glory

Didn't read the article, but if Tellez makes the team I'd imagine he'd be the starting DH. Fisher hasn't proven anything with the bat or the glove, Alford is probably a 4th OF at best, and Panik is Panik.

The Astros being booed in every stadium is actually one of the bright spots for MLB this season. In a league that wants more fan interest, having a universal villain that every fan base despises is an unintended benefit to this whole thing. Thankfully none of the fans will listen to Boyd so his quote is meaningless. Also as mentioned, the Astros have shown zero remorse through this whole process.

Alford as a lottery ticket 4th OF is better than Tellez starting at DH. Hoping he wins a spot. I’m not a Fisher fan but if someone is going to pull a 2017 Justin Smoak I’d bet on Fisher before Tellez.

Once you replace Tellez with Shaw, I actually like that lineup as far as the current roster goes. Leaving the DH spot open to move players around is a lot better than sticking Tellez there and hoping he has a wRC+ above 95.

When I had NBA League Pass many years ago, the same local blackout restrictions were there. I'm guessing it still is. The regional TV networks pay for the exclusive rights to broadcast games so if MLB (or any other league) has an app that prevents people from watching the TV network, then it doesn't make sense for the network. The blackouts exist to make people watch their local TV broadcast and/or go to the games live. I'm not sure in today's day and age that works as much as it used to since attendance is down, but last time I checked regional TV ratings for baseball games are pretty high, so it's working in that sense. The good thing about MLB.tv is that the games become available to view after they are complete, plus you can see highlights as they happen in the video section as the game is going on. It's not the same as having access to watch it live, obviously. Ideally the league could get big money from TV networks and still be able to avoid blackout restrictions on their app, but I don't think that makes any sense for the networks. It's probably going to hurt them long term but that's never been a concern for Manfred, unfortunately. It's all about money now.

People were questioning why he took $40m from the Yankees last year coming off a 5.4 WAR season, but he's been hurt ever since signing the contract save for a couple of starts at the end of last season/playoffs (20 innings total counting reg season and playoffs). Pitchers are so damn risky.

My takeaway is the players want Manfred to vacate the title, not necessarily punish individual players. Players know the MLBPA is working in their best interests so they'd never openly question Clark or the association. Since the players went unpunished, meaning they are still walking around as 2017 champions with no remorse, it's going to cause issues. As far as players not wanting to hurt their teams by getting ejected/suspended, look at the Rangers/Bautista stuff that happened. It's going to happen. Possibly many times. It probably wouldn't happen in meaningful games/moments, but on a lazy June afternoon in a blowout game, certain players are going to react. With LeBron chiming in, that's another 40+ million people who follow him who now know about the scandal if they didn't already. It's not going away any time soon.

Opposing players are going to take suspensions just to hit some of these Astros players. A few brawls or two (or 10) would help the game.

I thought the O's were going to give him 600 PA this year. Disappointing.

From an Athletic article (I don't have a sub so just a snippet): "Any potential punishments to Astros players would have prompted grievances and wound up before an arbitrator. And in the words of an official with knowledge of these matters, MLB would have been 'smoked'. Another person experienced in this area said that MLB's case would have been 'brutal' and the league would 'look a fool'...." That's why I don't really blame Manfred for no penalties for the players. It was out of his control. Everything else he did/said was trash, though.

Love seeing Manfred get roasted by not only baseball players, but by the biggest sports star in the world right now.

Yeah the average age of a baseball viewer is late 50's I think, so they definitely run the risk of alienating their existing fanbase if they try to appeal to a different one. Likely not as much of an issue with the NBA since they have a younger fanbase. Still, it's adapt or die time for MLB. Society is changing and they need to evolve with it. Silver changing the format of the all star game multiple times and even adding a mid season tournament next year when the game is at the peak of its mainstream popularity just shows how creative that league is. They are willing to try and fail rather than stick with the status quo. Hell, look at the the NBA game today versus 15 years ago. The Pistons and Spurs were having games that had scores of 84-78. Now the game is completely different. Some times you have to push tradition aside from the sake of the game's health, and for some reason baseball views itself like church. That's not going to age well. I hope if/when Manfred is gone (hopefully soon) they get a more progressive commish.

