Aggie Pharmer said:

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Thanks to whoever gave me some advice earlier in the thread on the Spring Training games. I was able to pick up tickets for the game against the Cardinals this Friday!

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I'm jealous. Mrs. Marvin and I won't be in Florida this year and we are really missing it.

If you've never been:
1. Get there early to watch the practice fields.
2. I'm not sure what they do post-COVID regarding interaction, but for autographs and pictures the players respond to kids, women, aliens, and then men- in that order.
3. If you like to shag batting practice homers, get into the stadium as soon as it opens. There will still be practice going on though, so pick your pleasure. And don't be the dude that runs kids over trying to get a ball!
4. The Cardinals/Marlins stadium is ok, nothing special. Loved sitting on the outfield berm at West Palm.
5. Not much around the Astros complex, but it's West Palm Beach and you won't have far to go to find something. I enjoyed going to the marinas and ogling all the yachts and sailboats.

W said:

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I wouldn't crown the Blue Jays just yet.

Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray are huge losses.

Ray made 32 starts and covered 193 innings for the Jays last season

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They did add Gausman & Kukuchi. They traded for Jose Berrios at the deadline. I doubt any will win the Cy, but those 3 should make up for the innings plus.

Whitley, James and Odorizzi pic.twitter.com/kKEKbj08QK

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 15, 2022

Nuke LaLoosh said:

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Middle. Relief.

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You think he should pitch more often and get warmed up more quickly. That is going to help his arm?

This should be all odo is trusted to do all season.

"Hey Jake! Go throw that heavy ball against the wall some more!"

tjack16 said:

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First 10,000 fans get giveaways this year. That'll be a mad house for the first series of the year

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I snagged tickets to Star Wars Night for my son's birthday. Guess we'll be getting there extra early since the giveaway is only 10,000.
I miss the days where everyone got the giveaway. But, I guess we weren't great back then and it wasn't really a worry if you got there close to first pitch.

Astros have signed free agent LHP Zac Rosscup to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training, team says

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 15, 2022

The Astros signed left-hander Zac Rosscup to a minor league deal. A journeyman who was with the Rockies last year, mostly in Triple A.

— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) March 15, 2022

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Bonnettecj1 said:

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If we land Correa, what else do you want them to do? The team is pretty stacked, even without Correa.

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bullpen could use another leverage arm.

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I feel like, in general, bullpen arms are moves that are made during the season.

Marvin said:

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Aggie Pharmer said:

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Thanks to whoever gave me some advice earlier in the thread on the Spring Training games. I was able to pick up tickets for the game against the Cardinals this Friday!

---

I'm jealous. Mrs. Marvin and I won't be in Florida this year and we are really missing it.

If you've never been:
1. Get there early to watch the practice fields.
2. I'm not sure what they do post-COVID regarding interaction, but for autographs and pictures the players respond to kids, women, aliens, and then men- in that order.
3. If you like to shag batting practice homers, get into the stadium as soon as it opens. There will still be practice going on though, so pick your pleasure. And don't be the dude that runs kids over trying to get a ball!
4. The Cardinals/Marlins stadium is ok, nothing special. Loved sitting on the outfield berm at West Palm.
5. Not much around the Astros complex, but it's West Palm Beach and you won't have far to go to find something. I enjoyed going to the marinas and ogling all the yachts and sailboats.

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Thanks for the advice! It's our first time to see a ST game, so we are pretty excited. We purchased tickets for batting practice, so we will be sure to get there early.

What's the expectation this year for Whitley? He'd been the hot name several years running, but is this his year to prove himself useful or fade into oblivion? Any chance he's an opener or even middle reliever at some point in the season?

htxag09 said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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Bonnettecj1 said:

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If we land Correa, what else do you want them to do? The team is pretty stacked, even without Correa.

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bullpen could use another leverage arm.

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I feel like, in general, bullpen arms are moves that are made during the season.

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I can agree with that. BP arms are so fragile and ever-changing.

Right now we have Pressly, Stanek, Maton, & Neris for the late innings. We only have Taylor as a lefty. Then we can run out Baez (damaged goods?), James, Paredes, & Abreu. The last 3 have all the talent but haven't been able to consistently put it together.

For now, I'd still like to find a lefty. The rest let's see what they can do this year. Adjust at the deadline if needed.

I think the expectation is for him to be healthy enough to make his MLB debut. It looks like he won't be able to perform until late May/early June because of his TJ recovery.

I may be one of the few, but I think he could be a legitimately good pitcher at the Major League level. He just needs to stay healthy.

Whitley has a lot to prove and I'm not sure he'll even get the opportunity to this year.

He wasn't all that impressive before the TJ.

For me he needs to just stay healthy and make it to next season. At that point he'll need to prove he belongs and need to make a big step forward.

Forgot about the TJ surgery!

I do recall hearing about the between the ears stuff so maybe surgery gave him some perspective along with just generally getting older.

Would be great to see him finally get the call up and produce!

Ag_07 said:

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Whitley has a lot to prove and I'm not sure he'll even get the opportunity to this year.

He wasn't all that impressive before the TJ.

