2017 MLB Season
Late start... pitchers and catchers reported a week ago.
Who's in for Opening Day this year? We should plan ahead and find out what area bars will have the MLB Extra Innings package. IIRC, we wound up at BDubs in Bridgewater last year because no one local had it.
If nothing else, at least now there's a BDubs on Route 31 in Raritan Township...
ianimal Yes, last year was a disaster! We planned on going to Cryan's only to find out they are not open for lunch on Mondays. I remember calling all kinds of places trying to find someplace open for lunch that also had the MLB package. In the end, we ended up in Bridgewater. Then the Yankees got rained out anyway. LOL
There are 3 games on Sunday 4/2, the first of which is the Yankees at 1:00. On 4/3 there are only 2 early games, Braves/Mets and Marlins/Nats.
It's never too early to start poking around to find a location to meet. I'd personally prefer a non-chain location, but whatever works for everyone is fine with me.
Calico696 The ESPN schedule is a bit of a clunker on opening Monday. Braves/Mets at 1, followed by Padres/Dodgers at 4. Much more interested in Bucs/Bosox at 2 and Jays/O's at 3... hence, the need for MLBEI.
I'm in. How about this place: hubcitybrewhouse.com. Big beer selection and they will have MLBEI. It's on George St. in New Brunswick.
MeisterNJ About the same drive I have to Mansfield.... New Brunswick is only 15 min past Bridgewater.
New Brunswick isn't a bad drive from here. My son played some baseball tournaments at Rutgers last year and we got there in 40 minutes.
Metsman Cryan's still doesn't open until 3pm on Mondays. I'm not dead set against New Brunswick, but I would definitely look at something closer, because the further south on 287 you go, the better chance of getting caught up in a traffic nightmare around 5:00. I can imagine it being a real bear for Calico to get back to Oxford afterwards.
There's a place on 22 in Readington called Chelsea's with decent food and a decent beer selection that is relatively central to the three of us. I'll try to find out if they have MLBEI sometime this week.
Actually, 287 isn't all that bad around 5. The only traffic going North is from Exit 10 (Easton Ave, where you would get onto 287)) up to Route 22. And even then, it moves. After that it's smooth sailing. I do it every day. Southbound is that bad direction in the evening. Even 78W is only bad when you get on in the evening. clears up after a mile or so.
Readington is fine if that works better.
Hopefully we won't have to miss too much of the Yankees season on local TV. I don't mind John Sterling and Susan Waldman on the radio, but I like to actually see these guys to make up my own mind. Without YES, it was hard to get a visual last season.
But, looks like sometime early April, we may have it back:
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2017/02/yankees_comcast_yes_network_return.html
I am going down to Tampa for a few days to check out Spring Training in a couple of weeks, so I will give my regards from HL to all while there.
The Rhyme Animal Chelsea's doesn't open until 4 on Mondays. A friend recommended Willie McBrides's in Branchburg, but they aren't open for lunch on Mondays either. Sigh....
Clyde Potts Tim Tebow hitting the heck out of the ball according to some reports. You know what that means... he'll demand to be a pitcher, lol.
I will let ianimal say if the Quaker Steak is in Lopat, Pohat, Greenwich, Alpha or P'burg. Damn borders! ;-)
No regular season games will be missed by Yankees fans with Comcast (which may be a plus or minus, depending on your viewpoint)
First game that YES will be on Comcast, 3/31 exhibition game vs. Atlanta.
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2017/02/yankees_fans_rejoice_heres_when_yes_network_return.html
That's not that bad a drive for me. Maybe 45 min. Unlike you and Calico, I'm willing to travel to another county. Too bad it's not a Friday, I would hit Conclave on the way home.
MNJ, if we were going to watch a game in person, it would be one thing. Traveling almost an hour each way to watch a game on TV is quite another, lol.
