a no hitter anymore. But if anyone was going to get that opportunity, it would be Logan Webb.
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Cristopher Sanchez's scoreless inning streak ends at 50 2/3 innings, just 8 1/3 innings from Hershiser's record.
He had 2 outs and nobody on in the 7th. Then he gave up a ground ball double that had a .190 expected batting average and another ground ball that was out of Trea Turner's reach.
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They DFA'd him in Philadelphia. That's rich!
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48958449/padres-dfa-nick-castellanos-rough-39-game-stint
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Brewers edge the Giants 16-2. They've won 18 of 22.
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Misiorowski now with these numbers on the season after 7 shutout on Sunday.
1.65 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, Op OPS: .438
71 IP, 37 H, 19 BB, 108 K
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Sounds like a Hotovy project: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48920306/twins-designate-struggling-woods-richardson-assignment
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I guess it’s a coincidence but….
MLB initial salary cap proposal is $245.3
Cubs current CBT payroll (per RR) is $245.11.
Maybe Ricketts is the under-the-radar power guy within MLB.
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Cristopher Sanchez has pitched 44 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, that's the 11th longest streak in MLB history. If he gets 4 outs before giving up a run in his next start, he'll move up to #6. He's having a pretty good year so far.
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Yankees pound Royals pitching tonight with 46 total bases.
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Brewers have won 14 of 18.
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Kimbrel DFA'd by NYM. Still on Jed's contact list?
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Amazing stat seen on another board: Chicago's two clubs have both had winning records only 5 times since 1940.
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Good grief. The Nationals lead MLB in Runs Scored.
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If Sasaki has figured it out, they really become unfair.
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Dodger slump might be over. They've won 5 straight by a 40-5 margin.
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Former Cubs Rule 5 pick Gage Workman has made it back to MLB with the Tigers. He's 4 for 11 with 2 2B and 2 HR in his first four games.
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Bob Nightengale
@BNightengale
The Dodgers have now lost 4 games in a row by 4 or more runs.
The last time it happened?
It was 90 years ago, back in July, 1936
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Fifth straight game with a homer for Schwarber.
His pace is for 66.
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Jeff Passan @JeffPassan
MLB and the MLB Players Association are currently holding the first official collective-bargaining talks before the expiration of the CBA on Dec. 1, sources tell ESPN. The opening presentations are basic overviews of each side's position and set up the long bargaining road ahead.
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.319/.397/.536/.415 wRC+145 as a 19 year old in A+. The 26.9% K% is great, but that trade kind of stinks.
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Speaking of Soroka, has anyone noticed how Ronny Cruz is doing?
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Padres have moved ahead of Dodgers in NL West.
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Yes, I noted it previously.
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Anyone notice how Soroka is doing this year?
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Jim Miloch @podoffame
Kyle Schwarber cracked MLB's top 100 home run list yesterday, blasting the 355th and 356th homers of his career.
Schwarber is now tied with Joey Votto for the 97th most home runs in MLB history.
He has a pretty good shot at a 500 HR career.
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I think it would be crazy if the Athletics won the AL and they played half the World Series in West Sacramento.
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Walk-off homer for the Brewers. They've won 9 of 12.
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Sarah Langs
@SlangsOnSports
Munetaka Murakami has homered in the first game in each of the last seven series
Murakami and Eddie Murray (1987) are the only players to accomplish the feat in MLB history
No one has done so in eight straight series. Yet
h/t
@MLBNetwork
research squad
He did in the 8th by hitting a HR in Friday against Seattle.
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Murakami is on pace for 4 doubles, 60 homers, 120 RBI, and 242 K's.
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Bobby Cox passed away just three days after Ted Turner:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/05/bobby-cox-passes-away.html
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Sarah Langs
@SlangsOnSports
Munetaka Murakami has homered in the first game in each of the last seven series
Murakami and Eddie Murray (1987) are the only players to accomplish the feat in MLB history
No one has done so in eight straight series. Yet
h/t
@MLBNetwork
research squad
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I always wondered why thier start times were 5 minutes delayed all the time. Makes sense.
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If I remember right, he paid Messersmith extra for doing it. Channel 17, and everything starting 5 minutes after the hour. :05, :35, so you could flip to TBS if you didn't like the show you started on the hour.
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Channel 17 was Andy Messersmith
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Two MLB rules created because of Ted Turner....
Players must wear their surname on the Jersey. (He has a player wear a jersey with Channel as the name and 17 as the number to promote his station. Starting Pitcher today - Channel 17!)
Owners are not allowed to manage teams. (He was so frustrated with his team that he went down and managed a game from the dugout one game.)
LOL. Never heard this before today.
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https://x.com/TheRealHoz35/status/2052132840079245635/video/1?s=61
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https://twitter.com/TheRealHoz35/status/2051860560581378239/video/1?s=61
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Red Sox were tipping pitches…one sec…
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Fangraphs had a piece on Valdez a week ago that was not too optimistic about him going forward.
https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/five-pitchers-to-sell-high-on/
And there also this, from "The Windup" in The Athletic.
Framber Valdez had a bad game that ended in a bad way. Plus: a few more surprises from this year, the Cubs just keep walking it off and Chad Jennings is on the mailbag this week. I’m Levi Weaver, welcome to The Windup!
Bad Looks
Valdez’s inner menace returns
When Framber Valdez hit free agency last winter, decision-makers around the league faced a dilemma. On one hand, Valdez was coming off a six-year stretch in which he went 73-44 with a no-hitter, a 3.23 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, setting an MLB record in 2022 with 25 consecutive quality starts.
On the other, there was that cross-up. And if that incident — in which Valdez appeared to intentionally throw a different pitch than catcher Cesar Salazar called, resulting in a 93 mph sinker to the backstop’s chest — was a standalone incident, it might have been easier to believe the official explanation: “I hit him by mistake.”
It wasn’t, though. Early in his career, Valdez was more or less defined by his tendency to unravel in tough game situations. After working with sports psychologist Dr. Andy Nuñez, Valdez did truly appear to improve.
But the signs of relapse were evident in recent years. When once Valdez would untangle, now there appeared to be some questionable decision-making once frustration mounted. There was the 2024 issue with not following the game plan with then-new catcher Yainer Díaz. Then last year’s public questioning of the Astros’ defensive positioning. Then the fateful cross-up in September.
Valdez’s agency was in damage-control mode this winter, releasing a 20-minute video that focused primarily on the pitcher’s upbringing, painting him in a personable light.
The league didn’t buy it. A year after Max Fried — Valdez in age and numbers — signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees, Valdez got two years and $70.65 million with the Tigers.
So there’s the context. Now the event: After giving up back-to-back home runs to fall behind to the Red Sox 10-2, Valdez hit Trevor Story squarely in the back with a fastball. The benches cleared. Valdez was ejected, later calling it “unfair,” while his manager said “it didn’t feel good, being out there (as the benches cleared).”
Hitting a batter out of frustration is a wretched look, no matter the circumstance. Only slightly less bad is hitting a batter because you think they’re stealing your signs (which was the theory offered up by former big-leaguer Eric Hosmer).
Either way, on a Tigers team with 10 pitchers on the IL (including ace Tarik Skubal), risking a suspension is not the move.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7258307/2026/05/06/framber-valdez-hit-pitch-the-windup/
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Lifted this from Bob Nightengale.
Runs allowed by the Tampa Bay Rays in the last 13 games, going 12-1:
1
2
1
2
2
0
3
0
1
1
1
3
0
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Matt Olson is playing his 818th consecutive game this afternoon. If he doesn't get hurt between now and Monday, he'll have the 10th longest consecutive game streak in the history of MLB. He's about two weeks away from passing Eddie Yost at 9th place (829 games), and he could pass Stan Musial (895 games) for 8th place later this year.
It's pretty surprising to see a modern player being allowed to have such a long streak. Seems like most teams want to give their players regular rest in the last couple of decades.
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Framber Valdez has a 4.57 ERA, got ejected yesterday, gave up a back-to-back HR's then drilled the next guy in the back. I know there was a lot of recommendation to pursue him, and he might pitch a lot of good games moving forward. But yeah, kinda wonder if he's got some composure issues? And wonder how good of a baseball pitcher he's going to be moving forward? Obviously a high ERA for any finesse pitcher is always inflated by a couple of worst games when finesse is off, so 4.57 ERA now isn't much worse than Rea or Taillon, and he might have mostly excellent starts moving forward and might have a great season. But, it's also possible that, as the next couple of years unfold, that Hoyer might be vindicated in not having pursued Framber?
Fangraphs had a piece on Valdez a week ago that was not too optimistic about him going forward.
https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/five-pitchers-to-sell-high-on/
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https://www.mlb.com/player/framber-valdez-664285?stats=gamelogs-r-pitching-mlb
Framber Valdez has a 4.57 ERA, got ejected yesterday, gave up a back-to-back HR's then drilled the next guy in the back. I know there was a lot of recommendation to pursue him, and he might pitch a lot of good games moving forward. But yeah, kinda wonder if he's got some composure issues? And wonder how good of a baseball pitcher he's going to be moving forward? Obviously a high ERA for any finesse pitcher is always inflated by a couple of worst games when finesse is off, so 4.57 ERA now isn't much worse than Rea or Taillon, and he might have mostly excellent starts moving forward and might have a great season. But, it's also possible that, as the next couple of years unfold, that Hoyer might be vindicated in not having pursued Framber?
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Ex-Cub farmhand Yohendrick Pinango getting a chance in majors with Jays. Off to a nice start in a few games.
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https://www.chron.com/sports/college/article/savannah-bananas-kyle-field-record-22238970.php
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"That's baseball?"
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All five teams in the NL West have lost at least three straight games.
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Jon Heyman
@JonHeyman
·
Jan 12, 2025
Tommy Kahnle has interest from 8 teams. Relief market finally opening up.
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Cardinals beat the Dodgers again. They're up to their old tricks, now 20-13 on a complete rebuild.
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Crazy Reds-Pirates in Pittsburgh. Reds walked 7 straight guys, walking in four runs. 10-3 Pirates... after 2 innings. A 5-run inning without a single hit.
A chance the Cubs might be all alone in first place tonight?
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Brewers' Woodruff left their game in the 2nd inning while averaging 85 on his FB.
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In yesterday's DH, Schwarber had two homers, two doubles, a single, and two walks.
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Skenes got knocked around by the Cardinals today after allowing 3 runs his previous 5 starts.
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Thru the first 30 games of this season, Elly de la Cruz and Sal Stewart have driven in 42% of all the Reds runs this season.
Reds are 19-11, even though they have been outscored this season (-5).
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American League has a total of three teams over .500.
All five teams in NL Central are over .500.
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After a fast start to this season, Cam Smith is 2 for his last 31 ABs and is now batting .216.
Owen Caissie is 2 for his last 17 and batting .218. K % is 42%.
Growing pains for now.
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https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18ceN2w6fB/
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He's a winning manager. Jed should pursue him at once.
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Red Sox fire Alex Cora (and 4 other coaches including game-planning coach Jason Varitek).
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Bryan Woo hadn't allowed a homer all year in 38 innings. The Cardinals have hit 4 off him in 3 innings today.
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Reds were 2 outs, nobody on before scoring their two runs, too.
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Cardinals lost their first 1-run game of the year.
Reds were an out from losing their first before Lowe hit a game-winning homer.
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7223559/2026/04/24/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-rule-two-way-player-sentiment/?campaign=17843991&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=6500994
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Logan Gilbert early frontrunner for the Gold Jersey.
https://x.com/MLB/status/2047051704332341447/video/1
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Braves already have a 7 1/2 games lead on Phillies and 8 1/2 on the Mets.
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He is one man. It is already a perk that he's exceptional both on the mound and at the plate. What happens if he hurts his arm again? If he can't pitch, do the Dodgers get another pitcher? No. If he goes on the IL, do they get to bring up two guys? No. Giving the Dodgers an extra roster spot is egregious as JD would say.
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It isn’t an extra man. They have the same number of roster spots. And Ohtani plays more games as a DH than as a SP.
Any other team is welcome to have their pitchers bat and stay in the game as a DH just as Ohtani can.
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Ohtani is allowed to bat in a game where he pitches even after being taken out? And the Dodgers get to have an extra man on their active roster? I don't see it as whining to question whether that is appropriate.
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It’s only a benefit if the player is competent at both positions. I see no problem with the Shohei rule. Counsell is a whiner.
Yeah agreed on that one. That's a rule to help showcase the biggest star in the game, and for business reasons, MLB should absolutely do that. Counsell is indeed coming off a a whiner.
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It’s only a benefit if the player is competent at both positions. I see no problem with the Shohei rule. Counsell is a whiner.
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48545156/mlb-rule-place-ohtani-dodgers-bizarre
Couldn't the Cubs just say one of their pitchers was a two way player and get the same benefit?
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The one thing I've noticed is that "egregious" is gone. Remember when the ball would be a foot outside and low and the umpire went into a dramatic strike three call and hitters and managers were tossed for arguing and JD would mutter "egregious"?
Those egregious strikes don't happen anymore. Why? Are umps being more careful? Is that why reversals are usually within tenths of inches not multiple inches? My fear is that some umpires were ego driven and had to make themselves part of the game. They loved the drama. With ABS, they are little more than robots themselves. Gone are the days when they stared into the dugout because someone was chirping at them. Within a couple years, we won't recognize the names of the umpires and it won't matter. Just thinking outloud.
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When will MLB go ‘full ABS,’ let robot umps take over? Maybe never (The Athletic) (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7212986/2026/04/21/mlb-abs-future/)
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Both MLB.com and The Athletic have pieces today on the shocking fact that the NL Central has the best record among all of the divisions, and that every NL Central team has a record of .571 better.
https://www.mlb.com/news/nl-central-dominant-division-early-2026-mlb-season?partnerId=it-20260421-17781754-mlb-1-A&utm_id=it-20260421-17781754-mlb-1-A&lctg=65713367
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Mason Miller has now struck out 27 of 38 BF while allowing only 4 base runners in 11.1 innings.
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What a shame for them they don't don't already have the top FA closer from the the 2025 FA class on their roster.
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Oh no, Dodgers lose Diaz for 3 months! Now they have to buy another closer.
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Reds beat the Twins 7-4 yesterday in 10 innings. The game ended on a successful catcher challenge by the Reds catcher with the tying run at the plate.
The Reds catcher was PJ Higgins. Yeah, that guy…
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Owen Caissie has 29 Ks in 68 PAs—43% K rate.
Batting .246 thanks to a .406 BABIP.
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We'll see.
They'll probably have to settle for 110, maybe 112.
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Dodgers closing in on a 128-win pace.
We'll see.
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Maybe they'll keep that 128 win pace up, but they won 93 games last year. They were the fifth best team in baseball in the regular season, and they found a way to win the tournament at the end.
They have one of the oldest lineups in baseball with a lot of injury prone starting pitchers. It's not an unbeatable team.
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Dodgers closing in on a 128-win pace.
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The Padres are going to be sold for about $3.9 billion.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/04/seidler-family-nearing-deal-to-sell-padres-to-jose-e-feliciano.html
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@UmpireAuditor (https://x.com/UmpireAuditor/status/2045082270722347494)
Umpire Austin Jones called out Miguel Vargas on a pitch that missed inside. Vargas challenged and the call was overturned. The next pitch, he hit a home run. Batters have reached base 43 times this season after successfully overturning a called strike 3.
5:09 AM · Apr 17, 2026
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Mason Miller has allowed 1 hit and 1 walk in 8-1/3 innings with 20 K's.
Miller K'd the side on 14 pitches tonight.
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No-hitter over. BLAH.
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No-hitter in progress. CLE-BAL. Tune in if you are able.
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https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/inbox/id/AAkALgAAAAAAHYQDEapmEc2byACqAC%2FEWg0AQiWBQ%2BEkv0qCxw25zO2NRQAI825wYwAA
ABS isn't walking people; umpires are just calling a tighter strike zone. IMO
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It’s about keeping runs off the board.
Hershiser 59 consecutive scoreless innings. Beat that.
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I think I can speak for all non cub fans, we're tired of that one game being brought up over and over. just let Mason have his moment.
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Mason Miller has allowed 1 hit and 1 walk in 8-1/3 innings with 20 K's.
Kerry Wood did it better.
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Interesting rankings:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7199645/2026/04/16/mlb-starting-pitching-rankings-2026-april-update/?campaign=17725041&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=6500994
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Mason Miller has allowed 1 hit and 1 walk in 8-1/3 innings with 20 K's.
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Serious question: Is Javy Baez the greatest slider in MLB history?
https://x.com/MLB/status/2044557826001920409?s=20
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Shane Bieber to the 60-day IL with elbow inflammation.
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Tucker not doing much in LA and Betts has been out injured yet LA's 13-4.
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ESPN needs a new proofreader:
There was a scary moment in last night’s Diamondbacks/Yankees game: Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz was hit in the face with a foul ball. He immediately left the dugout, briefly returning later with a nasty-looking red mark on his face.
Why was the Baltimore manager at a DBack/Yankee game?
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Angels’ Jose Soriano’s season so far:
4-0
0.33 ERA
27 IP
9 hits
1 ER
31 strikeouts
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Soroka has 23 K against 6 BB in 15-2/3 IP.
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https://www.wmur.com/article/fisher-cats-wild-inning-no-hits-sea-dogs/70975726
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Only 2 of the 15 NL teams are under .500 (Giants, Nats).
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Caissie a single, two doubles, and 3 RBI today.
Sporting a 1.000 OPS
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Study: MLB average salary hits record $5.34M, led by Mets
So when some of these contracts like Griffin's 9 years, 140 million are starting to be common, that comes out to about $19m a year. By the 2030's a player making that much will just a bit above an average anti-awful player, seems to me.
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Caleb Killian in 6 appearances for the Giants: 5.1-0-0-2-7, 97.6 average FB velocity.
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Braves' Lopez, Angels' Soler each suspended 7 games for brawl
Never understood that. If no appeal, Soler is out 7 games, Lopez misses 1 maybe 2 starts. How's that fair?
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Wrestlemania is coming up, right? The Contreras boys in a cage? I'd pay to see that.
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48417156/red-sox-contreras-left-fuming-latest-brewers-hbp
Just another day with the Contreras boys.
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Cam Smith .297/.422/.595 wRC+ 191. 15.6% BB%, 24.4% K%
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462' homer for Cam Smith.
https://twitter.com/i/status/2041329362428207611
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Orioles needed one more challenge today.
They just lost on a walk off hit by Nick Yorke, one pitch after he took strike 3, except it was called a ball.
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Tucker was credited with -0.8 defensive WAR last year.
This year he's been credited with +0.3 defensive WAR in 7 games.
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Brewers may have the division wrapped up mathematically by the break.
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Did his catcher survive?
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Well aware…
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Valdez 1 ER in 12 IP so far in Detroit.
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MLB extensively tested full ABS and found it to be unpopular with both fans and personnel alike.
I would like to watch a full ABS game replay without having to subscribe to MiLB.
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Caissie homered again as well. A hot streak to start the year.
https://x.com/OPS_BASEBALL/status/2040151411548188898
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Who?
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Tucker with 3 hits and his first homer as a Dodger.
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Yes, exactly. Lets do it.
Eventually they'll switch over to robo umps. Until then I'm fine with the present system.
From mlb.com:
MLB extensively tested full ABS and found it to be unpopular with both fans and personnel alike. It led to more walks and a slower pace, and it took away much of the nuance that is baked into baseball, including the art of catcher framing that so many players value.
A 2023 survey of Triple-A players and coaches found that 60% preferred the game format with the ABS Challenge System, versus 24% preferring a zone enforced entirely by human umps and only 16% preferring full ABS.
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Having ABS available should make the umps try harder not to get embarrassed - or fired
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I don’t think they’re going to eliminate umps, nor do I think they will dramatically increase number of challenges.
Baseball has sought to optimize the game for fun, excitement, and fan engagement in recent years. Part of the magic of ABS challenges is the injection of drama. Eugenio Suarez’s recent plate appearance where CB tried to strike him out twice, only to be overturned, resulting in a huge walk… the crowd went absolutely nuts.
Going full robo ump cancels out that moment in a time when baseball is trying to create more of those moments IMO. They’re optimizing for entertainment, not purity or accuracy.
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You gotta wonder about that crazy call at firstbase. Where was his head? Is he daydreaming about those reversals? Is he already thinking, "I may be done"? The picture of him after getting hit in the mask was like...where am I? I think his first words were, "Holding, #67, automatic first down."
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There’s been talk of the worst ball/strikes umps being limited to bases work only (to save them the humiliation of being challenged constantly), but Bucknor has already shown his incompetence there as well…
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For years we've complained about Angel Hernandez, CB Buckner and a few others, but nothing was done about them. There was no metric to make a rational fire or hire decision, plus the Union was an obstacle. So most MLB players and managers knew who the horrible ones were, but other than arguing and getting tossed, there was no easy fix. That is what I think the ABS will clarify...which umpires aren't cutting it, forcing them to be limited, retired, or fired. An umpire occasionally getting a call wrong won't be that humiliating. Getting Bucknered might do the trick.
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With the robo-umps thing, at current technology would that be fast enough? It seems like with the challenges, the challenger has two seconds to challenge, the ump announces, and it takes another second or two to display the result. So it's actually taking 3-4 seconds or more to get to the correct call. That much time isn't required for the actual technology to make the call? If the system knew that EVERY call was getting read, the technology could be set so that the call could be made in 1 second, yes? The delay from pitch-to-call, or from tap-to-call wouldn't need to be as slow as is reality now, I assume?
*IF* it actually takes 3-4 seconds for the technology to make the correct call, that might be a reason not to go full-robo.
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Eventually they'll switch over to robo umps. Until then I'm fine with the present system.
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...If want perfection, why not have unlimited challenges or have the system call every pitch. .......
Yes, exactly. Lets do it.
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……..If it adds a few minutes to game time, so be it…most smart fans would rather see the right calls made.
I think most smart fans want to see the calls ruled favorably for the team that they root for—more so than the “right call” that went against their team.
If want perfection, why not have unlimited challenges or have the system call every pitch. Tried the latter in the minors and hardly anybody liked that. That’s why have the current system.
