MLB 2022 Season

Yeah, that makes me think that the Owners got one over on the players again.

Athletics are doing exactly what everyone said they were going to do and scatter their players. Olsen(Braves), Chapman (Blue Jays), and Bassitt (Mets) all gone. Would not be surprised for Manaea, Montas, and Piscotty to be gone shortly too.

I hope the Jays acquiring the A's 3B for good, but not great, prospects works out as well as it did last time.

I expected the cost to be a lot higher? I like what the A's got for Olson from Atlanta more than they got for Chapman.

Roke wrote:

I hope the Jays acquiring the A's 3B for good, but not great, prospects works out as well as it did last time.

I expected the cost to be a lot higher? I like what the A's got for Olson from Atlanta more than they got for Chapman.

Chapman's not the same player since he had hip surgery. His strike out rate has climbed a tonne. So the Blue Jays are acquiring an excellent defensive 3B with power that has strikeout issues but the potential to return to form. What they sent pays for who Chapman has been for the last two seasons rather than the guy the two seasons before that.

Phils have signed both Schwarber and (reportedly) Castellanos.

Are they planning to lead the league in runs scored while still having a negative run differential?

I really wanted Trevor Story not this piece of sh*t. Don't care that he's the better player.

So the Twins dumped Donaldson and his salary to the Yankees, and used that to pay a fair portion of what they're paying Correa, who would have been a better fit on the Yankees than Donaldson?

Hrdina wrote:

(reportedly) Castellanos.

People covering Phils games better be careful with the timing of delivering bad news and that's a deep fly to left center by Castellanos...

Adios, Carlos.

Hrdina wrote:

Phils have signed both Schwarber and (reportedly) Castellanos.

Are they planning to lead the league in runs scored while still having a negative run differential?

At least with the DH in the NL now, Schwarber actually has a "position" he can play.

Roke wrote:

So the Twins dumped Donaldson and his salary to the Yankees, and used that to pay a fair portion of what they're paying Correa, who would have been a better fit on the Yankees than Donaldson?

As a Jays fan, I love to see it.

New York allowing unvaccinated atheletes and performers to perform is good news for my "massive Blue Jays home field advantage from vaccination" hopes.

I figured unvaccinated Yankees were bound to get vaccinated if they couldn't play at home this season. Now they have 81 fewer game cheques to lose if they still hold out.

Rat Boy wrote:
Hrdina wrote:

(reportedly) Castellanos.

People covering Phils games better be careful with the timing of delivering bad news and that's a deep fly to left center by Castellanos...

The Blue Jays' pitching coach was pulled over for a DUI and that's a bloop to right by Castellanos...

Rat Boy wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
Hrdina wrote:

(reportedly) Castellanos.

People covering Phils games better be careful with the timing of delivering bad news and that's a deep fly to left center by Castellanos...

The Blue Jays' pitching coach was pulled over for a DUI and that's a bloop to right by Castellanos...

At least it wasn't the announcer apologizing this time.

Opening Day! Let's baseball. (Which I missed because I though tomorrow was the 7th).

The ZiPS AL East projections at Fangraphs are something. The less unbalanced schedule can't get here soon enough.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPrI4YxXIAIqNEm?format=jpg&name=large)

Your undefeated Houston Astros!

Go Mariners! Great off-season acquisitions. Bobby Ray had a good start yesterday. And Winker having thoughts of 'Sandlot' as he caught that long ball to left was priceless.

Be scared of the Blue Jays. No lead is safe.

Vector wrote:

Be scared of the Blue Jays. No lead is safe.

Yesterday did feel like CFL rules.

Pitchers batting was probably an outdated idea decades ago, but I'm still going to miss it. One of the reasons I was drawn to NL play was the decision making centered around the pitcher's place in the lineup, especially later game and making substitutions.

steinkrug wrote:

Pitchers batting was probably an outdated idea decades ago, but I'm still going to miss it. One of the reasons I was drawn to NL play was the decision making centered around the pitcher's place in the lineup, especially later game and making substitutions.

Yeah, pinch hitting and double switches were always fun.

