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Yu Love to See It: MLB 2021

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    You may not want to check the score

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      I watched the highlights on MLB Network. Pitiful. But they are running out guys from the bullpen who really should not be in the major leagues.

      I also saw highlights from the Phillies-Atlanta game. Also pitiful. My god, the defense was horrific. I don't know where things fall compared to last year or 2019 based on the first X number of games in terms of total errors, but every night I'm seeing brutal play in the field. And it also seems that road teams are having a very hard time holding leads gained during extra innings. I get that a one run lead isn't safe starting with a guy on second, but to blow multi-run leads seems to be a product of both problems I've discussed here: getting to the worst arms in the pen and teams just not defending well under pressure.

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        Inauspicious start from the baby bears

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          https://www.milb.com/player/chris-gittens-656467

          Chris Gittens - formerly of the Thunder and Eastern League player of the year last year - is now in AAA.

          I just hope he makes it because he gave a broken bat to my wife's cousins from Madrid when they were visiting. I had to saw it in half to fit in their suitcase. (On retrospect, should've kept a piece!)

          Yanks - a/k/a the Pink Sox - got the series win against the Nats.

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            How do you ban the shift in a way that isn't left to umpires judgement?

            An Infinite Inning recently suggested that Theo isn't the best person for the job as what needs changing are things that he used and refined.

            Isn't the problem the three outcomes and the lack of balls in play? Or is that a secondary issue to length of game?

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              What is being considered is a red line limitation rather than a ban. The most common version would require all infielders to have at least one foot on the infield dirt when a pitch is delivered, with at least two infielders on each side of second base.

              I think the primary issue is the lack of balls in play, though the Commissioner and his staff are obsessed with length of game.

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                Halos take two of three in the Freeway Series

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                  Fordham's Matt Mikulski is the lone prospect from Keith Law's top 50 ranking currently slated to play in the league's inaugural season.

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                    I am finding the Statcast version of Sunday Night Baseball to be a major upgrade over the national broadcast

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                      Dodgers follow a near miss on what would have been a brutal, brutal loss with a 2-1 loss. Not as bad, but still no offense unless they win in a blow out and/or poor pen (not the case today).

                      Pace of play, not length of game is the big issue for the commissioner's office. I think they're fine with 3.5 hour games if a huge chunk of that is not mound visits, pitchers working through signs, batters messing with the batting gloves, pitching changes. I agree with all of that, but still 3.5 hours is not needed.

                      I was thinking about the addition of radio options on the MLB TV subscription. I like having that option, although I don't use it since I prefer to see the game. But the big shift is listening to clean audio versus AM radio. I have never lived in a city where I listened to baseball on FM radio, so my history with baseball on the radio is that thin, static sound from AM. My own nostalgia, although the LA Kings never won the Stanley Cup during a year when I listened to them on the radio, so I have my own superstitions about radio and sports.

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                        Hefty win for the Padres last night. The kind of free-scoring game that papers over the cracks.

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                          Because MLB Network is showing afternoon games most days, MLB Now has barely aired. For folks without MLB Network or outside the US, this is a show that focuses more on analytics, but it's also a show that focuses on thoughtful baseball discussion versus interviews with players about what they eat for breakfast. Given the disruption to the daily schedule, they haven't aired since Pujols was designated for assignment. They offered a twist on what I posted last week: his contract on its own wasn't any worse than most long contracts with sluggers; it could be absorbed. Another topic they discussed was that Moreno had just purchased the team and was close to finalizing a new lucrative TV deal. Signing Pujols helped excite the network.

                          The problem is that they doubled down with that strategy and signed Hamilton, Upton, Gary Matthews Junior. They also mentioned CJ Wilson. Although that was a bad signing, I can't put that with the others. He was pitching very well when they signed him and they hadn't developed pitching. Boppers are a dime a dozen. Pujols was special, but Hamilton, while an MVP candidate, had already slipped with his drug treatment program and was shown to not hit good pitching. He feasted on bad pitching and his MVP candidacy came just before teams figured out bullpenning. Upton has always had admirable offensive numbers but his slumps last a long time. Then the Angels pour more gasoline on the fire and sign Rendon. In the end, I think only Colorado has made worse free agent signings than the Angels in the last decade.

                          To turn to on-field stuff. The Angels somehow survived an onslaught of traffic on the bases and chipped away at the Astros' early 3-run lead to win 5-4 in Houston. Walsh, who was the reason for the Pujols move, has looked very good so far. Dodgers pitching helped him, of course. With no Dodgers game happening and Padres game postponed, I figured I'd stick with So Cal but shift to the AL.

