2019 Rolling "Hey Chatter Chatter" chatterthread

Yeah, the whole national anthem thing is fucking weird, the God Bless America thing is really fucking weird, and the whole alliance with the Pentagon thing is really really fucking weird. Take me out to the ballgame is good

I think banning god bless america would be my first act as commissioner

The pace of the game - the time just flew by! I was absolutely soaking it in though and was trying not to miss a pitch in between dashes for hotdogs and beer. I like to dig in a little before holidays, so I’d watched the whole 2017 World Series before coming over and it seemed to go a lot faster than those did (not that I was expecting a Game 5 marathon). I guess I have little experience of watching regular season games to compare it to (though that will change!).

Also, if I’m suffering watching a bases loaded count with the home pitcher behind, I can only imagine how excruciating it must be for a real fan to watch some situations when the game really matters in the big games and your club hasn’t won the pennant in, well, forever.

Re: God Bless America and the military shout outs, yes they’re verging on jingoistic, but the scary thing is I could feel that there was real power there for people around me.

What I was wondering is that how much do individuals get behind the AA and AAA teams? Like do any of them consider them “their team” or is that reserved for MLB (or possibly college/ high school teams)? As magic as the Minute Maid ballpark was, I can’t help think that on a smaller scale without the advertising, the sound system, and inflated prices the live game would still be as enjoyable and perhaps more so? Much in the same way that I enjoy spending £10 a game on going to see a semi professional football team in the UK, win or lose, rather than going to see Manchester United week in week out and really wondering what I’m getting for my £70+.

I would guess maybe 10% of mlb fans know their AAA affiliate team, and maybe 2% can name a player on the AAA team

Minor league baseball, despite that, is a lot of fun!

Plenty of non-casual fans know their team's top prospects, and will often check up on those players rather than their affiliate teams.

College baseball has some following in certain areas of the country (the south). A few of those clubs fill up pretty good sized stadiums, similar size to minor leagues.

Minor league baseball does have some amenities that are long gone from the majors. Many stadiums have areas where you can picnic and bring in your own food.

Both are still fairly affordable for families I would say, but as soon as someone thinks there is a buck to make that will change.

minor league baseball teams have to sell the ~experience~ because the roster makeup is out of their control and actually winning the games is secondary to player development. (this is unusual, but for instance every once in a while a pitcher will be told 'you can only use your fastball and changeup; no other breaking balls')

that said, round rock (the astros' triple-a club) currently features starter forrest whitley and outfielder kyle tucker, both of whom are like top-10 prospects, so it's a particularly good time to visit them

Minor league teams often play in secondary markets which can still be very large American cities (Portland OR, Las Vegas, San Jose CA, Charlotte NC to name a few) so the draw can rival or even surpass the low-drawing MLB clubs.

One of the most exciting prospects on ILBaseball is Vladimir Guerrero Jr and he plays for a single-A team in Florida when he is not on the Injured Reserve list, though some around here thinks his developmental stall is part of a larger conspiracy *wiggles fingers in front of face*

But you can catch some legit proven superstars making their way off the IR list via minor league stints before going back up to the big leagues... Clayton Kershaw pitching in Oklahoma City this week is an instance of that.

I don’t know if I would call Epicenter/LoanMart Field affordable for “all” families.

Though the Quakes can draw in a big crowd. And it’s located in a small town about 50 miles east of downtown LA. California is kind of different and weird that way, I guess.

It’s hard to gauge how common it is for middle class families to attend minor league games, but my family frequently attends games at the minor and major levels. Season passes, friends play in the minor league, and of course parents are always busy with little league.

Chris Davis is that much closer to history. Fly out in the fifth makes him 0-for-his-last-42. The Orioles still don't have a hit this afternoon.

— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) April 7, 2019

Counsell putting in his closer in the 7th, I like it

good lord rosenthal

HBP, two wild pitches, four-pitch walk, done. still hasn't gotten anyone out, though at least neither of these guys scored

he needs to face Davis

Benches clear in today’s Reds-Pirates game. Nothing like a little Sunday afternoon brawl. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/2Nc5Dr9iOW

— Around Da Diamond (@AroundDaDiamond) April 7, 2019

p boring until Votto let go of Puig

tbf dietrich really did watch his homer for quite a while

tb even more f, hard to blame him because it was a fucking bomb

Apparently Puig grabbed Prince in a headlock. But it’s either hard to see in that video clip or it’s not in the video?

If that’s true...man, Puig is out of control.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D3mXhaLWsAIcEKK.jpg:large

My goodness.

really wacky bottom of the 2nd in pirates-cubs

kevin newman charged with 3 errors on two plays, jameson taillon takes a rizzo shot off the top of his head, jon lester hits an rbi double, javier baez gets a single by throwing the bat at the ball

(taillon seemed to be ok or i wouldn't call it wacky)

and lester may have hurt himself hitting/running/sliding?

"left hamstring tightness"

javier baez gets a single by throwing the bat at the ball

haha, really? was it a hit and run pitch that he was desperate to hit or something?

https://www.mlb.com/video/baez-s-unique-rbi-single?t=most-popular

i think it was just javy being javy

Haha. Baez's reaction is hilarious. Gotta get them where they can, I guess. Cubbies are doing so bad.

It’s really just been their pitching failing so far, right?

Which admittedly is an important part of the game of baseball

yeah the offense has been great so far, just lots of shitty pitching, both from the starters and the bullpen

Congrats Chris Davis

Karl/na, yeah, definitely agree with that

I would just like to say that Dansby Swanson has been OTM in this season.

Davis 0-5 tonight as the O's score 12

they are sending his existential torpor to Cooperstown

deGrom has the opposite of an infinite ERA--he's got a negative FIP of -0.24. Which means...he not only hasn't given up any runs, he stole back part of a run from the opposition.

pirates and cubs have an off day today between game 1 and game 2 of their series. today it's sunny and 60 degrees, tomorrow will be rainy and in the high 30s. i don't get why they have these off days built into the early spring schedule if mlb doesn't provide the flexibility to move games around based on weather forecasts.

Agreed, but the club's #1 objective is still to sell stadium seats and 40,000 people can't reschedule their social & professional lives based on the whimsy of a forecast.

(my solution: pad the off-days toward the end of the series?)

Shorten the season by 10 games, schedule a couple doubleheaders and start the season next week.

people like being at 'opening day', so pretty much every non-dome/california home opener has an an off day behind it. if the first attempt is rained out, they will honor those tickets on the next day

it does lead to weird things like a lot of teams being idle these last two fridays, which should be good attendance nights

tomorrow's game will be rained out so people will have to reschedule their lives anyways

archer: five-game suspension
puig: two-game suspension

(david bell: one game)

alex cora and charlie montoyo: first time puerto rican-born managers have faced each other

nationals are addressing their bullpen woes by signing . . . bud norris

-1.4 bWAR over the last four seasons

Hamilton scores from 2nd on a sac fly:

Developing story: Billy Hamilton is fast.#AlwaysRoyal pic.twitter.com/ChezuiAvOB

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 10, 2019

The Athletics are reportedly close to signing Edwin Jackson to a minor league deal.

Has he been on the A’s before? Because if so, that’s not allowed for Edwin Jackson

started 17 games for them last year, and was effective!