Happy Opening Day

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Happy MLB Opening Day everybody!! Today is the first of 162 games for all of us baseball fans. Cleveland starts on the West coast tonight in Seattle, can't say I ever remember a 10:00 game on Opening Day.

Things are gonna look a lot different this year, pitch clock, no more defensive shifts, larger bases, extra inning ghost runners are now permanent, and every team will play every other team for the first time ever, greatly reducing games in our own divisions. Can't say that I really love any of these rules changes, but still, I am so happy to see baseball back, it seems like it has been a very, very long offseason. Cleveland has a tough act to follow up, the 2022 team was one of my favorite, most memorable seasons ever, with the youngest team in MLB somehow winning the Central Division and beating Tampa Bay before losing to the Yankees in a tough 5 game ALDS. Expectations are definitely high this year, can't wait to see how it all turns out!!

[Drago]

I'm still pretending last season didn't happen. At least, not last postseason.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

I definitely get it... every postseason that Cleveland has been a part of in my lifetime has eventually ended in heartbreak... last season included. We have an absolutely dreadful record in winner-take-all and elimination games. The Oscar Gonzalez home run was still an amazing memory for me though.

Great start to the season in Cleveland, 3-1 series win on the road in Seattle, who owned us last year!! Tonight is 3 games in Oakland and then it is time for Opening Day in Cleveland!!

[Pokemaster Ash]

I'll admit, I was skeptical of a lot of the rule changes they've been doing in recent years. However the pitch clock and not allowing the shift actually doesn't seem too bad. Still hate the idea of the ghost runner in extra innings, though, and I never want to see an automated strike zone. Kinda meh on the NL having the DH but not a huge deal.

I'll admit, I was rather hopeful for last postseason as well. The Cubs and White Sox didn't make it, but there were a lot of interesting teams in the running...until the World Series. Let's see what this year brings.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Wow, Tampa Bay still hasn't lost since Cleveland knocked them out of the playoffs last October. 12-0 now, with most of the wins being pretty one-sided.

So… my thoughts on the new rules:

-Bigger bases: stolen bases are definitely on the rise a little bit. So far though, I haven’t really noticed much difference. It hasn’t transformed non-base stealers into base stealers now, and the small ball that Cleveland tried to play doesnt really seem like it has caught on with most of the league yet, it still seems like the majority of players are still sticking with the “swing hard and hope you hit it” approach. Also… I seem to have already gotten used the the size of the bases, they no longer look like out of place XXL pizza boxes.

-Shift ban: Again, a little surprised, but it doesn’t feel like it has led to a huge increase in hits like I thought it would… I’m also surprised that teams haven’t tried a little more to beat this rule… I know the whole using a corner outfielder as an extra infielder is extremely risky, but I thought I might see teams playing their middle infielders as close the middle as possible, and setting them in motion as soon as the pitch was thrown. Hasn’t really been a thing. Still seems like defensive positioning is very effective at getting to the majority of grounders. Again, I wasn’t a fan of this, I don’t really love rules that tell teams how they can compete, to me, the only thing that matters is that the pitcher and catcher are in position, I couldn’t care less where the other 7 defenders are, that should be up to the team IMO.

I too, hope that we never have “robo-umps” or an automated strike zone.

-Pitch clock has probably been the biggest sore spot for me. Perhaps I’m a bit biased because one of our late inning relievers has been having problems with the pitch clock… but pace of the game never really bothered me… I mean, baseball games are usually the best part of my day, so I’ve never really been in a hurry to get it over with. It has had a huge effect in the overall experience too. When watching on TV or listening on the radio, there is almost no time for the talking that filled the “down time” in between pitches, and I do miss that. I’ve been to a game this year, and there were several problems with player’s walk up music not really getting off the ground or cut off at weird times. Of all the changes, I definitely would love to see this one go away the most… it feels so rushed, forced, and artificial IMO. The allure of baseball was that it was played without a clock… and now it is…

-New schedule: honestly, Interleague play has lost a lot of its luster, especially with the universal DH, and so much free agency movement and trading. It was fun seeing how the other league played and teams having to adjust to playing in the opposing league’s home park. With players moving to other teams so much now, it’s not as exciting playing the other league now, most of the time there is a lot of familiarity with the majority of the players even in the opposite leagues now. That being said, it’s not really exciting that every team plays every other team during the year… and the fact is, the World Series is always going to be a rematch of an earlier series from the regular season…

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Gonna be weird facing Cookie Carrasco tonight... Pitched for Cleveland for 11 seasons, I always thought he was going to be a lifetime Indian/Guardian... Always one of my favorites, and it was really emotional when we was fighting leukemia during the 2019 season... we got a lot of good players in that trade, but I hated seeing him traded away. Now Lindor on the other hand... so glad he is gone lol hope he goes hitless for the series

[Number1ChanseyFan]

So... the "first half" of the season wrapped up yesterday... definitely have been lots of surprises, not many division races are going to plan up to this point. New York and Boston are battling for last place in the AL East, Houston has been upstaged by the other Texas team. Atlanta has been amazing, but nobody expected Miami to be the team closest to putting pressure on them... although I can say that I've known for years how good Luis Arraez is... and even though he has fallen off the pace a bit in his quest for .400, he is helping make batting average a cool stat once again. NL West is very competitive, although surprisingly the Padres are not part of that competition... amazing how the spectacularly huge spending sprees by the Padres and Mets are not working out at all. Both Central divisions are extremely mediocre, Cincinnati has been a big surprise, and so has St. Louis, but in a much different way. I think this is the worst I have ever seen the AL Central in all my years watching baseball. For so many years, we were overlooked by the big money teams on the East and West Coast, even though Cleveland (and other Central teams) have produced lots of great teams and amazing players, we all never got the respect that we probably deserved... but wow... this year, there really isn't a good team in the division. I was really high on Cleveland after last year's success... and they have somehow managed to climb back to 1st place despite struggling ever since a good first week of the season. Minnesota has legit starting pitching, but a lot of awful hitting lives in this division. I am surprised how the White Sox have never found their stride... their last rebuild looked good on paper, and they have produced a lot of stars, but winning hasn't come together for them. Looks like either Cleveland or Minnesota is going to win this thing by default, although Chicago and Detroit could put themselves right back in the mix with a hot streak of a week or two... haven't heard many rumblings on what Cleveland intends to do at the trading deadline... I can't imagine trading anyone of value for a rental player, our team isn't good enough to think that they are one player away from being a legit World Series contender. I wouldn't be against trading a veteran or 2, especially if it gets us help for the coming years... even if it hurts our chances this year. As a small market team, we always have to balance the present with the future and keep a steady stream of talent flowing through our minor leagues.