Sport

I was hoping the Isles would lose so the Pens would have something to play for tonight against the Blue Jackets. Our last two games are against Pittsburgh and Buffalo and it'd be such a CBJ move to win both of them and drop from 32nd to out of the bottom 3. On the other hand, the worst people alive missing the playoffs for the first time since forever is very cool. 

The train conductor look Astros of the early 2000's was a good look, but wrong for the Astros. Plus it took the shooting star and made it static and slow. 

Give me the 90's look every time. 

7 minutes ago, Marlins93 said:

 

I actually love this jersey. I think it's highly underrated, too. I'd love to see it on the field again, especially if they pair it with the teal hats with the black brims.

 

 

I would suggest reducing the thickness of the white outline, though. That's always been the main defect for me, but it still passes the eye test either way.

I merely like it. The number treatment keeps it from being top tier for me. 

They should've just used the same double outline numbers from the home uniforms  and I'm not really sure why they didn't. 

Baseball is so back. I must I admit I was wrong about many of these changes a few years ago when they were proposed. I had a very enjoyable time watching baseball this weekend and it wasn't just nice that the games ended sooner, it was nice that the actual pacing during the games was better. Things moved. Didn't realize how much we needed this. 

Here's your semi-regular report on our beloved Cincinnati Reds aka the Redport: Started 2-1. Good outings from all three of the sophomore starting pitchers. We knew Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo would be good, but really excited for Graham Ashcraft as the kind of surprise stud starter. 

They're 2-1, which means they need to win two games out of the next 22 to beat last year's 3-22 start and I feel pretty good about that. Craziest part about the 3-22 start is they opened the season with a 2-2 series split against Atlanta, which means they won 1 game out of the next 21. For me that's the rock bottom moment for the rebuild. I don't expect them to make the playoffs or anything outlandish, but it would be nice if they're not eliminated by Tax Day. 

The Rockies home whites are effectively the White Sox, though, and there's never been a good reason for that. "The pinstripes are purple" is technically true, but those pinstripes turn black from like five feet away. I didn't even know the pinstripes were purple until a solid ten years after the franchise started. If I was King of the Rockies they'd be a purple and gray team.

I never had much affection for the Goofy Giants Marlins look they had when they first went to the Miami Marlins moniker, but it's a masterpiece compared to the current uniform, which is like if seasonal depression were a baseball uniform. 

I am a huge fan of their 1997 uniforms with both the full sleeved look and the vested look. I think that was the best balance of those colors. The road uniform was a unique, but attractive look itself, but its arched wordmark was inferior to the later Florida script that matched the home script, unfortunately that coincided with the flip to a black heavy look so they never got it 100% perfect. I want to love the all-teal hats, but the originals were so bright and so pastel that they looked goofy in helmet form. The hats and helmets they wore on Friday look great in HD and maybe that's the whole difference, but these ones look and feel far more saturated and I thought it looked great. 

15 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

It has been the norm since the 1930s, when teams introduced numbers.  (The Yankees actually began using numbers in 1929; though, as noted, despite their 1929 and 1930 managers wearing numbers, McCarthy didn't wear one during his long tenure starting in 1931 and lasting into the mid-1940s.)

Regardless, it wouldn't "spit in the eye of history" when history is that McCarthy and the others mentioned didn't wear a number. There's actual historical precedent for managers not wearing numbers. If the norm changed at some point, then that means it can change again.

That doesn't mean that I think we should go back to numberless jerseys for the players. When everyone wears 42 or the Red Sox-Yankees throwback game where nobody wore a number, it actually demonstrated how necessary the numbers are. For the players. 

3 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

It's true that Connie Mack and Burt Shotten wore street clothes.  It's also true that Joe McCarthy (who started his Major League managerial career before the advent of uniform numbers) never wore a number.  Nor did John McGraw, who also began his career in the pre-number era.

 

And, out of the many hundreds people who have managed Major League clubs since the beginning of the 1930s, those are just about the only examples.  I believe the applicable idiom is "the exception that proves the rule".  To take the position that the managers and coaches wearing numbers is not the norm would be absurd.

 

I didn't take that position. You took the position that the managers and coaches not wearing numbers "spits in the eye of history" when there's a long history of baseball managers not wearing numbers. Is it the norm since the 50's that managers wear numbers? Yes. Would a manager not wearing a number "spit in the eye of history?" Connie :censored:ing Mack says no.  

On 3/30/2023 at 10:42 AM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

F no!  There aren't enough curse words available to sufficiently condemn this idea.  Shame on the Yankees, of all teams, for advancing such an anti-historical proposition.  It's one more reason to be glad that I retired upon the introduction of the abomination of interleague play after the 1996 season.  The only current aspect of Major League Baseball that I follow is the uniforms; so this absurd idea (along with the unsightly practice of players not showing any sock) still has the power to irk me. 

 

The article mentions that "Very few players want higher numbers typically associated with NFL offensive tackles, hockey defensemen[,] or back-of-the-roster scrubs." So the obvious solution presents itself: give those undesireable numbers to the manager and the coaching staff. Problem solved.

