2014 MLB Season Discussion

Status
Not open for further replies.
NinjaPenguin777 said:
What does their stadium have to do with anything?

Just for my own curiosity, have you ever been to the Trop? People talk about it like its a dumpster even if they've never been there. Its not a bad park. It's nothing exciting and it does have annoying quirks like the rings, but it's not some rat hole like some people try to make it out to be. Its a bland dome sure, but the Rays ownership has done a lot with it to improve the experience.

No one ever complains about Fenway Park b/c of its "historical value", but all I've ever heard from people that have been to games there is that its an awful place to actually watch a baseball game.

The Rays rebuilt their centerfield area. I don't know if anyone ever posted pictures/renders but I can't wait to see it on Monday. They are also making all of the padding in the stadium blue. I don't know what took so long for that to happen. http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/tb/ballpark/rays_360.jsp

Pitchers batting is a waste of time. Even the best hitters get out 7/10 times. What's the point of having a pitcher bat when most of them are terrible, or they only bunt? Yea it's great if you have the rare pitcher that can hit. Otherwise its a waste of a line up spot
Click to expand...
Fair enough, maybe its not the park, maybe its the 17 people there watching the games.

 
To be fair that park really is a pain in the ass to get to. I see what they mean when they use that reason for not going. Not a great excuse, but with 19 constantly fucked up and the amount of roads you have to get on and off of, it is a really shitty drive.
 
CaseyRyback said:
To be fair that park really is a pain in the ass to get to. I see what they mean when they use that reason for not going. Not a great excuse, but with 19 constantly fucked up and the amount of roads you have to get on and off of, it is a really shitty drive.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Tampa/St. Pete is a fustercluck to begin with. The Trop wasn't even meant to be an MLB park.

 
Reds303 said:
I'm sure a bunch of CAGs on here play the show, is there any thread that has a CAG online league? That'd be kind of interesting to play a season of 30 games or so.
Click to expand...
I used to run a league for The Show for 08, 09, and 10...but eventually gave up because the onine play was TERRIBLE. The lag was so bad, timing pitches was impossible. I didn't buy the game in 11 or 12, but the reviews I read always criticized the lag online. I bought 13 and played a few games online...which felt basically the same. Maybe SCEA won't cheap out on the servers for the PS4...but in general, a PS3 league is a waste of time.

 
CaseyRyback said:
To be fair that park really is a pain in the ass to get to. I see what they mean when they use that reason for not going. Not a great excuse, but with 19 constantly fucked up and the amount of roads you have to get on and off of, it is a really shitty drive.
Click to expand...
It's been a couple years since I went and before I drove so I can't say I recall the roads all that well, but I do remember there not being much in the way of parking. Had to park in some ghetto area and it just didn't seem like the best in terms of neighborhoods.

 
n8rockerasu said:
I used to run a league for The Show for 08, 09, and 10...but eventually gave up because the onine play was TERRIBLE. The lag was so bad, timing pitches was impossible. I didn't buy the game in 11 or 12, but the reviews I read always criticized the lag online. I bought 13 and played a few games online...which felt basically the same. Maybe SCEA won't cheap out on the servers for the PS4...but in general, a PS3 league is a waste of time.
Click to expand...
I had heard online play was laggy. If Sony decides to spend money on decent servers for PS4 I may start a thread for this lol.

 
DNukem170 said:
Can't embed the video on mobile for some reason, so here is a link to 14 Reasons to Root for the Astros this season: http://www.sportspickle.com/2014/03/video-14-reasons-root-2014-astros-read-2014-astros
Click to expand...
Thanks, I enjoyed that.

HydroX said:
Reason #1 should just be: George Springer.
Click to expand...
Orbit is the man.

I am pretty excited that they are finally building a good team. We have been shitty for too long. Pretty much since that WS run in 2005. The Carlos Lee signing was the beginning of the end.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
burritoman said:
Thanks, I enjoyed that.

Orbit is the man.

I am pretty excited that they are finally building a good team. We have been shitty for too long. Pretty much since that WS run in 2005. The Carlos Lee signing was the beginning of the end.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that Carlos Lee signing was a major downturn for the franchise. I shudder to even think about it. Long gone are the days of Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio....

 
Don't see that every day. Angels hitting coach Don Baylor broke his leg....catching the ceremonial first pitch.
 
DNukem170 said:
Don't see that every day. Angels hitting coach Don Baylor broke his leg....catching the ceremonial first pitch.
Click to expand...
Ha, I totally missed that. Ouch.

Speaking of the Angels, I can't believe (actually I can) that the splash story on front of ESPN.com is Mike Trout 'He is so Money', talking about his HR...in a game his team lost. I love the guy, but that is seriously the best story out of all of sports, or even opening day?