I think Manfred was not allowed to penalize the players (due to the MLBPA), which is why they were granted immunity. The most he probably could have done without legal backlash was vacated the title, and I think that would have solved a lot of the PR mess that followed, but he decided not to open that box, and it has cost him dearly in the court of public opinion. Honestly if he suspended no one and just vacated the 2017 title, I think all of this blows over. I'm curious to see if he decides to change his mind and vacate it now that he's found himself in a PR mess, but I still doubt it because as mentioned I think a lot of teams are electronically cheating and he wants to bury this as quickly as possible. Regardless I don't know how in the world he could not stop himself for verbally degrading the World Series trophy in a sport that he's directly responsible for improving revenue. I used to sympathize with him because I think fixing baseball is not going to be easy, but it seems he's done everything wrong or shown little/no effort in trying to improve it. Even his words show no love for the game.

There's definitely more cheating around the league, that is why I think he has no intention of vacating the 2017 WS. Once the 2018 Red Sox stuff comes out, then there will be an outcry to vacate that title as well. Then if we later find out the Cubs cheated in 2016, etc, etc, etc. He doesn't want to open that Pandora's Box.

Milb hates him, MLBPA hates him, the fans hate him, and now he’s routinely called out by players. Attendance is dropping and I believe some important TV deals have to be renewed soon. He should be on thin ice. MLB is a $10B industry despite arguably the worst marketing of any sports org in the country. Imagine if they actually put money into marketing? I’m not sure Manfred lasts even if he prevents a work stoppage. By the time the CBA expires he will be 63. He’s already out of touch with what society wants, it’s not going to get any better with age.

Damn I didn't realize Manfred referred to the World Series trophy as a "piece of metal". No wonder the players are lashing out at him. What a tone deaf thing to say about what should symbolize the biggest prize in your own sport. No wonder the marketing under his watch is so bad. I hope this Astros thing pisses off the owners too. I don't think it will unless the league starts losing money, but dammit I'm fully on board with Manfred getting the F out of this sport.

That would make more sense as Friedman is smart, and I don't think Rengifo for Pederson and Stripling + is a good deal for LAD. I guess we'd have to know what other pieces the Angels were going to give up in this deal before we can fully evaluate, but from 2020 perspective, that type of deal would have helped the Angels a lot. Trout needs to see post season in his prime (as long as it doesn't impact the Jays making it). Not sure they are quite there yet as is, but haven't seen the projected standings.

I read it off MLBTR: "The trade that would have sent Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the Angels for infielder Luis Rengifo and outfield prospect Andy Pages appears to be dead." Maybe they got Pages confused with someone else.

MLBTR saying the deal was Pederson and Stripling for Rengifo and Andy Pages (very low minors OF). Seemed like a really good deal for the Angels. Pederson only has a year of control left, but they only needed him for a year anyway since they are grooming Adell to take that spot by 2021. A 3 WAR OF for a season plus 2 WAR rotation depth would have been huge for the Angels. They need every 2020 win they can get.

It appears Bichette-Biggio-Vlad is going to be the top 3. After that there really isn't a right or wrong answer on the placement since there is so much volatility in most of the other hitters on the team. Have to go by performance from there.

We can complain about Rogers, but at least they don't do stuff like this.

Yeah Manfred is definitely too rigid to be in his current role. The NBA isn't perfect, but Adam Silver is never satisfied with status quo, and is always trying new things to spice up the league. Manfred hasn't really done anything aside from tiny cosmetic changes to speed up the game, but nothing as far as trying to reach more fans. A live draft like the NBA has would be great for baseball. Have Trout and Bellinger, or whoever, have 30 minutes to have a live draft and explain their picks. Would be a great way to expose their personalities to a mainstream audience. Or hell, do USA versus the World as the All Star game (guarantee Silver tries this within the next 5 years). It's just sad that the NBA is growing and still willing to change things, while MLB is losing mainstream relevance but wants to avoid change completely. Silver is only a few years younger than Manfred so it's not even a "get someone younger" issue. It's a "get someone smarter" issue.

Damn, even Trout is going in on Manfred and MLB for the (lack of) punishment. Manfred needs to vacate the 2017 World Series title. That’s the only way to get players and fans to move on.

If you want to listen to Rob Manfred speak for 45 minutes (who doesn't?), here is his latest ESPN interview where he discusses everything.