Baseball Megathread: Ohtani to LAA, Stanton to NYY, prayers to Miami

Congrats to the LA Angels, now you get to bury two potential Hall of Famers under a mediocre team instead of one! Mariners fans are now crying into their beer for betting the farm and getting nothing in return.

Also, congrats to Giancarlo Stanton for escaping Miami before it sinks into the sea, leaving behind a team that has been treated like a real-estate investment in Florida, flipped and re-flipped until it loses all meaning as a home while the owners pocket the extra cash.

And now the offseason as this thread hibernates until Spring.

Baseball Video Games: Some current games that you might find interesting.

• The Show, exclusive to Sony consoles as the only serious baseball game with real MLB teams now after 2K didn't get the license.
• RBI Baseball, more arcadey but with actual players and playable on more consoles.
• Super Mega Baseball, another arcadey title with totally made-up players and teams, so you can play around with them to your hearts content!
• Out of the Park Baseball, in case you wanted a PC game that simulates the thrill of being like Billy Beane, poring over spreadsheets and making blockbuster trades while hoping your team sucks slightly less than last year. Now with real teams!

Post about basebaw/beisbol/baseball related things here and try not to be a jerk. Even if it's basic questions like "how is game played?" or "what team good?" I'll try to answer when I have the time.

I'm going to start this off with a quote from a random poster in the NeoGAF baseball thread.

Baseball is about misery and failure and drinking until you're numb to the world because your favorite pitcher is going to miss the next year and a half due to Tommy John Surgery and your favorite hitter only fucks up 65-70% of the time.

My Yankees are going to be baaaaaaaad this year, so I'm hoping the Nats can make good on their talent and win it all.

Mariners, Mariners, Mariners.

Finally got our juicer player we'll turn our blind eye away from till he gets caught in Nelson Cruz.

I love this comment from Jon Lester. As a Red Sox fan and my job involving watching/listening to Red Sox games his lack of confidence throwing to bases known issue, but it did get totally blown out of proportion Sunday night.

Also, I want to throw "WAR of words" for the subtitle.

haha I didn't know the Cubs did that. That's super shady. Just admit you are still doing construction, jeez. Or better yet move the series to St louis

@i_stay_puft: Don't know if you are a local or long distance Mariners fan, but I shall ask this question anyway! It is true you can use your 3DS at the stadium to order things from your seat? I am heading to Seattle in June and plan on going to a game, and I think that is too silly of a thing not to do it while I am there.

You know what I don't know. I'm local but haven't been to a Mariners game since getting my 3DS. That would be pretty rad if you could though might have to do some research on that.

@i_stay_puft: yes you can. I messed around with it. There's a service charge though. You can also rent a 3ds at the stadium for that purpose as well as showing live box scores and relays etc

Hells yeah, Mariners. I've been following this team for 10 years and I can't tell you how excited I am about this season. Wish I could watch the games, but somehow I'm in-market but Root isn't carried here, so I have to settle for the internet radio re-broadcast.

I look forward to the Giants getting zero respect and perennially shit on by the national sports media. If the Yankees or Dodgers had won 3 World Series in 5 years, you couldn't get the press to shut up about it.

The RBI Baseball quick look gave me a sudden urge to play some baseball games. What are some great ones besides The Show (I'm low on cash funds and can't spend $60 on new video games right now)? Bonus points if it's from a year where my Mariners were doing well.

As a person who really loves baseball, I feel like the 2015 baseball season is going to be the most exciting one we've seen in a very, very long time. The A's, Padres, Cubs, Red Sox, Braves and White Sox all underwent major overhauls this past offseason and it will be super interesting to see where those teams end up. How about 1st year GM A.J. Preller of the Padres? He basically traded/signed for his whole team this year, while still not giving up all his prospects. The Padres are finally relevant again!

No Division except for the NL east is a sure thing and there are so many teams that we really have no idea how well they're going to play. Hell, even Houston might have a good team this year (Jose Altuve is one of the secret best players in baseball). Teams like Seattle, Cleveland, Baltimore and Miami might go under the radar and get into the playoffs.

