BoKnows Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 31 minutes ago, shiznak said: As good as Lindor is.....he’s practically a rental player. That package the Mets gave up would be the equivalent to the Jays giving up Biggio, Groshans, Simeon-Woods, and Martinez. Would rather just keep Biggio and Groshans and not risk of Lindor not re-signing with the Jays. Especially when we're linked with other top players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollumpus Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 3 hours ago, shiznak said: As good as Lindor is.....he’s practically a rental player. That package the Mets gave up would be the equivalent to the Jays giving up Biggio, Groshans, Simeon-Woods, and Martinez. Would rather just keep Biggio and Groshans and not risk of Lindor not re-signing with the Jays. Giants fan here. Screw the Yankees... and the Dodgers. That sort of thing should be understood, but still needs to be said. This trade could have an affect on the Giants season, but really, my team ain't going anywhere so my hopes are that Lindor signs somewhere else, preferably back in the AL since it highly unlikely he would sign with San Francisco.. I believe your assessment of this trade is correct. The equivalent amount of talent/pieces which would have to be sent out in order to acquire Lindor for only one year (with the possibility of him re-signing) is far too high. And who's to say that Lindor wouldn't sign with the Jays, so they don't have to screw their farm team (assuming the offer was high enough)? Best wishes for next season. regards, G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoKnows Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 RIP 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackcanuck Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 (edited) MLB Legend, 93 years old It just seems so fitting, T The last game Lasorda saw was his Dodgers winning the World Series! 3 - Lasorda-isms The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination. There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens. About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure. Edited January 8, 2021 by Mackcanuck 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 (edited) On 12/28/2020 at 6:20 AM, gurn said: Phil Niekro, Hall of Fall pitcher pases away at 81 yrs of age: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/mlb/baseball-hall-of-famer-knuckleballer-phil-niekro-dies-at-81/ar-BB1cgECB?ocid=msedgntp TLANTA — Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. Heck, he didn’t even know where it was going most of the time. But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 wins, earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame and gave him a nickname that stuck for the rest of his life. Knucksie. he longtime stalwart of the Atlanta Braves rotation died after a lengthy fight with cancer, the team announced Sunday. He was 81. The Braves said Niekro died Saturday night in his sleep. He lived in the Atlanta suburb of Flowery Branch, where a main thoroughfare bears his name. He was the seventh Hall of Famer to die this year, the most sitting members to pass away in a calendar year, according to spokesman Jon Shestakofsky. The others were Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan and Tom Seaver “These names, and these men, will be remembered forever in Cooperstown,” Shestakofsky said. Niekro won 318 games over his 24-year career, which finally ended in 1987 at age 48 after he made one final start for the Braves. The right-hander was a five-time All-Star who had three 20-win seasons with Atlanta. Dale Murphy, who won two straight NL MVP awards as a teammate of Niekro's, was among those who mourned his death. “Knucksie was one of a kind,” Murphy wrote on Twitter. “Friend, teammate, father and husband. Our hearts go out to Nancy Niekro, the kids and grandkids. So thankful for our memories and time together. We’ll miss you, Knucksie.” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, this year's NL MVP, described himself as “heartbroken.” “An amazing pitcher but an even better man!” Freeman said on Twitter. “Thanks you Phil for all the laughs and wonderful memories over the years.” Niekro also pitched for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays late in his career. Incredibly, he had 121 wins after his 40th birthday. “We are heartbroken on the passing of our treasured friend,” the Braves said in a statement. “Knucksie was woven into the Braves fabric, first in Milwaukee and then in Atlanta. Phil baffled batters on the field and later was always the first to join in our community activities. It was during those community and fan activities where he would communicate with fans as if they were long lost friends.” A statue of Niekro delivering his trademark pitch is located outside of Truist Park, the Braves' stadium. Niekro didn't make it to the big leagues until 1964, when he pitched 10 games in relief for the then-Milwaukee Braves. He made only one start over his first three years in the big leagues but finally blossomed as a starter in 1967 — the Braves' second year in Atlanta — when he went 11-9 and led the National League with a 1.87 ERA. With a fluttering knuckleball that required catchers to wear an oversized mitt, Niekro went 23-13 as the Braves won the first NL West title in 1969. He was runner-up to