General baseball thread 2009 season

[Misanthropic Contrarian]

Didn't see one, searched for one, didn't find one, so I started this one.

I guess the biggest news is that the Marlins will be getting a new retractable roofed stadium to be built on the site of the Orange Bowl in downtown Miami. The stadium is expected to cost $525,000,000 but with cost overruns and such I'm guessing the final cost is much closer to $800,000,000. As part of the agreement, the Marlins will change their name to Miami Marlins and will have to stay at the new stadium for the length of the lease which will be 25 years.

What's most interesting is that this actually was passed and will actually happen, given the current economic climate, and that the A's plans for a new stadium in Freemont are dead, dead, dead, and plans for a stadium for the 49ers and Raiders in the greater Oakland/San Francisco area are also dead.

[What Exit?]

That is good news for the Marlins and Baseball in Miami. Hopefully this will aid their perpetual attendance issues.

[Misanthropic Contrarian]

Looks like you can add Mike Piazza to the names of those who used roids while they were playing, but there seems to be a different twist to this. According to Jeff Pearlman's book, As the hundreds of players who turned to performance enhancing substances in the 1990's did their best to keep the media at arms length, Piazza took the opposite approach. According to sources,, when the subject was broached by reporters he trusted, Piazza fessed up, 'Sure, I use,' he told one. 'But in limited doses and not that often.' Whether or not that was Piazza's intent, the tactic was brilliant: By letting the media know, Piazza made the information that much harder to report.

The part I bolded makes absolutely no sense to me, except it shows that sports beat reporters get way too chummy with the athletes they cover.

Piazza won't be going in the HoF.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

...Whether or not that was Piazza's intent, the tactic was brilliant: By letting the media know, Piazza made the information that much harder to report.[/i]

The part I bolded makes absolutely no sense to me, except it shows that sports beat reporters get way too chummy with the athletes they cover.

Piazza won't be going in the HoF.

I think it indicates the fact that reporters don't want to report something 'everyone' already knows. They want to scoop everyone and report things no one knows. Anyway weren't steroids effectively legal in baseball in the 90's?

[silenus]

That is good news for the Marlins and Baseball in Miami. Hopefully this will aid their perpetual attendance issues.

It won't. That stadium will never get anywhere near capacity unless they rent it to Billy Graham on the off-season.

[Misanthropic Contrarian]

[quote=Laughing Lagomorph]

...Whether or not that was Piazza's intent, the tactic was brilliant: By letting the media know, Piazza made the information that much harder to report.[/i]

The part I bolded makes absolutely no sense to me, except it shows that sports beat reporters get way too chummy with the athletes they cover.

Piazza won't be going in the HoF.

I think it indicates the fact that reporters don't want to report something 'everyone' already knows. They want to scoop everyone and report things no one knows. Anyway weren't steroids effectively legal in baseball in the 90's?[/quote:2ri5c0fz]

Except that everyone didn't know. I never heard any rumors about Piazza and steroids except claims by reporters and such along the lines of "He's (Piazza) on of the good guys, the guys who don't juice."

[Misanthropic Contrarian]

That is good news for the Marlins and Baseball in Miami. Hopefully this will aid their perpetual attendance issues.

It won't. That stadium will never get anywhere near capacity unless they rent it to Billy Graham on the off-season.

They will be going from Dolphin Stadium, which is open roofed and seats 42,531 for baseball to the new stadium which will be retractable-roofed and seat 37,000. The huge part is the retractable roof, which means air-conditioning, which means people will be more likely to go to a game knowing they aren't going to have to sit under a glaring 92 degree sun with 75% humidity for 3 and a half hours.

[What Exit?]

They will be going from Dolphin Stadium, which is open roofed and seats 42,531 for baseball to the new stadium which will be retractable-roofed and seat 37,000. The huge part is the retractable roof, which means air-conditioning, which means people will be more likely to go to a game knowing they aren't going to have to sit under a glaring 92 degree sun with 75% humidity for 3 and a half hours.

Don't forget the daily rain delay being a thing of the past with the dome. A lot of fans complained about that too.

[hawkeyeop]

That is good news for the Marlins and Baseball in Miami. Hopefully this will aid their perpetual attendance issues.

Bad news for the taxpayers of Miami.

Looks like you can add Mike Piazza to the names of those who used roids while they were playing, but there seems to be a different twist to this. According to Jeff Pearlman's book, As the hundreds of players who turned to performance enhancing substances in the 1990's did their best to keep the media at arms length, Piazza took the opposite approach. According to sources,, when the subject was broached by reporters he trusted, Piazza fessed up, 'Sure, I use,' he told one. 'But in limited doses and not that often.' Whether or not that was Piazza's intent, the tactic was brilliant: By letting the media know, Piazza made the information that much harder to report.

If everyone knew wouldn't you think it would have come out by now?

[Misanthropic Contrarian]

That is good news for the Marlins and Baseball in Miami. Hopefully this will aid their perpetual attendance issues.

Bad news for the taxpayers of Miami.

Looks like you can add Mike Piazza to the names of those who used roids while they were playing, but there seems to be a different twist to this. According to Jeff Pearlman's book, As the hundreds of players who turned to performance enhancing substances in the 1990's did their best to keep the media at arms length, Piazza took the opposite approach. According to sources,, when the subject was broached by reporters he trusted, Piazza fessed up, 'Sure, I use,' he told one. 'But in limited doses and not that often.' Whether or not that was Piazza's intent, the tactic was brilliant: By letting the media know, Piazza made the information that much harder to report.

If everyone knew wouldn't you think it would have come out by now?

As far as the Marlins ballpark goes, possibly. This editorial argues that money for the ballpark would be better spent on upgrading the convention center.

As for Piazza and the news of his roid use coming out by now, you're forgetting the closed off nature of the major league clubhouse, where "what happens at the ballpark and in the clubhouse and training room, stays in the ballpark, clubhouse and training room." Reporters find out all kinds of stuff about ballplayers but don't write about it because if they do, they lose access not just to those players, but in many cases are banned from the ballpark entirely.

Mickey Mantle did shit that would make a porn star blush, but not a single reporter back in the day said dick about it.

[Misanthropic Contrarian]

Bernie Williams is apparently very interested in returning to the major leagues after his participation in the recent WBC, but he said that he wouldn't agree to working his way up through the minors or an independant team but would only accept going straight to the show.

In a word, no.

Williams appearance in the WBC was an embarrassment and he should be ashamed both for that and for his imagining that he could just jump back into The Show.

He's fat, no fuck that, he's an uber plumper. He's slow as shit, John Kruk could beat him around the bases, he can't throw, the list goes on.

Just shut the fuck up, file your retirement papers and go back to making shitty music.

Oh, and don't bother waiting for the call from the HoF, 'cause it's never going to come. You're yet another player whose status has been vastly overrated simply because you played for the Spanks.