2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

Jays reup Edwin Encarnacion for three years. Great move, EE is one of the best acquisitions of the post-Ricciardi era.

 

I think the four day thing came in with the new CBA.

It used to be that about half the teams would get a four-game series after the break, starting on Thursday. And the others would get a three-game series, starting on Friday.

I remember a lot of teams complaining because it seemed like it was always the same teams getting the four days off.

 

Juicers often kept their hitting prowess longer, countering the effects of age through chemistry.

 

I was driving back from Wrigley Field about a month ago (in part of my systematic process to keep my wife from turning my 5-year-old into a Reds fan), and the Chicago postgame call-in shows were discussing the White Sox's lousy attendance given they were in contention, playing well, fun to watch, et al.

A few weeks later, talked about it with a Sox fan from Northwest Indiana. Both came to the same conclusion: it's too much of a hassle to go to the game today. All 162 games are on hi-def TV, you get announcers giving you in-game stats, you can see the curveball snap off on TV, you can see replays, et al. After you fight Da(m)n Ryan Expressway traffic to get to the Cell, pay (at least) $20 to park, pay for tickets, popcorn, beer, whatever else, you've dropped a few hundred bucks. So, why not go to 5 fewer games a year and get a 60" TV instead and watch the games in your living room?

My friend said "I took my kids to the ballpark. I don't need to do that anymore. But I watch just about every game."

In part, that's what's happening. The teams that have sold the ballpark experience as part of the deal: the Cubs & Red Sox being among them, seem to be more immune from the attendance drop, because going to the ballpark and enjoying the ivy, the Monstah, the pristine setting, are part of the charm of going to the game. I don't get the same feeling from going to the Cell, Great American Ball Park, Miller Park or some of the other parks I've gone to. Nice fields, great experiences at all of them (OK, most of them: the crowds in Cincinnati always seem to have a chip on their collective shoulders), but it feels like you're watching just another game at just another new ballpark, rather than enjoying an experience.

Throw in the fact that there are 81 games a year, the majority of them in one-week blocks of home games, and it's impressive baseball teams draw as much as they do. In the 1940s and 1950s, when there was no TV and just about everyone played in a beautiful old "jewel box" park, nobody drew the crowds teams are drawing now.

Of course, the teams that have been noted here -- White Sox, Mets, Angels -- are all the second team in a two-team town in terms of popularity. Cleveland is odd, because Jacobs Field (much like Camden Yards) was sold out for years, and now barely draws flies. But I believe northern Ohio has really been hammered by the economy, and the Indians haven't been in contention for years.

 

Well, I suppose that's true for the power hitters. Most of them mashed and mashed, then fell off a cliff.

But Jeter's been mostly a singles hitter for a long time now. I see no reason why he can't continue to slap 160 singles for the next 6 seasons (and throw in the occasional extra-base hit) if he's interested in playing into his mid-40s.

His defense, or lack thereof, only becomes an issue if he makes it one -- I'm pretty confident he can find a home in the AL as a DH even if he has to leave NYC to do so.

 

Chemistry does not help only power hitters. Part of what it does is help the body recover. That can help improve or maintain endurance. Properly used, they could absolutely help somebody like Jeter extend his career every bit as easily as they could cause him to break down early.

 

OOP, I haven't been paying much attention to the baseball thread. Have you conceded how wrong you were about the AJ Burnett deal yet?

 

I said that it was a worthwhile pickup a while ago.

But those who argued that $13.5 million over two years is insignificant to the Pirates even though it accounts for more money than any Pirate made in 20011 are still wrong.

 

Are you going to admit that MLB is screwing the small markets when the new rules keep the Pirates from signing Mark Appel?

 

Why, you two could flagellate each other entirely through PMs and none of us would be the wiser!

 

Take it up with cranberry. He poked in just to take a dig at me.

 

Briefly on White Sox attendance: The crowds should probably be better than they are, but they'll reap the benefits of this year next year. Season tickets are way down after last year's brutal showing, and Williams's offseason comments to the effect that they were "rebuilding." Teams always draw higher the year AFTER an outstanding season. In 2006, the White Sox came damned close to outdrawing the Cubs, for example.

Crimsonace is right, though. It's really expensive to go to a game compared to what you can watch for free at home. At U.S. Cellular, it's the parking that just kills me. That said, it isn't stopping fans in other places from going to games. I admittedly haven't been to a game this year yet, but plan to make it to a bunch of them the second half of summer when my schedule doesn't keep me chained to a desk quite as much.