Offseason 2022-23 MLB Thread

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
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Apr 12, 2001
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I'm not crazy about the Twin Cities uniforms, but I like everything else. The home ones look especially clean.

The M hat kinda reminds me of the old Marlins cap, which I haven't decided if I like or not.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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May 5, 2017
2,494
I like that they're adopting the "Twin Cities", but no one should ever try to look more like the Marlins.

(I see they're also sticking with the short swoosh that underlines "win")
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
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Apr 12, 2001
24,536
Is the Twin Cities uniform their "City Connect" gear? If so, it might be the best City Connect uni yet.
I don't think that it is. I believe it's an alternate uniform.

I saw an image of that Twin City uniforms on UniWatch and apparently there is a cool patch on the left sleeve of two flags crossing with "M" and "StP" for Minneapolis and St. Paul. I liked that little detail, so I don't dislike that uniform as much as I did an hour ago.
 

Bozo Texino

still hates Dave Kerpen
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Jul 18, 2005
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If the Twins wanted an M logo for their hats why not just go back to the one you won two World Series with?
I don't like the new M logo at all. The TC logo is perfection - it's the only one they need.

The new jerseys are nice, though. The blue top looks great with both the home and away pants. I really like the piping on the pants.
 

E5 Yaz

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Passan reporting Twins send Gio Urshela to Angels / mlbtr
 

Yelling At Clouds

Post-darwinian
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Jul 19, 2005
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I can’t imagine the Padres have much cash to spend. They were trying to clear space at the deadline and I don’t really remember much money coming off their books this offseason
Clevinger, Manea, Profar, and Myers are all off the books now (plus Bell and Drury). You might still be right, though, I don’t entirely understand how they make it work but they’re always in the mix for basically everyone.
 

Minneapolis Millers

Wants you to please think of the Twins fans!
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Jul 15, 2005
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Twin Cities
As someone who goes to 15 Twins games/year… their new unis? Not. Gonna. Buy ‘em.

Boring. They’re throwing back to the championship 87-91 era, but that design period was awful. They could have done so much more with the star and Twin Cities….
 

Minneapolis Millers

Wants you to please think of the Twins fans!
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Jul 15, 2005
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Twin Cities
I'm not crazy about the Twin Cities uniforms, but I like everything else. The home ones look especially clean.

The M hat kinda reminds me of the old Marlins cap, which I haven't decided if I like or not.
The M on the hat is a different script than the M on the jersey which seems… off.

And the star? Why not just put a star over the I in Minnesota if you want that effect? (Minnesota is the “North Star” state, for those wondering.)

On the hat, they could have used a state outline plus a star for the Twin Cities as an alternate to the TC. (The M version is just weird. The all white TC option looks cheap.)
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
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Nov 4, 2007
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Are the Twin Cities just two large cities unusually close to one another or are they also architecturally similar or something else as well?
 

Minneapolis Millers

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Twin Cities
Are the Twin Cities just two large cities unusually close to one another or are they also architecturally similar or something else as well?
Fraternal twins separated by the Mississippi. St. Paul clings to its history, Minneapolis is more “modern.” St. Paul has government buildings, Minneapolis gets more private development.
 

Minneapolis Millers

Wants you to please think of the Twins fans!
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Jul 15, 2005
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Twin Cities
By update, I mean... Just say Twins, with the star, and highlighting “win” in the script by font or color. Make one or both of the Twins characters non-white.

(Although with cartoon characters, you might not be able to do mixed races, let alone gender. )

edit: just fyi, they do have this version as their iconic sign in center field: 57813
 
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Scoops Bolling

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Jun 19, 2007
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I can't figure out what happened to this guy. Superstar in 2019, non-tendered in 2022 at age 27.
His shoulder is fucked.

Marlins non-tender Brian Anderson. Primarily a 3B, but was played a lot in the OF last year. Steady 2-3 WAR player until last year, somewhat surprising that he was non-tendered but he could be a nice bargain on a make good deal for someone.
 

Marciano490

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Nov 4, 2007
62,312
His shoulder is fucked.