 

It's definitely true that the Yankees have retired too damn many numbers.  Therefore the onus to remedy the problem that they themselves caused must be on them, not on all of Major League Baseball by means of an offensive practice that spits in the eye of history.

Historically speaking - Connie Mack wore a suit, Joe McCarthy never wore a number, Burt Shotton wore slacks and a handsome satin Dodgers jacket. The Yankees went overboard with the number retiring (Would anyone have made a fuss if they never retired Paul O'Neill's #21?), but historically there's been a lot of managers who weren't numbered so I fail to see how this would be "spitting in the eye of history". 

Most of the time these days managers look like this. What would look sloppier? The hoodie or wearing the actual uniform top without a number? 

I can't remember the last time I saw the Reds David Bell in his actual uniform top. I doubt he even bothers to put it on before he puts on his red hoodie. 

12 hours ago, Dilbert said:

According to Phil they were out of contention before first pitch yesterday. 

Ke'Bryan Hayes just tried to call time, got denied, and then had to jump back in the box and struck out swinging. 

Pitch clock baseball is good. 

On 3/28/2023 at 11:52 AM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

Which was an awesome look; the Reds are the only team who looked good in vests, whether in the 1950s or the 1990s.

 

 

 

 

 

Yow.  The white pinstriped hats are beautiful, even better than the plain-white-crowned hats of the late 1950s.

 

Nevertheless, I do agree that simply restoring the pre-1972 look would have been the a great move after the disease of pullovers and beltless pants was excised from baseball.

To each their own. I think they look silly. I lived through those years and I have no fondness for them. Furthermore, the hats dirtied fast and they looked weird on fans, especially with all the variants in pinstripes from hat to hat and manufacturer to manufacturer. It's so much simpler and looks better to just use a red hat. 

When those uniforms were at the plate they wore red helmets, which looked a lot better. It was a sturdier, more balanced look. The red lid on top gives a nice button to the white vest and a better ratio of colors while the white hats just feel like so much white. 

9 hours ago, FiddySicks said:

My favorite cap ever is the all red cap with the wishbone C. The current one is only slightly different with the black drop shadow, but it completely ruins it. 
 

I think it was @Sport said that they should’ve been a red and white version of the Dodgers and I couldn’t agree more. 

Yeah that was me and I still believe that. They were the last team to drop their pullovers and sansabelt pants and rather than embracing their pre-pullover look like most teams did, they chose to redesign to a vest and pinstripes look with silly white hats. If they'd just readopted the 1970 uniforms as the Good Dude intended then I don't know if we would've had the BFBS Reds. 

Here's the good part, though - it's not too late. And I think an overwhelmingly high percentage of Reds fans would love if the team dropped the 90's drop shadows and went back to being a strictly red/white team. 

5 hours ago, Dilbert said:

Because Nashville has been bouncing between the Eastern and Western Conference, they dont really have an MLS rival. Nashville fans have been trying hard for it to be Cincinnati because of our past together in the USL, but a lot of Cincy fans want no part in having Nashville as a rival.  Its why Nashville supporters as well as the team itself were talking alot last week, but Cincy supporters and the team were very quiet.

 

Many of the supporters of other teams are constantly like, "Yall got three wooden spoons" and bringing up how bad we were in the past as if we are still bad today. We are a completely different team now and they all seem to be stuck in the past rather than the present.

I know it's like "I'm actually not mad. This is actually funny to me." but the "Cincinnati SUCKS wooden spoons!" t-shirt really doesn't bother me at all. The thing that bothered me was actually watching the three wooden spoon teams. Those guys paying for those shirts, wearing them, having them in their possession so they have to launder and store them is really just a joke on themselves. I'm not owned by you wearing a shirt that says Cincinnati Sucks because I'm not the one who has to live with that shirt. 

On 3/25/2023 at 11:01 PM, Dilbert said:

FC Cincinnati is now unbeaten on the road in 9 games, dating back to July of last season (not counting playoffs), Getting a win on the road in Nashville is huge. Nashville and their supporters were talking all week how Nashville and Cincinnati is a rivalry and talked a lot of smack. Cincinnati supporters talked but not as much and to the level Nashville took it. There is the saying "Talk s***, get hit". Nashville got hit.

 

Cincinnati now sits one point out of first in the Eastern Conference and is the lone remaining unbeaten in the East. We've come a long way from the first three seasons.

I had no animosity for Nashville before the game, but I kind of do now. Those Nashville fans seemed angry. Not sports angry, but like angry angry. Like when Acosta got bumped in the eye and the two dudes in the "Cincinnati Sucks" shirts were yelling at him from the corner - Middle fingers and grabbing their sacks and just really classy behavior. Relax. 

Rumor is that the Reds will be black jersey with black pants so, if true, that sucks. 

On 3/24/2023 at 3:01 PM, FiddySicks said:

Isn’t that similar to what they did with that World Cup of Hockey tournament a few years ago? Had a “North America” team, but in reverse and only for the youngsters? 