Seaver for the Cy Young Award, the closest he ever came to capturing pitching's premier prize though he finished in the top six of the balloting four other times. Niekro also had 20-win seasons in 1974 and 1979, despite pitching for a team that fell on hard times after its appearance in the inaugural NL Championship Series, where the Braves were swept in three games by New York's Amazin' Mets. Niekro also led the league in losses for four straight seasons, losing 20 games in both 1977 and '79. He finished with a career record of 318-274 and a 3.35 ERA. Niekro was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. His younger brother, Joe, also had a long baseball career with an arsenal that included the knuckleball. He won 221 games over 22 years in the big leagues, making the Niekros baseball's winningest set of siblings, with a total of 539 victories, just ahead of Gaylord and Jim Perry. Joe Niekro died in 2006 at age 61. Phil Niekro pitched a no-hitter in 1973 but his most memorable game with the Braves came in 1982, when the team started the season with 13 consecutive wins and improbably won the NL West title by a single game to send Niekro to the playoffs for only the second time in his career. On the final weekend of the season, the 43-year-old Niekro pitched a three-hit shutout and hit a two-run, eighth-inning homer that led Atlanta to a crucial 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. Niekro finished 17-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 35 starts, but he didn’t get a decision in his only start of the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals as the Braves were again swept in three straight games. He never made it to the World Series. Niekro picked up his 300th win in 1985 while pitching for the Yankees. He reached the milestone by shutting out the Blue Jays 8-0. Philip Henry Niekro was born in Blaine, Ohio, and learned the knuckleball from his father, who played for a coal-mining team in eastern Ohio. “He was a very good pitcher,” Niekro told ESPN in an interview after his playing days were over. “He hurt his arm one spring, didn’t warm up good enough, couldn’t throw a fastball anymore. Another coal miner taught him how to throw the knuckleball.” The elder Niekro passed it on to his son, who learned to grip the ball with his fingernails on the seams. That kept the ball from spinning, causing it to move in all sorts of confounding ways on its way to the plate. “He threw it to me one day.” Niekro said of his father. “I asked him what it was. He showed me how to hold it. Didn’t know what it was, didn’t know anything about it except that I liked it. “I never knew how to throw a fastball, never learned how to throw a curveball, a slider, split-finger, whatever they’re throwing nowadays. I was a one-pitch pitcher.” Well, that wasn't entirely true. In his 300th victory, Niekro said he didn't throw a knuckleball until the final batter, using it to strike out former teammate Jeff Burroughs to end the game. At the time, Knucksie was the oldest pitcher in baseball history to toss a shutout, a mark since broken by Jamie Moyer. ?I always wanted to pitch a whole game without throwing knuckleballs because people thought I couldn’t get people out without throwing them,? Niekro said afterward, with brother Joe sitting alongside him in Toronto. After going 11-10 with a 3.97 ERA in 1983, Niekro had an acrimonious split from the Braves, who wanted him to retire so they could focus on their younger pitchers. But Niekro was far from done. He won 16 games each of the next two seasons with the Yankees and even made the All-Star Game for the final time. He picked up 11 more wins with Cleveland in 1986 before his knuckler finally ran out of steam. Niekro started 1987 with the Indians and was traded to Toronto in August, only to be let go by the Blue Jays after getting roughed up in three starts. He decided to retire but only after returning to Atlanta to make his final start in a Braves uniform. Niekro lasted just three-plus innings, giving up six hits, six walks and five runs before he left the mound for the final time to a raucous ovation from the crowd at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. While the knuckler was his trademark, Niekro was an all-around athlete. He won five Gold Glove awards and was a decent hitter for a pitcher, wracking up seven homers and 109 RBIs. Niekro remained active in the Braves organization after his retirement, taking part in alumni activities and often serving as a special instructor at spring training. He managed Atlanta's Triple-A farm team for one season, but struggled in the role. He also guided the Colorado Silver Bullets, a barnstorming women's baseball team sponsored by Coors. Niekro is survived by his wife, Nancy, sons Philip, John and Michael, and two grandchildren, Chase and Emma. Longevity was the hallmark of Niekro's career, which was spent largely in obscurity pitching for Braves teams that rarely managed a winning season. The knuckleball put little stress on his right arm, so he made at least 30 starts every season from 1968-86 — excluding the strike-shortened 1981 campaign — and finished with 245 complete games in his career. He was even able to make infrequent relief appearances, earning 29 saves. In 1979, at age 40, Niekro made a career-high 44 starts, completing 23 of them. He went 21-20 with a 3.39 ERA for a dismal Braves