2024 MLB season news and notes

[notin]

The deadline has officially begun!!

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/07/brewers-to-acquire-aaron-civale.html

[dgalehouse]

Recently my daughter pointed out to me RHRP Will Smith has 3 World Series rings in the last 3 seasons. Has anyone else ever won 3 consecutive rings with 3 different teams?

 

Smith is a lefty.

[Bellhorn04]

Recently my daughter pointed out to me RHRP Will Smith has 3 World Series rings in the last 3 seasons. Has anyone else ever won 3 consecutive rings with 3 different teams?

 

Wow, she's pretty good...

[notin]

Smith is a lefty.

 

He is. My mistake.

 

 

But back to the point of the post, is Smith alone in that regard?

[notin]

Also worth noting, Smith signed with KC this off-season, a team sitting on the fringe of the postseason …

[dgalehouse]

He is. My mistake.

 

 

But back to the point of the post, is Smith alone in that regard?

 

I don't know how to research it, but I very much doubt anyone else has done that. Pretty sure he is the only one.

[notin]

I don't know how to research it, but I very much doubt anyone else has done that. Pretty sure he is the only one.

 

I flat out googled it. Apparently Will Smith is the first. Don Baylor played in 3 consecutive World Series with 3 different teams, but lost the first one (with the ‘86 Red Sox) and the third one…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I flat out googled it. Apparently Will Smith is the first. Don Baylor played in 3 consecutive World Series with 3 different teams, but lost the first one (with the ‘86 Red Sox) and the third one…

 

I thought Smith was Lonnie, a regular position player who won rings with three different teams in '80, '82, '85; he also got back in the World Series with a fourth team, but lost in '91-92.

 

Another guy of note is Orlando Cabrera, a starting middle infielder for five different cities in six postseasons from 2004-2010. He only won one World Series -- Boston '04 -- and apparently wore out his welcome quickly wherever he went. But nobody can call OC a loser; all five of his clubs were first-place teams.

[Bellhorn04]

I flat out googled it. Apparently Will Smith is the first. Don Baylor played in 3 consecutive World Series with 3 different teams, but lost the first one (with the ‘86 Red Sox) and the third one…

 

And then you have poor Kenny Lofton, whose teams did this in a 3 year stretch:

 

2002 Giants - blew 3-2 lead in WS

2003 Cubs - blew 3-1 lead in NLCS

2004 Yankees - blew 3-0 lead in ALCS

 

And just for good measure:

 

2007 Guardians - blew 3-1 lead in ALCS

[notin]

And then you have poor Kenny Lofton, whose teams did this in a 3 year stretch:

 

2002 Giants - blew 3-2 lead in WS

2003 Cubs - blew 3-1 lead in NLCS

2004 Yankees - blew 3-0 lead in ALCS

 

And just for good measure:

 

2007 Guardians - blew 3-1 lead in ALCS

 

I haven’t joked about the Curse of Kenny Lofton in years. Also you left out the 1999 Cleveland Guardians, up 2-0 in a best of 5 ALDS and lost to Boston/Pedro.

 

Credit for discovering the Lofton Curse does go to Tom Verducci…

[notin]

I thought Smith was Lonnie, a regular position player who won rings with three different teams in '80, '82, '85; he also got back in the World Series with a fourth team, but lost in '91-92.

 

Another guy of note is Orlando Cabrera, a starting middle infielder for five different cities in six postseasons from 2004-2010. He only won one World Series -- Boston '04 -- and apparently wore out his welcome quickly wherever he went. But nobody can call OC a loser; all five of his clubs were first-place teams.

 

No one called OC a loser, but reportedly he was called just about everything else. I don’t think ever heard of a player getting so much negativity from his teammates and staff…

[Bellhorn04]

No one called OC a loser, but reportedly he was called just about everything else. I don’t think ever heard of a player getting so much negativity from his teammates and staff…

 

But it was all rumors and innuendo, wasn't it? I don't think there are any names attached to quotes about him...

[notin]

But it was all rumors and innuendo, wasn't it? I don't think there are any names attached to quotes about him...

 

There were a few incidents that were not. Such as when he called the official scorer mid-game to change an error he was charged with.

[notin]

So the Mariners (332-282 since 2020 with one postseason appearance) have fired Scott Servais. Meanwhile the Angels (277-337 with no postseason appearances in that same time frame) have extended GM Perry Minasian despite his building a team with fewer wins and a higher payroll (not all his fault) and creating a universally acclaimed MLB-worst farm system that ranks at the bottom not only in terms of quality and quantity of prospects, but also in treatment of them.

