BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!

[Cyber Liberty]

My big question involving Paul Goldschmidt might actually be how long he remains a Diamondback. There've been trade rumours
around him in the past, and if the Snakes don't make a good showing this season after getting shoved out early last postseason,
who knows if they decide to push the reset button and cash Goldschmidt in for a small haul of prospects or younger major leaguers?

A good question that gets asked around the Cyber household (heck around the whole town!) every time there's a trade deadline.  As long as he has a solid hit we really can't afford to lose him.  I imagine if he leaves, it will be his choice after a bidding war.

[catfish1957]

Hoping for a better showing from my Rangers this year. But the Stros are gonna be tough to beat.

Shhhhhh.....  @EasyAce  wrote us off with minimal chances last year.  Maybe he will do us a favor and do the same this year.

[EasyAce]

Shhhhhh.....  @EasyAce  wrote us off with minimal chances last year.  Maybe he will do us a favor and do the same this year.

Hey, I admitted I was wrong.

Personally, I think the Astros are the team to beat in the AL West this year, too. But I think a couple of AL West teams could
make a run at them, even if those runs might not hold up all the way to the end.

[Polly Ticks]

On Saturday, Apr. 21, and Sunday, Apr. 22, one signature concession item from every Major League team will come together for an eating extravaganza near Bryant Park in Manhattan.

MLB FoodFest will bring all of the Majors' wildest ballpark concoctions under one roof

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that this event is not closer to home ...

[EasyAce]

MLB FoodFest will bring all of the Majors' wildest ballpark concoctions under one roof

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that this event is not closer to home ...

@Polly Ticks
I got to see a game at Camden Yards in 1998 while traveling around the United States. I took a tour of the ballpark during the afternoon, then copped
a pair of tickets to see the Orioles play the Red Sox that night. My seats were in the middle of the field level boxes near third base. The concession stand
behind my section had potato knishes to die for---they were the next best thing to the knishes I ate when I was growing up in Long Beach, on Long
Island. If they still have that stand there and send some knishes to that foodfest, I might have to be glad I can't be there, because I could have had
three easy!

[Polly Ticks]

@Polly Ticks
I got to see a game at Camden Yards in 1998 while traveling around the United States. I took a tour of the ballpark during the afternoon, then copped a pair of tickets to see the Orioles play the Red Sox that night. My seats were in the middle of the field level boxes near third base. The concession stand behind my section had potato knishes to die for---they were the next best thing to the knishes I ate when I was growing up in Long Beach, on Long Island. If they still have that stand there and send some knishes to that foodfest, I might have to be glad I can't be there, because I could have had three easy!

Oh, man, that sounds delicious!

No knishes on the menu for the Food Festival, but it looks like there are plenty of other fantastic options:

[EasyAce]

Oh, man, that sounds delicious!

No knishes on the menu for the Food Festival, but it looks like there are plenty of other fantastic options:

They should have thrown in Dodger Dogs!

[Cyber Liberty]

They should have thrown in Dodger Dogs!

Agreed.  I'm having a difficult time understanding the lack of DDs.  Maybe they were avoiding presenting 30 different kinds of hot dogs?

[catfish1957]

Personally, I think the Astros are the team to beat in the AL West this year, too. But I think a couple of AL West teams could
make a run at them, even if those runs might not hold up all the way to the end.

With the addition of Gerrit Cole, we have an awesome 3 headed tandem of Verlander-Keuchel-Cole.  The back end of the roatation aren't slouches either.   Add the fact we really didn't lose any offense..........    I think we blow the ALW away prettily easily this year. (exception injuries).

I am less optimistic of winning it all again though.  I think we all realize how tough it is to repeat....   15 -20 years or so, if I recall.

A 85 game winning wild card team that is hot is about the most dangerous animal out there in October.

[EasyAce]

Agreed.  I'm having a difficult time understanding the lack of DDs.  Maybe they were avoiding presenting 30 different kinds of hot dogs?

With all the stuff they're bringing to those tables they couldn't swing at least Dodger Dogs or Fenway Franks? OY!

[Polly Ticks]

With all the stuff they're bringing to those tables they couldn't swing at least Dodger Dogs or Fenway Franks? OY!

Or a Philly cheesesteak.   

[EasyAce]

Or a Philly cheesesteak.   

Jeez, you can get a Philly cheesesteak anywhere. ;)

[Cyber Liberty]

Jeez, you can get a Philly cheesesteak anywhere. ;)

Yeah, but "Wit Da Whizz?"

[GrouchoTex]

They should have thrown in Dodger Dogs!

I can almost here Vin Scully now, " Faaarma John"

[Polly Ticks]

Jeez, you can get a Philly cheesesteak anywhere. ;)

According to my Pennsylvanian college roommate, those don't count.