LOL! Who said I wouldn't go to a different county? I traveled all over for this last year. Live in Warren, work in Morris and met up with you all in Somerset. Quaker Steak isn't right around the corner for me, like it is for ianimal. It's about a 25 minute ride home. Same county though. ;-)
We've decided on Quaker Steak and Lube in Pohatcong Township if anyone else wants to join us.
Mets/Braves starts at 1:00, Marlins/Nationals at 1:05, Buccos/Bosox at 2:05; Rox/Brewers at 2:10; Jays/O's at 3:05 with four more games starting around 4pm. Should be a good time..
QS&L is in the Walmart Plaza on US 22, behind the White Castle.
Are you kidding me... Tim Tebow hit into a double play and people applauded it... WTF...
Love #5, lol...
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/220408878/12-prospects-to-watch-2017-mlb?partnerId=ed-11262803-658620023
I haven't gotten a confirmation on whether or not they are getting the MLBEI package, but they have 5.99 lunch specials until 2:30 and $0.60 wings and drink specials for Happy Hour starting at 3pm... so I'm inclined to at least go there to eat before the 2:00 games start. We can play it by ear from there (-;
I'll probably be there by 12:30.
I will call Sharky's again on Saturday. Sounds like a plan to start there anyway since they will have the Mets game, even if we have to relocate to Quaker Steak it's no big deal. I should be there for 12:30, hubby maybe a bit later.
I'll be at Jays/O's ... I'll try to do something to get myself on TV ... LOL ... at least you guys haven't had to put up with anything about Alex Ochoa for awhile ... he just celebrated his 45th birthday on Wednesday. Last I heard he's got some kind of baseball academy going in South Florida, similar to Jack Cust up here. The Mets might be my pick to win it all this year, if not for that curse. Have the Baseball Gods decided 30 years is enough? Or are they really mad and unforgiving and are going for another 50 years? Mets fans, be nice to the Baseball Gods, because your team is good enough to win right now and that window may be short. The O's are still under the curse of mediocre pitching ... the best pitcher in the ballpark is in the broadcast booth (Jim Palmer) ... at 71 years old he could still probably eat his stack of pancakes in the morning and pitch a nine-inning shutout (with Brooks at third and Paulie helping him out in center) LOL ... enjoy the season, guys.
Andy Loigu 
skippy Anyone else in for today? We are meeting at Sharky's in Alpha between 12:30 and 1:00.
www.sharkyswingsnj.com
So far we have:
ianimal
MeisterNJ
Calico
Horatio
Clyde Potts
Nice win for the Mets today. We had a great time at our annual opening day meet up. Sharky's was a great place to meet. Can't beat the $5.99 lunch special. The wings were very good.
Back from Baltimore ... great crab cakes and the win was a big bonus. A story about the local high school season has been posted on www.insidewarren.com ... just getting some local names in there ... looking forward to an outstanding season for the Tigers (I like their colors)
"The Orioles ... are in the WIN column." Joe Angel has closed four straight games with that call ... It is as familiar to me as Howie Rose going "Put it in the books"... or John Sterling going "The-e-e-e-e-e-e-e Yankees win ....the-e-e-e-e-e Yank-ees WIN" ... something he hasn't had a chance to do the last couple of nights (-:
Eh... "Bucs win - Raise the Jolly Roger" by Greg Brown for a Pirates win is more creative than all of those put together, Andy (-;
Bob Prince had a great one with the Pirates, back when Clemente and that group were at their peak ... "We had 'em all the way" ... he'd say it even if it was a 15-inning marathon.
Chuck Thompson was the gentlemanly voice of the Orioles from the 50s to the 90s and after a win, he would say, "Ain't the beer cold."
The Nationals' announcers say "And another curly W is in the books."
On WRNJ as the clock would count down on Hackettstown football, I'd sing "Turn out the lights the party's over" (my inner Dandy Don Meredith)
"... they say that all good things must end ... turn out the lights the PAR-TY'S over ... and this time next week ... we'll do it all again."
I grew up listening to Bob Prince. He was the greatest. " Kiss it goodbye " was my favorite.