team that finished 66-94. He remains the last pitcher to both win and lose 20 games in a season. In this era where teams value velocity above all other traits, the knuckleball has essentially become extinct. “There’s nobody around who can teach how to throw a knuckleball,” Niekro said in the ESPN interview. "There’s very few pitching coaches that I worked with that actually came out on the mound and told me what I was doing wrong with the knuckleball. Because they just didn’t know. “I was on my own.” What a character. It's a shame to see on some levels, the 'art' of the game (as well as fundamentals lol) declining. I miss guys like this in the game. Or pitchers like Pasquel Perez with "la lob" (or Mark Fidrych talking to the mound ). [I had the 'pleasure' of catching a very good knuckballer when I was young - and damn can that be a misadventure (particularly if there is any wind at all, and especially when pitching into any amount of wind]. Anyhow - Niekro was a notorious ball 'doctor' lol. Will never forget this... Edited January 8, 2021 by oldnews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollumpus Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 6 hours ago, BoKnows said: RIP I liked LaSorda's sense of theatre. An anecdote that I sorta' kinda' remember about Tommy Lasorda was from Ron Luciano (former umpire) who was behind home plate for a game in LA (this was told by Luciano, perhaps on the "Tonight Show" with Carson).. Luciano was calling a fairly tight game as far as the strike zone, and the home fans were complaining, and the Dodgers were also getting more frustrated with each pitch call which didn't go their way. There wasn't much that LaSorda could do, for if he went out to argue a pitch call it would mean an automatic ejection from the game. But finally things got to a breaking point. One of the Dodgers' players (perhaps the starting catcher, Yeager?) got a strike call and everyone could see that he was getting ready to start screaming at Luciano. LaSorda charged out of the dugout and grabbed his player, and pushed him back to the bench. LaSorda then turned and marched back to Luciano, and the crowd started to go nuts. As LaSorda got to Luciano the ump says, "Tommy, don't say a word. You know that I got to throw you out if you say anything about called strikes." LaSorda bellied right up to Luciano and supposedly said, "Do you like pizza?" Luciano: "Uhm, yeah. Of course I like pizza." LaSorda starts to act wildly, pointing at himself and says, "Well I like pizza too!" He then points at Luciano and says, "It's great that you like pizza!", then pointing back at himself says, "I like pizza so much that I bought a pizza parlour back in Chicago!". LaSorda followed that up by using the "V" fingers pointing towards his own eyes, and then towards Luciano's eyes, and back and forth a few times, while he said, "Next time you are in Chicago, you can go into my place and you can get two, two, two, two pizzas for free... back in Chicago!" The direction of the "V" changed with each time LaSorda was saying "two", so that it looked like he was saying to Luciano that he couldn't see properly and that LaSorda could see that Luciano was botching the calls. And finally, with the "back in Chicago" part of the comment, LaSorda pointed towards the east (towards Chicago), using the classic umpire motion to indicate that they had just thrown someone out of the game. LaSorda then returned to the dugout with the fans going crazy, his team was uplifted, and only him and Luciano knew what the real discussion had been about. regards, G. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/blue-jays-reunite-reliever-j-cole-minor-league-deal/ Jays bringing AJ Cole back. Happy for him, he pitched well for the Blue Jays last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Starting to think the Jays aren't going to land any of the big names and that it's just another year of Boras's clients using the Jays as leverage to get more money out of other teams. Someone needs to find the playbook, I'm sure it exists. Step 1: Become a free agent Step 2: "Oh yeah, I'm interested in Toronto, <insert nice comment about having a whole country cheer for you>" Step 3: Let other teams know, Toronto has to buck up to lure them North. Step 4: Wait for other teams to match the inflated Toronto offer. Step 5: Laugh all the way to the bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 17 minutes ago, Wilbur said: Starting to think the Jays aren't going to land any of the big names and that it's just another year of Boras's clients using the Jays as leverage to get more money out of other teams. Someone needs to find the playbook, I'm sure it exists. Step 1: Become a free agent Step 2: "Oh yeah, I'm interested in Toronto, <insert nice comment about having a whole country cheer for you>" Step 3: Let other teams know, Toronto has to buck up to lure them North. Step 4: Wait for other teams to match the inflated Toronto offer. Step 5: Laugh all the way to the bank. It's tough to attract FAs to Toronto at the best of times......with Covid 19, it's a huge uphill battle. As nice as a big name would have been, I have to cut Shatkins some slack for not being able to get it done... BTW: I think Big Maple is still available... