2012 MLB Winter Meetings and Offseason

[belfpala]

Verlander has an awesome 12 to 6, I remember the first time I saw him pitch 6 years ago and it was absolutely filthy

He was good before 2009. He's been absolutely ridiculous since then. Name one other starter who's averaged over 7 innings per start for three years and change.

I'm a Twins fan, but damn it, Verlander makes me happy (as a baseball fan).

[mrbadxampl]

well I'm not gonna argue that, of all the people I wouldn't want to step into the box against, JV is at least in the top 5 for current pitchers...

hey Twins fan, at least you guys won't have to face Verlander this weekend!

[belfpala]

hey Twins fan, at least you guys won't have to face Verlander this weekend!

Tigers best be ready for another sweep!

Oh, who am I kidding... I'm only watching for the little things now, like Mauer hitting a HR yesterday and Morneau hitting 2.

[Amsden]

Rangers signed Oswalt. I assume to replace Feldman... at least I hope to replace Feldman. But what I read said they're putting him in the Minors for around a month soI don't really know what they're gonna do with him... Feliz must be more hurt than every one thought.


Lol well last night was pretty brutal... hopefully it wakes them up and ends our slump so we can put the Angles back in last place.

[Jakzz]

Johan Santana, first no-no in Mets history, and against the offensively magnificent Cardinals as well. All I can say is Amazin'.

[draynay]

So there's been a bit of hubbub in Chicago over announcer Ken Harrelson going on a tirade, and what was it about? The same stupid umpiring we were talking about a few pages back; a player gets hit, then the opposing pitcher retaliates and is immediately ejected with no warning ever issued. Its true, the umpires seem to not understand how these things work, its as if they've never watched a game, right after the retaliation is when you issue warnings, and then its over and done with. If anything extra happened after that, that's when the umpires would step in and levy ejections, but no, they throw people out for no reason and put themselves at the center of attention where they never should be.

[koodledrum]

There's a number of umps this year who seem to be running around with a rod up their ass judging by the way they're acting this year, we had Laz Diaz the other night telling Russell Martin he "hadn't earned the privilege" to throw new balls back to the pitcher and then that prat Bob Davidson getting his face in the news again last night tossing both Kevin Long & Joe Girardi. Long had asked him what he was looking at (ok, so arguing balls & strikes is never smart) and he tossed him immediately, Girardi came out to defend long and was chucked within 3 seconds, Davidson was already suspended for a game recently for his unprofessional rant at Charlie Manuel, it's clear he likes being in the limelight.

Harrelson was perfectly valid in what he said, he said it was a joke that umpires just toss a guy for one pitch without warnings being issued, effectively cutting off the inner third of the plate & allowing someone to get plunked without a "players" right of reply (if you get what i mean). Selig was in the booth with Harrelson and chewed him out over it, sorry Selig, but you're wrong & Harrelson was spot on, he was backing up his guy in exactly the same way as it's been done for a hundred years, time to acknowledge your ump had an itchy trigger finger. How some of them keep their jobs I don't know, you can forgive the odd dodgy call in most cases, but they make crap calls on a nightly basis and in the time I've been watching baseball I've only ever seen ONE umpire come out and say "y'know what, i screwed up" (although that was a monumental botch job from Jim Joyce), no one expects them to write a report saying "oh to BJ Upton in the third inning i called it a strike when it should have been a ball" but pretending they're always right is a damned joke!

[conscript]

Lol I had not hear Selig was in the booth when that happened. That makes it even better. I can not wait until that old bastard finally retires like he said he was going to do 3-4 years ago then signed a couple contracts in a row worth like $30 million per year. He makes A-Rod money to do nothing but keep the game in the 1930s technology wise and fine everyone that complains about the umps. Can't wait until there is a commissioner that holds umps accountable for poor performance, institutes replay to the extent it already should be, and most importantly allow fans to use technology to look at videos. It is practically a crime to put MLB videos on Youtube. Every other sport has every single one of their greatest plays, highlights from every night, etc. on Youtube. I missed Doughty's goal last night in the SCF. Someone had an HD clip of it uploaded to Youtube about 5 minutes after it happened. If you miss a baseball play you hope they show a replay or you have to wait for MLB.com to upload it. If you want to see Bonds break the HR record or other famous plays you better hope it is in the MLB archive since it probably isn't on Youtube.

[koodledrum]

Selig wasn't in the booth at the time Harrelson ranted, but he was in the booth a couple of days later & chewed him out for it, but you're right, he's a nugget of the highest order who's only good thing is that he's kept labour peace for nearly 18 years much longer than any of the other big leagues in the US. Selig is too old & dim to be leading baseball these days, he hasn't embraced technology (MLB's YouTube stance being a key indicator), has refused almost all modernisation & ultimately would dearly love it to be the same game it was 40 years ago, the only reason the gimp got tough on juice was because it blew up on him! What they need is for umps to undergo regular performance reviews with a 3 man panel - retired ump, a manager & a current player - hold them accountable for their actions & watch the number of blown calls tumble like a whores drawers!

[conscript]

Selig wasn't in the booth at the time Harrelson ranted, but he was in the booth a couple of days later & chewed him out for it, but you're right, he's a nugget of the highest order who's only good thing is that he's kept labour peace for nearly 18 years much longer than any of the other big leagues in the US. Selig is too old & dim to be leading baseball these days, he hasn't embraced technology (MLB's YouTube stance being a key indicator), has refused almost all modernisation & ultimately would dearly love it to be the same game it was 40 years ago, the only reason the gimp got tough on juice was because it blew up on him! What they need is for umps to undergo regular performance reviews with a 3 man panel - retired ump, a manager & a current player - hold them accountable for their actions & watch the number of blown calls tumble like a whores drawers!

