The Syndicate

They take the "color" in "color commentators" seriously

Especially Keith Hernandez, he's a character. I grew up with Ralph Kiner and Lindsay Nelson. They were a bit more sedate but only marginally so. I might be biased but I think we have the most entertaining announcers in baseball.

Most of the NL teams I have watched have had at least decent announcers, and some other noteworthy clubs are the Cubs, the Pirates, and the Cardinals. The Marlins' announcers (and everything about their TV broadcast) were terrible. The Orioles broadcasters were quite boring, but they're the only AL team I remember seeing this season.

But I would agree, the Mets had the most colorful broadcasters I've heard this season.

The Cubs are now locked into a playoff spot, so Back to the Future Part 2 could still be half right!

G-Man wrote:The Cubs are now locked into a playoff spot, so Back to the Future Part 2 could still be half right!

Wouldn't that be something? I'm not even a Cubs fan and I hope it happens.

The red sox waited until the final two months to be entertaining this year, but i'm alright with this

Yay Postseason

Tell the Mets to stop making the Reds look bad.

Congrats though. That is awesome.

The only teams I do not feel inclined to root for in contention for this year's post season are the Yankees (obvious) and Dodgers (also obvious). I expect to be pleased by any result in October, but if I had to choose any two teams I'd root for the Blue Jays in the AL and the Cubs in the NL. But I'll be rooting for no individual player harder than Adrian Beltre.

I always root National League first (except Braves, I will root for Satans Minions first), the Mariners & Twins (the closest thing I had to local teams when I lived in Montana).

But yeah, Mets first, then Cubs.

Flying cars may have been far-fetched but it's 2015 and we've got hoverboards, so why not a Cubs World Series win?

I will root for the Cubs in the NLCS regardless.

But if the Mets make the World Series, I'll be happy if they win.

I will always root NL, unless the Mariners are playing, they're my second team. But if the Mets don't make it I would love to see the Cubs win.

G-Man wrote:Flying cars may have been far-fetched but it's 2015 and we've got hoverboards, so why not a Cubs World Series win?

YES!

I'm not a huge Cubs fan because they're in the same division as the Reds, but I really want this to happen. Especially because of Back to the Future II, but even without that it'd be nice to see the Cubs end their World Series drought.

What about those two Texas teams that have a chance to advance today?

Metalmarsh89 wrote:What about those two Texas teams that have a chance to advance today?

That'd be nice too, and I'm actively rooting for them over their opponents, but I won't be heartbroken by either loss.

I haven't become particularly attached to either team yet, but I'd still root for them over most other teams.

The 7th inning of Toronto/Texas is the only inning of baseball anyone ever needs to watch.

Sloonei wrote:The 7th inning of Toronto/Texas is the only inning of baseball anyone ever needs to watch.

I saw that some wild shit happened. I can't wait to see the replays of what went down.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:

Sloonei wrote:The 7th inning of Toronto/Texas is the only inning of baseball anyone ever needs to watch.

I saw that some wild shit happened. I can't wait to see the replays of what went down.

The top half was pretty crazy and then the bottom half just blew it out of the water. That was intense, I sense a new rivalry for at least a couple years.

So far the Mets are on fire, and except for that one blip that Granderson pulled out for him, Syndergaard seems really on his game.

*Crosses fingers & toes*

Poor Cubbies.

Still early though.

Who is this Daniel Murphy guy?

So who's going to take it? NYM or KC? Predictions?

The team that eats inside fastballs for breakfast.

Great to see a bunch of Reds pitchers killing it in the World Series... for the Royals.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:Great to see a bunch of Reds pitchers killing it in the World Series... for the Royals.

I know, right? I don't even know that much about baseball (but I'm voluntarily learning), but I saw Cueto on the Royals and was like... 'Hey! That's our guy!'

I'm going to predict a Mets win tonight. Hopefully it happens.

It would be nice; Mets fans don't want to see the other team celebrating at Citifield (I still so want to say Shea Stadium ).

S~V~S wrote:FUCK THE YANKEES!!!

That is all

LMAO Preach!


