Mighty Baseball Thread?
 

Why is there no mighty baseball thread?

I know a lot of people (specifically those ungrateful snot-nosed kids with their video games) think baseball is "boring," but it was THE sport in my home growing up. It was the only sport my nerd ass academic parents followed, and the only I played that they watched.

It's been an exciting year for the MLB. Some long time underdogs are shining, some interesting trades are taking place. Does no one care, or wish to talk about it?

i think krastian, if you can find him, liked baseball

Well... that's something.

Anyway, GO M'S! And, conversely, GO RED SOX!

I'll take an Angels upset in AL West as a second choice if the M's continue to fizzle.

I have to support the Cubs in NL Central... it's a family thing.
NL East is all Nationals

And fuck everyone else especially the Yanks and Rangers!

*drops mic, silent crowd*

Best thing about the New York Skankeys is HOV wearing their bitchass hat.

i went to the orioles... camden park? once.

watery overpriced beer and too many "waves" for no particular reason

sorry i have nothing else to contribute

summer in baltimore was nice though

I'm a big MLB (Astros) fan! I've attended more MLB games than NFL/NBA combined. Astros were horrid over first month and a half of the season. By the middle of May, the Astros were 11 games behind the Texas Rangers. Today, the Astros are only 6.5 games behind Texas and just one game out of the Wild Card.

I would welcome some MLB discussion.

nobody follows baseball and i live in Dodgers country so obviously i have nothing to contribute ;)

I was initially happy to hear that the Astros were coming to the AL West, because I figured, hey, at least the M's can beat SOMEONE in the division. Then the Astros clobbered the hell out of the M's in 2015, and I was embarrassed as hell.

M's had an excellent start to the season, but now they're barely breaking even. Goddamn shame is what it is.

Oakland consistently throws a wrench into the AL West standings.

I've also been to more MLB games than NFL/NBA and NHL games combined.

I've always been a baseball guy. I even watch Ken Burns' Baseball every few years. Like... for fun

Severian i would have never in a million years believe you to be a baseball fan. the ken burns thing waa really really good, did you see the PBS Jackie Robinson?

I dreaded the Astros move to the American League. I was a NL Central Die-Hard, thoroughly enjoying the rivalry the Astros had with the Cardnials. However, when I first became an Astros fan in the late 70's / early 80's, the Astros were a staple of the NL West and staying up late to watch the ends of games between the Dodger and Giants were a way of life that oftentimes got me in trouble : ) So, I'm now enjoying life in the ALWest and so far, it hasn't been that tough.

I've had an eye on your M's ever since the Astros traded King Felix and a boatload of other players for Randy Johnson. I love the fact that most of the M's coaching staff are ex-Astros:

Scott Servais - Head Coach
Tim Bogar - Bench Coach
Casey Candele - First Base Coach
Mike Hspton (nails) - Pitching Coach



The Astros now have three players with at least 50 RBI before the All-Star Break:
Correa 54
Springer 51
Altuve 50 (lead off first 6-7 weeks of season)

Last time Astros had three players with 50+ RBI's at the All-Star Break was 2003:

Lance Berkman 59
Richard Hildalgo 50
Jeff Kent 50

Well, the M's were just swept clean by the Astros yet again. Put up a good fight — after a time — on the 7th, once we snagged those 4 runs. But it's clear that the stars were not aligning for the M's, and the Astros just plain cleaned their clock.

I'm thinking we need to lose Lind, unfortunately. Hard data aside, he's still having a hard time not screwing up perfect, gift wrapped pitches right down the middle. If a hitter can't hit a beautiful pitch, it doesn't matter how fast his swing is, or how what his connection rate is.

I kinda hate that cold blooded "take him out back and put him out of his misery" approach to ball analysis that a lot of writers use, but if the guy keeps this up he's gotta go.

On to Kansas City.

Astros are looking good man.

Yeah, I'm definitely a baseball fan. Not a hard-core type. I just love the game, and I love going to games. I love the history of the game. I've got a special connection to four teams across the country, and I root for those teams in their respective divisions, but I'm not one to watch a Giants/Diamondbacks game (two teams I have no love for whatsoever) just because it's on. But I definitely love the game.

I haven't seen Jackie Robinson yet. What did you think?

If your M's were to lose Lind, who would you like to see at 1st? Astros open at Seattle after the break, so I'll be watching for his "fast" swing. Astros outfielder, Carlos Gomez, usually swings too fast for my liking. His batting helmet usually falls off and he appears to have no balance......but those times he somehow gets everything to sync up - WOW - his shots are usually scalded off outfield walls.

I was listening to a baseball gambling podcast yesterday about first half trends. A unique wager in baseball is who wins the first 5 innings. Anyway, your M's had the 3rd highest winning percentage of all MLB teams through the first 5 innings.

Thanks for noticing my Astros. Currently the Astros are two full games behind Red Sox and Blue Jays for the final Wild Card slots. With the Texas Rangers losing today, Astros are now 5.5 games behind them.

Speaking of the Rangers:

Rangers will enter All-Star Break with largest division lead in team history. Previously, largest lead had been 5 games in 1999.

