MLB 2019 thread

[wadesworld]

Take the nets away altogether.  People sitting behind home plate need to start wearing full catcher's gear.  We can't take away opportunities for a catcher to lean over into the stands to catch a ball.  Wasting outs to avoid hypothetical injuries that may never happen.  Those damn snowflake millennials are always ruining good things.

[cheebs09]

Take the nets away altogether.  People sitting behind home plate need to start wearing full catcher's gear.  We can't take away opportunities for a catcher to lean over into the stands to catch a ball.  Wasting outs to avoid hypothetical injuries that may never happen.  Those damn snowflake millennials are always ruining good things.

Instead of outfield walls, we can paint lines on the ground so those don’t impede the ability to catch a ball.

[🏀]

Instead of outfield walls, we can paint lines on the ground so those don’t impede the ability to catch a ball.

And increase seating.

[MU82]

I am curious why the default position of those advocating for more netting is foul pole to foul pole as opposed to some point between the current location and the foul poles?

I suppose because it's a line that already exists. That's my thinking, anyway.

Take the nets away altogether.  People sitting behind home plate need to start wearing full catcher's gear.  We can't take away opportunities for a catcher to lean over into the stands to catch a ball.  Wasting outs to avoid hypothetical injuries that may never happen.  Those damn snowflake millennials are always ruining good things.

Hear! Hear!

And let's take away nets at NHL games and fencing at NASCAR races. Gotta toughen up fans. America is going soft!

[TallTitan34]

Why does it have to be foul line to foul line?

The Japanese league has nets extended to the foul poles. 

In the outfield you have enough time to react to a ball coming at you, even if it is a line drive.  If you are sitting 150 feet away, where the little girl got hit, you have 0.97 seconds to react. 

Is there a difference between sitting two seats into netless fair territory and two seats into netted foul territory?  No.  But the foul pole is the logical terminator. 

[Cheeks]

If the foul pole is a logical path, then logically you would also call for nets in the outfield.

How is it that a foul ball that hits the net tracking 3 feet foul of the foul pole any less dangerous than the ball flight being 5 feet the other way and landing in the cheap seats?  My God, a fan could be injured by the exact same ball arc, speed, etc.  But of course the logic falls apart there.  Be consistent.  If you think it needs to be pole to pole, why not in fair territory just on the other side of the pole?   The Japanese also issue Helmets to fans in sections that don’t have netting.  They blow whistles when the ball clears the net.  Yes, we could do all these things.

In typical ridiculous fashion from MU82, atheist who quotes the Pope....cannot make that up....car racing has had numerous deaths over time and actually is a real danger proven consistently over time. Repeatable.  In baseball, 2 deaths in over 350,000 games in 100 years.  That is .00000571 chance of death.  Yup, apples to apples babe.  Right on target as usual.

[Cheeks]

Milwaukee's Class A ball team has been rebranded:





https://www.12up.com/posts/video-wisconsin-udder-tuggers-are-the-most-ridiculous-minor-league-rebrand-yet-01dcf7b9z1ve/partners/41019?fbclid=IwAR1sqfDm9eRl_fsfsZ7WaycVdHGq3PaTTDflYI9BA_mslx0HJaWeg2UNqYU

Love it.  Tit tuggers

[Cheeks]

Major League Baseball has a bigger problem than safety.  Boredom and fan loss.  Attendance down again this year despite home run record in May with 1,135 dingers.

I met with them earlier today, they are definitely concerned about the game.  The young are not watching and youth level playing has dropped off or hasn’t....MLB had one set of data but there was another by the Sports and Fitness Association that showed a decline.  Pick your research I guess.

Attendance is down again.  There is definitely concern.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

If the foul pole is a logical path, then logically you would also call for nets in the outfield.

How is it that a foul ball that hits the net tracking 3 feet foul of the foul ball any less dangerous than the ball flight being 5 feet the other way and landing in the cheap seats?  My God, a fan could be injured by the exact same ball arc, speed, etc.  But of course the logic falls apart there.  Be consistent.  If you think it needs to be pole to pole, why not in fair territory just on the other side of the pole?   The Japanese also issue Helmets to fans in sections that don’t have netting.  They blow whistles when the ball clears the net.  Yes, we could do all these things.

In typical ridiculous fashion from MU82, atheist who quotes the Pope....cannot make that up....car racing has had numerous deaths over time and actually is a real danger proven consistently over time. Repeatable.  In baseball, 2 deaths in over 350,000 games in 100 years.  That is .00000571 chance of death.  Yup, apples to apples babe.  Right on target as usual.

