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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Feb 19, 2014 11:38:34 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, would tickets to the Padres be cheaper enough (vs Dodger home games) to make a longer road trip there to see the Giants worthwhile to you? I've heard of Yankee fans from NY that prefer to go to Orioles games because of the cost difference, so going to San Diego seems like it might be a viable option. Also have to imagine Padre games are far less likely to sell out as quick as Dodger games as well. Interesting idea. I've never looked into it, but they might be cheaper. I'd have to look into ticket prices vs. cost of gas while traveling 131 miles instead of the 14 miles to Dodger Stadium. The other issue is that I'd have no one to go with. My boyfriend is a Dodgers fan, which can be terribly annoying, but at least he'd go to Giants/Dodgers games with me. Good point. Stubhub is often a good bet for cheaper tickets. Especially if you have a free weekday for a game (but I suspect the Dodgers would go to great lenths to avoid wasting a Giants visit on a Wednesday afternoon game).
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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Feb 19, 2014 11:41:11 GMT -5
the market structure of baseball lead to an uncompetitive league. "since 2008, the Yankees have won the most games in baseball, with 564. The Rays have won the second-most games in baseball, with 550. Over that span, the Yankees have out-spent the Rays by more than nine hundred million dollars." - Jeff Sullivan on FanGraphs
The famously low-budget Oakland A's are my pick for World Series champs this season. link
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Post by chareth on Feb 19, 2014 11:50:53 GMT -5
sigh i'm a Phillies fan. i'm more excited for whoever the Phillies pick in the draft this april than i am for watching this years major league team. and that person wont be a major leaguer for 3-5 years if ever. this is just a sad team with the only person who doesnt realize how old the players is the GM. i think this season is a success if the organization changes gms. Maybe they can find another team that will take one Ed Wade as a GM, seemed to work like gangbusters the last time.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2014 11:51:43 GMT -5
the market structure of baseball lead to an uncompetitive league. "since 2008, the Yankees have won the most games in baseball, with 564. The Rays have won the second-most games in baseball, with 550. Over that span, the Yankees have out-spent the Rays by more than nine hundred million dollars." - Jeff Sullivan on FanGraphs
The famously low-budget Oakland A's are my pick for World Series champs this season. Okay, I can't completely argue with this, player salaries don't directly correspond to being competitive. Shrewd management goes a long way. Still, I don't see myself paying attention to baseball anytime soon, thinking that maybe this year the Royals or Padres get it together.
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Post by mratfink on Feb 19, 2014 12:23:53 GMT -5
"since 2008, the Yankees have won the most games in baseball, with 564. The Rays have won the second-most games in baseball, with 550. Over that span, the Yankees have out-spent the Rays by more than nine hundred million dollars." - Jeff Sullivan on FanGraphs
The famously low-budget Oakland A's are my pick for World Series champs this season. Okay, I can't completely argue with this, player salaries don't directly correspond to being competitive. Shrewd management goes a long way. Still, I don't see myself paying attention to baseball anytime soon, thinking that maybe this year the Royals or Padres get it together. The Padres havent been that bad for that long. they have made the playoffs twice in the past decade (famously winning the west one year with only 82 wins). the Royals on the other hand... actually i think this might be the year they compete for a playoff spot.
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Post by Little Emma on Feb 19, 2014 17:08:56 GMT -5
Interesting idea. I've never looked into it, but they might be cheaper. I'd have to look into ticket prices vs. cost of gas while traveling 131 miles instead of the 14 miles to Dodger Stadium. The other issue is that I'd have no one to go with. My boyfriend is a Dodgers fan, which can be terribly annoying, but at least he'd go to Giants/Dodgers games with me. Good point. Stubhub is often a good bet for cheaper tickets. Especially if you have a free weekday for a game (but I suspect the Dodgers would go to great lenths to avoid wasting a Giants visit on a Wednesday afternoon game). That they would. Similarly, tickets for Giants/Dodgers game on Stubhub are likely to be more expensive, not less. Maybe cheaper if it's like, an hour before the game starts, but I don't live close enough to pull that off as those aforementioned 14 miles can mean an hour of driving.
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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Feb 19, 2014 17:28:21 GMT -5
Good point. Stubhub is often a good bet for cheaper tickets. Especially if you have a free weekday for a game (but I suspect the Dodgers would go to great lenths to avoid wasting a Giants visit on a Wednesday afternoon game). That they would. Similarly, tickets for Giants/Dodgers game on Stubhub are likely to be more expensive, not less. Maybe cheaper if it's like, an hour before the game starts, but I don't live close enough to pull that off as those aforementioned 14 miles can mean an hour of driving. 14 miles an hour, yikes! Is it true about Dodger fans coming late and leaving early b/c of the traffic? That makes sense about Stubhub. My only experiences were for a Weds afternoon Yankee game (in 2012 against the Blue Jays) and last September for a Saturday Cubs game (against the Brewers in a non-epic battle to stay out of the NL Central cellar). So both cases were something of a buyers market. Maybe you'll get lucky and the Dodgers will crater.
