Around Baseball 2024

[glory]

Entertainment bias (or lack of entertainment bias)

 

The Jays are decent but they are about as fun to watch as the f***ing Rockies so a lot of people think of them as inept

 

I swear the 2023 and 2024 brand of Blue Jays baseball has been close to the worst I have ever actively watched, and that includes every team in the last 19/20 years. Granted, some of those years were casual watching because there were no expectations of success.

 

Agreed completely. The 2023-24 Jays are not only not fun, but they are also incredibly frustrating to watch even when they win. I actually enjoyed 2022 for the most part (the Raimel Tapia man crush by management aside). A team that can mash is far more enjoyable to watch, and it helped that the team had far more personality. The 2023-24 teams are like devoid of any personality at all. A team full of Randal Grichuk's and Whit Merrifield's. I believe it was opening day 2022 where the Jays went down like 7-0 and came back and won. Not only did they win, but you got the sense early on that they were never out of the game. If the 2023-24 Jays go down 2-0 in the 1st, it feels like the game is out of reach.

 

Basically, if the 2023-24 teams were more fun to watch, with players that we would long associate as Jays, then maybe people would not be as hard on the FO. But boring and frustrating? Ugh.

[Terminator]

Well that thing is happening again where we can't hit with RISP and it's not just boring it's infuriating. We are hitting close to league average overall, but almost dead last with RISP.

 

Like last year, that should normalize and the team will be watchable again.

[Stangstag]

Agreed completely. The 2023-24 Jays are not only not fun, but they are also incredibly frustrating to watch even when they win. I actually enjoyed 2022 for the most part (the Raimel Tapia man crush by management aside). A team that can mash is far more enjoyable to watch, and it helped that the team had far more personality. The 2023-24 teams are like devoid of any personality at all. A team full of Randal Grichuk's and Whit Merrifield's. I believe it was opening day 2022 where the Jays went down like 7-0 and came back and won. Not only did they win, but you got the sense early on that they were never out of the game. If the 2023-24 Jays go down 2-0 in the 1st, it feels like the game is out of reach.

 

Basically, if the 2023-24 teams were more fun to watch, with players that we would long associate as Jays, then maybe people would not be as hard on the FO. But boring and frustrating? Ugh.

 

I have ZERO confidence in this current team coming back from even a 3-0 deficit.

 

In hindsight, getting rid of both Teo and Lourdes in the same offseason was probably a bad idea. Those two always seemed to be in the middle of those huge comeback games.

[Stangstag]

Well that thing is happening again where we can't hit with RISP and it's not just boring it's infuriating. We are hitting close to league average overall, but almost dead last with RISP.

 

Like last year, that should normalize and the team will be watchable again.

 

Why does this keep happening to the Jays though? I think we're passed the point of saying its a "coincidence"

[Terminator]

Why does this keep happening to the Jays though? I think we're passed the point of saying its a "coincidence"

 

Is it really that odd? We sucked with RISP for 2 out of 6 months last year and ended the year close to league average.

 

We then suck the first month this year with RISP. What about that makes it so unlikely that it couldn't be a coincidence?

[Brownie19]

I have ZERO confidence in this current team coming back from even a 3-0 deficit.

 

In hindsight, getting rid of both Teo and Lourdes in the same offseason was probably a bad idea. Those two always seemed to be in the middle of those huge comeback games.

 

I found 2021 and 2022 Lourdes to be extremely frustrating to watch. He'd go white hot for a stretch, followed by a stretch where he couldn't hit a beach ball. And his defense in LF made Teo look like Jim Edmonds. He was always someone you watched and thought "there's got to be more in there somewhere". We shouldn't be lamenting the loss of our 1.6 to 1.8 WAR LFer.

[hanton]

Charlie Morton is 40. Fourty!

 

.....and Teo just went deep

[hanton]

what a swing by Teo - oppo

[jaysblue]

Charlie Morton is 40. Fourty!

 

.....and Teo just went deep

 

Morton keeps getting better with age. Probably could pitch until he's 45. Has been a consistent and a durable arm.

