2023 MLB Season Thread

[Fuzzy Bear]

The Yankees designated struggling Outfielder Aaron Hicks for assignment.

Got to wonder where Hicks ends up. He's hitting just .188, but assuming he clears waivers, somewhere like Oakland or Kansas City seems plausible, with the Angels also seeming at least theoretically possible as well.

He's likely done as a player.  

Hicks had one good year 2018 that he lived off.  He was a young player with old player skills, meaning that he was a young guy who did not have the young player skills of hitting for average, but he was patient at the plate (an old player skill) so his OBP was OK, and he developed some power., but he doesn't put the bat on the ball.  His one Young Player Skill is that he can still play CENTER Field, but his dWAR is not impressive, and it's reasonable to believe that he'll soon move to one of the corners.  

He has the Old Player Skill of drawing lots of walks.  The problem with that skill is that it is somewhat dependent about putting the bat on the ball.  He's got some speed and some power, but if Hicks cannot put the bat on the ball for a hit anymore, the pitcher will be able to just throw strikes and there goes the value of "plate discipline".

The kind of skills Hicks has are not the type of skills a good young player has.  They're the kind of skills older players rely on to compensate for a loss of speed and quickness.  If you're at that point at the beginning of your career, where are you going to be in your 30s when you've slowed due to time? That's where Hicks is now.

EDIT:  He's back up to .231 (his career norm) after a trade to Baltimore.  He played in CF for Baltimore.  I'm still not convinced, but if he's got the regular job there he might respond. 

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Sox and Cubs lose again they are boycotted by alot of blk and Brown fans the only ones are Caucasian whom just love to go to games anyways .Cubs are gonna lose 100

When you talk to whites they say the Sox are bumbs and when you talk to blks or Latinos they said Cubs sux

[GregTheGreat657]

This Mets season has been a disgrace.

Fire em all!

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

It's a Rangers and Astros league look at the Oakland As in that Division, Jonah HEIM is the best catcher in the League now

[JGibson]

Cardinals are doing terrible this season. It may be time to pink slip Oli Marmol.

[NewYorkExpress]

I guess all that chasing .400 hype has negatively affected Luis Arraez. His Batting Average is down to just .382 entering tonight's games.

[NewYorkExpress]

An update on the Trevor Bauer situation. He's been sued for sexual assault by a fourth woman.

[NewYorkExpress]

Robotic umpires unlikely to make it to The Show in 2024.

Robot umpires likely won't be ready for a big league call-up next season.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says the automatic ball-strike system (ABS) being used in Triple-A is not likely to be used in the big leagues in 2024.

"I think there's some sentiment among the group that we made had a lot of changes here," Manfred said Thursday following an owners meeting. "We ought to let the dust settle, and there are clearly unresolved operational issues with respect to ABS. Despite all the testing, we still have some things that are unresolved."


Defining a computerized strike zone is among the issues.

[NewYorkExpress]

The Braves designated Charlie Culberson for assignment just hours before his father was scheduled to throw out the first pitch for Father's Day.

After being active on the Atlanta Braves roster for 27 days but not appearing in a single game, Charlie Culberson was designated for assignment Sunday morning. It wasn't necessarily a surprising move, but it did mess up a special Father's Day moment.

Culberson's dad was scheduled to throw him the first pitch at Truist Park before Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The dad, Charles Culberson, has a baseball background as he was selected by the Giants in the 16th round of the 1984 MLB Draft and then spent five seasons in the minors.

However, their special father-son moment was not able to happen after Charlie was designated for assignment. Outfielder Michael Harris II's dad was given the pregame honors instead. Harris made his MLB debut on May 28, 2022, and was impressive enough to be named last season's NL Rookie of the Year.

[dead0man]

ouch

[NewYorkExpress]

Following a 5-5 night against the Blue Jays, Luis Arraez's batting average is back to .400.

[NewYorkExpress]

Are the Mets going to be sellers at the deadline? They just traded Eduardo Escobar to the Angels for a pair of minor league pitchers.

