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2019-2020 MLB Hot Stove Thread


JSngry

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40 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

Does this extend to calling down to the dugout to direct the next pitching change and/or double switch? I understand front offices are asserting more control over what a manager does but how far does it go?

I believe the Mets GM (who had no experience in baseball other than as an agent) ordered pitching changes this year. It caused a controversy when it was disclosed he was ordering these moves. 

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I still think Manfred’s too much of a wuss to really bring the hammer down on the Astros, but who knows? This story’s not going away anytime soon: 

>>The penalties for illegal activity are determined by commissioner Rob Manfred, though if the league can prove wrongdoing, the severity could be unlike anything seen in the sport's recent history, sources said.<<

MLB sign-stealing investigation expands

More video evidence from 2017:

Bangs during Beltran AB

Edited by ghost of miles
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>>(Other GMs) want the Astros to pay a fortune in penalties, being fined a record amount of money, forfeiting draft picks, international signing bonuses, and two even told USA TODAY Sports they wish MLB would force them to vacate the 2017 World Series title.<<

"This tarnishes everything": Astros cheating allegations have baseball world demanding punishment

 

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“It’s one thing to steal signs with your eyes. We all do that. It’s another to do it electronically, and that’s what they’ve been doing."

Uh, yeah, sure. It's not cheating if it's not done electronically....ok...better lock up those robo-umps unless and until they can be made AT LEAST as tamper-proof as electronic voting machines, because god knows you can't cheat with those! We should expect no less, and probably much more, from our robo-umps.

And all the Beaucoup Bucks these other teams are wanting to collect from the Astros, they're a-gonna divvy that up amongst their players in the form of Thank You For Not Cheating! bonuses, I'm sure.

Better yet, legalize electronic sign stealing. There's a talent to that, why does baseball want to exclude talent sets, are they Institutionally Technophobic? E-sports are the future, c'mon MLB, lead the way like you always do, Save The Humans before it's too late!

One big clownshow, all of it. ALL of it.

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10 hours ago, GA Russell said:

It was my understanding when I was a boy that the sign stealing objected to involves positioning oneself inside the scoreboard where the visiting team does not have access. 

Nobody objects to a base runner stealing signs, because both teams can do that.

I am pretty sure that they do object to sign stealing from 2B ... wasn't there a story once about A-Rod doing something really blatant while taking his lead from second base and getting one high and tight at his next AB?

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Sources: Another change coming for the IL (Injured List). position players will still have a 10-day IL, but pitchers will not. Instead they'll have a 15-day IL to try to prevent teams from manipulating their rosters (which, of course, still won’t be easy)

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 15, 2019

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4 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

I am pretty sure that they do object to sign stealing from 2B ... wasn't there a story once about A-Rod doing something really blatant while taking his lead from second base and getting one high and tight at his next AB?

Dan, I hadn't heard that, but it is very believable.  But a pitcher's retaliation is very different from the commissioner's office looking into something, don't you agree?

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Texas sports journalist Mac Engel: 

If Astros are guilty, personnel must be banned and World Series title stripped

Maybe Engel’s partisan because he covers the Rangers, I dunno. But he’s far from the first to suggest that the potential significance  is entering the realm of the 1919-20 Black Sox scandal. Whadda way to commemorate that centennial, eh? 

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https://www.mlb.com/news/jacoby-ellsbury-released-greg-bird-designated

Well you can read it in the URL but Ellsbury released and Greg Bird DFA'd.

Ellsbury batted .264/.330/.386 with 39 home runs and 198 RBIs in his four seasons wearing pinstripes, appearing in 520 games. He was a .297/.350/.439 hitter with 65 homers and 314 RBIs over his previous seven seasons with the Red Sox.

Undoubtedly one of the worst free agent contracts of all time.  And he's released when they know that Hicks will miss three months after his TJ surgery - so is Ellsbury literally incapable of playing, therefore almost certainly incapable of helping in 4 months?  Oh, and the last year of his contract didn't have insurance purchased.  I don't know how that happens ...

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Not sad to see Els released--they need the spot on the 40-man roster, and if they can't collect insurance for 2020, might as well let him go.  And yeah, probably THE albatross of free-agent contracts, and one that's certainly made NY much more wary about handing out such deals.  I mean, I thought it was a bad deal for NY when they signed him, and it only got worse from there. Sad about Bird, who was such a highly-touted prospect and who showed so much promise at times, but kinda turned into Nick Johnson 2.0.  Hopefully he can make a go of it elsewhere

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1 hour ago, ghost of miles said:

The guy I once thought had a good shot at overtaking Aaron's HR record.  Still a truly great player, no doubt--too bad he had to deal with so many injuries during his time with the Reds.

It really is a "what might have been" with Griffey. I saw him play a lot when I lived in the Seattle area, he was amazing, there was nothing he couldn't do on the field. I still find it hard to believe that I use to go to games where Randy Johnson pitched, with Griffey & ARod in the lineup. It was a pleasure to see those guys play at that kind of level.

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2 minutes ago, Matthew said:

It really is a "what might have been" with Griffey. I saw him play a lot when I lived in the Seattle area, he was amazing, there was nothing he couldn't do on the field. I still find it hard to believe that I use to go to games where Randy Johnson pitched, with Griffey & ARod in the lineup. It was a pleasure to see those guys play at that kind of level.

And Edgar Martinez too, right? That was a fearsome lineup they had in the late 1990s/early 00s.

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