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2020 MLB Spring Training (3 Viewers)

Never seen him go off on someone like that. Do you think it’s real or schtick?
I didn't think I was "going off" on anyone.  I was trying to be funny while bigmarc is getting bent out of shape.  That is why I started it with the ridiculous grammar part.  And why I kept joking with each following post.  He seems to have an opinion of me prior to this.  That's cool.  I literally have no problem with him.  :shrug:

 
Braves. 
 

Our former GM got busted for his antics with international signees and was rightfully banned from baseball.  Our biggest stake in this is a lot of shame in wondering what role McCann played in this, but personally as a baseball fan I find all of this disheartening.  
The Braves got lucky that Kevin Maitan turned out to be a bust.  It's tough to follow the other international prospects that the Braves lost as penalties for their shenanigans but Maitan was definitely the centerpiece at the time.

He's still 19 and young for A ball but nobody compares him to Miguel Cabrera anymore.

 
The Braves got lucky that Kevin Maitan turned out to be a bust.  It's tough to follow the other international prospects that the Braves lost as penalties for their shenanigans but Maitan was definitely the centerpiece at the time.

He's still 19 and young for A ball but nobody compares him to Miguel Cabrera anymore.
Seems like it, we still can’t sign international guys moving forward for a bit longer so we’ll see what that does to the farm 3-5 years down the line. 

 
Pictures of a tv screen and or laptop dont prove anything imo. Their presence doesn't mean that there is some live feed happening.  Maybe there is/was, maybe  ot but I dont think the fact there is a tv sitting there means any cheating was taking place.
Really?  How about the seeds all over the ground (showing someone was there a while), the towel hung up (for cover), and a handful of other obvious items.  Occam's Razor should be applied here.

MLB should do everything in their power to keep electronic sign-stealing out of the game.  Just my 2 cents.

 
Really?  How about the seeds all over the ground (showing someone was there a while), the towel hung up (for cover), and a handful of other obvious items.  Occam's Razor should be applied here.

MLB should do everything in their power to keep electronic sign-stealing out of the game.  Just my 2 cents.
As said before, every team has some sort of setup that they can go into the tunnel and see what the pitches looked like.  That's not cheating.  

 
I see that Boras is saying he expects free agents to sign quicker this year.  Hopefully in December we actually have some signings this year.

 
Really?  How about the seeds all over the ground (showing someone was there a while), the towel hung up (for cover), and a handful of other obvious items.  Occam's Razor should be applied here.

MLB should do everything in their power to keep electronic sign-stealing out of the game.  Just my 2 cents.
Just to be clear, I'm not on the side of it being OK to use technology to steal signs.  If they did, IMO that is a black eye and I believe flat out wrong.

My point was who's to say that equipment isn't used to look at video of the current pitcher or guy coming in  from the pen? Maybe they watch Bull Durham down there for a laugh or many other possible legitimate reasons.  I suspect other teams have tvs/tablets somewhere for reference to videos, etc. No?  Doesn't men they are getting live feeds.

I must have missed the towel. 

 
So serious question:  When are these videos and pictures from?  Because this rule was the new rule put in place after 2017.  Not sure exactly when, but after that season.  So if this is footage from then, then this would not be illegal.  Again, I don't know.  I do know even into the playoffs this year I heard announcers talking about players looking at their at bats in the tunnel.  I think it was during the Rays-Astros series that the Bregman was called out on a strike 4 inches out of the zone.  The announcer said something like, "He'll go down in the tunnel, look at that, and I'm sure he'll have some choice words for the home plate umpire on his way to third base after this inning."

So again, it seems like everyone knows they go in the tunnel and look at their at bats.  And when I say "they", I don't mean the Astros.  I mean MLB players. 

