2017 MLB spring training running thread

No, that's why you spread it out as they do in soccer. Of course some guys are always going to be injured or rehabbing or whatever. But if you're giving up one or two weekends a season for three years, and then a week of a fourth season where's there's already a five day break, it's much less of a real commitment by national team players and in truth, less disruptive for the MLB teams. But it costs a little money, so it'll never happen.

 

I watched a lot of it and loved the swagger, the chest thumping, the bat flips, the emptying of dugouts for homers etc., in other words all the shit you rarely see in MLB.

 

You are never going to get arms to commit in July or August. Not going to happen.

Its fine the way it is. Nobody who watched or participated seems to be unhappy.

 

Not sure if they have a mic embedded in the dirt near home plate but Utley just hit a homer that made me damn near snap my neck that's how fast I turned to see it fly out after hearing the absolute fucking crack of the bat. He crushed the fuck out of it but my god, that crack of the bat!

 

Arietta smoked a 460-footer today in his first at-bat of the spring.

 

WBC championship had the second highest rating in MLB Network history. Leave it as is.
In ratings, buzz, attendance and baseball, the 2017 World Baseball Classic was a huge success

 

Liked it also, but wonder if the ratings would be even higher if USA had one of the top 10 starting pitchers on the roster.

 

The first WBC was in 2006. As long as it is growing, I can see the argument for keeping things pretty much as they are for now.

 

Report: Pirates’ Kang denied visa to enter U.S.

And might not be able to play in the U.S. at all this year.

 

Unless somebody can translate, it is hard to judge the reliability of the Korean report on Kang's status. The doubt about his entire season may just be speculation. He does have an appeal pending, with the idea being that a lighter sentence might improve his chances to get the work visa approved. Either way, it is a mess and Kang is an idiot who is lucky he hasn't killed someone.

The Pirates have known this could get bad for a while, but they do have David Freese to step in. The Pirates were already thin with the loss of Sean Rodriguez, so this just makes things worse. Pittsburgh has the look of a.500-ish ballclub again.

 

The more I hear about Kang, the more I think he might be a really bad dude.

 

Agreed. This is not new. This is his third DUI.

I think this just makes trading McCutchen even more likely. The Pirates have done nothing but get weaker since their brief run of playoff appearances. They chose to look only on the scrap heap to support a solid core of players and last year's stumble was the result. This team might be a little better if Cole and McCutchen rebound, but if it goes the other way, McCutchen will be gone.