2023 MLB Postseason - Rangers vs.. wait... the Diamondbacks? Really?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 7:14 am

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:14 am
A_B wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 10:33 pm
mister d wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 9:39 pm If all that means “lifts weights”, he definitely did in his NYY days.
I’m not making any accusations just seems much thicker. But age also will do that even if you’re in shape
Oh, I don’t care either way because fuck Aroldis, but he was always cut as fuck in NY.

Yeah and he looks chunky big now.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 10:07 am

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 11:13 pm Sorry, O’s fans. Such a cruel ending to a great season.

Just gross.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:14 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:04 pm The Rangers stadium might be the ugliest, least necessary ballpark I’ve ever seen on tv.

I feel the same way about the oversized T on their hats/helmets.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:15 pm

Rush2112 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:14 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:04 pm The Rangers stadium might be the ugliest, least necessary ballpark I’ve ever seen on tv.
I feel the same way about the oversized T on their hats/helmets.

Inexplicable Texas would have a large logo.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:16 pm

Its should be smaller on their away helmets because "everything is bigger in texas" amiright boys ha ha ha #sportslaughs

(Except when they're playing in Houston.)

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:23 pm

is it too much to ask for the games tonight to be close after the 1st inning?

kthxguys #norunfirstinningsplease

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:32 pm

BeckyHammon’s hoodie wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:55 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:04 pm The Rangers stadium might be the ugliest, least necessary ballpark I’ve ever seen on tv.
Agreed. And I had been to the “old” one. I thought it was pretty nice. Certainly standard early 90s chic.

Back in the mid-80s when I was in my mid-20s, I lived in a big, mostly young singles apartment complex in Arlington, Texas. It was just a short walk to old Arlington Stadium. Many summer nights, you’d get home from work, find a friend who lived nearby, and walk over to the stadium. The entire outfield was bleacher seats with no assigned seating. Bleacher seats were only a couple bucks, beer was cheap, and if it wasn’t a good game, you could just walk home without having invested much in the evening. Good times.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:46 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:32 pm
BeckyHammon’s hoodie wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:55 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:04 pm The Rangers stadium might be the ugliest, least necessary ballpark I’ve ever seen on tv.
Agreed. And I had been to the “old” one. I thought it was pretty nice. Certainly standard early 90s chic.
Back in the mid-80s when I was in my mid-20s, I lived in a big, mostly young singles apartment complex in Arlington, Texas. It was just a short walk to old Arlington Stadium. Many summer nights, you’d get home from work, find a friend who lived nearby, and walk over to the stadium. The entire outfield was bleacher seats with no assigned seating. Bleacher seats were only a couple bucks, beer was cheap, and if it wasn’t a good game, you could just walk home without having invested much in the evening. Good times.

And I tied an onion on my belt ...

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:01 pm

Um...what's the tl/dr on the Arcia/Harper thing?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:26 pm

After Harper’s boner in G2, Arcia was reportedly yelling “attaboy Harper” to mock him.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:41 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:26 pm After Harper’s boner in G2, Arcia was reportedly yelling “attaboy Harper” to mock him.

Ah, thanks.

cerranoredux · Post by **cerranoredux** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 7:38 pm

tennbengal wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:41 pm
mister d wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:26 pm After Harper’s boner in G2, Arcia was reportedly yelling “attaboy Harper” to mock him.
Ah, thanks.

Said all Phillies fans everywhere.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 7:56 pm

I love Bryce Harper.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 8:16 pm

This is like the perfect angle to watch his swing …

cerranoredux · Post by **cerranoredux** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 8:30 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 7:56 pm I love Bryce Harper.

How about you try to love yourself, man? Just this once.

Yeah.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Wed Oct 11, 2023 9:43 pm

I’m so lucky to get to root for the Astros. 7 straight years in the ALCS.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:02 am

honestly there's a ton of (previously-justified) hate on the Astros but that's absurd - 7 straight!? Glad they finally won a legit one last year to put a lot of that shit to bed - this team is an absolute unit and fun to watch. Congrats Giff.

- Twins were my #2 team for decades and then as their streak of futility started and they got rid of Johan I gave up on them. So it would fit that after knocking off the Jays I'd fall for them again just in time to bow out meekly - WHERE ARE YOU NOW TOM BRUNANSKY

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am

My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:11 am

A_B wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2023 7:56 pm I love Bryce Harper.

Same. And Justin Verlander, too.

EdRomero · Post by **EdRomero** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:19 am

This year's Red Sox scared me away from watching baseball, but I ended up watching last night's Twins game. The overall talent was impressive -- great pitching, great hitting moments against great pitching. Alex Bergman making 3rd base look easy. And Dusty Baker comes across as very likeable. Only complaint was the home plate umpire strike three call when the Twins looked like they could do something.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:41 am

AB sent me an awesome text re: Baker

"dusty baker looks like he just tricked someone with the "pull my finger" thing. all the time."

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:45 am

i'm absolutely stealing that for next game

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:41 am AB sent me an awesome text re: Baker

"dusty baker looks like he just tricked someone with the "pull my finger" thing. all the time."

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:17 am

I’m so clever.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:50 am

I'm referring to the two dudes who were standing on the RF roof of Citizens Bank Park as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern until further notice.

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:55 am

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.

I think it has to do more with Drayton McLane selling the team to Jim Crane back in 2010-ish. Then Crane got the right FO structure in place. I mean, Luhnow had a ridiculous run as GM (got fired for ignoring the blatant cheating, but whatever), and the blueprint he left behind remains. Hell, that blueprint is in use in Baltimore (Mike Elias is from that tree).