As a Canadian, I like but dont love this Blue Jays team. They probably have the best 1-5 lineup in the MLB but the fact that Marcus Stroman is out for the year really puts a dent into their pitching. I still see the Red Sox winning that division but they just might be able to sneak past KC or cleveland and take that last Wild Card spot. I think Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson are all going to go 35HR/100RBI this year. That'll be fun to watch.

@joemotycki: I was really bummed when Stroman got hurt, he's an exciting player to watch and was dominant at times last season.

@dochaus: Cubs fans your prayers have been answered!

@joemotycki: I was at the 2 Jays games in Montreal over the weekend, and I got to see their batting lineup tear it up during the second game. They'll be doing some good work this year.

I'm an Atlanta Braves fan so this is probably going to be down year for us, although it hurt more than a little when our rebuild continued a couple days ago when we gave the best closer in baseball to the Padres. Its alright at least I can fall back on my Knicks for support...oh wait.

@i_stay_puft: putting phil coke right near the porta-potties seems about right

I just want the Yankees to win the World Series this year even if nobody has any confidence in them (including myself.) They just need to stay healthy and A-Rod just needs to play his role and stay out of trouble in order to have a chance.

Overall this year is going to be a weird one. Everybody is picking the Nats to win it all, but I have my doubts. Everybody is hoping for that magical breakout season Bryce Harper hasn't had yet and yeah the pitching is crazy good, but can they stay healthy? The Cubs and Astros have little chance of making the playoffs, but they'll be fun to watch. I think the AL East is anybody's game (except maybe Tampa Bay.) Toronto is a hot pick now, but their previous overhaul when they took half of the Marlins went poorly. The only AL East team who made any significant moves is the Red Sox and they can't be any worse than last year. I also see a scenario where every California team makes the playoffs now that the Padres have actual talent. Even a Mariners/Pirates World Series sounds surprisingly plausible. And somehow nobody has the Royals going anywhere this year, and yet they could surprise us again.

It's going to an interesting year unless you're a Phillies or Rockies fan.

Heh It's barely past opening day and already the old timers are whining about Sabermetrics "ruining" baseball

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/opinion/baseball-by-the-numbers.html

Wooooooo! Finally, a thread that speaks to me!

I'm an Astros fan over here, and an optimistic one at that! Seeing Craig Biggio throw the 1st pitch to Altuve on Opening Day brought a happy tear to my eye. :')

Mets already showing themselves incapable of overcoming a staggering two run deficit despite awesome pitching, the closer's already injured, and this is totally feeling like last year all over again. At least tomorrow is a Harvey day.

@slag: Even before the season they were complaining. Old joke. "How many baseball fans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Two. One to actually replace the lightbulb, and one to bitch about how much integrity the old one had."

In local news: might've had tickets to the Nationals game, thought it was going to get rained out so I passed them on to a friend. Of course, the weather cleared up enough later that the game started and RZimm hit a two-run homer to left field in the first inning. Also would have gotten some free Chick-Fil-A (apparently they do that for every home-field Nats save now), but I can't use it because Passover is still here until Saturday evening.

@redyoshi: If it helps, the first three batters in the Nats lineup are still recovering from injury (and only one of them has a "good" substitute in Michael Taylor), and the setup pitcher is still a question mark with Janssen also injured.

As a long standing Cubs fan I can safely say that this is the year!

At this point I dont know what its the year for. but this is it.

@relenus: I listed the newer ones in the OP, but here's some other arcadey baseball games off the top of my head:

• The Bigs and its sequel, where 2K Sports tried to recapture the Midway magic but didn't quite get there.
• Various incarnations of Backyard Baseball, very kid-friendly but still fun.
• Mario Superstar Baseball if you have a Gamecube stashed somewhere.
• MLB Slugfest, which was around the time Midway started branching out from its NFL Blitz series. There were four versions released between 2003-06 before they went under, so hopefully you'll find something there.

@dochaus: Doesn't really help when the Mets offense is so anemic that we're batting the pitcher eighth. And if history is any indication, Harvey will be lucky to get two runs out of them because they are especially weak when he's on the mound. Honestly, my heart's going to be in my throat for this entire game while he's pitching, if he can get through his five innings without anything crazy happening to his arm again, I'll take that as a win.

