Other Baseball

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Tigers have chosen Ron Gardenhire to be their next manager, pending the completion of a contract. https://theathletic.com/132558/2017/10/19/ron-gardenhire-to-be-next-tigers-manager-pending-completion-of-contract/

I'm somewhat surprised by this, but Girardi and the Yankees have agreed to part ways. They are spinning it as a mutual agreement. I assume this is the truth since the Yankees weren't supposed to make the next step competitively for a year or so and ended up making it to the ALCS this year. Also, there really are no candidates known of yet. But really think about this from a Twins fans perspective: The team that won the AL EAST lets their manager go, and the Wild Card Team from the East and made it to the ALCS let their manager go. The expectations for winning are much higher in Boston and New York than they are here. The Twins fire their A+ manager after a win…

Figured this was a good place to ask for new team owners. I'm in a 30 team keeper Diamond Mind Baseball (DMB) simulation league based on real life places using ZiPs projections. It's an in-depth league meant for more of the die-hard baseball fans as teams are constructed of 40 man rosters (25 man active as well as 15 MiLBers) with a salary based system that mimics current MLB rules (3 years of control and 3 years of arbitration before free agency. Additionally there is a draft, free agency, trades, waivers, real life injuries, etc. The league has been going on for over a decade but has had a few open spots of late. If you're interested please message me. Check out t…

I figured it would be good to start a forum on the managerial changes and new hires. As we all know, the Tigers will replace Brad Ausmus with Ron Gardenhire. There's a lot of discussion about that here. The Mets will hire Cleveland pitching coach Mickey Calloway as their new manager. The rumors are that Astros coach Alex Cora will be the next manager of the Red Sox. The Nationals let Dusty Baker go, so that managerial position is still open.

Hi gang! Had a whale of a busy August-September, so couldn't spend much time on the threads. But things now leveling off a bit, just in time for playoff ball with no Home Team involved. *sniff* So, just wondering--- who do you really, really, not want to see go another round, and especially would hate to see stinkin' up the Series? There are polls around and stuff, but how about reasons behind the hate? Did an Astro once run over your dog? Do you suffer from arkoudaphobia? Do you still hate John Denver and all things Colorado because your girlfriend made you get that haircut like his back then? I'm going to open with the low-hanging fruit. Da Yanks, and Da R…

I just read an article by Dave Sheinin in yesterday's Washington Post about the 7th game of the Astros/Yankees series. I found the first three paragraphs to echo the feeling that I've had every time one of my favored teams is nursing a lead in the second half of a game. Is it just me (and Dave) or does everyone have these thoughts? "HOUSTON — Once a precious lead is gained in Game 7 of a postseason series, everything else melts away, and all that is left, all that matters in the world, is the slow, steady, arduous counting down of outs. When the Houston Astros handed the ball to Lance McCullers Jr. in the final game of the American League Championship Series on Saturday…

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/10/tigers-inform-anibal-sanchez-his-option-will-be-declined.html Not even remotely a surprise. Sanchez was brutal last year. He'll probably get a minor league invite somewhere.His agent will play up how he ended the season but he's probably cooked. I'd be willing to give him the minor league invite but nothing more. "While he struggled as both a starter and reliever this season, Sanchez did post very solid K/BB numbers throughout the year — particularly upon returning from a month-long stint in Triple-A. He enjoyed solid eight-start run upon his return from the minors (4.37 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 37-to-10 K/BB ratio in 45 1/3 innings) and f…

The Hate-watch thread made me start to think about this--who is my second-favorite team? (No, my second-favorite team, not my second-favorite first baseman.) I haven't come up with an answer to this question for myself yet. My younger son has generally also liked the Cardinals, partly because he was a fan of Albert Pujols back when Albert Pujols was Albert Pujols. Feel free to comment, saying who and, if possible, why.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/red-sox-manager-search-cora-reportedly-lands-interview-gardenhire-draws-interest/ "Now, as the postseason continues with the LCS round, the Red Sox are moving forward with their managerial search. They will reportedly interview Astros bench coach Alex Cora on Sunday, and have reached out to the Diamondbacks for permission to interview their bench coach Ron Gardenhire." Comments?

Not sure what I think about this ... definitely don't like the proposed realignment but I'm okay with eliminating the two leagues. Of course this is all speculative, but I still think 'Ugh!' http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/?utm_content=buffer74167&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#UpQ1BQG0e7oGpLD8.97

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/10/looking-for-a-match-in-a-billy-hamilton-trade.html/comment-page-1#comment-1108146 Hamilton is 27 already. His bat has never worked out so he's basically a defensive only player at this point and with Buxton he'd have no clear home in MN but man, it would be fun to see those two in the OF together.

Watching the Yankees/Indians, Bruce appears to check swing on the Garcia pitch. Sanchez appeals. O'nora calls "no swing". Girardi barks. The TV review shows what should have been a swing call. Matt Vasgerian states "Let's hope we don't devolve to the point where a manager can challenge a check swing call." It made me consider where myself or others stand on that statement. Should it be "devolving" or "evolving"?

