Lindor to the national league.

that will work

Ag_07 said:

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CFTXAG10 said:

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But who is gonna play the outfield?

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Straw

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Now that made me laugh

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30671790/fired-los-angeles-angels-clubhouse-attendant-names-pitchers-ball-doctoring-case
He implicates Gerrit Cole and Verlander, but they are far from the only ones. Many other big name pitchers are included, including scherzer.

third coast.. said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30671790/fired-los-angeles-angels-clubhouse-attendant-names-pitchers-ball-doctoring-case
He implicates Gerrit Cole and Verlander, but they are far from the only ones. Many other big name pitchers are included, including scherzer.

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i am under the impression that all pitchers are doing it and it is one of the often overlooked parts of the game. tyler bauer was also witnessed doing it i believe, and he is always one of those ones that acts above the fray.

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Yeah, I agree. I think this is just the first case that I've seen where there's documented communications regarding using it.

So sign stealing was just for safety of the hitters to adjust reaction time if a ball got away, right?

Since pitchers doctor the ball for safety. Not to make their pitches break ungodly amounts.

And I assume the National narrative will be "Astros pitchers cheated too!!!!! Rest of league, all perfect angles, outraged."

Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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If i am a hitter facing mid to upper 90's gas in cold weather I'm going to want them to be able to grip the ball

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I'll find it in a minute (I posted it a while back), but there was an athletic article discussing doctoring the ball...and one of the sections looked into the claim like you posted. They found that more batters are getting hit

redline248 said:

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Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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If i am a hitter facing mid to upper 90's gas in cold weather I'm going to want them to be able to grip the ball

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I'll find it in a minute (I posted it a while back), but there was an athletic article discussing doctoring the ball...and one of the sections looked into the claim like you posted. They found that more batters are getting hit

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https://theathletic.com/2183861/2020/11/09/pitchers-pine-tar-grip-mlb-time-to-legalize

Quote:

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This topic really bugs me when pitchers say it's only for grip," said one major league hitter with a different perspective. "Lots of position players use substances for grip too, so we get it. But guys are gaining insane amounts of spin and ride from using insanely sticky substances. Guys are already throwing harder than ever; we don't need their sliders to have unconventional break."

The idea that the substance is only there to improve command (and thus protect hitters) is also hard to square with the fact that batters hit by pitches are at an all-time high.

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Ag_07 said:

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WGAF about doctoring balls? Guys do it out on the mound in front of fans, umpires, cameras, etc.

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This. I can specifically recall a time that I asked a member of the team for some sunscreen and all they had was an old a** bottle of bullfrog. Which gets sticky when mixed with rosin. Guess I should have been a little b**** and reported to The Athletic.

I've said it before and I will say it again. All players are hypocrites. They all cheat and it's accepted. Somehow they have convinced themselves that it's ok for them as individuals to do whatever they want but it's not ok for teams to do it overtly. And they consider teams breaking down pitchers motions to see what is coming based on a setup (aka tipping) to be over the line.

I wonder what the clubhouse vibe will be when the Dodgers hand out rings and stiff Price? That's should be fun.

Damn. Hate the Dodgers, but always loved Tommy

Mr.Ackar07 said:

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Thats clearly just sweat

Edit: /sarcasm

Deluxe said:

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Major League Baseball: Some cheating is ok. But other cheating is the worst thing ever.

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Or the same cheating is much more acceptable if you have a guy on second versus no one on base.

https://fansided.com/2021/01/08/mets-francisco-lindor-astros-bullpen-upgrade/

Astros actively trying to upgrade the bullpen

The Houston Astros are "the most aggressive" team in pursuing high-leverage relievers, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Reliever Blake Treinen was of strong interest to the Astros before he re-signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reporting that the team hoped to sign both Treinen and Liam Hendriks. Such a move would have given the Astros two All-Star caliber relievers to pair with Ryan Pressly, with one team official remarking, "If we get to the seventh (inning) with the lead, game over."

The Astros, meanwhile, continue to pursue Hendriks and have also shown interest in free-agent reliever Brad Hand, according to league sources.

Hendriks, 31, is the consensus top free-agent reliever and would provide a drastic upgrade to the Astros' bullpen. Since 2019, he ranks first in ERA (1.65) among closers with at least 25 saves and his WHIP (0.897) ranks third behind Josh Hader (0.835) and Roberto Osuna (0.865). Hand, 33, is a free agent after the Cleveland Indians declined his $10 million club option. He is a three-time All-Star and finished last season with a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings and led the American League with 16 saves.

It is unclear if the Astros have similar visions of pairing Hendriks with Hand (or any other free-agent reliever) as they did with Treinen. But the Astros will need to get creative in finding ways to eat innings to take pressure off a young rotation that will be without Justin Verlander for most, if not all, of the 2020 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Building a top-five bullpen may be their way of doing that.

Damn I like the sound of that.

Mid-tier offense combined with a top pen... defense should be ok (outfield damn well better field if two of them can't hit), so only question then is the rotation. Not sure how that's going to work out for us.

I'd say top tier offense with Yordan coming back and especially if Uncle Mike stays.

And a rotation of ZG, Framber, LMJ, Urkuidy, Javier ain't all that bad.

adding good bullpen arms will also help to keep Pressly under 60 games --- which would not trigger his $10 MM option for 2022