2015 MLB Season - Let's Play Two!

[Dan Gould]

So, I leave the house for a great night out hearing modern classical music and I get back home to find out that Josh Hamilton is heading back to the Rangers? #SorryBaseballMyNutsAreNotThereForYouToKickThemAtYourEveryWhim

I wasn't too impressed by Hamilton going for all that money but I think the Halos have treated Hamilton appallingly and I really, really, really hope the Rangers win a World Series while he is back with them, and before the Angels sniff one.

The asshole in this is the Angels owner, throwing gobs of money around and then pretending that the PA allows you to forget all that if a guy with known addiction problems that you voluntarily signed falls off the wagon. I hope he has a couple of more 40 homer seasons and that the Angels finish behind the Rangers as long as he is an active player.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Dan Gould

[JSngry]

We all are wishing for that, Dan. Arte Moreno is a real piece of work, I'd like for him and Jerry Jones to get a room, and then have a contest to see who can get the other one pregnant, and have to keep trying until either one succeeds or that both die from trying. Now that's a wish!

As for the Josh Hamilton wish, yes, at least one reboundy window of glory is indeed to be wished for, but as a co-worker of mine recently told me what his momma used to tell him about wishing - wish in one cup, piss in the other, and see which one fills up first.

Horrible parenting, but not without its own wisdom.

Here's a pretty sober assessment of the whole thing, one that takes a turn into Matthew Shipp vs Herbie Hancock land, with Ryan Rua as Matthew Shipp & Josh Hamilton as Herbie Hancock: I love it when all this interdisciplinary shit can be applied to everyday life.

http://www.lonestarball.com/2015/4/25/8496027/josh-hamilton-trade-texas-rangers-angels

[JSngry]

Angels willing to eat $68 million? And get nothing in return?

Arte is...that man has more dollars than sense!

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/04/sources-texas-rangers-to-take-on-less-than-7-million-of-josh-hamilton-deal.html/

[Dan Gould]

Angels willing to eat $68 million? And get nothing in return?

Arte is...that man has more dollars than sense!

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/04/sources-texas-rangers-to-take-on-less-than-7-million-of-josh-hamilton-deal.html/

OK I didn't read the whole darn thing but a couple of things jumped out at me:

The Rangers are getting an $83 million player, and only paying $15 million (or less, if Evan is right)...how can that not be a win for the Rangers?

Except, of course, Josh Hamilton isn't an $83 million player anymore. If he were, the Angels wouldn't be paying the bulk of his deal to give him away.

Actually, the Angels would be paying the bulk of the deal because the a-hole Moreno wants Hamilton gone and doesn't have a legal leg to stand on if he tries to avoid paying him what he is owed by the contract Moreno offered. So the Rangers can drive the hardest bargain they want. Moreno makes it easy.

And maybe I missed it but the author didn't deal with Anaheim being a less than ideal park for Hamilton. From hardballtalk.com:

In 2014, all 10 of Hamilton’s homers came in road games. He hit .249/.314/.302 at home and .278/.347/.527 on the road. Basically, he was still a star while playing outside of Southern California.

The author of that blog post may very well be right about a player like Hamilton in his age 34 season and what the future holds, and maybe he's not capable of a 40 or even 30 homer season anymore. But for the money the Rangers are going to pay, if he doesn't fall off a cliff statistically, he'll have legit value in my opinion.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Dan Gould

[JSngry]

Yeah, 3/7 is not a a bad deal even if he ends up being spare parts. I do wonder how this will affect the Rangers' long term development paths of some younger players/prospects, but as long as this is not a sign that the organization is sacrificing long-term goals for short term fan-sex to put seats in the seats while the current team continues to injure its way out of optimism for the second straight season, I can live with it.

Although, I was glad to see Hamilton go when he did, and VERY glad that he landed on the Angles with such an absurd moneysuck of a deal, and although I do think he's going to be a case that aligns with the statistics about age/type/decline as a rule rather than an exception, but now that it looks like hopes for some good front end years from Choo ain't gonna happen, maybe there's more machinations being logisticised as we speak.

But dude, for all but the hardcore Hamilton-inclined fan-types, there was no real joy when he left, and not too much that he's returning. Just too much of him and his game(s) was/is(?) broken like Humpty-Dumpty.

Nevertheless, hope springs eternal!

[uli]

for the win! cough it up Yankees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MEs2xox67g

[Tim McG]

OK.

RANT ALERT!

A-Rod hits #660.

And oh how the Yankees fans cheer, you know, for that steroids user A-Rod who was suspended for an entire year.

These are the very SAME Yankees fans who booed Barry Bonds calling him Barroid and other even racist slurs, saying Babe Ruth [an obese drunkard and a womanizer who never saw a wicked slider, forkball, slurve, circle change or a two seamer in his entire life and would ride the pine in today's game] hit his HRs on hot dogs and beer. Yeah, a bathtub full.

