glory

Steroid ball saved baseball, and now it's looked down upon while the game sinks into obscurity. What a joke.

Decreasing the number of regular season games while more teams make the post season is something that I will absolutely hate but seems like the only real compromise. More teams in means more fan interest in more cities. Right now the AL has like 4 good teams and whoever this year’s version of the 2018 A’s will be. That’s about it. Attendance and ratings are going to suck worse than ever before. There also should be a way to make tanking less appealing. I’m sure one sport will figure it out and the rest will follow. Man baseball needs to change so many things and we will be lucky to see any real change any time soon.

Yeah I don’t know when it will happen, probably when it’s already too late, but at some point they will lower the amount of games played in a season and shorten the season in general (late March to f’n November is insanely long).

Baseball has also followed the NBA in terms of teams intentionally tanking, and there's a lot of them now, so when more than half the league sucks ass and there are 162 games in a season, it's a really bad combination. They might have to start a system that does not incentivize rebuilding. Like there was nothing preventing the Jays from signing Morton, Happ, and Brantley (assuming they all had interest in signing with the Jays) while still hoarding prospects and rebuilding the farm system in the background. Instead they chose to sit on the money and purposely suck. Good for the team in terms of draft position and stuff like that, but horrible for the game when the majority of other teams are doing the same thing. Also, analytics (while it makes sense to use) probably bores the hell out of the casual viewer. Watch an episode of Inside the NBA with Barkley, Shaq, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson. No one says a word about in depth stats. It's a bunch of guys shooting the breeze, making fun of each other, and watching basketball. It is simply more fun to watch even if you're not a basketball fan. In baseball, you either listen to Brian Kenny types or Harold Reynolds types. It's boring and unentertaining. Like I said this goes beyond cosmetic changes to the game. I think baseball should change a little bit, hell, look at the NBA during Jordan's time versus today. It's night and day. They changed so many rules but the NBA is more popular than ever. Baseball has to make some cosmetic changes, but also have to market the game better. Manfred has the toughest job of any commish in sports. Saving MLB long term is going to be very tough.

I don’t see any way MLB doesn’t end up like NHL where it’s completely off the mainstream radar and national TV deals are not as lucrative. It’s not about shortening the game, it’s about removing the stigma of it being “an old white man’s game”. That’s why Kyler Murray coming to baseball would be a coupe for MLB. Elite athletes choosing baseball over other sports needs to happen more often, and I see no reason why they would with minor league pay being nothing and now free agency not being lucrative to most free agents. The Bill James quote that got him in hot water is going to end up being close to a reality in about 10-20 years. At some point the league has to adapt to the social media era. Make the players more accessible. Encourage them to create social media content that appeals to young people. That’s probably a step in the right direction at least.

I would have agreed with you guys last year since the Jays were trying to be good enough to contend for a 2nd wild card spot, but in 2019 they are better off trying to get playing time for the younger players. Even if Teoscar, McKinney, etc, are not long term pieces, at least see what they have, maybe they develop better than expected. If not, you move on. If the Jays signed Happ and Morton for the rotation, and needed some offensive help, then I'd be down with the idea of taking advantage of the cheap FA market. But unfortunately the timetables just don't match up.

Yeah, and no novelty games anymore. The Yankees/Red Sox might be an exception but 03-04 was the peak of that rivalry (in the last 25 years at least) and it hasn’t come close since. It’s amazing how mainstream baseball was 20 years ago and how irrelevant it is now. The game hasn’t changed. The games were still long back then, but the stars were a lot more popular. Baseball hasn’t been able to adapt to the social media age.

I agree with that. MLB is a regional sport now. MLB does not cater to a mainstream audience due to lack of individual stars. With ESPN being basically a sports version of TMZ now (mixed with some SJW pandering), they care more about what is trending and what can get views, and baseball isn't it. This was inevitable. The only time ESPN talks about baseball is if there is a PED or DV related suspension.