He was very colorful and made you feel as if you were sitting front row on one of the baselines.
Omar Moreno Whenever Manny Machado hits one, Joe Angel says "Hasta la vista, baby" ... he started doing that when the O's had Nelson Cruz.
When John Miller was broadcasting O's games he'd say "Sacre bleu" for Ken Singleton's home runs, because the O's got him in a trade from the Montreal Expos. If you didn't know that, you'd wonder, why'd he say THAT?
The Nationals have an announcer who says "see ... you ... later."
Of course Harry Kalas for the Phils had that classic "long drive, it's got a chance, that ball is OUT-TA HERE..."
The Marte partay is on hiatus for 80 games. What a dope. Good thing they have Cutch to take over CF. I wonder if this speeds up Austin Meadows's callup from Indianapolis... Frazier is NOT an every day player...
You have to be a special kind of stupid to think you can take roids and get away with it nowadays...
I think they put nandrolone in the drinking water instead of fluoride in the DR, lol.
I believe "stupid" is fitting along with moron, dumb@**. 2 gold gloves one of the best hitters on the team......smh.
Marte not very smarte ... a corny line on Sunday (I get the O's games on MASN via DIRECTV ... Rick Dempsey says "The Easter Bundy is putting some eggs on the scoreboard today..." and people say I was a cornball on WRNJ ... sigh
Jete22 Terry Collins is not very smarte batting Granderson leadoff with his .143 average. Can't wait until this buffoon gets fired. Now that's a dig on a coach Jete22!
Lol, another suspension the season just started. Boy this year is going to be fun!
CC was clearly gassed after 2, why didn't Joe pull him? Harrison blew an easy ground ball which cost the Pirate's 2 runs.
Sorry Yankee fans but you lose game 1.
Disturbing photo of the O's dugout...
http://www.theonion.com/graphic/clogged-drain-causes-orioles-dugout-overflow-chewi-55823
yankeefan The Mets have been awful the last 2 weeks. Time to put Terry on the hot seat. They pretty much had their normal lineup last night and were destroyed by the Braves.
Andy, O's keep getting good pitching? You mean other than Gasman throwing fuel on the fire every 5 days? Or do you have your orange and black tinted glasses on those days?
Metsman, who exactly is going to do better with an ill-conceived lineup? Granderson, Bruce, and Reyes does not a good lineup make.
It's April.
Bruce is off to a great start. Granderson and Reyes are killing them. Granderson is 36. He's probably reaching the end of the line. They have to consider sitting both when Flores and Duda come back.
Yeah, for now. Bruce is extremely streaky, which doesn't help an offense consistently and combined with auto-outs Granderson and Reyes, lineup doesn't turn over.
MLB pitching stats ... O's are right up there...
http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/pitching
Not anymore Andy. Nice afternoon for a game yesterday. Had a great time at the Stadium. Yanks are playing way above their heads lately. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Ugh! H-town life is no place for all this O talk Andy, move down there if u like them so much.
Another bomb by the baby bombers! Verdict is in, Judge has spoken!
Lol andy, just havin fun, keep it up...
Roywhite That Met game was funny yesterday. The third string catcher had to pitch. They were teeing off on him.
Hell of a ceremony at Derek Jeter Day today! He deserved every minute of it. Hats off to #2 The Captain!
Not necessarily. If The Mets had taken the $6M they owed him in 2000 and invested it with only a 7% annual return, they would have had $12M in the bank before he saw his first paycheck in 2010. The $30M in total payments he will receive is a lot less than the $65M or so that the initial $6M would have realized over 35 years at 7%. So, while it looks like a ridiculous deal on the surface, it wasn't that bad... certainly not Mike Hampton bad, lol.
It's an awesome deal for Bonilla because all he has to do is sit on his ass. He did nothing for it.
I've heard John Sterling say "downtown goes Frazier" using a Howard Cosell impersonation exactly once. I'm already sick of it, lol.
Whip "I refuse to watch any games just because of them."
