The MLB Thread

there is a nfl thread.  there is a redskins thread.  there is a orioles thread.  there is a nats thread.  there is a nbl thread.  there is, or was a caps thread. 

why, has there never been, a bullets / wizards thread, or a nba thread?

walk,on,by wrote:
why, has there never been, a bullets / wizards thread, or a nba thread?

We don't have nearly enough African-Americans on this board to get that sort of thing off the ground.

Nuke wrote:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14665572/new-mlb-spring-training-jerseys-hats

I'll be passing on the Angels cap, but might grab that Brewers cap for nostalgia sake…

Howie Kendrick resigns with Dodgers - 2 years, $20m.

Jean Segura and Tyler Wagner to @Dbacks; Chase Anderson, Aaron Hill, Isan Diaz to @Brewers

Nuke wrote:

Nuke wrote:
Sitting in the box seats at the O's the other day I was saying that I'm surprised they haven't had more accidents and put up netting like the NHL.  I think that will happen now.

Bad form to quote oneself but nevertheless….

http://deadspin.com/mlb-recommends-all-30-stadiums-install-additional-safet-1747108452

And so it begins….

http://www.twincities.com/2016/01/31/minnesota-twins-new-dugout-netting-at-target-field-to-limit-injuries/

Two weeks before pitchers and catchers report, Blue Jays finally come around to the appeal of a dirt infield.

Tyler Clippard  signs a 2 year deal with the D-Backs ($12.5m)

Josh Donaldson signs a deal to avoid arbitration.

And Delmon Young gets arrested while a free agent!

Gentlemen and Lady,  pitchers and catchers report soon!

I did not see Tyler Clippard getting 6+ per. Wanted the Tigers to take a run at him but not at that price.

Julian, wrote:
I did not see Tyler Clippard getting 6+ per. Wanted the Tigers to take a run at him but not at that price.

The salary is actually what I expected: $4.1 million salary in 2016 and a $4.15 million for 2017.

It's the $4 million signing bonus that I don't get.

vansmack wrote:

Julian, wrote:
I did not see Tyler Clippard getting 6+ per. Wanted the Tigers to take a run at him but not at that price.

The salary is actually what I expected: $4.1 million salary in 2016 and a $4.15 million for 2017.

It's the $4 million signing bonus that I don't get.

That's odd. I would've loved to pick him up at 4.

Keith Law's Farm System Rankings:

15. Washington Nationals (2015 rank 9)
Players in Top 100 (2016): 3

26. Detroit Tigers (2015 rank 30)
Players in Top 100 (2016): 1

27. Baltimore Orioles (2015 rank 22)
Players in Top 100 (2016): 2

30. Los Angeles Angels (2015 rank 27)
Players in Top 100 (2016): 0

I've been doing these rankings for eight years now, and this is by far the worst system I've ever seen. They traded their top two prospects in the Andrelton Simmons deal and had no one remotely close to top-100 status. They need a big draft this year to start to restock the system or we're going to start talking about whether it's time to trade Mike Trout.

Nats system keeps getting worse…

vansmack wrote:
26. Detroit Tigers (2015 rank 30)
Players in Top 100 (2016): 1

NOT LAST!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

hutch wrote:
Nats system keeps getting worse…

"A top-heavy system with a couple of potential stars, some depth in position players up the middle, but a somewhat quick falloff after the first 8-10 names. It doesn't set them up well for many trades, but you have to be a potential star to crack the lineup or rotation in D.C., and they do have a few of those prospects."

Julian, wrote:
NOT LAST!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

"It's still not a good system, but it's the first time in maybe a decade that it's trending upward"

vansmack wrote:

Julian, wrote:
NOT LAST!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

"It's still not a good system, but it's the first time in maybe a decade that it's trending upward"

NOT LAST!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/yankees-exec-gets-snobby-when-defending-new-ticket-policy-235122871.html

Team COO Lonn Trost pretty much confirmed that was the case Thursday, telling WFAN the club doesn't want fans buying "premium" seats at a value price, according to Neil Best of Newsday.

?The problem below market at a certain point is that if you buy a ticket in a very premium location and pay a substantial amount of money. It's not that we don't want that fan to sell it, but that fan is sitting there having paid a substantial amount of money for a ticket and [another] fan picks it up for a buck-and-a-half and sits there, and it's frustrating to the purchaser of the full amount. And quite frankly, the fan may be someone who has never sat in a premium location. So that's a frustration to our existing fan base.?

^ yeah, I read the Deadspin version of the story earlier today, that final quote is definitely not a (less than rich) fan friendly one…..

http://deadspin.com/yankees-coo-defends-new-ticketing-policy-like-a-true-ri-1759975895

"Yes, that second quote means exactly what you think it means. Trost is really out here saying that the team doesn?t want the kind of riff-raff that buys cheap tickets on StubHub mixing with rich fans who pay full price to sit in the same section. The Yankees would much rather have those unwanted seats remain empty, so as to prevent the rich folk from having to mix with dirty poors."