The MLB Thread

[stevewizzle]

Pineda is an idiot,  but I can't believe there wasn't a veteran in the clubhouse that didn't walk up to him and say "not this week,  kid.  Under no circumstances"

maybe the yankees are lacking a veteran presence in the locker room.

just kidding, it's practically a retirement home over there.

[vansmack]

Yankees and Pineda failed each other 

Pretty spot on take of the situation.  Their failure continued in the dugout afterwards.  The only think I can think of is that they did talk to Pineda, and he ignored them, so they left him hanging.

[chaz]

Put this in the Nats thread but probably should have just dropped it here. An interactive map of baseball fans and their favorite teams, broken down by zipcode.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/24/upshot/facebook-baseball-map.html#5,40.034,-80.567

Its just done by fb likes from that zipcode, wonder how accurate this really even is.

Either way, pretty awesome map.

Here's the full article with more nerdy stuff

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24-upshot-baseball.html

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

This Tigers bullpen is killing me. I don't understand how we've made an effort this season and the last two to upgrade the pen and put big $$ into it and trade away guys for pen guys and they just hemmorage runs nightly. It's maddening. Loaded the bases last night and gave up the Grand slam to lose and a comedy of 85mph meatballs going again right now. Sigh. 

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

Also Alex Avila is a free steal any time a runner on first wants it. Gahhhhhh.

[vansmack]

This never should have happened in the first place.  What a disastrous month this was:

MLB Reverses Transfer Rule

[atomic]

This Tigers bullpen is killing me. I don't understand how we've made an effort this season and the last two to upgrade the pen and put big $$ into it and trade away guys for pen guys and they just hemmorage runs nightly. It's maddening. Loaded the bases last night and gave up the Grand slam to lose and a comedy of 85mph meatballs going again right now. Sigh. 

Nathan seems to have turned it around. 

[shemptiness]

This never should have happened in the first place.  What a disastrous month this was:

MLB Reverses Transfer Rule

Reminiscent of the 'Year of the Balk'.   Another catastrophe.  Now it's on to new pine tar rules!

[vansmack]

Reminiscent of the 'Year of the Balk'.   Another catastrophe.  Now it's on to new pine tar rules!

Oh yeah - the "complete stop" rule.  Dave Stewart couldn't figure that one out.  Another great example of bad rule enforcement.  What was the name of the Mariner who balked in like 1/3 of his appearances?

EDIT: Rod Scurry, better known from the Pittsburgh Cocaine days.  He balked 11 times that season in 31 1/3 innings.

[atomic]

This never should have happened in the first place.  What a disastrous month this was:

MLB Reverses Transfer Rule

Reminiscent of the 'Year of the Balk'.   Another catastrophe.  Now it's on to new pine tar rules!

I don't know what the Pine Tar rules is suppose to mean.  There is a rule that pitchers can't use it.  Simple rule.  I think the punishment should be stiffer.  How is suspending a guy for 10 games and paying him punishment.  Cheating seems to be encouraged in baseball.  Suspend them for 30 days without pay.

[shemptiness]

I think many pitchers use it, especially in cold weather.  Most don't hide it on their necks though.

[atomic]

I think many pitchers use it, especially in cold weather.  Most don't hide it on their necks though.

Suspend them all.  Baseball needs to get their act together.  All the cheating that is going on is ruining the sport for me.  Doesn't anyone have any integrity in any sports? 

[hutch]

from what i read its a rule that i commonly flouted (sic)  by everyone.. pineda was just too upfront about what he was doing after getting caught recently

personally if there is a rule it should always be enforced..i don't care about how cold it is

[shemptiness]

Buck:

"Always, initial reaction is enforcing the letter of the rule," Showalter said. "My personal opinion is, instead of addressing the issue, they should address the problem. The problem is the baseball.

"We've been doing something pretty archaic for a long, long, long, long time and that's putting mud on it. The problem is, guys can't grip the ball. And you put mud on it and it's 40 degree, it gets slicker. If I'm a hitter or an opposing manager, I want you to be able to grip the baseball."

[vansmack]

MLB to review the rule AFTER the 2014 season:

MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred offered a comment on the issue:

?I think the way that the rule has been enforced, as with lots of rules in baseball, is that when there?s a complaint, we do something about it,? MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred said. ?And that?s what happened here. I don?t think that this particular incident is all that different from other incidents that we?ve had in the past. We will like we do every offseason look at this issue, but remember, pine tar is one of a number of foreign substances, and you have to have a rule that fits for all of them. I don?t think there?s anything all that different about the Pineda.?

The main reason most managers don't check pitchers like the Sox did,  us because you can't be certain that your guys aren't doing the same thing.  The Sox had no choice because Pineda was photographed the week before and then ESPN caught him on camera that inning.  Farrell had no choice because of the blatant video evidence.