2017 MLB Season

[Kramerica Industries]

15 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

The Reds are extending the netting to the other side of the dugout for next season* and it's long overdue. I've sat in those close-to-the-action, but exposed seats a couple times this year** and you do feel the risks when balls are flying right into the crowd. I played the game at the high school level and I pay close attention most of the time and I'm still weary. There's old people and kids seated around me with worse reflexes. 

 

And my god I did not think an issue like "protecting more fans with 50 extra feet of netting so kids don't get hit in the face with baseballs" was an issue that could have opposition or even be politicized, but I was wrong.

 

*the only reason they're waiting until next season I think is because they only have 3 more home games this year. 

**one benefit of a bad team is access to good cheap seats. 

 

I've more-or-less avoided actually reading discussions about this, but I have on a couple of occasions trolled around by saying that extending the netting is totally going to be seen as furthering the "wussification of America". I'm just going to guess that's what you are talking about? And I'd bet you the same people whining about this are the same people who hold generally crappy political views in other areas as well...but since we aren't allowed to discuss politics here, I'll stay vague and let the implication speak for itself.

[Sport]

It's that and stuff like "damn milenials need to get off there phones and watch the games!!!!" 

 

Okay, hot shot. The kid that was hit by Todd Frazier's foul ball was being held by her father who was watching the game. He didn't have time to get her out of the way because the ball was going one hundred and five miles an hour! Let's put up a net so children aren't getting bopped with baseballs. People won't even think about them in two weeks. 

 

If anyone is anti-net then maybe the fact that professional child and ballhawk Zack Hample is opposed to additional netting because it will make it harder for him to get souvenir baseballs will sway your opinion. 

[OnWis97]

10 minutes ago, Kramerica Industries said:

 

I've more-or-less avoided actually reading discussions about this, but I have on a couple of occasions trolled around by saying that extending the netting is totally going to be seen as furthering the "wussification of America". I'm just going to guess that's what you are talking about? And I'd bet you the same people whining about this are the same people who hold generally crappy political views in other areas as well...but since we aren't allowed to discuss politics here, I'll stay vague and let the implication speak for itself.

I don't feel like I've seen much of that.  Maybe a little "baseballs are dangerous, so pay attention and don't bring little kids there" maybe drifting into the "personal responsibility" shtick.  

 

I'm probably a little bit toward the "intolerant" end of the spectrum when it comes to attitudes about aloof fans.  But even I am not always 100% engaged in the game.  And it's not just that there are old people and kids but that MLB and its teams don't even set the atmosphere to paying full attention.  You could get hit by a line drive when the hotdog vender is screening your view.  And the between innings antics, while not distracting during play, are meant to attract casual fans.  The teams know they can't pull in sizeable crowds of dedicated, attention-paying fans 81 times a year.  They need casual fans that drink five beers, get up to go to the concourse mid-batter,* look at their phones, talk to each other, etc.  

 

*that's the thing I'm least tolerable about...I can live in a world where you're not paying attention but I'd like you to be aware of those around you that might be.

 

Nets bother me...worse in hockey than baseball for reasons I am unsure of.  At my most selfish, I'd rather they not be extended, but I really don't think there's much choice.  And it's not about wussification, personal responsibility, or those pesky smartphones.  It was dangerous before smartphones and back when America Was Great.  Not all change is bad...and it's certainly not endangering our way of life or ability to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.

[Sport]

The players are bigger, the balls are going faster, and the fans are closer than they have ever been, yet the nets have mostly remained in the same place. We're really just correcting environments so they match the speed and dimensions of the game. 

 

I think pitchers need to start wearing protective headgear too. In 20 years We will look back on pitchers not wearing helmets with the same bewilderment as we look at old hockey players not wearing helmets. It will seem crazy to us that pitchers ever played this game without some kind of protective padding on their heads. 

[cmm]

Exactly. The game has changed. We have more pitchers throwing 97+ mph fastballs. Batters are bigger and stronger, and they’re swinging for the fences on nearly every pitch (which is why we have so many homers and strikeouts). So balls are flying off the bat at speeds higher than ever before. Base coaches wear helmets now because a minor league coach was killed after being hit by a line drive; hopefully it doesn’t take a fan being killed before all 30 teams extend the netting.