How can you? They are on the radio....
Clancy I'm a life long fan, they never did tv. Maybe appeared on tv but never called the game. And I think its funny, its a game, a boring game (which I love) and he brings levity. Sue on the other hand can go.
P.S. He does need new glasses his long ball calls are awful.
I like former Oriole Ken Singleton but otherwise, the O's telecasts on MASN are much, much better. Thank goodness for DirecTV. And the Mets' telecasts are better, too. Ron Darling is a tremendous analyst.
Old Gent 
HEREINTOWN That was the best Derby in awhile. With Sanchez and Judge, Yank offense will continue to be good in the second half.
In 301 ABs, Judge has 109 strikeouts and 99 hits. That's better than .500 for batted balls in play. One would expect his strikeout ratio to remain the same and his BBIP ratio to regress to the mean. If you have him in fantasy, the time to sell is now, IMO.
Eh, apparently there are a few other variables involved in the BABIP equation as Judge is "only" listed at .429 in that stat. I still say sell high, lol.
YTF is A-Roid interviewing players on the field between innings? This is ridiculous. No one but actual players should be between the lines during the game. If this was 1975, Pete Rose would have punched him in the face.
I agree and you need to be in uniform to enter the playing field. Which is why all these old geezer managers look like idiot little boys all dressed up. LMAO
Agree ianimal, this is getting ridiculous. Just let us watch the dann game. Enough of the b's.
kb2755 Oh ugh!
Pinada down n out for Tommy John. NY injury bug has no cure.
Garrett Cooper picked up to play 1st for NY Yanks. Not to be confused with Gary Cooper at 1st in Pride of Yanks.
Pirates have won 8 out of their last 10 to get within three games of .500 and within 5 games in the loss column of 1st place in the division.
Marte comes off of suspension today and they have a chance to pick up another game on the Brew Crew at PNC Park tonight.... Let's Go, Bucs.
If they don't make a run between now and the trade deadline, I think it's "goodbye, Cutch", and I'd much rather see him stay a Pirate for life.
McCutchen has probably started his decline phase. You really want your team giving him a 6 or 7 year deal in his early 30's? It rarely works out for the team who makes those deals.
I'd rather give Cutch 6 years at $17.5M than Cespedes 4 years at $27.5.... how's that working out?
None of the deals the Mets make are good because their training staff is the biggest joke in professional sports...
Raise the Jolly Roger!!!! Big comeback win over Milwaukee from 3 runs down. Clinch the series win after winning B2B series against the Cubbies and Redbirds. Chance for the sweep tomorrow and getting within 3 games in the loss column. LGB!!!!
Good riddance Tyler Clippard! Yanks make a deal with Chicago and get Frazier, Robertson and Kahnle. White Sox get Clippard and 3 minor leaguers.
http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/96772/self-proclaimed-winners-yankees-believe-theyre-better-for-the-white-sox-trade
Great... more opportunities for John Sterling to do his crappy Howard Cosell impersonation....
Mets trade Duda for a pitching prospect ... a guy who throws in the high 90s and has done real well in the minors. The O's tried to get the guy but Tampa didn't want to help a division rival.
Has Daniel Murphy been doing some hitting or what? He's been nothing less than sensational.
I like the Duda trade. No way was he part of the future.
Letting Murphy go was a mistake. He's also signed at a bargain for the production he is putting up. He's averaged around 2 wins above replacement for his career. Last year he was over 4. Meanwhile his replacement Neil Walker can't even stay on the field.
RIP Lee May, "The Big Bopper." A big hitter for Cincinnati, Houston, and the Orioles. Getting him was one of the best trades the O's ever made, almost as good as the trades when they got Frank Robinson... Ken Singleton...
The Trade deadline has passed. Sonny Gray from the A's to the Yankees; Tony Watson from the Pirates to the Dodgers. Fairly quiet final afternoon.
https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/07/31/mlb-trade-deadline-tracker-sonny-gray-yu-darvish
World Series ring from the Chicago Cubs to Steve Bartman... classy move, IMO.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-world-series-steve-bartman-20170731-story.html
RIP, Dutch...
