MLB Season 2022. Playball!

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wco81
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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by wco81 »

Yeah but during the steroids era, it wasn't only the big beefy guys hitting bombs.

You had guys with a lot of 1-year spikes, like Brady Anderson hitting 50 one year. There were others, like Rich Aurillia hitting 37 one year.

I have to say Altuve's power is surprising. Same with Justin Turner. These aren't big guys and in the case of Turner, he didn't have any kind of power numbers until the last couple of years, in his late 20s or in his 30s.


And PEDs may not necessarily be about adding power or strength, muscle bulk. Some have said the way PEDs helped was to keep energy and concentration levels high, especially over the course of a long season.

Yeah maybe the rabbit ball alone would be enough to account for the power surge this year. There have been previous seasons where the ball was blamed for spikes in power. But this season was an all-time record so maybe they advanced the science as far as producing rabbit balls. Or maybe it was the ball and some other factors.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by RobVarak »

Two things are certainly true. There are definitely still PED's in the game. They aren't as rampant or clumsily used as they were in the 90's

It's impossible to sift out their impact, though. New thinking on launch angle and strike zone management, new fitness regimes, the physics of the baseball...it's a complicated formula to try to attribute the HR's to any one variable.
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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by fanatic »

Let's not forget about the "fly ball revolution" that is taking place in terms of player development.

With my Jays for example, guys like Bautista and Donaldson were late bloomers who erupted onto the scene because they realized that by becoming extreme fly ball hitters, they could elevate (pun intended) their game.

If you look at their swings, you'll see a fundamentally different approach to what has always been the norm in baseball - quick hands, level swing with a focus on line drives. Now, these guys are gearing up in full launch mode, with a particular emphasis on rotating the hips and creating that upward trajectory of the swing. I played competitive baseball back in the day, and this kind of stuff would have been frowned upon!

Justin Turner, etc...are seeing this success and modifying their own swings. Not to say that the ball isn't juiced as well, but that there are other factors also contributing.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by DivotMaker »

wco81 wrote:Yeah but during the steroids era, it wasn't only the big beefy guys hitting bombs.

You had guys with a lot of 1-year spikes, like Brady Anderson hitting 50 one year. There were others, like Rich Aurillia hitting 37 one year.

I have to say Altuve's power is surprising. Same with Justin Turner. These aren't big guys and in the case of Turner, he didn't have any kind of power numbers until the last couple of years, in his late 20s or in his 30s.


And PEDs may not necessarily be about adding power or strength, muscle bulk. Some have said the way PEDs helped was to keep energy and concentration levels high, especially over the course of a long season.

Yeah maybe the rabbit ball alone would be enough to account for the power surge this year. There have been previous seasons where the ball was blamed for spikes in power. But this season was an all-time record so maybe they advanced the science as far as producing rabbit balls. Or maybe it was the ball and some other factors.
Not familiar with PED's that have those benefits.

PED's were rampant in Track & Field in the 70's/80's/90's/and early 2000's. Those PED's were the power/strength/recovery regimens. The doping agencies are getting better at detection, but my understanding is that PED's are still being used in many sports and the agencies are still behind the players as far as detection.

Not sure how much farther the human physiology can be pushed when you see 300+ pound linemen running sub 5 second 40 yard dashes......that folks is a refrigerator coming downhill at you. I think we are reaching a plateau with human performance in this day and age.....

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by DivotMaker »

Houston Astros 2017 World Champions!

So happy for the city of Houston and Houston sports fans. It took 56 years to get here, but it was worth the wait. How sweet it is!

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

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Congrats Divot and Astros fans. With the game still 5-0 with bases loaded at the top of the 6th inning, I was questioning some decisions that Hinch was making. With already Devensky and Peacock being pulled, I was dubious whether the remaining Pen would sustain the remain innings.

Great series, perhaps the best in awhile that i’ve watched in the past 5-6 years.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by dbdynsty25 »

Well that was cool. Congrats Divot.

Now I can stop hearing about the Dodgers everywhere I go. Another choke job in the playoffs. Same old Dodgers.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by RobVarak »

Great season, great postseason.

Is it Spring Training yet?
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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by AcemanPR »

Congrats Astros fans! Incredible World Series!

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by DivotMaker »

10spro wrote:Congrats Divot and Astros fans. With the game still 5-0 with bases loaded at the top of the 6th inning, I was questioning some decisions that Hinch was making. With already Devensky and Peacock being pulled, I was dubious whether the remaining Pen would sustain the remain innings.

Great series, perhaps the best in awhile that i’ve watched in the past 5-6 years.
Devenski and Liriano were the only members of the Pen who came on and they each got an out and were pulled. Peacock and Morton (MONEY!) are starters and they made some money this postseason. Can't say enough about Peacock and Morton.....two guys that won 14 games each under the radar during regular season and brought their best during the playoffs. H-town does not win without their contributions.