Sorry, I should be happy. I love baseball, it's my favorite sport. Really.

Best baseball game you say? I just have to throw in that level from the first Rhythm Tengoku on GBA.

I think MVP Baseball 2005 is hands down the best baseball game ever made.

Tommy John makes you a better pitcher! I'm scheduling my nephew for it so that by the time he's out of T-Ball he's got sick velocity. Plus, it'll prevent further issues he might have from learning the inverted W pitching stance in little league.

@patoday: I always thought it'd be pretty rad if they could implement steroid usage in a mini-game sorta like the board game "Don't wake Daddy". Where the player has to inject the shot in the clubroom while the gms, news media, the manager and Derek Jeter aren't looking.

@i_stay_puft: I'd play it. They could implement that and include the stick waggling mechanic that is in IDARB for more juice.

Speaking of that, A-Rod with his first HR of the season tonight.

Mother of God that Red Sox-Yankees game was such a grind last night. I wish they gave some explanation for the lights going out like it's the Trop.

So I said one thing and the opposite immediately happened. Harvey looked great, I couldn't have asked for a better start for him coming off of TJ, and it was nice that his W was never in doubt. I think much of that had to do with the absolute gift that the Nats' infielders provided to the Mets' offense in that one inning, but baseball is baseball and these things happen.

It sure would be nice if they could come out of Turner without too many wounds to lick though. That place is hell for my club and it always has been.

@redyoshi: HOW ARE THE BRAVES 4-0?

@patoday: How the hell are they ever any good? It's some weird baseball mysticism that us northerners aren't privy to. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

Heard Ted Turner sacrifices one of his Buffaloes every game to guarantee a Braves win.

@i_stay_puft: his steakhouse is gaining in popularity.

@excitable_misunderstood_genius: I've been trying to get my 10 month old to hold his toys and toss them in his left hand. He always puts it into his right before he does though! I guess we'll just have to start on a knuckleball instead.

Here's my baseball story. Grew up listening to the Brewers on the radio Evey summer, and baseball is basically my favorite sport. My house is divided because my wife is a Twins then Brewers fan, but luckily I also grew up a big Kirby Puckett fan. I still try to listen to baseball on the radio (Bob Ueker is the best) and only really get to a few games per year. My Brewers are currently the last team to get a win this year, but I think they'll end up a little under .500 behind the Cards and Pirates.

Still not sure why the Nats keep starting Tyler Moore, as he's one of those frustrating AAAA players: too good for the minor leagues, not quite good enough for the bigs.

In less team-specific baseball news, SB Nation has a rundown of the latest twists and turns in the Josh Hamilton saga. The Angels have been trying really, really hard to get out of their contractual obligations with Hamilton after he went into rehab, and when the MLB's own arbitrator told them no, they've tried to do every not explicitly illegal thing they could to make him quit instead.

If the Yankees can't cut A-Rod for steroid usage sounds highly unlikely they can cut Josh Hamilton with an actual drug issue. Kind of makes me wonder why the Angels didn't place stipulation of "conduct detrimental to a team" as a way of releasing a guy with previous drug problems into the contract is beyond me. I understand they probably didn't want to offend Hamilton but man they're now on the hook for 83 million.

I remember when Hamilton first signed this contract with the Angels and thought this would be a bad move on all fronts. Not because Hamilton isn't talented because he is, but when he was with the Rangers they really cultivated a family atmosphere down there when Nolan Ryan was still calling the shots. I remember reading an interview about Hamilton and him mentioning how the organization and teammates were kinda like AAA sponsor any time he was thinking of relapsing and thought no way could he get that level of support and treatment from another organization.

Holy crap reading the article and I guess in baseball world they don't allow certain contract stipulations like that. I'm sorry but holy horse shit I thought football contracts were bad but now I'm reading that baseball contracts are 100% for the MLB players? Makes me wonder why athletes don't try to pursue baseball anymore. Not only do you get fat contracts but you can also play till your 40's if you're good, be slightly overweight as fuck and have drug issues.