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                            This is yet another illustration of what I consider a fundamental disconnect in contemporary pro sports.

                            Owners are increasingly focused on/obsessed with increasing the value of their "asset", as the real money to be made in sports right now comes from selling clubs rather than operating them (the Glazers being a notable exception).

                            Actions that increase asset value, like signing a high profile star so as to the goose the amount you can get for a ten year cable contract are not necessarily those that improve the quality of the on-field product. In many cases, they will have a detrimental impact on that product.

                            The same mindset has led the Dodgers to engage in this nonsensical years long fight with cable operators, with the result that their fans cannot watch their games.

                            It is a difficult model to shift, especially in closed leagues.

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                              The other strange thing is that the TV deals escalate but as we've been discussing in this thread, the ratings keep dropping. What you describe, UA, cuts across the industry (well, almost all sports): The value of the network increases by having "sports properties," the value of the team increases if the team has a fat local TV contract, yet less people watch but still pay if their cable/satellite carrier has the channel. Of course, the viewers still pay if they have a sports pack (or equivalent). I pay as much for Comcast Chicago and the Cubs' Marquee Network each month via a local sports fee as I do for the Sports Pack itself.

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                                Yes, one of the primary characteristics of the sports media market in North America is that it is relatively inelastic.

                                Contracts with carriers tend to be long term (ten years isn't unusual) or even semi-permanent in the case of club owned networks. Consumers have traditionally also been very "sticky"m though that has changed (dramatically in some cases) with the advent of cord cutting.

                                On the one hand, those characteristics make it difficult for the market to adjust to rapid changes in taste or technology. On the other hand, that inertia is one of the major reasons why such deals have such an impact on asset values.

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                                  Are games too long? How can baseball maximize its new generation of stars? We dig into the topics that will shape the game far beyond this season.

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                                    Think about this: In 345 career games, Braves right fielder Ronald Acu?a Jr. has been hit by 22 pitches. In 3,298 career games, nearly 10 times as many, Braves Hall of Famer Hank Aaron was hit by only 32.

                                    Think about this as well: While the season is less than six weeks old, the rate of hit by pitches entering Sunday was the highest in Major League Baseball history, and last season’s rate was the highest since 1899, according to STATS Perform.

                                    Pitchers throw harder than ever, and increasingly work up in the zone. Many, however, struggle to command their elevated, high-velocity baseballs, and the latest frightening moment in the disturbing trend occurred on Saturday night, when Phillies reliever Sam Coonrod drilled Acu?a in the left hand with a 97.8-mph fastball.

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                                      The Woosox's first game, at the shiny new Polar Park is today. I wish they weren't affiliated - then I might be able to actually support them.

                                      Meanwhile, the missus was offered (what I assume to be) shit hot seats at Fenway for Saturday's game against the Angels and had to turn them down because we're busy. Argh!

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                                        Maybe the Lowell Spinners will make a comeback

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                                          I think the fact that they were Sox affiliates and the Pawsox moving so far north to Worcester might put a damper on that, sadly. I've not heard any suggestion of them reforming and finding a league. It's a shame because the ball park looks like a lovely location on the river, and it's just about within drunken-cycling distance for a day game.

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                                            There was some talk of them going independent, but it hasn't happened for this year. I don't think the city has given up on it.

                                            You should finagle an invitation to the Cape this summer and go to one of their games. They are great fun.

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                                              A friend's new beau has a house in Chatham, I think about a mile away from their stadium (field? ground? what's the right term?). I'll see if I can sneak an invitation...

                                              The season only seems to last six weeks. Does that seem right?

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                                                Would be a field



                                                I haven't been to the Cape for yonks, but always really liked Chatham.

                                                Yes, the season is only about six weeks long, as it is designed for university players who have other things to do.

                                                The Nantucket League is even more artisanal and evokes the old town teams of the 19th c.
                                                Last edited by ursus arctos; 11-05-2021, 21:22.

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                                                  So a couple of things.

                                                  1) The As are apparently considering moving from Oakland. Might just be trying to blackmail a stadium. Might be for real. Montreal, Las.Vegas, and North Carolina all in the rumour mill on Facebook. (So not very reliable)

                                                  2) The Padres have put Tatis, Profar and Mateo on he IL under Covid protocols. Not sure if they have all tested positive - Tatis has but had no symptoms a day the other 2 are "close contacts". I'm guessing they will be on the list for a good few games.

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                                                    The first has been true for about 40 years

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