[Cyber Liberty]

According to my Pennsylvanian college roommate, those don't count.

They don't.  It's like calling a taco from Taco Bell a "taco."  No it isn't, it's an insult to the food.

[Machiavelli]

A Curveball From the New Tax Law: It Makes Baseball Trades Harder

Jim Tankersley
The New York Times
March 19, 2018

WASHINGTON — As President Trump congratulated the World Series champion Houston Astros at a White House ceremony last week, he also heaped praise on himself and congressional Republicans for passing a sweeping tax cut last year. He hailed Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the House’s chief tax writer and an Astros superfan, as “the king of those tax cuts.”

What he did not mention is that the new tax law Mr. Brady helped draft, and which Mr. Trump signed, levies a large new tax on the Astros, and similar franchises across professional sports.

The law changed a corner of the tax code that mostly applies to farmers, manufacturers and other businesses that until recently could swap certain assets like trucks and machinery tax-free. But by adding a single word to the newly written tax code — “real” — the law now allows only real estate swaps to qualify for that special treatment.

That change is meant to capture more federal revenue, in order to partly offset reductions in business and personal income tax rates. It forces manufacturers, farmers and others to pay more in capital gains taxes, if they trade an asset for something more valuable. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the change will raise $31 billion over the next decade.

It also means that the Astros and other sports franchises could now face capital gains taxes every time they exchange or trade their highly paid players.

More

@EasyAce

[EasyAce]

A Curveball From the New Tax Law: It Makes Baseball Trades Harder

Jim Tankersley
The New York Times
March 19, 2018

More

@EasyAce

@Machiavelli
I saw this and a couple of other articles about it. I'm thinking of writing about it. It sort of comes under the heading of every silver lining
has its clouds . . .

[Cyber Liberty]

@Machiavelli
I saw this and a couple of other articles about it. I'm thinking of writing about it. It sort of comes under the heading of every silver lining
has its clouds . . .

Hitting sports franchises is more of a feature than a bug, I'd say.  Trump was being a bit of a bullet-head in bragging about it to the team in a ceremony.

[EasyAce]

Hitting sports franchises is more of a feature than a bug, I'd say.  Trump was being a bit of a bullet-head in bragging about it to the team in a ceremony.

He was also being a bullet-head signing off on a federal budget that will end up negating that portion of the tax cuts that isn't negated
by his tariffs and threatened trade war.

[Cyber Liberty]

He was also being a bullet-head signing off on a federal budget that will end up negating that portion of the tax cuts that isn't negated
by his tariffs and threatened trade war.

Yes, but is that a bug or a feature?  I'm in a cynical mood right now.

[EasyAce]

Yes, but is that a bug or a feature?  I'm in a cynical mood right now.

I keep thinking, if only it were a bug . . .

! No longer available

[Polly Ticks]

Yay!! The 2018 baseball season has begun!!



Top 10 moments of Opening Day 2018

[Cyber Liberty]

Yay!! The 2018 baseball season has begun!!



Top 10 moments of Opening Day 2018

Both our teams have a 1.000 standing today.  How cool is that?

[Polly Ticks]

Both our teams have a 1.000 standing today.  How cool is that?

Yes!!  Very cool, indeed!
 

[Machiavelli]

A loss so embarrassing that even the umpire rips Phillies

@EasyAce What do you think?

[Polly Ticks]

A loss so embarrassing that even the umpire rips Phillies

@EasyAce What do you think?

I liked the final score.   

It was a tough situation, though, especially for Milner.  I'm glad he apparently didn't suffer any ill effects from not having had a real warm-up.

[EasyAce]

A loss so embarrassing that even the umpire rips Phillies

@EasyAce What do you think?

@Machiavelli
I think the 1962 Mets weren't the only team to find new ways to lose nobody knew were invented yet. But at least those
Mets couldn't pin their foulups, bleeps, and blunders on their manager. Casey Stengel had his problems with those early Mets
but bullpen communication wasn't one of them.

Even the issue of using position players on the mound. It's been done before---usually, when the team in question is so blown
out in the game they don't dare risk the rest of their real pitchers. This one Kapler got right: he brought in a utility player to
pitch the eighth when the game couldn't be reached by cab, and the poor sap surrendered a two-run homer.

We take you back to September 2002. The Dodgers had the Diamondbacks buried alive, 18-0, going to the top of the ninth in Arizona.
Snakes first baseman Mark Grace volunteered to pitch the ninth and take one for the team. He actually got the first two outs
before a rookie named David Ross took him into the left field seats. "His first major league home run," Grace said after the game,
"and he gets it off Mark Grace. I feel sorry for him."

The following day, both players agreed to sit for a joint radio interview. "I got a bad scouting report," Grace cracked. "I was told
he was a good fastball hitter. So I threw him a bad fastball and he still hit it a mile."