 
So serious question:  When are these videos and pictures from?  Because this rule was the new rule put in place after 2017.  Not sure exactly when, but after that season.  So if this is footage from then, then this would not be illegal.  Again, I don't know.  I do know even into the playoffs this year I heard announcers talking about players looking at their at bats in the tunnel.  I think it was during the Rays-Astros series that the Bregman was called out on a strike 4 inches out of the zone.  The announcer said something like, "He'll go down in the tunnel, look at that, and I'm sure he'll have some choice words for the home plate umpire on his way to third base after this inning."

So again, it seems like everyone knows they go in the tunnel and look at their at bats.  And when I say "they", I don't mean the Astros.  I mean MLB players. 
Rules were changed before the season started this year. 

I want to find out the person who was banging the trash can.

MLB knows everything about this already plus others. In my opinion they don’t want everything known by the general public. 

People talking about vacating titles. Should we go back and take it away from the ‘51 Giants then as well?

 
So serious question:  When are these videos and pictures from?  Because this rule was the new rule put in place after 2017.  Not sure exactly when, but after that season.  So if this is footage from then, then this would not be illegal.  Again, I don't know.  I do know even into the playoffs this year I heard announcers talking about players looking at their at bats in the tunnel.  I think it was during the Rays-Astros series that the Bregman was called out on a strike 4 inches out of the zone.  The announcer said something like, "He'll go down in the tunnel, look at that, and I'm sure he'll have some choice words for the home plate umpire on his way to third base after this inning."

So again, it seems like everyone knows they go in the tunnel and look at their at bats.  And when I say "they", I don't mean the Astros.  I mean MLB players. 
Manfred sent a warning to all MLB teams on Sept 15 2017 stating that electronic Spying will not be tolerated. The footage of the tunnel with the monitor being taken down was after game 3 of the 2017 WS from the Astros commemorative DVD. 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28116718/mlb-commissioner-says-punishments-severe-sign-stealing-scandal

It looks bad for the Astros right now

 
I’d be cool if the Rays went there. Hell, I’m in Orlando more than I am St. Pete. 
I hate Orlando. I'd much rather they built the downtown Tampa stadium. And that's almost a full 2 hours further away for me. 

Added in is I have no idea what kind of fanbase they'll draw. I guess they'll sell MLB on the soccer team's success and the Disney/ESPN tie in.

 
Unlike some in here who keep diverting attention away by saying that everyone cheats or everyone steals signs illegally by means of technology...

As the owners' meetings begin, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the sign-stealing scandal. A few highlights. As to whether other teams are involved as well, he said: "I have no reason to believe it extends beyond the Astros at this point in time.”
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1196881023394598912

 
I see the Giants are moving in their fences.  Not a fan.  I feel like every team's stadium is slowly looking the same.  Nothing fun about the field designs anymore.  Triples Alley is an awesome feature of that ballpark.

 
I see the Giants are moving in their fences.  Not a fan.  I feel like every team's stadium is slowly looking the same.  Nothing fun about the field designs anymore.  Triples Alley is an awesome feature of that ballpark.
Chicks dig the long ball. 

 
Chicks dig the long ball. 
I think if 2019 taught us anything, it's that the long ball can get tiresome if it happens too often.  Plus, one of the coolest parts of baseball is that there's no standard for what the field has to look like.  I love tall walls, short porches, large foul areas...  I want more unique ballparks.  

 
I think if 2019 taught us anything, it's that the long ball can get tiresome if it happens too often.  Plus, one of the coolest parts of baseball is that there's no standard for what the field has to look like.  I love tall walls, short porches, large foul areas...  I want more unique ballparks.  
Agree 100%

 
Unlike some in here who keep diverting attention away by saying that everyone cheats or everyone steals signs illegally by means of technology...

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1196881023394598912
And just to clear things up (one more time), what I said was this:

1. Stealing signs is against the rules.
2. If you break the rules, you deserve to be punished.
3. There are varying degrees of rule breaking.
4. Stealing signs is not that big of a deal.  
5. In fact, it's only within the last year that a specific rule was made about it.

So if they get caught, I agree they should be punished.  Especially if they were as blatantly doing it as the pictures show.  But while I agree that they should be punished, that doesn't mean I think it's a big deal.  Because it's not.

