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MLB 2023
- Thread starter maflynn
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I know he has some great numbers, but I have seen him blow more clutch saves than just about anyone.
Yeah, I had dread when he came in for a save for the Dodgers. I remember one stretch when he seemed like he had the yips for the longest stretch.
I think that’s the difference between a merely long-lived closer and a truly great closer, that ability to get clutch saves. But in one of the two losses he gave up three walks! For a closer that’s pretty bad.
When the Giants hired Kapler, who was fired after a two year stint in Philadelphia, I was shocked. He seems to be mostly a .500 coach with one exception in 2021.
Another reason to avoid FB if people are spouting that grade of rubbish there nowadays.
Barry Bonds was an incredible player — no doubt he is the best player I have seen in my lifetime. He has apparently mellowed out after his playing career ended, but there is no evidence he has the people skills necessary to be a successful manager.
The Giants woes aren't even down to Kapler IMO. Farhan Zaidi has failed to build a very competitive roster.
Also agreed... and... He was incredibly good before he cheated.
And he was prick to the press and everyone before he cheated as well.
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Bonds' behavior towards the press didn't develop in a vacuum. He grew up in a time and place where his father, Bobby Bonds, and his godfather, Willie Mays, both had often contentious relationships with the media. Barry internalized all that, and it came out in some nasty ways throughout his career. I don't condone it, but I understand why.
He was also a massive prodigy growing up. On the one hand, people bridled at his cockiness; on the other hand, they feted his obvious talent. When I was 11 years old and watching him play a game at Serra High School (already a god amongst boys at that level), some of the adults I was with said he'd go down with Mays and Ruth as upper tier legends. I was like, no way! Mays and Ruth are untouchable gods. If you look at the stats on Baseball Reference, and depending on how you account for the chemical enhancement years, those adults were right.
I wish he hadn't cheated. I don't even think he needed to.
He was also a massive prodigy growing up. On the one hand, people bridled at his cockiness; on the other hand, they feted his obvious talent. When I was 11 years old and watching him play a game at Serra High School (already a god amongst boys at that level), some of the adults I was with said he'd go down with Mays and Ruth as upper tier legends. I was like, no way! Mays and Ruth are untouchable gods. If you look at the stats on Baseball Reference, and depending on how you account for the chemical enhancement years, those adults were right.
I wish he hadn't cheated. I don't even think he needed to.
Here's my opinion (and please don't take this as me flaming you). When I hear that X baseball player cheated, there's invaribly someone to say yes but he played in an era that permitted/allowed/took a blind eye towards that. To me that sounds so much like a justification on their behavior. There were so many players that did the right thing, yet there are fans that excuse those players who wanted to get an unfair advantage.
Anyone who cheated should never get into cooperstown. Their record is tainted and suspect. Should Mark McGwire gain entrance to the HOF because his offensive output was out of this world (thanks to cheating)?
I really do take a dim view of the steroid era and anyone who cheated should have at the very least asterisks next to their names.
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I know Bonds has a reputation for his attitude, but I have a personal story about him. We were on vacation in Hawaii in 2008, and his family was at the same resort we were at. My siblings hung out with their kids for a couple days, and Barry and his wife couldn't have been nicer. And I've heard similar stories about how he's nicer behind the scenes than he portrayed towards the media.
I agree. He would have been on par with #3 and #24 without all that.
The other side of that, juicing, is that pitchers were doing it too so I can see why hitters would want to fight back... but still... I'm not a fan. Does he belong in the HoF? Yes. Simply based on what he did before he was suspected of cheating.
On going chatter regarding Max Scherzer being washed up. The use of sticky stuff at the end of April didn't help matters. Verlander's struggles just exacerbates the Mets malaise.
Are the Mets too old to win the World Series?
Are the Mets too old to win the World Series?
If you are tipping your pitches, then you need to learn how to not tip your pitches. That type of "cheating" is prefectly acceptable and has been part of the game since the first one.
Blue Jays pitcher admits to tipping pitches in ongoing drama over Aaron Judge dugout glance
Blue Jays pitcher admits to tipping pitches in ongoing drama over Aaron Judge dugout glance
Jackson was on the mound when Judge glanced to his right Monday
www.cbssports.com
This is all so silly.
By the way, if people want to ban coaches or players from relaying signs from the dugout, I think that's a discussion worth having. But under the current rules, it's allowed.
That's a good story and tracks with my own anecdotal stories.
I never actually spoke to Barry. I watched him play at Serra a couple of times, and he ended up watching a couple of my Little League games when I was playing against his younger brother's team. My best "random fact about me" story is that Barry watched me hit a home run.
Bobby Sr. was at the very end of his professional career at that time. When he wasn't off for a last chance assignment at some AAA club, he would attend every game Bobby Jr. played, usually smoking a cigarette and having a far-off look on his face. I was too young to have watched Bobby Sr. play at his peak, but he was an incredible player and an absolute 5-tool prototype who could do everything on a ballfield. The problem is, he played in San Francisco and would always be compared to Willie Mays, and there's only one Willie Mays.