Bonds was never suspended, never tested positive and used a substance called the "Clear" when it was still legal to do so. Yet he is vilified and A-Roid is all the rage. The darling of the NY controlled sporting media. Pssh.

I sincerely hope he breaks the all-time HR record. Then we see what those hypocrites in the Hall of Fame do with Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemons after he gets on the ballot for the HOF.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/mike-shuster--fan-who-caught-a-rod-s-660th-homer--says-he-won-t-give-it-back-025433644.html

I now return you to your scrolling and Jazz reading pleasure.

Edited May 2, 2015 by TimMcG

[Aggie87]

I'm not a Yankees fan. A-roid belongs in the same conversations with Barroid. Both are cheaters. Rodriguez is not "the rage" in this country, and I doubt whether he is for most NY area fans, either.

Ken Caminiti was one of my favorite players when he was on the Astros, who went on to win the NL MVP with the Padres. When it turned out that he'd taken PEDs, I adjusted my opinion of him accordingly.

Wish you could do that with Bonds. He's a cheater. Thanks for the memories, Goodspeak.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Aggie87

[Tim McG]

I disagree.

They all get in or nobody gets in....including A-Rod.

Good-who?

And you're welcome, Aggie.

Edited May 2, 2015 by TimMcG

[Dan Gould]

1. Ruth did face wicked forkballs and legal spitballs. To say he would ride the pines today is outrageously ignorant.

2. Barry's accomplishments are just fine because it wasn't 'against the rules', Tim? You really want to go there? Performance Enhancing Drugs: A-Rod used them, Barry used them. A pox on all of them.

3. A-Rod will never sniff the Hall of Fame. Ever. And why you would think there is even a question is completely beyond me.

[JSngry]

3. A-Rod will never sniff the Hall of Fame.

After hearing about A-Rod & Carmen Diaz hiring a hooker for a 3-Way at some film festival - and then contracting clap or herpes or something as a result, I can never again hear "A-Rod" and "sniff" within 500 miles of each other without becoming nauseous.

[Scott Dolan]

The slider came about in the 1910's, and the forkball in the 1920's. It's a safe bet Ruth saw those pitches. Not to mention legally doctored balls.

I think the greatest hitters from the steroid era will eventually make the Hall, but it likely won't happen in our lifetime. Th Hall is lined with players who cheated, but they weren't playing in the time of hypersensationalized, 24 hour "news" channels.

[Tim McG]

1. Ruth did face wicked forkballs and legal spitballs. To say he would ride the pines today is outrageously ignorant.

2. Barry's accomplishments are just fine because it wasn't 'against the rules', Tim? You really want to go there? Performance Enhancing Drugs: A-Rod used them, Barry used them. A pox on all of them.

3. A-Rod will never sniff the Hall of Fame. Ever. And why you would think there is even a question is completely beyond me.

Well, I respectfully disagree.

I said what I did because the sporting media is just full of A-Rod news. That's all they seem to talk or write about every time the guy picks up a bat. Just pointing out the inequities is all.

As to Babe Ruth, he never saw the best pitchers in that time period because they were all in the Negro Leagues. Satchel Page, as an example, would have had him for lunch. No Latino players ever pitched to him, either. In those days, the only truly good players played for a handful of teams. Most were on the Yankees. With his alcoholism and obesity, he wouldn't hold a candle to modern day players of equal or greater talent. Just my opinion of the matter is all.

The slider came about in the 1910's, and the forkball in the 1920's. It's a safe bet Ruth saw those pitches. Not to mention legally doctored balls.

I think the greatest hitters from the steroid era will eventually make the Hall, but it likely won't happen in our lifetime. Th Hall is lined with players who cheated, but they weren't playing in the time of hypersensationalized, 24 hour "news" channels.

I agree.

However, the slider you see today has far more movement on it. Those three stud relievers your guys have on the Royals and the Giants Romo and Casilla are sheer testament to that fact.

Anyhow, my Giants just whacked back-to-back HRs and a triple, in the 1st inning. Game on! Gotta go!

Edited May 3, 2015 by TimMcG

[Scott Dolan]

I wasn't around in the 1910's to verify your statement, so I'll have to take your word for it.

Doctored balls broke far harder than any sliders these days. That's why they were outlawed.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Scott Dolan

[JSngry]

Doctored balls broke far harder than any sliders these days. That's why they were outlawed.

I wasn't around in the 1910's to verify your statement, so I'll have to take your word for it.

But do take my word for this - Rangers not having fun right now.

[Scott Dolan]

Doctored balls broke far harder than any sliders these days. That's why they were outlawed.

I wasn't around in the 1910's to verify your statement, so I'll have to take your word for it.

But do take my word for this - Rangers not having fun right now.

Fortunately, it is really well documented. I suppose you could have done a little homework before taking your idiotic potshot.

