2025 Major League Baseball Thread

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Schmoltz gets a win with 9 strikeouts

I never liked him, but knew he was a good pitcher, did he do that starting or did they put him in the pen?

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by supersix4

I never liked him, but knew he was a good pitcher, did he do that starting or did they put him in the pen?

I believe the Cards made him a starter...

[supersix4]

I'm watching pete rose coverage, anyone else think he kind of looks like Joe Torre?

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by supersix4

I'm watching pete rose coverage, anyone else think he kind of looks like Joe Torre?

I dunno but doesn't the O's manager look like Bill Shatner or is it just me?

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

I dunno but doesn't the O's manager look like Bill Shatner or is it just me?

lol and shatner would probably manage better to.

[hc666]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

I dunno but doesn't the O's manager look like Bill Shatner or is it just me?

YES!

I always wait to see him get beemed out of the dugout to the mound during pitching changes haha.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by hc666

YES!

I always wait to see him get beemed out of the dugout to the mound during pitching changes haha.

I wish he talked like him

[fatediesel]

Looks like Billy Wagner is going to waive his no-trade clause and go to the Red Sox. It's not known yet if Boston agreed to not pick up his option for next year or offer him arbitration like he wanted. There's some belief that the Red Sox would like to keep him next year as their closer and trade Papelbon and then make Bard the closer in 2011.

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Looks like Billy Wagner is going to waive his no-trade clause and go to the Red Sox. It's not known yet if Boston agreed to not pick up his option for next year or offer him arbitration like he wanted. There's some belief that the Red Sox would like to keep him next year as their closer and trade Papelbon and then make Bard the closer in 2011.

No kidding?! Last night he was saying he'd probably stay with the Mets! Key word was "probably", I guess!

[SDon1969]

Hey, I just scored two tickets to tonight's Sox game versus the White Sox. Luxury Suite, got 'em free at work. Now I am scrambling to get organized, pick up the daughter, and we're off!

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

No kidding?! Last night he was saying he'd probably stay with the Mets! Key word was "probably", I guess!

I think he was bluffing and hoping the Red Sox would agree to not pick up his option or offer arbitration. In the end they agreed to not pick up the option but kept the right to offer arbitration. It didn't make any sense for Wagner to not waive his no-trade clause. The Mets would have offered arbitration so there was no point in having that be a deal breaker. This gives him a chance to win a title which wasn't going to happen with the Mets.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Hey, I just scored two tickets to tonight's Sox game versus the White Sox. Luxury Suite, got 'em free at work. Now I am scrambling to get organized, pick up the daughter, and we're off!

They look great on nesn.

[toef]

Originally Posted by Hi-Def Steve

Maybe this too simplistic but why don't the owners of suck teams make some drastic changes or investments into the sucky teams. Or sell it to someone who can dish out the $ to get superstar players, thus bringing the fairweather fans in with their $

The simple answer is that the markets dictate what a team can do. Put a team in NYC, and they already have an unfair advantage over just about any team, because there is so much money to be made there (more people to sell tickets to means you can also charge more for tickets, etc).

Regardless of what Boston fans might argue, the Yankees have an unrivaled fan-base in terms of numbers. No other team is as big outside their own market, and internationally.

The Yankees "brand" generates so much money, that they can easily spend $200m a year on player salaries, and not care.

No "smart" businessman is going to dump a ton of money into a team unless he plans on getting back that amount of money + some sort of return. Otherwise he'll go invest the money somewhere else. Even if you pour a ton of money into a small- or mid-market team, and they start winning, and sell out every game, they're still probably not going to make their money back.

NYC and LA are by far the biggest markets for having sports teams, and that's reflected pretty well in their team payrolls. Chicago is probably a step down from that, and every other team (except maybe Boston) is probably a good step below that.

I think the smaller market teams have realized the best chance they have at winning is to pool together some really good, really young talent, and lock them up in their system for a few years, until they eventually become free agents and follow the money.

[Jellybeans]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Looks like Billy Wagner is going to waive his no-trade clause and go to the Red Sox. It's not known yet if Boston agreed to not pick up his option for next year or offer him arbitration like he wanted. There's some belief that the Red Sox would like to keep him next year as their closer and trade Papelbon and then make Bard the closer in 2011.

Wagner accepts trade to Red Sox
Veteran closer agrees near deadline to move from Mets

Source :http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/ar...=.jsp&c_id=bos

[hc666]

Originally Posted by Jellybeans

Wagner accepts trade to Red Sox
Veteran closer agrees near deadline to move from Mets

Source :http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/ar...=.jsp&c_id=bos

Do you have to keep yelling with the bold font? :P

[hc666]

Originally Posted by toefer

The simple answer is that the markets dictate what a team can do. Put a team in NYC, and they already have an unfair advantage over just about any team, because there is so much money to be made there (more people to sell tickets to means you can also charge more for tickets, etc).

