Baseball 2025 - Batter Up! ⚾

[Polly Ticks]

I know the feeling.

[Bigun]

[Hoodat]

College World Series coming up.  Last night's showdown between Arkansas and LSU was one helluva game.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMDbxugyFI

LSU will play Coastal Carolina for the championship.

[Hoodat]

Here's the full ninth inning.  Score tied, 3-3.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28XRWirepWA

[AllThatJazzZ]

@Bigun

 

Here's some added context...

(As of yesterday, lost 1/2 a game since then)

[AllThatJazzZ]

I know the feeling.

@Polly Ticks

Rough year for y'all. Saw where the CRockies beat the Braves 10 - 1.    Whaaaaaat???

[catfish1957]

@Bigun

 

Here's some added context...

(As of yesterday, lost 1/2 a game since then)

And this was done with Alvarez on the shelf.  After 60 years, I have usually been pretty good at gauging how well the Stros will fare each year. This year?  I had the pegged at  about 3rd place hovering + or - 3 above or below .500

But gone are:

Bregman
Correa
Verlander
Springer
Tucker

Great job this year of extracting the utmost out of Level 2 talent.    And Hunter Brown?  I am impressed. Let's sign him long term, before the price tag escalates,.

[Polly Ticks]

@Polly Ticks

Rough year for y'all. Saw where the CRockies beat the Braves 10 - 1.    Whaaaaaat???

Right?!? 
And then on the other hand, we just swept the Mets out of first place and into a tie with the Phillies in the NL East.
Weird year, for sure.

[GrouchoTex]

And this was done with Alvarez on the shelf.  After 60 years, I have usually been pretty good at gauging how well the Stros will fare each year. This year?  I had the pegged at  about 3rd place hovering + or - 3 above or below .500

But gone are:

Bregman
Correa
Verlander
Springer
Tucker

Great job this year of extracting the utmost out of Level 2 talent.    And Hunter Brown?  I am impressed. Let's sign him long term, before the price tag escalates,.

I tried but I couldn't stay awake through the A's-Astros games this week.
About the longest I lasted was around 6 innings. I did see Cam Smith hit his 2 home runs.

[Bigun]

@Bigun

 

Here's some added context...

(As of yesterday, lost 1/2 a game since then)

The truth is that I no longer care a whit about pro baseball @AllThatJazzZ I just posted that to pee in @DCPatriot post toastiees.

[DCPatriot]

@Bigun

 

Here's some added context...

(As of yesterday, lost 1/2 a game since then)

I'm actually rooting for the ASTROS...a team leading in the standings despite not playing .600 ball.  (Then again, maybe it's because I see familiar 'Astro' names on the back of strange jerseys.)   Bregman, Correa, 

It's where we expected our ORIOLES to be...certainly NOT buried eleven games back... DESPITE PLAYING .600 ball the past two weeks

@Bigun  @AllThatJazzZ

The truth is that I no longer care a whit about pro baseball @AllThatJazzZ I just posted that to pee in @DCPatriot post toastiees.

[jmyrlefuller]

Pssh. Bandwagoner. (blows raspberry)

[jmyrlefuller]

So lately I've been watching a team called the Alaska Goldpanners. It's one of those collegiate summer baseball teams that builds its rosters from college students on summer vacation looking to develop their playing skills. They're based in Fairbanks, Alaska so their games are starting just as I'm getting ready for bed. I can put their games on as I go to sleep.

There are two games each year that are particularly special on the Goldpanners' schedule. One is the Midnight Sun Game, which happens tomorrow night, when they take advantage of Fairbanks's northern latitude and play in the middle of the night (way early in the morning here) with nothing but natural light; that game's a century old.

The other is the annual game where they play local talent, first the American Legion squad (which is high school age) and the other the beer league. They're usually games that the Goldpanners win without any trouble but last night, for the first few innings, the beer leaguers were actually beating the Goldpanners. Alas, it wasn't to be, as it turned into a blowout by the time the game was over but for that brief moment, it made me smile.