For me he needs to just stay healthy and make it to next season. At that point he'll need to prove he belongs and need to make a big step forward.

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He was and he wasn't. Clearly, he didn't produce on the field, but he was the #1 pitching prospect in all of baseball.

Woof!



I agree just pitch 40-50 inning and look competent.

Aggie Pharmer said:

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Marvin said:

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Aggie Pharmer said:

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Thanks to whoever gave me some advice earlier in the thread on the Spring Training games. I was able to pick up tickets for the game against the Cardinals this Friday!

---

I'm jealous. Mrs. Marvin and I won't be in Florida this year and we are really missing it.

If you've never been:
1. Get there early to watch the practice fields.
2. I'm not sure what they do post-COVID regarding interaction, but for autographs and pictures the players respond to kids, women, aliens, and then men- in that order.
3. If you like to shag batting practice homers, get into the stadium as soon as it opens. There will still be practice going on though, so pick your pleasure. And don't be the dude that runs kids over trying to get a ball!
4. The Cardinals/Marlins stadium is ok, nothing special. Loved sitting on the outfield berm at West Palm.
5. Not much around the Astros complex, but it's West Palm Beach and you won't have far to go to find something. I enjoyed going to the marinas and ogling all the yachts and sailboats.

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Thanks for the advice! It's our first time to see a ST game, so we are pretty excited. We purchased tickets for batting practice, so we will be sure to get there early.

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One more thing- if you want players to stop and engage you in a quick conversation, know something about them personally. My wife congratulated Josh Reddick several years ago on the birth of his twins (maybe twins?) and even knew their names, said how cute they were, etc. He stopped and chatted with her about them for a minute. She did similar with Carlos Correa on his engagement... or something, but he talked for a minute and took a picture with her. I asked Dusty whether Hank Aaron or Jose Canseco could hit a ball farther since he played with both, and he stopped and shared a laugh.

If that's your thing. May work, may not, but if they stop and chat for a bit it will be over something you took time to learn about them.

And don't be shy- nothing ventured nothing gained.

ETA: this works between practice fields several hours before game time, not in the stadium.

Why would they be awarded a hit when reaching on a dropped third strike with a player on first? Why not, you know, a strikeout like it is when a player isn't on first

FanGraphs 2022 Playoff Odds for the Astros, as of 3/15/22:

- 87.5% to make the playoffs
- 74.6% to win the AL West
- 50.9% to clinch a bye
- 12.8% to clinch a Wild Card berth
- 10.3% to win the World Series

— Astros Stats (@astro_numbers) March 15, 2022

EastCoastAgNc said:

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The experimental new rules in the Atlantic League rewards a team if the starter goes at least 5 innings, but loses the DH if starter pulled earlier. pic.twitter.com/ptR1c3UbbD

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 15, 2022

What is this nonsense

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Wait, not just dropped third strike but any wild pitch or passed ball at any point?

I didn't even put that together, I was thinking it was only on a strikeout… that's crazy

Farmer1906 said:

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FanGraphs 2022 Playoff Odds for the Astros, as of 3/15/22:

- 87.5% to make the playoffs
- 74.6% to win the AL West
- 50.9% to clinch a bye
- 12.8% to clinch a Wild Card berth
- 10.3% to win the World Series

— Astros Stats (@astro_numbers) March 15, 2022

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10% to win it all is pretty darn good odds, just from an expectations point of view. They are more bullish on the Astros than I am.

That's what it says. Insane.

Oyster DuPree said:

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I didn't even put that together, I was thinking it was only on a strikeout… that's crazy

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Even further, a ball that hits the dirt would apply. A runner could attempt to advance on a ball that skips in (and is caught) just to draw a throw... not sure why they would try that, but the rule as written would allow it.

ETA: maybe "caught in the air" is a bit confusing and this comment about a spiked pitch wouldn't apply.

So the first pitch is in the dirt, the batter can take off for first?
Do they have to? What constitutes a "move to run to first?" Dropping the bat? Taking two steps out of the box? What a mess.

Source close to OF Nick Castellanos confirms he had great interest in signing with Marlins, but Marlins at this point not aggressively pursuing. The Davie native hit .309, 34, 100 with Reds. Jeter indeed wanted to sign him, the source said.

— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) March 15, 2022

Marlins joining the Reds in tanking

Sounds like a new type of squeeze play might be on the way.

Starting pitchers continue to be in demand. The few proven/viable starters remaining are covered. That list includes Johnny Cueto, Drew Smyly, Michael Pineda, Matthew Boyd and presumably Zack Greinke.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 15, 2022

Wonder if we could get Boyd for cheap and fix him. I know they looked into trading for him in the last few years.

Grienke needs to hang it up. Dude is nothing but a BP pitcher at this point

Kind of a question for another day, but with the inclusion of a universal DH. Will we see the league MVPs merge into just a overall MVP for MLB?

Baseball is pretty much the only league that has a split MVP. Now that both leagues are going to be equal in positions that are played, eventually I think they might just make one MVP award

What a deal.

The Braves have signed 1B Matt Olson to an eight-year, $168M extension, source tells @TheAthletic.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 15, 2022

That's why you make the trade, right?