MLB Discussion

[YouTwo]

I was very skeptical about the new HR Derby format, but for me it made it so much more exciting.  Every time up was so much more important because nothing carried over. 

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

I just don't see how the Players Association would ever agree to that.  I believe I mentioned earlier that after the initial Braun PED issue he got lucky on I was calling for the Brewers to try and void his deal.  I'd be all about enacting a voiding of contracts.  Hell I'm all for getting crazy strict with their punishments.  Void contracts would be great I just don't want to fathom what sort of concession the Players Association would want for this.

 

I would strip prior MVPs and such from players caught for PEDs.  When I bought up banning players from All Star appearances for PEDs it wasn't as much to punish the player.  All Star games should be to showcase everything right with the sport.  I don't want the games to be tainted by players who have made a mockery of the game.

 

With that said it's just sports so in reality nothing that happens there affects my life so I shouldn't spend time thinking about it.

 

I dont get the extreme punishment for PED use in MLB when no one cares when players fail tests in other sports.  There have been 6? players in the past month who have been suspended in the NFL for failing substance tests... no one cares.  its just amazing.  

 

I dont get how fan voted players like Peralta, Cruz, Grandal arent mentioned as villains of the All Star game.  Bochy knows, as a coach who has won 3 WS in the last 5 years, that winning the All Star game matters, and selected Braun (who is having a pretty great year) to help him win.  

[whoshotthefrog]

I dont get the extreme punishment for PED use in MLB when no one cares when players fail tests in other sports.  There have been 6? players in the past month who have been suspended in the NFL for failing substance tests... no one cares.  its just amazing. 

 

 

My brother and I talk about this all the time. The players are cheating in the same way but the punishment and the outcry is completely different. 

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Brewers farm system has 4 players in the all star game today (braun, fielder, escobar, cain) pretty cool to see even if only braun is still with milwaukee.

[catalinacaper]

Brewers farm system has 4 players in the all star game today (braun, fielder, escobar, cain) pretty cool to see even if only braun is still with milwaukee.

 

My hometown is the Class A Advanced Brewers affiliate (and a place where a lot of current/retired MLB stars live or grew up - Prince went to high school across town and his dad had a mansion right next to my grade school). Long story short, it was cool to see how many all stars I've seen when they were in A-ball, going to Manatees games as kid.

[abovetheearth]

why are they booing the cards?

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

why are they booing the cards?

Franchise hacked the astros to steal secrets

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Also cincy is a division rival

[just a normal guy kevin]

Cardinals and Reds are division rivals and have a history of hating each others's players.

[abovetheearth]

I wish I knew about that rivalry. I love a good rivalry.

[just a normal guy kevin]

I wish I knew about that rivalry. I love a good rivalry.

 

 

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=reds+cardinals+brawl+2010&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[stl_ben]

Franchise hacked the astros to steal secrets

Yes they hate the team because of one dumb worker who was already fired....or maybe it's because they are tired of not winning the division ....

[just a normal guy kevin]

People hate the Cardinals because they are the best, classiest team and no one can beat them.

[maneatingcow]

I dont get the extreme punishment for PED use in MLB when no one cares when players fail tests in other sports.  There have been 6? players in the past month who have been suspended in the NFL for failing substance tests... no one cares.  its just amazing.  

 

I dont get how fan voted players like Peralta, Cruz, Grandal arent mentioned as villains of the All Star game.  Bochy knows, as a coach who has won 3 WS in the last 5 years, that winning the All Star game matters, and selected Braun (who is having a pretty great year) to help him win.  

 

My mentality goes across all sports.  If Jarrett Bush was still a Packer I'd be calling for him to get cut.  Heck if Aaron Rodgers got caught for PEDs I'd be calling for the Packers to trade him.  Baseball is what I know best though, at least for now.  Becoming a bigger basketball fan with the Bucks team actually coming together.  Ever since Giannis got drafted I've been gravitating there more.

 

I also specifically call out Braun more than others because of his whole PED fiasco was just ridiculous.  Nelson Cruz should have been banned.  Yasmani Grandal should have been banned.  Jhonny Peralta should have been banned.  

 

I guess we are at a point where theres no point in arguing further.  We don't see eye to eye and thats fine.  In reality pro sports doesn't affect my life at all so I don't care to much what happens.

[catalinacaper]

I absolutely can't stand Jhonny Peralta, and I can't figure out why.

I really don't like that guys like those three can miss half a season for steroids and then be celebrated for great offensive output immediately afterwards.. but something about Peralta being celebrated as a great shortstop in particular kills me.

It might just be that when you see a guy struggle to be league average for half his career and then suddenly he figures it out one day but is caught juicing years into his rebirth... no trust that it's legitimate.

[thebiglebowski]

but something about Peralta being celebrated as a great shortstop in particular kills me.

 

This is a comment about his defense? He's become an above average defender. Most people don't attribute defensive improvement to roids (if anything, you could argue that the two are in opposition -- bulkier bodies get in the way of making defensive plays). Gotta give the guy credit for a pretty significant improvement over the second half of his career.

[thebiglebowski]

Shipping some records to an MA address on Lowell Street.

