Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura killed in car crash.
One source apparently says he was driving under the influence.
On the same day as former major leaguer Andy (par-tay at) Marte was killed in a separate accident. He was only 33. Yordano was just 25.
So his gamble hurt him pretty big.
So sad about Yordano Ventura. Whatever you may have thought about him, you have to admit he made the game entertaining.
Both killed in driving accidents in the Dominican Republic. And these aren’t the first guys to die in car crashes in the Dominican.
Teams are getting wise to the “big heavy first baseman slugger” contract. Such players have a long history of crashing and burning and many big deals given them have turned out to be disasters. Thanks to the modern emphasis on fact-based decision making - Moneyball, in other words - the days of Ryan Howard or Prince Fielder getting a deal that looks OK when it’s signed and it an epic train wreck a few years later are probably over.
The Dodgers acquire Logan Forsythe from the Rays to fill the hole at 2nd base. That gives us a right-handed hitter with lead-off skills and good fielding in the middle of the infield. As usual, we have a surfeit of outfielders. Here’s hoping they all stay healthy this year.
That’s a nice pickup but I’ve read they plan to lead him off, which is sort of a weird role for Forsythe.
Brewers signed Joba Chamberlain to a minor league contract.
Joba Chamerlain! Remember when he was a thing?
Thank goodness the Yankees implemented the “Joba Rules” so he could be a stud pitcher for years to come.
So, it looks like I’m going to be in Baltimore the first week of the season and I figured I’d add a new park to my list. Unfortunately, it looks like the Orioles schedule is weird that week. They have three home games to start the season but they are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I get having a break when they switch teams so the Wednesday to Friday gap isn’t that weird but they are playing the Blue Jays on Monday and Wednesday. Of course, the best days for me to catch a game are Sunday and Thursday night.
So any idea who but the rest day in the middle of a home stand the second day of the season or why they thought it was a good idea?
A lot of teams do that, particularly in the north. If your Opening Day gets snowed out, then those tickets can be exchanged for the following day. The idea I think is that Opening Day is special and shouldn’t plop in someone’s lucky lap who holds tickets for the second game if the first is rained/snowed out.
I think they’ve been doing the weird gap thing on Opening Week for several years running, now. Sorry to hear your schedule is impacted by the oddness, though. As a fellow Dodger fan, I highly recommend jumping through hoops to get to Camden Yards if you can; it is one of my favorites.
The first week was like that last season, too. I remember the Red Sox opened in Cleveland and played Monday, off Tuesday, then in Cleveland again Wednesday and Thursday. I don’t get it.
Hope you can catch a game in Baltimore. Camden Yards is pretty cool and it’s a nice atmosphere around outside the stadium.
It is mainly weather related. Lots of rainy/snowy days in early April, so they throw in extra off days to have some flexibility.
The Orioles have five off days in April, and then get slammed with a brutal schedule after the All-Star break.
From July 14 to September 6, they have a total of three days off, and also make a 10-game West Coast trip during that period.
Weather makes sense I guess. I just checked the Rockies schedule since I used to have season tickets and I couldn’t remember them not have at least three back to back games to open the season and sure enough they play every day from the 3rd to the 20th. Obviously weather is a concerns in some places more then others but I would think Coors field would make that list. Of course I just checked again and they are in Milwaukee to start the season and then home and I think Kim the brewers play in a dome.
Hopefully I can get over to Camden last year this conference took me to San Diego and I couldn’t make it over to catch a game. This year I extend my trip for baseball purposes and it still doesn’t look good.
Why they don’t prioritize warm weather and domed stadiums for early April games I’ll never understand.
Royals just signed Brandon Moss to a 2-year contract.
MLB looking to change intentional walks, strike zones.
On the other hand, you could just get the umpires to actually enforce the current strike zone more accurately, but whatever. Not an earth-shattering move.
But this…
Why not just let the batter signal “I want a single.” and move him to first base? Stuff happens during those four “soft pitches”. Guys can steal, get picked off, etc. You want to walk him? Throw 4 balls.
FYI, baseball, you want dead time reduced? Limit pitching changes. That’s the biggest dead time issue you have. But you won’t because pitching change dead time allows for more commercial breaks whereas IW dead time doesn’t.
Edited to add:
Stay strong players!
And only going to get worse if rosters are expanded, leading to more relief pitchers on staff.
Add a pitch clock, which doesn’t seem to have destroyed the integrity of minor league games. You could go out for a bathroom break and make a sandwich in the time it takes some of these guys between pitches.