I don’t know the magic number for how many incorrect challenges a team should get but I would not like a system where we had a “have nothing to lose” mentality so let’s challenge. Should balance flow-of-the-game with any challenge system.
Main benefit of the pitch clock isn’t so much reducing length of games but rather improving flow of the game. Really important. A team can challenge pitch calls all game long if their challenges have merit but like having an incentive that it’s a worthy challenge and there’s a penalty if challenge lacks merit. Five incorrect challenges per team seems like a lot.
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I’ve seen a lot of non-challenges on 0-1, 1-0, and 1-1…where the pitch call can swing a projected hit probability by a pretty large margin.....
Agree, 0-2 vs 1-1, 2-1 vs 1-2, 3-1 vs 2-2, a phony strike is a huge differences for an AB. Likewise for a pitcher, a phony ball really impacts an AB and an inning. You don't want to get tons of challenges wrong, obviously. But if you think there's been a mistake, I'd support challenging early.
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Based on what I've seen so far, it seems like teams are erring in the direction of not using all their challenges rather than using them too fast.
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I’ve seen a lot of non-challenges on 0-1, 1-0, and 1-1…where the pitch call can swing a projected hit probability by a pretty large margin.
That seems unfair to ask a hitter not to challenge a bad call that puts him in a bad situation just because there might be a more crucial situation later on. If you think these batters aren’t cognizant of their batting average, or their productivity in general, or their role in helping their team generate runs (which is, of course, their primary task), I’m here to tell you they are, and it’s important.
Everything starts with a runner on base…
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I'm leaning your way, Dave. I see your point, reb, you maybe don't want five challenges every inning. But I think getting things right is the best, and adding even a couple more challenges would be advantageous. I get the "save them for leverage" logic, but a lot of games swing with early-inning runs.
To be honest, given how good the electronics seem to work, I still don't actually see the value of the challenge system? Based on what I've read from the minor-league usage in past, the technology seems to work pretty consistently. So we don't really need the challenge system for fear the technology will often fail. Why not just go 100% robo-ump and skip the challenge system altogether? Or is the concern that robo-ump will be too slow, or something, to make instant calls? Assuming the robo-ump can read and decide as fast or faster than an ump, going full robo-ump could then both get ALL the calls right, and do so without wasting the extra few seconds on challenge? Or is the concern that robo-ump is presently too slow for that?
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I think it's fine the way it is. It's not really worth disrupting the flow of the game to challenge a close pitch in a benign situation. The on air discussion yesterday identified specific counts where you might be particularly inclined to challenge (3-2 and 1-1). For the hitter, I would add close called strikes with 1-2 or 2-2 counts. For the catcher, perhaps close called balls with a 3-1 count.
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Andy Fletcher had 11 challenges last night…9 were successful.
I just want the right calls made. I want players to freely question calls without risk of not being able to challenge a call in a late, crucial situation. If it adds a few minutes to game time, so be it…most smart fans would rather see the right calls made.
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As quickly as the ABS system resolves challenges, I’d love to see the number bumped to 5 or so…
Resolved quickly but, with 5 challenges available, guessing that the frequency of challenges would increase exponentially—and that many would be intrusive, I think.
2 is fine. Can keep challenging if win the challenge but don’t think want to see too much of it.
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Very true.
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As quickly as the ABS system resolves challenges, I’d love to see the number bumped to 5 or so…
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Correct challenges don't cost team, whether it's a pitch-call or a manager's-challenge. Angels had two manager-challenges yesterday, with time to look at tape. The first one, the manager was too slow, and the clock ran out a second before he raised the challenge. That was the first run of the game, Amaya scoring from 1st on a Hoerner double, with the throw beating Amaya, but the catcher accidentally sweeping glove wide and opening an alley. I think the play was too close to overturn; ump having called him safe, I suspect there wasn't enough proof to overturn. But if he'd been called out, I definitely don't think there would have been proof to overturn and call him safe. Later, Hoerner stole 2nd, again the throw beat him, but the initial tag, glove was raised and kinda missed. Think he was probably out, but the replay wasn't decisive, so call stood. Had initial call been out, I suspect it would not have overturned. anyway, those manager challenges, with access to look at tape first, and given a bunch of seconds, that's different from ball-strike. Nobody is allowed time to check tape, the catcher or batter needs to tap really quick. Those are kinda fun, because the answer goes up on the scoreboard in two seconds and it's resolved.
Tangent, but I've been impressed how rarely the umps are actually wrong on ball-strike. In past, I would have guessed a higher volume of errors, and a higher volume of flagrant, not-even-that-close errors. But they seem much more correct than I expected, and the times they miss, it's rarely by much. I think the ABS system has definitely increased my respect for the umps.
I think a bunch of umpire misses are going unchallenged right now, mainly because teams are reluctant to use their limited number of available challenges in non-crucial situations. I’m not sure if it’s a reflection on their strike zone knowledge (or lack of), but I have screamed at the TV for a challenge several times watching our games, to no avail. Dansby comes to mind immediately as a multiple times recipient of my ire.
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funny thread (https://x.com/Twins/status/2039433920349913553) by pissed off Twins fans
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Correct challenges don't cost team, whether it's a pitch-call or a manager's-challenge. Angels had two manager-challenges yesterday, with time to look at tape. The first one, the manager was too slow, and the clock ran out a second before he raised the challenge. That was the first run of the game, Amaya scoring from 1st on a Hoerner double, with the throw beating Amaya, but the catcher accidentally sweeping glove wide and opening an alley. I think the play was too close to overturn; ump having called him safe, I suspect there wasn't enough proof to overturn. But if he'd been called out, I definitely don't think there would have been proof to overturn and call him safe. Later, Hoerner stole 2nd, again the throw beat him, but the initial tag, glove was raised and kinda missed. Think he was probably out, but the replay wasn't decisive, so call stood. Had initial call been out, I suspect it would not have overturned. anyway, those manager challenges, with access to look at tape first, and given a bunch of seconds, that's different from ball-strike. Nobody is allowed time to check tape, the catcher or batter needs to tap really quick. Those are kinda fun, because the answer goes up on the scoreboard in two seconds and it's resolved.
Tangent, but I've been impressed how rarely the umps are actually wrong on ball-strike. In past, I would have guessed a higher volume of errors, and a higher volume of flagrant, not-even-that-close errors. But they seem much more correct than I expected, and the times they miss, it's rarely by much. I think the ABS system has definitely increased my respect for the umps.
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Yes, it's why managers check with their tape people before challenging. They only lose one of their challenges, if the ump is right or there is no evidence to overturn. Their correct challenges are retained.
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With APS challenges that are correct, you don't lose the ability to challenge subsequently. No?
Is that so? One of the visiting announce teams (the only stream I could get over here) said the opposite.
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If a challenge of any kind is correct, you keep your challenge. You only lose if you're wrong.
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With APS challenges that are correct, you don't lose the ability to challenge subsequently. No?
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Baseball is not the only sport to do this, but why should a team lose a challenge if their challenge is correct? It makes absolutely no sense.
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Can you imagine this latest gaff by Buckner if the team was out of challenges? What a buffoon.
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They went +19 against the Sox in 3 games. Pretty sure plant high school would also go +19 in 3 games against the white Sox.
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Brewers +28 run differential.
Next best is the Yankees at +16.
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Brewers cruising to 5-1.
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Michael Soroka's first start for Arizona against the Tigers:
5-4-0-0-1-10
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Owen Caissie has hit a come-from-behind walkoff homer for the Marlins, who begins the season 3-0. Good for him.
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I honestly wouldn't be surprised if CB, or maybe Laz Diaz, retire in mid-season like Angel did. There are going to be some humiliating moments for umpires this season, particularly if they forget that they can't adjust the strike zone to get revenge on guys who argue with them.
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Or Angel?
Buckner doubled down when he refused to check with a base ump on a checked swing, which was clearly checked, and ended up throwing the Boston manager out of the game. What a buffoon.
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Can you imagine this system if Angel or Eric Gregg were still umpiring?
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MLB umpire CB Bucknor had six pitch calls overturned by ABS yesterday, including two straight overturned punch-outs of the Reds' Eugenio Suarez. Yikes. Listen to the crowd’s roar after Suarez wins the second one.
Buckner? Shocking.
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Dodgers win the first of 115+. Tucker with an RBI double and walk.
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14-1 Milwaukee.
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Brewers up 8-1. Misiorowski with 11 Ks and 2 hits allowed in 5 IP.
Ho hum.
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The bum.
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Skenes lasts 2/3 IP in his opening day start, gives up 5 runs.
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There are 5 Opening Day matchups in which Edwin Jackson played for both teams.
Nationals/Cubs
Tigers/Padres
Rays/Cardinals
Diamondbacks/Dodgers
A’s/Blue Jays
That’s amazing to me…
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The Athletic ranks them 7th.
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Top ten lineups this time (Cubs 9th).
https://www.mlb.com/news/ranking-10-best-mlb-lineups-in-2026?partnerId=it-20260322-17378293-mlb-1-B&utm_id=it-20260322-17378293-mlb-1-B&lctg=10048685
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Interesting move by the Phillies...about two years ago, Cristopher Sanchez signed a 4 year, $22.5 million contract for the 2025-28 seasons with team options for 2029-30 for $14 million and $15 million.
Today, they tore up that contract and gave him a new contract for 6 years, $107 million. So they're paying him more than twice as much to get one more year. And they locked in 2029-30 so they have to pay him even if he has a career-changing injury sometime in the next three years.
It's still a very good contract for the Phillies, but teams don't usually voluntarily tear up contracts that are already a huge bargain. Could this be a preemptive move in case MLB ends up with a salary cap? Maybe they're expecting that existing guaranteed contracts will be grandfathered in to some degree, but team options will have the same salary cap impact as a new contract?
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I don’t either.
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Fangraphs depth charts have the Cubs projected for 20th in pitcher WAR this year, so I don't think MLB.com is wrong by not including the Cubs.
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Clearly written by a Brewers fan…
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MLB.com's "Top 10 Pitching Staffs" doesn't include the Cubs (Brewers 8th).
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Cubs don’t have the money. Detroits owner is just and idiot.
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Framber Valdez was terrific during Sunday’s Grapefruit League tuneup against the Yankees, scattering four hits over five innings of shutout baseball.
The 32-year-old southpaw struck out three batters on the afternoon and did not allow a walk. Valdez generated nine swings and misses on 63 pitches in the contest, six of those on his sinker, while posting a CSW of 29 percent. He has looked exceptional in his first spring with the Tigers, registering a 0.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 12/0 K/BB ratio over 12 innings through his first three spring starts.
Thanks, Jed…
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Sources with the team said they made $200 million in marketing deals last year according to CNBC.
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Jack Harris
@ByJackHarris
·
14h
Can confirm the Dodgers have an agreement with Uniqlo to become the presenting field sponsor at Dodger Stadium. @katiejwoo was on it
The official ballpark name isn’t changing. Likely will be something like “Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium”
Dodgers' pie keeps getting bigger. Shohei's contract will pay for itself in just marketing deals.
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Angel would have thrown ABS out of the game, claiming it was bigoted.
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I wish Angel was still around for this. He probably would have seen the writing on the wall and bolted before it was implemented though.
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Their command was so good…they would have adjusted.
Likely a few more scratch hits here and there, and a few less called strike threes…
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How would Maddux and Glavine been with this, Glavine especially?
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I watched a game earlier this week where the HP ump was challenged several times in the first few innings, and most were successful. To be fair, they were pretty close pitches, but the announcers made a point to mention the chip that was forming on the guy’s shoulder.
It made me think of Eric Gregg, and how bad he was. Could you imagine?
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Even the "best" umps are going to miss pitches. The zone is called far, far more accurately than it was in 30-40-50 years ago.
Yes, and bad umpires miss a lot of pitches. If you believe guys like Bucknor and Angel are fine (he's gone at least), that's an opinion. I think a higher standard for umps is called for and if this system calls attention to the major outliers, great.
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Even the "best" umps are going to miss pitches. The zone is called far, far more accurately than it was in 30-40-50 years ago.
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If the challenge system makes it harder for bad umpires to keep their jobs by calling attention to how bad they are, that's another reason to like it.
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Angel would have more.
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CB Bucknor had three pitches overturned in the first inning today, and another was overturned in the second inning. That seems about right for him--the challenge system is working.
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This Arozarena-Dumper "feud" is fun, even if it's mostly just kidding around (and I'm not convinced it is).
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Brennen doing his Jake Fox impression.
https://www.facebook.com/BleacherNation/posts/jake-fox-2007-2009celebrating-the-spring-training-opener-with-jake-fox-who-had-o/1340984254724014/
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Brennen Davis for SEA this spring: .458-536-1.125-1.561, 4 HR.
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Got an ugly feeling that paying Profar in 2027 won't be an issue since we probably won't be playing.
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Interesting article on drug suspensions, guaranteed contracts, and the limited consequences for guaranteed contracts following suspensions. The author thinks the consequences are inadequate and that perhaps guaranteed long-term deals should not hold. She says she didn't get disagreement from the players she contacted, but who knows how many that was or how selective. Her view is that the union has stood pretty committed to fighting for drug-violators, and resisting any efforts to void long-term guaranteed contracts.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7091280/2026/03/06/mlb-drug-testing-contracts-jurickson-profar/?campaign=17175852&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=212065
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Joe Maddon with some comments with which I disagree, regarding 3-better rule and the Manfred Man. He suggests that those reduce managerial strategy, throw them out.
I disagree at two levels. I think there is still plenty of strategy with the 3-batter rule, and there is huge amount of managerial strategy and performance strategy with Manfred man, I love it. The amount of decision-making and manipulation of Manfred man AB's is huge, for pitchers, hitters, defenses, managers. So I disagree that those rules reducing strategy, I think Manfred man amplifies interesting decisions.
Second, Maddon is kind of an arrogant manager, so he's looking from a manager's perspective. But I think the importance of managerial strategizing, fun though that may be, is not an overwhelming consideration. And is greatly outweighed by pace of game (3-pitcher rule) and pitcher safety (Manfred man) and fan experience (Manfred man).
https://x.com/HaloTerritory/status/2029683372004626517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2029683372004626517%7Ctwgr%5Eb8b8759ecf5c0cd047cdd490a8a8716182d03578%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bleachernation.com%2Fcubs%2F2026%2F03%2F06%2Fregulars-show-out-rea-stretches-out-injuries-sort-it-out-ohtani-hits-one-out-and-other-cubs-bullets%2F
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Suzuki moonshot (https://x.com/i/status/2028775050934202722)
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How MLB ticket prices and TV blackouts are impacting the fan experience
Stephen J. Nesbitt
By Stephen J. Nesbitt
March 2, 2026Updated 8:24 am CST
Ten years ago, Mike Trout and Kris Bryant were Major League Baseball’s MVPs. The Chicago Cubs broke their curse. David Ortiz slugged a farewell tour around the league. Ichiro Suzuki collected his 3,000th hit stateside. Dave Roberts was a first-year manager in Los Angeles. There was no pitch clock, no shift ban, no universal DH. Intentional walks required pitching.
The point is, a lot has changed in the past decade.
One question we asked in our MLB fan survey: Do you enjoy the game more now than you did then? The game on the field has been revitalized by recent rule changes, but not everything about the fan experience has gotten better. Below, we dive into the answers to that question, plus consumers’ viewing habits, how they follow the action, and how often they actually get down to the stadium for a ballgame.
But let’s start with a trip back to 2016.
Reader comments have been edited for brevity.
Nearly 76 percent of fans report their enjoyment of the sport has either remained steady or increased in the past decade. However, the numbers have cooled since the post-rule-change honeymoon of 2023. At that point, the most common answer was a 4, and only 14.6 responded with a 1 or 2. Today, that dissatisfaction has jumped to 24.1 percent.
Dave L.: Baseball is a wonderful game and, no matter how often rich (mostly) White guys try to muck it up, they can never alter the goodness of the game itself. But these days, it seems like baseball executives are listening much more to what people in focus groups are saying than to what's in the best interests of baseball.
Robin T.: My reason to have soured on MLB in the past decade: MLB and owners allowed an inept owner to rip the A’s out of their community for no good reason. That was devastating to me.
Michael L.: I would love to somehow slow the adoption of corporate logos on uniforms. I am against the NASCARization of uniforms in professional sports. Just because something can be monetized doesn’t mean it must be.
More survey participants are consuming baseball via MLB.tv than any other platform. This represents a significant change from 2023, when more respondents said they followed MLB action on cable TV (47.6 percent) than on MLB.tv (31.2 percent) and other streaming providers (11.3 percent) combined.
Bob H.: Too many streaming options that contradict each other. I pay $150 a year for MLB.tv to watch the Astros from Kansas City. Now they want $100 more to watch the Royals when I can watch almost any other team from my main package. Then 15 percent of games are pushed to other streaming services. It’s annoying as all get out. For $150 a year, I should be able to watch all teams and all games with ZERO blackouts.
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https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/ex-mlb-pitcher-dan-serafini-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-without-parole-for-murder-of-father-in-law-040728539.html
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Jesse Rogers:
Early ABS spring update: 302 challenges through 5 days of games. Avg of 4.65 per game. 53 percent overturn rate so far. P/C combo has a 54 percent overturn rate. Hitters are at 51 percent.
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Atlanta Braves publicly reported final 2025 revenues are now in.
Overall operating loss of $14 M.
Baseball-side revenues increased by 7 percent to $635 M.
The Battery revenues saw a 45 percent jump to $97 M in 2025.
So, overall revenues up 11 percent overall for the year to $732.5 M total.
Of course, these are based on customary accounting practices, like it or not. What rich guys do.
Still, Braves reported $14 M loss on $732.5 M revenues is the kind of thing that underpins Ricketts saying Cubs spend on payroll to break even. Like it or not.
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As fast as the ABS system appears to be on appeals, I wish each team was given more challenges.
Or, maybe, just use the damn thing for all pitches…
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Konnor Griffin had a day…
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RIP
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/sport/bill-mazeroski-pittsburgh-pirates-death-baseball
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If I was a die hard Angels fan, I’d be pulling my hair out, but that’s not an unreasonable position, not to mention an honest one.
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Angels owner Arte Moreno on their reduced payroll:
https://www.thebiglead.com/angels-owner-arte-moreno-winning-not-a-top-5-priority-among-fans/
“For me, I’ve always wanted to win. It’s just what’s the cost of winning right now?” Moreno told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group).
...
In the meantime, Moreno must allocate the revenues he can count on. And winning, he said, is not most fans’ top priority.
“The number one thing fans want is affordability,” Moreno said, via Fletcher. “They want affordability. They want safety, and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark. Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five.
“The moms want to be able to afford to bring the kids. Moms make about 80% of the decisions. They want to be able to bring their kids and be affordable and they want safety and they want to have a good experience, so they get all the entertainment stuff or whatever. The purists, you know, it’s just straight winning.”
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I don't think the owners will ever agree to a realistic salary floor, even to get their precious cap. There are more cheap-ass owners than Steve Cohens out there.
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Passan did a ESPN piece and—in order to replicate current aggregate MLB payrolls—came up with a cap of $280 and a floor of $150. Not sure if that was based on CBT formula or actual Annual.
....I also wonder if a $280 cap might encourage Ricketts to spend closer to $280 since seems Cubs spending kind of tracks CBT level. Give him a league-wide number and maybe he’ll spend to that level.
Interesting how the Bregman signing has changed the Cubs spending narrative, almost everywhere, as in “Cubs now doing what supposed to do.” But Cubs CBT payroll now sits at $244, only about $5 more than 2024 payroll. Cubs payroll now $12 M below Tigers—hardly a big spending club. Apparently, Cubs were willing to spend an additional $20 or so on Gallen. Too bad didn’t spend that money on bringing back Keller and signing Refsnyder to share DH.
Good points. I kinda agree, *IF* there really was a semi-cap, I'd think a lot of teams would perhaps use that as a budget guideline, and then try to get the best they can out of it. More like the NFL cap, pretty much everybody is right up there. Wouldn't be like that, but if it was as modest as $280, I'd not be surprised to see Ricketts get closer.
Your point is well taken that they haven't actually spent that much this winter. Everybody assumes they'll go past lux 1 between incentives and trade deadline, but they aren't over yet. And using Spotrac numbers, they're around 9th in mlb, kinda their usual spot other than last year. I know some posters had assumed they were going into budget-cut-cut-cut mode, and obviously that hasn't been realized. But it's not really like they've gone on some splurge. As you say, pretty much right back to 2024 types of levels. With inflation, not really bigger than 2023 either.
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Passan did a ESPN piece and—in order to replicate current aggregate MLB payrolls—came up with a cap of $280 and a floor of $150. Not sure if that was based on CBT formula or actual Annual.
In any case, several teams currently substantially below $150 and Passan inferred that revenue sharing would have to be altered to accommodate those clubs being able to spend at that level.
I also wonder if a $280 cap might encourage Ricketts to spend closer to $280 since seems Cubs spending kind of tracks CBT level. Give him a league-wide number and maybe he’ll spend to that level.
Interesting how the Bregman signing has changed the Cubs spending narrative, almost everywhere, as in “Cubs now doing what supposed to do.” But Cubs CBT payroll now sits at $244, only about $5 more than 2024 payroll. Cubs payroll now $12 M below Tigers—hardly a big spending club. Apparently, Cubs were willing to spend an additional $20 or so on Gallen. Too bad didn’t spend that money on bringing back Keller and signing Refsnyder to share DH.
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The Brewers were at $115 million last year. 16-19 in payroll were in the $140's. My guess is the floor would probably be somewhere around $140 unless they get full local revenue sharing.
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I was thinking more from floor side, that a large jump in floor would bring them closer to us, not that ceiling would pull us down closer to them.
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https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2026/02/20/players-unified-against-a-salary-cap-owners-unified-in-favor-of-one-so-that-seems-great/
The Cubs haven't been acting like a big market team since 2018. Even with a salary cap they will spend more than the Brewers, Pirates, Reds. It isn't going to be a lower level than current CBT thresholds, which the Cubs have barely gone 1 time since COVID and will likely be over slightly again this year.