Marlins non-tender Brian Anderson. Primarily a 3B, but was played a lot in the OF last year. Steady 2-3 WAR player until last year, somewhat surprising that he was non-tendered but he could be a nice bargain on a make good deal for someone.
I know we’re spoiled, but it’s always surprising to me when modern medicine can’t “fix” something.
 

jon abbey

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BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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I can't figure out what happened to this guy. Superstar in 2019, non-tendered in 2022 at age 27.
In 2019, his MVP season, he had 47 homers and a slash line of .305/406/.629/1.035. He was in his age 23 season. He'd have been the ideal guy to offer one of those 10 year extensions to at a high (but not absurd) rate. I'm sure the Dodgers are happy they didn't do that with him.
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

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Clevinger, Manea, Profar, and Myers are all off the books now (plus Bell and Drury). You might still be right, though, I don’t entirely understand how they make it work but they’re always in the mix for basically everyone.
I think the Sox have their work cut out for them either way, it looks like a lot of the usual suspects have him targeted. I have my fingers crossed, he’s probably the player I want the Sox to sign most this offseason, but I’m ready to see him sign elsewhere
 

Sausage in Section 17

Poker Champ
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Mar 17, 2004
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I sometimes thought that I had never seen anyone swing as hard as Cody Bellinger. I hope he can salvage a career for himself, but at least he’s lucky enough that his 2019 MVP boosted his arbitration earnings up into the stratosphere, so in the worst case scenario he should have plenty to retire on at age 27.
 

jon abbey

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It came at different ages and different points in their career, but I think it's interesting that all three of Bellinger, Joey Gallo and Chris Davis were incredibly powerful lefty sluggers who were great for a few years and awful for a lot of years.

329 HRs for Gallo/Bellinger combined in their careers and both seem maybe offensively cooked in their twenties, tough sport.

I sometimes thought that I had never seen anyone swing as hard as Cody Bellinger.
This is true for Gallo too, can't be helping things in either case, plus both seem to have very little ability to tinker with their swings, either they run into one or (much more likely in recent years) they do not. Bellinger's max exit velocities have been down too though, he clearly needs to get healthier to have a chance to start hitting again.
 

Leather

given himself a skunk spot
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Jul 18, 2005
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Are the Twin Cities just two large cities unusually close to one another or are they also architecturally similar or something else as well?
they are one large “city” just with the quirk of them being under two mayors. The Mississippi is the dividing line for much of it, but in other areas (like up by the University of Minnesota which is in the city) there is no natural border. They just run into each other. I live in Minneapolis, but frequently drive 4 miles into St. Paul for errands because the stores are closer than their counterparts in Minneapolis.

it would be like if the actual cities of Cambridge and Boston were historically the same size and had roughly the same economic/political clout. Boston, with the bigger skyscrapers and most sports teams, would be Minneapolis. Cambridge, with a more residential vibe and Harvard, MIT, etc…would be St. Paul.

Edit: I see I didn’t really address your question; sorry. I misunderstood. As Minneapolis millers said, they have some differences in vibe. Minneapolis is the bigger economic engine and has the lakes and more modern expensive houses around those; St. Paul has Summit Ave (nicest strip of old houses like to governors mansion and F Scott Fitzgerald’s old place, in the cities) and the government campus, along with a more of laidback feel. There’s a half-hearted rivalry but it’s absurd given the social and practical overlap between the two cities. But at the same time there are some frustrating differences that come from having different mayors, police forces, etc. and we’re in different counties! It’s sort of bizarre.
 
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E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
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It’s my favorite non-new park. Saw Pedro there in 2002 with a $21.50 field box seat. Convenient driving from JeffC/Columbia/STL/Des Moines/Joplin/NWAR (and XC) and cheap hotels on I-70
I like the fountains. Affordable to go to. Good parking (other than a rare conflict with September Chiefs home game on Sunday or Monday or Thursday)

this seems like a cash grab. Yes there’s no entertainment/restaurant district walking distance but neither does the Toilet and some other parks. You can eat before and after in better restaurants than what this would have.

this should be all private money if they want to do it but it’s not
It’s a shame
We went to a game there in our cross country drive this summer. It isn’t far from town, lots of parking, and great sight lines with plenty of concessions and good views as you walk around the stadium.
I asked the biggest biggest Royals fan I know, Jeff Euston of Cot's Contracts, for his thoughts on the idea of a new stadium. Here's what he had to say:

I don't oppose the idea of a downtown ballpark. But public money covering 75 percent of the cost is ridiculous -- and that seems like where this is headed. The main reason this is happening is the owner wants it. It'll help his bottom line & boost franchise value. For $2 billion, that's not a good enough reason.

The project includes both a ballpark and entertainment and retail area similar to Atlanta's Truist Park and Battery district. Sherman's ownership group includes the largest construction company in town, and the family that owns it. He no doubt laid the groundwork for this as he put together his group to buy the team. The buzz is that Sherman would like it ready in time for the entertainment district to benefit from 2026 World Cup games here. ... Never mind that the downtown ballpark entertainment district will likely cannibalize the downtown basketball arena entertainment district that opened in 2007.

