MLB 2023: The shift got clocked

[danielmak]

I saw some of the replay from last night. I assume Romo is retiring and was on a one-day contract of some kind. Is that accurate?

[caja-dglh]

Got offered tickets on first plate side for $50 (pair) on opening day for the Cubs.

Normal Service Is Resumed, ursus arctos

[ursus arctos]

I saw some of the replay from last night. I assume Romo is retiring and was on a one-day contract of some kind. Is that accurate?

Yes

One day contract to allow him to retire as a Giant at home

dglh, they aren't that bad

[caja-dglh]

I suggested he added “catch ‘em while they don’t have a losing record!”

they moved quickly (he clearly underpriced them, but Thursday in Spring Break is a rough crowd)

[Ginger Yellow]

I just got a reminder from Ticketmaster about my tickets for the London game. Definitely not $50 for a pair.

[Incandenza]

Arizona-LAD on Thursday is a rare night opening day game at Dodger Stadium...which might be a good thing, because the rain is back and we're supposed to have thunderstorms Thursday during the day. Hopefully it clears out before gametime.

[danielmak]

Dodgers starting pitching has me worried. Pepiot got bombed last night. Exhibition is exhibition, but injuries, older age, and unproven isn't an ideal mix.

I heard some rumblings about re-adjusting some of the new rules prior to the season starting, but did not see anything specific.

[ursus arctos]

Pepiot did indeed look awful, and Roberts seemed intent on just leaving him out there.

The "tweaks" to the new rules are technical and quite minor

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...ules-memo-says

[Incandenza]

From what I've read Pepiot is the 5th starter until Gonsolin is ready to be in the rotation.

The Dodgers have once again signed Andrew Toles to a reserve contract so he can maintain his health insurance to help get treatment for his bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

[ursus arctos]

The Toles thing is profoundly decent of the club.

[danielmak]

I just got home from work. Wrigley was lit up tonight. I assume they're working into the night to get ready for tomorrow. It was cold tonight. Tomorrow is a low of 27 and high of 53. Probably will not feel good at the ballpark unless it actually reaches 53, is sunny, and there is no wind. Good luck with that combo. Haha.

[Ginger Yellow]

[Incandenza]

Interleague games on opening day should be illegal

https://twitter.com/TalkinYanks/status/1641491508334407696

[ursus arctos]

Word

[Incandenza]

We also have Philles v. Rangers and Jays v. Cardinals today (I do appreciate the avian showdown, however).

[Ginger Yellow]

Is there a story behind all the mountain man beards on the Cubs staff?

[Ginger Yellow]

The new guys seem to be doing pretty well so far.

[Incandenza]

Verlander on the IL with a muscle strain. Maybe the Mets are just trying to get all of the injuries out of the way now.

https://twitter.com/thebigm/status/1641527304957337606

[ursus arctos]

That'll do Cubs

That'll do

[danielmak]

Yankees-Red Sox games are going to be the true test of the pitch clock. The quantity of games between those two teams and the length of the games seemed to best testing fans to see if the fans really loved the game.

I just got home from work and put on Mets-Marlins (Alcantra v. Scherzer and both are still rolling in the 5th). I'll watch a little of this and take a break until the Dodgers game.

[ursus arctos]

BoSox lost their home opener to Baltimore 10-9 in only 3h10

[ursus arctos]

After six and a half innings, I am confidently predicting that both the Cardinals and Blue Jays will score a lot of runs this season while giving up almost as many.

[danielmak]

After six and a half innings, I am confidently predicting that both the Cardinals and Blue Jays will score a lot of runs this season while giving up almost as many.

But, in the words of Michael Kay relative to manageable and unmanageable time, were they able to keep the game at 3 hours or less (manageable) or did those runs lead to an unmanageable 3+ hours?

I think we are going to see a lot of runs this season. I think pitch clock is going to affect pitchers and hitters equally. Although pitchers have been blamed for the dead time, the batters taking a stroll between each pitch was brutal. So, this should even out. But I think the limited throws to first is going to affect pitch selection and runs will go up. That's not a bold prediction given increased stolen bases during spring training. And I saw three hits today during the Mets-Marlins game that would have easily been outs with a shift in place. That situation will also likely lead to increased runs. Given this last scenario, I worry a lot more about the Dodgers playing non-athletic guys at second and third.

[ursus arctos]

3h38 as Toronto won 10-9

Weird mix of slugfests (two 10-9s and an 11-7) and premier pitching performances (four shutouts plus the one Houston (in atrocious gold highlighted uniforms) is taking into the 8th against the ChiSox)

[Incandenza]

I saw this live

https://twitter.com/ben13porter/status/1641642241172045825?s=46&t=XWBbq7KwXGYszKQTewI5fw