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But I think the game is more interesting with more competitive opportunity. I know KC won as recently as 2015, and Miami in 2003; it's not impossible under the current system. But I kinda like how Green Bay and Kansas City have bewtter, fuller competitive opportunity, Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder, Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild. I think improving competitive opportunity is good for the game
As a fan interested in the game and competitive opportunity, I think some of the modifications the owner's want is more likely to help than what the players want. It's not that I "like" billionaires more than millionaires; I just think competitive opportunity is more likely to improve a bit if the next CBA does something to curtail the spending disparity.
I totally don't believe a salary cap will be accepted by the players, they are super rich and have been stacking money for the lockout for a long time. Financially they'll be fine to hold out for a long time. But I do wonder whether, *IF* they would consider some type of super-soft salary cap, whether they might not make a killing in getting concessions advantageous to players. The concessions for a super-soft cap would be very high. Shorten FA eligibiliy; arb eligibiliy. Big boost in salary basement. Big boost in minimum wage. *IF* the players would actually concede some kind of capping structure, they could harvest a host of things they've wanted for the last 30 years of CBA's. The structure of things could change ginormously. Some of those hypothetical changes might end up being pretty disadvantageous to the Cubs.
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A cap would be bad news for Cubs. They've had a massive budget advantage within the division, and haven't won a division in many years. Without the extra $100M they have in spending over the division teams, it would be harder for them to win the division. Being on an equal budgetary playing field as the Brewers, that might be tough.
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If the fans care about the health and future of the game, they'll be rooting for the players, plain and simple. The owners love the kind of both-sidesism you're seeing here - plays right into their hands.
I am rooting for the players over the owners. That's not an issue, but you're being naive if you think those owners are going to pay more out of their pockets. It's coming out of yours and mine.
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Stars made out fine, I'll grant that.
Median Player Salary
2017: $1,500,000
2025: $1,350,000 (-10%)
This is because composition of the work force (the players) chosen by management is comprised of more pre-arb players these days—not because the same more senior category of players is earning less. The latter are earning more, not less.
This is the trade-off for achieving arbitration rights and free agency: junior players have to wait to get the benefits of the cba salary structure. Of course, many marginal players never get to that point.
This practice is good for junior and marginal players because they are getting more opportunities—based on their lower salaries—than in years past. Some take these opportunities and blossom— leading to joining a better compensated strata. According to AP, 62% of 2025 opening day players had salaries under $1 million. Not sure if that is accurate but explains the modest median salary. Owners and GMs love stocking the roster with these guys.
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If the fans care about the health and future of the game, they'll be rooting for the players, plain and simple. The owners love the kind of both-sidesism you're seeing here - plays right into their hands.
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Players and owners will come out fine. ---craig
Absolutely agree. The only losers will be the fans again. We lose the sport we love for several months, we lose money because the "settlement" will require more cash to appease the fat cat owners and the players. Fans are always the losers without a voice at the table.
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Stars made out fine, I'll grant that.
Average Player Salary
2017 : $4,097,121
2025: $4,721,393 (15.2% increase)
Median Player Salary
2017: $1,500,000
2025: $1,350,000 (-10%)
MLB Revenue
2017:$9.46 billion
2025: $12.5 billion (32.1%)
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....This only ends in pain.
I think Ricketts will need to suck it up and endure his pain. Happ, Taillon, Shota, Seiya, Dansby, Bregman, I think they'll be able to endure pretty well too. Player salary has jumped by ~30% over last CBA; I wish the union I'm in would have once lost like that and gotten taken to the cleaners like that and subjected my colleagues to that level of pain!! Pain is only for fans. Players and owners will come out fine.
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Craig- A few points.
(1) MLBPA doesn’t agree with Manfred about the % of revenues that players are getting under current cba. Just a week ago Bruce Meyer said [reported in The Athletic] that, “if you include all the compensation paid pursuant to the current major league CBA, the players’ share is comfortably over 50 percent.” So, depends who you’re talking to....
I just brilliantly pulled those 47% numbers from Google AI, not from Manfred, who I rarely read. Glad to hear the actual % is higher. If mlb was actually getting a disproportionately lower % than NFL/NBA, that might impact urgency to increase that, and public perception. Not that public perceptions or fan view will impact the negotiation generals, obviously. reb, You seem to be suggesting that Manfred is putting out numbers in which players get a much lower % of total revenue than they actually get. Am I misunderstanding you on that? If so, why would he want to under-represent their % of revenue? That would seem counterproductive, to put public sentiment on players side, and make players feel undercompensated. If he is going to be falsifying, I'd think he'd be better served to falsify player-cut in the higher direction than the lower? Or am I missing something there?
Whether NBA gets a couple % more or less, my simpler point was that it's not intrinsically obvious that NBA guys are doing so badly, and that their union is failing them. They've got a sport that is MUCH less popular, yet their players are doing really well. And they've mutually built in all kinds of exceptions and exemptions that makes their salary cap very soft and fluid.
This is tangent, and I'm sure you as a union guy hate it. But as a dumb fan I love the NBA's max/supermax, limiting stars to 30% or 35% supermax contracts, in the $55-60 range. It probably seems like grievous pain to you, but Giannis getting by on $54/year, that doesn't seem too painful to me or his family. The fan in me loves it, the lover of competition loves is, and the socialist in me loves it. I love that players other than Giannis and Curry still get paid, which I think is nice for the 95% of their union who aren't max. Max forces $$ to flow to non-elites. Second, the max ceiling is higher for an extension than if you jump teams. To extend a star, you can pay him more than if he jumps, and you can fly past the soft salary "cap". This gives stars some incentive to stay. Imagine if Tucker had been a max/supermax, and the Dodgers couldn't pay him as much as the Cubs to retain him? I think Pirates might like that when anticipating Skenes. I think it's been good for NBA competitive opportunity, which obviously isn't a value for the union but it does kinda impact fans. And I think it's been good for the rest of the players, leaving more millions to spread around to them.
Back to mlb, and whether their %-of-revenue is a little higher or lower than NBA/NfL. Comparing the %'s, as I was trying to do using Google AI listings, is probably silly anyway. Each sport is unique and has it's own variability in revenue generation and in operating costs. So the % distribution to player salary could logically reflet some that. Should mlb be higher or lower? I'm not sure, actually. On one hand, as I noted, baseball has much higher operating expenses, so maybe that should necessitate smaller % cut for players? Flip is that baseball has much higher revenue, with so many zillion games compared to NFL, and with stadiums/attendance so much larger than NBA. So even if operating expense is much higher $$-wise, perhaps it's lower %-wise relative to revenue? So I'm not sure whether mlb players-cut should actually be somewhat higher or lower % relative to NBA/NFL.
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Not exactly. There won't be a solution.
In absence of a solution, don't people sometimes try to reduce a problem, even if only by a little bit?
A little problem-reduction is better than none. "It could be worse".
Well typically you get people that will dig in there heels and wait for the other side to give in because they are experiencing too much pain. One side in billionaires that typically have another source of income. The other side is millionaire players that may not have another source of income.
The MLB player union has been successful by driving a wedge between big and small market clubs. Now the majority of big and small market clubs are on the same side saying they can't compete with the Dodgers and Mets. You can't drive a wedge in between that. The MLB players union also gave in and focused on quality of life issues and the owners took them to the cleaners. The players are going to want a win. This only ends in pain.
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……..Players will eventually want to play. There will be a fight; but in due time a compromise
Still, it's not really obvious that NBA/NFL players are doing any worse than mlb players; salary cap may not provide meaningful disadvantage?
Craig- A few points.
(1) MLBPA doesn’t agree with Manfred about the % of revenues that players are getting under current cba. Just a week ago Bruce Meyer said [reported in The Athletic] that, “if you include all the compensation paid pursuant to the current major league CBA, the players’ share is comfortably over 50 percent.” So, depends who you’re talking to.
(2) MLB contracts are guaranteed for the most part. Very few NFL contracts are guaranteed (unless you play QB) and free agency has stuff like Restricted free agency. Very different. The NBA cba has maximum contract lengths (4 or 5 years tops) and % limits on how much of the team salary cap can go to any particular player. Notion that baseball owners are a reliable source as to whether players better off under a salary cap strikes me as being a peculiar notion.
(3) Nobody can really know, at this point, whether a salary cap “will never happen” just because players/MLBPA don’t want one. They may hate it but when you lose the fight, you agree to terms you might hate. This happens in military wars of course and collective-bargaining sometimes is—in the most bitter labor disputes—the peaceful equivalent. As a former career NLRB person, I have seen this many times. Labor disputes don’t have to end with a “reasonable compromise.” Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends on bargaining power and who has it and whether roughly equivalent. And the latter can change as time goes by. One side loses solidarity and the other holds firm. That’s where the “pain” comes in. Segments on one or both sides just can’t take it anymore and want to stop the fight. NFL and NBA players have always caved before too long and both sides know that. MLB players have a different history but will that still be true of today’s players? Nobody really knows. Maybe baseball owners want to find out. Seems that way.
Doesn’t have to be that way—many bargaining relationships are fruitful to both sides or at least used to be more often when unions were more pervasive and powerful back in the day. Maybe cooler heads will prevail in baseball. Let’s hope so.
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A great idea if you want to encourage teams to tank.
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If you exceed a certain payroll limit, a certain portion of your existing roster is put into the equivalent of an expansion draft for a certain portion of the league (read: low revenue franchises). Not only that, but you will be responsible for a certain percentage of the drafted player's salary.
Example: Dodgers sign free agent Maynard Wingtip next offseason, pushing their payroll over the limit. Yamamoto goes into the draft. White Sox choose him and the Dodgers have to pay 75% of his salary while he plays for Chicago.
You're welcome.
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Baseball doesn't need a salary cap. They need a solution targeted at one rogue franchise. That's hard to do but a cap is not the answer and the players will never agree to one anyway.
There may be enough owners who feel the Dodgers are bad for the game to find some common ground with the union on possible fixes. More revenue sharing makes a lot of sense but it doesn't really do anything to deter the Dodgers. They've made it clear no amount of financial penalty will be any deterrent to them - they just don't care. Something like a forfeiture of draft picks and IFA money targeted at extreme offenders - with real and severe penalties when clubs abuse the system like the Dodgers do - might be a possibility.
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Your looking for a simple solution to a complex problem.
Not exactly. There won't be a solution.
In absence of a solution, don't people sometimes try to reduce a problem, even if only by a little bit?
A little problem-reduction is better than none. "It could be worse".
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....Other sports have some form of salary cap because the unions in those sports haver never had the bargaining party to resist. Never had the solidarity to inflict pain on ownership....
And if the players ultimately agree to some form of salary cap, it will be because they now lack the bargaining power .... to achieve the players’ best interests. ...
...Remains to be seen.
Assuming more or less equal bargaining power on both sides, the parties will reach an agreement when both sides are in pain or near-pain and can live with the offer on the table. Don’t have to be enthusiastic about it; just can live with it....
Several tangent thoughts, reb.
1. Agree. Owners would like to improve the status quo. But the status quo is win-win, and neither side will want to destroy mlb. Negotiation and compromise will happen as always, but in the end there will be a deal. The 7 Cubs post-FA starters average over $20. Not sure how acute their pain? Players will eventually want to play. There will be a fight; but in due time a compromise will be reached. Killing the entire season would be lose-lose and the two sides won't mutually commit to that. Too much profit for both sides to mutually self-destruct.
2. Reb, Your primary premise is that if the players agree to some form of salary cap, it will be contrary to the players’ best interests. It's obviously never going to happen, of course, because the players union has always held your premise.
3. You have a second premise that NFL and NBA players are worse off, because they have salary cap due to weaker unions that induce less adversarial pain.
I'm uncertain if either premise is true? Per simple Google AI, the percentage of revenue 51%/48% for NBA/NFL, versus 42-47% for mlb. How much worse off are the NBA/NFL guys?
Reb, you rhetorically note: "If MLB players want to assist the owners to ....have the business model be “more competitive”——fine."
Your view is that adversarial pain must be the only path to any CBA. But if fan interest grew, revenue grew, and the players agreed to an NBA/NFL-style 50%, might that not actually be to mutual advantage? More fan interest, more revenue, a higher cut of revenue, which of those would be contrary to player interest?
Admission: Referencing the 50%-of-revenue earnings for NBA/NFL is a vulnerable logic chain. Baseball's lower %-of-revenue reflects higher operating costs. NBA/NFL have cost/free player-development in college, no minor league costs. NBA team has one stadium; NFL maybe 3-4 additional practice fields. Cubs have both Wrigley; plus 6-7 fields in massive Mesa complex; plus ~6 other fields/stadiums divided between Dominican and A-AA-AAA minor-league teams. More operating expense. Cubs play 162 games plus spring plus post-season, Bears host maybe 12? More operating expense. Cubs have much larger volume of front-office/scouting personnel and analytic costs, etc.. More operating expense.
Still, it's not really obvious that NBA/NFL players are doing any worse than mlb players; salary cap may not provide meaningful disadvantage?
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Your looking for a simple solution to a complex problem.
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Yes. 100% TV sharing in NBA/NFL. Local TV deals in mlb share only 48%.
The variance in local-TV revenue is the dominant factor that differentiates Dodgers from Cubs or Brewers, and that differentiates mlb from NFL/NBA.
But that % is subject to negotiation in the next CBA. Is it going to jump from 48% to 100%, obviously not. That's more implausible than salary cap. But might it jump from 48% to 53% or 62%? Incremental adjustments relative to status quo seem plausible.
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Curt, not sure I understand the details. But my simplistic understanding is that there is 48% revenue sharing of "shared-pool" local revenue. That's mlb-wide.
As I understand it, local broadcasting/television revenue, ticket sales, concessions are "shared-pool local revenue". Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees, Pirates, everybody shares 48% of their local revenue into the shared pool.
In NFL, broadcasting revenue is shared 100%. MLB, 48%.
The NFL doesn't have any local TV deals. It is only national deals. The NBA and MLB share 100% of the national TV deals as well.
Manfred is looking to move more games to a national TV deal or MLV TV app.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7051666/2026/02/17/major-league-baseball-tv-rights-battle-ownership/
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Just heard on the Score, that percentages of tv packages and home receipts have been saved over the last 4 years as a war chest for clubs. Each club has $75M tucked away to survive a long lockout. Just reporting, don't know if true.
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I don't think it will be a cap, but there will need to be some sort of arrangement for more revenue sharing. What percentage of the crowd does the visiting team get in gate receipts now? Anything? Whatever it is, make it better for the Pirates when they go to New York, the Dodgers, Chicago, St. Louis. I know it would never happen, but what if every team refused to play the Dodgers in LA? What if half their wins were forfeits? LOL. They might consider sharing then.
Curt, not sure I understand the details. But my simplistic understanding is that there is 48% revenue sharing of "shared-pool" local revenue. That's mlb-wide.
As I understand it, local broadcasting/television revenue, ticket sales, concessions are "shared-pool local revenue". Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees, Pirates, everybody shares 48% of their local revenue into the shared pool.
In NFL, broadcasting revenue is shared 100%. MLB, 48%.
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The players are employees. It is not the employees’ job or responsibility to manage the business and make it more profitable for the owners or to have divisions within the management structure be “more competitive” within that structure. Indeed, under labor law, employees cannot insist on negotiating over these managerial responsibilities—except to the extent it impacts employees’ pay and working conditions.
That’s the starting point. Owners manage. Employees are not co-managers of the business. When some baseball writers say that the players have a kind of quasi co-responsibility for the integrity of the business model—baloney. Not the way American corporate structure is modeled or recognized under labor law.
Other sports have some form of salary cap because the unions in those sports haver never had the bargaining party to resist. Never had the solidarity to inflict pain on ownership.
If MLB players want to assist the owners to come up with creative solutions to manage the owners’ business and have the business model be “more competitive”——fine. If the owners want that, good. By all means.
And if the players ultimately agree to some form of salary cap, it will be because they now lack the bargaining power and solidarity to achieve the players’ best interests. Remains to be seen. If the owners are serious about losing a season or a very big chunk of a season, it will be because they now believe the MLBPA is too weak and divided to resist.
Or, maybe the owners themselves are divided or will be at crunch time. Remains to be seen.
Maybe owners don’t really believe the Union is weak and will settle before games are lost or too many are lost. Remains to be seen.
Assuming more or less equal bargaining power on both sides, the parties will reach an agreement when both sides are in pain or near-pain and can live with the offer on the table. Don’t have to be enthusiastic about it; just can live with it.
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I don't think it will be a cap, but there will need to be some sort of arrangement for more revenue sharing. What percentage of the crowd does the visiting team get in gate receipts now? Anything? Whatever it is, make it better for the Pirates when they go to New York, the Dodgers, Chicago, St. Louis. I know it would never happen, but what if every team refused to play the Dodgers in LA? What if half their wins were forfeits? LOL. They might consider sharing then.
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I don't see that being super complex. Easy answers for first two.
1) Salary cap- will the players give in
No. No-brainer. Not complex or messy. Definitive no.
2) Revenues- will teams put revenues that have been considered outside of the team on the table. For the Cubs it would mean Wrigleyville and Marquee profits.
No. No-brainer. Not complex or messy.
The existing boundaries of shared-pool local revenue are already defined, no? Local broadcasting/television revenue, ticket sales, concessions, and sponsorship revenue. I don't anticipate much messiness fighting over redefining those boundaries/definitions.
3.) Revenue split to come up with salary cap
What percentage of shared-pool local revenue gets shared, that's a clear area for negotiation. Should 48% become 50% or 60% or 70%, that's a negotiation question. But redefining what's counted into shared-pool local, I don't think that's a big-deal fight?
Your basically thinking that it is going to end up being a status quo CBA.
The players may not want it a salary cap, but their are enough big and small cap teams that want it. I think a large chunk of the season is going to missed fighting over the salary cap and what is the revenue that makes the salary cap.
You are basically thinking it is a status quo CBA and not the Armageddon CBA that is coming up. The players lost the last CBA by being too agreeable. They want to take back revenue. The owners, outside of the Dodgers and Mets, don't think the status quo is working. It is going to be a fight.
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I mean it is going to be a mess.
1) Salary cap- will the players give in
2) Revenues- will teams put revenues that have been considered outside of the team on the table. For the Cubs it would mean Wrigleyville and Marquee profits.
3.) Revenue split to come up with salary cap
I don't see that being super complex. Easy answers for first two.
1) Salary cap- will the players give in
No. No-brainer. Not complex or messy. Definitive no.
2) Revenues- will teams put revenues that have been considered outside of the team on the table. For the Cubs it would mean Wrigleyville and Marquee profits.
No. No-brainer. Not complex or messy.
The existing boundaries of shared-pool local revenue are already defined, no? Local broadcasting/television revenue, ticket sales, concessions, and sponsorship revenue. I don't anticipate much messiness fighting over redefining those boundaries/definitions.
3.) Revenue split to come up with salary cap
What percentage of shared-pool local revenue gets shared, that's a clear area for negotiation. Should 48% become 50% or 60% or 70%, that's a negotiation question. But redefining what's counted into shared-pool local, I don't think that's a big-deal fight?
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I mean it is going to be a mess.
1) Salary cap- will the players give in
2) Revenues- will teams put revenues that have been considered outside of the team on the table. For the Cubs it would mean Wrigleyville and Marquee profits.
3.) Revenue split to come up with salary cap
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Tangent, but again makes me think about lockout. I've thought this before, so forgive possible repetition. But when the industry is so fruitful for players, and for variably many owners, it seems mutually counterproductive to sacrifice a season. Seems there should be strong motivation to keep the sport alive for both sides.
1. Ultimately, I assume there will be compromise and a settlement . Reached before it's too late to play out a hunk of season and have postseason.
2. Guessing settlement won't be later than July, and probably variably sooner. It's over 30 years since a stoppage cost more than a week of regular-season games. Neither the 94 or 81 stoppages cost >50 regular-season games. I'll be surprised if they're going to cost >100 games this round, probably lots less.
3. No cap. That's just posturing talk, it won't actually happen. (Or if it did, there would be so many exceptions and allowances that it would make the flexible soft NBA cap seem rigid by comparison.)
What might be some areas of compromise?
1. Bump revenue sharing. I think it's 48% now; that could be variably readjusted.
2. Lux lines and penalties adjusted considerably. (Every CBA, mlb adjusts lux lines, just like NBA adjust "aprons".) Dodgers currently pay 110% tax rate on their signings; that could be further amplified, or whatever? Draft-pick penalties could be tweaked. Etc.
- I would guess that most of the negotiation would be over magnitude of revenue-sharing and lux lines/consequences.
-guessing Lux1 will jump a lot, and maybe the consequences for Lux 4 will be more severe?
-but yeah, that seems to mostly be where I'd expect the negotiation/compromising to happen.
3. Floor could be elevated, obviously.
4. FA could be adjusted. Reduce service time? Start arb sooner?
5. NBA-style cap on mega-salaries? No team cap, but high-salary cap?
In a sense, seems there are a larger miscellany of player-desirables that owners can concede on. Floor, lux levels, arb sooner, FA sooner, draft penalties.
I admit I think the NBA's highly flexible cap with multiple exceptions and with max-contract levels seems to my fans-eye view to to pretty impressive. NFL with true cap and with full revenue-sharing, obviously that's fan-ideal, and has contributed to the overwhelming popularity of the sport. But that revenue-sharing model was initiated at a point in history, and that's completely off-table for mlb.
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Clark also apparently gave some union leadership, including himself, equity stakes and jobs in a company that deals with NLI for college players that is valued at $1 billion.
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Not a strike, lockout.
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The pressure of the coming strike didn't help, I'm sure.
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It's only March. Union will have plenty of time to pull their leadership together and fight their fight. Settling the CBA will be 12-17 months away, right? They've got time to get some leader who's likely to be better than Clark anyway, perhaps.
Clark was also under investigation for financial impropriety, right?
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Tony Clark resigns because of an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law (also employed by the MLBPA). Turmoil at the players union right before a massive CBA fight/lockout is obviously not ideal.
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https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/twins-pablo-lopez-ucl-tear-surgery-tommy-john.html
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Twins' Pablo Lopez to undergo testing on sore elbow
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I wonder, Reb, if that had more to do with the fact that the 42 split so many ballots nobody could get enough votes. Voting procedure rather than credentials?
