Baseball 2022 (if it ever happens)

[Famous Mortimer]

So, as the owners of the teams seem intent on killing the sport, let's have another thread about the happenings around the hot stove, and eventually the season.

First up, "journalist" Jon Heyman (really, just a stooge for the owners, but you could say the same about a lot of baseball writers) had this interaction with a Twitterer called Garvsauce:



So committed was he to giving the owners' line (that they're sad at hearing fans rip on them) that he neglected to notice the person he was having the exchange with was Minnesota Twins catcher Mitchell Garver. Related: I am now a Mitchell Garver fan (provided he's not an idiot in some other way). 

[Herbert Ashe]

Owners were supposedly pushing for a 14 team play-off system, right? Last I saw was that the players were ok with 12, which is shitty enough, but 14? Fuck that.

Got the impression that universal DH is a given, which isn't much of a surprise. Banning the shift also meant to be in the air, which just feels a bit reactionary and micro-managementy

Whole thing in general has made me glad I've not been paying for mlb dot tv, but been finding games elsewhere. Maybe if minor leaguers start getting paid properly I'll reconsider.

[sevendaughters]

league is filled with some of the hottest and most interesting and most marketable players since they were all drugged out of their wit and they are finding ways to shit the bed left and right.

[Famous Mortimer]

The expanded playoffs is a terrible idea. I think a system like football (where the league and cup are entirely separate) would be a decent solution; I don't even really like the 2nd wild card. It's a decision made to maximise revenue, not improve the game.

Universal DH is garbage. All DHs are garbage.

Banning the shift...Jomboy Media had a video partly about this yesterday, and former major leaguer Trevor Plouffe (who I seem to agree with a lot) said he thinks it's a good idea because it increases offense. What you want is excitement, highlight reel plays, and the shift discourages both of those things. Same thing with a pitch clock. Not only does it increase the chance of action, it shows to fans drifting away from the sport that they care about making an entertaining product.

[sevendaughters]

I want entertainment in a logically satisfying sport: not being able to stick a fielder where you want is just daft. imo.

[Famous Mortimer]

I want entertainment in a logically satisfying sport: not being able to stick a fielder where you want is just daft. imo.

I think all sports have illogical rules - the offside rule, kickoff rules in the NFL, the bowling action in cricket, etc. - and they're in place, by and large, because there was a problem (real or perceived) with the way the sport was being played, and a desire by the people in charge to "improve" it.

I see your point, but I think ultimately the lack of offense partly caused by the shift will kill baseball; and lack of logic has never been a problem with sport rules. But I could be talking out of my arse, I suppose.

[Ferris]

Nope, banning the shift just to increase offense is like banning fastballs over 90mph or making outfielders play without sunglasses so they drop more fly balls. If you can't bunt, that's your problem but there's an easy solution if teams bothered with it.

I'm fine with ditching the DH because it's stupid but yeah I think it's gonna be everywhere soon because players like it and owners don't care.

12 team playoff is absurd, you're going to have teams with losing records getting a shot at the World Series which makes no sense at all. 10 should be the absolute limit really but it harms revenue so oh well.

[Ferris]

Crucially re: the shift, something happens when it is used effectively. The player doesn't immediately sit back down - they hit a ball into the gap, the misplaced third baseman has to dive and field the ball cleanly then whip it over to first.

The league wants more balls in play. This doesn't interfere with that at all.

No mention of robot umps either which is interesting. I suppose it doesn't fall under these negotiations but then why would some aspects of the practical game be included and some not?

[Famous Mortimer]

The issue of "hit it oppo / bunt it when the shift is on" has come up too, and the people in favour of getting rid of the shift say, quite reasonably I think, that it's close to impossible to hit inside pitches to the opposite field when they're coming in at 95+. If it were easy, then people would already be doing it.

If the shift didn't suppress hitting, then teams wouldn't do it. It does, and they do. Every advancement in the game in a long time has benefited pitchers over hitters, and it's just not as much fun (for me) to watch pitching-dominated games.