 

(Of course, there was some blowback after MLB required coaches to wear a helmet, but that mostly came from Larry Bowa and he’s an asshat anyway.)

[OnWis97]

11 minutes ago, cmm said:

Exactly. The game has changed. We have more pitchers throwing 97+ mph fastballs. Batters are bigger and stronger, and they’re swinging for the fences on nearly every pitch (which is why we have so many homers and strikeouts). So balls are flying off the bat at speeds higher than ever before. Base coaches wear helmets now because a minor league coach was killed after being hit by a line drive; hopefully it doesn’t take a fan being killed before all 30 teams extend the netting.

 

(Of course, there was some blowback after MLB required coaches to wear a helmet, but that mostly came from Larry Bowa and he’s an asshat anyway.)

And it just seems like (though it's just my gut; maybe I'm wrong) there are more balls being fouled into the stands than there used to be.

[HedleyLamarr]

The argument I can get on board with for not expanding the nets is that they distort the view some.  That was the main opposition to hockey's netting, too.  I can also feel the argument of "I get less chance of a game souvenir", too. 

[The_Admiral]

Extend the netting and stop playing with your phones during the game.

 

I feel bad for the Brewers with the way they're collapsing in the home stretch. Oh well, collateral damage.

[Danny the Sheeb]

Anybody else watching the D-backs-Marlins game?

[FiddySicks]

Proud' dad John Farrell tips cap as son Luke pitches ninth for Reds

 

Ii can't even imagine how that must've felt. Pretty cool, I'd imagine. 

[The_Admiral]

Wow did the Angels excuse themselves from the proceedings or what. oof.

[masterchaoss]

Yeah was hoping they would make the postseason but man did their offense decide to shoot them self in the foot at worst possible time. 

[Seadragon76]

And another year without the playoffs in Seattle... God, I hate being a Mariners fan. It's like torture... They do well and raise my expectations only to see them crap the bed and basically prove that Seattle is a two horse town and those horses are the Seahawks and the Sounders.

[dsaline97]

The Rockies have been shut out three of the last four games... to two of the worst teams in the NL. And the Brewers and Cards are coming like a freight train.

 

[OnWis97]

Barring a mini-collapse the Twins should get the second wild card.  And there's no question that this is a good example of that secon bid going to an un-deserving team.*  Nevertheless, assuming this holds up, I'm very appreciative of the achievement following a 103-loss season.  

 

*It's a non-issue anyway some the Twins never win in New York.

[Still MIGHTY]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

Wow did the Angels excuse themselves from the proceedings or what. oof.

 

Sigh... yup...

 

Wasting the career of possibly the greatest player of all time. That's us.

 

#FireArte... oh wait. We can't. 

[SFGiants58]

 

 

This is the only way that Bronson Arroyo could retire. That quirky dude will always be one of my favorite players.

[OnWis97]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

 

This is the only way that Bronson Arroyo could retire. That quirky dude will always be one of my favorite players.

I saw Pearl Jam at Fenway last year and Arroyo joined them for a song (Black).  Apparently playing guywas part of his rehab.

[OnWis97]

2 hours ago, Still MIGHTY said:

 

Sigh... yup...

 

Wasting the career of possibly the greatest player of all time. That's us.

 

#FireArte... oh wait. We can't. 

As someone who's not that familiar with the ins and outs of the Angels, maybe I am way off but Trout is still young.  Who's to say they won't run away with the west when he is like 27?

[Still MIGHTY]

1 hour ago, OnWis97 said:

As someone who's not that familiar with the ins and outs of the Angels, maybe I am way off but Trout is still young.  Who's to say they won't run away with the west when he is like 27?

 

He turns 27 next season and has three-years left on his current deal.

 

The Angels under Arte Moreno have shown no real propensity to shore up the starting rotation or the bullpen or left field or catcher or second base. They don't inspire too much confidence. Yeah they hung around in the second wild card hunt for a while, but that was usually below or at .500 with people like me just waiting for the inevitable bottom falling out.

 

I'd love to be wrong. I'd love for the Angels to explode and run away with the West one of these next three years, but as I said, the team especially with Arte Moreno at the top being as meddlesome as he is doesn't inspire much confidence that they will. And if they don't, I also don't have too much confidence that Trout won't be a Yankee or something in 2021.