 

Morton with a 3.44 FIP and 0.5 WAR before tonight's start. Bassitt with a 5.06 FIP and 0.1 WAR so far this season.

[jaysblue]

Acuna ties it up! Braves baseball is so much fun to watch.

[jaysblue]

Oakland Athletics (16-17) have a better record than the Blue Jays (15-18) on May 4th. Who would have thought that?

[hanton]

Morton keeps getting better with age. Probably could pitch until he's 45. Has been a consistent and a durable arm.

 

Morton with a 3.44 FIP and 0.5 WAR before tonight's start. Bassitt with a 5.06 FIP and 0.1 WAR so far this season.

 

He's unbelievable. One day I hope he writes about his story, he was hitting 96.6mph today

[jaysblue]

He's unbelievable. One day I hope he writes about his story, he was hitting 96.6mph today

 

According to the great Laika who is always right, Morton is a washed up 40-year-old "geriatric."

[Brownie19]

According to the great Laika who is always right, Morton is a washed up 40-year-old "geriatric."

 

Just can help but take that victory lap eh?

[connorp]

Just can help but take that victory lap eh?

 

With all of Laila’s hot take misses, you could take one one of those hippie runs across the entire country

[burlingtonbandit]

I feel like a broken record, but I feel like people get hung up on "media talk" too much. Reiterating your confidence in the guys in the clubhouse is "media talk 101". Sure, they could say "we need to be better", but you aren't going to get a "The leaders on this team need to step it up. They're performance is unacceptable" - which is 100% true and what some fans want (expect?) to hear.

 

If you want players to "play for you" - they need to feel like you've got their back. If you throw them under the bus in the public - that doesn't often get results or build any trust. I 100% believe the FO and Schneider are concerned - but they aren't going to air that out in the public.

 

Well Schneider at least swore in his press conference tonight that’s a start. Honestly it wasn’t so much him not calling out certain guys, it was the “everything is fine, these guys are going to hit” s*** that he’d been saying for a year and a half. If he said “the team is playing terrible right now, and we need to start playing with some urgency” that goes along a way. Which I pretty much think he said tonight.

 

Some accountability from the team leaders too would be nice.

[Laika]

According to the great Laika who is always right, Morton is a washed up 40-year-old "geriatric."

 

The fun part here is that I never said he was washed up, I just said he is 40 because we were talking about injury risk

 

The "washed up" part is just you being you and making s*** up while you smell your own farts

[BigCecil]

Well Schneider at least swore in his press conference tonight that’s a start. Honestly it wasn’t so much him not calling out certain guys, it was the “everything is fine, these guys are going to hit” s*** that he’d been saying for a year and a half. If he said “the team is playing terrible right now, and we need to start playing with some urgency” that goes along a way. Which I pretty much think he said tonight.

 

Some accountability from the team leaders too would be nice.

 

Most of the "media talk" is strained carrots. Its all milquetoast. It all has to be taken with huge grains of salt.

 

Shapiro, Atkins and JS all can't just go hit the mic and say what they really think, for good reasons. Which makes it insufferable to listen to for me.

 

It would create a media and fan frenzy that is a counter productive distraction. So they will talk in platitudes and positivity even in the face of a hurricane. Also, it just never does any good to throw people under the bus in public. Its good TV but accomplishes nothing.

 

Some fans still think someone tipping over a clubhouse table is the tonic for fixing Bo's 57 wRC+. It is not.

[Omar]

Some fans still think someone tipping over a clubhouse table is the tonic for fixing Bo's 57 wRC+. It is not.

 

I beg to differ sir....

 

[Stangstag]

Springer had great success listening to a garbage can, why wouldn't he listen to an actual coach?

 

Bring back the garbage cans

[jaysblue]

I beg to differ sir....

 

 

We need George Knox:

 

[Spanky__99]

The fun part here is that I never said he was washed up, I just said he is 40 because we were talking about injury risk

 

The "washed up" part is just you being you and making s*** up while you smell your own farts

 

lol

[Brownie19]

Most of the "media talk" is strained carrots. Its all milquetoast. It all has to be taken with huge grains of salt.