[JGibson]

The first game of the London Series ended in a 9-1 win for the Cubs over the Cardinals. This matchup was initially supposed to have taken place in 2020, but COVID restrictions caused the series to be delayed to 2023. 

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Cubs you can believe in them better than those Dodgers they aren't there yet but Cody Bellingee got traded and now Cubs are Good

I have buyers remorse obviously with Los Angeles but what happened to the Rams is unbelievable they gave up Ramsey and they signed Kupp and Donald to MEGA CONTRACTS WE ALWAYS GET BUYERS REMORSE BECAUSE THESE PLAYERS ARE VERY WEALTHY I HAD BUYERS REMORSE ON JORDAN, I WAS A Diehard BULLS FAN 1990/1994 BECAUSE WE WERENT SURE ABOUT REFS CHEATING WHEN HE GAMBLING ON GAMES AND JORDAN GOT MORE FREE THROWS NOW WE HAVE INSTANT REPLAY

They say refs cheat because they golf just like everyone else, but 1994 was when Bulls failed to beat the Knicks and the refs cheated in that series likewise during the Lakers era and Spurs era

[NewYorkExpress]

A group promoting healthy eating is trying to persaude the Macon Bacon to change their name.

When will the Macon Bacon baseball team change its name?

When pigs fly, according to the central Georgia team’s response to a group of plant-based activists urging them to stop promoting a meat that studies have shown has health risks.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which describes itself as an animal liberation research and advocacy organization, wrote a letter to the Macon Bacon’s president, Brandon Raphael, earlier in June.


It suggested the team update its name to include mention of a plant-based alternative – like “Facon Bacon or Mushroom Bacon” – to help their fans stay healthy, according to the letter.

I'm in favor of a name change, not because bacon is unhealthy, but because the name of a professional, or even just a sports team in general, is supposed to be intimidating, and bacon just doesn't intimidate me.

I feel like a better name choice would be something like the Macon Walking Dead.

[JGibson]

Cardinals won 7-6 in the 2nd game of the London series, spitting it 1-1.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Cardinals won 7-6 in the 2nd game of the London series, spitting it 1-1.

I thought spitballs were outlawed.

[dead0man]

Cardinals won 7-6 in the 2nd game of the London series, spitting it 1-1.

I thought spitballs were outlawed.

if some Youtube videos are to be believed, pitchers "modifying" the ball is the worst kept secret in baseball

[NewYorkExpress]

I missed it over the weekend, but the Rockies traded Mike Moustakas to the Angels for pitching prospect Connor van Scoyoc.

Not quite the kind of deal that will convince Shohei Ohtani to stay, but the Angels did need a third baseman with Anthony Rendon injured. This has the potential to be a sneaky good deal for a team battling with the Blue Jays, Astros and Yankees for a Wild Card spot (and at least two of those teams are almost certainly going to pass the Orioles at some point-they aren't making the playoffs.)

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Cubs back to losing g the reason for this is they don't have Wilson Contreas no more, and they traded him

[NewYorkExpress]

Domingo German pitched a Perfect Game last night as the Yankees destroyed the A's 11-0.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/snyyankees/status/1674294284068040706

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

I missed it over the weekend, but the Rockies traded Mike Moustakas to the Angels for pitching prospect Connor van Scoyoc.

Not quite the kind of deal that will convince Shohei Ohtani to stay, but the Angels did need a third baseman with Anthony Rendon injured.

I've accepted the sad inevitability that Ohtani will be a Dodger next year even if the Angels make it far into the playoffs

[NewYorkExpress]

The Royals traded Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers for Cole Ragans and Minor League Outfielder Roni Cabrera.

[NewYorkExpress]

Padres designate Nelson Cruz for assignment.

Granted, father time has caught up with Cruz, as he's only hitting .245 with five home runs and twenty-three RBI's, but I think there's a couple of contenders who could use an upgrade at DH.

The Marlins for example, could use an offensive upgrade at pretty much every spot in the lineup except for whichever position Luis Arraez is playing at on a given day, and they hold the top Wild Card spot. Cruz could be a cheap alternative to trading for a bat.