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Post by Little Emma on Feb 19, 2014 17:49:46 GMT -5
That they would. Similarly, tickets for Giants/Dodgers game on Stubhub are likely to be more expensive, not less. Maybe cheaper if it's like, an hour before the game starts, but I don't live close enough to pull that off as those aforementioned 14 miles can mean an hour of driving. 14 miles an hour, yikes! Is it true about Dodger fans coming late and leaving early b/c of the traffic? That makes sense about Stubhub. My only experiences were for a Weds afternoon Yankee game (in 2012 against the Blue Jays) and last September for a Saturday Cubs game (against the Brewers in a non-epic battle to stay out of the NL Central cellar). So both cases were something of a buyers market. Maybe you'll get lucky and the Dodgers will crater. Man, I hope so. For a variety of reasons! And yes, it is true. Although I actually have to give them a pass about coming late. Leaving early is a choice, coming late is often a situational issue. I have left work early and still not managed to get there by the 2nd inning. If you work a normal 9-5 job and don't live in the immediate vicinity of the stadium (i.e. Silverlake or Downtown and hardly anyone leaves in downtown and I don't think hipsters like baseball) then it's near impossible to get there on time. Traffic and the Dodgers are my least favorite things about living in LA.
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Post by flyinggrayson on Feb 22, 2014 1:06:56 GMT -5
I'm a life-long Pirates fan. I know! I wouldn't be surprised if they take a step back this season, especially in the area of pitching, but for once we have enough interesting talent in the minors that I'm optimistic that they'll hang around and be competitive for at least a handful of seasons. It's exciting times! I've become a big hockey fan over my 14 years of living in Buffalo, but baseball is my first and most serious love. I just got my MLB.TV autorenewal email which was thrilling. I went to spring training for a week last year and so wish I was going again this year. *sigh* But it's so fun to see sun and green grass again even in photos. There might be dropoff on offense but a full season of Gerrit Cole should help the pitching staff. The good news is the farm system is pretty loaded and a few them will likely be called up this season. I'm super excited about a full season of Cole and keeping my fingers crossed that Jameson Taillon will basically do what Cole did last season this season. I'm a little concerned about the bullpen because I think they pitched way over their heads last season, but Neal Huntington has always had a weirdly savant-like ability to pull together a good bullpen so who knows? I think it's just going to be one of those years that's hard to predict. Maybe the bullpen is great again, maybe a younger pitcher successfully takes over Burnett's innings, maybe Taillon and Gregory Polanco come up in June and start contributing immediately... but maybe all those things take another season to come together. But don't get me wrong, for the first time in pretty much forever, I'm really looking forward to seeing how things shake out and feeling pretty optimistic. I love baseball but it's certainly more fun when your team isn't a total train wreck. Roy Batty's Pet Dove, thanks! The Pirates were so spectacularly bad for so long that it almost swung around to being a weird kind of fun to pull for them. Since Buffalo isn't that far away from Pittsburgh I made a spontaneous decision to go to the wildcard game last season and it was easily the best live sporting event I've ever been to. So much fun. (The Sabres suckered me by being REALLY good for a few years in a row and then slowing moving to mediocrity and then disaster. But that's another sports thread.)
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Feb 23, 2014 14:31:19 GMT -5
The Yankees just announced a four year extension to Brett Gardner. Yay! I was expecting this to be his last season after the Jacoby Ellsbury signing. I guess Gardner will move to a corner outfield position when Ellsbury is healthy. That's something that center fielders can generally do, right? Maybe? Possibly? I don't honestly understand the difference between the skill sets required for different positions in the outfield.
The Yankees are also reportedly front-runners to land Cuban shortstop prospect Aledmys Diaz, which would appear to be a good thing, as, you know, we have a pretty well-known shortstop who'll be retiring after this season.
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Feb 23, 2014 16:44:27 GMT -5
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Post by Desert Dweller on Feb 25, 2014 1:27:58 GMT -5
That is fantastic. I'm going to make sure all the SABR nuts at my favorite DBacks blog see it. I think we will all agree that the DBacks could use some better HERBAL this season.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Feb 25, 2014 19:53:47 GMT -5
Spring training games! The Yankees beat FSU 8-3, so yay, I guess? The only major takeaway was Vidal Nuno pitching very well over the two innings he was out there (3 strike and one hit). Oh and Brett Gardner had a hit in his sole at bat, so I guess it's sorta cool that that happened the day after signing that extension?