He keeps the labor piece because the rules are a joke. It took them a decade more than it should have to "crack" down on steroids and even now the system is a total joke. The league has no salary cap nor has he ever mentioned that so player salaries can be astronomical like A-Rod who makes as much as some franchises pay their entire teams each year. This season A-Rod is making half or slightly more than half of what Kansas City, San Diego, Oakland and Houston are paying their entire teams lol.

[koodledrum]

There is a salary soft cap (the luxury tax) but no real cap so far, it really wouldn't help teams like those you mentioned as there would still be a weight placed on playing for either major market teams (New York, LA, Boston) or teams with major history (St. Louis) - so even though the huge wages wouldn't be the incentive there would still be an artificial draw to the teams currently paying them.

Speaking of Arod - sorry Conscript but he hit a bomb last night, not as big as Miguel Cabreras two on Saturday which were just huge drives only stopped by the wall out in centre, but it was scolded. Hughes looked sharp for the complete game, made one mistake pitch to Fielder (who turned it round and sent it packing) who'd have thought Phil Hughes would out duel Justin Verlander!!!

[conscript]

Verlander has had two bad starts in a row for the first time in like four years. And by bad I mean he gave up 5 and 3 runs which is like 10 and 8 for Porcello. The Tigers offense is just fucking miserable right now. Cabrera and Fielder are producing, but that is literally about it. Both those guys are hitting .318 or better. The next highest guy is hitting .260 or so. Cabby has 44 RBI, Fielder 35. Next guy has freaking 20. They really need Austin Jackson back in a bad, bad way. He is the pacesetter for the offense, hitting like .333 this year, and since he has been out since last month the wheels have fallen off the offense. They need to get production from the other guys or they are going to be in a whole heap of trouble if they don't watch out. They are already falling behind the Sox and Indians pretty badly.

---------- Post added 2012-06-04 at 08:50 AM ----------

OMG, Bud Selig might be finally caving to the pressure from fans, media, and teams to fix the umpiring issues. Apparently they are going to introduce a centralized video location where a group of umps watches every game and can signal umpires to fix missed calls similar to how the NHL reviews goals at its base in Toronto.

A group of umpires will watch games from a central location.

On plays that are "clearly wrong" the group would then signal the umpires at the game and let them know there is an obvious call that needs to be changed.

MLB hopes to implement an introductory version of the system in 2013.

The initial system would only review home runs, whether a ball is fair or foul, and whether or not a player caught a ball.

The system would then be expanded "after a year or so" once the system is optimized.

At that point, the system would be expanded "to all sorts of calls" to be negotiated among the league, the players and the umpires.

[koodledrum]

Doesn't even really need to be centralised, all they'd need to do is add a further ump to each crew as a video ump, connected via radio to the home plate umpire or crew chief, since almost all grounds are set up for televised games anyway these days it's crazy not to have it. Rugby uses a similar set up, it rarely if ever slows down the pace of the game much (usually around a minute to find out what the ruling is on tries that are questionable) as does Cricket amongst other sports & it is simple & swift if done properly. You'd have situations where umpires calls are being changed, but ultimately if it changes something like Gallarraga's perfect game then it'll be worth it & perhaps being shown up in such a manner would improve certain umpire's standards!

[Logonov]

woo pirates are above .500

[conscript]

woo pirates are above .500

I haven't been watching the standings closely so my initial reaction was "bullcrap!" but I'll be darned they actually are above .500. I currently live in a world where the Tigers are under .500 and the Pirates are above it. I am pretty sad right now. In before inevitable Pirates collapse and season 24 or whatever of under .500 baseball.

[Skippy88]

I haven't been watching the standings closely so my initial reaction was "bullcrap!" but I'll be darned they actually are above .500. I currently live in a world where the Tigers are under .500 and the Pirates are above it. I am pretty sad right now. In before inevitable Pirates collapse and season 24 or whatever of under .500 baseball.

Actually, they had a pretty good run last year before they collapsed and Milwaukee when on a run. When I saw them in late July/early August they were one of 4 teams all within 2 games of each other. Shortly after I saw them it all went to hell. Saw Cincy too and they crapped out too. So, maybe it's all my fault for jinxing them.

[Logonov]

I haven't been watching the standings closely so my initial reaction was "bullcrap!" but I'll be darned they actually are above .500. I currently live in a world where the Tigers are under .500 and the Pirates are above it. I am pretty sad right now. In before inevitable Pirates collapse and season 24 or whatever of under .500 baseball.

youre at least sane for admitting while theyre above .500, its just not sustainable. Pirates just dont have the roster depth to last the season and challenge a division

[Cynon]

ChiSox -- won 14 of 16, and now in 1st place! Keep it up, Sox!!!

[RollTide]

youre at least sane for admitting while theyre above .500, its just not sustainable. Pirates just dont have the roster depth to last the season and challenge a division

To be fair, it's not like the NL Central is a stacked division. They could definitely hang around.

[conscript]

To be fair, it's not like the NL Central is a stacked division. They could definitely hang around.

They've spent the last two decades as the most inept franchise in pro sports. I'll believe they can hang around .500 when I see it lol.