Regardless of what Boston fans might argue, the Yankees have an unrivaled fan-base in terms of numbers. No other team is as big outside their own market, and internationally.

The Yankees "brand" generates so much money, that they can easily spend $200m a year on player salaries, and not care.

No "smart" businessman is going to dump a ton of money into a team unless he plans on getting back that amount of money + some sort of return. Otherwise he'll go invest the money somewhere else. Even if you pour a ton of money into a small- or mid-market team, and they start winning, and sell out every game, they're still probably not going to make their money back.

NYC and LA are by far the biggest markets for having sports teams, and that's reflected pretty well in their team payrolls. Chicago is probably a step down from that, and every other team (except maybe Boston) is probably a good step below that.

I think the smaller market teams have realized the best chance they have at winning is to pool together some really good, really young talent, and lock them up in their system for a few years, until they eventually become free agents and follow the money.

Yeah they are kind of like KISS in rock n roll... they are a brand as well as a team. ANd having lifers like Riveria and Jetter has helped build a solid base that has lasted years.

I have a question though... just because I can't remember... how were the crowds in the 80s and early 90s in New York? I know the salaries have always been near the top or at the top, but were there years when they the Yankees didn't draw?

I would assume that any team that goes through many years of losing(or not making the playoffs in general), the fans disappear until the winning starts again... I think of teams like the Pirates, Jays, Royals... etc who once sold out nightly...

---------------

just answered my own question... in 1992 for example, the Yankees averaged 21K per game... so yeah win and ppl show up... doesn't matter how big your payroll is either really... just win! The Yanks this year have stayed healthy, I think that's why they are running away with it. Besides A-Rod early on, who has gone off for an extended period of time? No one really... well done! I wish the Jays had that luck for one year straight though to see what a difference it would make

As seen here, look at the Blue Jays Attendance throughout their history... pretty neat to see the numbers! http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/toroatte.shtml

[Jellybeans]

Originally Posted by hc666

Do you have to keep yelling with the bold font? :P

Bold is better!

[Jellybeans]

Yankees losing 10-5 against Rangers!

[toef]

Originally Posted by hc666

Yeah they are kind of like KISS in rock n roll... they are a brand as well as a team. ANd having lifers like Riveria and Jetter has helped build a solid base that has lasted years.

I have a question though... just because I can't remember... how were the crowds in the 80s and early 90s in New York? I know the salaries have always been near the top or at the top, but were there years when they the Yankees didn't draw?

I would assume that any team that goes through many years of losing(or not making the playoffs in general), the fans disappear until the winning starts again... I think of teams like the Pirates, Jays, Royals... etc who once sold out nightly...

---------------

just answered my own question... in 1992 for example, the Yankees averaged 21K per game... so yeah win and ppl show up... doesn't matter how big your payroll is either really... just win! The Yanks this year have stayed healthy, I think that's why they are running away with it. Besides A-Rod early on, who has gone off for an extended period of time? No one really... well done! I wish the Jays had that luck for one year straight though to see what a difference it would make

As seen here, look at the Blue Jays Attendance throughout their history... pretty neat to see the numbers! http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/toroatte.shtml

Yeah, I was born mid-80s, so I don't remember much before 89 or so. The Yankees channel occasionally plays some older games as part of their Yankees Classics series, and seeing some of the Mattingly-era games from the early 90s are a joke. The upper deck was mostly empty, so if a homerun was ever hit up there, you'd see a couple of kids racing toward the aisle of seats that the ball landed in.

Also there are rumors that Steinbrenner was intentionally keeping the attendance low (maybe by limiting tickets to sell?) during the early 90s, in an effort to convince NYC to fix up the area around Yankee Stadium, or pay for a new stadium. His argument was something along the lines of the Bronx being a dangerous/crime-infested place, and that was hurting attendance.

Anyhow, attendance in the late 80s was pretty good, and ahead of the league average. Then in the early 90s it kind of bounced around. Down some in 91 and 92, jumped way up in 93, down again in 94 (for obvious reason), up in 95, up more in 96, etc.

[fatediesel]

I have officially thrown in the towel on the Cubs this season. Getting blown out by the Nationals at home is the last straw. 9 back to the Cards in the division, and 8.5 games back of the wild card. Like a typical Cubs fan I'm going to start thinking about next year. Maybe with new ownership something will change. Football season can't come fast enough.