And again, the coach gives signs to the catcher to tell the pitcher what to throw.  He's encoding his signals.  Everyone is encoding their signals except the catcher.  It's not that difficult.  When there's a guy on second, the game doesn't take an hour longer because the catcher had to use different signals.  

It's just not that big of a deal.  

 
Hey Sheik. Imagine that you were pitching in college again. The only way you can afford to go is with your baseball scholarship. 

You go out for a start and get rocked. You end up losing your scholarship. Later you find out that every hitter you faced knew what pitch was coming due to illegal sign stealing. 

Would your opinion of it not being a big deal still be the same?

 
Hey Sheik. Imagine that you were pitching in college again. The only way you can afford to go is with your baseball scholarship. 

You go out for a start and get rocked. You end up losing your scholarship. Later you find out that every hitter you faced knew what pitch was coming due to illegal sign stealing. 

Would your opinion of it not being a big deal still be the same?
Still not a big deal.  I'm not worrying about any of that.  If I get rocked, I'm doing something wrong.  There were plenty of times where the catcher would call for a fastball because everyone knew the batter was sitting breaking ball.  And I'd shake him off.  Because I didn't care if he knew.  I was confident he couldn't hit my pitch.  

If the batter knows what pitch is coming, it doesn't mean he's going to hit a home run.  That's my point of "it's not a big deal."  He's getting an edge, but it's not guaranteed.  

 
I think if 2019 taught us anything, it's that the long ball can get tiresome if it happens too often.  Plus, one of the coolest parts of baseball is that there's no standard for what the field has to look like.  I love tall walls, short porches, large foul areas...  I want more unique ballparks.  
Bring back Tal's Hill.

 
Hey Sheik. Imagine that you were pitching in college again. The only way you can afford to go is with your baseball scholarship. 

You go out for a start and get rocked. You end up losing your scholarship. Later you find out that every hitter you faced knew what pitch was coming due to illegal sign stealing. 

Would your opinion of it not being a big deal still be the same?
Now let me ask you a question:

Say you were pitching against a team that there had been rumors for years about them possibly trying to steal catcher's signs.  Would you try to encrypt your signs?  Or would you just keep plodding away with the single finger signal and hope they weren't breaking the rules?

 
Now let me ask you a question:

Say you were pitching against a team that there had been rumors for years about them possibly trying to steal catcher's signs.  Would you try to encrypt your signs?  Or would you just keep plodding away with the single finger signal and hope they weren't breaking the rules?
I’d try to be more careful. 

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Astros were smart enough to figure out more complex signs though. 

Just mystifies me that they were pretentious enough to bang a trash can to get the info to the hitter. 

 
Sheik, this Farquhar guy was out of the show after ‘18.  That was his shot. 

What if he would’ve gotten some more outs that he should’ve had hitters not known what he was going to throw and maybe he is still in the league?

 
I’d try to be more careful. 

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Astros were smart enough to figure out more complex signs though. 

Just mystifies me that they were pretentious enough to bang a trash can to get the info to the hitter. 
If this were true, they could have just stole them from the manager giving them to the catcher.  That's the thing about signs:  they can be stolen.  

 
Sheik, this Farquhar guy was out of the show after ‘18.  That was his shot. 

What if he would’ve gotten some more outs that he should’ve had hitters not known what he was going to throw and maybe he is still in the league?
Nobody lost their job or lost their career because the Astros might have hit well against them.  That's a false narrative being paraded around like it's true.  If he was good, he'd be a pro pitcher.  

 
Craziest thing I've learned today:  Farquhar is a Scottish origin name.  

I was looking this guy up and expecting to see someone similar to the bad guy from Aladdin.   :lol:

 
Maybe or maybe not. How can we know for sure?
I want to start out by saying I'm not being a jerk or anything.  I like you.  So please don't read my tone as anything but talking.