But at least neither manager called for a bullpen bull who wasn't there or warmed up, either.

[Cyber Liberty]

@Machiavelli
I think the 1962 Mets weren't the only team to find new ways to lose nobody knew were invented yet. But at least those
Mets couldn't pin their foulups, bleeps, and blunders on their manager. Casey Stengel had his problems with those early Mets
but bullpen communication wasn't one of them.

Even the issue of using position players on the mound. It's been done before---usually, when the team in question is so blown
out in the game they don't dare risk the rest of their real pitchers. This one Kapler got right: he brought in a utility player to
pitch the eighth when the game couldn't be reached by cab, and the poor sap surrendered a two-run homer.

We take you back to September 2002. The Dodgers had the Diamondbacks buried alive, 18-0, going to the top of the ninth in Arizona.
Snakes first baseman Mark Grace volunteered to pitch the ninth and take one for the team. He actually got the first two outs
before a rookie named David Ross took him into the left field seats. "His first major league home run," Grace said after the game,
"and he gets it off Mark Grace. I feel sorry for him."

The following day, both players agreed to sit for a joint radio interview. "I got a bad scouting report," Grace cracked. "I was told
he was a good fastball hitter. So I threw him a bad fastball and he still hit it a mile."

But at least neither manager called for a bullpen bull who wasn't there or warmed up, either.

@Slip18 and I were talking about that outing Mark Grace had this morning, after I told her about the Philly wipe-out.  She said exactly what you did about Grace "taking one for the team."  Grace did pretty well, even giving up a homer.  He got the outs, and that was the bottom line.  And it was fun to watch.  He did a perfect impersonation of the Mike Fetters glare....

(We still get to enjoy Mike Fetters.  He's the Bullpen Coach.)

[Polly Ticks]

@Machiavelli
Even the issue of using position players on the mound. It's been done before---usually, when the team in question is so blown out in the game they don't dare risk the rest of their real pitchers.

Jonny Gomes pitching for the Braves against the Yanks 3 years ago was a beautiful thing.

[EasyAce]

@Slip18 and I were talking about that outing Mark Grace had this morning, after I told her about the Philly wipe-out.  She said exactly what you did about Grace "taking one for the team."  Grace did pretty well, even giving up a homer.  He got the outs, and that was the bottom line.  And it was fun to watch.  He did a perfect impersonation of the Mike Fetters glare....

(We still get to enjoy Mike Fetters.  He's the Bullpen Coach.)

@Cyber Liberty
@Slip18
David Ross's first major league home run (off Mark Grace) . . .

! No longer available


. . . and, his last, Game Seven, 2016 World Series (off Andrew Miller) . . .

! No longer available

[Machiavelli]

In a few minutes, Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to make his MLB pitching debut. You can watch it on Fox Sports West.

[EasyAce]

In a few minutes, Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to make his MLB pitching debut. You can watch it on Fox Sports West.

They're underway. The Angels opened with a base hit and a double play. (Why the hell is Scioscia batting Mike Trout second in the order?) Ground out to first
retires the side. Otani's going out to the mound.

Trivia: The last time a player started games as a pitcher and a hitter in the first ten days of a season was 1920---Bullet Joe Bush did it for the
Red Sox and Clarence Mitchell did it for the Dodgers.

[Machiavelli]

Ohtani strikes out the first batter he faces.

[EasyAce]

Ohtani strikes out the first batter he faces.

Got the side in order sandwiching a foul out between two punchouts. RBI double makes it 1-0, Angels, top of the second.

[Machiavelli]

There goes Ohtani's no-hitter.

[EasyAce]

There goes Ohtani's no-hitter.

There went his lead---strikeout, back to back singles, three-run bomb. 3-2, A's . . .

[Slip18]

Spring training is only 11 days away!!                                             Spring training is only 11 days away!!                               Spring training is only 11 days away!!                               Spring training is only 11 days away!!                               Spring training is only 11 days away!!                               Spring training is only 11 days away!!                               Spring training is only 11 days away!!

I love baseball!

D-Backs have added more improvements this year.  Boxberger is now our closer.  We added Dyson from the Mariners as our stealer of bases.  Dang.  With our older and much improved and non-injured players, we have a chance this year.

Easy, Mark Grace was such a great player.  Fun to watch, too.  He got in trouble with alcohol while going through a divorce.  It was a sad time for all of us.  We saw the whole sordid dance of the divorce.  It affected his announcing.  He has made a fabulous comeback in the past few years after being sent to the minors to coach.  We are proud of our Gracie, the one the Cubbies tossed overboard.

I will be in here more often when the heat hits.  Gotta get stuff done before the 115-degree dog days of summer comes strolling along.

