• The KillerFrogs

2021 MLB Thread

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
Scapegoat? That's rich. Very rich.
Were you aware of the Yankees cheating? The Red Sox? The Dodgers? They all used cameras and communications. Were you aware that their offenses were kept confidential by Rob Manfred? Especially the Yankees?

All the while, it was the Astros who were named and shamed by the Sports Media. None of the other teams guilty of doing the same damned things were ever mentioned. That is the precise definition of scapegoat. MLB had a League-wide problem, and they singled out one team to make an example of, while the others got off without so much as a hangnail.
 
Were you aware of the Yankees cheating? The Red Sox? The Dodgers? They all used cameras and communications. Were you aware that their offenses were kept confidential by Rob Manfred? Especially the Yankees?

All the while, it was the Astros who were named and shamed by the Sports Media. None of the other teams guilty of doing the same damned things were ever mentioned. That is the precise definition of scapegoat. MLB had a League-wide problem, and they singled out one team to make an example of, while the others got off without so much as a hangnail.

The Astros were punished for their cheating. That's not scapegoating. Whether the punishments were equitable is another topic but the Astros did not bear the penalty and blame of everyone else's mistakes.
 
Framber Valdez was extremely efficient yesterday—only 93 pitches over eight innings (11.6 per inning), 62 for strikes. I love ground ball pitchers and the double plays that accompany them. A real treat yesterday. Even the surrendered homerun was efficient, only two pitches to that batter. That dinger probably would have been a hooked foul ball in any other park—Fenway has the right field foul pole moved forward at only 302 feet.

Fenway Park—I have never been, but it is gorgeous on TV—the grandstand and the quirky outfield. And nobody has to sit in nosebleed seats.

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Pharm Frog

Full Member
Framber Valdez was extremely efficient yesterday—only 93 pitches over eight innings (11.6 per inning), 62 for strikes. I love ground ball pitchers and the double plays that accompany them. A real treat yesterday. Even the surrendered homerun was efficient, only two pitches to that batter. That dinger probably would have been a hooked foul ball in any other park—Fenway has the right field foul pole moved forward at only 302 feet.

Fenway Park—I have never been, but it is gorgeous on TV—the grandstand and the quirky outfield. And nobody has to sit in nosebleed seats.

View attachment 9819

I have been to Fenway many times but the best moment for me was being up there on the patio down the first base line when the Sox were playing a rather meaningless game late in the season and some fans correctly identified me as a Texan. Remember it being quite chilly. Everybody wanted to know more about what it was like to live in Texas and occasionally talked about baseball. Fun evening.....funny people.
 

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
Never said that. Just said that's not scapegoating. Astros got what they deserved. Reading is hard.
I advise you to look into a mirror when reading that last sentence.

As I have said time and time again, there were multiple teams using video and communications schemes in 2015-2017. The Red Sox and Yankees had the most extensive operations, and other teams began experimenting in order to keep an edge. The Astros got their tips from an ex-Red Sox player on how to run things. In the 2017 Playoffs, all of the teams involved had some kind of cheating scheme going. They only had their gear in their home parks, so they would not have this "advantage" when they went on the road. By the end of the regular season, most of the Astros players had quit utilizing the various methods earlier employed, as it was distracting and messed with their natural timing.

Rob Manfred sent investigators to look over the Yankees, and after many months issued a sealed letter containing the findings. To date, no one outside either organization has leaked the contents, and the Sports Media is strangely un-curious. But, it's the Yankees...

My beef here is that multiple organizations had cheating schemes going. The imbecile Commissioner knew about it, and chose to single out one organization instead of admitting a League-wide scandal, and risking the prestige of MLB. Singling out one organization, and directing the ire and bile of the entire SportsMedia upon them is grossly unfair considering the circumstances. That they managed to win in LA, when the Dodgers had the advantage of their cheating apparatus, is especially ironic.

Yet, none of this matters to you. "Astros got what they deserved." Do you feel all better when Boise State gets NCAA Probation for feeding illegal pizza to recruits, while Auburn can bribe $cam away from Miss. St. and suffer no penalty at all?

