2021 Baseball Season AKA Pandemic Baseball: The Second Wave

[dr. b 492]

Baseball is already BACK in the form of Spring Training. Everybody is in the best shape of their lives!  Except for a few guys who showed up to Spring Training fat or injured  But they're mostly in the best shape of their lives. Yay!

 

Baseball buds @Garlic Junior @Eizan are you ready for the season to start!? Who are you cheering for this year, what are you looking forward to seeing, etc., etc.

 

@Vic Boss you gonna be watching the Jays this summer? Jays in 30, at least?

 

It's a weird start to the season for Toronto, as they'll be playing their home games in Dunedin at first. Florida has been horrible for the Raptors this season () so I hope the Jays get off to a decent start down there. It sucks not having a place to truly call home, but last summer they did OK in Buffalo. They were almost at an extra advantage at their games in Buffalo. The road teams complained about the facilities, lighting, etc. because it's a minor league stadium even though the Jays put a lot of money into upgrading the place. Maybe they can use the park in Dunedin to their advantage too.

 

OK,

    Blue Jays!

        Let's...

            Play...

                Ball!

 

 

[Eizan 126]

Seattle will be bad this year, so let's go Padres. 

[dr. b 492]

Yeah it might be a rough summer for Seattle, but you never know! AL West isn't the strongest division in the league. 

 

I'm also 100% on-board the Dads bandwagon

[Garlic Junior 136]

Lets go Mets! Pretty ironic that a lot of players seem to be getting season-ending injuries already, while Noah Syndeegard seems to be good to go... yet I missed him on my fantasy draft due to his "IL" status

[dr. b 492]

Opening Day is tomorrow!!! Jays @ Yankees is the first game of the day  

 

I've seen a few different publications now predicting the Jays to finish 2nd in the AL East, around 90 wins, and being a Wild Card team. That is promising to see.

 

Keith Law is predicting a Yankees/Dodgers World Series

 

Also FWIW, Law has your Mets finishing 1st in the NL East, Garlic!

[dr. b 492]

Mets extend Lindor

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/mets-to-extend-francisco-lindor.html

 

10 years, $341 million. With deferrals of $5 million / year so they won't actually be done paying him until 2041.

 

That's a pretty big contact! Not the biggest ever, but it's certainly up there. 

[dr. b 492]

Nats/Mets Opening Day game postponed due to COVID-19. Welcome to baseball season!   

[dr. b 492]

Jays win 3-2, good start to the season!!!

[dr. b 492]

Loss yesterday but a win today for a 2-1 series win over NYY  I'm surprised that today's starter (rookie TJ Zeuch) lasted 4 scoreless innings. Dude doesn't have swing-and-miss stuff so I figured he'd get shelled pitching to contact against the Yankee hitters. Vlad homered today, which is a great thing to see, and the bullpen was good again. We're off to a nice start here!

[dr. b 492]

Jays won yesterday. Matz looked GREAT  in his Blue Jay debut. 6.1 IP, 9 K, only 1 run allowed on 1 BB and 2 H. Toronto beat NYY in their Home Opener and then Texas. You love to see it!

 

Speaking of NYY and Texas: NY to acquire Odor from Texas. Odor has been pretty bad the last couple season, and Texas DFA'd him to start this season despite still being owed quite a bit of $$$. You'd think they would have tried to get a bit more value out of him if they could. I guess they gave up hope on him. If he immediately turns into an All-Star after putting on the pinstripes, then I'm gonna be sick  The dude has pretty easy HR power, that's never been in question, but if he figures out how to get on base regularly in NY and can still mash HRs then that's gonna be a problem... 

[Garlic Junior 136]

Lynn with the CG yesterday was nice to see.

 

DeGrom nearly pulling it off today too. Shame the Mets went and LOST behind him though

[dr. b 492]

The CGSO is a somewhat rare things these days! Even just a regular old CG is not super common. The way pitchers are managed in the game has changed so much.

 

The Jays hit a bit of a rough patch after taking 2-of-3 in New York and then beating Texas in their home opener. Their lineup ought to be able to score more runs. I'm hoping it's just a slow start... but every game counts when you're trying to get enough wins to get into the postseason.