@i_stay_puft: 100% for the players? You gotta be joking, especially for the rookies who are going through the system with very little control over their destiny for the first 7 years when a team gets their rights, or the good older veterans begging for even a minor-league deal come Spring from any team in need of depth. Hamilton may not be a very sympathetic figure, but Arte Moreno only has himself to blame for dumping a pile of gold on Hamilton's doorstep and then trying to take some or all of it back when his gamble didn't work out the way he'd hoped. If Hamilton's BA was a few hundredths higher, Moreno would be falling on his sword for the guy when he checked himself into rehab like the Browns with Johnny Manziel. Instead, he's trying to blame everyone but himself for the deal he negotiated.

All I know is A-Rod & the Yankees are probably happy to be off the front page with their little spat.

Padres looking to get Elvis Andrus? I'm kinda hoping this doesn't happen cause I love the Andrus x Beltre shenanigans.

I know it is only ~5% into the season, but the Nationals better right the ship by the end of this weekend. All aspects of the team have looked iffy for the "best team in baseball" (especially the gross defense) and if things continue this way we might see people starting talk of pressing the proverbial "panic button" in DC. At the very least I hope they can put together a good performance on Saturday when I am there. It is Puppies at the Park day!

Nationals have a very impressive rotation I can't say anything about their offense atm. Guess most of it depends on if Bryce Harper can reach the next plateau of stardom that everyone expects the guy to take.

After the pretty good amount of baseball talk on Giant Bomb recently, I've decided to finally watch baseball for the first time. I live in Cleveland so I guess I'm kinda naturally an Indians fan. What do I need to know? Who's good?

Also my fiancee and I have been trying out a bunch of different baseball games on the NES and so far we like Bases Loaded, RBI Baseball and Nintendo Baseball. Major League Baseball, not so much. It plays like shit.

Baseball is the only sport I watch. Let's Go O's.

The reason I love baseball, Earl Weaver says it best. "You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all."

@shinboy630: I mentioned on Facebook that on the positive side, the Nationals are getting their bad plays out now, you just gotta have faith they'll turn things around when Span and Rendon come back. 10 minutes later, my Chicago-based cousin responded, "you realize you sound just like a Cubs fan?"

I had no rebuttal.

I do bet that Desmond's starting to wish he had taken the extension offer when he had the chance. If he keeps up this rate of errors he'll be lucky to get market value when we have at least two SS ready to replace him before next year.

@apparatus_unearth: Keep an eye out for Carlos Santana (1B) and Jose Ramirez (SS) on offense. Those two will probably drive in a good deal of runs for the team. Mike Aviles (LF) is doing better than expected but will probably regress to the mean sooner or later. As for pitching, pray that Corey Kluber can keep his AL Cy Young form from last year. Not too sure about the rest of the team, as I haven't followed the Indians too closely, though they did have a ton of errors and bad luck in the first half of 2014 before straightening out and fighting for a wild card spot in October.

If it makes you feel better, Sports Illustrated predicted the Indians will win the World Series over the Nats in their MLB Preview edition.

As a Royals fan who was born in 1987, I am loving how it feels to root for a team that can actually win games and compete to be in the playoffs. When I was watching them play the Twins on Monday, I was especially grateful for how excellent our defense is. The Twins are an awful team anyway but their defense gave me terrible flashbacks to when the Royals defense played like that.

The Royals outfield defense in the playoffs last year was one of the craziest defensive performances I have seen in a while.

In Desmonds' defense (sorry) he is always terrible in the field in April (though, admittedly this year it's getting a bit silly - unless he slows his pace down right now)...

From Nationals Journal last week at The Washington Post (which, if you don't read it, you should)... "He has committed 122 errors in his career, 30 of them in April. He has committed seven or more errors in three of the past four Aprils, and is well on his way to a fourth in five this season. He committed seven errors in April 2013 and eight in April 2014. Even his three errors in three-game pace isn’t entirely unprecedented: In 2010, he committed three errors in his first four. It’s a perplexing tale that leaves anyone who sees those numbers asking why."

Ugh.

Span will play at Hagerstown on Thursday so that's a good sign... Now I just have to hope they hang on while I take Metro home... (but since I suffered with The Senators thru the 60's I'm a pretty happy bunny now)...