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 53 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said: It's tough to attract FAs to Toronto at the best of times......with Covid 19, it's a huge uphill battle. As nice as a big name would have been, I have to cut Shatkins some slack for not being able to get it done... BTW: I think Big Maple is still available... I wouldn't put any blame on management either. If anything, I put the blame on this merry-go-round on Boras. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/reports-star-closer-liam-hendriks-agrees-deal-white-sox/ Jays were rumored to be on this guy. Guess he used that interest to leverage a record deal with a team not named Blue Jays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoKnows Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 On 1/10/2021 at 3:27 PM, RUPERTKBD said: It's tough to attract FAs to Toronto at the best of times......with Covid 19, it's a huge uphill battle. As nice as a big name would have been, I have to cut Shatkins some slack for not being able to get it done... BTW: I think Big Maple is still available... I was thinking with the $&!# show in going on the states the past year if that would make Toronto more enticing to some players. It gives them a chance to escape (well at least a little bit). 15 minutes ago, Wilbur said: https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/reports-star-closer-liam-hendriks-agrees-deal-white-sox/ Jays were rumored to be on this guy. Guess he used that interest to leverage a record deal with a team not named Blue Jays. Was hoping we would get him. Hendricks and Giles would of been a good 1-2 punch to have in the pen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoKnows Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoKnows Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 DJ is off the board... Hopefully this gets the chips to fall a little quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Zepp Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 37 minutes ago, BoKnows said: DJ is off the board... Hopefully this gets the chips to fall a little quicker. Jays need arms. Bats should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckNORRIS4Cup Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 What the Jays offered DJ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 TBH, I'm pretty much over these "Jays are in on player X" reports.... Wake me when they actually sign someone. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 Mets' GM, Jared Porter fired for sending a dick pic to a female reporter back in 2016, when he was with the Cubs: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/19/sport/jared-porter-new-york-mets-firing-spt-intl/index.html Quote The New York Mets have fired general manager Jared Porter after he reportedly sent explicit pictures to a female reporter in 2016. ESPN reported that Porter sent unsolicited, explicit texts and photos "culminating with a picture of an erect, naked penis" to the female reporter when he worked for the Chicago Cubs as the team's Director of Professional Scouting and Special Assistant. Mets owner Steven Cohen tweeted Tuesday morning: "We have terminated Jared Porter this morning. In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it. There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior." According to ESPN, Porter allegedly sent 62 texts, including seven photos to the reporter that weren't answered. ESPN said it obtained the messages and images in December 2017 and interviewed the reporter but chose not to report the allegations at the time after the woman said her career would be harmed if the story was released. CNN is attempting to reach Porter for comment. Mets president Sandy Alderson released the following statement on Tuesday. "The New York Mets have terminated General Manager Jared Porter, effective immediately. Jared's actions, as reflected by events disclosed last night, failed to meet the Mets' standards for professionalism and personal conduct." That's how you know it's the big leagues......even the GMs know how to swing the bats..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 35 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said: Mets' GM, Jared Porter fired for sending a dick pic to a female reporter back in 2016, when he was with the Cubs: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/19/sport/jared-porter-new-york-mets-firing-spt-intl/index.html That's how you know it's the big leagues......even the GMs know how to swing the bats..... Wonder if Porter was smart enough to save up some cash, while living on borrowed time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckNORRIS4Cup Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) On 1/18/2021 at 1:09 PM, RUPERTKBD said: TBH, I'm pretty much over these "Jays are in on player X" reports.... Wake me when they actually sign someone. It was late last night so you might of been sleeping but here you go you asked for a signing That one pitcher is Tyler Chatwood. Late Monday night, the Blue Jays agreed to terms with Chatwood on a one-year, $3-million deal that, as reported by colleague Shi Davidi, could be worth $5.5 million if the 31-year-old reaches certain incentives. https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/blue-jays-betting-upside-spin-tyler-chatwood-signing/ Edited January 19, 2021 by ChuckNORRIS4Cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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