Looks to me like many or most of those guys were some of the weaker picks of the Veterans Committee later on. Only 4 of the 42 got above the 50 score (average HOF'er) in the Bill James Standards model, and 19 of the 42 got above the 100 average score on his Hall of Fame Monitor. A few of them like Leo Durocher, Billy Southworth and Bucky Harris got in as managers.
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In 1958 no player got close to getting the 75% of vote for admission to the Hall of Fame.
But 42 players from the 1958 ballot eventually got in.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_1958.shtml#all_hof_Veterans
I wonder, Reb, if that had more to do with the fact that the 42 split so many ballots nobody could get enough votes. Voting procedure rather than credentials?
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Castellanos signs with the MLB version of the LV Raiders, the San Diego Padres.
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In 1958 no player got close to getting the 75% of vote for admission to the Hall of Fame.
But 42 players from the 1958 ballot eventually got in.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_1958.shtml#all_hof_Veterans
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Presidente!
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He had 50 or so great games for us…great is probably understating it…
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This oddly makes me want to give him an NRI to spring training all the more now.
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Looks like it was him bringing a beer into the dugout and criticizing the manager after being taken out for a defensive replacement:
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/nick-castellanos-says-bringing-beer-into-dugout-criticizing-phillies-manager-rob-thomson-led-to-2025-benching-211809864.html
His consecutive-game streak also came to an end with the benching.
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Philadelphia doesn't want Castellanos anymore:
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/phillies-reportedly-tell-nick-castellanos-due-20-million-in-2026-not-to-report-to-spring-training-000430781.html
He just got released.
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Rockies put Kris Bryant on 60-day IL with back problems
What a sad story for someone who seemed to be enormously talented and a pretty good guy.
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His attitude toward his manager caught up with him.
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Castellanos being washed at 33 is kinda shocking. Obviously not everybody ages the same. Lets hope Bregman is very different.
Castellanos is a hacker/bat speed guy. That rarely ends well when the odometer ticks up.
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Castellanos being washed at 33 is kinda shocking. Obviously not everybody ages the same. Lets hope Bregman is very different.
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Philadelphia doesn't want Castellanos anymore:
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/phillies-reportedly-tell-nick-castellanos-due-20-million-in-2026-not-to-report-to-spring-training-000430781.html
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Rockies put Kris Bryant on 60-day IL with back problems
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Terrance Gore passed away after complications from a routine surgery:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/terrance-gore-passes-away.html
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Indicted Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase is accused of throwing suspicious pitches to benefit bettors in at least 48 games over two years, significantly more than was initially revealed by federal prosecutors, according to a court document filed Thursday.
Holy Crap.
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If Valdez and Skubal stay healthy, they could be very dangerous.
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Tarik Skubal won his arb case. He’ll make 32M this season.
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RIP Mickey Lolich
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Brewers sign veteran catcher McGuire to minor league deal
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Yu Darvish is considering walking away from the last three years of his contract and retiring.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/yu-darvish-to-retire.html
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They're both overpays so choose your poison. Of course for the Yanks is doesn't matter that much (it shouldn't to the Cubs either) and Bellinger is perfectly suited for their park.
Have to compare apples to apples.
If every player in MLB was a free agent this off-season, then one might say—relative to the worth of each and every player—Deal X is an overpay or underpay or just right.
But, free agency is not everybody but a very limited universe of availability. So, apples to apples is Bregman compared to Bellinger.
Are Bichette and Tucker AAVs overpays?
Yes, if ALL their outstanding peers were on the market too. Their deals would have been lower.
No, in the reality of who was available NOW. By definition, they got what their market value was for them at this point in time and in the circumstances of this market.
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I like the Bregman contract better than the Bellinger one. At least we got that done before possibly settling for Bellinger.
They're both overpays so choose your poison. Of course for the Yanks is doesn't matter that much (it shouldn't to the Cubs either) and Bellinger is perfectly suited for their park.
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Who were the Yankees bidding against for that? Philly?
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I like the Bregman contract better than the Bellinger one. At least we got that done before possibly settling for Bellinger.
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So, both Bregman and Bellinger get 5 year deals but Bellinger gets $32.5 AAV and two opt-outs and Bregman gets $30.9 AAV with no opt-outs. Both get no-trade provisions.
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6986854/2026/01/20/mlb-owners-salary-cap-push-dodgers-kyle-tucker/?campaign=16554845&source=athletic_breaking_targeted_email&userId=212065
Suggests that per some anonymous source, some owners are "enraged" after the $120/year Tucker agreement. That owners will want a cap (duh), and that internally only Dodgers and Mets might vote against some level of cap.
Duh, no news there. Maybe a writer should publish an article that the players will resist a cap, and will be enraged if the owners try to push for one?
As always, some compromise will be reached, eventually, all in due time. The players are making so much, I think they've got motive to eventually settle. Same for at least some of the owners.
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I'll await method's analysis
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Mets trade for Luis Robert Jr.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassan
Full trade, per ESPN sources:
Mets receive: CF Luis Robert Jr.
White Sox receive: IF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley
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Saw a clip of Manfred pushing for expansion. Why? He says it's so more people can enjoy baseball and allow realignment. Why? So more teams in Nashville, Portland, and San Antonio can be damned to the same fate as Pittsburgh? Put two new teams in Southern California and Long Island...that will balance things more.
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I don't think a salary cap will help, but finding a method of policing how much a team can pull in apart from ticket sales, concessions, souvenirs, and parking can be spent on salaries should be looked into. It's fairly well known that most of the Japanese salaries are being indirectly taken care of by Japanese business in exchange for endorsements. Find a way to spread that around to Midwest teams who can't get that kind of financial backing. I admit I don't know how.
But here's another solution. Let the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers face real competition. If the Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, the Royals, and the A's are having a hard time making it, remove the geographical restrictions and let them move anywhere they want. Long Island, Brooklyn, Orange, Burbank, New Jersey. Why should they be forced to fantasize about being competitive when the Orange County Pirates and/or the Long Island Rays could make the big boys reconsider spreading the wealth. JMO
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RIP Wilbur Wood
If you don’t know who he is, look him up…
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Interesting comment on a sports show: what's wrong with Kyle Tucker that the Dodgers don't want him? It can't be money. The Dodgers don't care. If they really want somebody they sign him . Thought that was an interesting perspective.
I don't buy that. $400 million contracts are not nothing, even to the Dodgers. Just because they're not willing to give him one doesn't mean they don't want him.
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Interesting comment on a sports show: what's wrong with Kyle Tucker that the Dodgers don't want him? It can't be money. The Dodgers don't care. If they really want somebody they sign him . Thought that was an interesting perspective.
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I just want to give a shout out to craig. Craig, you clearly spend a lot of effort thinking about all things Cubs and your posts are polite and informative. i learn something new from you on a daily basis.
THANK YOU!
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CBA expires on 12/1. Last time, they instantly applied lockout. So free agents needed to make their deal by 12/1. And teams needed to make those deals not knowing what the terms of CBA will be. Unfortunate timing sequence, I think.
Obviously will be no hard cap, the general structure of mlb will remain in place. The question is how the details will change. I assume the majority of owners will want to increase penalties on the super-lux. If Cubs are competing with Yankees right now for Bellinger, $30/year cost for us is $63/year cost for them. If tax rates escalated so that $30/year for us was $90/year for them, might they be less willing?
My guess is lux1 and lux2 thresholds will jump a lot. No chance it's dropping from $244 to $200 or anything like that, nobody is trying to suppress #11-type spenders like the Cubs. My guess is lux1 might jump to $260-280. So if Cubs were trying to make deals prior to lockout, I don't imagine lux threshold should be a conseration at all.
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While no one denies the greed of most owners, some players are doing a good job of establishing their own record for greed.
Here’s the thing. If Skubal wins his arb, it will establish that his filing number was a more accurate assessment of his market value than the Tigers filing number.
Hard to say the player is greedy when just asking for his fair market value— not just for himself but for the precedent the salary sets for his fellow compatriots. Bringing everybody up in his community.
On other hand, if Skubal loses, can say that he asked for too much relative to his fair market value. Could call that greedy or maybe just call it an inaccurate assessment of his market value.
Also, the wide disparity in the submissions could impact Tigers ability or willingness to trade Skubal. On one hand, a trade inquiring club might be put off by the wide salary uncertainty of acquiring him if Skubal wants to go to a hearing, so no trade. On the other, Tigers might be afraid they will lose and have to pay him way more than planned—so let’s trade him.
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While no one denies the greed of most owners, some players are doing a good job of establishing their own record for greed.
Eno Sarris with some context:
Eno Sarris @enosarris
$19.75 million in 2015 would be worth around $27m today on inflation alone, and then there’s just the fact that Skubal just had a better season than Price did in 2014.
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Mark Feinsand @Feinsand
Tarik Skubal has filed his arbitration number at $32 million, per source, while the Tigers filed at $19 million.
The record for a pitcher in arbitration is David Price at $19.75 million in 2015.
Mark Feinsand @Feinsand
If Skubal goes to a hearing and wins it, his $32 million salary would establish a new high for an arbitration-eligible player. Juan Soto currently holds that mark at $31 million.
While no one denies the greed of most owners, some players are doing a good job of establishing their own record for greed.
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Mark Feinsand @Feinsand
Tarik Skubal has filed his arbitration number at $32 million, per source, while the Tigers filed at $19 million.
The record for a pitcher in arbitration is David Price at $19.75 million in 2015.
Mark Feinsand @Feinsand
If Skubal goes to a hearing and wins it, his $32 million salary would establish a new high for an arbitration-eligible player. Juan Soto currently holds that mark at $31 million.
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Nightengale:
While the Red Sox are the favorites to bring back Bregman, and the Yankees’ No. 1 priority is the return of Bellinger, the Mets are still looming in the Bellinger derby while the Cubs remain in pursuit of Bregman for the second consecutive winter.
The Tucker market is the biggest mystery. He was projected to earn a contract in the $400 million neighborhood but could have to instead take a higher AAV on a short-term contract and hit the market again after two consecutive injury-plagued second halves.
“The major markets," one agent said, “are still power dry."
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Daniel Vogelbach returning to Brewers as hitting coach
Those that can do, those that can't, teach.
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New Brewers hitting coach:
Robert Murray @ByRobertMurray
The Brewers have made a number of changes to their coaching staff, most notably hiring Daniel Vogelbach as a hitting coach.
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Keller for 2/22 or cheaper sounds better and better.
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Heyman:
Matt Mervis signs deal with his hometown Nats.
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The Marlins sign Pete Fairbanks for 1 year and $13 million. They're now more or less more active than the Cubs so far this offseason.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47407548/sources-fairbanks-agrees-1-year-13m-deal-marlins
That's probably one where the Cubs probably should have been willing to expand their budget a bit on if he was willing to sign for that.
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Rumblings that the Dodgers are pursuing Bellinger. Hilarious.
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Roch is not madrigal….
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Something good happened to the white sox! cant wait for them to over think this and take an underslot guy at 1.
Nick Madrigal 2.0 :)
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Something good happened to the white sox! cant wait for them to over think this and take an underslot guy at 1.
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Younger guys might not remember that Murphy was moved from C to 1B to CF early in his career. He was a great athlete. Short peak, comparatively speaking, but worthy imo…
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McCutchen and Murphy would both get HOF votes from me.
Mattingly would not. His peak was too short at 4 years, and his full career numbers don't meet the benchmarks. Mattingly's HOF-case is largely a product of NYY hype, IMO.
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I'd have voted Dale Murphy. Unlike many longevity guys, he wasn't great till age 24 or after 31. But during the 8-year prime, he was so great. Prime WAR's of 6.6, 6.1, 7.1, 5.5, 5.0, 7.7. So in 8 seasons had six with WAR ≥5, back-to-back well-deserved MVP's, five straight gold-gloves at premium defensive positions, twice-HR champion. Man was his prime great.
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Mattingly is nowhere close to a Hall of Famer. If he hadn't been a Yankee he'd never even be in the conversation.
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Also, Andrew McCutchen is a modern (and better) version of Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly.
This is where the tricky question of dominance versus longevity comes in. Mattingly in his prime was Tony Gwynn with elite power. In baseball, longevity seems to win out in that battle.
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Also, Andrew McCutchen is a modern (and better) version of Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly.
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Yeah, there's nothing wrong with Kent getting into the HOF based on his stats. I have some "character clause" concerns, but that's only subjectively applied.
He had a teammate that deserved it much, much more.
J.T. Snow, helluva player.
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Yeah, there's nothing wrong with Kent getting into the HOF based on his stats. I have some "character clause" concerns, but that's only subjectively applied.
He had a teammate that deserved it much, much more.
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I'm kind of OK with Kent getting into the HoF. All-time 2B leader in home runs and 56 WAR. Even if he was rarely a truly dominant player, his cumulative record is probably good enough.
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A company that is publicly traded thinks it is good sense to spend money a good players and put out a quality product to increase profits. Can the Cubs get listed?
The backwater town of Green Bay owns and maintains a world class sports franchise.
Could you imagine if Cub fans owned the Cubs… sigh
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Completely off topic but I think the only thing that will push Team Ricketts to spend more will be when Justin Ishbia takes over the Sox (2029 at the earliest) and shows a willingness to spend. I can't imagine the Ricketts would allow the Cubs to be #2 in Chicago in spending. The fanbase would lose it (not that Team Ricketts has modified spending based on fans).
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A company that is publicly traded thinks it is good sense to spend money a good players and put out a quality product to increase profits. Can the Cubs get listed?
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Of course teams like the Dodgers and Jays probably don't care very much about the CBT anyway.
Rogers Communications—owner of the Jays—has assets that dwarf the Ricketts family assets. Not even close.
Rogers Communications:
Market capitalization: Approximately US$21.314 billion.
Revenue: US$14.98 billion (based on latest available CAD figures of $21.02 billion).
Earnings: US$4.81 billion (based on latest available CAD figures of $6.75 billion)
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Of course teams like the Dodgers and Jays probably don't care very much about the CBT anyway.
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Are you arguing that they should get $10M lux hits in 2033-2039?
Or are you arguing that they should get luxed at $30 AAV during the 2026-2032 seasons?
My initial argument was the former, but I would be OK with the latter. The underlying point is that to have to deferred money escape the CBT altogether is unacceptable.
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With deferrals, Cease is 7/$182. $26 AAV
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Agree, deeg. That could make more sense to me. Keep teams from deferring to cheat the lux tax.
It's written into the CBA, though. So players won't want any revision like that.
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One way you could do it would be to take any contract that includes deferments and say it's going to be automatically counted as AAV in today's dollars. i.e Cease's deal would be $30 million per for CBT purposes no matter how it was spread out.
Of course there's no guarantee the CBT will be a thing after 2026.
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Jeff, can you explain that a little more? For hypothetical, imagine $70 of Cease's $210 is deferred, in $10M payments over years 8-14.
Are you arguing that they should get $10M lux hits in 2033-2039?
Or are you arguing that they should get luxed at $30 AAV during the 2026-2032 seasons? Rather than having the "Imputed Loan Interest Rate" which calculates that the deferred payments aren't actually worth $10/year in today's money, so it reduces the lux hit during the 7 years?
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I hope the next CBA does something about deferred money. It's not realistic - nor wise - to ban it, but I would like to see the deferred money hit the CBT number in the year(s) it's actually paid.
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"Deal includes deferrals" per Rosenthal.
I wouldn't assume this in any way reflects on Toronto's intentions regarding their own or other FAs. They're behaving like a big-market team trying to win, doing what those franchises do.
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That's higher than any of the three predictor sites anticipated that I look at (ESPN, traderumors, Athletic).
Guessing that many of their predictions will be lower than actual.
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Might not reinforce Toronto's commitment to sign both Bichette and Tucker?
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We were never going anywhere near that, ROFL. Could be $210 CAD and we'd still be outbid.
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One can simply not expect the Cubs to compete with big market Toronto Blue Jays.
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Cross Cease off the wish list:
Jon Heyman @JonHeyman
Breaking: Dylan Cease to Blue Jays. $210M, 7 years
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Jeff Passan @JeffPassan
Full trade, per ESPN sources:
Boston Red Sox receive: Sonny Gray and cash
St. Louis Cardinals receive: LHP Brandon Clarke and RHP Richard Fitts
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Heh heh, reb, with poor Steinbrenner losing money like, the conclusion is obvious: He won't have the cash to bid on either Tucker or Imai! :):). They'll just be free for the Cubs to bid. If Imai won't have Dodgers or Yankees, why not us? :):)
per Cotts, Yankees are currently ~$278, with *lots* of roster spots to fill. So they'll be under both 3-repeat tax plus the max surcharge.
-Imagine Cubs willing to go $35 AAV Tucker and $25 Imai.
-To make comparable offer, Yankees will need to be willing to commit >$70 Tucker and >$50 Imai.
But yeah, it would be fun if Steinbrenner does try to contain payroll a little, and doesn't go totally crazy on guys Cubs want.
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ESPN reports that Hal Steinbrenner today “challenged the notion that the Yankees made a profit in 2025, suggesting that they lost money after Forbes reported the franchise generated over $700 million in revenue this year.”
Forbes most recently had Yankees yearly revenues $144 M more than Cubs and Yankees payroll (including tax) $149 M more than Cubs.
Seems to square with Ricketts assertions that Cubs basically “break even,” no?
How about that?
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If he wants the most shots at them he'll go the Giants or D-backs (if they're in the bidding).
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Kurt Suzuki was born in the states, but I wondered at the time if getting named Angels manager wasn't part of a strategy to attract some Oriental players of their own.
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Agree, deeg, like a guy who wants to be his own guy and make his own path. So, probably wants to go to Yankees instead! But yeah, Cubs have tended to be pretty active with Japanese players, and seem to feel like they have a fairly good recruiting presentation, and support system in play. Cubs presumably won't want to pay the price or the years, but I'd sure love it if somehow they did persuade him that Cubs were a good place to make his mark. He'd be kinda fun, too, in that he'd not cost a draft pick. Other nice thing with him is that he's got to wrap it up by Jan 2. So he's not like a Boras guy who'll keep teams waiting till Valentines day, you'll know what's up by Jan 2 or sooner.
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Tetsuya Imai says he don't want to play for the Dodgers.
"Doesn't". Don't be an ignorant redneck c o c k s u c k i n g piece of s h i t. Thank you.
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https://www.playersonly.ai/discover/tatsuya-imai-prefers-facing-dodgers-over-joining-them-3b33e
My take is, good on him. Wanting to stake his own claim to greatness speaks well of his character. I don't think in a million years we'll get him but he's absolutely the guy we should be targeting, given his age and track record.
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What a loser.
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Tetsuya Imai says he don't want to play for the Dodgers.
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Free agent pitcher evals:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6825160/2025/11/21/scouts-rank-starting-pitchers-mlb/?campaign=15796671&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=6500994
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Passan: Mets are trading Nimmo to the Rangers for Semien.
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Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross, Michael Arias, Christopher Morel, Mike Tauchman, and Alexander Canario all non-tendered.
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I’m very surprised the A’s left Daniel Susac unprotected. If he somehow made it to the Cubs I’d be very tempted to take a shot there.
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As Rosenthal noted, only explanation is that Orioles internal assessment of Rodriguez is that he’s unlikely to stay healthy enough to justify the former hype. A big risk if they are wrong but one would think they know their own guys in that respect.
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Too bad the Cubs don't have a extra OF with 1 year of control they could have shipped to the Orioles. Well at least an OF without a no-trade.
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Jeff Passan @JeffPassan
Trade news: Taylor Ward is going to Baltimore and Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels. The Orioles get the power-hitting outfielder they've been seeking, and the Angels get back a young arm. Quite a trade.
That's a bad deal for the Orioles.
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Morel DFA'd. Wouldn't be surprised to see the Cubs take a flyer there.
WHY?
Morel had negative WAR in 2025 and a total of 2 career WAR in equivalent of three full seasons. Has no defensive value. Arb eligible if make a claim ($2.6 projected). And not a platoon asset because neutral at best lefty/righty. Maybe Hoyer has a soft spot for Morel—engaging as he is— but not really a fit.
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I'd take him back.
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Morel DFA'd. Wouldn't be surprised to see the Cubs take a flyer there.
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Naylor re-upping with the Ms for 5 years. First big domino to fall.
About 10 days too late for my BBFL team.
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Naylor re-upping with the Ms for 5 years. First big domino to fall.
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Rangers who were $251 CBT payroll in 2024 and near $240 in 2025 are lowering payroll again.
As I’ve noted, clubs around MLB often spend and then drop back. Routine.
REPORT:
Texas Rangers are lowering their payroll from $240 million, but it’s still expected to be at least $200 million for the 2026 season, Rangers GM Chris Young said.
“I just don’t feel sorry for ourselves that our payroll is going to be smaller than it was,” Young said. “I don’t think it’s going to inhibit us. …I’m a competitor. It doesn’t deter me.”
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If two of the Judge voters had voted for Raleigh, both would have got the MVP. A tie.
Guessing that if the voters knew that beforehand, two would have switched and been happy with the result.
As would many other folks.
In the 1950s, Berra and Campanella each won three MVPs.
For some reason, more recent history is tougher for a catcher to win a MVP.
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Ohtani unanimous MVP as expected (Nico got a few downballot votes), Judges edges Raleigh in the AL. That Judge-Raleigh one was a tough call for sure. Judge had one of the best offensive seasons ever, period, and Raleigh had probably the best season a catcher has ever had.
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Amazing how multi-millionaire athletes are doing this for just middle five figure sums of money too.
Shameful—if they’re guilty—but these days with our current DOJ and assorted dubious federal prosecutions—let’s see the evidence and a day in court. I would not assume anything these days.
Here in D.C. federal prosecutors of course tried to stick a felony on the Subway sandwich throwing guy and then a jury acquitted him on a lesser misdemeanor.
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6792294/2025/11/09/mlb-clase-ortiz-betting-allegations/
Read a little bit more on Clase. I'm not a gambler, so had no idea how this might work. Didn't even realize that guys can in-the-moment bet on individual-pitch ball-strike outcomes, or on individual-pitch velocities. Makes it seem super easy. Second batter, first pitch, I'll bury a slider. Velo will be sub-97, and the pitch will definitely be a ball.
