Spring Training

My nephew got job as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays & is down in Florida right now. We' re proud of him.

I'm a NY Mets fan, but watch all the NY Yankee games with my father.

Your link is the first time I saw the Yankee's projected to take the AL East, over the Red Sox for this season.

Gonna be a much closer battle than   Giants/ Dodgers.

Yanks are obviously stacked but the Sox have a great lineup and solid pitching, as well as several key players who should bounce back after an off-year. 

The upgrade in manager is huge for the Sox as well. Farrell was fucking awful. The worst manager in the AL, perhaps the league. 

Go Go White Sox! The rebuild is starting to take shape. Lots of young talent coming up. Pitching is the weak link but I think they may flirt with .500 this year. Next year they will be contendas!

huge Mets fan here...i'm happy w our offseason moves and am optimistic. i HATE the yankees  

>>but the Sox have a great lineup

Ha.  The Sox line up blows this year; they're 4th in fan popularity behind the Bruins, Patriots and Celtics right now in this area.

>>Red Sox dominate the region.

They don't, really.  Not anymore.... not trying to troll just kinda stating things for how they are.  Opening day is Thursday and I haven't heard many folks excited outside the baby boomer/geriatric demographic.  I've loved baseball my entire life and grew up playing and I'm struggling with my own personal disinterest in both the team AND the league.  The games are so goddamn long and the players union cries at every attempt to speed up the game.  Install a damn pitching clock!  The AAA Pawsox have one and it seems to work.  Kids aren't into baseball- it's marketed terrible- last year during the World Series, every time the camera would show the crowd towards the end of the game all the kids were sleeping on their parents.  Last year the average age of a person watching a Sox game on TV was 56.  56!  This thing is dying I'm afraid.

My gripes with the Red Sox began when we let go of Theo Epstein and, subsequently, John Lester.  

Cubs vs Red Sox in Fort Myers!  Wish I was down there right now.

Opening Day is today & the NY Mets just scored their first run of the season.

NY Yankees play Toronto tonight.

First Pitch of the season a home run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaYMe-eHT4w

>> The games are so goddamn long and the players union cries at every attempt to speed up the game.  <<

It really needs to speed up. One theory I've been kicking around is going to 2 strikes yer out, 3 balls for a walk. Purists will never go for this.

What a great day

Happens every spring-

GO GIANTS !

                                 GO GIANTS !!!!!!!!!!

>>It really needs to speed up. One theory I've been kicking around is going to 2 strikes yer out, 3 balls for a walk. Purists will never go for this.

If you look at average baseball game lengths historically, games were completed in about 2 1/2 hours.  For various reasons, we're now about an hour over that for an average length of a game.. I forget specific statistics but I know the Sox are towards the top of the list (and that's factoring in Sale who is probably the"fastest" pitcher in the game).

I think if they just simply enforced some of the pre existing rules the situation would improve.  How about actually penalizing batters for stepping out of the box after every pitch?  One idea I kind of like is forcing a relief pitcher coming in to face a minimum number of batters before being pulled.. the post season is so insufferable when the managers get too cute with matchups.  I get that it's strategy and all but enough is enough.  I watched an entire Celtics playoff game last year that started at the SAME time as the Sox and was able to tune into the Sox game in thr 4th inning.  THE 4TH INNING!

>>>Parking prices during 2014 playoffs cost upwards of $150 in San Francisco<<<

On the secondary sale/scalper sites that was true, but the face price for 2014 post season- wasn't half that. I know because I went to all eight post-season games at AT&T.

And more cries to speed up the game? Another example of the ever-increasing short attention span of the 21st century American. Three hours is what the average length is and that's fine with me as a regular customer. The changes they have made to get hitters in the box were fine with me, and this year limiting the number of mound visits is OK as well, but putting the pitcher on a clock, or any use of a clock in baseball is heinous and shouldn't be even be mentioned.

One significant change that I would absolutely agree with is abolishing the American League softball rules designated hitter. THAT would shorten games, and also make it true baseball in the Junior Circuit again.

As a wise man once said, "Don't give people what they want, give them what they SHOULD want."

And now finally the real games begin, so this thread is obsolete. I fear my Giants won't be good enough to make a real push for the post-season, but on Opening Day EVERYTHING is possible, so...

GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another example of the ever-increasing short attention span of the 21st century American.<<<<<

Agreed Lance- it sickens me that cable TV and dopey fans have to fuck up the last true major league sport.   More commercials/ more dollars . Where does it all end ?

BEAT LA

Go Giants...

>>Another example of the ever-increasing short attention span of the 21st century American.

Perhaps so but unless the league wants to continue marching towards irrelevancy something's gotta give.  The last few seasons going down the stretch, the Red Sox often had games go over 4 hours in length.  They also had some 15, 16, and 18 inning games thrown in there.  All other sports have a specified amount of time designated for when the game can't be settled in regulation.

But despite all my griping, I'll be watching the Red Sox in just 40 minutes.

Bring back the double-header...

yes - I remember

2 Giants vs Reds games in 1978 -- $4.50 for a box seat at the STICK. 7 hours of baseball - loved it all.

Everyone sleeping on my Indians

and Fuck the White Sux

Go Tribe!!!!

MY 2 Teams = The Dodgers and The Angels ! Opening Day YAY !

Ready for Phillies season. Made decent acquisitions. Let’s see if they can make a run winning the division this year. Long season.

In My Lap An Official Major League Baseball from 1973 thanks Dad -Anaheim Stadium_____my dads work then Running The Big A so cal bill_________

Now is the time to buy low on the white sox, my zoner friends. Record tieing 6 opening day homers. If their young pitching staff can develop well, watch out! They will be a force to be reckoned with.