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20269993/darren-daulton-former-philadelphia-phillies-catcher-dies-55
Baylor was a tremendously exciting player with the Orioles, with base stealing speed and home run power. He had a 15-for-19 spree over a five-game stretch while the O's took over first place in a late season drive, including hits in eight consecutive at bats. Was nicknamed Groove with good reason. Got traded to the A's a week before the 1976 season for Reggie Jackson (y'all have probably heard of that guy). Something I appreciate as an O's fan, he batted .300 or better in all five of his minor league seasons. Was honored as Minor League Player of the Year by the Sporting News in 1970 for his 127 runs scored and 107 RBI (along with 26 stolen bases) in 140 games at Triple-A Rochester. Because the World Champion O's had no roster room for him, he had to go back to Triple-A and bat over .300 and score over 100 runs again. He never complained about it. RIP Groove.
If you were going to have a nickname in the '70s, you could do a lot worse than "Groove". Thanks for the anecdotes, Andy. I always liked Don Baylor, although my memories of him are more managerial than player, I do remember him playing for the Yanks and Boston in the '80s.
Dutch Daulton always reminded me of Tom Berenger's character in Major League. Gutsy backstop who fought through knee pain to get the job done when it counted...
"Dutch Daulton always reminded me of Tom Berenger's character in Major League. Gutsy backstop who fought through knee pain to get the job done when it counted..."
So very true.
When Don Baylor was asked to compare Earl Weaver and Billy Martin's arguments with umpires, since he played for both, Baylor said in print that Weaver was all theatrics, intended to motivate the team and keep an important player from getting the heave-ho ... Martin was really nasty and angry, had anger management issues.
Yes, Dutch Daulton was a real life Jake Taylor. Some of those characters' personalities were taken from real players ... manager Lou Brown was like Tommy Lasorda and people who knew Paul Blair said Willie Mays Hayes acted and chattered just like him (Blair grew up in inner city LA). Had the pleasure of meeting Daulton at a fundraiser in Bethlehem to help kids from poor families go to college, Daulton had a heart as well as a sense of humor.
Remember the time Dick Allen (known as Richie in his first incarnation as a Phillie) spoke at a United Way event in Allentown. He gets up there and says, "first of all, I'd like to thank y'all for naming your town after me...) most of the crowd didn't react right away, and then you heard a collective groan ... it all got better after that :-D
They should name it in honor of E.T. The Extraterrestrial -- he always longed to go home :-D
http://www.espn.com/mlb/team/stats/pitching/_/name/nym/cat/gamesStarted/order/true
The Mets starting pitcher ERA's have to be among the worst for any team in the history of the MLB. They are unwatchable as a team. Sandy has his work cut out for him this offseason...
"Didi Gregorious makes the Yankees' fans euphorious.. yes, in didi ..." ... John Sterling today.
Star light, star bright, Starlin just hit that with all his might! Starlin is ...
The Yankees are playing for their playoff lives right now. So far so good. This game is almost 3 hours in and it's only the 6th inning! Ugh!
Heck of a job by the Yankees bullpen last night. Cleveland is going to be a bear though.
MK 
justwondering I bet Joe Girardi is relieved. His managing in Game 2 could have cost them the series.
Nice pitched game last night. Bad result. Wish the games didn’t take nearly 4hrs to play, killin me.
Houston pitchers have the best strikeout rate in the A.L. so not surprised by the strikeouts. In game and game to game adjustments may help but it was going to be an uphill battle for any team against Houston this year.
NJSkyWatcher RIP Doc Halladay
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/07/sport/roy-halladay-killed-florida-plane-crash/index.html
I'm heartbroken hearing the news of Doc's passing. I had the pleasure of seeing a very young Halladay pitch up in Toronto back in 2001. He had some real good stuff. That great no-hitter in the playoffs and the perfect game were priceless. May he RIP.
