My favorite Verlander memory was his no-hitter against us. Towards the end of the game, his velocity kept increasing every inning. By the 9th, his fastball was in triple digits (think he had maybe a dozen pitches in the 101 to 102 range). Really impressive display.
I wonder if the home run problem with the balls is the material, rather than the seams? I remember the issues a long time ago in Colorado with the humidor, etc. Maybe the new balls don't absorb moisture like the old ones did (meaning all balls were like the ones in Coors). If MLB tests at low humidity, they might not see a significant difference in the characteristics.
I expect next year to be the start of my compete cycle. I feel like my rebuild is (mostly) ready, with a ton of young talent to slowly filter its way up as well to fill in holes.
The Yankees will probably finish ahead of us, but we should be second (and led last year). The TV ratings are probably down quite a bit this year, and the team has some other expenditures like starting the new spring training complex. The Canadian dollar is looking stronger however, which probably offsets the facility. We don't get nearly the revenue per viewer that big cities in the states do for TV viewership also.
I would expect the payroll to hold steady or go down a little (be at where we were last year before signing Bautista).
I don't care who wins the game, but I have JD, Goldy, Ozuna, Stanton in various DFS / PL matches. Lots of home runs from those guys, along with Bour going 0 for 4 would be perfect
I think he'll win it regardless. I wouldn't be surprised if JD Martinez doesn't get more votes than Bryant does either, given the ridiculous recent impact he's had.
Yeah, textbook by Romine. Don't know why they sent Bautista there with no one out. If that's the most we have to complain about today though, then things are going pretty well.
Sure, I'll have to see if I can reasonably protect him through the next two cutdowns though. By my count, I'm already at 22, and that's without promotions next year.