Wheee!  ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾

[Machiavelli]

Trout up. Something fishy going on here.

[EasyAce]

Easy, Mark Grace was such a great player.  Fun to watch, too.  He got in trouble with alcohol while going through a divorce.  It was a sad time for all of us.  We saw the whole sordid dance of the divorce.  It affected his announcing.  He has made a fabulous comeback in the past few years after being sent to the minors to coach.  We are proud of our Gracie, the one the Cubbies tossed overboard.

@Slip18
In the years when Mark Grace first broke into the majors, the Cubs were so short-sighted that they didn't see something which might have made
a big difference in both their ability to win games and in Grace's career: Grace was a kind of anomaly---he was a first baseman with the hitting skills
of a number two hitter, playing with Ryne Sandberg, a second baseman with the hitting skills of a number three hitter. Like too many clubs at the
time the Cubs batted both players according to their position's "traditional" batting order slots and not according to their skill sets. Sandberg became
a Hall of Famer regardless, but you wonder a) whether Grace would have shaken out as a Hall of Famer if he'd been batted according to his skill set
and not his field position, and b) whether Sandberg would have been even more run productive hitting number three or even cleanup. The Cubs
in those years didn't have the brains to think that deeply about their resources.

[Slip18]

I will say
Twins v Astros in the AL
Nationals v Dodgers NL
Astros 4-3 in series

D-Backs would have been in last year's series, except the Dodgers played an utterly outstanding season.  So far this year the Dodgers have lost two games to the Giants.  So they have only won one game.

D-Backs have a good, might I say exceptional, chance of getting the penant this year.

⚾⚾⚾

[Slip18]

I have been restlessly waiting for today so I could put it back on! 

Also my Braves earrings and hair scrunchie, although my avatar doesn't reflect that.  Hmmmm ... maybe I need to work on that a bit one of these days.

Just wow, Polly.  I have D-Backs ribbons for my hair.  LOL!

⚾⚾⚾

[Slip18]

X-ray of baseballs reveals possible cause of home run surge

@EasyAce

We now have a thermador for our baseballs.  I do wonder how that will affect our games.  The dry air here is very hard on the balls. Just like your skin.  We must keep our skin moisturized at all times.

⚾⚾⚾

[Slip18]

Most indispensable players for all 30 teams in 2018

Absolutely great article, Polly.  One of the reasons I love baseball is because it is a team and an individual sport.  You can take away your MVP on a team, and still have a very good year.  Just my humble opinion.

⚾⚾⚾

[Slip18]

My big question involving Paul Goldschmidt might actually be how long he remains a Diamondback. There've been trade rumours
around him in the past, and if the Snakes don't make a good showing this season after getting shoved out early last postseason,
who knows if they decide to push the reset button and cash Goldschmidt in for a small haul of prospects or younger major leaguers?

I do not think Goldy will leave the D-Backs, no matter what.  He will take a cut in pay to stay.  He is not as strong as he was prior to Baby Goldschmidt, but he is motivated every game.

He is so involved in this community that he is here to stay.

Again that is my humble opinion. LOL!

⚾⚾⚾

[Slip18]

Shhhhhh.....  @EasyAce  wrote us off with minimal chances last year.  Maybe he will do us a favor and do the same this year.

I made a whopping five dollars off of your team last year.  I bet one sister that the Astros would take it in seven.  Two other sisters would not bet against me. LOL!

⚾⚾⚾

[Slip18]

Hitting sports franchises is more of a feature than a bug, I'd say.  Trump was being a bit of a bullet-head in bragging about it to the team in a ceremony.

Politics has nothing to do with baseball.  Leave us alone, will ya, bureaucrats!

⚾⚾⚾

[Slip18]

Yay!! The 2018 baseball season has begun!!



Top 10 moments of Opening Day 2018

I was at my first acupuncture appointment when Happ hit the home run on the first pitch.  Too good.  The doctor was going crazy because his three patients were baseball fanatics.  The other patient has had season tickets for the Diamondbacks for 20 years!  He was trying to get the doc to go with him to the opening game.  Hey, what about me?

The doc was trying to get us all to just shut up about baseball. LOL!

⚾⚾⚾

[EasyAce]

Mike Trout---RBI double. Justin Upton---sacrifice fly. The Angels re-take the lead, 4-3, middle of the fifth.
Ohtani's only real dicy inning: the second. He wasn't feeling the breaking balls right just yet and the A's made
him pay.

[GrouchoTex]

Astro's home opener tonight.
Local TV is going to cover the ballpark all day.
They have pregame stuff going on outside, and this will be the first time they've played at home as the World Series champs, in regular season anyway.
They played 2 exhibition games here against the Brewers before taking 3 out of 4 from the Rangers in Arlington, to open the season.

(I really enjoyed typing the part in italics...)