Manfred: MLB expansion would require teams in eastern, mountain/pacific time zones

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/A ... -expansion

He also talks about realignment and other topics.

LOL...two teams playing in minor league parks...and we need more teams. What a joke. With MLB's economic disparity between teams, the league should be seriously talking about contracting.

Baseball could end up pricing itself out. The NFL only has a few home games a year so each one is special, baseball has tons of home games and the prices are beyond what a typically family of 4 can afford (maybe they go out one game a year).

And the fact that two teams will be playing in minor league parks is not a good look.

Well, to be fair Tampa's stadium was destroyed by a hurricane.

In true Minnesota Twins fashion they went dumpster diving for a first baseman.
They signed Mike Ford today. I am sure it will put them over the top.

Yeah, typical Twins move.
Hopefully that's their backup plan, but I wouldn't count on it.

One of the best MLB sites on the web. Cot's Baseball Contracts

https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/c ... tion/cots/

So if you get into the Twins spreadsheet, projected opening day payroll sits at 133 million, which is the tops in the division. I'm not going to go into every spreadsheet to get the exact figures, but it looks like it would rank about 17th in MLB. That's pretty much where they probably should be considering their market size. You have a problem with what their payroll is, then your beef is with MLB itself and the way the league has the financial system set up.

I will choose to be exasperated by my local team for my own knowledgeable reasons thanks.

gavin lux to the reds........the reds are a true sleeper, watch out for them this year.

it seems like nolan arenado is going to boston..........we'll see.

Mets announce they’ve agreed to terms on one-year contracts with all six of their arbitration eligible players:
- RHP Paul Blackburn
- RHP Tylor Megill
- LHP David Peterson
- OF Jose Siri: $2.4M
- OF Tyrone Taylor
- C Luis Torrens

RIP Bob Uecker a baseball icon.

RIP.

RIP, Bob. What a career.

I always knew him as the dad in Mr Belvedere. RIP

My two favourite Mets are now on board for 2025 (Winker and Manaea).

Rest easily, Bob.

This looks great, very inspired. The Cubs should be nicknamed "The Blues Brothers".

Sasaki signs with the Dodgers, and the Blue Jays again finish second or third on a key free agent target.

At this point, the way baseball players are treating Toronto as a simple negotiating tool, and not actually caring about their impact to the fan base of the city, it's becoming easier to stop caring about them as well. As free agents, I accept that they are free to do what they want, but as a fan, I'm free not to watch. And once Bichette and Guerrero do the exact same thing next off season, a whole lot of this town is going to be done with baseball

do blue jay players get paid in canadian money or U. S. money?

i believe that that it would make a massively huge difference.

All MLB contracts are in US Dollars. The most common reasons given, beyond I want to win a championship with the Dodgers:

1. I don't like living somewhere cold
2. I don't want to move my family to another country
3. Taxes are too high (8-20% higher, depending on the state)
4. Crossing the border once a weekend is a real hassle
5. Friends can see me play on TV
6. Better marketing opportunties in US

Objectively, I understand that, I even understand the desire to use Toronto's desperation to drive up your contract with the team you want to play for, but sooner or later, we're just going to stop caring if you come if all you want is to use us to make someone else jealous.

Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner for being elected into the Hall of Fame

Suzuki was a slam dunk, with only that 1 geezer gatekeeper keeping him from being unanimously elected. No doubt the same guy who kept Jeter from being unanimous and didn't vote for Ryan because his ERA was too high.
CC Sabathia was only the third lefty with 3,000 strikeouts, and is likely one of the last to get 250 wins as a starter. I'm not sure I'd have put him in first ballot, but he deserves to go in
Billy Wagner makes it in; the big knock against him was that he didn't have a lot of innings (903), but in more than 1/2 his appearances he won or saved the game for the Astros, and his metrics per inning are the best in the live ball era. It would have been nice if he'd hung on for a couple of years to reach 1,000 innings, but in terms of dominance, he was up there.

I fully expect Jones and Beltran to go in next year, as the only 50+ WAR player being added to the ballot is Cole Hamels, who I don't think of as a HOF player, and certainly not a first ballot guy. I also expect that when people take a closer look at Beurhle and Pettite when compared to Sabathia, they're gonna take a big jump. I don't think Pettite gets in though, since he's a PED guy.

I think the BBWAA are going to either have to ease up on the criteria for entry, go back in time to relook at legacy players, or accept that the hall is going to be inducting fewer players. As it stands currently, there are 12 50 WAR players still on the active ballot, 7 more who have retired, and only 16 active players that have hit that mark. And I know not all 35 of those players are going to get in. And I know that WAR isn't a be all stat, just a short hand. for a quick check.

list of all 50+ WAR players that can be voted in on the ballot once they're eligible