2021 MLB Season (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

I see that Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez set a modern record by striking out the first 9 Braves today.

I found out through this story that Phils pitcher Aaron Nola tied Tom Seaver’s record of striking out 10 consecutive batters in a game. Impressive.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It looks like 7 inning doubleheaders and the runner at 2nd base in extra innings will be dropped in 2022. TBH, I didn't mind the 7 inning doubleheaders, but hated the split doubleheader concept which cheated the fans. As to the runner at 2nd base, it sucked the big one from the beginning so it won't be missed by many MLB fans.

 

[Jeffrey D]

It looks like 7 inning doubleheaders and the runner at 2nd base in extra innings will be dropped in 2022. TBH, I didn't mind the 7 inning doubleheaders, but hated the split doubleheader concept which cheated the fans. As to the runner at 2nd base, it sucked the big one from the beginning so it won't be missed by many MLB fans.

Yes the 7 inning games on day/night cheated the fans- they should have never adopted that to begin with.

The runner on 2B- why are they dropping this, in your opinion?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yes the 7 inning games on day/night cheated the fans- they should have never adopted that to begin with.

The runner on 2B- why are they dropping this, in your opinion?

They adopted the 7 inning because of the pandemic. At least according to them.

As to why they're dropping the runner on 2B in extras is anybody's guest, but I suspect because the fans hate it and they're probably getting pushback from their teams/owners.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

Except...with all their handwringing for years about trying to shorten game times, the extra innings man on second rule actually did that. I read (in Sports Illustrated):

The extra-inning runner on second rule has shortened games, there’s no debating that. Specifically, with this rule games have ended in the 10th inning 69% of the time compared to 46% from 2017-2019. And reportedly, MLB.tv viewership as much as doubled in extra innings with the implementation of a guaranteed rally.

Although I haven't minded the rule, the idea of baseball is that there isn't a clock on it. I believe it's the only sport where time isn't mandated or a measure of success.

 

[Malcolm R]

That's one of the reasons I've never been much of a fan. With a baseball game, you never know if it's going to take up 2-1/2 hours of your life, or 6. You can't plan anything around it with any expectation of accuracy.

They seem incapable of implementing or sticking with any changes that might speed up the games.

 

[Jeffrey D]

^^^

Except...with all their handwringing for years about trying to shorten game times, the extra innings man on second rule actually did that. I read (in Sports Illustrated):

The extra-inning runner on second rule has shortened games, there’s no debating that. Specifically, with this rule games have ended in the 10th inning 69% of the time compared to 46% from 2017-2019. And reportedly, MLB.tv viewership as much as doubled in extra innings with the implementation of a guaranteed rally.

Although I haven't minded the rule, the idea of baseball is that there isn't a clock on it. I believe it's the only sport where time isn't mandated or a measure of success.

If the runner on 2B rule helped end games quicker, I’m surprised baseball isn’t sticking with it. Maybe the players don’t like the rule, and the league is appeasing them (the league seems to be scared stiff of the MLBPA).

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Winston Churchill (TBA

That's going to be the closest he's ever come to doing a non-American documentary, even though Churchill was half-American.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

That's one of the reasons I've never been much of a fan. With a baseball game, you never know if it's going to take up 2-1/2 hours of your life, or 6. You can't plan anything around it with any expectation of accuracy.

That's one of the beauties of the game, its timelessness.

 

[MartinP.]

That's one of the beauties of the game, its timelessness.

Yes...there are so many reasons I like baseball. Some of the tangential reasons are that I can listen to a game on the radio and be just as interested. I don't think there's any other sport that is as good listening to it on the radio. Though I prefer the days when one person, like Vin Scully, was calling the games. It always seemed like he was talking directly to you, instead of having two people where they are talking to each other.

Another reason is that when you attend in person, you're likely to see something that you have never seen before in a game.

If you see a football game or basketball game, you pretty much know what the players are going to look like and that's another thing I like about baseball is that any type of person can play baseball and be good at it. You can have a tall giant weighing 240 like Albert Pujols in the lineup with a not-as-tall (!) Mookie Betts, weighing 179. You can have a squat pitcher like Fernando Valenzuela or tall and lean like Walker Buehler. You can be the Yankees A.J. or the *'s J.A.

The format of a baseball game also doesn't seem bothersome on commercial television. You just know when the commercials will be so they never seem intrusive. (Though MLB keeps trying to make them more so.)

As a fan I could go on. I do look at how the length of games has become an issue. Sometimes they do seem so extreme. Anyone know of any baseball game from "back in the day" when games ran two hours or so one could watch? I'd like to see one like that and see what differences I notice. Obviously, the use of so many pitchers nowadays lengthens things, but is it anything else, too?

 

[Kevin Hewell]

It's also the networks trying to squeeze in as many commercials as possible at every half-inning.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Maybe they should just implement soccer's penalty kick system with some analogous form of a home run derby to decide ties after 9 innings.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yankees and Red Sox game cancelled because of Covid outbreak with Yankee players. So far three players are positive and all three were previously been vaccinated. The players are doing well, but tested positive. There are three more players are in quarantine awaiting further test results. Those players haven't been publicly identified nor whether they were vaccinated.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Reportedly Aaron Judge is one of those players not publicly confirmed so that means other players that participated in the All-Star game are undergoing additional Covid testing due to contact tracing procedures.

 

[MartinP.]

