Atlanta needs a history lesson from the Rust Belt.  Sometime over the next few decades, the ATL bubble is going to burst big-time

Atlanta needs a history lesson from the Rust Belt.  Sometime over the next few decades, the ATL bubble is going to burst big-time

No doubt. With all the stuff that is going on down there I was surprised to read about the city having no money.

What a waste.  Oh well, good for Atlanta that they were able to swindle NBC and Olympic sponsors to pay for Turner Field.  Perhaps if they had actually put more of their own skin in the game they would not be so quick to abandon it.

^but like jdm00 noted, the traffic in suburbs, particularly this area, is just as bad as the city.

 

Worse. There's no alternatives to it.

 

 

This SB Nation photo thread adequately sums up my feelings regarding the Atlanta Braves proposed move:

 

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/11/11/5092546/a-desperate-trip-into-the-ruins-of-turner-field

 

Outstanding. They Are Legend!

Here is how Cobb county will pay for the stadium.  All without a vote from the public. Talk about being fleeced.

 

http://deadspin.com/heres-how-cobb-county-will-pay-for-the-braves-ballpar-1464404976?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

This thread is quickly becoming derailed but I would participate in one called "Triv is the dumbest person on radio."

Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy sent out a statement that included these thoughts on mass transit and taxes:

 

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

 

“The other important part of the formula is for the citizens of Cobb not to experience any kind of tax increase. The influx of people into the county for the games should provide the revenue needed to make this a successful venture.”

 

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/nov/12/your-daily-jolt-threats-both-sides-atlanta-braves-/?nmredir=true

MLB voted to ban home plate collisions at their winter meeting last week.  The four major parts of this rule change are as follows:

 

- Catchers are not allowed to block home plate

- Runners are not permitted to target catchers

- Questions on blocking/targeting are reviewable by umpires within the game

- Violations will be subject to MLB discipline

 

When I heard about this, my first two thoughts were: 1) its about time; and 2) 43 years too late for Ray Fosse.

 

More about this at http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/mlb-rules-committee-votes-to-end-home-plate-collisions?ymd=20131211&content_id=64598138&vkey=news_mlb and at http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10122470

^I've heard that rule might not go into effect until 2015. Is that true?

 

If it is true, hopefully there won't be any devastating injuries caused by this in next season.

I've heard both 2014 and 2015 mentioned as a start date.  It looks like next year is likely as long as there is no delay from the player's union, which must also approve it.  There might be other approvals needed, but that seems like the big one.

Great.  Now we'll have 112 lb catchers.  What's next?  Valet parking at games?  Heated seats?

 

Next thing you know, they'll wear helmets when they bat.  What a bunch of wimps.

Maybe they could just put some protective gear on a catcher...... such as a face mask, helmet, and padding around much of the torso and legs.

 

jk..... I don't have much of a problem with the rule.  Baseball is not a contact sport.

Great.  Now we'll have 112 lb catchers.  What's next?  Valet parking at games?  Heated seats?

 

Bench Warmer Battery Heated Stadium Seat Cushion

 

Great.  Now we'll have 112 lb catchers.  What's next?  Valet parking at games?  Heated seats?

 

Bench Warmer Battery Heated Stadium Seat Cushion

 

 

Look pal I'm far to busy to concern myself with carrying my own seat warmer to the ball game.  When I valet the GMC Envoy, I expect my seat to already be warmed for me.    :roll: :roll: :roll: 

curved commemorative coins - pretty cool!

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/03/14/a_curved_u_s_coin_the_first_ever_makes_it_seem_kind_of_late_to_innovate.html

 

MLB pitchers have always had their fair share of arm troubles.  But the frequency of elbow injuries leading to season-ending Tommy John surgeries is becoming epidemic.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10936948/tommy-john-surgery-epidemic-worries-bud-selig

 

One of most troubling aspects of this "Tommy John epidemic" is that it's been happening to young all-star pitchers.  Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg went down a few years ago.  Mets ace Matt Harvey is out this year after being diagnosed at the end of last season.  And this week, Marlins 21-year-old Jose Fernandez - last season's NL Rookie of the Year - became the latest pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery.

 

MLB pitchers have always had their fair share of arm troubles.  But the frequency of elbow injuries leading to season-ending Tommy John surgeries is becoming epidemic.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10936948/tommy-john-surgery-epidemic-worries-bud-selig

 

One of most troubling aspects of this "Tommy John epidemic" is that it's been happening to young all-star pitchers.  Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg went down a few years ago.  Mets ace Matt Harvey is out this year after being diagnosed at the end of last season.  And this week, Marlins 21-year-old Jose Fernandez - last season's NL Rookie of the Year - became the latest pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery.

 

 

Add Dylan Bundy, Baltimore's top pitching prospect, to that list.

 

I've heard in some cases it's preventive because while it's not necessary yet, eventually it will be.

The little ESPN story followed a longer New York Times story on the same topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/sports/baseball/to-see-games-best-young-aces-this-year-try-operating-room.html?hpw&rref=sports&_r=0. I'd like to see more on this because you would think that, with obsessive pitch counts and limiting pitchers' innings, etc., there would be fewer problems. Instead there are more.