Yes and every Hockey Influencer was erect about that team for like a month and if you dared to question it for one second you were deemed lame and uncool. I liked watching their games, but it totally cut the actual Team USA roster off at the knees because most of our best players were under 23. I know it also kept McDavid and Mackinnon off of Team Canada, but they won the tournament anyway. USA went 0-3 in group play. Next time they do it they need to skip the U23 team and Team Europe. 

Hard to believe the last World Cup of Hockey was 7 years ago, which fits the history of that tournament because there's no rhyme or reason for when they decide to put one on. 

The script-writers having the game come down to Ohtani v. Trout was a little too predictable. 

1 hour ago, IceCap said:

This is the jersey equivalent of putting the league on OLN 

 

 

Terrible news. The only good part about that is it means the old authentics will be on sale? Because of past experiences with Fanatics I refuse to buy anything from them so I guess I just won't buy a new jersey for a while. 

1 minute ago, Digby said:

Because then in all likelihood you’d pull a Blue Jackets ball like 4 more times after you already pulled the first one, no? I guess you could just say “they’re already on the list so discard” if it’s behind the scenes but that would get tedious as a TV spectacle. 

I think that might add fun tension to the broadcast. Or they figure out a way to quickly clean the bucket of the balls for a team who's already been picked? All I know is to avoid any question that this is a fair drawing it has to be analog and visible. 

1 minute ago, Digby said:

Probability math stuff gets heady quickly. The current NBA/NHL method with the assigned number sequences makes sense in theory but it could well be the nerds pulling one over on me. I remember taking stats in college thinking it would be like sabermetric stats and… it was not.

I escaped stats with a C- and was happy with that grade so I'm also not the guy to talk to about this stuff. The assigned numbers make sense, but doesn't make for compelling TV. Also it happens behind closed doors. I want this thing done out in the open. 

The Ewing lottery is hilariously quaint. That was the first ever draft lottery and their design of the lottery seems perfectly tailored to be riggable. They dumped like ten enormous envelopes into this big clear plastic drum, which is cranked by this old bald dude and then Stern sticks his hand in and without looking fishes for the cold one. I’m not saying it was rigged, but if they were trying to rig it, the setup wouldn’t have looked any different. 

I don’t get why they use the numbering system, though, and not just put 100 balls in the hopper with each team’s logo on them and give the worst teams more balls? So the Blue Jackets this year would have 25 of the 100 balls, the Sharks would have 13, etc. Then you could do the drawing on live TV like the state lotteries do and make it a better show than Bill Daly turning cards over and it would more visibly transparent. People say it’s rigged because we can’t see how the results were collected. 

What a game. Japan comes back to steal it from Mexico. Ohtani doubles to start the 9th, then a walk, and then Murakami knocks them in with a shot off the wall to walk it off. Ohtani vs Trout for the championship.

:censored: happens. I don’t see the difference because this tournament isn’t more work than they would be doing in camp. It’s just replacing their spring training reps and because they play fewer games in WBC it’s actually probably less work. More strenuous innings for the pitchers, maybe, but they’re gonna have to be full-go in a couple weeks anyway. If a guy is lost for the season because of a spring training injury that’s exactly the same crappy outcome from a fan’s point of view as losing that guy for the season to a WBC injury. Injuries sucks regardless of the how, but the risk of injury is the same. The only difference is people are more accustomed to, and therefore accepting of, injuries that happen within regular spring training.
 

Score update: This game is GOOD. It was 3-0 Mexico until Japan tied it in the 7th on a three run bomb. Mexico came back and retook the lead in the 8th. 5-3 Mexico in the bottom of the 8th now, but Japan has two on and nobody out. 
 

edit: 5-4 Mexico. 

28 minutes ago, BBTV said:

If guys get hurt playing in this silly exhibition, are they still paid by their MLB clubs?  Or is it treated like if they get in some reckless accident in the offseason and have to miss time?

 

Spring training may not mean a lot, but it's at least supervised by the clubs, who have control over pitch counts and playing time.  As a season ticket holder, I'd be pissed if my team gets worse because a guy got hurt in what's essentially a vanity project that has nothing to do with the club.  Also, the Phillies just gave Tre Turner a $300M contract - I think they have a right to say no to him playing.  A player's first professional priority should be to his team.  The team's priority should be to its fans.  This GoBots version of the World Cup should be down on the list.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/what-happens-to-mlb-contract-if-player-gets-injured-during-wbc/3304908/
 

This answers a lot of your questions. Salaries for players injured during the WBC will be covered by insurance. Kershaw is not pitching  in the tournament strictly because his insurance was denied. 

edit: Randy Arozarena just robbed a home run in Miami and it was a super fun moment. I think you guys would actually enjoy watching these games if you weren’t too busy being the grumpiest old men. 

48 minutes ago, WestCoastBias said:

 

And Austin Nola yesterday..

Juan Soto also strained his oblique in a B team minor league game, talk about a meaningless exhibition.

This wouldn't have happened if Nola and Turner were playing for Team USA. 

6 minutes ago, McCall said:

Said Justin Turner.

This meaningless exhibition game is acceptable to get hurt in, but if he'd been wearing a USA jersey in a meaningless exhibition game we would've had problems.

This is how I found out Justin Turner was on the Red Sox now.