Look for the 'Stros to make bullpen moves this offseason.....and see if they can resurrect Ken Giles. He lost his slider and became a gas can. If his slider is working, he is damn near unhittable. I think more work on his psych than anything after being dropped as the closer in the middle of this series.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by dbdynsty25 »

Between the Astros, Indians and resurrected Yankees...it's gonna be a dog fight for the next ten years in the AL.

In the NL...the Dodgers, unfortunately for me, are probably going to be the cream of the crop for that span of time too. Maybe the Cubs and Nats will stay involved, but damn the Dodgers have a good squad of young guys.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by MizzouRah »

Congratulations to the Astros and all of their fans!!!
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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by DivotMaker »

dbdynsty25 wrote:Between the Astros, Indians and resurrected Yankees...it's gonna be a dog fight for the next ten years in the AL.

In the NL...the Dodgers, unfortunately for me, are probably going to be the cream of the crop for that span of time too. Maybe the Cubs and Nats will stay involved, but damn the Dodgers have a good squad of young guys.
Yeah, agreed. Red Sox have a nucleus of some pretty good players too.

Only thing I am afraid of is when contract talks come for Altuve, Correa, Springer, etc.....hope Jim Crane remembers what it took to get here, now to keep it going is going to take dinero....lots of dinero.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by TCrouch »

Being a Dodger fan in the heart of Astro country is going to make me want to vomit for a while... :lol:

They deserved it, though. Especially in game 7, the execution was so much better on Houston's side than LA's, and I just sat there watching it, knowing that it was a lost cause from the 1st inning on.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by wco81 »

dbdynsty25 wrote: In the NL...the Dodgers, unfortunately for me, are probably going to be the cream of the crop for that span of time too. Maybe the Cubs and Nats will stay involved, but damn the Dodgers have a good squad of young guys.
Some Dodgers fans are already talking about the team trying to win the Otani sweepstakes. There's some thought that re-signing Darvish might help them attract Otani, who idolized Darvish.

But after Darvish's failures in the WS, who knows.

With their unlimited budget, they might just scoop up Stanton too.

I think the big market clubs, especially those with huge local TV deals, have a good chance to dominate for awhile. The cycle seems to be turning back in their favor, back to when the Yankees signing all the big free agents propelled them to rings. But now, these clubs can do both, sign marquee free agents, big up top players in the international market and pour money into farm system development.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by MERACE »

DivotMaker wrote:Houston Astros 2017 World Champions!

So happy for the city of Houston and Houston sports fans. It took 56 years to get here, but it was worth the wait. How sweet it is!
A well deserved win by the Astros!

It's great to see a city that was devastated by Hurricane Harvey experience the joy of their sports team winning the World Series.


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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by AcemanPR »

DivotMaker wrote:Very classy Dodgers.....

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/QT ... ton-astros
That is very cool of them!

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by fanatic »

RIP Doc :(

All-time Jay favourite.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by dbdynsty25 »

These damn experimental aircraft need to be banned. Yes, it passed all of the FAA regulations, but it makes people think they are invincible, especially in an amphibious plane. Dude probably just got a bit too close to the water and clipped a wing or something. So sad.

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Re: MLB Season 2017. Playball!

Post by Diablo25 »

Gut wrenching loss. I feel for his wife and kids. They were so excited when he signed with the Phillies. Horrible day.
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Re: MLB Season 2018. Playball!

Post by 10spro »

It was the home opening day for the Jays against the mighty Yankees. They didn’t stand a chance. From top to bottom when you look at all the names in a Yankee uniform, you realize that they have depth and a lot of multiple ways to hurt you. A. Judge was a great revelation last season for them and now they added G. Stanton. I would be surprised if they don’t lead the league in homers in October.

Lackluster performance by the Jays in a sold out stadium, if they can manage to somehow stay healthy, they’ll be right behind NY and BOS in the standings but when you have Tulo in the lineup you know that that’s an impossible thing to ask.

He hasn’t played since last July and he’s already in a two month disabled list.

More concerning to me was watching Josh Donaldson throwing to first base. No one wants to say much at this point, he didn’t really play much during the preseason and he was bothered by a shoulder injury much last season. The way he hesitantly threw the ball today makes me think that he’s still got some issues.

The ball club didn’t extend his contract in this the last year with the club, and personally I think it would be a miracle if he doesn’t get traded by July when the Jays cruise along mediocrity at that time of the year.

Diablo, I was watching some game action with your team vs ATL, surprised they came back to beat the Phillies.

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Re: MLB Season 2018. Playball!

Post by nyisles16 »

Glad to see the Mets win today... did it for “Le Grande Orange”..

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Re: MLB Season 2018. Playball!

Post by Rodster »

RIP: Rusty Staub a true humanitarian in every sense of the word and one helluva player. :(

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Re: MLB Season 2018. Playball!

Post by dbdynsty25 »

10spro wrote:Diablo, I was watching some game action with your team vs ATL, surprised they came back to beat the Phillies.
Why? The Phils are just as bad as the Braves. Gonna be a race for a second place finish in the East. First one to 78 wins gets it between the Phils, Mets and Braves.

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