2023 MLB Season (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

Joe West was an awful umpire!

He definitely wasn’t as good an ump as 2 other National League umps who, I believe, both are in the hall of fame- Doug Harvey and Bruce Froeming- both excellent ball/strike umps. Froeming was pretty well-
known for not taking guff from players.

 

[TonyD]

Nola re-signs with Phillies for 7/172M.

I’ve been a strong critic of Nola this season And after the WS last year But
This is a good signing for the Phillies.
Not really anything better in Free agency, I have no interest in Snell.

The average per season for the Phillies is pretty good

I still want one more good bullpen arm, gonna need it anyway as it’s doubtful the bring Kimbrel back.
I’d try to trade Castellanos before the season too.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

He definitely wasn’t as good an ump as 2 other National League umps who, I believe, both are in the hall of fame- Doug Harvey and Bruce Froeming- both excellent ball/strike umps. Froeming was pretty well-
known for not taking guff from players.

Doug Harvey is in the Hall of Fame, Bruce Froemming isn't, though he is eligible for induction.

Joe West was an awful umpire!

That's why I said that his polarizing nature - despite his record holding achievements as an umpire - could make it difficult to get the 12 out of 16 votes needed for induction.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have some vague memories of Joe West having Angel Hernandez on his umpiring crew. What a tandem!

 

[TonyD]

despite his record holding achievements

What would those achievements be?

 

[Robert Crawford]

What would those achievements be?

Umpiring more seasons and games than any other MLB umpire. However, if you’re bad doing it, I wouldn’t call it good achievements.

 

[David Norman]

I don't remember him being that bad of an umpire early on (certainly nowhere near CB or Angel Hernandez level) and he was moderately entertaining on field and in interviews away from the field. He was always a bit argumentative, but plenty of players and managers seem to enjoy interacting with him between plays
In later years he as he gained seniority not only did he seem to get worse on field, but eventually more prickly/short fused than originally and even just downright surly/insufferable and he held grudges over time so some players/managers got the sort end of both his calls and temper.

 

[Malcolm R]

but eventually more prickly/short fused than originally and even just downright surly/insufferable and he held grudges over time

Sounds like a lot of old men as they age, possibly myself included.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

Finalized BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for the Class of 2024 (in alphabetical order):

Bobby Abreu
Jose Bautista
Carlos Beltran
Adrian Beltre
Mark Buehrle
Bartolo Colon
Adrian Gonzalez
Todd Helton
Matt Holliday
Torii Hunter
Andruw Jones
Victor Martinez
Joe Mauer
Andy Pettitte
Brandon Phillips
Manny Ramirez
Jose Reyes
Alex Rodriguez
Francisco Rodriguez
Jimmy Rollins
Gary Sheffield
James Shields
Chase Utley
Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner
David Wright

Of the candidates listed, I say that Helton and Beltre are locks for induction; Billy Wagner is also likely as is Joe Mauer, but how Mauer fares will likely determine if Wagner makes it in this year or next time.

Gary Sheffield is on his last try here on the writers ballot, so he'll need a Larry Walker style boost in votes if he's going to make it; my guess is that he will fall short of induction and will go to the Veterans Committee for future induction.

I also expect that the candidacies of Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones and Francisco Rodriguez will get a boost here, while Manny Ramirez, A-Rod and Andy Pettitte will remain stuck in the voting doldrums. Omar Vizquel once looked like he was heading for induction, but now that seems like a increasingly distant chance due to the damaging abuse allegations that turned up when his candidacy was gaining momentum.

As for the remaining candidates, Jose Bautista has a Hall of Fame worthy moment but not a HOF case. Chase Utley will likely be inducted further down the line; David Wright has a similar situation with Don Mattingly: he appeared to be headed for Cooperstown until injuries derailed his career. Mark Buehrle, Torii Hunter, Matt Holliday and Jimmy Rollins are on the bubble in regards to whether their HOF candidacies live to see another ballot. Bartolo Colon, Adrian Gonzalez, Victor Martinez, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes and James Shields look like "one-and-done" candidates despite solid careers.

 

[RolandL]

….Jimmy Piersall……didn’t stand for any shenanigans.

Jimmy came to bat against the Yankees. Whitey Ford was pitching.

Whitey had hit a batter a couple of innings back.

Piersall tells Yogi,

….”If that S.O.B. hits me, I’m going to take this bat and beat him to death. They think I’m crazy.”

Yogi’s response,

….”We don’t hit .220 hitters”….

 

[t1g3r5fan]

Jim Leyland is the first member of the HOF Class of 2024, having cleared the 12 vote threshold of the Veterans Committee to earn induction into Cooperstown.

Lou Piniella fell short of induction by one vote again and Bill White missed induction by two votes. The remaining five candidates garnered 5 votes or fewer.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's the second time that Piniella fell one vote shy of being inducted into the HOF.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

That's the second time that Piniella fell one vote shy of being inducted into the HOF.