But Kauffman Stadium is not substandard, as KC's old Municipal Stadium was in the early Seventies. The seating capacity is more than adequate. Concourses, fan amenities and the team offices all were upgraded as part of a renovation 15 years ago. (The Royals contributed a whopping 12 percent of those renovation costs.) The current location has never been ideal, admittedly. But it works. The park is still beautiful and has stood the test of time.

Another problem is that KC also has to take care of the Chiefs. And the same is true there. Arrowhead is now a classic but we'll spend another $1.5 or $2 billion to build new. That's $4 billion total, more than triple the cost of our newly renovated airport -- which actually was substandard.

I'd say 30 percent of voters oppose the idea, in any form. Another 30 percent are cheerleaders who believe KC should give both teams whatever they want. And 40 percent don't know anything. A public financing plan probably will pass in low-turnout 2023 off-year elections. ... Meanwhile, KC's public transportation system remains laughable and local and state officials are busy banning books. These are our priorities, apparently.
 

Ganthem

a ray of sunshine
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Apr 7, 2022
914
I asked the biggest biggest Royals fan I know, Jeff Euston of Cot's Contracts, for his thoughts on the idea of a new stadium. Here's what he had to say:

I don't oppose the idea of a downtown ballpark. But public money covering 75 percent of the cost is ridiculous -- and that seems like where this is headed. The main reason this is happening is the owner wants it. It'll help his bottom line & boost franchise value. For $2 billion, that's not a good enough reason.

The project includes both a ballpark and entertainment and retail area similar to Atlanta's Truist Park and Battery district. Sherman's ownership group includes the largest construction company in town, and the family that owns it. He no doubt laid the groundwork for this as he put together his group to buy the team. The buzz is that Sherman would like it ready in time for the entertainment district to benefit from 2026 World Cup games here. ... Never mind that the downtown ballpark entertainment district will likely cannibalize the downtown basketball arena entertainment district that opened in 2007.

But Kauffman Stadium is not substandard, as KC's old Municipal Stadium was in the early Seventies. The seating capacity is more than adequate. Concourses, fan amenities and the team offices all were upgraded as part of a renovation 15 years ago. (The Royals contributed a whopping 12 percent of those renovation costs.) The current location has never been ideal, admittedly. But it works. The park is still beautiful and has stood the test of time.

Another problem is that KC also has to take care of the Chiefs. And the same is true there. Arrowhead is now a classic but we'll spend another $1.5 or $2 billion to build new. That's $4 billion total, more than triple the cost of our newly renovated airport -- which actually was substandard.

I'd say 30 percent of voters oppose the idea, in any form. Another 30 percent are cheerleaders who believe KC should give both teams whatever they want. And 40 percent don't know anything. A public financing plan probably will pass in low-turnout 2023 off-year elections. ... Meanwhile, KC's public transportation system remains laughable and local and state officials are busy banning books. These are our priorities, apparently.
It is unfortunate that there is not a lot that can be done to keep public funds from helping out billionaires. Obviously this is a much larger problem then just stadium financing, but stadium financing seems to really highlight how insane it is.
 

Tokyo Sox

Baka Gaijin
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Winter ball has the best fights, check out Asdrubal Cabrera go after this guy pimping and slow trotting his HR as he rounds first base...
I saw this a bunch on twitter over the weekend, mostly being presented the way you've done here, ie, in a positive light. I think it's absolute horseshit and I don't get, at all, why everyone thinks this is so cool. It's a cowardly sucker punch that could have ended the guy's career if he'd connected better. Cabrera should be thrown out of the league.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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I saw this a bunch on twitter over the weekend, mostly being presented the way you've done here, ie, in a positive light. I think it's absolute horseshit and I don't get, at all, why everyone thinks this is so cool. It's a cowardly sucker punch that could have ended the guy's career if he'd connected better. Cabrera should be thrown out of the league.
Strong agree. Would like to see Cabrera try this in the majors. (Actually, I don’t want to see him try it- am sure it won’t happen because it’s not accepted in the bigs, not sure why these leagues tolerate this).
 
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moondog80

heart is two sizes two small
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Sep 20, 2005
8,093
I saw this a bunch on twitter over the weekend, mostly being presented the way you've done here, ie, in a positive light. I think it's absolute horseshit and I don't get, at all, why everyone thinks this is so cool. It's a cowardly sucker punch that could have ended the guy's career if he'd connected better. Cabrera should be thrown out of the league.
100% this.