MLB Thread: 2013

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381

[quote]Anonymity wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]Anonymity wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
That’s why they’re the Cubs.[/quote]

Fact. I never understand why they have such a loyal fanbase. It’s just a horrible team from the owners to the management to the players. Always has been.

And I’ve lived in Chicago my entire life.
[/quote]

I hate the Cubs. I hope they never win. They’re not lovable, they’re just losers.[/quote]

Agreed. Everyone thinks the Ricketts are coming in to turn that organization around. The Ricketts bought the club to make lots of money. Pretty easy when you’re the cubs to just slash payroll and exploit the old-style drinking fans who will support the team no matter what. They are probably raking money in hand-over-fist.

Good business to be in for them, that organization is a cash cow. They don’t need to win to sell tickets like crazy.

attendance sits around 3 mil a year:

payroll slashed from 135 mil to 88 mil under Ricketts ownership

And they’re not even rebuilding…they only have 3 players in MLB.com top 100 prospects rating.
4 according to baseball america.

It’s no wonder they were mailed a severed goat head.

just pathetic.[/quote]

I think the curse is no longer the infamous goat curse, I say it’s the bartman curse. The way that guy was treated for touching a foul ball was just pathetic. Fans calling for his death because he touched a foul ball? Endangering a man’s life because he touched a foul ball? I donno maybe is was the 8 runs and 2 errors in the 8th inning that contributed to the cubs losing that game. Nope, it was a fan who just happened to be the one out of the half-dozen people who were trying, to touch it.
That and the way the fans acted here in Atlanta that year during the play-offs, throwing trash, starting fights, etc. solidified my hatred for them. Fuck’em. My top three hated teams are the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs. My experience is actually the Yankees fans are the better of the three when they’ve played here. Not great, but more respectful and more in good fun jeering than flat out asshole behavior by cubs and red sox fans.
Long live the Bartman curse.

In other news, I am sure excited about the Braves ht start. I know it’s a long ass season, but a hot start never hurt anybody. Sweeping the Nats was particularly satisfying.

382

[quote]pat wrote:
In other news, I am sure excited about the Braves ht start. I know it’s a long ass season, but a hot start never hurt anybody. Sweeping the Nats was particularly satisfying.[/quote]

Agreed. Been a Braves fan for about 35 years and it’s good to see them off to such a great start. Playing hooky tomorrow with the family to go watch the game against the Royals.

383

[quote]Anonymity wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]Anonymity wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
That’s why they’re the Cubs.[/quote]

Fact. I never understand why they have such a loyal fanbase. It’s just a horrible team from the owners to the management to the players. Always has been.

And I’ve lived in Chicago my entire life.
[/quote]

I hate the Cubs. I hope they never win. They’re not lovable, they’re just losers.[/quote]

Agreed. Everyone thinks the Ricketts are coming in to turn that organization around. The Ricketts bought the club to make lots of money. Pretty easy when you’re the cubs to just slash payroll and exploit the old-style drinking fans who will support the team no matter what. They are probably raking money in hand-over-fist.

Good business to be in for them, that organization is a cash cow. They don’t need to win to sell tickets like crazy.

attendance sits around 3 mil a year:

payroll slashed from 135 mil to 88 mil under Ricketts ownership

And they’re not even rebuilding…they only have 3 players in MLB.com top 100 prospects rating.
4 according to baseball america.

It’s no wonder they were mailed a severed goat head.

just pathetic.[/quote]
You got to hand it to the fans, they are hardcore and dedicated even though they suck. More than I can say about my team.

384

Taking two in a row against the Dodgers without Headley is always a good feeling.

385

Ubaldo Jimeniz might be the worst pitcher in baseball. Seriously if anyone plays fantasy, or bet games always go big when he’s pitching for the Indians.

386

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:

[quote]Anonymity wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]Anonymity wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
That’s why they’re the Cubs.[/quote]

Fact. I never understand why they have such a loyal fanbase. It’s just a horrible team from the owners to the management to the players. Always has been.

And I’ve lived in Chicago my entire life.
[/quote]

I hate the Cubs. I hope they never win. They’re not lovable, they’re just losers.[/quote]

Agreed. Everyone thinks the Ricketts are coming in to turn that organization around. The Ricketts bought the club to make lots of money. Pretty easy when you’re the cubs to just slash payroll and exploit the old-style drinking fans who will support the team no matter what. They are probably raking money in hand-over-fist.

Good business to be in for them, that organization is a cash cow. They don’t need to win to sell tickets like crazy.

attendance sits around 3 mil a year:

payroll slashed from 135 mil to 88 mil under Ricketts ownership

And they’re not even rebuilding…they only have 3 players in MLB.com top 100 prospects rating.
4 according to baseball america.

It’s no wonder they were mailed a severed goat head.

just pathetic.[/quote]
You got to hand it to the fans, they are hardcore and dedicated even though they suck. More than I can say about my team.[/quote]

It’s a double edged sword.

If you have too many loyal fans there is a risk the owners will see there is no monetary incentive to win.