What I've been reading, is that it is happening to high school and college pitchers.  They to be the best!  While pitching seems to be more and more limited in the professional ranks, high school and college have actually increased the amount of innings pitched when you take into account the select leagues these players play in during the off season.  It seems the general concensus is that pitchers come back stronger after the surgery.  Some attribute that improvement to the rigorous rehab required after surgery, no one works as hard otherwise.

 

My question is, why not improve the workout plans for young players to make their arms strong enough to avoid the surgery in the first place?

 

Don't forget the Indians claim to fame in all of this.  We traded away Tommy John for 2 good years worth of Rocky Colavito.

That is a lot of pitchers. I didn't realize it was so prevalent.

Back during the 70s, Gaylord Perry observed that younger pitchers were throwing a lot of breaking balls that were tough on the arm while they were still growing, and suspected this could cause injuries. 

My question is, why not improve the workout plans for young players to make their arms strong enough to avoid the surgery in the first place?

 

That's what I was wondering, too. And I think that also applies to E Rocc's comment about Perry's observation. Good research and workout plans may be much more important than pitch counts.

I think people are forgetting that this surgery is so successful that you actually can get a increase in mph after the surgery.

So i think more pitchers are opting to do the surgery even when it might not be necessarily needed, when in the past you tried your hardest to not get the surgery because it meant the end of your baseball career 

^^ From what I've read, I think the issue isn't necessarily one of conditioning nor of strength, but more of development. Just like young kids (say, 14 and under) aren't encouraged to strength train with weights, they shouldn't be throwing complicated pitches either. The movement puts too much strain on parts of the arm / shoulder that are still growing and can cause long term issues that manifest later in life.

 

I'd say up to a certain age, the only pitch they should be perfecting is the over the shoulder meatball down the middle. But I'm not psycho dad, living vicariously through my son, either. So what do I know?

Is anyone else becoming a bit worn out by these Yankees players farewell tours?  I sure hope Cleveland isn't planning anything special for Jeter.

The farewells sell tickets, so I'm sure the Tribe will offer up something.

^Not sure anything sells tickets for Tribe games anymore.

 

^^Yes, this farewell tour thing is so tedious and is setting a horrible precedent. Hopefully it's just a creature of Yankees entitlement and ends with Jeter.  Now that the Yankees organization is so mired in mediocrity, maybe even Jeter's tour will fizzle.

my dream has always been that jeter retires on a .500 team. out with a wimper.

^^  I realize this is an Ohio forum, so it's predominantly fans of other teams than the Yankees (full disclosure, I grew up a Yankee fan), but there's something admirable about a player, who's arguably the best in his position, played his entire career for the same team, who's won multiple championships on that team, AND who has managed to do it without getting caught up in all of the typical nonsense high profile sports figures get involved in (including, but not limited to, the steroid fiasco), and who is held in high regard by players, fans and media. And managed to do all this for two decades. That's worth celebrating, whether or not you're a Yankee fan.

 

Of course, the Yankees, being who they are, were fortunate enough to have two such players that happened to play together at the same time and who retired back to back. Still, if I'm MLB, and I'm trying to drum up interest in a sport that is losing eyeballs, I'm trotting these guys out to as much fanfare as I can.

His greatness at shortstop is a little bit exaggerated.  He wasn't even the best shortstop on his team.

blah blah blah classy blah blah humble blah blah

 

you know what's humble and classy?  not being a distraction!  You do what they did in the old days - announce your retirement at the end of the season, or at least like in august or something instead of having a season long circle jerk

No opportunity for men to cry if it lasts all season.

You will all bow down to the greatness that is Jeter, lest you incur his godlike wrath!

As if AL games couldn't get any longer.

I think ESPN's obsession with the Red Sox and Yankees is killing baseball.  I'd love to see how many episodes of Baseball Tonight have opened with Yankees and/or Boston since the late 90s vs. all other teams. 

 

And only winning the world series once since 2000 (2009) is pretty weak for the team with consistently the highest payroll.  To some extent it illustrates how much chance is involved in the game of baseball, despite there being 162 games.

 

And the other thing ruining baseball is the goofy playoff structure.  In my dream world MLB drops 8 franchises and returns to the two division winners in a 7-game playoff, then a 9-game series.  The longer series determines who truly has the stronger team, not just the team that has that one ace having a superhuman year. 

 

Sports don't work when the playoffs aren't what the sport is during the regular season.  Teams build their roster around what wins in the playoffs, to the detriment of the rest of the season.  In baseball that's what happens with getting a #1 lights-out starter who can pitch on 6 hours rest. 

 

I think ESPN's obsession with the Red Sox and Yankees is killing baseball.  I'd love to see how many episodes of Baseball Tonight have opened with Yankees and/or Boston since the late 90s vs. all other teams. 

 

And only winning the world series once since 2009 is pretty weak for the team with consistently the highest payroll.  To some extent it illustrates how much chance is involved in the game of baseball, despite there being 162 games.

