2026 MLB thread - Play Ball!

[Jmass]

I did get to see the Rangers beat the Yankees the other day. Which was fun!
But the Rangers still can’t get their offense going…Cory Seager needs to get out of his funk!

Were you the guy that popped that Yankee's fan? That looked like it hurt!

[Jmass]

double post - sorry

[TrekStar]

I also like the ABS challenge, it’s quick and we need to get these balls and strikes called right.

Another thing about this year I like? The Braves are doing great!!! I wasn’t expecting them to be doing this well, what the heck happened to the Phillies and Mets?? not that I really care, go Bravos.

[shaunaconda]

Were you the guy that popped that Yankee's fan? That looked like it hurt!

Haha…no that was the game or two before I went.

[Jmass]

After passing the quarter turn for the season how's your team doing? What moves do they need to make to contend?
I'm cautiously peeking out of one eye waiting for the balloon to pop for the Cardinals. We fans were prepped pretty hard to be ready for a painful season. It's been a lot of fun so far but at some point I fear Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman will drift back to their previous years' stats. By now pitchers are figuring out Weatherholt so we'll see how he adapts. And the pitching with the exception of a few relievers has been surprising a lot of folks. Just too much stuff going right to sustain.

[MRP]

All Star Break is almost upon us and we're more than halfway through the season. Trade deadline is hovering on the horizon as well.

What did folks think of All Star Selections? Did all the deserving folk get in? Any snubs? How'd did your team do for selections?

For the Sox, I would have given Sonny Gray the nod over Ranger Suarez-not that Ranger wasn't deserving, but Gray is having a better year. Despite the Sox having a sub-par year overall, they did have 4 deserving players, but only 2 got selected initially (Contreras got picked a SA replacement when Vlad decided not to go).

The Sox have gotten hot heading towards the break after a dismal first half, but the AL has been so bad they were not really out of it. Only 2 teams seem to be truly out of it in the AL going into the break (Angels & Royals), but realistically I think there's too many teams the Sox would have to leap frog to get into a Wild Card spot even if they stay hot. I think there best bet is to be sellers on Chapman and Gray, and try to leverage that into a bat for the line up for next season (preferably an infielder or a catcher). Maybe Duran too if they get the right deal. They've been bit by the injury bug (Crochet, Story, Roman and now Early and possibly Suarez), they're going to lose Contreras for a week due to a suspension for throwing a batting helmet at a guy in a brawl, and they just have too many holes in their line up to take advantage of the great pitching they've been getting. Cedanne Rafaela & Wilyer Abreu have been solid and spectacular defensively. Durbin finally found his footing, but SS, 2B, catcher, LF and DH have all been unproductive spots in the line up. And with a bunch of rookie pitchers in the rotation, a 2nd half fade as they hit the rookie wall is a real concern. They can get by for half a season with Whitlock taking over for Chapman, and they're going to lose Gray at the end of the season anyways, so they should look to improve the roster using those trade chips while they can.

It will be interesting to see how the trade deadline plays out, especially with the labor dispute hanging over the '27 season. Who knows if there will even be a season next year.

-M

[Dan2Dan]

'My' Padres regressing to the mean. Had to win yesterday to hit .500. Been here so many times before. That said, .500 after 92 games is maybe 5-10 wins more than I anticipated in Spring Training at this stage. So there's that!

[Dan2Dan]

I'm shocked that 'my' Padres went on an unlikely late-season winning streak and made the playoffs, after having shed payroll last offseason and looking dead-in-the-water in July.

But my excitement is tempered by: (1) an expectation of another disappointingly quick playoff exit, (2) new owners already making clear their intention to shed more payroll this offseason, and (3) the Dodgers having won 100 games again this season and the NL West for 13 of the last 14 seasons. (Still under the boot of the Evil Empire with no real hope of Freedom!)

[TrekStar]

I’m rooting for the Padres to upset the Cubs, Braves to beat the Phillies. But of course the Dodgers probably buying themselves another World Series and a three peat.

In the American League, please no Yankees, but if Judge and Stanton play and with there good pitching, especially Cam Schlittler, there probably odds on favorite to get to the series.

I’m rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays, this is a fun put together team, just a group of guys playing together and having fun.