 

Got it…

Edited August 23, 2024 by notin

[mvp 78]

He was the manager for 9 years and had no real success. The firing seems fine.

 

The Angels have no clue. MLB needs dumb franchises like that.

[Bellhorn04]

He was the manager for 9 years and had no real success. The firing seems fine.

 

The Angels have no clue. MLB needs dumb franchises like that.

 

The Angels are the real La La Land of baseball.

[moonslav59]

The Angels are the real La La Land of baseball.

 

Post of the Month

[notin]

Here it is, only August 25th. Roughly 20% of the baseball season left.

 

And the White Sox, with 32 games left on their schedule, find themselves 33 games out of FOURTH place. Yes, the 2024 Chicago White Sox have clinched LAST PLACE before September. How the f*** does a team clinch last place by this date?!?

 

This is a record for ineptitude…

[Bellhorn04]

Here it is, only August 25th. Roughly 20% of the baseball season left.

 

And the White Sox, with 32 games left on their schedule, find themselves 33 games out of FOURTH place. Yes, the 2024 Chicago White Sox have clinched LAST PLACE before September. How the f*** does a team clinch last place by this date?!?

 

This is a record for ineptitude…

 

Hey, they picked a lane. Just so happens it was the Tank Lane...

[notin]

Hey, they picked a lane. Just so happens it was the Tank Lane...

 

This is tanking at its most extreme.

 

16 losses in their final 32 games would clinch the worst record in MLB. And that number gets smaller with every Colorado win…

[moonslav59]

This is tanking at its most extreme.

 

16 losses in their final 32 games would clinch the worst record in MLB. And that number gets smaller with every Colorado win…

 

I think the "most" extreme would have been trading Crochet at the deadline, but they are about as bad as a team can get (by choice.)

[Bellhorn04]

White Sox are 36-115.

The 1962 Mets are 'credited' with the worst all-time record of 40-120.  

If the White Sox end up 41-121, which will be the worst?  It'll be most losses but not least wins, and not worst winning %.

It's sort of unfortunate that the Mets didn't play 162 that year. 

[mvp 78]

7 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

White Sox are 36-115.

The 1962 Mets are 'credited' with the worst all-time record of 40-120.  

If the White Sox end up 41-121, which will be the worst?  It'll be most losses but not least wins, and not worst winning %.

It's sort of unfortunate that the Mets didn't play 162 that year. 

You think the ChiSox can go 5-6 to end this? That's a monster run for them! I'm sure they are doing everything they can to not be the worst team in history.

Angels - 5 games

Tigers - 3 games

Padres - 3 games

[Bellhorn04]

On further review, the 1962 Mets played 161 games, with one tie!  I somehow managed to delete from my mind any knowledge that there were ever ties in baseball. 

[Bellhorn04]

Baseball fans are being treated to a historic matchup tonight: the 36-115 White Sox visiting the 60-90 Angels.  That's a combined record of 96-205!  The White Sox are potentially the worst team in history, and the Angels have arguably been the most dysfunctional team in the game for a decade or so.

What a matchup! 😁 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

12 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

On further review, the 1962 Mets played 161 games, with one tie!  I somehow managed to delete from my mind any knowledge that there were ever ties in baseball. 

Had to be pretty tough for Casey Stengel. He went from managing one of the greatest dynasties of all time to the mess that was the expansion Mets!

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Had to be pretty tough for Casey Stengel. He went from managing one of the greatest dynasties of all time to the mess that was the expansion Mets!

Stengel was in charge, so it had to be all on him! Never in history was a team so fundamentally poor (I'm just borrowing lines now from the Cora haters).

Casey really mismanaged the bullpen. Every time he made a change, he brought in another Met (I made that one up). 

When a manager reportedly falls asleep in the dugout, his players have no motivation to improve. Ok, maybe he wasn't snoozing on the bench -- just fainting from what he was seeing.

[moonslav59]

Ohtani is the first MLB player to ever hit 50 HRs and steal 50 bases. WOW!

If only he could pitch... errr....!

[Jasonbay44]

6 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Ohtani is the first MLB player to ever hit 50 HRs and steal 50 bases. WOW!

If only he could pitch... errr....!

6-6, 3 homers, 10 RBI, 2 stolen bases.

 

literally absurd stat line. I have trouble doing that in MLB the show. 

[moonslav59]

7 hours ago, Jasonbay44 said:

6-6, 3 homers, 10 RBI, 2 stolen bases.

 

literally absurd stat line. I have trouble doing that in MLB the show. 

Astounding!

This guy is breaking all the rules!