MLB 2022 Regular Season Thread

[HarleyQuinn]

Looks like the hand injury to Sale wasn't bad as it appeared and he'll be back in 4 to 6 weeks.

But, when does Patriots training camp begin, @HarleyQuinn ?

Look it up yourself.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Real answer is "not soon enough".

(It's actually July 27th, which should coincide with Red Sox going back under .500)

 

[strummer]

Bryan Cranston was struck with a line drive during batting practice for the celeb softball game on Saturday Night. He was on the ground for 10-15 minutes but ended up being fine and played in the game.. and was ejected!

 

[Krankor]

Julio Rodriguez with 81 total homers tonight.

He came up just a little short to Juan Soto in the finals.

Albert Pujols actually had a pretty good showing tonight!

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Pujols caught fire late and had a productive showing, yeah. Fun HR Derby and Julio was a monster his first 2 rounds (62 HR total IIRC)

 

[alkeiper]

Happy 100th birthday today to Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1549459124068294656

Well. Gary Bettman had a hell of a thirty year run but he's finally be replaced as worst commissioner in US sports.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

A's Blackburn flies on rival Astros' charter to All-Star Game

Paul Blackburn hopped on a flight with the rival Houston Astros to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game.

www.nbcsports.com

It might not reflect in record on the field but Moneyball era thriftiness is back in Oakland!

 

[alkeiper]

There was a similar story with Juan Soto. Honestly, we're seeing airports and airlines cancelling flights for lack of staff so if teams aren't chartering planes to get one player to Los Angeles when other planes are going there I'm not exactly crying foul.

 

[alkeiper]

Doubt this is of interest to many but it's something I've been interested in. In 2020 MLB reshuffled the minors, eliminating the NY-Penn League and replacing it with the MLB Draft League. So in a place like Williamsport, what did that do to the quality of play? I compared the 2016 Williamsport Crosscutters to the 2021 team. With two draft cycles in the books, most of the players from the '21 team had an opportunity to get drafted. Here's how they stack up.

2016 team
12 players drafted 1-10th round (highest 3rd round)
5 players drafted 11-20
8 players drafted 21st round or later (this portion of the draft has been eliminated
8 players from team have reached majors

2021 team
0 players drafted 1-10th round
8 players drafted 11-20

Add to the draft numbers that the NY-Penn League also featured international signees, whereas the MLB Draft League is nearly entirely domestic. I think clearly the overall prospect level is down, and elite prospects are gone.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Doubt this is of interest to many but it's something I've been interested in. In 2020 MLB reshuffled the minors, eliminating the NY-Penn League and replacing it with the MLB Draft League. So in a place like Williamsport, what did that do to the quality of play? I compared the 2016 Williamsport Crosscutters to the 2021 team. With two draft cycles in the books, most of the players from the '21 team had an opportunity to get drafted. Here's how they stack up.

2016 team
12 players drafted 1-10th round (highest 3rd round)
5 players drafted 11-20
8 players drafted 21st round or later (this portion of the draft has been eliminated
8 players from team have reached majors

2021 team
0 players drafted 1-10th round
8 players drafted 11-20

Add to the draft numbers that the NY-Penn League also featured international signees, whereas the MLB Draft League is nearly entirely domestic. I think clearly the overall prospect level is down, and elite prospects are gone.

Could the elite prospects be starting out at higher levels or other leagues instead that might provide stiffer competition?

 

[alkeiper]

Could the elite prospects be starting out at higher levels or other leagues instead that might provide stiffer competition?

They have no reason to participate in the draft league. They play for their high school or colleges and when they’re drafted they either go to low A or if they’re not ready for that the complex leagues in Arizona and Florida.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Is there anything to differentiate the Draft League from normal collegiate summer baseball besides the vague affiliation with MLB (which a lot of summer leagues already have)? Pay? More games?

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Red Sox are down 27 to 4 but I looked up when Pats training camp happened so I don’t need to pester @HarleyQuinn anymor at least

 

[treble]

The Jays aren't going to set the MLB record

 

[The Thread Killer]

The Jays aren't going to set the MLB record

The record is 30 runs, right? Texas once beat Baltimore 30-3? The Jays set a franchise record at least, I guess. That was one of the craziest games I have ever seen.

 

[alkeiper]

The record is 30 runs, right? Texas once beat Baltimore 30-3? The Jays set a franchise record at least, I guess. That was one of the craziest games I have ever seen.