So, clearly, I'm late getting to this thread. But... maybe we'll have another one next season I can participate in. Although I did inherit my fandom, I am now a die hard Oakland A's fan. (So, that should tell you a lot about me... I like to start with nothing, work really hard, and then get bitterly disappointed. )

I'm about 5 years into my fandom, and am a major stats nerd. My main gripe is that I don't think statistics are tracked or reported accurately enough. So I have developed my own extremely nerdy way of tracking the statistics I think are important. For example, I prefer to keep track of "called balls" and "called strikes", while also keeping an actually accurate record of what the pitch really was. I also highly value walks, and get super excited for a 10 pitch at bat. I like to try to guess what pitch is going to be thrown next (which is extremely easy with a pitcher like Bartolo Colon - damn I love that happy fat man so much! and I miss him too). I enjoy the subtleties. Which, let's face it, is important... as an A's fan.

indiglo wrote:

S~V~S wrote:FUCK THE YANKEES!!!

That is all

LMAO Preach!


So, clearly, I'm late getting to this thread. But... maybe we'll have another one next season I can participate in. Although I did inherit my fandom, I am now a die hard Oakland A's fan. (So, that should tell you a lot about me... I like to start with nothing, work really hard, and then get bitterly disappointed. )

I'm about 5 years into my fandom, and am a major stats nerd. My main gripe is that I don't think statistics are tracked or reported accurately enough. So I have developed my own extremely nerdy way of tracking the statistics I think are important. For example, I prefer to keep track of "called balls" and "called strikes", while also keeping an actually accurate record of what the pitch really was. I also highly value walks, and get super excited for a 10 pitch at bat. I like to try to guess what pitch is going to be thrown next (which is extremely easy with a pitcher like Bartolo Colon - damn I love that happy fat man so much! and I miss him too). I enjoy the subtleties. Which, let's face it, is important... as an A's fan.

Mhmm, a woman after my own heart. Nothing is more exciting to me (as a Red's fan) then seeing Joey Votto step to the plate. He might launch one to left-center on the first pitch. He might bloop one over the shortstop, and he might see 10 pitches and walk. He also might spit in the umpire's face on a called third strike.

But with everybody leaving the team this off-season via trades. Votto and Phillips are the only thing I know I can look forward to next year. Still, they are both worth watching.

Spring Training is almost here

http://mlb.mlb.com/springtraining/

Metalmarsh can edit the title of his first post of this thread and this can become a general MLB thread. I'm starting ones for the NBA an NHL. I'm not sure we need new threads for every season. I could be wrong though.

I will do it.

I'm not a fan of generic topics myself. I think specific ones are more fun even if it means they have an expiration date. It just makes it easier to figure out what the current discussion is about. But it probably doesn't matter. #wrongplacetotalkaboutthis #whocares

True, but too many threads make things harder to find

Pitchers and catchers reporting soon!! (Ours report Saturday. Hence why I am doing a green & gold manicure this week. Gotta support the team. )

When do yours report?

Any particular excitement you have over this coming season? Any worries?

I am concerned for our boy Coco Crisp. This will likely be his last season, and his body is slowly falling apart. I really want to see him play as much as possible before he has to retire. So I hope his neck keeps it together for at least a few games.

I am becoming more and more isolated in my baseball nerdery every season. None of my friends even care about sports and I'm just sitting here obsessively checking MLBtraderumors and other baseball sites every day just to hold me over until opening day.

I'm very excited about this season for the Sox, but then I was also excited last year as well. The pair of big free agents they brought in this year (David Price + Chris Young) are infinitely more exciting than Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, both of whom I felt would be disasters from the start. Plus, the young talent on the team took HUGE steps forward last year. Betts and Bogaerts both look like future superstars, and Eduardo Rodriguez has the potential to develop into a #1 or 2 starter. Their bullpen, at least on paper, looks awesome. But then the Yankees are just sitting there across the division like "so what?" Thankfully they don't really have anything but an ancient lineup in front of three ridiculously dominant relievers.
Plus it's Papi's last season so there's that.

I'm also a Cubs fan at this point. Outside of David Ortiz, Jon Lester is my favorite Sox player from the last decade so I was gonna root for him no matter where he went. When he went to Chicago I didn't mind the added incentive to root for the poor Cubbies. They've got the best roster in the league this season and if they don't win in the next couple years I'll be disappointed to say the least.

The AL Central is the most exciting division. All of those teams can and should be competitive. I wouldn't be surprised if they all finished with at least 80 wins, assuming good health for everyone.
The Diamondbacks will be a flop, probably. They added some great pitching but have no lineup to back them up. I expect the Giants to run away with that division.
i'll stop now.

Chris Young and Jon Lester both were on the A's not too long ago. I liked them both when we had them.


