Manfred agrees to universal DH... The stickler for the original rules of the game bothers me but I see how it's beneficial to the sport.
Only Ohtani and maybe McKay will hit now?
Fuck the DH. Horrible way to play the game.
agreed.
or, should I just say “greed”?
oh well, it got sloppi to the Hall.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
The universal DH was inevitable. Might as well rip the bandaid off.
Personally, I dont like it, but it doesnt matter. I appreciate the pitcher hitting and the strategy that surrounds that spot in the lineup. I also hate Slow Pitch softball players hanging on too long to sit the bench and slug balls and limp to first base 4x a game. IMO, the tradeoff with every player should be they need to play the field. If you want the bat of someone like Sano, you should be tasked with finding him a place in the field... then yanking him when you feel you need a defensive replacement with a bent willow branch for a bat.
Baseball's annoyances and frustrations have produced myriad Chicken Littles and Boys Who Cried Wolf eager to proclaim the sport's demise. It's never come close to death, of course, but it's also easy to see that MLB is definitely not in the best shape of its life.
The latest evidence of this came Thursday, when the owners and the MLBPA met for just 15 minutes in their latest, sporadic collective bargaining talks at a time when spring training should be in full swing.
But it's not just that spring training is delayed while the owners keep the players locked during CBA negotiations. It's not just that there's a significant threat of losing regular-season games. It's not just that attendance and viewership are in decline. And it's not just that we saw a sad and sobering drug trial unfold in Los Angeles that possibly points to major issues within modern baseball's culture.
No one of those things is enough to kill a sport that's been around for the better part of two centuries. But taken together, all at the same time, they create a cancerous cocktail that's eating away at the sport's health. And while all those things are important and worthy of discussion and action, the lockout is MLB's biggest and most threatening co-morbidity at the moment.
A sport can't get healthy if it doesn't exist. And until the owners lift the lockout, until a new CBA agreement happens, until players actually take the field, MLB basically doesn't exist. And in 2022's entertainment universe, there's no surer path to pop cultural hospice than an audience that has grown apathetic and is ready to move on.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has said that any lost games resulting from the lockout would be "disastrous." He's right. Call me Chicken Little if you want, but if MLB loses a significant number of games this season, it may never recover. That doesn't mean MLB would die, but it does mean it could be left in an emaciated state for which the long-term prognosis is bleak.
This lockout is happening at a unique point in history, so previous recoveries aren't necessarily the way things would go this time. There is no guarantee most fans would just forgive and forget the way they did after the 1994-95 strike. I don't think the owners or the players fully comprehend how quickly baseball could be replaced in many people's leisure priorities.
I've written about the poll in December from Seton Hall University that showed interest in baseball already waning among people who describe themselves as die-hard sports fans. The same poll showed that a majority of the general public has no interest in MLB to begin with. These findings are not nothing, and it would be foolish for MLB to ignore them or take no steps to remedy them.
At the moment, the fate of the 2022 MLB season is mostly in the hands of the owners. They could choose to lift the lockout, start spring training, proceed with a March 31 Opening Day and continue negotiating with the players under the terms of the expired agreement. There is some precedent for this in MLB history, even after the 1994 strike.
Of course, the counter is that the players could strike at some point this season and the owners don't want to risk it. Perhaps. But it's also possible that they could reach an agreement in April, May, June, July, August or September. At least games would be played in the meantime. At least fans would have something to enjoy. At least the sport would move forward.
MLB has reportedly told the players that Feb. 28 is the deadline for a CBA deal that would allow the regular season to start on time. And it was reported late Thursday that the two sides are likely to meet often, perhaps daily, starting next week. That's a good sign, but it doesn't mean a breakthrough is imminent. But there does seem to finally be some urgency, which is welcome, because starting the season on time, or very close to on time, is the only smart play if MLB hopes to regain a sense of health and attract new fans.
It's almost certain Major League Baseball will never literally die. But it can certainly become a third-tier entertainment option patronized only by die-hards and the occasionally curious ("It's TruTV, your home of the 2032 World Series!").
So what will the 2022 season ultimately look like? What's the magic number for maintaining any feeling of a normal year? On one hand, anything short of a full 162-game schedule is a massive failure. On the other, anything that feels close to normal would be welcome. But anything that feels far from normal — another 60-game season, or even an 80-game season — would be MLB stepping on yet another rake.
Each day the lockout lingers is another step toward an unpleasant place that offers no certainty of future prosperity.
Ultimately, a 2022 season truncated in any significant way would only grow the gap between MLB and a sports public that has increasingly found better ways to spend its time.
Not sure I agree with the guilty verdict in the skaggs trial….they were both addicts…skaggs paid, kay supplied.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
You know you have a lot of young diverse Stars in the MLB right now. Last time this happened I didn't watch a game until Mark McGwire started hitting all those jacks and was traded mid season to St Louis.
If this happens again I don't think I'm coming back. I'll watch fucking Cricket instead. Go West Indies!
fans DID NOT “forgive and forget” the 1994-95 strike….it took the Maris chase to bring it back….three years later.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Yeah, O'Neil is a pretty weak candidate for that kind of status.
Give him a bobblehead night. Maybe put him in the team Hall of Fame even. But I dont think anyone can look at the Yankees and get upset if they see anyone wearing 21 (if that was his number, lol).
it's a cash grab like virtually anything else in baseball.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
It's basically been retired by the fans the last 21 years. They gave the number to Latroy Hawkins. And the fans booed him. No one's worn the number since.
Matsui, Teixeira, hell, even Arod. But O’Neill is a head-scratcher.