There are fewer hits per game now than there were in 1968, the season that was so bad that MLB reduced the height of the mound. Strikeouts have set all-time records in 13 straight seasons. Average pitching speed is still creeping up. I mean, if the current product is as entertaining as it's ever been to you, then good for you, and I understand why this might not mean anything. But I've only been a fan since 2008, and even in that time I've noticed the game becoming less interesting.

Tigers manager AJ Hinch said this last year:

"I have great concern that our sport has turned into a lack of offense and the strikeout-homer-walk Three True Outcomes is not our best entertainment product...We're trending in the wrong direction. It doesn't mean we can just snap our fingers and make a rule change or do one simple thing and all of a sudden we're going to turn into a more balanced sport."

[Famous Mortimer]

Looks like it's all over, so expect a flurry of deals in the next few days.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/03/mlb-mlbpa-reach-new-collective-bargaining-agreement.html

Small changes on both sides, so we'll see how things go.

[Ferris]

Saw this but been working all evening so not bad chance to dive into the details. Will have a look and see what I reckon!

[Gurke and Hare]

Bit behind the curve with the agreement hopefully being reached but yeah, banning the shift won't increase the number of balls being put in play. To do that needs to make striking people out/hitting home runs harder to do and that's nothing to do with the shift. Need to lower the mound, deaden the ball, or my favourite idea, have more stadia like the Polo Grounds with vast outfields. Chicks dig the long ball, especially when it leads to a triple.

[Herbert Ashe]

Sure, aside from ones relating to safety, all rules in sports are in a sense illogical (I'd say unnatural, as they are constraining basic physiological actions: kicking, running, yada yada). But philosophically I guess I feel like banning the shift (like the DH) is the sort of move that you get in sports like NFL or Rugby Union where players have much more constrained roles in a system, rather than something in football/hockey/basketball, where rules changes are often about balance. In that sense, I much prefer moving the mound if you want to deal with the offense/defense balance.

YMMV, but: I'm fine with 1-day fielding restrictions in cricket but would find leg/off side restrictions deeply weird (yeah, I know there are the bodyline ones). Hand-wavy as it is, banning the shift feels like this.

Anyway, 2022, can't wait to see what way the Mets will find to break Max Scherzer.

[EOLAN]

I think to increase hitting they should allow teams to use technology to get signals from the pitching team and communicate these to the batters.

[Herbert Ashe]

Also someone should tell them you can get special medicine to make you stronger, surprised they haven't tried that before.

[Ferris]

Scherzer went to the Mets? When did this happen?!

[Herbert Ashe]

Steve Cohen was having a tidy up in the autumn and found a few million dollars down the back of the couch, luckily he spent it on Scherzer not Andrew Yang.

Also traded for a starter from the Athletics last night. Got something of a rotation now, stoked to see how it'll fall apart this season.

[Ferris]

Saw stroman has fucked off which is a blessing in disguise really, he's got a ludicrous ego and probably not great in a clubhouse.

Jays are shopping around for a new third baseman - if we can trade for Jose Ramírez I think we'll be a properly good team for 2-3 years minimum, maybe longer. Apparently Cleveland need major league catchers and the Jays have tons (Jansen, McGuire, Kirk, and Moreno) so let's see. Bryant and Chapman are available too.

Exciting times to be a Jays fan! Can't wait to get cheated out of a pennant by the yankees/red sox/rays because the AL East is not fair.

[DocDaneeka]

Feeling good about the Orioles chances this year.

[Famous Mortimer]

Well, it's not exactly good news coming from the Cardinals. Rather than spend some of the money that came off their books after 2021, they picked up a couple of very low-end arms, and now there are injury worries around ace Jack Flaherty and perma-injured Alex Reyes.

Still, there's an independent league team just a quick drive over the state line (the Gateway Grizzlies), and the Savannah Bananas should have their season-long TV package for sale for a low price, so I'll have something to do when the Cardinals start sucking.