[dr. b 492]

The Blue Jay lineup finally broke out last night. 15-1 win  15 runs with zero homeruns is a bit odd in today's HR-crazy game, but I'll take runs however they can get them! The team drew 9 walks altogether, so they're showing a bit more patience at the plate. So many strikeouts in the previous games. I know almost everybody strikes out more these days, but they need to get that under control a bit more. 

 

Matz was good again last night. 6 IP, 4 K, only 1 run allowed despite giving up 3 BB and 5 hits. The one run was a solo HR. 

[Garlic Junior 136]

Yeah the Jays have been great.

Mets.... delayed again eurgh.

[dr. b 492]

Jays got rained out today too. Starting the season playing home games in Florida (without a dome) is going to lead to more than a few rain outs. I think it rains almost every afternoon down there this time of year. I hope they move north to Buffalo soon. I'm dreaming of them finally coming home to Toronto for home games by Canada Day (July 1st) but I think we're too far behind on vaccines to make that work... I can still dream though...  

[Eizan 126]

Well now since we actually have a full season, do you think the Dodgers set a season record for wins? 

[dr. b 492]

Right now it feels like they could, but you never know what will happen. If they have players that miss time due to COVID protocols or injuries, then they could go on a losing skid at some point. But maybe losing a few players wouldn't even slow them down that much. That team is so stacked. I dunno, I wouldn't bet on it, but I also will not be surprised if they set a new record for regular season wins.

[dr. b 492]

Bellinger has hairline fracture in leg

 

I better not say anything else about injuries, the Baseball Gods are listening

[dr. b 492]

On 3/24/2021 at 5:41 PM, Eizan said:

Seattle will be bad this year

The Ms might be bad when 162 games are over and done with, but they're on a nice little run to start the season! I hope it continues.

[Eizan 126]

Yea, maybe they can hang. No separation in the division yet, but the A's are rolling now. 11 straight wins.

 

[dr. b 492]

I don’t think the A’s will keep this up. But they have a knack for putting good teams together out of spare parts. 

[Garlic Junior 136]

Just how GOOD is deGrom this year?

Fucking sucks that the Mets can't even generate a run for him.

[dr. b 492]

Stroman is off to a nice start for the Mets this year too. Even Taijuan Walker appears to be doing better than one could have expected given his spotty track record. I guess the problem for the Mets is that it takes more than three pitchers to form a starting rotation. Stats for the other two guys don’t look so hot. I wonder if Syndegaard will be back any time this summer..? It’s been over a year since his TJ surgery. They could really use him, though they will have to be quite cautious with how they pitch him if he can return this summer. Don’t want to re-injure that precious UCL.

[Eizan 126]

On 4/16/2021 at 9:38 PM, little birdy said:

Bellinger has hairline fracture in leg

 

I better not say anything else about injuries, the Baseball Gods are listening

 

Dustin May is now out for the season, I may have jinxed them...

 

 

[dr. b 492]

Yup  
 

I can’t believe my eyes seeing the Giants at the top of the AL West   

[Eizan 126]

How about the Royals leading the AL Central?

[dr. b 492]

That’s not a shocker to me. They had a good Spring (even though that’s often pretty meaningless) and they do have some talent on their roster. Not sure I’d be on them to finish the season in first place in the ALC... but it’s not a very strong division, so you never know!

[Eizan 126]

If it wasn't for a Wild Pitch John Means would of had a Perfect Game against Seattle. 

[dr. b 492]

Not very many quality bats in that Mariner lineup... a no hitter is still impressive though!

[dr. b 492]

DeGrom going to the 10 day IL. Hopefully he’s back on the mound before too long. 
 

The Jays’ young pitching stud, Nate Pearson, has been absolutely terrible in his first couple appearances this year. He’s spent very little time in the big leagues so far, but this is a trend that goes back to last season. He’s been fantastic in the minors, and in his recent AAA rehab appearance he struck out 8 of 11 batters, but it’s like he loses control of his stuff when he takes the big league mound. Must be a mental thing. I hope he figures that shit out this summer. He could be really good. 