I haven't watched a game of any MLB playoff for a while. I tried to watch some of the NL Wild Card game, but it dragged on so long with pitching changes and commercials that I wound up watching a recorded football game instead. I probably won't tune in to any of the rest of the ALCS, or the WS, simply because 1.) I cannot stand Joe Buck, and 2.) My G.A.S. level is hovering near zero when it comes to overblown professional sporting events and the endless commercials they pack them with. I would honestly rather read a book and find out who won later. But, just to spite people like you, I truly hope the Astros win it all.
 

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
I have been to Fenway many times but the best moment for me was being up there on the patio down the first base line when the Sox were playing a rather meaningless game late in the season and some fans correctly identified me as a Texan. Remember it being quite chilly. Everybody wanted to know more about what it was like to live in Texas and occasionally talked about baseball. Fun evening.....funny people.
Sat behind home plate there and almost lost two fingers because of the very narrow seats were spring loaded to flip up when you stood. Someone hit a home run I put my hand on the arm rest and both hands nearly crushed when I stood up. Also got the Texas treatment for wearing boots (helpful tip, don’t wear cowboy boots and walk the freedom trail all day). Fenway in 91 was dirty, urine smelling dump. I’d take Wrigley any day…
 

Ron Swanson

Full Member
You're going to have a blast. I went to all the Rangers playoff games and World Series games in 2010 and 2011. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a good ticket source since this playoff run started (just have to pay face value). I’ve been to probably 10 games in the last five years.

We’ve won all but one of the ALDS/ALCS games I’ve been to (including game 7 against the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS) and we are 0-3 in the World Series games I’ve been to (including game 7 when the Nationals beat us).

Face value of tickets have gone up quite a bit in the last 5 years, by the way. I’m paying $250/seat tomorrow night.
 

bmoney214

OUCH!!!
I’ve been lucky enough to have a good ticket source since this playoff run started (just have to pay face value). I’ve been to probably 10 games in the last five years.

We’ve won all but one of the ALDS/ALCS games I’ve been to (including game 7 against the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS) and we are 0-3 in the World Series games I’ve been to (including game 7 when the Nationals beat us).

Face value of tickets have gone up quite a bit in the last 5 years, by the way. I’m paying $250/seat tomorrow night.
Thats awesome.

I was able to get every game during the Rangers two year run for face value except for 1 (game 5 against the Cardinals). The Rangers used some kind of lottery system and I got picked every time.

I'm 3-3 in World Series games.
5-1 in the ALCS
And 1-7 in the ALDS (yikes:eek:)
 
Chris Bassitt in the 2 minute interview posted above in JomBoy Media stated it was like an “arms race”—a lot of people were doing it, but the Astros were the “guinea pig“ to clean it up because they were caught.

They were caught because of a rat—2017 Astro pitcher Mike Fiers (now competing in the same division at Oakland), that led Jomboy (a sore hardcore Yankee fan) to tediously go through game video identifying the bangs and thus forcing MLB to act. Fiers may have been pissy because he was left off the 2017 playoff roster after having a good season but struggling down the stretch. If not for the audible and trackable uniqueness, and humor, of the banging on a trash can identified by JomBoy’s investigating, maybe nothing would have happened to the Astros. But MLB needed to clean it up, they created the problem by providing teams with cameras and monitors in real time. The commissioner of baseball and MLB are the first to blame.

Carlos Beltran joined the Astros in 2017 (after spending 2014-16 with the Yankees/Rangers) to give the young lads in Houston a mentor. He told the Astros’ players “you are behind the times“ in regards to stealing and communicating signs, which parallels what Chris Bassitt just said—that a lot of teams were doing it. Beltran, “the mentor” and now ringleader #1 led the way. And Alex Cora, bench coach, was with the Astros in his first year and became ringleader #2. Tough situation for the young guys when they looked at Carlos Beltrán in awe as storied player/leader and with new coach Cora backing this. I very much blame manager AJ Hinch for not stopping it, but why didn’t he? Both Beltran and Cora were gone after one year.

The overall effectiveness or ineffectiveness of this sign stealing is another story.
 
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