The NL probably could have had it both ways (much fewer pitcher ABs and keeping some of the strategy) if they had gone for a "DH but only as long as the Starting Pitcher is in the game".

I don't think it would be enough to get starters going deeper into the game, but incentives to do that and dencentivize Openers would be nice.

I grew up rooting for the Braves (thanks TBS) and moved into rooting for the team that is now named the Guardians (thanks marriage).

Hot take, it is more strategic to remove pitchers in the AL than in the NL sans DH. In the NL, it was always about the timing, (pitcher is coming up in the bottom of the sixth, let's pull him for someone who can hit). A robot could make those decisions. With the DH, it was always more of a human conversation. Can the pitcher get a few more outs, or is he getting tired? Is the pitcher going to make it a third time through the order, or has the opposing team figured him out? Do I start doing righty-lefty now to get through the hard part of the order, or is my starter better than my bullpen?

Those decisions have everything to do with the pitcher and their pitching and are far more nebulous and squishy than what would happen in the NL.

I just like seeing an large old man stroll up with a piece of wood and attempt to smack the hell out of the ball. Although more and more teams are using it for either young hitters who just can't play on the field (Yordan Alvarez and Willie Calhoun stand out) or for partial rest days.

I know there is no GWJ Roto/Fantasy Baseball, but if anyone is playing, would love to hear about your leagues.

I play in a pretty hardcore mixed keeper league, 16-teams, going on nearly 20 years now. 5x5 Roto auction, 15 Pos + 10 Pitchers + 5 reserves + up to 4 minor leaguers. My team has mostly been a joke for most of those years, but this may be the year... certainly would have been if Tatis didn't get hurt. One of those leagues where every draft there are only 20-25 bona fide tier 1 players, available to draft either because of expiring contracts or just too expensive, and a bunch of people only fans of teams or roto players have even heard of. Any good young player (Tatis, Acuna, Guerrero, Bichette, Soto, etc) are locked up for years (I've had Tatis for I think 5 or 6 years now and I just locked him up for 4 more, when I drafted him in the minor league draft). I've had India, Burnes, Tatis and less good but serviceable players like Casey Mize and Josiah Gray for years and now they are all playing, so just need to put it all together. The best draft capital is a cheap middle reliever that happens to turn into a closer, so a player like Jhoan Duran or Camilo Dhoval become very valuable. I have Drew Steckenrider, and am hoping for Steve Cischek or Chris Stratton to turn into saves. No real #1 closer as they tend to be overpriced and everyone looks for cheap saves.

Anyways after 4 days of baseball I'm in first place :). Only 180 days more to go!

A drive into deep left field by Castellini. Truly the Mike Ashley of baseball.

I can't stand the constant blackmail of fans and municipalities in North American pro sports. So odious. And the other side of the coin is the false hope baseball fans in places like Montreal get when they're being used as leverage for stadium deals elsewhere.

Sometimes it works out (for a specific definition of 'works'). Tampa was used as that leverage for years before they finally got a team that nobody actually wants.

He looks like a long lost Baldwin brother.

I missed Kershaw being yanked 7 innings and 80 pitches into a Perfect Game.

The bullpenfication of the game kind of sucks. I know spring training was short and you want to build your starters up to avoid injury, but it's a shot at a perfect game.

Carlbear95 wrote:

I know there is no GWJ Roto/Fantasy Baseball, but if anyone is playing, would love to hear about your leagues.

Our league from college has been going for 17 years now. But it's one of those leagues where half the managers are checked out by the all-star break. Mixed league 6x6 weekly most categories. 25-player rosters and keep 5 players each year. I've occasionally dabbled in deeper formats, but it's tough to stick with something when you don't have the relationships with the league. Your league sounds really interesting though!

We had a GWJ League for a couple of years, but it was like pulling teeth to field a full league. I think the last year we did it was 2015 since I have that in my sig as winning it that year, ha. I haven't done a fantasy baseball league since then, but had done at least one a year from 1995 through 2015. I'd be interested in doing a GWJ dynasty league if we could get enough people...