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Post by Desert Dweller on Feb 25, 2014 23:09:06 GMT -5
I am going to see a Spring Training game on Saturday. Going to see DBacks young pitching phenom Archie Bradley pitch against the Cubs. I assume for about 2 innings, but still. That will be cool. The DBacks and Rockies have an incredible Spring Training facility.
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Post by brillig on Feb 27, 2014 14:16:03 GMT -5
Baseball is officially being played again! Hooray! It's like spring is whispering to us just over the horizon.
Go Dodgers! (Pleasenoonegetinjuredtoobadlythisyearplease.)
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Feb 28, 2014 11:34:24 GMT -5
I'm probably actually going to watch tomorrow's Yankees-Tigers spring training game, because Sabathia, Kuroda, and Tanaka are all set to make their season debuts.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Mar 1, 2014 22:57:22 GMT -5
Damn. Got rained out today. First day of rain in months and it's the day I'm scheduled to go to a Spring Training game.
Ah well. DBacks say they will exchange the tickets for a different game. And since I'm unemployed I can go to a few of the day games this week. The big bummer is that phenom pitching prospect Archie Bradley was scheduled to debut today. So, I am hoping to exchange my tickets for a game he will pitch in.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Mar 2, 2014 6:14:32 GMT -5
Yankees pitchers had a pretty great game yesterday, as three fifths of the starting rotation were given two innings a piece. Sabathia gave up two hits but no runs in two solidly-pitched innings, Kuroda looked even better than that in two scoreless innings in which I believe he only gave up one hit, and, most exciting, Tanaka looked great in his Yankees debut, giving up two hits, but striking out three, and displaying a pretty fantastic slider. Oh, and a trio of bullpen hopefuls each pitched a scoreless inning which was also nice to see.
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Post by Jon Pertwees Shameless Gurning on Mar 2, 2014 11:44:50 GMT -5
Jumping in here, as I am a pretty big fan of the base-ball. As I think I've said elsewhere, long-suffering Cub fan here whose loyalty has been severely tested the past few years, and not just by the shitty on-field product. The last couple of games I've been to have actually been Sox games, and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite the Pale Hose being pretty awful themselves. I have no idea what to expect from the Cubs this year, as it's hard to tell if Castro and Rizzo will ever be any better than they are, and I don't know much about the other prospects besides Baez and Soler, and I think they're still at least a year away from contributing. The Sox, meanwhile, actually made a couple of interesting moves in acquiring Eaton and Abreu, and could be a sleeper.
Anyway, what do y'all do for fantasy baseball? I play on MLB.com and I like their system for more casual gameplay. I can run 2 or 3 teams at a time, and still not feel like I have to check in everyday (though I usually do). I'm not enough of a fantasy nut to justify more of a commitment than that, and my work and life schedule certainly wouldn't be amenable to more involvement. Would there be any interest in a TI league over there? I'd be willing to set it up.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Mar 2, 2014 12:40:12 GMT -5
Jumping in here, as I am a pretty big fan of the base-ball. As I think I've said elsewhere, long-suffering Cub fan here whose loyalty has been severely tested the past few years, and not just by the shitty on-field product. The last couple of games I've been to have actually been Sox games, and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite the Pale Hose being pretty awful themselves. I have no idea what to expect from the Cubs this year, as it's hard to tell if Castro and Rizzo will ever be any better than they are, and I don't know much about the other prospects besides Baez and Soler, and I think they're still at least a year away from contributing. The Sox, meanwhile, actually made a couple of interesting moves in acquiring Eaton and Abreu, and could be a sleeper. Anyway, what do y'all do for fantasy baseball? I play on MLB.com and I like their system for more casual gameplay. I can run 2 or 3 teams at a time, and still not feel like I have to check in everyday (though I usually do). I'm not enough of a fantasy nut to justify more of a commitment than that, and my work and life schedule certainly wouldn't be amenable to more involvement. Would there be any interest in a TI league over there? I'd be willing to set it up. I have never played fantasy baseball in my life, but I'd be willing to play if you're OK with a beginner playing in the league.