[Wingnut]

As a Cubs fan I am having a 1969 flashback. 

[Hoodat]

LSU Tigers win 2nd Men's College World Series in three years

Jun 22, 2025, 05:57 PM ET

OMAHA, Neb. -- LSU knocked previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina ace Jacob Morrison out of the game with a four-run fourth inning and the Tigers won their second national championship in three years Sunday with a 5-3 victory in the College World Series finals.

The Tigers (53-15) completed a two-game sweep of the Chanticleers (56-13), who entered the finals on a 26-game win streak and on Sunday saw coach Kevin Schnall and first base coach Matt Schilling ejected in the bottom of the first inning.

LSU gave the Southeastern Conference its sixth straight national title in baseball and 11th in 16 years. It was LSU's eighth, all since 1991 and second most all time behind Southern California's 12.

Tigers coach Jay Johnson became the first Division I coach to win two titles in his first four years at a school. No other coach had accomplished that feat in fewer than eight seasons.

"Our whole motto for the year was 'Tough and Together,' and that's what they did from Aug. 26 until now," Johnson said in a postgame television interview. "It's only 12 returning players. That collection of talent became a team and a family."

Coastal Carolina won the national title in 2016 and was trying to become the first team since 1962 (Michigan) and the fifth all time to win the championship in its first two CWS appearances.

With five-time champion coach Skip Bertman watching from the stands, LSU tied it at 1 in the third on Ethan Frey's RBI double .  .  .

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/45563575/lsu-tigers-win-2nd-men-college-world-series-three-years

[catfish1957]

@DCPatriot

Last nights box score.....

TB Rays-  8R 13H 2E
Orioles-  22R 21H  0E

Think they might want to save a few of those for later?   

[jmyrlefuller]

Lately I've been out in my car on the evenings and weekends, and when I do, I often tune in a baseball game if there's one on. The one team I can consistently pick up on the radio is the Pirates.

The past couple of days, every time I've tuned in, the Pirates have gone on an absolute tear of RBIs and homers. Like tonight: I tuned in midway through the game, it's 1-0, and by the time I finish my drive, it's 7-0.

Not sure how I feel with that kind of responsibility!

[DefiantMassRINO]

Can any team spare a starting pitcher with an ERA less than 5 for the Red Sox?

[catfish1957]

Can any team spare a starting pitcher with an ERA less than 5 for the Red Sox?

Not us.  You already poached Bregman from us. 

After decades of shame and ridicule with my team, please excuse my smack talk.....   

[Polly Ticks]

[catfish1957]

The gift that keeps on giving.  I haven't liked the Mets since 2004 when they and Bora$$ screwed us over in Carlos Beltran negotiations.

Karma X 10

Baseball grudges?  Some of mine date back to events of the 1960's.

[catfish1957]

I tried but I couldn't stay awake through the A's-Astros games this week.
About the longest I lasted was around 6 innings. I did see Cam Smith hit his 2 home runs.

Paredes 17 Homers and 46 RBI's thus far
Cam Smith batting .290

Man did we rob the Cubs.

[catfish1957]

Last night....

Astros 18 Dodgers 1 ....   worst blowout in Dodger Stadium history. 

[DCPatriot]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45730740/phillies-rip-mlb-adding-jacob-misiorowski-all-star-roster

Phillies rip MLB for adding Jacob Misiorowski to All-Star roster

excerpt:

MLB announced Friday that the hard-throwing Misiorowski, who has made just five starts for Milwaukee, would replace Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd on the NL roster.

The Phillies, already miffed at what they perceived to be a number of All-Star snubs on their roster, voiced their resentment later Friday night.

"What a joke," shortstop Trea Turner told The Athletic. "That's f---ing terrible. I mean that's terrible, dude."

"It's turning into the Savannah Bananas," outfielder Nick Castellanos added.