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:02 am

Shhh. Don't let the Yankees' fans hear that.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:03 am

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:55 am
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.
I think it has to do more with Drayton McLane selling the team to Jim Crane back in 2010-ish. Then Crane got the right FO structure in place. I mean, Luhnow had a ridiculous run as GM (got fired for ignoring the blatant cheating, but whatever), and the blueprint he left behind remains. Hell, that blueprint is in use in Baltimore (Mike Elias is from that tree).

Started with 3 consecutive 100+ loss seasons. They got moved to the AL during this stretch because they sucked and nobody cared. It wouldn't upset the balance of power too much.

And they also used the international market. Valdez, Urquidy and Javier were all signed at the same time, 2015. They could have been signed by anyone but these gems were found and developed by a last place team.

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:38 am

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:03 am
EnochRoot wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:55 am
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.
I think it has to do more with Drayton McLane selling the team to Jim Crane back in 2010-ish. Then Crane got the right FO structure in place. I mean, Luhnow had a ridiculous run as GM (got fired for ignoring the blatant cheating, but whatever), and the blueprint he left behind remains. Hell, that blueprint is in use in Baltimore (Mike Elias is from that tree).
Started with 3 consecutive 100+ loss seasons. They got moved to the AL during this stretch because they sucked and nobody cared. It wouldn't upset the balance of power too much.

And they also used the international market. Valdez, Urquidy and Javier were all signed at the same time, 2015. They could have been signed by anyone but these gems were found and developed by a last place team.

Oh yeah. The tank job was part of it, no question. But the direction (engaging in IFA market) was definitely part of the FO structure.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:45 am

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:50 am I'm referring to the two dudes who were standing on the RF roof of Citizens Bank Park as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern until further notice.

I was chatting with timgod about those two last night. Couldn't figure out who they are (they are not law enforcement), he theorized they are pyro guys.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 11:28 am

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:02 am Shhh. Don't let the Yankees' fans hear that.

Assuming the blueprint is "develop players and take chances on those kids rather than signing/playing "safe" veterans", the Yankees might have accidentally learned that in September.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 12:10 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.

With all the interleague play, full DH, and common umpiring crews, it’s hard to tell a difference between leagues.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 1:31 pm

I've been saying this all year - I don't think there's any difference at all anymore.

Get ready within ~5 years to blow boomer-baseball fans heads off when they eliminate AL/NL altogether - it's definitely happening in some form; they'll probably keep the names but fully re-align nearly everyone.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 12:10 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.
With all the interleague play, full DH, and common umpiring crews, it’s hard to tell a difference between leagues.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 2:31 pm

MaxWebster wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 1:31 pm I've been saying this all year - I don't think there's any difference at all anymore.

Get ready within ~5 years to blow boomer-baseball fans heads off when they eliminate AL/NL altogether - it's definitely happening in some form; they'll probably keep the names but fully re-align nearly everyone.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 12:10 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.
With all the interleague play, full DH, and common umpiring crews, it’s hard to tell a difference between leagues.

you think they'll go the Western and Eastern Conference route or stick with the current and NFL-like east and west in both conferences?

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 2:39 pm

it's 100% bullshit out of my ass so i have no idea really but just reading the tea leaves so to speak - just if you look back how they've very slowly migrated to even divisions, and making the leagues uniform in all ways as sancarlos has pointed out - relatively open talks about expansion etc, i do think within 5 years we'll see a massive reorganization centered around geographical realignment combined with 2 new franchises.

It makes sense, honestly, and as much as i love thinking about "how it was" when i was a kid; organizing baseball cards into neat little stacks by team and by each of the (then) 4 divisions ... i have to be first to admit that baseball fans or maybe media want it both ways in terms of preserving tradition and complaining about how old fashioned it is. Shake it up, I'm ready.

(if it happens, future awards are gonna be FUCKED UP tho)

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 2:40 pm

Isn't the latter (NFL style) where we are today anyway? I would expect they'd halve the total divisions, expand to 32 and then group geographically.

West: SEA, OAK, SF, LA, LA, SD, ARZ, (expansion)
NE/Mid-Atlantic: BOS, NY, NY, PHL, WAS, BAL, TOR, ATL

And then something that makes sense of the other 15 + 1 where you probably have the two Chicagos, STL and KC as a basis for one and the two Texas teams the other or something, even if it doesn't split nicely north and south?

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:00 pm

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 2:31 pm
MaxWebster wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 1:31 pm I've been saying this all year - I don't think there's any difference at all anymore.

Get ready within ~5 years to blow boomer-baseball fans heads off when they eliminate AL/NL altogether - it's definitely happening in some form; they'll probably keep the names but fully re-align nearly everyone.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 12:10 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:42 am My higher education years exposed me to a lot of Yankees fans. While I'm clearly no fan of the Astros, their success in the AL, contrasted with their 3 total series wins in the NL, does give me some ammo in the comparison of the strength of the opposing leagues.
With all the interleague play, full DH, and common umpiring crews, it’s hard to tell a difference between leagues.

you think they'll go the Western and Eastern Conference route or stick with the current and NFL-like east and west in both conferences?

They'll go Campbell and Prince of Wales.

cerranoredux · Post by **cerranoredux** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:42 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:50 am I'm referring to the two dudes who were standing on the RF roof of Citizens Bank Park as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern until further notice.

I feel like they’re more Waldorf and Statler.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 6:10 pm

Dude # 1: It looks like d’Arnaud is having trouble stopping the running game.

Dude # 2: Well, his name sure as hell isn’t d’Aryesse.

Both: Oh, ho-ho-ho!

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:56 pm

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:56 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2023 6:10 pm Dude # 1: It looks like d’Arnaud is having trouble stopping the running game.

Dude # 2: Well, his name sure as hell isn’t d’Aryesse.

Both: Oh, ho-ho-ho!

Lol