If the team has too few loyal fans they don’t have the capital to invest in players.

387

[quote]rugbgod wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:
In other news, I am sure excited about the Braves ht start. I know it’s a long ass season, but a hot start never hurt anybody. Sweeping the Nats was particularly satisfying.[/quote]

Agreed. Been a Braves fan for about 35 years and it’s good to see them off to such a great start. Playing hooky tomorrow with the family to go watch the game against the Royals.
[/quote]

That sounds like an excellent idea. Business Man’s special today. Baseball, Hot Dogs and beer sure sounds more appealing than work.

388

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

I suggest you take a look at Verlander’s and Braun’s rookie year stats if you think it took them three and one years, respectively. [/quote]

To become elite players? Then yes.

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Verlander was 17-9 with a 3.6 ERA and 183 innings. [/quote]

I honestly hope you aren’t citing pitching wins?

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

He also started Game 1 of the World Series that year.[/quote]

Right only 183 innings. Check out his 2008 year where he had an ERA over 4. He was good but wasn’t elite until 2009

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Braun hit .324 with 34 HRs and 97 RBIs.[/quote]

Okay

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Bryce Harper made the All-Star team and helped lead his team to the playoffs in his rookie year. He also hit 22 HRs in less than a full season.[/quote]

Okay

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Say what you want about relief pitchers, but Feliz and Kimbrel were two of the best closers in the game their rookie years. Feliz had a 2.73 ERA with 40 saves and Kimbrel one-upped him with a 2.10 ERA and 46 saves. Relief pitchers matter. [/quote]

Right, but their value is only a fraction of a starters or everyday players. Point being, you can’t build your team around a good bullpen

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
The lack of them on the Blue Jays this year will further impress upon you their importance.[/quote]

The Jays bullpen has been excellent so far.

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
And for the record, a team doesn’t need their prospects, whether they’re high-end or not, to hit the ground running in order to succeed.[/quote]

For the Rangers to win a championship before going into decline for a few years they certainly do.

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
How many of them hit the ground running? Posey, Lincecum and Sandoval.[/quote]

Right, and that’s very uncommon which is what I’m arguing.

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
The rest will probably never be top-flight players, other than Crawford perhaps being the best defensive SS in the game. [/quote]

Once you hit on your studs to build a core, it’s a lot easier to build a team around them. Especially when they’re mostly starting pitchers. Tell me, who is going to pitch for the Rangers in the next couple of years? How many teams win World Series with mediocre pitching?

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
I think the Rangers will be fine in the long run. They have tons of talent in their system and they have a team that wins.[/quote]

They do, but they don’t have the pitching to go deep and some of their major contributors are starting to hit their mid 30’s (Beltre and Cruz). Barring major a major SP upgrade, I don’t see them winning the WS anytime soon.

389

What I expect from the Rangers over the next couple of years, barring major trades that bolster their SP?

They will field competitive teams that will just miss the playoffs with Beltre and Cruz start showing their age. Profar and Olt will eventually fill the offensive gap (note eventually) and if they hit on another top of the rotation type starter they will quickly be back in contention.

When I said decline, I didn’t mean a full blown rebuild which the Phillies will be doing soon.

390

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]rugbgod wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:
In other news, I am sure excited about the Braves ht start. I know it’s a long ass season, but a hot start never hurt anybody. Sweeping the Nats was particularly satisfying.[/quote]

Agreed. Been a Braves fan for about 35 years and it’s good to see them off to such a great start. Playing hooky tomorrow with the family to go watch the game against the Royals.
[/quote]

That sounds like an excellent idea. Business Man’s special today. Baseball, Hot Dogs and beer sure sounds more appealing than work. [/quote]

And fuck me if it didn’t work out! I knew they had to lose sooner rather than later but still, didn’t HAVE to be today did it? I still had a great time with my family though!

Did you end up going?

391

Sweep those Doyers! Money can’t buy you wins.

392

Any of you guys read the Padres GM’s comments on Greinke?

393

No, but i saw kershaw got hit around by the padres last night…fuck.

394

Matt Cain keeps getting rocked. Just gave up 3 x 2-run homers today.

395

Both their reactions are pretty awesome

396

FYI -

Jose Canseco did an ‘Ask me Anything’(AMA) on reddit today. It’s gold.

397

Derek Jeter is out until the All Star Break !!!

398

[quote]Anonymity wrote:
No, but i saw kershaw got hit around by the padres last night…fuck.[/quote]
Haha, you had that bet with DB right?

399

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:

[quote]Anonymity wrote:
No, but i saw kershaw got hit around by the padres last night…fuck.[/quote]
Haha, you had that bet with DB right? [/quote]

Haha so dumb.

Last pitched to do it was Pedro in 2000 and that might’ve been the best pitching performance in history. Of course Greg Maddux might have something to say about that.

400

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:

[quote]Anonymity wrote:
No, but i saw kershaw got hit around by the padres last night…fuck.[/quote]
Haha, you had that bet with DB right? [/quote]

Yup.

I need him to get back on track.