Spitters could be thrown as fast as a four seamer, yet broke like in a fashion similar to a knuckleball.

[JSngry]

I need test results.

And a sense of humor.

[Soulstation1]

Dock Ellis No-No is on Netflix

Pretty cool with 70s baseball cards

[mr jazz]

Nats take 3 of 4 from the Mets but with two 1-0 games so offense still offensive.

[Dan Gould]

1. Ruth did face wicked forkballs and legal spitballs. To say he would ride the pines today is outrageously ignorant.

2. Barry's accomplishments are just fine because it wasn't 'against the rules', Tim? You really want to go there? Performance Enhancing Drugs: A-Rod used them, Barry used them. A pox on all of them.

3. A-Rod will never sniff the Hall of Fame. Ever. And why you would think there is even a question is completely beyond me.

Well, I respectfully disagree.

I said what I did because the sporting media is just full of A-Rod news. That's all they seem to talk or write about every time the guy picks up a bat. Just pointing out the inequities is all.

As to Babe Ruth, he never saw the best pitchers in that time period because they were all in the Negro Leagues. Satchel Page, as an example, would have had him for lunch. No Latino players ever pitched to him, either. In those days, the only truly good players played for a handful of teams. Most were on the Yankees. With his alcoholism and obesity, he wouldn't hold a candle to modern day players of equal or greater talent. Just my opinion of the matter is all.

And the media was full of Barry news when he was over-taking Ruth, and when he was over-taking Aaron too. Maybe your problem is that he is leaving another famous Giant in the dust but there just isn't enough mention of his use of PEDs?

And as to Ruth what you are really saying is that every single legendary player of the era - who hardly only played for the Yankees, BTW - are in fact all frauds because they didn't face black pitchers.

Utterly ludicrous and appallingly ignorant.

[Scott Dolan]

And as to Ruth what you are really saying is that every single legendary player of the era - who hardly only played for the Yankees, BTW - are in fact all frauds because they didn't face black pitchers.

Utterly ludicrous and appallingly ignorant.

It's an incredibly bizarre turn of events when Gould and I agree on something.

[JSngry]

Well, the other side of that equation is that the great Negro League pitchers never got to face the great MLB hitters on a full-season basis either. There's an extremely small sample size available to look at, and although we know there was some badass talent in the Negro Leagues, players who would undoubtedly had a true impact on MLB history if they had been allowed in, that doesn't auto-translate to White Guys Got Off Easy.

Easier That They Would Have, yes, true to a degree, but unless every Negro League Player was at a talent level such that Babe Ruth would never have to face a mediocre-or-worse White pitcher, that EVERY AL team would have been able to eliminate all their weaknesses, AND that all these new pitchers would've had their best stuff every time out AND that their best stuff was so overpowering that the cream of the crop would have never been able to figure ANY of them out at least every once in a while, then...what are we talking about, then? That Babe Ruth wouldn't have hit 714 home runs, well, maybe not, but would somebody else have? Maybe he'd have hit 419 (to pick a random number), and Mel Ott 384. An Buck Leonard ends up with 450 (or 418)

Or would talent will out, as it generally tends to do in any given place and time. Rankings stay about where they are, with additional talent added and taking their rankings as well. I don't think we'd be looking at really negating a whole era's (several eras, really) of ability, nearly as much as seeing it with more clarity.. Skills is skills and even if the game's names changes, skills in general translate well.

Roles, now, maybe not so much. Roles can come and go (and only sometimes come back again). But skills is skill.

Objectively, I should think that the only real conclusions, rather than speculations, to be drawn are that

• The stats don't lie about anybody's greatness relative to the environment in which they performed. One cannot pretend otherwise.
• Those Pre-42 (or even the immediately Post-42) environments were deliberately not dependent upon drawing along the largest available culturally-neutral talent pool. One cannot pretend otherwise.
• The end of racial segregation in MLB was a start towards (a start still not yet completed) the ability to create an environment of drawing upon the largest available culturally-neutral talent pool. As the game continues to be played (and developed) internationally, this is going to be an ongoing evolution.

[Dan Gould]

One other thought - if Babe Ruth played today there isn't a chance in hell he swings a 48oz bat. He's forced to learn what Barry did, that what is lost in mass is made up in bat speed, and F=M X A and the Babe still hits 'em out at a prodigious rate.

What he probably doesn't do though (and this is the true big difference between eras) is hit as many late-inning homers since he faces deadly lefty-specialists on a nightly basis. I've often wondered how many of Ruth's homers came from the 7th inning on, when in today's game he'd likely face a tough lefty reliever, especially if it was an RBI situation.

[JSngry]

Well, if you really want to play the If Babe Ruth Today game...he'd have been born in or about 1985, and does he even play baseball at all?

[Dan Gould]

Well if he's packing away all the hot dogs, then of course he's playing baseball.