MLB 2018 Season | Open Thread

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

Hello opening day! I didn't see another thread on this season, so here goes.

Predictions:

ALE: NYY
ALC: CLE
ALW: HOU

ALWC1: BOS
ALWC2: MINN

ALCS Winner: CLE

NLE: WAS
NLC: CHC
NLW: LAD

ALWC1: STL
ALWC2: PHL

NLCS Winner: WAS

World Series: CLE vs. WAS

Anyone else?

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

Ah, opening day. The moment when we in the NW believe for a fleeting week (or so) that maybe THIS year the Ms won’t be an embarrassing dumpster fire

Hope springs eternal when the first game is won. Felix looked good (not King-level good, but still) and Cruz's homer was impressive. The Dee Gordon experiment looked dicey on the first day, but he should get better.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

Joe Panik is good at baseball.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

^ yeah. They'd lose the DH for when he's pulled and the Angels probably don't want random relievers to be forced to hit.

Might be able to do a switch to DH when he's being pulled from the mound.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

^ yeah. They'd lose the DH for when he's pulled and the Angels probably don't want random relievers to be forced to hit.

Might be able to do a switch to DH when he's being pulled from the mound.

They wouldn't be forced to hit, they'd just have to be pinch-hit for like in the NL.

On the flip side, it adds an extra player to the bench, which gives the manager more flexibility in substitution situations.

True, but Scocia (spelling? Sh*t his name is hard to spell) would lose the pinch hitters for the relievers and the ability to keep a long reliever in there if the lineup spot comes up. Doing that would be terrible (for his team, it'd be great entertainment to watch) in an extra innings game.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23288102/atlanta-braves-rainout-sets-early-season-ppd-record

Major League Baseball set a record for weather related postponements with 26.

This April has been crazy weather wise.

Yeah. We had one here, only the 6th rainout in AT&T Park history (in 18 seasons).

An entire series in Minneapolis got delayed for snow. The league really should have scheduled more off days when the weather is typically better.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

A day or so late, but whatever...

Congrats to James Paxton on his no-hitter. A couple of interesting stats on it:

* First Canadian to throw a no-no in Canada;
* First season ever there's been a no-no thrown in every North American country.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

The Mets are walking train wreck.

Yesterday they managed to be the first team in two years to bat out of order.

If they keep this up, I'll become a Yankees fan.

Jeez. What the heck happened to Matt Harvey. He was supposed to be such a great pitcher a few years ago. I think he had TJS but then came back mostly 100%... Bummer, such promise

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

Somehow the Mariners are tied for the lead in the AL West. Did they put something in the water in Seattle?

I'm a Mariners fan and I can see two big things propelling them to the lead: 1) a light's out bullpen, anchored by Edwin Diaz, gives them pretty good luck in one-run games; and 2) borderline all star performances from players who had previously been average players - Mitch Haniger, Dee Gordon and Jean Segura come to mind.

Marco Gonzales and Guillermo Hereida have also taken significant steps forward. James Paxton is also healthy (finally, knock on wood, slaughters a goat at midnight on the vernal equinox) and dominant still. Wade LeBlanc is secretly a reincarnated Jamie Moyer.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

Houston vs. Boston and New York: 4-7
Los Angeles vs. Boston and New York: 1-8
Seattle vs. Boston and New York: 0-0

Yeah, frontloading the poor ALC helped a lot.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

MLB draft started yesterday and is continuing today. Keep an eye out for a certain former National Security Adviser being drafted today.