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Post by Jon Pertwees Shameless Gurning on Mar 2, 2014 16:29:21 GMT -5
Jumping in here, as I am a pretty big fan of the base-ball. As I think I've said elsewhere, long-suffering Cub fan here whose loyalty has been severely tested the past few years, and not just by the shitty on-field product. The last couple of games I've been to have actually been Sox games, and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite the Pale Hose being pretty awful themselves. I have no idea what to expect from the Cubs this year, as it's hard to tell if Castro and Rizzo will ever be any better than they are, and I don't know much about the other prospects besides Baez and Soler, and I think they're still at least a year away from contributing. The Sox, meanwhile, actually made a couple of interesting moves in acquiring Eaton and Abreu, and could be a sleeper. Anyway, what do y'all do for fantasy baseball? I play on MLB.com and I like their system for more casual gameplay. I can run 2 or 3 teams at a time, and still not feel like I have to check in everyday (though I usually do). I'm not enough of a fantasy nut to justify more of a commitment than that, and my work and life schedule certainly wouldn't be amenable to more involvement. Would there be any interest in a TI league over there? I'd be willing to set it up. I have never played fantasy baseball in my life, but I'd be willing to play if you're OK with a beginner playing in the league. Cool. I've set up a 10-team league (if I can't fill it here, I'll add folks from work or something) over at MLB.com Fantasy. The league name is Tolerability Index and the password is Disqus666. First come, first served. If you have questions, PM me on here.
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Post by Jon Pertwees Shameless Gurning on Mar 2, 2014 16:40:59 GMT -5
Also, I've set the league up as a list draft, meaning you set your draft priorities before the draft happens, and then the draft happens automatically at a designated time. What makes this fantasy game more manageable for casual players is that your pitching points come from an entire team's pitching staff rather than drafting individual starters and relievers, and then having to be sure each day that you have a starter who's actually starting that day, etc. You still draft individual hitters/positional players, and a fantasy game lasts a week, so you set lineups once a week instead of every day. Anyway, hope to see some of y'all on there soon. Register here!
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Post by Desert Dweller on Mar 4, 2014 2:50:57 GMT -5
I finally got to go to my Spring Training game today. Finally, a benefit to being unemployed!
Anyway, today I went to see the Diamondbacks vs the Angels. It was a mostly boring game as neither team scored until the 6th inning. Actually, both teams struggled to hit anything out of the infield.
Sadly, Mike Trout was not playing. I would have loved to have gotten him to autograph a ball to send to my 9 year old nephew.
We got to experience video replay for the first time. Mike Scioscia challenged a CS in the 2nd inning. They did video replay. It took a bit over 2 minutes, which wasn't as bad as I feared. I figure we can handle one or two of those a game.
DBacks Brandon McCarthy looked really good. Pitched 5 scoreless innings. Although, not against the Angels A-team. But, he said he had the flu. So, the fact that he went out there and pitched 5 scoreless innings is fairly impressive.
We had great seats, right behind home plate, in the shade the entire time. The DBacks/Rockies Spring training facility is beautiful, and just overall a fantastic facility. Food is amazing, but very expensive. Actual concessions at DBacks regular season games are cheaper.
Sadly, phenom pitching prospect Archie Bradley pitched the 2nd game of the doubleheader today. And I was at rehearsal at the time. And it wasn't televised. So, I didn't get a chance to see him pitch. He faced the Rockies actual A-team. He pitched 3 innings and had 6K, 2BB (1 IBB), 1H, and no runs. So, pretty darned good.
If he gets another start this Spring, I'll try to go see him. Lord knows I have nothing better to do.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Mar 4, 2014 6:19:10 GMT -5
Also, I've set the league up as a list draft, meaning you set your draft priorities before the draft happens, and then the draft happens automatically at a designated time. What makes this fantasy game more manageable for casual players is that your pitching points come from an entire team's pitching staff rather than drafting individual starters and relievers, and then having to be sure each day that you have a starter who's actually starting that day, etc. You still draft individual hitters/positional players, and a fantasy game lasts a week, so you set lineups once a week instead of every day. Anyway, hope to see some of y'all on there soon. Register here!Um, is yours a public or private league? I'm not sure if your link sends us to the league.
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Post by Jon Pertwees Shameless Gurning on Mar 4, 2014 11:17:30 GMT -5
Private. Good call on the link. I'll see if I can get a better one up later.
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Post by Jon Pertwees Shameless Gurning on Mar 4, 2014 20:51:07 GMT -5
Okay, I can't seem to get a better link, but if you use the one above, just choose 'Private League' and type in Tolerability Index as the league name and Disqus666 as the password. You have to type in your team name on the same screen, too.
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Post by brillig on Mar 26, 2014 11:05:36 GMT -5
No one cares because March Madness is going on, but...
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED AGAIN! HOORAY!!!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2014 9:34:37 GMT -5
My picks for the World Series this year are the Dodgers vs. Tigers. I'm calling it now.
And as always I'm hoping the Brewers have a good season, even though we're still stuck with Ryan Braun.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2014 11:05:15 GMT -5
I figure that you guys will appreciate this ode to the Sox as much as I do. Especially If you watched them last year.
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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Mar 31, 2014 15:50:56 GMT -5
Annnnd the Mets are back to having a shitty bullpen that thoroughly wastes a fine start by Gee.
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