Why can't an atheist quote the Pope?  Do you believe that people who don't share your belief system have nothing valuable to say? 

So since I'm not Hindu, I can't quote Gandhi?

[#UnleashSean]

If the foul pole is a logical path, then logically you would also call for nets in the outfield.

How is it that a foul ball that hits the net tracking 3 feet foul of the foul ball any less dangerous than the ball flight being 5 feet the other way and landing in the cheap seats?  My God, a fan could be injured by the exact same ball arc, speed, etc.  But of course the logic falls apart there.  Be consistent.  If you think it needs to be pole to pole, why not in fair territory just on the other side of the pole?   The Japanese also issue Helmets to fans in sections that don’t have netting.  They blow whistles when the ball clears the net.  Yes, we could do all these things.

In typical ridiculous fashion from MU82, atheist who quotes the Pope....cannot make that up....car racing has had numerous deaths over time and actually is a real danger proven consistently over time. Repeatable.  In baseball, 2 deaths in over 350,000 games in 100 years.  That is .00000571 chance of death.  Yup, apples to apples babe.  Right on target as usual.

My God, you just keep digging in deeper eh?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If the foul pole is a logical path, then logically you would also call for nets in the outfield.

How is it that a foul ball that hits the net tracking 3 feet foul of the foul ball any less dangerous than the ball flight being 5 feet the other way and landing in the cheap seats?  My God, a fan could be injured by the exact same ball arc, speed, etc.  But of course the logic falls apart there.  Be consistent.  If you think it needs to be pole to pole, why not in fair territory just on the other side of the pole?

So because someone could get hurt somewhere else in the stadium we shouldn't protect another part of the stadium? That logic doesn't hold up for me either.

[Cheeks]

Why can't an atheist quote the Pope?  Do you believe that people who don't share your belief system have nothing valuable to say? 

So since I'm not Hindu, I can't quote Gandhi?

I hope he continues to quote him, especially on certain issues on life.

[Pakuni]

Back on topic ... What's the Pope's stance on netting?

[MU82]

Why can't an atheist quote the Pope?  Do you believe that people who don't share your belief system have nothing valuable to say? 

So since I'm not Hindu, I can't quote Gandhi?

There is no subject chicos will not argue about, and he is an expert on everything. He has been banned many times, including some very long bans, yet he keeps coming back because he likes a captive audience. After one of the bans, he came back under a different name and begged forgiveness, said he had changed, etc. Nope. Still the same ol' chicos.

He will be banned again, probably "permanently," but then he'll be back. He lives for this shyte. He lives to argue for the sake of argument and it drives him crazy when he "loses," which is often, so then he resorts to name-calling, goalpost-shifting, fact-fudging, subject-changing and other tools used by desperate folks who are losing debates. Most Scoopers have seen through him for years.

He is an aggrieved white man. Ben Folds pretty much wrote "Rockin' the Suburbs" about him. He hates the free press. He hates California though has lived there for years. His religion is the only religion. He seems obsessed with me being an atheist, which is weird, and likes to mock it, as if it bothers me or the other atheists on the board what a small-minded person thinks.

One funny thing (to me anyway) is that he and I actually agree on much of the Marquette basketball stuff. But when you know everything about every single subject, and are 100% certain that you are right and everybody else is wrong, it's hard to accept or respect others.

Hence his attacks on me and other Scoopers for being atheists. Hence his belief that an atheist can't appreciate some of Pope Francis' wise words. Hence him being chicos.

[🏀]

When did being an atheist become a bad thing?

[jesmu84]

I hope he continues to quote him, especially on certain issues on life.

That certainly was NOT my take away. Your first post seemed to imply a MUCH different stance than you hoping he uses more Pope quotes

[buckchuckler]

Sorry to force baseball into this pissing match, but interesting strategy by the Sox today.  They took 2 HS players that will likely sign overslot deals, and that required they basically punt the rest of the draft on college seniors that will sign for very low bonus numbers. 

I am interested to see if they saved enough to go over on some picks tomorrow, or if this was basically all to sign their top 4 picks.  It is an interesting strategy at least, which is more than I can say for their previous drafts.   I like them taking prep arms at least.

[MU82]

Sorry to force baseball into this pissing match, but interesting strategy by the Sox today.  They took 2 HS players that will likely sign overslot deals, and that required they basically punt the rest of the draft on college seniors that will sign for very low bonus numbers. 

