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Yu Love to See It: MLB 2021
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- Mar 2008
- 7495
- Off the purple line
- I'm slutty: Roma (on haitus until Jose is fired), Liverpool, and Dortmund
- Del Taco
I have never used Spring Training to gauge a team's prospects for the season other than if a team experiences a lot of injuries. This year, though, is crazy. I posted about these rollover innings above, but Bauer had one out and basically walked the bases loaded. Roberts rolled over the inning because Bauer had reached the pitch count that allows for the rollover. That meant the Dodgers were only down 1-0. The next half inning Seeger hits a two-run home run and the Dodgers were up 1-2. Not an accurate result. Of course, many more innings to go but still this Spring Training is all about prep and results are 100% meaningless.
Meanwhile one of the two Dodgers I wish stuck around (Joc) keeps mashing for the Cubs. I don't know how Kike is doing with the Red Sox.
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The beauty of baseball, is that you skip a few years, or skip a few decades....it will still be great at some point.
(ursus's Bmore O's knuckleball vid.)
Here in class in the middle of South America I showed Reggie's 3 HRs. A student had asked what a "homerun" was. I had baptized 13 new Yankee fans.
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- Mar 2008
- 7495
- Off the purple line
- I'm slutty: Roma (on haitus until Jose is fired), Liverpool, and Dortmund
- Del Taco
Time for my annual easy to pick because not everyone is competitive and misses because of surprises:
NL West:
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
Dbacks
Rockies
NL Central:
Cardinals
Brewers
Cubs
Reds
Pirates
NL East:
Atlanta
Nats
Mets
Phillies
Marlins
AL West:
As
Astros
Angels
Mariners
Rangers
AL Central:
White Sox
Twins
Royals
Cleveland baseball club
Tigers
AL East:
Yankees
Rays
Jays
Red Sox
Os
Wild Card NL: Nats and Padres
Wild Card AL: Rays and Twins
WS: Atlanta beats Rays
I think the AL Central is much better than people think. This is a really hard division to pick because I don't know if I'm buying that the White Sox are ready or that the Twins can stay on top. I think the pitching in Cleveland is solid but their outfielders seem to be AAAA (stuck between triple A and major leagues in terms of talent). KC has made some interesting moves.
The AL West is a mess. I'm torn between the star talent that still remains in Houston and the As that surprise almost every year. I changed these picks three times just as I typed this, but I believe in the As more than the 'Stros.
I don't know if I'm buying the Jays as ready to compete with the Yankees and Rays. I think the Yankees have enough over 162 but the Rays will be better in the playoffs. They are built for knockout baseball.
The NL East is really tough. Every year I buy into the Mets pitching. I finally stepped off, which means they will finally come through. Haha. The Nats were horrible last year, but they will rebound, although I think they might be atrocious in the field.
NL West and NL Central are both a mess. NL West is a two-team division right now. That will change as the Giants re-build and get out from under bad contracts. NL Central seems to be a division of teams trying to sell off or wait out bottom feeder deals. Cards seem to have the most talent but that starting pitching is worse than most of the NL East and nowhere near the Dodgers or Padres.
This is the first year I haven't picked the Dodgers in ages. I think they will still be hungry but might be tired (hence the fact that we have not had a repeat WS winner since 99/2000. Atlanta came very close last year and have a very talented team. Of course, I hope I'm wrong about these picks and Dodgers can repeat.
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I'm not sure how seriously to take spring training. The Padres definitely aren't given their results. The pitching staff seem to be giving up a lot of runs. It's not like they spent millions of... what? Oh? Hmm.Last edited by Patrick Thistle; 18-03-2021, 23:55.
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- Mar 2008
- 7495
- Off the purple line
- I'm slutty: Roma (on haitus until Jose is fired), Liverpool, and Dortmund
- Del Taco
Well, a few years ago Otani was so bad in Spring training that people thought he was going to be a bust. While he hasn't been the second coming of Babe Ruth, he was very, very good right when the season started.
Also, as we discussed upthread, there are a lot of very screwy things happening this year: the rollover inning means bases loaded can lead to 0 runs. I've seen the Dodgers win games that they had no right winning given their use of that rollover to end the inning. Then there's the radical difference across games: some are 6 innings, some 7, some 8, and some 9. For me, the only true feature of Spring training that relates to the season is injuries. If your team gets hit with a lot of bad injuries, your team is probably going to be in for a rougher ride than expected. Beyond that, the value is just to see your team start to prepare.
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Interesting new revenue sources being explored by the Cubs.
https://deadspin.com/cubs-minor-leag...eth-1846520840
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- Mar 2008
- 7495
- Off the purple line
- I'm slutty: Roma (on haitus until Jose is fired), Liverpool, and Dortmund
- Del Taco
Jays lose Yates to TJ surgery, Springer out with injury, and Ray out with injury. Watched Yankees-Jays on Tuesday (I think) and Chapman is back at it: walking guys. Again, it's Spring Training. He's working a new pitch. But I can't see the Yankees winning with him closing games (or more accurately, blowing saves or losing games as he has done the past 3 seasons).
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Yikes.
In other disturbing news, Dunkin' Donuts is now the official donut and coffee provider for Dodger Stadium, and they've unveiled a horrific sounding drink to honor the Dodgers:
To celebrate the new partnership and kick off the 2021 season, Dunkin’ will launch The Dodgers Signature Latte, a Blueberry Crisp Latte made with Dunkin’s smooth Espresso and topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and cinnamon sugar. The Dodgers Signature Latte will be available at greater Los Angeles Dunkin’ restaurants and to Order Ahead on the Dunkin’ App for a limited time starting April 9 to coincide with the team’s home opener.
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