2020-2021 Hot Stove League (1 Viewer)

[lancer]

The NL East has not lived up to the pre-season hype in terms of powerful, winning teams, but it has lived up to the hype in terms of being the most hotly contested division in MLB. As of this AM, all 5 teams are within 3.5 games of each other. No other division is even close to being so competitive between all it's teams. The AL East and the NL West both have great races between 3 or 4 teams but the second division teams are all but DOA in those divisions. I expect someone in the NL East, probably 2 or 3 teams, will eventually start to separate, but I also expect the dogfight for the title to continue to the last day among those 2 or 3 teams. Based on what I've seen and current rosters, I think the Nats and Miami might be the also rans, but hope never dies and 2019 keeps running through my head. However, 2021 is not 2019 and I just don't believe the Nats have the pitching or hitting to stay in it. We'll see. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

Right now, the Mets are trying to weather the injury bug, with seven of the eight position players who started the season on the IL and several starting pitchers also on the IL. They are fortunate that no other team in the Division has caught fire.

 

[sammy719]

My O's gave it all they had for about a month and a half, sinking faster then the Titanic...oh well, at least we had a no hitter by Means....gonna be a long hot Summer.

 

[lancer]

My O's gave it all they had for about a month and a half, sinking faster then the Titanic...oh well, at least we had a no hitter by Means....gonna be a long hot Summer.

O's have some decent position players but the starting pitching needs help. Means is the only consistent SP right now, with the other 4 SP's having a combined ERA of about 6. Not gonna get it done. Mancini, Galvis, Mullins, and Santander give them some punch but it's all about the pitching. -- Al

 

[Panzer ace]

I absolutely loved the recent hypocrisy showed by the New York fans when the Astros visited Yankee Stadium.

Those “fans” attacked any and every aspect that played a part in Houston’s cheating scandal.

Except Gerrit Cole, who played for those Astros.......

 

[Panzer ace]

The Giants and Dodgers are tied at 31-20.

I am glad to see that one of MLB’s greatest rivalries is still going strong.

 

[lancer]

The Giants and Dodgers are tied at 31-20.

I am glad to see that one of MLB’s greatest rivalries is still going strong.

I have been watching and enjoying it as well. Surprised by Gausman, and pleased to see him doing so well. -- Al

 

[lancer]

The O's early season bubble has burst and with it Matt Harvey's good start to the season has evaporated. After starting the season 3-1 for the O's, Harvey lost his 5th straight decision today. He is having real problems with pitch location. In his last 4 starts he has gone a total of 13.2 innings, yielding 29 hits and 24 earned runs. His record now stands at 3-6 with a 6.84 ERA. I don't see him being pulled from the rotation, not soon anyway, the O's simply don't have anyone to replace him, but he won't last too much longer with the numbers he's putting up. Too bad as I really wanted to see him succeed, both for him and the O's. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe he could reinvent himself as a reliever.

 

[Panzer ace]

Pitchers like Harvey continually prove why I love baseball. As a fan I can’t help but wonder where his last career stop will be.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a middle reliever on a World Series team somewhere n the near future......

 

[sammy719]

13 losses in a row....let's go O's only 8 more to tie the 21 losses in 2009!!! We can do it!!!

 

[lancer]

13 losses in a row....let's go O's only 8 more to tie the 21 losses in 2009!!! We can do it!!!

Gee, I hope not.:tongue: I just can't figure the O's out. They aren't, or at least, don't appear to be as bad as they are playing. They have some good position players and some decent bullpen arms. The trouble is the SP where only LHP John Means is getting the job done. He has 7 of the O's 12 QS and is 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA. The other starters are a combined 6-22 with an ERA of about 6.50ish. Kind of a recipe for long losing streaks. I believe Tom Petty wrote a song about the O's called Free Fallin'. It fits.:rolleyes2: -- Al

 

[lancer]

Gee, I hope not.:tongue: I just can't figure the O's out. They aren't, or at least, don't appear to be as bad as they are playing. They have some good position players and some decent bullpen arms. The trouble is the SP where only LHP John Means is getting the job done. He has 7 of the O's 12 QS and is 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA. The other starters are a combined 6-22 with an ERA of about 6.50ish. Kind of a recipe for long losing streaks. I believe Tom Petty wrote a song about the O's called Free Fallin'. It fits.:rolleyes2: -- Al

As bad as the O's SP's have been, they are not entirely to blame. Jorge Lopez, a RHP SP for the O's, is 1-6 with a 5.28 ERA, hasn't been great, but he has had NO support. He has started 11 games and in 10 of those the O's have scored 1 or fewer runs (0 runs 4 times) while he was the pitcher of record. I don't care how well you pitch, without run support you cannot win. The one game Lopez won, the O's scored 5 runs to win 5-2. -- Al

 

[Panzer ace]

Jacob deGrom is ridiculously good.

