Benjamin Grimm

Asshole! What did Eva Gabor see in him?

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Remember how when Citi Field was being built, we were very aware of its progress? Of course, we were able to see it whenever we went to Shea, but we were getting updated on the construction during the telecasts of the games and also on SNY. Well, the Texas Rangers have apparently built a stadium without anyone noticing what it looked like until this week. (About three months after it was scheduled to open? I'm not sure if it was built for 2020 or 2021.) Here's what the fans thought the stadium would look like: https://cdn.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/xGlobeLifeField_HKS-645x362.jpg.pagespeed.ic.61kpCt_oOu.jpg> And here's what it actually looks like. I've seen it described as a warehouse with a trailer parked out front: https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/tVBHGezUZfgYZxzMtpx6HQ--~A/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9MTI4MDtoPTk2MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/nbcsports.com/a8f337edbe99b0147e9958c976a903f3> It looks a lot better from the inside, and not so bad from outer space, but ugh, it really is an ugly ballpark. As surprising as it is that it got built, it's even more surprising that it's not getting any attention until now. https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/fetch/c_fill,h_800,q_75,w_800/https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/arlington/Globe_Life_Field_01_673e7fc1-44d4-41d2-9dc6-16890a4c8554.jpg> https://usatftw.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/ap-virus-outbreak-stadiums-distancing.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1>

Schedule due to be released within the next two weeks.

Do we know when the schedule is going to be released? I'm sure we all want to start making plans for the tickets we won't be able to buy for the games we won't be able to attend. I also need to look in to how the MLB Extra Innings thing is going to work. Normally I get billed in April for the full season. I guess I'll get billed in July for a pro-rated portion of the season? They should just make it free for anyone who had already signed up before the season was postponed, but I don't imagine they'll do that.

I agree. I think the "no fans" think is subject to change, depending on conditions.

The runner-on-second-base thing is known, I've just learned, as the "international tiebreaker".

September 1 will be right around when the roster sizes drop to 26.

CBS Sports wrote: The league has reserved the right to play wherever is needed. That is, if there's a big breakout somewhere and they need to move the venue, the league will do so. Anything and everything is on the table to get the job done. We could end up seeing a neutral-site World Series. There are about a thousand reasons this is going to be an interesting season. I'm simultaneously glad it's happening and hoping it happens.

No spring training games I assume? Except maybe intrasquad?

Does this mean that you're also opposed to burning down their house?

The runner is whoever is in the lineup position prior to that of the batter leading off the inning. I read that it's scored as an error (on whom though?) so that if the runner scores it's an unearned run. I'm going to have to modify the UMDB scorecard code to deal with this monstrosity.

I'm not at all surprised by that. There's blood in the water, and if a major sports franchise in New York City might be had at a discount price, billionaires are going to come sniffing around.

Jeff Passan at ESPN reports that the DH will be universal and the stupid runner-on-second-base rule will be in effect. (I'd rather they just allowed for a game to end in a tie after 10 or 12 innings.) Trade deadline will be August 31. Roster size will be 30 for two weeks, then 28 for the next two weeks, then 26 the rest of the way. Taxi squad can have up to 60 players. 60-day injured list reduced to 45 days. Special COVID-19 list with no minimum or maximum.

=G-Fafif post_id=39213 time=1592962399 user_id=55] 60 games. 40 vs division. 20 vs counterpart other league division. Six Subway Series.

A couple of brothers in their 80s? They'll probably die in a few years and the team will be run by their cheapskate daughter/niece Lorinda.

Bob Nightengale has a positive outlook on this. He says we should embrace the chaos and enjoy all the strange quirks this season will provide. I can almost see his point; maybe this will be more fun than farcical. If only this wasn't overshadowed by the specter of a deadly disease. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/06/23/2020-mlb-season-coronavirus-chaos/3243957001/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/06/23/2020-mlb-season-coronavirus-chaos/3243957001/

Here we go... CBS Sports wrote: The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) informed the league Tuesday that players will comply with the league's imposed outline for a 2020 season. Players will report for another version of "spring" training on July 1, and the league's imposed 60-game season will start July 24, CBS Sports HQ's Jim Bowden reported Tuesday. The two sides are still working to finalize health and safety protocols, per Bowden, and there has not yet been an official announcement from the league. 60-game season. No DH in the National League. No expanded postseason. Now let's see if this actually happens. https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-players-agree-to-report-for-60-game-2020-season-opening-day-to-be-set-for-july-24/https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-players-agree-to-report-for-60-game-2020-season-opening-day-to-be-set-for-july-24/

I just saw this. I knew the answer was Rick Wise because of the two home runs in a no-hitter. I remember reading that on the back of his baseball card almost fifty years ago! Now ask me what happened on the TV show I watched last night. I'll barely remember.

Sounds more nourishing than liquid feces* *Very old CPF reference!

Huh! I guess I missed that. I thought it was just in the Arizona Fall League. It's really a terrible idea.

Players to vote today on whether or not to accept the 60-game offer from MLB. I've also seen reports that say part of the deal is to start any extra innings with a runner on second base. (I hate this idea even more than I do the DH.) The article I read (wish I remembered where) said that this rule has been in effect in the minor leagues. That's not true, is it? Makes me skeptical that it's actually part of the proposal. Arizona, incidentally, is currently the state where coronavirus is spreading most rapidly, and Florida is in second place. The old plan of playing all games at spring training sites isn't looking at all viable now.

I can see the logic in having a 16-team postseason for a 60-game season. But not for a 162-game season, assuming that we have one of those in 2021.

Jeff Passan at ESPN reports that the current proposal also includes a 16-team postseason in 2021.

Frayed Knot wrote: I'd be willing to live with a DH for this year only if the alternative meant no season. Me too. Frayed Knot wrote: Having said all that, I'm convinced that a universal DH is inevitable. I agree. I think it's been inevitable for many years, but now it looks like the time has come.