Someone doesn't really like him.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Let’s ask Robert- was getting Juan Soto a good move, and are the players they gave up any notable prospects? The Yanks had the 2nd lowest batting average in the league in 2023 (.227), so on the surface this could help.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Let’s ask Robert- was getting Juan Soto a good move, and are the players they gave up any notable prospects? The Yanks had the 2nd lowest batting average in the league in 2023 (.227), so on the surface this could help.

The Yankees due to Cashman’s incompetence had no other choice but to make this trade. The prospects are not can’t miss but have the ability to pitch in the majors for a long time.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Although I'm not nearly as down on Cashman as Crawdaddy, I generally agree w/ him about this trade... as they're apparently trying to go all-in for 2024 at potential expense of their (pitching) future. The biggest piece they gave up might be Michael King, if he proves he can hold up w/out his arm falling off for the longer haul, especially as an SP (performing so surprisingly ace-like during his trial run to end this year), which he has never done before... but he's actually only under team control for 2 more years before FA in 2026. Thorpe might eventually be pretty good, but he's no ace (at least stuff-wise), and as they say, "flags fly forever" -- and the Yanks/Cashman definitely needed to ante up under the circumstance... especially since it sounds like they're out of the Ohtani chase/lottery (yet again)...

One thing to note is that the Yanks have added a slew of probably much needed, decent-to-Soto-great lefty bats to revamp their OF around Judge all w/in ~24 hours -- and both Soto and Verdugo don't come w/ tons of swing-and-miss about which many naysayers had been complaining.

_Man_

 

[MartinP.]

Ohtani. Hope the Dodgers do not get him. I hate players that suck the oxygen out of the room. The Dodgers need pitching and he's not even going to be pitching next season. Paying a player $500 million or more to play a limited designated hitter role for next season? No. I also hate that every year some player has to make a deal bigger than anyone did the season before. Ohtani's also missed time with injury problems. (Carlos Rodon comes to mind. They still get paid.) Dodgers don't need a superstar to draw fans, or to increase ticket prices. We already have both. Todays news is not fact yet, but reportedly: "Shohei Ohtani to Sign with Toronto Blue Jays." Good. Now let's get back to getting some pitching for next year.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Ohtani. Hope the Dodgers do not get him. I hate players that suck the oxygen out of the room. The Dodgers need pitching and he's not even going to be pitching next season. Paying a player $500 million or more to play a limited designated hitter role for next season? No. I also hate that every year some player has to make a deal bigger than anyone did the season before. Ohtani's also missed time with injury problems. (Carlos Rodon comes to mind. They still get paid.) Dodgers don't need a superstar to draw fans, or to increase ticket prices. We already have both. Todays news is not fact yet, but reportedly: "Shohei Ohtani to Sign with Toronto Blue Jays." Good. Now let's get back to getting some pitching for next year.

Well, your Dodgers got him for 700M/10 years. Good luck!

"The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with Shohei Ohtani, as the two-way superstar revealed himself on his Instagram page. Ohtani will receive an astounding $700MM over the next 10 years, as revealed by his CAA agent Nez Balelo."

MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

MLB Trade Rumors: a clearinghouse for legitimate baseball free agent and trade rumors.

www.mlbtraderumors.com

 

[Walter Kittel]

Seems like that is putting a lot of eggs in one basket. ESPN says that the majority of the salary is 'deferred' but doesn't really sort out the details of how that will impact the Dodgers in terms of finances.

I've always been of the opinion that players should negotiate for as much money as is possible given the uncertainty of sports careers due to injuries, so good on Ohtani; I guess.

- Walter.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Minds blown!!!

Now I gotta wonder how this will influence the bidding on him in my salary dynasty league where I planned to try to keep him (via our restricted FA option rule) by matching the high bid (in one-shot silent auction) w/ 15% "hometown" discount. Bidding for superstar types tend to come fairly close to real life base salaries despite our $144MM cap (that usually increases $2MM/year). Can't imagine anyone bidding $70MM/year for him (w/ 5-year limit) as that's nearly 50% of our budget for 40-man roster.

Was hoping the bidding stays sane and below $45MM/year, especially after his new elbow surgery, which is probably the most I can reasonably afford after discount, but this might make one or two rebuilding teams (w/ $$$ to spend) go a fair bit higher than that, if not over $55MM.

For reference, highest bids ever in our league have hovered around $38-40MM/year for Trout (whom I also had, but dealt away partly because of that bid back when our cap was more like $120MM) and an utterly crazy-for-its-time Prince Fielder bid right after his 2nd monster season of 2009 w/ the Brew Crew (when our cap was only little over $100MM or so)...

Gonna be a wild one for Ohtani... and I'm bracing for the increased likelihood of needing to let him go (probably dealing him w/ that 15% discount to the high bidder)... I usually end up dealing whichever star players in such situations...

Yeah, I know... not many, if any, of y'all care about fantasy baseball, heh...

_Man_