My favorite was when we had Bartolo Colon. He's back with the Mets now, but damn do I miss him. I love that big ol' dude, I really do. One of my favorite things in baseball is watching a veteran play their position. I cannot even express the joy I get from watching a veteran play their position, seriously. There are no words. We had one rookie pitcher who Colon took under his wing a little bit when he was with us. The rook told a great story about Colon. Apparently, Colon watched the rookie pitch a few times during practice, and then walked up to him - he told him to move 2 of his fingers to different positions. Boom, the rookie had a brand new pitch added to his repertoire. Serious goosebumps!!!


We have so much turn over some years... my doctor once complained that sometimes you feel like you're cheering for laundry. He's a baseball fan too, and sometimes we spend more of an appointment talking baseball than my health. I love that.


The only other person who I can talk seriously baseball with is my better half. Other than that, most of the people I know are Yankees fans. And you just can't talk to Yankees fans.


So let the nerdery abound! I am that nerd who shows up to a baseball game with my own self-designed score sheet and a pen.

Agreed re: veterans. Adrian Beltre is my favorite player in baseball regardless of team for that reason. He is baseball incarnate.
We had Colon here for half a season a while back, I regret that he wasn't here long enough to make a big impression. It was also the last year before his career rebounded, so we all thought he was done then. And now he's still there, holding things down at the back of the league's best rotation.
I was blown away by the Mets last post season. After not watching them all season I assumed they just made the playoffs because the Nats choked and the rest of the division was and is terrible, but damn those dudes can pitch.

For me it is Doc Gooden & Darryl Strawberry. Old school junkies, true, but imagine what they could have done sober. Not unlike Babe Ruth~ can you imagine what a healthy, sober Babe could have done?

I am glad to have Colon back, and wish him a good season. It is possibly his last, and I am glad he is spending it in Queens.

Babe Ruth was most likely a baseball playing time traveler, tbh

I think it was last season? Colon got an RBI single. He was huffing & puffing his way to 1st, and laughing sooooo hard! It was such an awesome moment to re-watch. You can just tell he's loving what he's doing, and trying his best, but not worrying about impressing anyone. He's so happy. It is sad that it's likely his last season. I always hope that dudes like that will come back in some kind of capacity - pitching coach, or whatever. But it's like, the game still needs them, you know?

I also worry about the young pitchers coming up. Tommy Johns are pretty much standard procedures now, and that just wasn't always the case. I feel like they push them too hard to throw heat, rather than just perfecting technique. Not that none of them have good technique, but the emphasis is on speed more than what is necessary. A good pitcher is a good pitcher - yes, having heat can come in handy, but I do think it is hard on their bodies, and they may not last as long because of it.

I would love to know what a healthy/sober Babe Ruth could do! I feel like I could have gotten aggravated watching him hack away at just about every pitch... but had he been healthy/sober, he may have had even more control of the plate. Even so, his stats are his stats... and they are not bad stats.

can't wait for beisbol to make a triumphant return! so excited. it's just such a darn nice thing to be around.

cheering on them asstros from afar... after the state of absolute shittiness they existed in for pretty much my entire adolescence (from something like 2008 to 2014 while i lived in the area we went to approximately fifteen stros games - i remember them winning twice), them being good all of a sudden feels like... this is wrong! THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING! whose souls were sold for this to happen?!

i fully expect this to not turn out well for my expectations (or my heart), but this is a nice ride to be on. same feeling cubs fans have, i imagine. that's going to be a real fun team to watch this year. also looking out for the orioles - they're at least going to be exciting to watch this year, whether they flame out or manage to turn into something.

baseball stadiums are so darn beautiful, too. just nice things to look at. even the rays have that crazy cool touch tank full of... rays

what's yalls favorite semi obscure players? mine is kelly johnson.. he was so good for the barves when i was a kid

Favorite semi-obscure player? I'd go Bronson Arroyo. I loved watching that guy pitch when he played for the Reds. He was never overpowering, but he had like 30 different arm angles, and would throw any pitch from any of those angles. He had a pretty amazing leg kick as well. Only guy I've seen lately that will still kick above his head before delivering.

Plus he was decent with the bat, and could lay a bunt down at will. He also won a Gold Glove. So basically, he could do it all.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:Favorite semi-obscure player? I'd go Bronson Arroyo. I loved watching that guy pitch when he played for the Reds. He was never overpowering, but he had like 30 different arm angles, and would throw any pitch from any of those angles. He had a pretty amazing leg kick as well. Only guy I've seen lately that will still kick above his head before delivering.