That said, if you're good enough to pitch in the majors, one team knocking you around won't make or break your career.  If I get to the majors, I'll most likely face more than one team.  If I do well against 10 teams and one team knocks me around, I'm not going to be sent down because of that one game.  And if I come up, play one game against the Astros, and they knock me around, and I get sent down and never get another chance, it's because I wasn't good enough.

If I'm good enough to play pro ball, I'll get more than one chance.  And unless I'm the unluckiest person on earth who has to face the Astros every time I make the Show, then I can't blame me not making it in the pros on sign stealing.

You seem like a smart guy.  You can't really believe someone lost their career over a team stealing signs, right?  Like we somehow missed out on the next Roger Clemens because he got knocked around by the Astros and never got another chance?

 
I see the Giants are moving in their fences.  Not a fan.  I feel like every team's stadium is slowly looking the same.  Nothing fun about the field designs anymore.  Triples Alley is an awesome feature of that ballpark.
The Giants are moving the bullpens off the foul lines so they have to go somewhere.  The triple is usually one of the most exciting plays in baseball but a ball hit to the gap in Triples Alley is an automatic three bases so it takes much of the thrill away from the play. 

 
Sheik, this Farquhar guy was out of the show after ‘18.  That was his shot. 

What if he would’ve gotten some more outs that he should’ve had hitters not known what he was going to throw and maybe he is still in the league?
He's maybe not the best example since he almost died in 18. Just saying

 
I want to start out by saying I'm not being a jerk or anything.  I like you.  So please don't read my tone as anything but talking.

That said, if you're good enough to pitch in the majors, one team knocking you around won't make or break your career.  If I get to the majors, I'll most likely face more than one team.  If I do well against 10 teams and one team knocks me around, I'm not going to be sent down because of that one game.  And if I come up, play one game against the Astros, and they knock me around, and I get sent down and never get another chance, it's because I wasn't good enough.

If I'm good enough to play pro ball, I'll get more than one chance.  And unless I'm the unluckiest person on earth who has to face the Astros every time I make the Show, then I can't blame me not making it in the pros on sign stealing.

You seem like a smart guy.  You can't really believe someone lost their career over a team stealing signs, right?  Like we somehow missed out on the next Roger Clemens because he got knocked around by the Astros and never got another chance?
Well an actual major league disagrees with you so there's that. 

 
Well an actual major league disagrees with you so there's that. 
Yes.  One major leaguer.  But there are also a lot who agree with me.  This is not an issue where everyone is saying it's a huge problem.  Yes, some are.  But there are also some saying it's not.  It's not as cut and dried as some are making it out, GB.  

Also, are we not GB's?  

 
Yes.  One major leaguer.  But there are also a lot who agree with me.  This is not an issue where everyone is saying it's a huge problem.  Yes, some are.  But there are also some saying it's not.  It's not as cut and dried as some are making it out, GB.  

Also, are we not GB's?  
Sheik, what if you put a grand on a game, end up losing, and then found out that the team who won the game knew what pitches were coming?

How would you feel?

big deal or no?

 
Sheik, what if you put a grand on a game, end up losing, and then found out that the team who won the game knew what pitches were coming?

How would you feel?

big deal or no?
As a bettor, you go in knowing anything could happen.  Just like if a player makes 3 errors in a game.  

No matter what your scenario, sign stealing is not a big deal to me.  Or to a lot of former and current players.  That doesn't mean it can't be a big deal to others.  But just because someone feels one way doesn't mean they are right.  It also doesn't mean they are wrong.  

 
Yasmani Grandal to the White Sox.  He was considered one of the top 10 biggest FA's of the offseason.  With him and Ordozzi no longer looking for teams, that's only 8 top 10 FA's remaining.

1. Cole
2. Rendon
3. Strasburg
4. Wheeler
5. Donaldson
6. Bumgarner
8. Castellanos
9. Ryu

 
Grandal gets a lot of his defensive value from pitch framing.  He was second best in MLB last year in stealing strikes. 

I wonder if we get robots calling balls and strikes during the term of his contract.

 

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