[Ferris]

The Savannah Bananas are wild - I'd watch their games if I could. Some good old fashioned barnstorming fun.

[Famous Mortimer]

The Savannah Bananas are wild - I'd watch their games if I could. Some good old fashioned barnstorming fun.

I'm pretty sure last year they did a thing where you could pay a few $ and stream all their games. I've just checked the website and can't find any evidence of it, but I'll ask. Plus, my old Bananas t-shirt is getting worn out, maybe time for another one.

And, they're playing a game in Kansas City in May! If I can find someone to go with (and can get hold of tickets, it's sold out) I'll go. It's a long, boring drive, though.

[Ferris]

Just remembered the Cards picked up Arenado.

...why? His frustration about being an elite player stuck in a non-competitive franchise was pretty obvious. I haven't heard a peep about him being traded - has he moved into literally the same role with St Louis?

If ownership has given up, the time to trade him is now. The longer you hold on to him competing away for no reason, the less value he has. See also: Joey Votto or Blackmon who stayed with the Rockies and is probably worth less than nothing at this point.

[Bernice]

Excited for this now. Mets rotation looks fucking tasty, so it will be interesting to see how they fuck it up. Universal DH makes sense, but I'll be sad to see the end of deGrom making a bid for silver slugger in the middle of pitching a shutout.

[Herbert Ashe]

Saw stroman has fucked off which is a blessing in disguise really, he's got a ludicrous ego and probably not great in a clubhouse.

Interesting, didn't get that vibe in 2021 but then again he ended up being the de facto ace (and was ending the year as a free agent), and he didn't play in 2020 so he wasn't in a position to fuck around.

Bit moot now anyway with signing of Bassitt.


Saddest thing about DH is no more of this:

[Famous Mortimer]

The Cardinals seem designed as a franchise to scrape into a wild card spot every year, and the common refrain from a section of fandom is "well, they're very rarely eliminated from the post-season until the last minute, if at all, so they're doing something right".

I think Arenado likes playing in front of a packed house every night, for a team that at least pretends to be interested in winning games. I think it's going to be interesting next year, when Wainwright and Molina, our two remaining links to the World Series of 2006 and 2011, retire, and Albert Pujols finally hangs them up, stopping any speculation that he's going to come back for a farewell tour.

[Ferris]

Yeah the universal DH is just bad. I like seeing what a "normal" non-batter looked like taking ABs because it drove home just how exceptional major league batters really are.

There was a Syndegaard (?) complete game shutout where he also hit a home run, the only run of the game, and won 1-0. That type of feat is bonkers and is now impossible.

Fake edit: May 2, 2019 against Cincinnati.

[Famous Mortimer]

The DH is bullshit. It's a thing with American sport, like how NFL teams have a guy who just punts (I think, I don't pay the closest attention). Hyper-specialisation seems like a bad thing.

EDIT: Looks like the Blue Jays are getting Matt Chapman from the As. Nice work Toronto, although if I were an Oakland fan, I'd be finding another sport to be interested in for a few years.

ANOTHER EDIT: Just got a reply from the Savannah Bananas twitter account, it looks like they'll be doing a season ticket for streaming games. Excellent news!

[Ferris]

It's not even the hyper-specialization I dislike (although that's part of it), it robs the game of tactics.

Do you leave your pitcher in to take an AB or lift them for a position player? If you lift them then who's gonna come in and then where does the reliever fit in? Maybe you get the guy in LF to play RF and one of the infielders to cover another position for an inning or two...

It's interesting. You get mad stuff like RA Dickey taking PH ABs and stroman coming in as a pinch runner. More importantly, it's fun, and baseball needs as much of that as possible.

[Gurke and Hare]

It's interesting. You get mad stuff like RA Dickey taking PH ABs and stroman coming in as a pinch runner. More importantly, it's fun, and baseball needs as much of that as possible.

Yeah. The DH is just going to be another bloke who'll either hit a homer or strike out. Sigh.

Still, from a Mets fan POV it sorts out the Dominic Smith issue.