However, the last Rangers starter to be credited with a victory was Cole Hamels on June 28th. Since then, zippo.

Rangers 9-1 vs Astros, 45-34 vs all others.

Astros 46-32 vs others, 1-9 vs Rangers.

AL starting lineup for tomorrow nights All-Star Game in San Diego:

what's a dodger

is that like a badger? or more like a prairie dog?

I am here!! Go O's!

Hopefully we can trade for a decent starting pitcher. We have been scouting Sonny Gray, but to get him we'll have to give up a ton.

i need a translator

http://deadspin.com/nationals-turn-f...ory-1784576615

its a team that was really really good at baseball in the 1980s, since then? not so much.

yes but what animal did they name themselves after

ive never seen a dodger and i live in the woods

is it like a jaywalker?

close

they were briefly known as the Brooklyn Trolley dodgers as in people who dodge the trollies when crossing the street

oh ha ha! how did i miss this. urban fauna!

There is, sort of. (still feeling kind of proud...)
http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/sho...d.php?t=112014

For me, few things in sports feel as good as sweetly hitting a fast pitched ball with a bat. Just saying.

Is baseball still on Olympic sport?

Not currently, which is fucking ludicrous in my opinion. I'm not sure when it was last included, but the decision to omit it from Rio was made in like 2010.

They're trying to bring it back for 2020. At least that's my understanding at the moment.

Yes, hitting a baseball is like shooting coke. But what really gets me is the feeling of a perfect catch. Not necessarily an outfield catch, but like a line drive, right down the center, or playing catcher and taking a perfect strike.

Let's not read any psychosexual bullshit into this, please. This has nothing to do with my arsehole. I just really like that *smack* and the feeling of successfully making a play. Not everyone is built for baseball. A lot of folks are afraid of the ball. I'm not one of them.

i live in SF, so I'm a giants fan. A pretty bummed one as we have the worst record in baseball since the all star break... The dodgers just took the lead in the west after we were up by as much as 8....ughhh

Last night, Jose Altuve became the fastest Astro to reach 1000 hits. Only four players on the MLB Top-Ten Hits list reached 1000 hits in fewer at bats:

3. Hank Arron
4. Stan Musil
6. Derek Jeter
8. Honus Wagner

That's right, Jose Altuve reached 1000 hits faster than:

1. Pete Rose
2. Ty Cobb

hahahaaaaaaa

that its Dodgers has to in particular aggravate you ;)

that's absolutely the worst part of it!

haha enjoy your damn world series rings and let Dodgers have their fun

I thought I'd jinx the M's by suggesting that they may break .500 this season. Things were looking down for a spell, but they've won 8 of their last ten games, swept two of the last three series, and tied the third (with the low standing Angels).

Still not performing well enough for me to bet on them having a post-season. The Rangers are significantly ahead, keeping the M's in no. 2 for AL West. But this has been a strong season for a handful of teams. I haven't looked super closely at the MLB wide stats, but it seems like an atypically strong year for the top performing teams. Almost every Divison has a true powerhouse... Cleveland, Washington, Chicago, Texas, all dominating their respective divisions by quite a bit.

It seems to be pretty tight within the AL East (where I'm a Red Sox man). Less variance between PCT's at a glance than anywhere else in baseball. Should be interesting.

I'm hoping the Mariners can help keep the Yanks down in the coming series.

The Dodgers are murdering in Cuncinatti today......seven home runs and it's only the 7th inning (four home runs came in one inning). Only the 5th time in franchise history they've had a 7+ home run game......Adrian Gonzalez responsible for three of the jacks.

In the other dugout, Joey Votto is a home run shy of the cycle.

^ yeah, I heard. There's a Reds fan in my office. He was bitching about the team giving up 4 runs.

M's take on Yankees tonight.

dodgers are literally hit or miss like that, either they are scoring 7 or more or they are barely scoring at all

Life is going to be a trip without Vin Scully.

fucking Dodgers WOW..

finally have a REAL manager.. that was some balls.. pull out Rich Hill in the 4th even when he was pitching well.. bring in Jansen in the fucking 7th?????? Kershaw with the save???????????

I don't know quite how to process this game, the Dodgers just traditionally don't do smart baseball moves like this, its not in our nature.

I stopped paying attention when the M's lost their chance at the wild card. That was really unexpected, honestly. I thought at the very least they would make it to the final game. Oakland is a spirited team, and I respect them, but they're a fucking thorn man. They're the Ralph Nader of the AL.

And things were looking quite positive in the end. They'd slammed the A's repeatedly over the season, only to lose the chase by 1 run. I would have been happy if they'd moved forward one more step, but the way they lost was totally anticlimactic and fucking depressing.

fucking shit Dodgers just keep defying laws of reality. they shut out Cubs in a playoff game for first time since before the motherfucking Treaty of Versailles and then do it again in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead, steal homefield advantage, and in a season that was supposed to be a non playoffs rebuilding year at that????

fuuuuuuck

Tomorrow is opening day, motherfuckers.



This is the year
This is the year
This is the year
This is the year
This is the year
This is the year
This is the year
This is the year
Dear God, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen, please let this be the MOTHERFUCKING year