[Eizan 126]

 I should stop taking about teams. 

 

KC has lost 10 straight since I mentioned them. 

 

Mariners are calling up Gilbert and Kelenic, maybe it will give them a little spark. 

[dr. b 492]

Next please talk about how good the Red Sox are. I'd like to see them go on a 10 game losing streak too  

[Eizan 126]

Look at the Jays in 2nd place, that's going to be a tough division to hang around in. 

[dr. b 492]

The Jays still haven’t had any games with the Orioles yet. A bunch of wins against Baltimore could help prop up their W-L record a bit. But the Yanks and Red Sox get to play them the same number of times too... Everybody in the AL should be able to feast on the Orioles and Tigers  The Twins are surprisingly bad this year too. 

[Eizan 126]

Uhh, my bad I probably shouldn't have talked about the Blue Jays. 

 

I mean at least they didn't get swept by Detroit. 

[dr. b 492]

They haven't had a shot at Detroit yet... not sure when they come up on the schedule, but those should be pretty winnable games. They also haven't played the Orioles yet this season. What is it, 18 or 19 games against each team in the same division? They had better win a bunch of their games against Baltimore. I'm sure the Yanks, Red Sox, and Rays will all rack up a bunch of wins against the Os. Jays gotta keep pace if they can.

[Eizan 126]

Did you see how the Pirates forgot about the basics of baseball? 

 

 

[dr. b 492]

Little League kind of play from the Pirates   

[Eizan 126]

 Yankees being swept by the Tigers. 

[dr. b 492]

You love to see it  

 

The Jays split a doubleheader with the Clevelands today, but they won the previous game so that’s a 2-1 series win. Prior to that, they took 2 of 3 from the Yankees. Just keep doing that please, Blue Jays!

[Eizan 126]

Blue Jays need to take advantage of their soft schedule coming up. 

 

Actually, I'm looking forward to the Ray's series with the White Sox coming up. 

[dr. b 492]

The Jays beat up on the Red Sox today. Love to see that

[Eizan 126]

How long do you think this losing streak for Arizona last? 

[dr. b 492]

The Dbacks might keep losing forever

 

Sadly, my Jays have hit a rough patch of late too. Vlad has been a bright spot all season, which is great, but they’re losing what could be important games right now. Gotta get back into that Wild Card race. 
 

George Springer has only played in 4 games for the Jays this year

[Eizan 126]

On 6/19/2021 at 7:19 AM, little birdy said:

The Dbacks might keep losing forever

I mean they might, 6 wins since May 1st. Might rival the 2003 Tigers. 

 

Mariners going for the sweep against the Rays today. Which means they'll probably lose both games to the Rockies after this. 

 

The new Foreign Substance policy starts tomorrow. 

[dr. b 492]

The foreign substance thing is going to be really interesting to watch. Could be an awkward situation for the umps to be in. I think they like enforcing rules though, so I guess it will be ok for them. 

[Eizan 126]

It would be nice if the Astro's could lose...

 

I mean I still expect the Mariners to trade Haniger, but will they if the stay relatively close to the Wild Card? 

[dr. b 492]

After a rough stretch last week, the Jays have now won 5 in a row. Won 2 against Baltimore after dropping the series opener, then swept the 2-game series in Miami, and last night won the next series opener vs. Baltimore. 3 more games vs. Baltimore over the weekend, and then an off-day, and then 3 games vs. the Mariners. Please win them all, Blue Jays!

[Eizan 126]

Nope the Jays only took one from the Mariners. However Rays and Athletics keep losing so no ground was lost for them.

 

It's crazy sometimes to see teams go in opposite directions. The Cubs and Brewers were tied for first a week and half ago, now the Cubs are 7.5 (looking to be 8.5) out of first now. 

[dr. b 492]

Yeah you’re dumb Mariners really ruined Canada Day  The Jays bounced back quick though and have won two in a row against the Rays. Nothing is more satisfying than beating those damn Rays.