[MRP]

I'm not a Dodger fan by any means, and I get people are sick of them, but I'm tired of the owner's propaganda line of "the Dodgers are the villains" line and everyone wanting to punish them for doing too much. The problems with competitiveness in baseball don't stem from the Dodgers doing too much, it's from the other owners not doing enough. They'd rather pocket the revenue as profits for themselves than invest it into the success of their teams. Spending doesn't equal success-ask the Mets about that, and teams that don't spend are successful-asks the Brewers and the Rays about that.

The bad PR focused on the Dodgers is to get fans behind their side in the upcoming CBA so they can spend less and pocket more overall, it has nothing to do with the playing field not being level because of the Dodgers. Dodgers find talent because they have a good scouting department. They have good player development in their minor leagues because they invest in that. They have people in their front office who can identify talent to go out and get, either via trade using those players they identify and develop, or through free agency, because they invest in their front office. Other teams choose not to invest in their scouting and player development, even the teams who do spend like the Mets, spend on the wrong things and throw their money away on big free agents who are past their prime without being able to identify and develop talent in their own system. The teams that don't spend who succeed like the Rays and the Brewers are ones who did invest in identifying talent and developing talent, they just don't always keep that talent when they hit their prime because they have more talent on the way in the pipeline that is more cost effective for them.

Put in a salary cap to "hem the evil empire of the Dodgers in" and they're still going to identify more talent and develop more talent and be better than most teams because they invest in the infrastructure of their team and have built a solid organization top to bottom. Other owners don't do that, choosing to line their pockets rather than invest in improving their organization top to bottom.

A salary cap is not going to change that. It's not going to make better baseball. And it's not going to end the Dodger's dominance. It's going to give more money to owners, less to players, and result I'm more troubles with competitive balance in baseball because it does little to nothing to address the root cause of that, I.e. about 20-25 owners choosing not to spend on their teams, and in fact will make it easier for them to spend less on their teams overall while pocketing more. And in achieving that, they're probably going to cost fans most if not all of a baseball season next year. And when they come back and young athletes look at the fact they can't make the money in baseball, they'll start looking at other sports to focus on, which is already happening in a lot of areas, meaning baseball will suffer from talent flight and the on-field product will likely get worse over time. The next Aaron Judge might put down the bat to play basketball instead. There's already lots of reasons for athletes to choose basketball and football over baseball already (primary being no minor leagues having to earn your way up to the majors in those 2 where college is the "minor ;leagues" and does more to up your earning potential in those sports), this just give them more reasons to choose something else.

So enjoy the playoffs while you can. It's likely that last competitive major league baseball we'll see for a while, and the owners will laugh all the way to the bank while we do without and then get charged more for tickets, merch, and TV packages when they do get back because they have to make up their "shortfall"

But they've got good PR spin people selling to fans who are buying the greedy players and the evil empire Dodgers pablum and making it easier for the owners to recarve the pie in their favor without fixing the issues.

-M

[Jmass]

Dan - Happy that your Padres made it in. MRP - if I recall correctly you're a Red Sox fan so congratulations to you as well. The Cardinals did pretty well this season for a team that was predicted to be lousy. We got to watch the youngsters play regularly which was fun for the most part. So, after a season of essentially try-outs, they have a much clearer picture of what they're needing to compete. Hoping they will be a contender in the next year or so.
This owner/player battle gets old to me. Billionaires fighting with multi-millionaires about money I can't relate to. I think they're all greedy. I'd like to read what is being offered by each side. I'm interested in what sort of pay the minor leaguers and new major leaguers receive. If I'm not mistaken, a few years ago the number of minor league teams was reduced pretty drastically. Being a minor leaguer is rough. Unless things have changed those guys were not getting paid squat. I'm not crazy about capping anyone's salary. I wouldn't want it done to me. Sports budgeting when it comes to players is confusing. When players are young and putting up big numbers, they may not be making a huge salary. Owners for the most part are content to pay their contract without raises. Then they hit free agency in a few years, get signed to huge deals, and cripple their team's budget by the time they are in their 30's. I'd support an incentive driven league. Players receive a nice base salary (pun intended), and the remainder of their pay is based on the numbers they put up.
Old man gripe - I was watching the Phillies/Braves game today. I was shocked to see that Kyle Schwarber, considered one of baseball's premier players was hitting .232. I'll be so happy when launch angle is not a thing. I like watching balls in the gap, players flying around the bases, plays at the plate, etc. Old man gripe over.
Heading out for high school softball tonight. Daughter played and we enjoy going out to support her old team. For those that have never seen fastpitch softball, there's nothing soft about it. I'd put those girl's toughness and grit up with anyone.