I am interested to see if they saved enough to go over on some picks tomorrow, or if this was basically all to sign their top 4 picks.  It is an interesting strategy at least, which is more than I can say for their previous drafts.   I like them taking prep arms at least.

How dare you interrupt!

Seriously, it will be interesting to see how these White Sox picks pan out. They already have a lot of nice young talent. Charlotte is their AAA team and I've seen them play a few times.

Philosophically, I don't like it when teams tank for a half-decade or more, hoping against hope to eventually build a contending team, but that seems to be the way it is in all but a few markets in all sports. So if you're gonna do it, you'd better do it right!

[Cheeks]

Ahh, remember these plays?  Let's go foul pole to foul pole so these are no longer possible.  Awesome.  But hey, at least Bartman can't ruin things anymore.


<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/FWH8R2muvuw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/FWH8R2muvuw</a>

[Cheeks]

My God, you just keep digging in deeper eh?

I thought I was on ignore or going there?  How is my logic wrong.  If the nets are required pole to pole as I'm reading here is a "no brainer" and cannot be argued due to fan safety....well how is it that a ball that is 3 feet to the left of the foul pole down the left field line that now hits the net to save fans from the savagery of doom that is coming their way any LESS dangerous than a ball hit a few feet to the fair side of the pole?  We're talking a few feet here.  Are those people not worth saving?

Or, wait for it, the idea of going pole to pole complete and total overkill?  I'm going with this answer.  Logically, if you are for pole to pole to reduce injuries and a 3rd death in 100 years, then why aren't you for nets in the outfield to prevent injuries there? I'm asking for consistency.

[Cheeks]

So because someone could get hurt somewhere else in the stadium we shouldn't protect another part of the stadium? That logic doesn't hold up for me either.

Sure it does....why would the call to action to save the fans from this damaging menace not be complete when we are talking about only a few feet difference?  Would you advocate only putting a seat belt for the drivers and not the passengers?   The pull down bar on a roller coaster only for those in the front of the coaster and not the back? 

[Cheeks]

Measured approach by the Commissioner.  That is a good thing.  Pause.  Deep breath.  Hold off on the panic over reach.  Make a proper, consistent decision.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26898425/manfred-expect-season-netting-changes

[buckchuckler]

How dare you interrupt!

Seriously, it will be interesting to see how these White Sox picks pan out. They already have a lot of nice young talent. Charlotte is their AAA team and I've seen them play a few times.

Philosophically, I don't like it when teams tank for a half-decade or more, hoping against hope to eventually build a contending team, but that seems to be the way it is in all but a few markets in all sports. So if you're gonna do it, you'd better do it right!

Yeah this is a bit of a philosophical change for them.  3 of their first 4 picks were high schoolers.  They have been really heavy on picks that have been perceived safe without much room for growth recently.  And honestly, their drafting and development has left much to be desired.  So I am all on board with this new philosophy. 

I also don't love the tanking, but at least with the Sox, now there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  While they aren't quite "good" yet, they are competitive most nights, and you can see the talent on the roster.  With Robert tearing up the minors, Cease on the doorstep and Kopech scheduled to be recovered for next season, there is reason for hope, and not vain hope, but I think justified hope.  A lineup with Anderson, Moncada, Eloy and Robert gives you something to dream on, and a rotation with Kopech, Giolito, Cease and Lopez does the same.

[TallTitan34]

Ok Chicos, where would you end the nets?  End of the dugout? Beginning of dugout? 25 feet from beginning of dugout? No nets at all? 

I will tell you right now whatever you say I’m going to ask what’s the difference between three seats one way and three seats the other way of the location you pick.

[DegenerateDish]

I’m really excited for Vaughn. I’ve been on the “play badly for Adley” train, and certainly would have loved him in a Sox uniform. Vaughn’s swing is gorgeous for a right handed hitter. His height doesn’t concern me in the least, dude is incredibly strong in his wrists/forearms. His ceiling is 30-40/.300/100. If he’s a Goldschmidt/Alonso/Hoskins type, I’ll take it, especially since he’ll have a shot at the 2020 roster. Vaughn benefits too by playing in a homer friendly park.

My ideal Sox 2020 lineup:

Anderson SS
Moncada CF
Rendon 3B  (I’d offer 5yrs/$135)
Abreu DH (1 year deal)
Vaughn 1B
Robert RF
Jimenez LF
McCann C
Madrigal 2B