 
Well, they had a blog post about him later in the day. The front splash page changes 3-4 times a day at least. Last night the Cardinals were the front slide with Trout on Slide 2.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yea, I know it changes up, but its been that way all morning. I just find it laughable to call someone SO money in a loss. I know an individual player isn't always directly responsible for a team's outcome, but at the end of the day, its a team sport. And his team lost.

 
Maybe it's my cookies. ESPN has had the Wainright slide for me all day.

Also, SI's recap of Opening Day had an entire entry about just Trout and Jose Fernandez. The article didn't even mention the final score.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yanksfan said:
Yea, I know it changes up, but its been that way all morning. I just find it laughable to call someone SO money in a loss. I know an individual player isn't always directly responsible for a team's outcome, but at the end of the day, its a team sport. And his team lost.
Click to expand...
Trout all day for me as well (I don't use cookies at work). I wonder if it's a market specific thing.

 
Yanksfan said:
Yea, I know it changes up, but its been that way all morning. I just find it laughable to call someone SO money in a loss. I know an individual player isn't always directly responsible for a team's outcome, but at the end of the day, its a team sport. And his team lost.
Click to expand...
If he played for the Yankees you would swear his initials were J.C., that he's the reincarnation of Mickey Mantle, and you'd never get tired of hearing about him.

 
Well, Trout is so money.

I don't even know what to think about the Phils win yesterday.  Sure, it was nice to see them put up 14 runs, but it was against a crap pitcher.  And then Lee sucked it up.  I'm still expecting the worst for this team so anything better than complete garbage and I'll be pleased.

 
Feeding the Abscess said:
If he played for the Yankees you would swear his initials were J.C., that he's the reincarnation of Mickey Mantle, and you'd never get tired of hearing about him.
Click to expand...
Of course. I still think those things and more for him. But even if he played for the Yanks, I'd still think it's silly to have all that after a loss. Maybe if he had a remarkable feat, I'd get it.
 
Yanksfan said:
Ha, I totally missed that. Ouch.

Speaking of the Angels, I can't believe (actually I can) that the splash story on front of ESPN.com is Mike Trout 'He is so Money', talking about his HR...in a game his team lost. I love the guy, but that is seriously the best story out of all of sports, or even opening day?
Click to expand...
I actually wasted the time to read the article because I thought he had a monster game or hit a walk off hr. It turns out he had a home run and a single lol. I'm one of the biggest Trout fans out there, but even I felt like it was a pretty pathetic article without a point.

 
tcrash247 said:
Well, Trout is so money.

I don't even know what to think about the Phils win yesterday. Sure, it was nice to see them put up 14 runs, but it was against a crap pitcher. And then Lee sucked it up. I'm still expecting the worst for this team so anything better than complete garbage and I'll be pleased.
Click to expand...
Scheppers was one of the best relievers in the game last year.
 
Ugh...Yankees getting spanked. CC looks terrible. I really think giving him the Opening Day start was a contract/seniority gesture more than anything. He might end up the 4th or 5th best pitcher in the rotation by season's end. Honestly, Pineda probably earned the start more. But swapping your #1 and #5 pitcher is crazy talk.

 
n8rockerasu said:
Ugh...Yankees getting spanked. CC looks terrible.
Click to expand...
I don't know what you're talking about. This is great.

The Astros won't contend this year, but they sure will surprise a hell of a lot of people. When George Springer gets called up, business will pick up in a hurry.

 
n8rockerasu said:
Ugh...Yankees getting spanked. CC looks terrible. I really think giving him the Opening Day start was a contract/seniority gesture more than anything. He might end up the 4th or 5th best pitcher in the rotation by season's end. Honestly, Pineda probably earned the start more. But swapping your #1 and #5 pitcher is crazy talk.
Click to expand...
With all of the crazy contracts in baseball, there is a lot more appeasing a big contract then what is best for the team.

 
Reds303 said:
With all of the crazy contracts in baseball, there is a lot more appeasing a big contract then what is best for the team.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Sabathia is just at that point in his career where he needs to learn how to pitch. I feel kind of bad for him because he lost all that weight...probably hoping it would bring his fastball back. But it just isn't happening. He's 33 years old and that arm has a lot of innings on it. He's not going to throw 95 anymore. Time for him to study some tape of Greg Maddux, or Mike Mussina, or hell, just go talk to Andy Pettitte.
 
n8rockerasu said:
Yeah, Sabathia is just at that point in his career where he needs to learn how to pitch. I feel kind of bad for him because he lost all that weight...probably hoping it would bring his fastball back. But it just isn't happening. He's 33 years old and that arm has a lot of innings on it. He's not going to throw 95 anymore. Time for him to study some tape of Greg Maddux, or Mike Mussina, or hell, just go talk to Andy Pettitte.
Click to expand...
I don't think CC will ever be a Maddux type pitcher, Maddux was just too crafty. I never appreciated Maddux when he was on all of those TBS games growing up, but that guy is an absolute beast. Even if CC's career is on a backslide, he had a good/decent run. Maddux is in a class all of his own.