Sounds like a ridiculously easy scheme. And seems like pretty easily one that a guy could do without really feeling like they're compromising win-loss. 2- or 3-run lead, nobody on base, if I give away one pitch to some non-great hitter, who cares? I'll get him out anyway. And if it's a situation where win-loss is at risk, we don't do it. Not like actually throwing a game or anything like that, at all.
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Imai officially being posted. In a world that made sense the Cubs would be all over that.
And then watch him sign with the Dodgers.
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Imai officially being posted. In a world that made sense the Cubs would be all over that.
But in the world we live in, they won't try very hard.
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Imai officially being posted. In a world that made sense the Cubs would be all over that.
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Every time a pitcher issues a critical BB, every time a hitter takes a crucial third strike down the middle, every time an infielder fires the ball over the firstbaseman's head...some nitwit will post that the fix is in. I've already seen posts of questionable plays in football posted; any missed calls means that the refs are crooks. The integrity of the game is why gambling has been banned for over a century.
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It changes the way you watch as well.
The Grizz led OkC by 11 at halftime tonight, at home, and ended up losing by 14. The whole second half, they missed easy shots in the paint, wide open 3’s, and free throws, and turned the ball over constantly.
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More amazing is all these commissioners and even the NCAA pushing gambling sites. And then shocked at this stuff.
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Amazing how multi-millionaire athletes are doing this for just middle five figure sums of money too.
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Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were charged with fraud, conspiracy and bribery stemming from an alleged scheme to rig individual pitches that led to gamblers winning hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to an indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors Sunday.
...
Prosecutors said each pitcher could face up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years for honest services wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years for money laundering conspiracy and five years for conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46906636/guardians-emmanuel-clase-luis-ortiz-indicted-pitch-rigging
Emmanuel Clase is 27 years old and has already accumulated 12.2 bWAR. For reference, Billy Wagner and Trevor Hoffman ended their careers at 27.7 and 28.0, respectively. Clase was already almost halfway to a Hall of Fame career and now his career is likely over.
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Busch was listed as a 3B when we traded for him too.
So was DJ LeMahieu to start this year for the Yankees.
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Murakami has played a lot of 3B here. He's not unplayable there, but certainly would be below average in MLB. Whoever signs him (it won't be the Cubs, he'll cost too much) will likely use him mostly at 1B/DH. But he can play third.
Defensively Okamoto is better at 3B, assuming his elbow is healthy. Not great but good enough, and likely cheap enough for us to at least lose out with our usual competitive bid assuming we're not boycotting multiyear deals.
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Busch was listed as a 3B when we traded for him too.
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Don't see how he fits us. He's a LH 1B/DH. We've already got a LH 1B with power in Busch. We're already lefty-heavy, or at least were with Tucker/Bellinger in RF; and will be again if either of them or Caissie or some other lefty takes RF. Tucker will presumably take a long time to decide, so don't imagine Hoyer will want to spend on Murakami until Tucker (and Bellinger) are obviously precluded. And even if you do play to put Suzuki in RF, Caissie and Moises are both LH DH options. If we're going to gamble on a LH K/HR guy for DH, we kinda already have Caissie with that profile.
Seems like a total no-fit no-interest guy.
ESPN is listing him as a 3B..."Japanese star third baseman Munetaka Murakami is entering the posting system Friday,"
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Munetaka Murakami had a .095 batting average against pitches 93 MPH or harder last season in NPB.
Don't see how he fits us. He's a LH 1B/DH. We've already got a LH 1B with power in Busch. We're already lefty-heavy, or at least were with Tucker/Bellinger in RF; and will be again if either of them or Caissie or some other lefty takes RF. Tucker will presumably take a long time to decide, so don't imagine Hoyer will want to spend on Murakami until Tucker (and Bellinger) are obviously precluded. And even if you do play to put Suzuki in RF, Caissie and Moises are both LH DH options. If we're going to gamble on a LH K/HR guy for DH, we kinda already have Caissie with that profile.
Seems like a total no-fit no-interest guy.
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Munetaka Murakami had a .095 batting average against pitches 93 MPH or harder last season in NPB.
If true, that's concerning.
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Munetaka Murakami had a .095 batting average against pitches 93 MPH or harder last season in NPB.
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King might just take it.
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Yeah, Gallen and Suarez (Phillies) both got QO's also.
Suarez Padres did not. He's a reliever and has been a really good one, control artist. Being a good reliever, I wouldn't imagine he'd be on Hoyer's list. But I do admit a high-velo reliever who throws tons of strikes, doesn't walk people, and has had WHIP's of 0.90 and 1.04 the last two seasons, I'd kinda love to add somebody like that.
Lots of ways to build teams, and money on bullpen has never been Hoyer's way, so I'd be shocked if he was a guy. But man, if you had good Suarez, good Palencia, and good Keller all in the same bullpen, that could be really fun. Just wishful thinking, obviously, you guys kinda know I'm somewhat obsessed with bullpen and offense.
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About everyone about whom interest has been expressed got a QO.
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Both Cease and King got QO's.
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MLBTR:
Among the notable free agents to not receive a qualifying offer are Lucas Giolito, Robert Suarez, Devin Williams and Jorge Polanco.
Also, Pete Fairbanks is now a FA after his team option was declined.
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Of the free agents this year, 4 or the top 10, according to ESPN were Cubs at some point.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46859761/mlb-2025-2026-top-50-free-agents-rankings-contract-projections
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Very interesting that Flaherty and Bieber today exercised their 2026 options.
Makes me wonder if player agents are more downbeat about free agency this off-season than are the prognosticators?
Bieber accepts one-year at $16, even turning down a $4 buyout with free agency. BA projected Bieber at 5/$150 and The Athletic had Bieber at 3/$63.
Flaherty accepts one year at $20. BA projected Flaherty at 3/$72 and The Athletic projected $4/$78.
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I never gave Dave Roberts much props for managerial skills...after all he seems to just have to sit back and let Ohtani, Mookie, and Freddie do all the work...but, his decision to add Rojas for game 6 and 7, plug in Pages in the middle of an inning to later save the game, and play for the Kirk double play, showed pretty good managerial skills...
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I don't understand why MLB can't institute serious draft penalties for teams that are above specified budgets. You could factor deferred money into that calculation…
That has to be collectively bargained under federal labor law because it would have an impact on “wages” and working conditions, as in a salary cap. There are “draft penalties” now in place, debatable about whether they are “serious” or not.
In years past, baseball’s labor fights are almost as much between owners themselves internally and then players vs. management. Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Phils—at least—likely to fight a salary cap. Maybe Manfred has the skills to unify the owners for the next negotiation. Who knows.
Union may have internal strife too. Who can maintain internal solidarity throughout, owners or players? That will have profound impact on the outcome of negotiations.
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I don't understand why MLB can't institute serious draft penalties for teams that are above specified budgets. You could factor deferred money into that calculation. The Dodgers should be risking serious negative impacts on future teams if they overspend.
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Its a fit for tucker, because it will get him the $$$ contract he wants albeit deferred... but at some point, that team is going to owe 200 million to 34+ year old betts, freeman, ohtani, snell, will smith et al. you add a 29 year old tucker and that number gets to 250 million+
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They’ll just defer his money like they are doing with Ohtani…no big deal, just the cost of doing business…
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I imagine Dodgers people, like Yankees, just assume (realistically, I guess) that they are entitled to any player they want or that best fits them. Given their OF isn't star-filled, it makes sense they'd like Tucker. They've also shown no aversion to length, unlike Hoyer. Given their revenue, who cares if a guy might be a bad contract 7 years out? They can afford multiple bad contracts, really. Who cares?
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Dodgers might be a great spot for Tucker personally. Warm weather. Safe to be perennial contender, good chance to reach and win WS plural. And no burden of expectation to be a star or the man. Just like Glasnow can be overshadowed #4 starter for them, Tucker can just do his thing and take his walks with occasional HR mixed in, without lots of pressure. Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Smith are all higher-profile guys. Tucker could bat 2nd, or maybe 5th or 6th or 7th maybe, but no expectation that he's going to be the big run-producer for them. If Tucker signed with them, which Dodger fans would be buying Tucker jerseys?
Tucker's a pretty quiet, calm, low-key guy. He might like it just as well to not have the microphone stuck in his face a lot, and not have the expectation that he's going to lead the team or carry the team or have team success hinge on his performance. For them he could just be a team support-player guy. A very good one, but without huge pressure or expectation.
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There is already chatter on twitter that the Dodgers #1 target is Tucker. not sure how many 30+ players they want at $40 million + a year. but they are maxing out that card while they can.
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BN has a section and a link in a piece today about Kiner-Falefa’s lead off 3B (and secondary lead) in 9th inning—the play where Rojas threw home and barely got the force. There is a long shot photo and video showing exactly where he was when pitch delivered and shortly thereafter.
Kiner-Falefa had a remarkably short lead off of 3B, perhaps spooked by the ending of Game 6.
His 7.8 ft primary lead ranked 357/381 out of all primary leads in the World Series, according to the link.
His 8.9 ft secondary lead ranked 366/376 out of all secondary leads in the WS.
The little things can decide winner of WS. A more appropriate lead off the base and Jays win WS. Indeed, a bunch of things in the extra inning games lost by Jays that change the outcome. One of many things that make baseball fun and fascinating.
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Wait till the Dodgers get full healthy years on the mound from Ohtani, Snell, Glasnow, and Sasaki, sign Tucker, and bring in bullpen help.
I’m gonna go ahead and predict that will never happen…
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For Yamamoto to do that a day after throwing 96 pitches is pretty remarkable. Even Randy Johnson only threw 17 pitches in game 7.
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Wait till the Dodgers get full healthy years on the mound from Ohtani, Snell, Glasnow, and Sasaki, sign Tucker, and bring in bullpen help.
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Miguel Rojas career: 1 HR per 74.3 PAs
Rajai Davis career: 1 HR per 73.6 PAs
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Miguel F'N Rojas. Wow.
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Most upset person outside Toronto is Dusty, I'm guessing.
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Vlad Jr!
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Pays to have stars all over the field.
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How is this game going to the 10th inning? Rojas almost fell down, but he got the force out at home. Then outfielders collided, but Pages caught it anyway.
Don't forget Roberts had just subbed Pages in for defense.
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How is this game going to the 10th inning? Rojas almost fell down, but he got the force out at home. Then outfielders collided, but Pages caught it anyway.
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I'm going to predict that bringing in Yamamoto a day after he started won't work. Jays are about to walk it off.
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Rajai Davis = Miguel Rojas.
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Miguel Rojas? Wow. That sucks.
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This has been a great World Series, it doesn't matter how it ends. Maybe the best since 2016. The Dodgers haven't broken baseball.
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Toronto has some really good defense.
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Don't think I've ever seen the benches clear in a WS game 7 before.
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Batted ball by Gimenez on final out of Game 6 had xBA of .710, according to Statcast—third highest xBA of any batted ball in the game.
Gimenez has very little Oppo extra-base power and Dodgers played him perfectly and Hernandez made nice play.
So, given flight of the ball, perhaps understandable that baserunner at 2B perceived a hit. But, still a blunder. Need better grasp of where the defender is set up.
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If the Dodgers win Yamamoto has to be MVP.
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Yesavage faced 24 batters and had 23 swing-and-misses.
Not bad, almost one whiff for each batter faced. Wow.
And Yesavage 4-seamer velocity last night was down one tick from his average 4-seamer velocity. Yeah, it’s about movement and command, not just velocity—for the velocity lovers out there.
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Toronto needs to win it on Friday. There's nothing more dangerous than a baseball Game 7 at home. If you happen to fall behind, the stadium will be like a tomb.
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Let's all pray for Deeg because you know he's hurting.
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The Blue Jays are ruining baseball.
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Momentum is one hell of a drug.
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As did Cleveland in '16.
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Going back to Toronto with the Jay's only needing one has got to feel good.
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Snell allows 4 walks, 2HR, and 5 runs over 6+ innings. Two kinda bad WS losses for the poor guy. Kind of a bummer to have such a good season, and be so dominant in earlier series, only to get blown up in the WS.
Canada is really fired up for the Jays.
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When Joe Madden walked Bryce Harper every time he came up in that Washington series, we thought it was pretty cool. Nationals didn't care for it.
That is different. It was Harper against the Cubs. The Cubs should be excluded from this rule.
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How do you limit intentional walks? Are you going to have the ump toss a guy for throwing four straight a foot off the plate outside? Can you prove motive?
You don't limit pitching around a guy. It's the wave him to first base thing without a pitch thrown. If they want to stand up like they used to do in the old days that is fine. Just telling a guy don't bother just jog down to first everytime you come up to the plate is what I say needs to have a limit put on it. It could be just for the playoffs. We have different rules for playoffs then we do for regular season games now already. Why not one more. Or allow it but the second time you do it he goes to 2nd base for free. Third time third base. 4th time is a run. Not my idea. Stolen from a sports radion guy. I just don't like having the bat taken out of their hands every at bat.
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When Joe Madden walked Bryce Harper every time he came up in that Washington series, we thought it was pretty cool. Nationals didn't care for it.
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How do you limit intentional walks? Are you going to have the ump toss a guy for throwing four straight a foot off the plate outside? Can you prove motive?
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That was just as bad.
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Have you forgotten “Hack-a-Shaq”?
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New Rule: Limit the number of times you can intentionally walk a player in a game. It's a shame that these fans only get to watch Ohtani jog down to first base in every at bat. You can still pitch around a player but to just say, "pass, got to first base" 4 or 5 times in a game is terrible. Let the best players play. Baseball is the only sport that would punish a player for being too good.
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My daughter-in-law is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and she's fired up for Jays. Toronto really does have a national market.
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The Blue Jays are two wins away from beating the Dodgers in the World Series. According to Spotrac, they spent $44 million more than the Cubs this year. According to Fangraphs, they spent $52 million more than the Cubs this year.
Just thought I'd throw that out there in case anyone is wondering if spending an extra $50 million to fix a team's obvious holes could make a difference.
I’m all for Cubs spending $50 M more than spent in 2025. Cubs could have targeted Max Fried before 2025 and watched him get hammered in Wild Card series, as happened with Yankees. What “makes a difference” in post-season is always an unknown.
As to Jays spending, they are—like the Braves—part of a publicly-traded entity but Jays owner Rogers Corp annual report doesn’t seem to break down earnings entity-by-entity. But Rogers is a massive media business throughout Canada, with many holdings. And, of course, Jays are the only MLB team in Canada. So, if you have actual verified info on Jays earnings compared to Cubs earnings (aside from Forbes guesswork), I’d be very interested in seeing that. I have no idea and perhaps you do.
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The Blue Jays are two wins away from beating the Dodgers in the World Series. According to Spotrac, they spent $44 million more than the Cubs this year. According to Fangraphs, they spent $52 million more than the Cubs this year.
Just thought I'd throw that out there in case anyone is wondering if spending an extra $50 million to fix a team's obvious holes could make a difference.
But BR, it's not a fair comparison with Toronto being a much bigger market than Chicago. Also we have to deal with the international border issue and higher tax rates when competing for FA.
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The Blue Jays are two wins away from beating the Dodgers in the World Series. According to Spotrac, they spent $44 million more than the Cubs this year. According to Fangraphs, they spent $52 million more than the Cubs this year.
Just thought I'd throw that out there in case anyone is wondering if spending an extra $50 million to fix a team's obvious holes could make a difference.
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Looks like all that time running the bases plumb tuckered Ohtani out.
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Did anyone notice that Freddie's game winner came off of former Cubs first round draft pick Brendon Little?
The ex-Cub factor can only be deferred, never denied.
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How many insurance agencies or MLB teams have declared bankrupcy?
I bet I can guess what that was in response to...
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Jeff, you're giving away one of Hoyer's trade targets.
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Did anyone notice that Freddie's game winner came off of former Cubs first round draft pick Brendon Little?
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It was really cool seeing Kershaw battle to get out of the bases loaded jam.
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How many insurance agencies or MLB teams have declared bankrupcy?
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Bob Nightengale
@BNightengale
Could the Blue Jays actually intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani to lead off the game today?
"We haven't decided yet,'' Blue Jays manager John Schneider says.
Whoa.
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So, Ohtani got on base nine times….and then will be the Starting Pitcher less than 24 hours later.
Unreal.
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Game 3 was really fun to watch but also is a reminder why MLB put in the inherited ghost runner rule for regular season games.
A game like this decimates a bullpen for days during a regular season schedule. Guys get sent back to minors after a game like this to replenish a bullpen.
And, with a typical starting time locally at 7:00/7:30, 90% of the crowd would be gone by end of the game.
So, it’s a balance of interests. Lose out on a fun game like this in the pursuit of other interests. Maybe we not should not lose sight of that, whatever your opinion about whether it’s a good idea or not.
Post-season is different. For me, MLB has the balance right.
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….The bigger problem is that a lot of teams aren't trying very hard. Teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, and Orioles could spend a lot more, but they don't because it's just as profitable to take on less risk, spend less, and barely get into the playoffs…..
On this point, nobody from the outside has accurate information about what is “profitable” for teams. You don’t know either.
The exception is the Braves and Forbes is even wildly inaccurate on them even with the Braves having to release its balance sheets publicly. So, who knows what the balance sheets are for anybody else. Even the MLBPA doesn’t get team info.
Even if Cubs spent an additional $50 M on payroll, the gap between Dodgers and Cubs would still be massive. Yes, Dodgers are exceptionally well run but the deep pockets give them an edge.
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When you consider Schneider pinch-ran for most of his best hitters 9 hours ago it's remarkable the Jays are still alive.
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Four straight IBBs for Ohtani ROFL.
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Maybe Schneider pinch-running for most of his best hitters four hours ago wasn't a great idea?
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That was an all-time half inning for strategy moves that I hate. Sac bunt, playing the IF in, two IBBs...all moves I think are pretty unsuccessful in modern baseball.
Unless the bases are loaded or the Jays have a big inning and he's not the tying run Ohtani should be IBB'd every time in this game.
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Incidentally, Ohtani sets a new record getting on base seven times. 3 straight IBBs in front of Mookie and Frederick.
I'd have pitched to Betts rather than load the boases, but the Jays get away with it as Freeman flies to the wall in center.
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That was an all-time half inning for strategy moves that I hate. Sac bunt, playing the IF in, two IBBs...all moves I think are pretty unsuccessful in modern baseball.
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Wow-wa-weewa, both sides leave 'em loaded in the 13th. Harry warming up for another turn at the mic.
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Jays get the leadoff man on and try an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt. Jeebus wept.
I really hate sacrifice bunt attempts. I'd be fine with a work stoppage if we could ban those.
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Past my bedtime, so calling it a night. Jays sure had their chances tonight.
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And Lukes swings at ball four to bail Kershaw out. Goc loves the Dodgers, there's no other explanation.
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Oh, and Vladdy on deck.
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And now a full count LOL.
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Indeed overturned. And Clayton Kershaw, the last man Roberts wanted to use ever, gets the call with the bases loaded. You can't make this shlt up.
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Think that out call at third may be overturned.
Maybe Ohtani will be so tired from baserunning that he's ineffective pitching tomorrow?
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Jays get the leadoff man on and try an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt. Jeebus wept.
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Toronto has used four pinch-runners in this game. That's gotta be pretty rare.
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IBB with no one on base and Betts and Freeman due up - that's respect. But exactly the right thing to do, and it works.
Toronto may want to just win this in the 12th before they have to face those guys again.
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Ohtani gets the two-out bases empty intentional walk in the 11th. As well he should.
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Why on earth would they pitch to Ohtani in that situation (or maybe any time he comes up)?
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I think the Dodgers broke baseball. This is going to cause a long labor issue.
The Dodgers are just the best run organization in MLB, I don't blame them. They try very hard to win every year, and they try very hard to improve their team every offseason. They haven't broken any rules.
The bigger problem is that a lot of teams aren't trying very hard. Teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, and Orioles could spend a lot more, but they don't because it's just as profitable to take on less risk, spend less, and barely get into the playoffs. Teams like the Guardians, Rays, and Brewers are good at player development, but then they dump their soon-to-be free agents every offseason instead of ever going all-in for a championship. The Pirates have the best pitcher in baseball, but they did nothing last offseason to supplement him. Teams like the Angels, A's, Rockies, and White Sox just have owners that should sell their team.
A salary cap won't fix anything. The Dodgers will still be the best run team in baseball. They'll spend as much as they can and take advantage of every loophole in the rules to be the best team in baseball. The Cubs (and a lot of other teams) will use the salary cap in the same way they've used the luxury tax--just another excuse to spend less than they should.
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I bet deferred money lowering the AAV gets the boot as well.
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I’m fine with a work stoppage to fix the issue.
I would also require a minimum payroll number as well as a maximum.
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I think the Dodgers broke baseball. This is going to cause a long labor issue.
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I'm so glad the Cubs still have their financial flexibility intact this offseason. They'd be so much worse off if they'd signed Yamamoto two years ago.
Nice to have a $550 M payroll (including CBT tax) like Dodgers…..and a pipeline to the best players from the Far East (a combination of geography, historical ties, and big money).
Can even spend close to $30 M on two veteran relievers with negative WAR not even on post-season roster.
Not going to compete with that.
Truly a waste of time to lament unless you want to be an advocate of a salary cap and the long work stoppage it will take for the owners to hope to achieve that.
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I'm so glad the Cubs still have their financial flexibility intact this offseason. They'd be so much worse off if they'd signed Yamamoto two years ago.
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Normal service has been restored.
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Fangraphs WS odds are now:
Blue Jays 52%
Dodgers 48%
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11-2 Toronto. Snell has been so great, but tonight HR, 8 hits, 3 walks, 5 runs in 5+ innings.
He’ll be fine. But what matters is that if Toronto can get to that bullpen, they have a shot. It’s a weakness, beyond a doubt.
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11-2 Toronto. Snell has been so great, but tonight HR, 8 hits, 3 walks, 5 runs in 5+ innings.
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Plus there’s a little extra hot sauce on their motivation thanks to the current political climate.
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Wow, the Jays are breaking it open now! I don’t think they can be discounted in this series. Young, hungry and talented with home field can go a long way.