Ok. I’m just stunned at how the Mets continue to win. I’ve really enjoyed watching them this year.

Like yesterday? (What a wild first inning?)

 

[Osato]

Like yesterday? (What a wild first inning?)

Agreed.

Nice that the Mets came back to win.
The Pirates have played very well against the Mets.

The walk off grand slam by the Pirates on Saturday was unreal but exciting too.

 

[MartinP.]

Brutal week for the Dodgers.

So, since there's isn't really anyone in my circle of friends that would want to hear my thoughts about this, I'm unloading here.

The Dodgers W/L record is right near the top of MLB teams and they have the biggest run differential of all teams, but the past week has been brutal. Our closer, Kenley Jansen seems to be the catalyst for the fans ire, but it goes beyond him. Before this last week, Jansen posted a 1.24 ERA while converting 21 of 23 save chances. But last Sunday in Denver, he blew a one-run lead against the Colorado Rockies leaving us 1 game behind instead of tied for 1st place. Then coming into this week playing the 1st place Giants, we would be anywhere from 3 games ahead to 5 games behind after the 4 games. After a split in the first two games, Kenley blew the lead in glorious fashion in the 9th leaving us 2 games behind after the third game Wednesday, instead of tied for 1st and then 3 games behind on the Thursday loss.

May I also mention that in the second game of the series, pitcher Alex Wood, a former Dodger, in one inning hit A.J. Pollock with a ball and in another inning drilled both Justin Turner and Max Muncy badly enough that they suffered contusions and had to be removed from the game (Really?) Nothing happened. In other games I see someone give an opposing player a dirty look and the benches clear.

Despite Kenley's particularly bad Wednesday outing, the Dodgers still had two chances to win the game. One was a routine grounder to Chris Taylor who threw it to Sheldon Neuse (pronounced "noisy") at 2nd. He's been up and down on the roster this year. He was called up for this game. Sports writers say Taylor didn't throw the ball with any urgency (?) to Neuse and that if Neuse had extended himself to catch it the game would've been over. The umpire called him out. But a review overturned the call. So, with bases loaded Darin Ruf came to bat. With a 3-2 count Kenley threw a ball and Ruf reacted. The plate umpire apparently didn't see what happened (?), he didn't make a call, so he threw it to first base umpire, Ed Hickox. Ed Hickox said that he did not go around, didn't swing. Ruf went to first and a run scored. Instead of a Dodger victory: Game tied.

Apparently this is a checked swing:

It didn't get any better after that. The sports writers say manger Dave Roberts, who went ballistic after this and was ejected, left Kenley Jansen in after that. Maybe he said to, but he was ejected and so it wasn't his call was it? Anyway, he was left in and promptly let the Giants score two more runs. (Why was he left in? He'd gotten the 1st two batters out in the 9th until he couldn't do anything after that.)

About that checked swing. People point out that the home plate umpire, earlier in the count, had called a ball way outside the strike zone a strike, (TRUE) and Ruf should've already been on first before the checked swing call. (Whatever, right?)

The Dodgers promptly made two outs in the bottom of the 9th when the right fielder called up and playing in his first ever game--WTF?--got his first MLB base hit with a double! (Earlier, he also did not make a catch in right field for a third out that would've prevented a run, a catch that Mookie Betts would have made.) So we actually had the tying run up to base again, but it was Sheldon Neuse making the third out.

Thursdays game was equally horrendous. And Friday the 4th place Rockies came in and beat us in the 10th...without Jansen's help, while the Giants entertained the last place Pirates in San Francisco, and the Pirates won 6-4.

The Dodgers WS team is not the team playing together much at all this year. Mookie had a down first half, rested for the All Star game, came back and had 4 hits and scored 3 runs and has been out again ever since. (He's not on the IL and the Dodgers are playing with a player short. (WTF?) Bellinger was out two months and since he's been back has been terrible at the plate. Last night he finally got two important hits...now he's out again. Corey Seagar has been out 3 months or so after getting drilled in the hand; broken bones. Gavin Lux just got injured. Clayton Kershaw's on his second outage. Pitcher Dustin May out for the year. (Not to mention the Bauer outage.) I could go on.

Yeah, the Dodgers have been treading water the whole first half. The second half, so far, they're starting to take on water. The mantra all season has been "When everyone gets healthy and playing together again..." Now it seems changed to "If...everyone gets healthy..."

Time to

. Baseball is so mercurial, in a few weeks I might be back in:

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

@MartinP., brutal yes (a bit like my salary dynasty league team, which traded Devers-plus for Belly, this preseason, oops! and is also awaiting Eloy to return amongst other pitfalls while still making a realistic run at the top from a moderately distant 3rd place)...

Anyway, I suspect Crawdaddy has a thing or two to follow up about his reeling Spankees... Really hope they (and the Jays) still have something to play for when I finally attend a game again (after long hiatus since before the pandemic) come early Sept...

_Man_

 

[Robert Crawford]

Anyway, I suspect Crawdaddy has a thing or two to follow up about his reeling Spankees... Really hope they (and the Jays) still have something to play for when I finally attend a game again (after long hiatus since before the pandemic) come early Sept...

_Man_

Which team you root for?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Which team you root for?

I guess the Spankees... Yeah, I'm calling them that as a term of endearment, not actually a hater... though my fondness for them have waned somewhat over the years... and I'm more a fan of the game (and good competition) than of any one specific team nowadays...

_Man_