 

And the other thing ruining baseball is the goofy playoff structure.  In my dream world MLB drops 8 franchises and returns to the two division winners in a 7-game playoff, then a 9-game series.  The longer series determines who truly has the stronger team, not just the team that has that one ace having a superhuman year. 

 

Sports don't work when the playoffs aren't what the sport is during the regular season.  Teams build their roster around what wins in the playoffs, to the detriment of the rest of the season.  In baseball that's what happens with getting a #1 lights-out starter who can pitch on 6 hours rest. 

 

 

Since I think we're on the same page, I'll throw this out there as well: Interleague Play creates oftentimes significant strength of schedule differences between teams that are fighting for the same playoff spots, and I think that's a big problem as well.  Since tradition seems to mean little to those currently running MLB, I'd almost rather see them scrap the current league set up and move more towards geography.  How cool would it be to see the Indians, Reds, Pirates, and Tigers in a division?

The various expansion teams need to go away.  They aren't baseball towns.  Baseball is a Midwest and East Coast sport.  That means good-bye to the:

Marlins

Devil Rays

Diamondbacks

Rockies

Angels

Expos (yes, the Nationals have the most obnoxious and phoniest fans in the game, their name sucks, and their uniforms insinuate a non-existent 100-year history)

Blue Jays

Braves (I deeply hate Atlanta, The Braves, and TBS)

 

^ sounds good to me. but i get much more po'd about that with the nhl than with mlb. the nhl expansion is so horribly overdone it completely lost me as a fan.

you're just knocking off teams because you don't like them?  Your point is partially negated by the fact that Midwest teams represent three of the bottom five teams in the MLB in attendance.  Cleveland is last by a lot.

 

They should do away with inter-league play and take away the wildcard game.  There shouldn't be a reduction of teams.  The regular season is important because baseball is a sport where you need to play well to make it to the postseason (unlike basketball, hockey).  They also need to make it so the season doesn't go into November; whether it be by less games, more double headers, or fewer days off.

 

Also, for years, I've felt that they need to determine the same rules for both leagues.  I don't care whether both go with the DH or if the pitcher hits, but they need to live within the same realm of each other.

I didn't mind interleague play when it was like 4 games a year per team.

I didn't mind interleague play when it was like 4 games a year per team.

 

When you're from an NL town, interleague play is like getting to live as a women a few times per year.

you're just knocking off teams because you don't like them?

 

There are too many teams.  Back when there were under 20 teams, every team was stacked with great players and every team would have won the world series on average 5 times per century.  Now the talent is too diluted and teams will win the world series just 3 times per century on average, which means many -- perhaps as many as 10 -- will go 100 years without winning.  You can't sustain a league with so many weak teams.  Those kids aren't growing up to be passionate fans when their teams like The Brewers suck for an entire century. 

 

Also the new generation of stadiums suck.  If everyone was still, for the most part, playing in Tiger Stadium/Crosley/Shibe/Ebbets/Polo Grounds etc. stadiums, the game would be so much more intense, like when you go to a 200 year-old bull ring in Spain.  When I was a kid at Riverfront Stadium, periodically the scoreboard would show something unusual, but for the most part it was one of about 14 different sequences.  There was also a Winston Cigarettes billboard to contemplate, and some garbled PA announcements.  Now it's all Creed and Kid Rock when people come up to bat, then all sorts of commotion between innings. 

I'm sorry things aren't exactly the same as they were when you were growing up. 

 

To get rid of The Braves because you hate the city and the Nationals because you hate their jerseys is a preposterous measure of contraction.  The market supports all the teams you mention, with the possible exception of the florida teams.  The economics of contraction would matter more than your nostalgia.

I think ESPN's obsession with the Red Sox and Yankees is killing baseball.  I'd love to see how many episodes of Baseball Tonight have opened with Yankees and/or Boston since the late 90s vs. all other teams. 

 

The only reason Boston is included is because they are the Yankees' archrival.  And it's not just ESPN, the media overall has this attitude that there's the Yankees, and everyone else.  It's unhealthy for the league as a whole, especially with no salary cap.

The Braves are one of the oldest MLB franchises, and have been in Atlanta for almost 50 years. Not exactly an expansion team.

But Jake doesn't like them, so they should cease to exist.

Jeter!!

The Braves are one of the oldest MLB franchises, and have been in Atlanta for almost 50 years. Not exactly an expansion team.

 

And soon they will be in a suburban nightmare in Cobb County. There should be a rule that teams have to have the title of where they're actually from. The Cobb County Braves would be a required name.

 

The only reason Boston is included is because they are the Yankees' archrival.  And it's not just ESPN, the media overall has this attitude that there's the Yankees, and everyone else.  It's unhealthy for the league as a whole, especially with no salary cap.

 

No one understands me when I explain I hate both the Yankees and Red Sox, and that if I had to pick one I hate more it’d be Boston. At least the media has an excuse for their love affair with the Yankees – they’re from the biggest city in the country, win a lot, and probably have the most actual fans. Boston is not that big of a town, their fans are weak, and the inferiority complex is so obvious it’s almost palpable.

^^ haha, you're such a troll