 

Shapiro, Atkins and JS all can't just go hit the mic and say what they really think, for good reasons. Which makes it insufferable to listen to for me.

 

It would create a media and fan frenzy that is a counter productive distraction. So they will talk in platitudes and positivity even in the face of a hurricane. Also, it just never does any good to throw people under the bus in public. Its good TV but accomplishes nothing.

 

Some fans still think someone tipping over a clubhouse table is the tonic for fixing Bo's 57 wRC+. It is not.

 

Thank God there's another voice of reason on this topic....thank you!

[Brownie19]

The fun part here is that I never said he was washed up, I just said he is 40 because we were talking about injury risk

 

The "washed up" part is just you being you and making s*** up while you smell your own farts

 

Your logical opinion is misconstrued again. Shocking. It's like we've never seen this happen before 😆

[connorp]

Most of the "media talk" is strained carrots. Its all milquetoast. It all has to be taken with huge grains of salt.

 

Shapiro, Atkins and JS all can't just go hit the mic and say what they really think, for good reasons. Which makes it insufferable to listen to for me.

 

It would create a media and fan frenzy that is a counter productive distraction. So they will talk in platitudes and positivity even in the face of a hurricane. Also, it just never does any good to throw people under the bus in public. Its good TV but accomplishes nothing.

 

Some fans still think someone tipping over a clubhouse table is the tonic for fixing Bo's 57 wRC+. It is not.

 

I think you have to separate throwing and individual player(s) under the bus, vs the group. You’d have talk generalizations of things you’d want say like poor preparation, lack of desire… I’m just giving examples but whatever they needed to call out. They’d need to take responsibility for their own mistakes in the same trashing of the players. In that framework you can absolutely be realistic.

 

Many times after football games the coach throws the team under the bus, vs an individual player and also blames poor coaching too. Same with basketball. I guess in baseball it’s a bit tougher to do for a manager, bc he can’t be like, it’s my fault we went 2 for 30 today against this guy with with 7.50 ERA

[connorp]

But I think the GM could air grievances, as long as they take responsibility too. But when you do that, you light your fire, it it doesn’t improve, you become a lame duck. So it’s more about them not having the balls to do it, vs they can’t

 

The other way is just never light the fire, and then you get canned, and maybe you wish you did try to light that last fire. So it depends for comfortable they feel. Like if I can get another season if we make WC3, even if we don’t get past first round again

[G-Snarls]

Padres Acquire Luis Arraez

 

May 4th, 2024 at 12:21pm CST • By Anthony Franco

 

12:21PM: The Marlins are eating almost all of the roughly $8.5MM owed to Arraez this season, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reports (X link). San Diego will owe Arraez only the MLB minimum salary for the rest of 2024, so between this arrangement and moving Go’s salary, the Padres look to have actually reduced their luxury tax number with this trade.

 

MAY 3: The Padres and Marlins have lined up on a rare May blockbuster. San Diego is reportedly acquiring two-time batting champ Luis Arraez from Miami for four players: prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella, as well as reliever Woo-Suk Go.

[G-Snarls]

Bega the question - what other position players might be available already this early into the season?

[Spanky__99]

Padres Acquire Luis Arraez

 

May 4th, 2024 at 12:21pm CST • By Anthony Franco

 

12:21PM: The Marlins are eating almost all of the roughly $8.5MM owed to Arraez this season, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reports (X link). San Diego will owe Arraez only the MLB minimum salary for the rest of 2024, so between this arrangement and moving Go’s salary, the Padres look to have actually reduced their luxury tax number with this trade.

 

MAY 3: The Padres and Marlins have lined up on a rare May blockbuster. San Diego is reportedly acquiring two-time batting champ Luis Arraez from Miami for four players: prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella, as well as reliever Woo-Suk Go.

 

Saw this yesterday, trade doesn't make much sense, SD already has a stacked infield.

[Jimcanuck]

Saw this yesterday, trade doesn't make much sense, SD already has a stacked infield.

 

apparently arraez will be a full time dh