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I’ve got a couple of takes so far tonight.
1. I’ve really only watched the Jays in Game 7 of the ALCS and so far, but they’re fun to watch! It’s definitely refreshing to see a team emphasize contact in this era and have success with it. Hopefully this might help get the trend away from high strikeout, three true outcomes baseball.
2. Fox could really upgrade from John Smoltz in the booth. I used to think he was all right, but he just puts me to sleep now with a lot of platitudes and not always great game predicting.
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Blue Jays got it to the Dodgers’ bullpen with a lead. This may be their chance to avoid the sweep.
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Fangraphs odds on WS winner is 66% Dodgers, 34% Jays.
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If there was a miscalculation, it wasn’t pulling Kirby or anything having to do with SP.
It was bringing in your second best reliever instead of your best reliever to face Springer in the 7th. Munoz had two days rest and arguably is the better call there.
But none of these calls are easy. What’s easy is second-guessing the manager after the fact.
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I don't like the Dodgers, don't like the Brewers, absolutely hate the Cardinals (goes way back). Used to be when the Cards came to town and if they won the series I wasn't right for days. Herzog, La Russa, I hated those guys..
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That's one thing for me that makes modern baseball a little hard to watch. Kirby has had problems going through an order for the third time, .929 OPS allowed vs. .660 OPS and .592 OPS during the first and second times. Still, it's kind of sad that the days of the Jack Morris 10 IP shutout are very much in the rearview mirror. A modern manager might have taken Morris out with 1 out in the 6th.
All in all, it was a fun game to watch last night, though. Those Toronto fans went absolutely nuts after the Springer HR. Hopefully they can pull it off against the Dodgers.
How many complete games did Greg Maddux pitch? Every time I saw Maddux pitch it made me sick...
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I despise the Dodgers.
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I still say we've gone too far in the direction of pulling good SP before they're in trouble in the postseason. And Seattle paid for it tonight.
That's one thing for me that makes modern baseball a little hard to watch. Kirby has had problems going through an order for the third time, .929 OPS allowed vs. .660 OPS and .592 OPS during the first and second times. Still, it's kind of sad that the days of the Jack Morris 10 IP shutout are very much in the rearview mirror. A modern manager might have taken Morris out with 1 out in the 6th.
All in all, it was a fun game to watch last night, though. Those Toronto fans went absolutely nuts after the Springer HR. Hopefully they can pull it off against the Dodgers.
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The only good thing is Toronto is probably slightly less likely to get swept. They have enough bats where if one of their SP keeps it close, they make scratch a few across against that Dodger bullpen and steal one.
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I still say we've gone too far in the direction of pulling good SP before they're in trouble in the postseason. And Seattle paid for it tonight.
Yeah, I'm really skeptical that this postseason pitching strategy actually works. The Mariners probably could've gotten another inning or two out of Kirby, and Woo in relief didn't work.
But the worst decision was going to Bazardo instead of Munoz when the game was on the line in the bottom of the 7th. I don't get why a team would take Kirby out early, but then also try to hold back a top 5 MLB reliever until the 9th. Munoz hadn't pitched in 3 days, but Bazardo threw 2 innings yesterday. Just awful managing.
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I still say we've gone too far in the direction of pulling good SP before they're in trouble in the postseason. And Seattle paid for it tonight.
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Jorge Castillo @jorgecastillo 16m
This is the Blue Jays' 11th postseason game. Louis Varland has pitched in 10 of them.
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I don’t know that I’ve ever seen someone try to break up a double play this way (the umpires decided it was interference by Naylor).
https://x.com/codifybaseball/status/1980431703664652497?s=46&t=9EE6fANgcBLQ3-D9RROqvg
I don't know how you could possibly decide it was anything else.
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I'm not dismissing the possibility of Bieber as an option, but it's not like he's been lights-out for Toronto - more okay. Post-ace Bieber.
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I don’t know that I’ve ever seen someone try to break up a double play this way (the umpires decided it was interference by Naylor).
https://x.com/codifybaseball/status/1980431703664652497?s=46&t=9EE6fANgcBLQ3-D9RROqvg
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Vlad Jr. this postseason: 6 HRs, 2 Ks.
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WaPost:
This is Beethoven at a piano. This is Shakespeare with a quill. This is Michael Jordan in the Finals. This is Tiger Woods in Sunday red.
This is too good to be true with no reason to doubt it. This is the beginning of every baseball conversation and the end of the debate: Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player who has ever played the game, the most talented hitter and pitcher of an era in which data and nutrition have made an everyman’s sport a game for superhumans. And Friday night, when he helped his Los Angeles Dodgers win the pennant with a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, was his Mona Lisa.
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Tampa or in LA, Andrew Friedman continues to be in a class by himself.
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Zack Scott @ZackScottSports 3h
In the quick-hook era, the Dodgers' rotation is dealing: 5 straight starts allowing 3 hits or fewer.
This postseason:
64.1 IP, 1.40 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
81 K, 19 BB
6.1 IP per start
Their starters have given up just 29 hits total through 10 games. October dominance!
In case anyone was worried on the Dodgers' behalf, all of them are signed through at least 2028 (and that's a team option for Glasnow).
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Ohtani's three HR were 446, 469, and 427'.
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Dodgers won 93 games this season.
But sometimes a team goes into post-season not reflective of their season Wins.
We saw that in 2021 when Braves won WS as an 88 Wins team in regular season. But Braves were 34-18 in August/September that season and were not really an 88 win caliber team entering post-season.
Dodgers now seem more like a 110 Wins team than the 93 Wins team that they were in the regular season. Hurt guys are healthy, etc. etc.
Cubs on June 3 of this season—thru 60 games—were on a pace to win 103 games.
If Tucker and PCA had got hot again on, say, Sept 15 and stayed hot and Horton stayed healthy, Cubs might have gone into post-season as a 100+ Wins caliber team. That’s who they were thru a lot of games.
You just don’t know how things turn out late. Dodgers conceivably could have got some guys hurt late instead of early. Fortinately for them, their timing was impeccable.
When Hoyer talks about a perennial 90 Wins Cubs team, think maybe he’s driving at that. You might actually be quite a bit better than a 90-win team in the post-season depending on the vagaries in baseball. Takes good timing, good fortune, good breaks.
Helps to be smart about things too….. and Dodgers are very smart on top of their huge payroll advantages. Not just payroll or good luck. They are good at what they do.
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Ohtani was unreal tonight.
Not the first time of course but what a display. The second homer was mind-boggling.
In 1965, the Dodgers HOF pitcher got Don Drysdale 138 PAs and had an OPS+ of 140. Drysdale actually had 2.1 bWAR in 1965 as a hitter. His 140 OPS+ was, by far, the best on the club.
1965 Dodgers won the World Series. Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, combined, pitched 644 innings out of the Dodgers total of 1476 team innings pitched for the season. Think about that. Two guys pitching 44% of all innings. In the WS, they pitched 36 innings out of 60 total. And won 3 of the 4 Dodgers wins. The 1965 Dodgers were Koufax and Drysdale, period.
Another era. Ohtani is an era of his own.
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The World Series will really test the Dodgers' just-be-healthy-in-October strategy. Ohtani, Glasnow, and Snell combined for a total of 198 2/3 IP in the regular season. They're all overdue for yet another injury.
I'm hoping for a Mariners championship, but I'm cheering for whoever wins the ALCS. I think either team has a good chance.
They just played it smart. They're like one of those NBA superteams that knows they're so good that home court doesn't matter, so they rest the hell out of their stars in the regular season knowing they'll mow through higher seeds in the playoffs.
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So, as above, Forbes could just report the ACTUAL publicly reported Braves 2024 income.
If they did that, the number would be $662.7 M in revenues, including all ballpark related revenues, that is, including The Battery revenues.
Or, $595.4 M if you want to limit revenues to baseball-only revenues, excluding The Battery.
So, what does Forbes report as Braves 2024 revenues?
$510 M. Based on what?
This is not remotely accurate. Why is it difficult to be accurate for the one team that has a legal duty to report their finances?
So, if anybody wants to cite revenues to player payroll ratios or the like, the Forbes numbers are probably BS.
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I mentioned earlier how the Forbes MLB team revenues are guesswork at best.
Here's how bad it is regarding the one U.S. team that has to publicly report revenues: Atlanta Braves.
First link is the public report Braves themselves report.
Second link is the Forbes-based revenues estimates.
https://www.bravesholdings.com/news/press-releases/detail/204/atlanta-braves-holdings-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year-end
https://www.statista.com/statistics/193645/revenue-of-major-league-baseball-teams-in-2010/?srsltid=AfmBOor2sg25dA8JCFoEz2VpqPpiVDVa1CGt2aZJBu1CQ29FFbRLKLcD
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The Dodgers spent 153M on their top 6 players this year:
Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Snell, Glasnow, Yamamoto.
Seems like it paid off.
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Dodgers made that as boring a series as I can ever remember. Total domination. Reminder of how little regular-season record can mean, when a team has a way different health situation at end than throughout the season.
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The World Series will really test the Dodgers' just-be-healthy-in-October strategy. Ohtani, Glasnow, and Snell combined for a total of 198 2/3 IP in the regular season. They're all overdue for yet another injury.
I'm hoping for a Mariners championship, but I'm cheering for whoever wins the ALCS. I think either team has a good chance.
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Ohtani’s night so far: 2-2, 2 HRs, BB, 6 IP, 1 hit, 10 Ks.
Will the winner of the ALCS even take a game? The Ms have enough SP and the Jays enough bats to defy the odds an win one, I think - you won’t get anything off the Dodgers’ SP but Ohtani and Glasnow are likely 6 inning guys and their pen is vulnerable enough to score one or two.
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It resembles what the EPL has become, to an extent.
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It's fascinating how the Dodgers have made a salary cap seem like a desirable concept. The unintended consequence of abusing one's market advantage. Will a Japanese talent pipeline draft be next?
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When you can throw out a HOF caliber starter every game it's...advantageous.
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Looks like the Dodgers are going to sweep the Brewers, which would be a surprise to only a few. A reminder of just how wide a gap we still have to bridge.
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Spotrac
@spotrac
Follow
3B Alex Bregman has exercised an early termination option in his contract, foregoing the remaining 2 years, $80M on his #RedSox deal to hit free agency.
The 31-year-old carries a 4 year, $112M valuation in our system.
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OptaSTATS @OptaSTATS 15m
Dodger starters over the last 30 games dating back to the regular season:
15-1 record
1.49 ERA
.144 opp BA
0.81 WHIP
214 strikeouts
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Jon Heyman @JonHeyman
Austin Hedges re-signs with Guardians: $4M plus 500K incentives
Among all players in MLB history with at least 2,500 career PA, Hedges ranks 2,445 out of 2,450 players with a 50 wRC+. The Guardians must really like his defense.
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Shildt retired in part due to receiving death treats from gamblers this past season… we have unleashed something that will slowly ruin all sports now.
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Going cheap on SP generally doesn't work in the postseason. Winning teams know this.
Noah Camras
@noahcamras
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Blake Snell has now made 3 postseason starts for the Dodgers:
Wild Card Game 1: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 K
NLDS Game 1: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K
NLCS Game 1: 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 10 K
That's a 0.86 ERA.
Dominant would be an understatement.
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Just a good thing it wasn't game 5 with the Cubs, the board would have a dozen posters on suicide watch.
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Wow, what a sharp play by Contreras to realize that it was force play, and that the force at 3rd was still in play.
Weird thing is that whether it was force play or tag play, how could Frelick be fumbling around with the ball in deepest CF, and the guy from 3rd couldn't make it home to beat the throw? Assume it's going to either be a HR or caught; once it first hits the glove, even if you don't realize it's going to bounce off the wall and not be a catch, how could he not be "tagging" from 3rd and busting home and beating the throw? Strangest thing.
Same for guy on 2nd; wouldn't it make sense to tag and advance to 3rd even if it's just a regular old catch? Very crazy play.
But yeah, Contreras noticing that guy from 2nd hadn't advanced, and then just running down to 3rd to get the 3rd out, that was really smart.
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Even when they lose, the Brewers still get ridiculously lucky.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46588442/brewers-pull-wild-double-play-vs-dodgers-nlcs-game-1
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That bullpen is the only Dodgers vulnerability, which is ironic given that they signed the entire top end of the relief market. If Sasaki can't be the guy it's pretty dubious down there.
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Wow, Brewers score one in the 9th off Sasaki, he gets pulled with runners on 1st and 3rd. Yelich steals 2nd, Treinen walks Contreras to load the bases. Turang whiffs to end the game on a 2-2 pitch way above the strike zone per game-cast.
6 walks in the 9th inning; the Dodgers insurance run walked in by Uribe ends up being the difference. Crazy ending.
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Wow, other than one single to Durbin, Snell otherwise perfect through 8.
Brewers walk in insurance run in the 9th. 2-0 for Sasaki to close it.
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Sorry to be a spammer, but the BBFL, the board's fantasy baseball league, will be contracting three teams. One of the teams can continue if a regular visitor to this board has interest. Please email Curt at fischerone@msn.com before Oct. 20.
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Interesting that Skubal, with 13K/0BB had to come out after 6, at 99 pitches. Immediately Detroit pen allowed the tying run. Run counted to deadline-pickup Finnegan, one of the guys Cubs had considered, although he put the two runners on and the guy who relieved him immediately allowed the game-tying single.
Skubal was great in the post-season, but Detroit lost both of his starts in this series. Reminder that it's a team game, you've got to score runs, and non-aces can get guys out too. (There were 10 other pitchers with no runs counted against them.). Having an ace is no guarantee.
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Wow, I went to bed hours before that one ended. Interesting for 10-year-old Detroit fans. Did Mom/Dad let them stay up past 1am to watch it finish, only to end in heartbreak? Did they fall asleep, then wake up this moring, check the score, and start the day with heartbreak? Were Mom/Dad in sync, or is Mom saying, "you've got your football game tomorrow at 10am, you need to get to bed", but Dad is saying "let himstay up, this might be historic...".
I had posted not wanting to use Taillon tonight on 2-day rest, in view of Boyd's 3-day-rest game. But lots of starters have been pitching on short rest these last two days in Philly and Seattle, often with good effectiveness.
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Ex-Cub factor strikes again.
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Gut feeling Seattle wins it here.
Yup.
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Gut feeling Seattle wins it here.
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Dingler with an unbelievable throw to get Robles stealing, and on to 15. Longest winner take all game in MLB history. Blue Jays ecstatic.
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Also, robot strike zone can't get here soon enough.
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Seattle goes to Castillo to pitch to Baez with Dingler on 2nd and two out. Interesting move with a SP.
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C'mon, Javy.
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The only thing that would make this better is not having to listen to Adam Amin make as ass of himself.
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Do you walk Raleigh leading off the inning?
Yes, but unintentionally.
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Do you walk Raleigh leading off the inning?
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Detroit wriggles off the hook, on we go.
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Detroit wastes the chance, and now gets screwed on a HPB and replay.
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He politely leaves the opportunity for another ex-Cub.
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Uwah, the table set for Javy and high drama.
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Obviously the drama is amped way up in a postseason double-elimination game, but this is a reminder of how much the atrocity of the Manfred man has robbed from the game.
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They know who they are.
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Man, Skubal is a flucklng beast.
Wonderful to see Javy having a phenomenal postseason and continuing to impact the game in all the ways no one else can quite like him. Especially when so many, including some here, were gleefully pronouncing him finished.
Curious who "were gleefully prouncing him finished" because I seem to have missed that. Care to elaborate?
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Man, Skubal is a flucklng beast.
Wonderful to see Javy having a phenomenal postseason and continuing to impact the game in all the ways no one else can quite like him. Especially when so many, including some here, were gleefully pronouncing him finished.
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46552534/cody-bellinger-opts-contract-set-become-free-agent
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Above all, it was a mental error. He panicked.
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Come back home Kyle.
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I really feel for Orion Kerkering here. This is the kind of thing that sticks with a player his whole career and beyond. Think Fred Merkle and Bill Buckner. Scot Norwood in football.
Had easy out at 1B. Realmuto pointed to 1B and surprised when Kerkering threw home.
Would not be surprised if change scoring to a fielders choice because even accurate throw home might possibly have been late anyway.
Mental error, mostly. Ouch.
I’m sure that Phillies fans will take it diplomatically.
I think it's an error all the way. He fumbled it before grabbing it, and might have had either runner if he had caught it cleanly. The only question is if it goes in the books as a fielding error or throwing error.
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Jayson Stark says:
That was the first postseason series in history to end on a walkoff error.
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I’m sure that Phillies fans will take it diplomatically.
Naturally.
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Had easy out at 1B. Realmuto pointed to 1B and surprised when Kerkering threw home.
Would not be surprised if change scoring to a fielders choice because even accurate throw home might possibly have been late anyway.
Mental error, mostly. Ouch.
I’m sure that Phillies fans will take it diplomatically.
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Wow. That is awful.
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Colossal choke by the Phils. Do they run it back or tear it down and re-tool?
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Dodgers won on a throwing error. Poor Phillies fans, what a way to go down.
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Orion Kerkering with his Donnie Moore moment. Brutal.
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Dodgers-Phillies game will be resolved in extra innings. No Manfred Mann in the playoffs. :(:(
Good. The Manfred Man is the most ridiculous change baseball has ever seen, including the DH.
Also good to see them going as many innings as possible. Let them wear out their bullpens so that we can have an easier time with whomever we play after we advance. (And if we don't advance, and the Dodgers do, I'm rooting 100% for the Brewers.)
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Luzardo, who pitched 6 innings on Monday, coming on in relief off 2 days rest.
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Dodgers-Phillies game will be resolved in extra innings. No Manfred Mann in the playoffs. :(:(
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With two outs, Phillies have Duran intentionally walk Ohtani, loading the bases. Except, oops!! Duran then unintentionally walks Betts to tie the game. I get intentionally walking the best hitters. I admit that doing so to load the bases is awfully scary. A lot of stuff a pitcher can't do if he can't nibble and throw chase pitches like normal.
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Different world for different teams. Dodgers Glasgow goes 6; as soon as he's out, reliever lets in the tiebreaking run.
Phillies push Sanchez into the 7th. He'd allowed two baserunners in the 6th, but they still bring him back. Now he's allowed two more in the 7th, before finally lifting him for Duran.
Very different from Cubs, and Brewers, and Padres have run things.
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And Phillies lose because of the sac bunt attempt. Just awful managing.
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Phillies down 4-3 in the 9th, tying run on second with nobody out. Already two runs in this inning.
And...Rob Thompson has Bryson Stott attempt a sac bunt, runner thrown out at third. That's a fireable decision in 2025. Why would you try to give away an out in that situation?
Harrison Bader with a single next, so the game would've been tied.
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The only LDS team carrying 13 pitchers are the Jays.
Seven teams are carrying 12, including the Cubs. LCS will probably be different. More games, different format.
I guessed Cubs would start Assad in Game 1 of division series. Obviously, Cubs brass felt that Assad was not a good match-up against the highly disciplined, put-ball-in-play Brewers. I hadn’t figured that but it’s within the realm of possibility that Cubs pitching structure works with better info and expertise than I do. Perhaps that isn’t true for some other posters here.
Once you eliminate Assad, what were the options for Game 1?
Seems like choice was either Rea on two days rest (after relief appearance on Wednesday) or Boyd on three days rest (after 58 pitch outing on Tuesday). Beats me why Boyd was manifestly a bad choice.
Turned out very poorly but can’t fairly make a judgment based on 20-20 hindsight, albeit that has never stopped too many folks here. Decision-makers don’t have that luxury. Sometimes have to make this kind of decision when your best SP gets hurt just before playoffs start.
Going forward, all the pitchers are ready to go except Civale (sorry Civale Lovers out there) and possibly Brown. So, basically zero negative impact going forward.
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The Tigers-Mariners ALDS has been great through 2 games.
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Fried allowed 7 runs in his 3 innings today. Even a big-ticket star can get murdered on a given day. Pretty disappointing for Yankees fans, for sure.
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Well, at least the Blue Jays won today. Wish the other three games had gone the other way.
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ROFL at posters mocking the idea that the Dodgers would be prohibitive favorites in every playoff series.
LOL.
Here is the definition of “prohibitive favorite”:
‘In sports, a "prohibitive favorite" refers to a competitor who is overwhelmingly likely to win, often to the point where their chances of winning are so high that it discourages other competitors or significant betting interest against them. This term suggests a virtually certain outcome, sometimes with an outcome so expected that it may seem "prohibitive" for anyone else to challenge.’
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ROFL at posters mocking the idea that the Dodgers would be prohibitive favorites in every playoff series. They're loaded, and now they have Sasaki throwing 101 as their closer.
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Glasnow in relief? So I guess he finishes out the game?
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That aged well...
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Old David Robertson is still getting big outs in the playoffs. Tip of the cap to that dude.
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Rangers hire Skip Schumaker as manager on four-year deal
David Ross being considered by Braves.
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It would matter if you're a fan of the visiting team and wanted to attend the game.
Since when do they care what the fans want? ;)
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It would matter if you're a fan of the visiting team and wanted to attend the game.
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It has to be more for logistics reasons than for what's fair. It's a pretty quick turn around from the wild card round to the division series, so it's probably more helpful for team planning and TV planning to know who the next opponent is going to be right after a series is over instead of waiting.
That really shouldn't matter. We already know the #1 and #2 will be hosting the games. What difference would if it were the Tigers or Guardians that win that series? Either would be going to Toronto. The TV broadcasts would be setting up to broadcast from Toronto no matter who wins the WC games. For the winning teams it would matter where the next series would be but how hard would it be to make reservations in either city and just cancel one. It doesn't seem too insurmountable to me.
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I can't believe they don't reseed after each playoff reound.
It doesn't seem right that the #1 seed has to play the #4 see while the #2 seed gets the #6 seed.
That's Manfred for you there.
It has to be more for logistics reasons than for what's fair. It's a pretty quick turn around from the wild card round to the division series, so it's probably more helpful for team planning and TV planning to know who the next opponent is going to be right after a series is over instead of waiting.
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They should't decide who the #1 and #2 play until after the WC round is over. It only makes sense.