I wouldn't say head scratcher. He probably deserves it over Teixeira and Matsui. He was a big part of the Yankees getting back to their winning ways and the championships. Not that I'm saying it should be retired. But it's not like it's Alvaro Espinoza's number they're retiring
Matsui, Teixeira, hell, even Arod. But O’Neill is a head-scratcher.
I wouldn't say head scratcher. He probably deserves it over Teixeira and Matsui. He was a big part of the Yankees getting back to their winning ways and the championships. Not that I'm saying it should be retired. But it's not like it's Alvaro Espinoza's number they're retiring
Comments
Sad news.
RIP
Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
Only Ohtani and maybe McKay will hit now?
or, should I just say “greed”?
oh well, it got sloppi to the Hall.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
Personally, I dont like it, but it doesnt matter. I appreciate the pitcher hitting and the strategy that surrounds that spot in the lineup. I also hate Slow Pitch softball players hanging on too long to sit the bench and slug balls and limp to first base 4x a game. IMO, the tradeoff with every player should be they need to play the field. If you want the bat of someone like Sano, you should be tasked with finding him a place in the field... then yanking him when you feel you need a defensive replacement with a bent willow branch for a bat.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/delayed-regular-season-apathy-could-send-mlb-to-very-bad-place/tnaubl1fp3yt8fevid5glsnd
Delayed regular season, apathy could send MLB to a very bad place
Baseball's annoyances and frustrations have produced myriad Chicken Littles and Boys Who Cried Wolf eager to proclaim the sport's demise. It's never come close to death, of course, but it's also easy to see that MLB is definitely not in the best shape of its life.
The latest evidence of this came Thursday, when the owners and the MLBPA met for just 15 minutes in their latest, sporadic collective bargaining talks at a time when spring training should be in full swing.
But it's not just that spring training is delayed while the owners keep the players locked during CBA negotiations. It's not just that there's a significant threat of losing regular-season games. It's not just that attendance and viewership are in decline. And it's not just that we saw a sad and sobering drug trial unfold in Los Angeles that possibly points to major issues within modern baseball's culture.
No one of those things is enough to kill a sport that's been around for the better part of two centuries. But taken together, all at the same time, they create a cancerous cocktail that's eating away at the sport's health. And while all those things are important and worthy of discussion and action, the lockout is MLB's biggest and most threatening co-morbidity at the moment.
FAGAN: MLB can't let lockout threaten Jackie Robinson Day
A sport can't get healthy if it doesn't exist. And until the owners lift the lockout, until a new CBA agreement happens, until players actually take the field, MLB basically doesn't exist. And in 2022's entertainment universe, there's no surer path to pop cultural hospice than an audience that has grown apathetic and is ready to move on.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has said that any lost games resulting from the lockout would be "disastrous." He's right. Call me Chicken Little if you want, but if MLB loses a significant number of games this season, it may never recover. That doesn't mean MLB would die, but it does mean it could be left in an emaciated state for which the long-term prognosis is bleak.
This lockout is happening at a unique point in history, so previous recoveries aren't necessarily the way things would go this time. There is no guarantee most fans would just forgive and forget the way they did after the 1994-95 strike. I don't think the owners or the players fully comprehend how quickly baseball could be replaced in many people's leisure priorities.
I've written about the poll in December from Seton Hall University that showed interest in baseball already waning among people who describe themselves as die-hard sports fans. The same poll showed that a majority of the general public has no interest in MLB to begin with. These findings are not nothing, and it would be foolish for MLB to ignore them or take no steps to remedy them.
At the moment, the fate of the 2022 MLB season is mostly in the hands of the owners. They could choose to lift the lockout, start spring training, proceed with a March 31 Opening Day and continue negotiating with the players under the terms of the expired agreement. There is some precedent for this in MLB history, even after the 1994 strike.
Of course, the counter is that the players could strike at some point this season and the owners don't want to risk it. Perhaps. But it's also possible that they could reach an agreement in April, May, June, July, August or September. At least games would be played in the meantime. At least fans would have something to enjoy. At least the sport would move forward.
MLB has reportedly told the players that Feb. 28 is the deadline for a CBA deal that would allow the regular season to start on time. And it was reported late Thursday that the two sides are likely to meet often, perhaps daily, starting next week. That's a good sign, but it doesn't mean a breakthrough is imminent. But there does seem to finally be some urgency, which is welcome, because starting the season on time, or very close to on time, is the only smart play if MLB hopes to regain a sense of health and attract new fans.
It's almost certain Major League Baseball will never literally die. But it can certainly become a third-tier entertainment option patronized only by die-hards and the occasionally curious ("It's TruTV, your home of the 2032 World Series!").
So what will the 2022 season ultimately look like? What's the magic number for maintaining any feeling of a normal year? On one hand, anything short of a full 162-game schedule is a massive failure. On the other, anything that feels close to normal would be welcome. But anything that feels far from normal — another 60-game season, or even an 80-game season — would be MLB stepping on yet another rake.
Each day the lockout lingers is another step toward an unpleasant place that offers no certainty of future prosperity.
Ultimately, a 2022 season truncated in any significant way would only grow the gap between MLB and a sports public that has increasingly found better ways to spend its time.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
If this happens again I don't think I'm coming back. I'll watch fucking Cricket instead. Go West Indies!
fans DID NOT “forgive and forget” the 1994-95 strike….it took the Maris chase to bring it back….three years later.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Give him a bobblehead night. Maybe put him in the team Hall of Fame even. But I dont think anyone can look at the Yankees and get upset if they see anyone wearing 21 (if that was his number, lol).
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Core 4 from that era get retired, no one else.
Posada
Maris
Jackson
Bernie
Pettitte
O'Neill
All probably shouldn't be retired, but they were all part of big moments/dynasties