Aaron Judge was unanimously named AL Rookie of the Year. Last Yankee to get the honor was Derek Jeter in 1996.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-awards-aaron-judge-unanimously-named-2017-al-rookie-of-the-year/
Judge had a phenomenal rookie season....i don't see him going anywhere but down from here. He's already 25, and unless he can curb his horrendous strikeout habit, he'll be nothing more than a glorified Adam Dunn...
Localchef Teams will be making adjustments next season. He'll have to adjust as well or he will struggle.
Looks like Stanton to the Yanks. Pending his approval. Interesting... as they already have a crowded outfield. But can't deny his bat in the lineup alongside Judge. Scary!
No way Stanton to the Yanks happens. Ellsbury's contract is 63 million for the next three years. The Marlins won't take that contract as they want to be under 50 million total. The Yanks want to be under the 197 million cap for the luxury tax. Can't have Stanton and Ellsbury on the team for that to happen. No one wants to take on that 63 million for Ellsbury especially the Marlins. It is a pipe dream that sports writers are running with just because it's nice to dream.
Much to amazement this looks like it is happening. I am overjoyed at the prospect of a lineup with Sanchez, Judge, and Stanton. I hope they can find some cheap good pitching to take advantage of the run scoring powerhouse they are building.
Awesome deal for the Yankees! I like the choice of Aaron Boone as manager as well.
Curious how their going to have the outfield. Stanton in right, Judge in left, Hicks and Gardner split center? DH Stanton full time?
Hopefully they can find someone to take Ellsbury, and then trade Frazier possibly for pitching.
This reminds me of 1965, when Christmas came early for Orioles' fans --- we got Frank Robinson. All he did was win the triple crown and we won the series for the first time, and we got to the series four out of six years. Oh yeah, some kid with a hard fastball named Jim Palmer was a rookie. That helped, too :-D
Outfield will be the same as last year. Ellsbury and Stanton (everyday DH) are bench players, filling in several times a week I bet. Stanton is not a very good fielder, think Canseco. No spot for Frazier at all, a nice piece to have in the minors but I bet they move him.
trekster3~ Metsman, I was talking about the Yanks prospect/rookie Clint Frazier, not Todd.
Stanton has a great arm and plays right field well. What's with the Marlins? They traded Miggy Cabrera and now Stanton ... two future Hall of Famers, two of the all-time hitters. Jeter has gone from big market megastar to small market mentality owner ... how the mighty have fallen!
You knew the Marlins were going to unload him as he got into the years where his contact is more per year.
Come on you all know keeping a huge contract like that is no way to restart the rebuild. Its the first step to do it right. Yougsters will come, farm system, maybe fill thise empty seats, destroy that awful display in center get a better logo for the hats.
Theres a new sheriff in town.
"I'm fairly certain that Derek Jeter knows what he is doing."
If we were talking about playing shortstop or dating supermodels, I'd agree with you. But, I think the jury is still out on whether he will be an effective owner/CEO of a small/mid-market baseball team.
Interesting:
https://deadspin.com/giancarlo-stanton-acknowledges-that-the-marlins-are-a-c-1821193922
Only time will tell, questionable so far. Hope Jeter does well.
"I'm fairly certain that Derek Jeter knows what he is doing."
If Derek has shown anything in the time since he has taken over the Marlins, it's that he does NOT know what he's doing. destroyed a relationship with your NL MVP and then had to trade him for peanuts. wait until they offload the rest of the talent on their team (Yelich, Ozuna, etc.) for nothing. long rebuild starts now...
UserFriendly Who's going to buy season tickets? Big loss of revenue coming up in a market that has been struggling to get fans into the seats even when they have had good years. The Angels need to rebuild, but they aren't trading Mike Trout!
Seems that Doc had some drugs in his system when he died.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/01/19/autopsy-roy-halladay-died-blunt-force-trauma-had-morphine-system-during-plane-crash/1049801001/
Commenting is no longer available.