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I can't believe they don't reseed after each playoff reound.
It doesn't seem right that the #1 seed has to play the #4 see while the #2 seed gets the #6 seed.
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Mariners had a split-squad game yesterday and Ichiro played RF. Absolutely still looks like playing MLB would be no problem for him.
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Javy the MVP for Detroit in the Cleveland series. Hit .455 and was his usual highlight reel on defense. That's great to see.
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Just watched the highlights of the Cleveland-Detroit game. Wow, that was fun. Baserunners everywhere, lots of action on the field, no home runs. Javi making what might have been a game-losing error, then being bailed out by the defense. And it came down to the last out. I wish every game were like that. As detestable as the these over-extended playoffs that made an epic Tiger collapse and Guardian comeback meaningless are, that was an amazing game.
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Dodgers not low-scoring. Ohtani led off with HR, now 6-0 in 6th. Snell is really good.
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3-1, 3-1, 2-1 games. Low scoring.
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Bigger choke: Mets or Tigers?
Tigers get in anyway obviously.
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NL seeding:
1 Milwaukee
2 Philadelphia
3 Los Angeles
4 Cubs
5 Padres
6 Reds
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AL seeding:
1 Toronto
2 Seattle
3 Cleveland
4 New York
5 Red Sox
6 Tigers
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Blue Jays are the only team that's really showed up today so far.
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Josh Naylor is one of the slowest runners in MLB (2nd percentile sprint speed). And he just picked up his 30th SB of the season. He's only been caught stealing two times.
By the way, his two CS came in back-to-back games in April. The first was against the Cubs on 4/20 when he tried to steal home in an 11 inning game. Then he got caught on 4/22 vs. the Rays. He's 26 for 26 since then. He has 19 SB since he was traded to the Mariners at the deadline, and he only had 25 SB in his career coming into 2025 (he debuted in 2019).
Really, one of the more out-of-nowhere performances I can remember.
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Javy Baez has 1 walk his last 184 at-bats.
I hadn't noticed how Javy had been doing since his excellent first half. But now his season OPS is .676 and his OPS+ is 86. His secong half: .529 OPS and 46. I think all of us were happy that he had seemed to turn things around.
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Javy Baez has 1 walk his last 184 at-bats.
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I said Charlie Morton looked shot when there were rumors of Cubs interest before the deadline. Morton was dumped by the Tigers after accumulating a 7.09 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, and -0.8 WAR in 9 starts after that trade.
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Josh Naylor is one of the slowest runners in MLB (2nd percentile sprint speed). And he just picked up his 30th SB of the season. He's only been caught stealing two times.
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Rosenthal (repost):
Runs Allowed, Last 21 Games:
37 CLE <--- completely ridiculous!
76 SEA
78 PIT CHC LAD
81 SD
82 MIL
83 ATH BAL
88 TEX BOS
89 TB
90 PHI NYY
93 CIN KC ATL
94 TOR CWS
95 ARI
96 HOU
97 STL
107 SF
108 MIA
109 DET
114 NYM
123 LAA WSH
126 MIN
132 COL
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Schwarber with homers 55 and 56 tonight.
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@AJCassavell
Ramón Laureano has a fractured finger in his hand, Mike Shildt says, and will be out at least through the first round.
6:11 PM · Sep 24, 2025
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)
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@AJCassavell
Ramón Laureano has a fractured finger in his hand, Mike Shildt says, and will be out at least through the first round.
6:11 PM · Sep 24, 2025
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Brewers avoid the sweep and do the Cubs a huge favor. Now take advantage.
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Maybe having to depend on the White Sox and Brewers for help isn't a great idea. Let's just win a couple of games and make it moot.
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Padres rallied and beat the Brewers. Only two wins behind the Cubs now.
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Jeff Passan:
The Cincinnati Reds now control their destiny for the third wild card spot in the National League. They own the tiebreaker over the New York Mets, who previously had been in control of a playoff spot every day since April 5.
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https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25250602-mariners-successfully-challenge-shift-rule-violation-vs-royals-awarded-1st-base
Watch out, Nico.
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Kershaw announced that he’s retiring at the end of the season.
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Cam Smith’s reduced role is proof Astros already regret this roster decision (https://climbingtalshill.com/cam-smith-reduced-role-proof-astros-already-regret-roster-decision)
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I mean, how dismissive is it to ignore the Cubs altogether?
-
Given how mediocre the Cubs have been since July, I can't get too upset with that article. Still, the Cubs must be considered a possible threat given how potent their offense is when it's performing at its best.
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Talk about disrespect...
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46258544/mlb-2025-playoffs-execs-insiders-favorite-team-beat-predictions-biggest-threats
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Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN 6m
From @EliasSports: Cody Bellinger is batting .370 against left-handed pitching this year. Right now, that stands as the highest batting average for a lefty batter off lefty pitchers (minimum: 150 plate appearances)
since 2004, when Ichiro Suzuki hit .404 off southpaws.
Since 2005, highest BA for a LHB off LHP (min: 150 PAs).
Bellinger .370 this year
Yordan Alvarez .362 in 2024
Nick Markakis .361 in 2010
Joe Mauer .361 in 2008
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Brewers rally from 3-0 down, 6-1 down in the 6th, 7-4 down in the 9th, and 8-7 down in the 10th to win yet again.
-
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46081635/mlb-2025-playoff-tracker-clinch-scenarios-postseason-bracket-schedule
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Padres' vaunted bullpen blows another one late to Cincy, now a 4 game gap.
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Reds do the Cubs a solid and beat the Pads on a 9th-inning HR off Suarez. Back 3 games in front.
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And the Brewers win top seed in the 2025 MLB playoffs.
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The Orioles go from 3-0 down and no-hit with 2 outs in the 9th to winning 4-3.
Don't see that very often.
That’s Baseball!
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The Orioles go from 3-0 down and no-hit with 2 outs in the 9th to winning 4-3.
Don't see that very often.
-
Yamamoto about to no-hit the Orioles.
How'd that work out
-
2-out homer by Holliday ruins the no-hitter.
-
Yamamoto about to no-hit the Orioles.
-
Dodgers and Padres both lost, again.
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Why are the Twins giving innings to MLB’s worst pitcher since 1890? (https://www.si.com/mlb/twins/minnesota-twins-news/why-are-the-twins-giving-innings-to-mlb-worst-pitcher-since-1890-noah-davis?utm_source=Bring+Me+The+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1043530d24-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_09_03_11_37&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-1043530d24-49285429)
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https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2025/09/03/did-framber-valdez-intentionally-hit-his-own-catcher/
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Both Padres and Dodgers lost. Poor Darvish, has a 5.75 ERA this season. He's 39 now, but Dodgers have him under 3 more guaranteed seasons. Yikes.
FWIW his peripherals say he's been very unlucky. Home runs are what's killing him but even allowing for that his FIP, xFIP, and xERA are much lower.
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Now up 4 full games on Padres, 1.5 on Dodgers, 10 on Reds and Giants.
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Both Padres and Dodgers lost. Poor Darvish, has a 5.75 ERA this season. He's 39 now, but Padres have him under 3 more guaranteed seasons. Yikes.
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...At the moment, Cubs and Padres are both 24-18 within their division(s).
Thanks. Not likely to win tiebreaker, if it comes to that. They've got 7 games left with Rockies, 3 D-Backs.
-We've got 3 games with Pirates, 7 with Reds/Cardinals.
So, looks like Cubs will want to stay ahead if they want #4 seed.
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Aside: it is ridiculous that we (and the Padres) have only played 42 intra-divisional games this late into the season. There are way too many interleague games these days.
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Padres lost. 3 games back. I think we split with them, not sure how the tie-breaker works?
1. Head-to-head record: The team with the better head-to-head record against the other tied team(s) wins the tiebreaker.
2. Intradivision record: If the head-to-head record is tied, the team with the better record within its own division (against other teams in the same division) wins.
3. Interdivision record: If the intradivision record is also tied, the team with the better record against teams outside its division but within its league (American League for AL teams, National League for NL teams) wins.
4. Record in last half of intraleague games: If the interdivision record is tied, the tie is broken by looking at the teams' records in the last 81 games played against teams within their league.
At the moment, Cubs and Padres are both 24-18 within their division(s).
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Padres lost. 3 games back. I think we split with them, not sure how the tie-breaker works?
-
The Padres (or theoretically Dodgers) are the ones to scoreboard watch. We have a big enough cushion on everybody else that barring a total collapse we should be able to finish ahead of them.
Agree. Playoff entry is pretty safe. It would take a pretty epic collapse to lose a 10-game lead at this point. And I don't think the Reds, DBacks, Giants, and Cardinals are really good enough to go on a 20-6 run to end the season.
But yeah, hosting the wildcard would be really fun. Just 1- and 2-game leads on Dodgers and Padres. Cubs have been kinda .500-ish for the last three months. Will probably need to be variably better than that in the remaining games to hold that #4 spot. Helpful that we don't need to stay ahead of both of them, just one. So *IF* the Cubs win fairly often, it's not likely that both of those teams will get crazy hot at the same time.
-
Mackenzie Gore to the IL with shoulder inflammation.
-
Cubs also have a real soft schedule. But, San Diego's the one team with an easier one the rest of the way.
-
The Padres (or theoretically Dodgers) are the ones to scoreboard watch. We have a big enough cushion on everybody else that barring a total collapse we should be able to finish ahead of them.
-
Reds have lost 5 straight. Cubs now have a 10-game lead on the last wildcard spot.
-
Chourio returned for the Brewers today and hit the game-winning homer in the 9th in Toronto.
-
Infield fly for Schwarber. The 4 HR record still stands.
-
Oh, man…he got a cookie and missed it!
-
If he was still with the Cubs, he'd have a golden sombrero.
-
Walk, single to start the 9th. So unless there's a double play, Schwarber will get another shot.
-
I take that back. It would've been out in Houston too. Smith hit a 346-footer there last night. And that was the only park it would've left.
-
Schwarber's first two homers were bombs. His 3rd might not have been out of any other park.
-
Would they leave Brujan in to pitch to Schwarber with a MLB record on the line, I wonder?
-
Vidal Brujan is now pitching for the Braves, but Bohm made the last out of the 7th on the first pitch of his AB. Schwarber is due up 5th in the 8th.
-
Schwarber has hit 4 homers tonight.
The Phillies lead 18-4 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th. They need a few more guys to get on base to give Schwarber a chance to set a new single game record.
-
Brewers blow a 5-run lead but win another walk-off.
-
Cardinal fans calling in to radio shows are saying the team has become the new Pittsburgh Pirates. It's shocking how quickly they're behaving like a small market team. It's a fascinating turn around.
Some choice quotes: Free Agents don't want to come here anymore. They aren't playing Cardinal baseball anymore, stealing bases, moving runners up, hitting with runners on. Cardinals aren't developing pitching like they used to; they scrounge through the garbage for arms. Fans don't want to come and watch this crap. Oli's too nice.
Last night Contreras had another blow up. Of course, in the St. Louis media he is not just Wilson Contreras, he is "former Cub, Wilson Contreras" when he does something bad.
-
@dgoold
#Cardinals announce a tickets sold crowd of 17,675 tonight. That is the smallest in Busch Stadium III history, and it is the first time they’ve sold fewer than 20,000. #stlcards
8:46 PM · Aug 25, 2025
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https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1960170010212462830
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ST. LOUIS — Willson Contreras was ejected in the bottom of the seventh inning of Monday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates after an intense altercation with home plate umpire Derek Thomas.
With the Cardinals leading 6-5, Contreras was rung up on a called strike three on a pitch that appeared to land in the strike zone. He seemed to look back on his way to the dugout and say something in the direction of Thomas, who promptly ejected Contreras. The 33-year-old came charging back at Thomas as manager Oli Marmol tried to intervene, but the heated exchange quickly turned into mayhem.
Contreras had to be restrained by Marmol and bench coach Daniel Descalso as he slammed his helmet to the ground. As Marmol and Thomas continued arguing at home plate, Descalso attempted to have Contreras leave the field. Contreras spun around and threw his bat in the direction of home plate, striking hitting coach Brant Brown on the arm.
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Who are you and where is Curt? ;)
whatever do you mean? I've always been positive.
I'm positive Ross would have a similar record to Counsell.
I'm positive that the Cubs will make the playoffs.
I'm positive that next spring there will be a four way jam at catcher, and the Cubs will trade the wrong one.
-
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6573039/2025/08/25/josh-naylor-stolen-bases-mariners/?campaign=14723475&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=212065
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Cam Smith slash line since the All-Star break:
.140 .209 .180
-
Brewers get Chourio and Hoskins back soon. Don't expect a slump.
-
And the Cubs could go on a run like they did.
Who are you and where is Curt? ;)
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And the Cubs could go on a run like they did.
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It seemed like the Brewers couldn't lose for so long. But they have now lost 5 of their last 7 games (3 to the Cubs). It is not inconceivable that they could go through some version of what the Cubs went through in July/August, in which case the Cubs would still have a shot at the Division title. Who knows?
-
Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make.
Suarez in Seattle:
.179/.226/.385, -0.2 WAR
-
Brewers cough up a 9th-inning lead and lose to the Giants. Course, the Cubs are trying to cough up their lead today too.
-
Contreras with a spectacular play at the plate in Milwaukee.
-
Zack Wheeler (Phils) to undergo season-ending thoracic outlet syndrome surgery!
-
Shane Bieber's first Jays start:
6-2-1-1-0-9
-
Brewers choke up a lead in the 9th but Contreras hits a walk-off. Must be nice to be able to find so many ways to win.
-
Apple is dropping Friday night baseball. I really liked the broadcasts when the Cubs played on it.
Peacock is getting Friday night baseball, Sunday night baseball and the Wild Card games ESPN opted out of.
ESPN is going to buy MLB.TV, presumably it will be part of the new ESPN streaming service.
Netflix is getting the home run derby.
This will run through 2028 when national TV deals expire.
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Brewers
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6559497/2025/08/18/milwaukee-brewers-baseball-fundamentals-pat-murphy/?campaign=14633978&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=6500994
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Baseball is great because no matter how long you watch it, you still see shlt you've never seen before.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UG-uNwBnxaM
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Reds walk it off in 10 to end the Brewers streak.
-
Reds tie it in the 9th and had 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, but K'd and popped out.
-
Brewers down 1-0 in the 9th in Cincinnatti today, but Contreras just hit a 2-run homer.
-
Brewers on a pace to win 104 games.
If Brewers were in NL West with their current record, they’d be 8 1/2 games ahead of Dodgers.
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As long as they don't come out of Wrigley with a 20-game winning streak.
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Will the Brewers go into Wrigley with a 15-game winning streak?
-
Brewers take the lead before the Reds tie it in the 10th, but in the 11th Andruw Monasterio hits a PH, 3-run homer for Milwaukee, his second homer in 63 at-bats.
-
De La Cruz throws the ball away at 1st to allow the Brewers tie the game with 2 out in the 9th.
-
The Brewers are clearly peaking too early.
I keep telling myself that it's much better for our team to have its coldest stretch now, while there's still time to recover, than in late September when we're neck-and-neck with multiple other teams for the last wild card spot.
-
The Brewers are clearly peaking too early.
Irrespective, I fully expect the Dodgers to sweep them.
-
The Brewers are clearly peaking too early.
-
Maybe the worst part is going to be choosing who to root against when the Brewers play the Dodgers in October.
-
Only 10 runs on 17 hits for Milwaukee tonight.
-
At least Les Mis got roughed up.
-
Brewers were down 8-1 after 2 in Cincy. Took them 2 innings to tie it.
-
Bowden is opining that Kyle Tucker is the #1 FA and will command the biggest contract this off-season. Really?
-
Brewers up to 12 runs today. 8-13 w/ RISP
Brewers are the 2nd team in the last 80 seasons to score at least 100 runs during a win streak of 12 games.
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Well, we hit the road now…
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Brewers up to 12 runs today. 8-13 w/ RISP
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Javy Baez the last 30 days:
.555 OPS, 0 walks, 23 strikeouts in 67 AB's.
-
8 runs for the Brewers so far today, 22 in 14 innings against the Pirates the last two days.
-
That's how playing .500 ball can cost you 11 games in the standings.
-
Brewers tied the NL record for a 30-game stretch of 26-4.
-
Brewers win 14-0. They've scored 111 runs their last 14 games.
-
Mets leading Atlanta 13-5. Where was this when they were playing Milwaukee?
-
3-run homer for Vaughn. Brewers up 12-0 with innings to go.
-
Brewers smacking Skenes around.
-
Brewers steamrolling the Pirates.
-
Egregious…
-
Fantastic than Jen Pawol became the first female home plate umpire today. Just a shame she blew the call on her first pitch.
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What's amazing is that they are doing it without several of their better players.
-
Last five weeks the Brewers are 24-4!
-
Isaac Collins hit a walk-off homer for the Brewers after they were down 5-0 to the Mets.
9th win in a row.
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Brewers now 33-9 their last 42.
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Rockies have been outscored by 321 Runs so far this season, with 47 games remaining.
2024 WSox—who lost 121 games—were outscored by 306 Runs for the season.
-
Brewers winning run came via catcher's interference.
-
Brewers beat the Mets 3-2, throwing out the tying run at the plate with 2 outs in the 9th…
-
Paul Skenes gave up 7 hits in his start tonight, the 47th start of his career.
In his first 46 starts of his career— 6 or fewer hits
Oh, pitched shutout in his 6 innings tonight, along with the 7 hits.
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Brewers are on a 6-game winning streak.
Maybe Brewers have peaked too early. :)
They've won 31 of 40.
That's a 126-win pace.
-
They might win 110.
Brewers are on a 6-game winning streak. Previously this season, they had winning streaks of 11 in a row and 8 in a row. Further, they had another separate period when they won 8 of 9.
Cubs longest winning streak this season is 5 in a row.
Maybe Brewers have peaked too early. :)
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They might win 110.
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Brewers are pounding Spencer Strider…
-
Mackenzie Gore's outing against the A's:
3-12-8-8-1-0, 2 HR
A’s with 45 total bases in this game!
-
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/the-brewers-are-the-best-team-in-baseball-that-shouldn-t-be-possible/ar-AA1JWaaK
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Mackenzie Gore's outing against the A's:
3-12-8-8-1-0, 2 HR
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Schwarber with a 2-run homer and grand slam tonight.
-
https://apple.news/AIYPwRCDbRQScSia_mDaR-A
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I was hoping we'd get in on this guy, but I think the Cards are ahead of us on the waiver wire.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/08/cardinals-claim-anthony-veneziano-from-marlins.html
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Underrated Player Department.
Will Smith now has a better OPS than Cal Raleigh.
Smith leads the NL in both BA and OBP.
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Speaking of which, if the Brewers do make the playoffs (and at this point it would be beyond shocking if they didn't), it will mark their seventh postseason appearance in the last eight seasons. In the same division, the mega-market Cubs haven't made the playoffs in a full season since 2018.
Again, this doesn't "prove" anything, but it's very interesting to note and is a good illustration of just how well the Brewers are run (we could get into how much Cubs ownership should be embarrassed at another time).
The Brewers have now won 46 of their last 65 games, a full-season pace of 115 wins.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-power-rankings-with-brewers-at-no-1-let-s-finally-stop-talking-about-market-size/ar-AA1JSwi2
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Miami sweeps the Yankees
-
Are you not entertained!
-
Brewers have scored 12 more today, 36 in their series against Washington, and have surpassed the Cubs in run differential.
-
Brewers up 5-0 and have scored 21 runs in 11 innings.
-
Twins called up eight players from their AAA farm club today, following trade deadline moves.
A ninth player is coming up on Saturday.
https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-add-to-roster-after-2025-trade-deadline
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Today was the first time since 1986 that two MLB teams allowed 12+ runs and won.
-
Crazy game at Coors tonight. The Pirates took a 9-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning.
The Rockies scored five in the bottom of the 9th to win 17-16.
-
Brewers put up 16 runs on 24 hits in Washington.
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3-3 game going to the 8th…
Braves score 8 in the top of the 8th to make it a blowout…except…
Reds get 8 straight hits to start the bottom of the inning, capped by a Steer 3-run HR…and it’s 11-11…still bottom 8, still nobody out…
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Reds in the middle of a massive comeback in the 8th inning vs Atlanta…
-
I missed this at the time. Ichiro and Matsui playing against female Japanese high schoolers, last year.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/51-year-old-ichiro-suzuki-vs-a-team-of-teenage-girls-was-epic/vi-AA1JsXS8
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Hot rumor is that the Cleveland pitching staff regularly has Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
-
Emmanuel Clase is on leave thru 8/31 while MLB conducts a gambling investigation…
-
Bryce Harper gets in Manfred's face:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45842533/sources-phillies-bryce-harper-tells-mlb-boss-get-clubhouse
Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper stood nose to nose with Rob Manfred during a meeting between the Major League Baseball commissioner and the team last week, telling him to "get the f--- out of our clubhouse" if Manfred wanted to talk about the potential implementation of a salary cap, sources familiar with the meeting told ESPN on Monday.
-
Tremendous English speech by Ichiro at his HoF induction.
-
Brewers rally to tie the Marlins with 2 out in the 8th and walk-off the win in the 9th.
-
And hit a double that almost would have given him the first 5-homer game ever.
-
A's rookie Kurtz went 6-6 with 4 homers and tied the ML record with 19 total bases against Houston.
-
Looks like the magic has worn off for the Tigers.
-
Darvish has now allowed 17 ER in 16-1/2 innings after getting lit up in St Louis.
-
Misiorowski with 16 swing-and-misses in 3.2 innings and 65 pitches. That’s really something.
-
Brewers finally lose, 1-0 in Seattle. Les Mis was pretty dominant but has to be coming up on an innings limit, thank god.
-
Morton's also been a homerun machine the last two years. I'll pass.
-
Morton will probably come quite cheap which plays into the interest, I think.
Not many starters out there.
-
Heyman is a good reporter and he says there’s a lot of interest in Morton around MLB. Don't think this would be the case of there was a perception that he’s “shot.” Maybe he is, but clubs have been scouting him and don’t seem to share that point of view, says Heyman.
