2014 AFL Thread

[Vinestal]

@CarrieMuskat: Russell will be joined on Mesa team by #Cubs prospects CJ Edwards, Zach Cates, Ivan Pineyro, Gerardo Concepcion, Vogelbach, and Hannemann

[Guest]

Nice. At some point, I guessed all of them besides Vogelbach and Concepcion.

 

Hope Pineyro and Edwards can start but normally only one SP is provided per team.

[Vinestal]

Nice. At some point, I guessed all of them besides Vogelbach and Concepcion.

 

Hope Pineyro and Edwards can start but normally only one SP is provided per team.

Voglebach's inclusion surprised me, should certainly be a challenge for him. Hanneman is a taxi squad player.

[Guest]

If you have a chance to go, I highly recommend going. You get great seats for very cheap ($8 and I was a few rows from the field). Obviously the Cubs sent a bevy of top prospects last year but you also get to see elite prospects from other teams up close.

 

Heh, I was nearly as excited to see Addison Russell as I was to see Bryant and Soler.

[Agony and Ivy]

I'm going this year and I can't wait.

[Vinestal]

If you have a chance to go, I highly recommend going. You get great seats for very cheap ($8 and I was a few rows from the field). Obviously the Cubs sent a bevy of top prospects last year but you also get to see elite prospects from other teams up close.

 

Heh, I was nearly as excited to see Addison Russell as I was to see Bryant and Soler.

 

I'd love to go out there for a couple weeks but it's not financially feasible sadly. I'm going to try to make the trip out there this spring for spring training for the first time.

[Guest]

If you have a chance to go, I highly recommend going. You get great seats for very cheap ($8 and I was a few rows from the field). Obviously the Cubs sent a bevy of top prospects last year but you also get to see elite prospects from other teams up close.

 

Heh, I was nearly as excited to see Addison Russell as I was to see Bryant and Soler.

 

I'd love to go out there for a couple weeks but it's not financially feasible sadly. I'm going to try to make the trip out there this spring for spring training for the first time next year though.

 

Yeah, it's obviously easier when you're one state away. My wife is a Cubs fan but even then, it was a Veteran's Day weekend trip to the Grand Canyon first and foremost. Phoenix just is not a fun destination otherwise.

[Vinestal]

If you have a chance to go, I highly recommend going. You get great seats for very cheap ($8 and I was a few rows from the field). Obviously the Cubs sent a bevy of top prospects last year but you also get to see elite prospects from other teams up close.

 

Heh, I was nearly as excited to see Addison Russell as I was to see Bryant and Soler.

 

I'd love to go out there for a couple weeks but it's not financially feasible sadly. I'm going to try to make the trip out there this spring for spring training for the first time next year though.

 

Yeah, it's obviously easier when you're one state away. My wife is a Cubs fan but even then, it was a Veteran's Day weekend trip to the Grand Canyon first and foremost. Phoenix just is not a fun destination otherwise.

I think we may make the road trip and stop at some interesting places along the way like the Grand Canyon ect. More fun for the kids that way. Florida is sadly a long way from Arizona.

[Vinestal]

Arizona Fall League ‏@MLBazFallLeague 5m

Mesa Solar Sox roster addition: OF Bijan Rademacher (#Cubs)

[Guest]

@EricFisherSBJ: MLB will test a series of experimental pace-of-game initiatives in Arizona Fall League. First major moves from new committee on the issue

 

@EricFisherSBJ: Among new pace of game tests: pitch clock (20 sec), inning break clock (2:05), pitching change clock (2:30), limit on mound conferences, etc

 

@EricFisherSBJ: Batters in Arizona Fall League must also stay in box for entire at-bat, unless wild pitch, ump permission etc

 

@EricFisherSBJ: Also part of new Arizona Fall League rules: no-pitch intentional walks.

[Cubswin11]

What exactly does the "no intentional walks" thing mean? Like you can't do it at all, or you can just say "we want to walk this guy and he gets first base with no pitches thrown?"

[Guest]

What exactly does the "no intentional walks" thing mean? Like you can't do it at all, or you can just say "we want to walk this guy and he gets first base with no pitches thrown?"

 

it doesn't say that

[Cubswin11]

What exactly does the "no intentional walks" thing mean? Like you can't do it at all, or you can just say "we want to walk this guy and he gets first base with no pitches thrown?"

 

it doesn't say that

I completely missed the "pitch" in that tweet and read it as "no intentional walks." My bad, but I like the rule. The intentional walk is stupid, just let the guy have 1B if you want to walk him.

[Guest]

What exactly does the "no intentional walks" thing mean? Like you can't do it at all, or you can just say "we want to walk this guy and he gets first base with no pitches thrown?"

 

it doesn't say that

I completely missed the "pitch" in that tweet and read it as "no intentional walks." My bad, but I like the rule. The intentional walk is stupid, just let the guy have 1B if you want to walk him.

 

I feel the opposite. Make them throw the pitches. They still can throw a wild pitch (or the hitter can swing at the occasional pitch too close to the strike zone).

[Cubswin11]

What exactly does the "no intentional walks" thing mean? Like you can't do it at all, or you can just say "we want to walk this guy and he gets first base with no pitches thrown?"