Plus he was decent with the bat, and could lay a bunt down at will. He also won a Gold Glove. So basically, he could do it all.

Bronson is also one of my favorites. I loved him over a decade ago when he was with the Sox. He was younger and less of the crafty veteran type, but still had all the quirks that he's had his whole career. Let's never forget that it was him plunking A-rod which started that famous brawl midseason in 2004 (is that famous everywhere, or just here?) He and Ortiz are the only remaining active players from that team now.

I don't know about the brawl, but I do know about the time he tried to tag A-Rod out near first, and A-Rod knocking the ball out of his glove.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:I don't know about the brawl, but I do know about the time he tried to tag A-Rod out near first, and A-Rod knocking the ball out of his glove.

That too. That was in the ALCS in '04, game 6 or 7. I remember the immediate deflating feeling when it happened, and then the comical joy when they showed the replay and how obvious it was that A-rod is just a huge idiot. One of my favorite baseball memories was his face when they called him out.

And because I never get tired of 2004 memories, this is the brawl:


It sparked what went on to be the craziest and most intense regular season game in a long while, ending with a Bill Mueller walk-off home run off Mariano Rivera, if my memory is correct. It's seen as the game that kicked off their incredible run that ultimately won them the World Series and was the best thing to ever happen in sports.
Just because it makes me happy:

I don't need Instant Replay to tell me A-Rod is a huge idiot

And even though he was a Yankee, I always had a soft spot for Bubba Crosby. He was a scrappy little bastard. My husband was a Yankees fan, and I even found myself rooting for them a time or two when they had Bubba.

And the Mets history is a litany of semi-obscurity, lol. I love all those dopey losers <3

Yeah, I miss Bronson Arroyo.

In fact, I miss all the Reds. We've got Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto, and that's about the only consistent part of our team from last year.

I'm pumped that baseball is only 4 days away now!

As for my Reds, I have several hopes/expectations this season, and none of them involve anything remotely related to contending (we probably won't until 2019 or 2020 so it's going to be a long, dark road ). But they are:

1) Price figuring out the rotation as the season goes along, and how many young pitchers we have actually start over the entire season. Our rotation to start the season consists of DeSclafani, Iglesias, Finnegan, Simon, and no clue (Melville is the name I've seen thrown around most often for now). Bailey is still recovering from TJ and probably won't be ready for the first month of the season. Lamb is still having back issues that will keep him out until mid to late April. Lorenzen's timeline I'm not sure on yet but he won't be ready for a few more weeks either. I feel like I remember reading recently that Disco isn't going to be the opening day starter, which befuddles me because he's probably the best option we have. But oh well.

2) Developing the small army of young arms we have. With all the pitchers we've acquired from our trades over the last season and a half, we could easily crush the record for most different pitchers used in a starting rotation by any team in a single season. While that is certainly no indication of a team that will be contending for a World Series or even the playoffs, it will be interesting to see which guys look to project as long-term starters vs. bullpen arms. Lord knows we are sorely lacking on both. Not to mention some more decent pieces could become trade chips later on for when we are contending (for the younger guys) or for guys who could rebound and give us some decent prospects in trades before the All-Star Break this season (looking at you, Big Pasta )

3) Hoping Bruce rebounds this season, so that we get more out of him when we trade him in June or July to a contender.

4) What we get out of the Bruce and Cozart trades. I think those are the two that are most certain to happen. No need to keep Cozy Bear when his enormous defensive value will greatly benefit a contender. I'm just hoping he can manage to hang around .260 and have a decent OBP to raise his value even more.

5) This one is a pipe dream, but I would absolutely love to see us actually make an attempt to trade Votto. Yes, such a move would indicate this team is literally going to strip out every valuable part for prospects. And yes, we would certainly have to eat some amount of his contract. But if you are going to go all-in on a rebuild (I don't care what Jocketty says publicly about this being a "retooling" effort, it is a full rebuild), you have to at least entertain trading the face of your franchise. After his season last year, this year may be the last where Votto's value is at or near it's peak. Any large-market contending team would be hungry and give up a small army of blue-chip level prospects for him. I just think it's BS that this front office sits on their hands and goes "Well he has a full no-trade clause, so obviously since it didn't work out with Phillips, it won't work out in this case! " Given how much more revenue is probably going to flow to the Reds and the league as a whole of the upcoming CBA, Votto's contract may end up being closer to market value rather than an albatross. So if we are able to convince him to be traded to a contender, then I think this is an avenue well worth exploring. You can't hurt anything just by trying, right?