ESPN only cares about LeBron James, the NFL, and the NBA. MLB needs to find a new network. Getting money from a network that doesn't promote them is not going to expand their reach.

Arbitration is more lucrative than free agency at this point.

With the way the game is evolving, I think we will see a very fluid roster with guys (except for the stars like hopefully Vlad, Bo, etc) playing everywhere. Of course if Drury's bat doesn't improve then it won't be an option, I'm just saying if he takes a step forward then it becomes an option. He can still cover 2B, 3B, etc. Just makes the lineup more versatile. Plus it means I won't have to see Tellez play 1B, which is a bonus.

Yeah seriously, there is not a single likable quality about Law, and his baseball insight doesn't make up for it (it actually makes it worse).

Shatkins loves Gurriel. They might use him all over the field (our version of Marwin), but I don't think he loses playing time to Galvis of all players. Vlad, Gurriel, Drury at 3B-SS-2B is what I'm expecting. If Drury learns how to hit then maybe he can be moved to 1B and Gurriel can shift to 2B once they trade Smoak.

Yeah I don't know why the team is so adamant about keeping him at third. He is a big dude and clearly won't be above average defensively. He'll be closer to bad than good, most likely. Just move him to 1B, let him hit like a mad man, and then find a good defensive 3B. That is my one criticism of Shatkins. They don't give two shits about defense. Signing Galvis was the first time I can remember them valuing it at all. We are going to see a bunch of hitters with offensive upside hemorrhaging value defensively for no reason at all.

Anyone who quotes or reads Keith Law deserves the lost brain cells that come with quoting or reading Keith Law material.

Agreed. I liked what Shatkins did at the deadline for the most part but that deal was bad. I think Drury has some potential with the bat, so maybe they think they bought low on him. I hope they are right.

He is Canadian and wants to play in Toronto. That's really it. Nothing to do with talent or value. Shatkins doesn't care about optics so if they don't want him they won't sign him. This isn't Beeston's Jays.

We are going to head into February soon, and the top two hitters (both 26), top SP (arguably), and top RP on the market will be unsigned. That's just idiotic. What fun is baseball when we are watching a bunch of teams trying to out cheap the other, and off-seasons feel like they are centuries long because of lack of player movement? The Jays signed Galvis for $5m, and that's a lot of money in today's market. I'm not saying Shatkins or the other teams are wrong for doing it, but it doesn't make for a fun winter, and then once the season starts there will be like 4 good teams in the entire AL, and a bunch of s*** after that. Just very disappointing.

Nothing beats the off season prior to the 2014 season when it come to boring (signed Navarro and then practically did nothing else for a whole year after that) but this off season league wide has been s***. Even these sensible non threatening moves are so minor that it makes no difference at all, and it seems like 90% of the teams are operating like this.

The real test will be if they trade Pillar.

Or start arbitration after 1 year. That way teams still have six years of control, but players can start making real money by year 2, and by years 5 and 6 would be making FA level money anyway.

He is a 30 year old 2B coming off a career year. He will be a free agent at age 34, so pretty much guaranteed that he's not going to get another big contract given the way the league has shifted. Not surprised he took this deal. It is a guaranteed $16m (with performance incentives) for a guy who probably did not want to risk year to year arbitration in his 30's.

Mussina chose to go in neutral. Halladay wanted to go in as a Blue Jay, died, and then his wife decided that he would go in neutral. That's the difference. If Roy wanted to go in without repping a team, it wouldn't be an issue. At least to me.

Ash has to be the worst GM in Toronto sports history, or damn close to it. At least Rob Babcock's tenure was short. Ash killed this team for 7 years.

I actually feel for the guy, even though I’m not a fan of his. Seriously, baseball gets like no mainstream coverage now, attendance sucks, and now even their off seasons are so boring that nothing happens. Unfortunately Manfred is busy trying to shave 5 minutes off game times rather than focus on the issues that might actually make a difference. Harper and Machado not being signed when we are damn near close to Feb is ridiculous. Bill James was pretty much speaking on behalf of front offices when he said players are replaceable.