 

That can't be a coincidence, right?

[sacredheart]

This is a comment about his defense? He's become an above average defender. Most people don't attribute defensive improvement to roids (if anything, you could argue that the two are in opposition -- bulkier bodies get in the way of making defensive plays). Gotta give the guy credit for a pretty significant improvement over the second half of his career.

 

 

Canseco claimed they helped him on defense, made his initial jumps faster, his twitch muscles quicker, and helped his arm. So one could say that they helped Peralta defensively.

[catalinacaper]

Peralta is really good at positioning and makes routine plays at a high percentage. Helped by a true above average 3B glove. There's been a ton of debate about whether he's punking defense metrics.

[nick6ten]

I'd assume they make you buy everything (right?), so it really doesn't matter if they mark the derby $50 and the game $200. It's a few hundred bucks for the package.

As a season ticket holder, you get the "opportunity" to buy a strip of tickets. I think it cost $420 for our section. That included All Star Sunday, Workout Day/HR Derby, and the All Star Game, also 2 tickets to fanfest and a game program. They do the same thing for playoff tickets, because I'm a season ticket holder, I get to buy playoff tickets, but you have to buy all possible home games up front, and then you get refunded for games not played. It's a little goofy, and as a Reds fan hasn't panned out.

 

The entire weekend was a blast. The futures game was just ok, but everything after that was excellent. Clearly, the Home Run Derby was the most exciting. Seeing Bench, Morgan, Larkin and Rose on field, and then Bench, Aaron, Mays and Koufax was probably the highlight of the actual All Star Game. It was a good game, but not great.

 

Also I saw Marlins Man at fanfest.

[Stravinsky]

People hate the Cardinals because they are the best, classiest team and no one can beat them.

 

Classy people don't spend their time boasting about how they are better than everyone else, or how classy they are.

[sacredheart]

As a season ticket holder, you get the "opportunity" to buy a strip of tickets. I think it cost $420 for our section. That included All Star Sunday, Workout Day/HR Derby, and the All Star Game, also 2 tickets to fanfest and a game program. They do the same thing for playoff tickets, because I'm a season ticket holder, I get to buy playoff tickets, but you have to buy all possible home games up front, and then you get refunded for games not played. It's a little goofy, and as a Reds fan hasn't panned out.

 

The entire weekend was a blast. The futures game was just ok, but everything after that was excellent. Clearly, the Home Run Derby was the most exciting. Seeing Bench, Morgan, Larkin and Rose on field, and then Bench, Aaron, Mays and Koufax was probably the highlight of the actual All Star Game. It was a good game, but not great.

 

Also I saw Marlins Man at fanfest.

 

 

Glad you had a great time at it. Must have been awesome seeing Frazier do that in his home crowd.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

The Brewers seem to have a half-dozen rotation prospects, counting Jungmann who were/are at AA or higher:
Taylor Jungmann - who may well be a #1 
Tyler Cravy - posted some quality starts - and got some bad luck.
Brent Suter - 1.94 ERA at Biloxi, only ONE HOMER ALLOWED ALL SEASON!!!!
Hobbs Johnson - 3 HR allowed in 78 IP, and decent K and BB rates
Jorge Lopez - looks like he put it together
Tyler Wagner - 2.87 ERA at Biloxi

 

also, that AZL roster.. holy shit.  Its probably the most exciting group of prospects all together since Weeks/Fielder/Braun/Hardy in the early 2000's.  The new kids from this years draft (Clark, Orimoloye) on top of Lara and Segovia...  

 

With the Brewers minor league system rapidly improving the high end prospects would put the Brewers in a good position to be competing in 2-3 years again.  Hopefully the Orlando Arcia turns into the stud SS that I think he will be.  The Brewers have a nice stable of lower upside prospects in the middle minors, Tyrone Taylor, Reed and a nice stable of high upside Lara, Gatewood, Harrison, etc.  

[sacredheart]

Jungmann as a #1? He was never a high ranked prospect, he hit #70 before 2012 season, and then dropped off all lists after that. He got lit up in AAA this year, walked a mess and saw his strikeouts decrease there as well. He is also 25, so he isnt projected to get a whole let better than he is right now. He is doing good ERA wise in the majors, but his FIP is more than a full run higher, and it is an incredibly small sample size from a pitcher that the batters havent seen before. Suter is another 25 year old pitcher who should be dominating in AAA at this point in his career, not in AA. His walk rate is still high and has an unsustainable HR ratio. They both will be back end rotation fodder.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Okay?  Again, #1 for Milwaukee is not #1 for all teams, and I dont really put much stock in anyones "prospect rankings", its all subjective on who scouts/analysts see more than others.  They do not spend equal time with all leagues/teams/players.   AAA for Milwaukee is in Colorado Springs, which.. is almost as bad as Albuquerque or Fresno in the PCL in terms of pitcher performance.  Jungmann also completely changed how he threw two pitches after finishing college at Texas, winning the top award for NCAA players that year, and getting drafted in the 1st round.  Sometimes players just bloom late, and Milwaukee has a history of letting arms settle in a league per year, unless they're really performing well (Wagner went from AA to MLB for a start earlier this summer).