I think that with a guy with Morton’s pedigree, clubs probably don’t care much what he did in April. But if he finishes July poorly, interest will probably wane. Had a poor outing last start and IF not too good next two July outings, then more teams might agree with Chris’ opinion.
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His numbers the past several weeks are very good and his velocity is pretty much right where it’s been for several years.
Well, for those who love WAR, Morton's -.5, one of the worst marks in the game.
If it were 10 years ago, sure.
-
Morton's numbers are...not good. Think he's shot.
His numbers the past several weeks are very good and his velocity is pretty much right where it’s been for several years.
-
Morton's numbers are...not good. Think he's shot.
-
Heyman:
Teams love Charlie Morton — who has a very positive postseason history and who’s been solid following a slow start — and he’s drawing a lot of interest on the trade market. Many teams inquiring.
-
The Brewers have the Miz going tonight.
-
Brewers blank Seattle for their 11th straight win and move into first.
First not only in the division, but in the NL and MLB.
-
Woodruff's velocity is way down but he doesn't seem to have missed a trick.
-
Brewers blank Seattle for their 11th straight win and move into first.
-
Trump now getting involved in MLB trade deadline—wants to move deadline back and encourages teams to make better deals.
Washington Post:
Bessent Says Quality Of Trade Deals More Important Than Aug. 1 Deadline
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared to suggest Monday that President Donald Trump’s deadline of Aug. 1 is more flexible than what the Trump administration has previously conveyed, saying the quality of the deal is a higher concern. “The important thing here is the quality of the deal, not the timing of the deals,” Bessent said. “And we are more concerned with high quality deals than getting these deals done by August 1st,” he added. “But again, we’re proceeding apace with the negotiations, but we’re not going to rush for the sake of doing deals.”
-
Brewers sweep the Dodgers, their 10th win in a row.
And six of those ten were against the Dodgers.
Brewers have won 20 of their last 25 games.
-
David Robertson signing with Phillies. Prorate $16M contract, they'll pay $5.5 or whatever for the remaining 3rd of the season.
-
Going to be a good race between Brewers and Cubs.
-
Brewers sweep the Dodgers, their 10th win in a row.
-
Devers has a .655 OPS and negative WAR with SF.
-
Fangraphs projections of likely NL pennant winner:
Dodgers 33.6%
Phils 17.3%
Cubs 14.6%
Mets 12.1%
Brewers 11.1%
-
Brewers sweep their 6-game season series with Dodgers if can beat them on Sunday.
Right now, Brewers have a better record than the Dodgers and a better Runs Differential than the Dodgers.
-
Brewers beat the Dodgers again, their 9th straight win.
-
Brewers beat the Dodgers for the 4th straight time on Friday.
In these four games, Brewers have held Dodgers to a total of four runs scored.
If Brewers bear Dodgers on Saturday, they will have a better record on the season than the Dodgers. Brewers also have a better Runs Differential than the Dodgers—— at almost the 100 games played mark of the season.
If you thought you had a good fix in spring training on what would happen this season……you didn’t.
-
Schwarber came up huge in that ridiculous home run thing, good for him.
-
Tampa Bay sells for 1.7 Billion.
-
Brewers score 3 in the 9th to rally for another win.
-
Jacob Misiorowski added to the NL All Star team just 5 games into his MLB career.
Another Manfred-era effort to make a complete mockery of the sport.
-
Yet no Suzuki.
-
Jacob Misiorowski added to the NL All Star team just 5 games into his MLB career.
-
Fixed it.
Yeah that's what I meant. :)
-
I'm going to have to owe Jed a few apoligies for at least a couple of the things I had to say about his moves this offseason, but it's just a tad bit too bad we couldn't have figured out someone besides Smith to send Houston in the Tucker trade. He'd be nice to have right now. :)
Fixed it.
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Paredes has benefitted enormously from that short porch in Houston.
-
Sometimes what's good for the player has to be factored in.
-
Heh heh, yeah. Thinking that *IF* it was really Shaw they wanted more than Smith, maybe then Paredes wouldn't have been involved. maybe they'd have been happy to take, like Birdsell or Luke Little or Cole Matthis instead, or whatever!
-
I'm going to have to owe Jed a few apoligies for at least a couple of the things I had to say about his moves this offseason, but it's just a tad bit too bad we couldn't have figured out someone besides Paredes to send Houston in the Tucker trade. He'd be nice to have right now. :)
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Added to All Star rosters in the past 24 hours…
Zach McKinstry
Isaac Paredes
Trevor Megill
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Misiorowski has K'd 12 Dodgers on 74 pitches through 5 innings.
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Brewers looking very dangerous. Woodruff's return yesterday went as well as could be hoped.
I agree, they're always dangerous and Woodruff is a guy I was hoping we'd take a flyer on. Of course, his velocity was down three ticks from before surgery and this is a shoulder problem, so he's probably going to have to make an adjustment to much less velocity. But he was a true ace before, so he might still be a very solid pitcher.
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Brewers looking very dangerous. Woodruff's return yesterday went as well as could be hoped.
-
Still a stud and probably their game 1 starter.
-
Yamamoto got shelled by the Brewers. AS pitcher didn't get out of the first inking
-
Martinez and Rizzo were in the final year of their contracts and had a club option that ownership needed to pick up in July.
That’s why a move was made now.
In last five seasons, Nats went 26-34 in 2020, 65-97 in 2021, 55-107 in 2022, 71-91 in both 2023 and 2024.
In 2025, only the Rockies have a worse record in NL than the Nats. Lately, Nats have lost 23 of last 32.
No, the rebuild is not going okay. Rather, sustained futility. Time to make some moves and let other guys take over. Yes, can blame ownership too but lots of blame to go around.
-
Rumor is that the owners wanted Martinez fired, and Rizzo refused.
-
That rebuild actually seemed to be going okay. Odd choice.
-
Dave Martinez and Mike Rizzo fired. Yeah trade away good players, blame field managers.
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Yeah, bummer for Marlins to have him be so bad. No help for their wildcard chase, and no trade value.
He has trade value - the question is how much someone (hopefully not us) is going to be willing to pay for the hope that the 2022 guy comes back. Velocity is there, everything else is a mess.
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Alcantara gave up 5 runs to the Brewers tonight, moving his ERA to 7 on the season. Not sure what the Marlins could ask for him in a trade at this point.
Yeah, bummer for Marlins to have him be so bad. No help for their wildcard chase, and no trade value.
-
No matter what the cost or how he performs.
-
Among Keller, Lugo, and Alcantara, you know Hoyer will give up too much for the wrong one.
-
Alcantara gave up 5 runs to the Brewers tonight, moving his ERA to 7 on the season. Not sure what the Marlins could ask for him in a trade at this point.
-
And Marlins have passed the Braves in NL East, behind Phils and Mets. Who would have expected Marlins up on Braves entering 4th of July.
-
Yankees now second in the Al East behind Toronto despite being 91 runs better.
-
Cam Smith is a homer shy of the cycle today.
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Washington Post—about Javy.
Column by Barry Svrluga
The Detroit Tigers brought the best record in the American League to Nationals Park this week because Tarik Skubal is an animal of an ace who fronts a rotation tied for baseball’s third-best ERA entering Thursday, because left fielder Riley Greene is having a monstrous season that’s establishing him as a star, because Manager A.J. Hinch maximizes his roster by pinch-hitting more often than all but one team and values versatility, and because a young clubhouse got a taste of October a year ago and clearly wants more. “They’re all-in,” Hinch said.
But the Tigers also lead the American League Central by a whopping 12½ games because a player most people considered completely lost found himself. Javier Báez is a World Series champ and an all-star, a Gold Glove winner and an MVP of the National League Championship Series, a player who once drove in 111 runs to lead the league. He has also been just about the worst everyday player in the game.
Think about this: Last year, 324 major leaguers logged at least 250 plate appearances; Báez’s .516 OPS ranked 323rd. He was shut down in August after finally succumbing to an injured hip, on which he eventually had surgery. Wednesday night, he was named the starting center fielder for the American League all-star team.
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“At this time [last year], I didn’t know I was going to come back, or if things were going to get better,” Báez told reporters after the Tigers’ 9-4 loss to the Washington Nationals Wednesday night. “But I got the surgery, I got my work done, and it’s paying off right now.”
This is a baseball story about a good player on a good team. But it’s also a redemption story, a reminder that cutting bait isn’t always better than casting another line. When Báez’s 2024 season ended in August, he was still owed $73 million over the following three seasons. The Tigers didn’t consider swallowing the money. They worked to get Báez healthy, and then to feather him into a team that had transformed while he was out — a sub-.500 squad that made a frantic 25-10 push into the playoffs. It could have looked as if the turnaround happened because Báez was out. The Tigers are adamant that wasn’t the case.
“Everybody loves Javy,” Hinch said. “We root for him. We love being around him. He makes you smile every day. He’s ingrained in every aspect of our clubhouse. “And so, you had empathy for him because here we are celebrating, and he’s at the lowest moment of his career. And he didn’t become a distraction, didn’t pout — and also didn’t assume anything coming back.”
When Báez first came up as a do-anything-and-everything firecracker with the Chicago Cubs — first for parts of 2014 and ’15, then full time in 2016 — he was mesmerizing. The Cubs used him at shortstop, second and third. He was brilliant at all three.
“The way he plays the game, it’s really different,” said Nationals Manager Dave Martinez, who was the Cubs’ bench coach from 2015-17. “I mean, you watch him make tags, you watch him on the bases, it was special. We don’t do the things we did over there without him.”
Those things included bursting into the playoffs with an exciting young core in 2015, winning the World Series the following year, then returning to the postseason the next two years. But in 2021, the struggling Cubs exploded their roster, trading World Series heroes Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Báez, who ended up with the New York Mets. That offseason, he signed his deal with Detroit, where Hinch was entering his second season as manager.
The ride was occasionally bumpy. In 2023, Hinch pulled Báez mid-game after Báez forgot how many outs there were and was doubled off second. Then last August, while making an emotional return to Wrigley Field for the first time as an opposing player, he finally gave in to the hip injury, his stats in the toilet, his career at a crossroads.
Rehab followed. Hinch told Báez he would talk to him when he was healthy. At spring training, they had what started as a casual conversation. “He just wanted to know how he could help us win,” Hinch said. “Like, ‘What can I do? What do you need from me?’ Which, number one, is an incredible question coming from somebody as accomplished as him. Number two, it showed me that he recognized that our team was different than when he left. … The expectations were different. The way teams looked at us, the way people looked at us. We now had a room full of players with playoff experience.”
A deadline deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers had landed shortstop Trey Sweeney. The Tigers were full of young, versatile players. Báez was 32 and coming off his worst season. Hinch still saw an opportunity. The conversation continued.
“I think you can be one of the best utility players around, playing a lot, but playing second, short, third — and center,” Hinch said he told Báez. “When I mentioned center, his eyes lit up like a kid.” Turns out this was a dream that dated back more than a decade. “We put him out there and watched him shag balls,” Martinez said. “He was tremendous out there. We often joked about how he could be out there every day.”
He is revived. After hitting .184 in 2024, he entered play Thursday hitting .284. After that among-the-worst-in-the-game OPS, he is up to .778 — 45 points higher than his career mark, almost identical to the number he posted in all those years with the Cubs. He has moved back to shortstop more regularly, but will line up alongside Greene in the outfield when the AL team takes the field in the bottom of the first in Atlanta. “It’s pretty great,” Báez said. “ … That’s what I worked for, to be an all-star. My transfer to center field locked me in to focus, and I have been feeling good.”
Feeling good, because it’s a feel-good story. Lost causes aren’t always lost.
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Javy Baez will be starting the All-Star game in OF for AL.
Happy for Javy.
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Pirates shut out the Cardinals for the third straight day. Arenado and Contreras both out but probably will be back for the Cubs series.
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I'm really worried about what's going to happen to Bobby after 2035. Maybe we can start a GoFundMe for him.
Isn't that already being done by the Mets?
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I'm really worried about what's going to happen to Bobby after 2035. Maybe we can start a GoFundMe for him.
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HAPPY BOBBY BONILLA DAY!!!!
(https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/515043208_1269707347858543_1461912267037419242_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=o_uEgmGniS0Q7kNvwENREZm&_nc_oc=AdlDNM7NupJ8jhBD0hG1EJc9qLrDrbnm4MdCCmqttUo43ob1SKl99Bu5kAye02Co4XI&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=TfxOiqI7D4kngtLPp0mENg&oh=00_AfMG-osFyvc8G7Rvd8YwdypawMnWYO1_XLAjajJqjEhrqA&oe=6869B87F)
Bonilla is set to collect another $1.193 million from the NY Mets today, as he will each July 1st through the year 2035.
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Pena to the IL with a rib injury from getting hit by Horton. If he had been a Cardinal, Cub hitters would have been dodging pitches the rest of the weekend
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Skubal finishes with 13 K's and 1 hit allowed in 7 innings.
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Skubal has 11 K's in 5 innings on 68 pitches. That's Kerry Wood pace. Look out.
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Did not know that. Not sure his numbers warrant HOF either way. But then you can say that about quite a few players.
He's the definition of a borderline HoF guy for me. 5 times top-5 MVP, 3 GG, 40 WAR. It's close.
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Parker was elected months ago by the Classic Era voting panel.
https://baseballhall.org/news/dick-allen-dave-parker-elected-to-national-baseball-hall-of-fame-by-classic-baseball-era-committee
Did not know that. Not sure his numbers warrant HOF either way. But then you can say that about quite a few players.
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Strike anyone else as odd that they are putting Dave Parker in the HOF right after he passes when he never came close to getting voted in?
Parker was elected months ago by the Classic Era voting panel.
https://baseballhall.org/news/dick-allen-dave-parker-elected-to-national-baseball-hall-of-fame-by-classic-baseball-era-committee
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Strike anyone else as odd that they are putting Dave Parker in the HOF right after he passes when he never came close to getting voted in?
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Reds have something special in Chase Burns.
5.40 ERA. Bust.
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Reds have something special in Chase Burns.
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Skenes versus Misiorowski tomorrow on MLB Network at 1:10 p.m. CT.
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Anthony DiComo
@AnthonyDiComo
[Mets beat writer]
For those asking, yes, new Mets reliever Richard Lovelady has requested to go by his nickname Dicky. So it will be Dicky Lovelady from here on out.
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Raleigh homered again today. Now on pace for 69.
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I think Hoyer realizes Shaw is unlikely to give him anything offensively this season. The question is whether Candelario is the direction you go hoping for better.
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Pretty bad last year (including D by advanced metrics). Truly awful this year, including in his rehab assignment. Worst of all has a chronic spinal issue in his back, apparently. You can make a "can't be any worse" argument for our bench, but he looks like a pass to me. If he were healthy? That might be different.
If he were healthy he wouldn't be available. Depends on Hoyer's thoughts on Shaw, I suppose.
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Reds DFA'd Jeimer Candelario today. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up a Cub as soon as he's a free agent and available for the prorated league minimum.
Pretty bad last year (including D by advanced metrics). Truly awful this year, including in his rehab assignment. Worst of all has a chronic spinal issue in his back, apparently. You can make a "can't be any worse" argument for our bench, but he looks like a pass to me. If he were healthy? That might be different.
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Reds DFA'd Jeimer Candelario today. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up a Cub as soon as he's a free agent and available for the prorated league minimum.
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Schwarber having a career year. On pace for 50 homers, 114 RBI, 114 walks, 118 runs scored. OPS at 920.
He's turned out to be an impact player.
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Ohtani homered, tripled, and walked while pitching a perfect inning with 2 K's.
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Cardinals rally from 5-2 down in the 8th and 5-4 in the 9th and win on a hit from....Yohel Pozo.
Continuing their tradition of doing more with less.
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Misiorowski doesn’t seem to be overly impressed by big league hitting yet…
I can’t imagine there are too many guys who’ve started their careers with 11 hitless innings.
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Misiorowski doesn’t seem to be overly impressed by big league hitting yet…
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Javy goes yard twice and had a nice tag (https://x.com/tigers/status/1935116955070984515) to prevent a steal.
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The Professor Ks (https://x.com/Angels/status/1935139282966200478) 9. Yankees scoreless in 3 straight...
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Two homers for Cam Smith in 5 innings tonight.
Smith ended up with 11 total bases.
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Two homers for Cam Smith in 5 innings tonight.
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Sucks when you have no challenges left after this bang bang play (https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/1934769780180836786)...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GtmvQ88a0AIbysZ?format=jpg&name=small)
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I don’t recall an error in the Arkansas no-hitter…just the one hit batsman.
My brother actually asked me if Gage was Kerry’s son…
He reminded me quite a bit of Sonny Gray when he was at Vandy.
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Bremner feels like a guy the Cubs would take if he were on the board (which is probably 50-50 at this point).
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I've seen some predictions that the Cubs were in on him in the first. That was just one predictor/guesser..
I saw another that we were picking a high school shortstop from, I Think, Arizona.
I've seen high school athletes, college arms, and college bats.
Wood's had arm problems which probably speaks in part as to why he's not a first round lock.
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I've seen some predictions that the Cubs were in on him in the first. That was just one predictor/guesser..
I saw another that we were picking a high school shortstop from, I Think, Arizona.
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At the college World Series, Arkansas' Gage Wood threw a 19-K no-hitter against Murray State. The only baserunners were on an error and hit batter, similar to another gem thrown by a Wood in 1998.
I say similar because I still tend to think of the Gutierrez roller as very playable for Orie.
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Ohtani throwing 100 in his return. Must be nice to be the Dodgers.
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Great job by Red Sox unloading Devers.
Eight more years on his $30 per season contract thru age 36. Basically, a 4 WAR player now, with likely decline into his 30s and minimal or zero defensive value going forward. And a personnel problem for refusing to play a position where Red Sox needed him to play.
And, Red Sox got some useful pieces back.
Yeah, Devers will help Giants offense. Giants are desperate to compete with Dodgers. Missed out on some free agent bats Giants pursued in recent years.
But don’t think Devers is worth that contract as a DH or, more likely, starting in 2026 a 1B. Red Sox were desperate when gave Devers that contract after the Mookie Betts trade fiasco…and ditto for Giants in their desperate attempt to keep up with Dodgers. Well, at least they are trying, so credit for that.
$30/year for a bat of that caliber, that's pretty good value.
*Not sure what his defensive capacity will be at 1B, but I expect he'll lock in as Giants 1B, and will accept that role. I imagine he felt jerked around at Boston, but my expectation is that for Giants he'll say OK to playing 1B.
*Getting a big-time hitter like that, I don't think the Giants will regret that.
*Any star-caliber bat that you pick up, you don't expect it to be great value at the very end, obviously. But he's only 28 now, same age as Tucker. I'm not sure that $31 is going to be a very big contract come 2033. To have one or two years of $31-sized bad-value in 2032-33, pretty small problem relative to getting a bunch of >140 OPS+ seasons now.
*Tucker's going to get paid a lot more than $31/year, and for longer than the Devers commitment.
I don't know how the personality factors, of course. But yeah, seems so hard to find great hitters, being able to accept a little ego or self-centeredness, that might be something you accept.
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Alden González @Alden_Gonzalez
Shohei Ohtani will start tomorrow night, against the Padres, the Dodgers announce.
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Great job by Red Sox unloading Devers.
Eight more years on his $30 per season contract thru age 36. Basically, a 4 WAR player now, with likely decline into his 30s and minimal or zero defensive value going forward. And a personnel problem for refusing to play a position where Red Sox needed him to play.
And, Red Sox got some useful pieces back.
Yeah, Devers will help Giants offense. Giants are desperate to compete with Dodgers. Missed out on some free agent bats Giants pursued in recent years.
But don’t think Devers is worth that contract as a DH or, more likely, starting in 2026 a 1B. Red Sox were desperate when gave Devers that contract after the Mookie Betts trade fiasco…and ditto for Giants in their desperate attempt to keep up with Dodgers. Well, at least they are trying, so credit for that.
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Buster Posey not just a pretty face.
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Tibbs is probably tail-end top 100 at this point, Bello around 20-25 in the Giants’ system. Harrison was legit top 50 when he was promoted.
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WOW
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If this is the start of the fire sale for Breslow, we should definitely be in conversation.
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Full deal according to Robert Murray on Twitter:
Full trade: The San Francisco Giants are acquiring Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox for Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs and Jose Bello, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Passan says the Giants are taking on the entire contract.
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Wow, Giants trade for Rafael Devers. They already have Matt Chapman, so it’ll be interesting to see how the position situation works out.
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A few weeks ago, I made a comment about the danger that lifting the ban on Rose and past stars might have on the game. Lifting the ban does those players no good; they're dead. The ban wasn't intended just to punish but to be a deterrent to betting, period. The Athletic polled current players as to how the surge of online betting has impacted their lives. It's worth a read. Notice the fear older players have for the young players coming up. In a time when we have a Commissioner who should be fighting the encroachment of pro gamblers on the sport, we have a ninny who's encouraging it.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6385628/2025/06/11/mlb-sports-betting-gambling-player-poll/?campaign=13860944&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=6500994
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Red Sox are going to be an interesting team to watch on the trade front. If they decide to sell they have some interesting pieces (including the winning pitcher of game 7 in the 2016 WS). And their FO certainly knows our system.
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Dodgers brought in Kike Hernandez to pitch in the sixth inning yesterday….and he finished the game for them.
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This is the best catch I’ve ever seen in a game I’ve attended.
One, very dangerous attempt because diving head first very close to the wall at top running speed and, two, backhanded catch covering a lot of ground.
If you like vertical leaps, nice, and go watch basketball too but the Reed Johnson catch is a real baseball play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ekZuXs1Egk
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Great catch. But he was able to ease his way back to the wall before the acrobatic leap to make the catch. Spectacular but not an all-timer IMO.
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We rightfully heap praise on PCA for his CF defense. He's tied for 2nd in DRS with 10, and leads in OAA with 11. But then there's Denzel Clarke. He has 6 DRS and 8 OAA. Here's the thing - PCA has played 590.2 innings in CF. Clarke? 125. That projects to about 28 DRS and 37 OAA in the same number of innings (mind you, Clarke also has a .539 OPS and 29 Ks in 53 ABs).
This Clarke catch may be the greatest I've ever seen: https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1932253737474826247