The Phillies pointed to left-handers Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez as examples of more deserving All-Star replacements than Misiorowski.

"That's just how MLB does it now," catcher J.T. Realmuto told The Athletic. "Nothing against the Misiorowski kid. But [Suarez and Sanchez] are deserving of being on the team in the first place. There's no doubt."

Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA in his five starts, striking out 33 over 25 2/3 innings while wowing fans with a fastball that averages 99.3 mph. The 6-foot-7 right-hander has unleashed 89 pitches this season that have reached at least 100 mph.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

@catfish1957   @AllThatJazzZ  @Bigun  @Polly Ticks  @jmyrlefuller  @GrouchoTex  @DefiantMassRINO  @Hoodat

Opinions please?

I'm tending to agree with MLB on this one.

Who doesn't want to see a 6ft 7in lanky kid throw 104mph strikes?

Has 5 [quality] starts, 33K's and a 2.31 ERA.

Would imagine facing somebody that tall, like he's releasing the ball from in front of the mound and NOT the rubber.

[catfish1957]

ASG theatrics at their best. 

As an ancient fan, I like it best when my team is snubbed and skipped (as they are this year).

Rather not have any of our stars "Fosse'ed"

And honestly I haven't watched an entire ASG in its entirety in easily 30 years.   ZZzzzzzzzzz

[Canuck Conservative]

Most of the pitchers I've seen so far that throw over 100 have control problems.

Sure, "100mph+ pitches" sounds scary, but I'd rather have a guy who can throw, say, 97 with accuracy, consistently ... that's a winner

j/s

[catfish1957]

Most of the pitchers I've seen so far that throw over 100 have control problems.

Sure, "100mph+ pitches" sounds scary, but I'd rather have a guy who can throw, say, 97 with accuracy, consistently ... that's a winner

j/s

My all time favor ball player is Nolan Ryan.....   A 2 generation ago, antithesis of your "druthers".   

You make good points...  but.....
I'll just say that a "wild" Ryan or Randy Johnson is a lot more entertaining to watch. 

[DCPatriot]

Most of the pitchers I've seen so far that throw over 100 have control problems.

Sure, "100mph+ pitches" sounds scary, but I'd rather have a guy who can throw, say, 97 with accuracy, consistently ... that's a winner

j/s

The question put forth...should a hot, phenom kid, a physical freak be invited to the ASG when there are more than a few seasoned veterans who are putting up personal 'career' numbers?

[Bigun]

The question put forth...should a hot, phenom kid, a physical freak be invited to the ASG when there are more than a few seasoned veterans who are putting up personal 'career' numbers?

My answer; who cares what they do now since they have totally F'd up MLB already?  Robotic umpires coming soon! @DCPatriot

[DCPatriot]

My answer; who cares what they do now since they have totally F'd up MLB already?  Robotic umpires coming soon! @DCPatriot

@Bigun

LOL!  Imagine sitting in the box seats along the infield in a nationally televised game and the "AI-Umpire" overrules the live ump in the VISITOR'S favor.

I'm actually for PERFECTION being the ultimate goal in getting the call correct.

Right now, we're fed the old time standby ONE camera view of the zone outline but no "depth" in order to catch an breaking ball coming through the ceiling of the strike box...so to speak.

I know that no matter what you post, that you truly love baseball.   

[Bigun]

@Bigun

LOL!  Imagine sitting in the box seats along the infield in a nationally televised game and the "AI-Umpire" overrules the live ump in the VISITOR'S favor.

I'm actually for PERFECTION being the ultimate goal in getting the call correct.

Right now, we're fed the old time standby ONE camera view of the zone outline but no "depth" in order to catch an breaking ball coming through the ceiling of the strike box...so to speak.

I know that no matter what you post, that you truly love baseball.   

The game, yes! What big money and statisticians have done to it, not so much. And now it's no longer confined to just MLB. They have screwed up college baseball as well.