I was previously against it Followed by Apathetic toward it I'm now officially in the Automate it camp. The technology is there... Let it happen. There is no reason to miss balls and strikes in 2018. =

Best play by play call of the playoffs so far. Cubs/Nationals 10/12/2017

Can I just say that, if I could pick one player to build a team around, it would be Francisco Lindor, ahead of Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Manny Machado, Carlos Correa, Clayton Kershaw or anyone else.

According to MLBtraderumors John Farrell has been fired as the Boston manager. This opens up one very desireable managing job. If the pitching can be fixed this job can become a long term playoff hunt for another world series.

MLB has been saying for the last couple of years that pace of play is a problem that they're trying to get fixed. In 2017, it took on average 3 hours and 5 minutes to complete a regular season game. Up 4 minutes from 2016, and 14 minutes from 2010. Now it's not just the total time it takes to complete a game that's a problem. Another huge issue is the lack of action contributing to a 3 hour baseball game. In regards to pitcher substitutions, "Regular-season games this year saw an average of 8.4 pitchers used between both teams, an all-time high. That’s up from 5.8 pitchers a game 30 years ago." In regards to time between pitches, "Moreover, the pitchers being …

For some reason Dusty felt the need to bring in a guy with a 5.88 ERA in Scherzer's spot after he gave up his first hit in the seventh inning with under 100 pitches. Now, the Cubs have tied the game (only after Maddon took out Quintana with his zero earned runs) and are threatening against Solis and now Kintzler. I think you would probably get better results if you just had an untrained chimp pick a lineup and starting pitcher and not make a single move the entire game.

Yikes https://deadspin.com/lawsuit-says-nationals-hitting-coach-shared-revenge-por-1819236533/amp

I'm sorry if this may be against forum rules but I feel it needs to said. After watching many baseball games this year (not just Twins) I have come to the conclusion that major league umpires are terrible. I understand its a thankless job and nobody is volunteering to it, but come on, let's get some guys that know what the hell they are doing. Buckner was terrible last night (and tonight too) and I have seen other games where the strike zone moves from batter to batter, even pitch to pitch. This is unacceptable. This and the fact the base umpires seem disinterested because they know that replay will "fix" any mistakes make watching some games unbearable. How about tak…

Forgot to make one of these threads to keep track of other stuff around the league.

We haven't done much September scoreboard watching around here the past few years, but we are in that mode now. Last night was a great night to keep an eye on the other teams in the race, because they all did their part to help the Twins. First, Houston shut out the Angels 3-0. Next, Chicago beat KC 7-6 after what looked like a game-tying base hit after the right fielder fell down turned into a wild game-ending 9-2-4-6 DP after he recovered to throw out the runner trying to score from second. Finally, Oakland topped Texas, 4-1, leaving the Rangers and Angels 3.5 games back and the Royals 4.5 out. (The Rays and Mariners are 5 back - not quire close enough for me to…

News coming out this afternoon that the Tigers will NOT be bringing back their manager, Brad Ausmus.

Murphy: nowhere to be found Hicks: .318 Ba, 3 HR, 1.100 OPS Oops!

Winnipeg Goldeyes take game one over Wichita Wingnuts 5-0. Edwin Carl with the 4 hit shutout. Go Goldeyes!

http://nypost.com/2017/09/05/yankees-bust-red-sox-in-high-tech-sign-stealing/ Not that the Yankees have room to talk, they just get Phil Cuzzi to ump their games.

http://deadspin.com/sprint-speed-helps-tell-us-whos-good-at-baserunning-and-1796424570 If the graph they have is true, then it just confirms what I already believed, which is Byron Buxton is the fastest man in all of baseball, but he doesn't make the most of his speed on the base paths.

Meyer logged another poor start for the Angels last night. He had a poor one in AAA prior, but the Angels apparently needed an arm to fill in for Tyler Skaggs so back to MLB he came. Basically the same issues that plagued him in Minnesota: http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/angels-alex-meyer-struggles-again-thursday/ With Skaggs and Richards out, it will be interesting to see if Meyer gets a long-term opportunity here, and what comes of it. The Angels are not brimming with options, but they are still in the contention mix.

They could still mathematically get into a 5-way tie for the 2nd wild card. Either team needs to win the rest of their games, have Colorado lose the rest of their games and have things break just right with StL, Mil, Mia, and Pit. Those teams have just few enough head to head matchups that three of them can end at 75 and the fourth one end at 74. I was annoyed that ESPN showed both teams at 0.1% playoff odds (which is basically saying "not zero") and I didn't believe it. Sure enough, it's possible. Ps. This counts the Rockies' probable win tonight (up 6, late).

http://deadspin.com/phillies-utility-man-pedro-florimon-suffers-awful-looki-1798734886