He is batting .450 but wait.....

He has a qualified ERA of .71, the lowest by a qualifying pitcher since 1964, but wait....

His fastball averaged 100 mph in his last win......

 

[Panzer ace]

With just over 1/3 of the season complete the Giants are still in 1st in the NL West.

I’d like to pound my chest and say I knew it all along, but there is no way anyone saw this coming.

 

[lancer]

With just over 1/3 of the season complete the Giants are still in 1st in the NL West.

I’d like to pound my chest and say I knew it all along, but there is no way anyone saw this coming.

Giants have been incredible. On the flip side are the Nats. I have to say that I did see the current results coming. I thought last place was a distinct possibility in the loaded NL East. The Nats season was built around a wing and a prayer. The wing being that the pitching would hold up, the prayer being that all the bargain basement signings would work out. Well, neither has happened. The SP has been a disaster with only Scherzer holding his end up. Corbin has been largely ineffective, Lester got a late start to the season and is still winless, Strasburg is on the IL for the second time and has only started 5 games, and the stopgap starters are only 5-9. The signings of the position players that the Nats were depending on, Schwarber and Bell, after miserable starts, are only now starting to hit a little. Soto got off to a slow start, leaving Turner to carry the load so the last place position that the Nats find themselves in is hardly a shock. Still time to turn things, but the SP is a HUGE question mark and looks to be rather a difficult fix. -- Al

 

[Panzer ace]

Giants have been incredible. On the flip side are the Nats. I have to say that I did see the current results coming. I thought last place was a distinct possibility in the loaded NL East. The Nats season was built around a wing and a prayer. The wing being that the pitching would hold up, the prayer being that all the bargain basement signings would work out. Well, neither has happened. The SP has been a disaster with only Scherzer holding his end up. Corbin has been largely ineffective, Lester got a late start to the season and is still winless, Strasburg is on the IL for the second time and has only started 5 games, and the stopgap starters are only 5-9. The signings of the position players that the Nats were depending on, Schwarber and Bell, after miserable starts, are only now starting to hit a little. Soto got off to a slow start, leaving Turner to carry the load so the last place position that the Nats find themselves in is hardly a shock. Still time to turn things, but the SP is a HUGE question mark and looks to be rather a difficult fix. -- Al

That huge contract that they gave Strasburg is going to effect them for years.

I wonder if they will resign Soto?

 

[mikemiller1955]

went to the game yesterday with some buddies...
hoped Houston could sweep the 4 game series over the Red Sox...
but lost 5-1 which was almost a shutout til the 9th inning when they squeaked out their solo run...
still....happy to take 3 out of 4...
good crowd for a Thursday day game...
sat behind the Boston dugout...
lots of Boston fans sitting around us...
guy sitting behind me with his wife and 2 children was a big Boston fan...
his little son and daughter were dressed in Astro orange wearing Altuve and Bregman jerseys and pink and white Astros hats...
him and his wife decked out in Boston gear...
a family divided...lol...but dad was cool with it...no hate from him on his kid's choice...
real nice guy and a very knowledgeable Red Sox and baseball fan...

 

[lancer]

That huge contract that they gave Strasburg is going to effect them for years.

I wonder if they will resign Soto?

All the fan sites in DC continually harp on this aspect, to sign Soto now, along with Turner. Fans are still ticked off that Harper left (at least some fans are) and a whole lot more are still angry over Rendon leaving, blaming the huge Strasburg contract, feeling the money should have gone to Rendon. Truth is, Rendon was gone, didn't want to stay in DC, wanted Left coast sunshine for his family and future, but the fans are angry anyway. If Soto and Turner get away there could be civil unrest in Nats land. :rolleyes2: We shall see... -- Al

 

[lancer]

went to the game yesterday with some buddies...
hoped Houston could sweep the 4 game series over the Red Sox...
but lost 5-1 which was almost a shutout til the 9th inning when they squeaked out their solo run...
still....happy to take 3 out of 4...
good crowd for a Thursday day game...
sat behind the Boston dugout...
lots of Boston fans sitting around us...
guy sitting behind me with his wife and 2 children was a big Boston fan...
his little son and daughter were dressed in Astro orange wearing Altuve and Bregman jerseys and pink and white Astros hats...
him and his wife decked out in Boston gear...
a family divided...lol...but dad was cool with it...no hate from him on his kid's choice...
real nice guy and a very knowledgeable Red Sox and baseball fan...

Great to see you getting to the games, Mike, and it's great to see things returning to normal at MLB games. Real crowds making real noise. Never cared for the cardboard cutout crowd, they were just too stiff... -- Al