TwistedLogic

Kikuchi is not the guy you want on the mound when the umpire is a literal robo ump.

Feels like it's only a matter of time before someone sends one of these Kikuchi meatballs 6,000 feet into the night. Pls don't.

Induct him into the hall of fame tonight.

Who is this umpire? He's flawless so far.

It's hilarious that at the end of the day, Kikuchi only threw 17 pitches in that inning. It's like he went through a horrific car accident and came out without a scratch.

I'm probably jinxing it right here but this umpire looks great so far.

Some guy on my timeline with a very topical tweet:

Game #11 Toronto Blue Jays (Kikuchi) @ Boston Red Sox (Eovaldi) Schedule | Standings | FanGraphs | News | Video | Spotlight | Twitter | Reddit | Instagram

I have to do this in a redraft league, right? What are the chances Betts is just bad now and Tork is better this year?

From what I've read (and I'm hazy on this so I could be wrong here), it would likely be two rules that go into place: - You must have four infielders beginning each play on/inside the dirt at all times. This kills the ability to stack people in the outfield. - You must have two infielders beginning each play on either side of second base. This kills the ability to put three or four guys on one side. These two simple rules would effectively kill shifting as we know it (or at least significantly neuter it) and I don't see how the game would be any worse for it. Not only would offense pick up, it's just more intuitive for casual fans and makes baseball easier to understand. Again though, it's possible I'm misremembering and this isn't the route they're going to take. Feeling too lazy to look it up right now.

This is huge.

...Do you think I made that? lmao

Red Sox commentary booth has to be bottom 5 in the league. These guys f***ing blow.

Anyone here still got a BA sub? https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2021-22-international-reviews-toronto-blue-jays/

Don't worry, he's wrong. - Rule changes include ABS (automatic balls/strikes). - MLB previously had the ability to unilaterally implement rule changes with 1-year notice. - In the new CBA, MLB won 45-day unilateral implementation, with two caveats: MLB agreed not to use the 45-day notice power to implement rule changes in-season. So we'll know prior to spring training next year if ABS, pitch clocks, bigger bases and shift bans are coming. They also agreed to form a committee to discuss rule changes as an act of good faith to hear the players' side. - While the committee is useful to have active discussions between the owners, players and umpires, MLB holds all the power with a six-seat majority on the board. So, for all intents and purposes, they have the ability to implement any rule change they want without needing the players or umpires to agree. (Even if the players and umpires' representatives are united, they only have a total of five votes.) It just comes down to how MLB wants to approach it and whether Manfraud is serious in all his recent statements about building a better relationship with the players. A 6-5 vote where the MLB throws its weight around would not be good optics in that regard. With that in mind, it's entirely possible that there's a scenario next year where the players declare that they are vehemently against ABS and MLB takes that into consideration enough not to vote it through anyway. But whether the players agree now or MLB gets bored of waiting on them and pushes it through themselves at some point, it's coming eventually

https://dodgerblue.com/mlb-lockout-rumors-players-association-rejected-automated-strike-zone-robot-umpires/2022/03/08/ While the financial side of the deal remains the largest hurdle to clear, the two sides also have potential rule changes to work out. They have already agreed to the universal designated hitter and a Draft lottery, while an expanded postseason looks likely. MLB also asked the players to agree to a pitch clock, larger bases, restricting shifts and an automated strike zone. Pending other matters getting resolved, the union is said to be open to some of those changes for 2023. However, the robotic strike zone was not among that, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The players agreed to it in three areas that MLB wanted — the pitch clock, larger bases, and restrictions on the defensive shift — but not for the implementation of an automated strike zone, which MLB also sought. https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-mlbpa-agree-to-cba As part of the agreement, a Joint Competition Committee will be formed comprised of four active players, six members appointed by MLB and one umpire. Beginning in 2023, the committee will be tasked with adopting changes to playing rules such as a pitch clock, base size, defensive positioning and automatic ball/strike zone.

I look forward to Red Sox/Yankees series more than any other. Their fans get so angry when the Jays do well that it makes it twice as entertaining to follow their game threads. Plus, Yankees series mean more Jomboy coverage, which I enjoy. In recent years, I've actually enjoyed those Red Sox/Yankees series more when they've been away. Jays always seem to crush it at Fenway and have been doing better and better at Yankee Stadium too.

Imagine being dumb enough to say you'd take Greg Bird over a literal greek god. #CouldntBeMe

I really don't think it's a coincidence that Vladdy had two ugly-ass swings in that at-bat. It's clear bad calls are affecting how he approaches the rest of the plate appearance and maybe even the rest of the game.

Vladdy had a terrible day at the plate in New York when he got f***ed by the umpire. Swung at everything. Hope he can shake that early call off.

I've gone to like 10 games since the Jays came back last year and I still haven't caught a Manoah start, the guy who is by far my favorite pitcher on the Jays staff. I would have caught him this time if they didn't do the 6-man rotation ********. Had tickets today too just didn't have the energy to go.

It's up boss. Sorry, slept in and had no idea game time was already here lmao.

Game #10 Oakland Athletics (Oller) @ Toronto Blue Jays (Manoah) Schedule | Standings | FanGraphs | News | Video | Spotlight | Twitter | Reddit | Instagram