 
Reds303 said:
I don't think CC will ever be a Maddux type pitcher, Maddux was just too crafty. I never appreciated Maddux when he was on all of those TBS games growing up, but that guy is an absolute beast. Even if CC's career is on a backslide, he had a good/decent run. Maddux is in a class all of his own.
Click to expand...
Well, yeah...I think the cerebral pitchers tend to age better just because they never knew any different. But it's not impossible for Sabathia to learn to do more with less. Changing speeds and location can still win him plenty of games. There's just that acceptance that you can't blow gas past hitters anymore. It's just not going to be as easy for him as it used to be. He was decent after the 2nd inning...but then again...it was the Astros.

And of course, the Yankees managing only 2 hits until the 8th inning didn't help either. But I tend to not blame hitting when you're losing 6-0 by the 2nd inning. Too many people coming to the plate pressing and trying to hit a 6 run homer. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow's game goes better.

 
I agree that CC can make adjustments to and continue to last. It's easy to say that he has lost MPH at this stage in his career, but who knows if he can reinvent himself or not. Either way, even if he pitched his last game, he has had a good run and will certainly be remembered as one of the better pitchers of the millenium. In my opinion, even if he never won another game, he has had a solid run.

 
HydroX said:
I don't know what you're talking about. This is great.

The Astros won't contend this year, but they sure will surprise a hell of a lot of people. When George Springer gets called up, business will pick up in a hurry.
Click to expand...
They are currently on pace to win 162 games!

George Springer should be the part of the machine that makes it all start to fall into place. He will help solidify a pretty decent young core. The team is going to remind me of the Bagwell, Biggio, Steve Finley, Ken Caminiti team from the early 90's. Hope they can keep all their good young guys this time.

I'm really just happy they didn't let the Yankees beat their ass at home for the first game of the year.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
burritoman said:
They are currently on pace to win 162 games!

George Springer should be the part of the machine that makes it all start to fall into place. He will help solidify a pretty decent young core. The team is going to remind me of the Bagwell, Biggio, Steve Finley, Ken Caminiti team from the early 90's. Hope they can keep all their good young guys this time.

I'm really just happy they didn't let the Yankees beat their ass at home for the first game of the year.
Click to expand...
I get to see all of their young talent before they hit the bigs.. I'm nearby the Astros' Triple-A affiliate, the Redhawks. Hoping to see a lot of Springer early on in the season before he gets the call in June.

 
Thankfully it's only one game but CC at this point needs to redefine himself. I'm interested to see how Kuroda does tonight.

 
pitfallharry219 said:
Did last night give any of you Yankees fans any more hope for Teixeira this season?
Click to expand...
Tex has been a slow starter through his Yankee career. So, it was good to see him get off to a good start. I think his defense will be there but the wrist will cost him some power outside of the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
There really needs to be sign spell checker at ballparks:

BkL6fCWCQAEqdq4.jpg
 
On Deadspin, they said Ellsbury went 0-4, and this chick went 3-5 on correctly spelled words.

Aaron Harang is having a nice debut for the Braves. He's kept the Brewers hitless through 5. Garza has done the same to the Braves. Good pitching duel.

edit: Chris Johnson's solo shot put an end to Garza's hitless run. Harang hasn't given up a hit heading into the bottom of the 7th, but I can't imagine him going too much longer. He's up around 90 pitches already.

edit : Yeah, that was quick. Brewers got a hit on the first pitch.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
LMAO...I hope somebody told that girl that he actually signed as a free agent. She'd probably be like "WTF r u talking about???" :lol:

 
HydroX said:
I get to see all of their young talent before they hit the bigs.. I'm nearby the Astros' Triple-A affiliate, the Redhawks. Hoping to see a lot of Springer early on in the season before he gets the call in June.
Click to expand...
Nice! I can assume you are an Astros fan.

BTW--STROS WIN! STROS WIN!

 
burritoman said:
Nice! I can assume you are an Astros fan.

BTW--STROS WIN! STROS WIN!
Click to expand...
I'm actually a Rays fan, but I can appreciate young talent -- and I sat through some god awful Redhawks games 2 seasons ago. Really, you've got to love your local sports teams regardless of how they do. I've really liked what I've seen from the Astros system. Some really talented guys coming real soon. I'm especially excited to see what Springer has to offer at the big league level. For the sake of Astros fans' sanity, I hope the majority of these young guys pan out.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
bread's done
Back
Top