That’s the post-1900 record. Still can’t believe I’ve been to one game at Camden Yards in my life and it was that one.

 

[Krankor]

Some all time bad defense and effort from rookie Jarren Duran. I know the guy's career is just getting started, but damn that's a hard play to come back from. Good awareness by Tapia to turn on the jets when he realized the ball wasn't going to get caught.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1550639443262021637

 

[HarleyQuinn]

That play seems to have summed up the Red Sox as of late as they got slaughtered by the Yankees by double digits in multiple games recently too. There's a lot of speculation about them getting blown up e.g. J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, and others going on the move and I'm to the point where I'm okay with that.

 

[alkeiper]

When the ball dropped I think Verdugo was closest and probably running already so I don’t fault Duran for standing there. But it looked awfully bad.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

That play seems to have summed up the Red Sox as of late as they got slaughtered by the Yankees by double digits in multiple games recently too. There's a lot of speculation about them getting blown up e.g. J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, and others going on the move and I'm to the point where I'm okay with that.

The AL East has potential to be monstrous for the next decade. If Fenway Sports Group doesn't want to be consistent with spending (green?) monstrous amounts (sorry) of money every year then frig it, they might as well just do a full blown rebuild.

I'm really kind of tired of the back & forth "Are we a contender? Are we rebuilding?" approach that the Boston Red Sox have taken last decade but they still won two World Series (and made playoffs as often as they've missed it) so Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners fans of the world rightfully want to strangle me for these type of complaints.

 

[Hawk 34]

Not just for those comments but it didn’t help your cause.

 

[treble]

I think the biggest mistake Duran made was not being demonstrative enough when he lost the ball in the sky. He deked the whole ballpark out into thinking he knew where it was, if Verdugo knew he had lost it he could have backed him up sooner. Not that it would have made much of a difference, maybe he holds him to a triple, but it wouldn't have looked so bad.

It gave me a real good laugh, at least.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

So close to 28-3

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

MLB struggling to get attendance back to pre-pandemic levels

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Blame it on lingering effects of the pandemic, resentment over the lockout or economic fears.

apnews.com

MLB attendance so far this season is NOT GOOD. NINE teams' attendance have dropped more than 15%

 

[909]

MLB struggling to get attendance back to pre-pandemic levels

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Blame it on lingering effects of the pandemic, resentment over the lockout or economic fears.

apnews.com

MLB attendance so far this season is NOT GOOD. NINE teams' attendance have dropped more than 15%

It costs too much. That's the problem.

 

[Hawk 34]

There’s also 81 games to attend.

There’s no urgency and when your team almost immediately torpedos, you stop putting off “I’ll see a game later” and later becomes you skipped the whole season.

For a family, there’s almost no return on your investment at a MLB game.

 

[alkeiper]

My first thought is the lockout really hurt advance sales, season tickets, group sales, etc.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

There’s also 81 games to attend.

There’s no urgency and when your team almost immediately torpedos, you stop putting off “I’ll see a game later” and later becomes you skipped the whole season.

For a family, there’s almost no return on your investment at a MLB game.

For the Red Sox Game on Monday vs. Cleveland to break it down price-wise for a family of 4...

$72 x 4 Tickets Grandstand 16 RF Side = $288
Fenway Parking = $63 or $80
3 Hot Dogs + 2 Beers = $37
Total Cost: At least $388 assuming any souvenirs are not purchased (T-Shirt, Ball Cap, etc.)
7:10 Start Time + a closer game-time of 4 Hours = Filing out around 11 PM. Wait in the parking lot for 1+ hour trying to get out afterward. Arrival time means you could literally be at the ballpark for 6 hours at least.

Or you could buy a souvenir off a website, get a package of Fenway Franks, watch the game on TV, and save yourself like $310 instead.

 

[909]

For the Red Sox Game on Monday vs. Cleveland to break it down price-wise for a family of 4...

$72 x 4 Tickets Grandstand 16 RF Side = $288
Fenway Parking = $63 or $80
3 Hot Dogs + 2 Beers = $37
Total Cost: At least $388 assuming any souvenirs are not purchased (T-Shirt, Ball Cap, etc.)
7:10 Start Time + a closer game-time of 4 Hours = Filing out around 11 PM. Wait in the parking lot for 1+ hour trying to get out afterward. Arrival time means you could literally be at the ballpark for 6 hours at least.

Yeah man and how long does someone have to work to make 388 bucks? The current rate of society and pricing for family outings is totally unsustainable.