 

it doesn't say that

I completely missed the "pitch" in that tweet and read it as "no intentional walks." My bad, but I like the rule. The intentional walk is stupid, just let the guy have 1B if you want to walk him.

 

I feel the opposite. Make them throw the pitches. They still can throw a wild pitch (or the hitter can swing at the occasional pitch too close to the strike zone).

Eh, that happens at such a low rate (has to be a few percent at most) every year during IBB pitch sequences that I'd be fine with just getting rid of it. It's not like the wild/hittable pitches happen so frequently on IBB that you are taking a whole lot of opportunity away from offenses.

 

And in their quest to find marginal ways to speed up the games I think this is one of the first logical places to start.

[jersey cubs fan]

What exactly does the "no intentional walks" thing mean? Like you can't do it at all, or you can just say "we want to walk this guy and he gets first base with no pitches thrown?"

 

it doesn't say that

I completely missed the "pitch" in that tweet and read it as "no intentional walks." My bad, but I like the rule. The intentional walk is stupid, just let the guy have 1B if you want to walk him.

 

I feel the opposite. Make them throw the pitches. They still can throw a wild pitch (or the hitter can swing at the occasional pitch too close to the strike zone).

 

If the data shows that nothing interesting happens 99% of the time, I would rather they just let the guy take the base.

 

One thing this would eliminate is the stupidity of a move I've always hated, bringing in a reliever from the bullpen and having him intentionally walk the first guy he sees, especially a guy with control issues. The Cubs did this a few times years ago and I got all hot and bothered by it.

[Guest]

i guess i just don't really have a problem with games being 10-15 minutes too long or something so i don't see the big issue

 

when i'm watching a good baseball game i don't care how long it is

 

when it's a bad baseball game it's terrible no matter how short it is

 

i realize this is a thing for people but i don't get it really. short of games being exhaustingly long by like hours or something.

 

it's similar to the too many games argument to me. i like baseball...give me even more games if possible.

[Guest]

i guess i just don't really have a problem with games being 10-15 minutes too long or something so i don't see the big issue

 

when i'm watching a good baseball game i don't care how long it is

 

when it's a bad baseball game it's terrible no matter how short it is

 

i realize this is a thing for people but i don't get it really. short of games being exhaustingly long by like hours or something.

 

it's similar to the too many games argument to me. i like baseball...give me even more games if possible.

 

The dedicated baseball fan is not the target for those rule changes.

 

For me, the pitch clock is probably enough, to go along with batters keeping a foot in the box unless they explicitly are granted time. You shave, say, 5 seconds off per pitch and the game is already 20 minutes shorter and more importantly, has more constant action.

[sneakypower]

when i'm watching a good baseball game i don't care how long it is

 

when it's a bad baseball game it's terrible no matter how short it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmfXEs3DG08

Edited October 1, 2014 by sneakypower

[Guest]

when i'm watching a good baseball game i don't care how long it is

 

when it's a bad baseball game it's terrible no matter how short it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmfXEs3DG08

 

lmao YES

[jersey cubs fan]

i guess i just don't really have a problem with games being 10-15 minutes too long or something so i don't see the big issue

 

when i'm watching a good baseball game i don't care how long it is

 

when it's a bad baseball game it's terrible no matter how short it is

 

i realize this is a thing for people but i don't get it really. short of games being exhaustingly long by like hours or something.

 

it's similar to the too many games argument to me. i like baseball...give me even more games if possible.

 

I don't believe in the too many games argument, but a game being too long is very real. 15 minutes can be a world of difference when it comes to things affected by the end of a ballgame; bedtime and whether my wife is still awake, public transit schedules, whether or not it is necessary to leave the game with the kid. And 15 minutes doesn't even begin to address the god awful 4-hr marathons brought on by NYY/BOS games. A game should be under 3 hours, not well beyond that number. No pitch IBB won't change that, but that is why you have to do several things to make a difference.

 

Pretending the length of games don't matter isn't going to change the fact that the length of games do matter, even if they do not matter to you personally.

[Cubswin11]

I like the pitching change clock idea, that seems like a clear way to shave a few min off a game. Also since most guys take a slow walk in and not spring like Todd Coffey why not have a golf cart or something drive them in from the bullpen to speed it up, especially for stadiums where the bullpens are behind OF walls?

[Guest]

I like the pitching change clock idea, that seems like a clear way to shave a few min off a game. Also since most guys take a slow walk in and not spring like Todd Coffey why not have a golf cart or something drive them in from the bullpen to speed it up, especially for stadiums where the bullpens are behind OF walls?

 

didnt they try the pitching clock thing a few years ago in mlb

[Cubswin11]

I like the pitching change clock idea, that seems like a clear way to shave a few min off a game. Also since most guys take a slow walk in and not spring like Todd Coffey why not have a golf cart or something drive them in from the bullpen to speed it up, especially for stadiums where the bullpens are behind OF walls?

 

didnt they try the pitching clock thing a few years ago in mlb

I think so, but I think it was more arbitrary/umpire discretion than any hard rule? But like the pitching change clock could be enforceable, as soon as the manager signals for the change 2:30 (or whatever goes on the scoreboard) and when it hits zero everyone needs to be ready for the first pitch from the new pitcher.

[Guest]

The AFL starts Tuesday.