Baseball 2025

[KingsX]

Just two days out from the start of the season  (Opening Day in mid-March … in Japan ?!  No more justifiable than staging PL fixtures in the US.)

 

I suspect my Guards will be about a third place side this year.  I like the Royals in the AL Central, and the Tigers should be ready to make a move.

 

My betting buddy spends spring training studying the clubs before he wagers on win totals.  His play this year is the Brewers over 87-1/2, which baffles me.  But last year he was on the A’s over 56 and the Guardians over 79.  When you cash these type of bets in August, you look like a genius. 

 

I do think the Dodgers are increasingly a problem.  Hoarding. the best players two deep is not healthy for the sport.  Asia loves them, a lot of casual “fans” here too, but the NFL has proved that a more evenly competitive league with engaged local fan bases sustains the most interest in the long run.

 

[Golden Fox]

On 16/03/2025 at 15:58, KingsX said:

 

I do think the Dodgers are increasingly a problem.

Tell me about it... As a Giants' fan, I've seen the Dodgers win the NL West 11 out of the last 12 years - and the other year, the Giants had a miracle year to win 107 games: and then lost to the Dodgers in the first round of the Playoffs anyway. It does grind you down and you have less and less hope each year.

 

So the biggest news for them this off-season being Blake Snell leaving them to sign for more money with the Dodgers is enough to suck out any lingering hope.

 

And then the news broke in the last couple of days of the Giants selling a 10% stake to a private equity firm. Yes, it will fund a few improvements here and there, but the only reason they will have done this is that they think they can monetise the sport even more, which will only lead to more disenfranchisement in an already disenfranchised fanbase.

 

But the big thing this season that you haven't mentioned is the A's being ripped out of the Bay Area by a pr**k of an owner. They have no concrete stadium deal in Vegas, so are playing in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento, which is a joke - and the league has let this happen. (The Giants haven't helped by being gifted the San Jose market by the A's when they were on their knees, and then refusing to let the A's then explore a ballpark there). When I was in the Bay Area, the whole backdrop to baseball was the Giants v A's rivalry, so to see MLB facilitating this so soon after the Raiders' move to Vegas, it just kills a lot of the passion. 

 

I'll follow the results, try and catch an early game if its the "free game of the day" but I can't see myself being as invested in it this year.

[CheeseHead]

Nestor Cortes gives up 3 home runs on his FIRST 3 pitches ever for the Brewers, against the Yanks, the team he was with last season. Thats got to hurt

[Golden Fox]

Only a week in, and the Giants are already stuck in no man's land - 3rd in their division and 2 games off the division lead...

 

....despite only having lost 1 game and having an 83.33 winning %, which is good enough for 3rd best in the MLB. F**K the Dodgers and their 8-0 record.

 

What did cheer me up is that I've seen the Giants play 3 times: twice at Candlestick and once at McCovey Cove. As their "new" ballpark has been opened 25 years, their website had an article yesterday ranking the top 10 moments in its history, and out of over 2,000 games, the best moment was at the 1 game I've been to! (Barry Bonds hitting HR no 756).

[CheeseHead]

On 03/04/2025 at 11:15, Golden Fox said:

Only a week in, and the Giants are already stuck in no man's land - 3rd in their division and 2 games off the division lead...

 

....despite only having lost 1 game and having an 83.33 winning %, which is good enough for 3rd best in the MLB. F**K the Dodgers and their 8-0 record.

 

What did cheer me up is that I've seen the Giants play 3 times: twice at Candlestick and once at McCovey Cove. As their "new" ballpark has been opened 25 years, their website had an article yesterday ranking the top 10 moments in its history, and out of over 2,000 games, the best moment was at the 1 game I've been to! (Barry Bonds hitting HR no 756).

Have you cheered up yet? Giants are ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West!

[Golden Fox]

1 hour ago, CheeseHead said:

Have you cheered up yet? Giants are ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West!

I'm trying to!

But the awful City Connect uniform they unveiled this week was enough to kill any goodwill!

But this weekend's series is in the Bronx, so f we win this series against Judge and the torpedo bats, I might start feeling more positive...