# Baseball 2021



## jeb6294 (Apr 5, 2021)

Back at the ballpark for another season. Definitely a lot nicer with fans, albeit limited, back in the stadium. GABP has people situated in pods this year so "ungrouped" people aren't sitting together. Technically, people are supposed to be wearing their masks at all times but that went out the window real fast. At one point I looked up at the section of seats behind me and I saw 3 people actually wearing their masks. Apparently somebody complained to somebody else at some point so we told the powers that be, we can either do our jobs and make sure the players stay safe or we can be the mask police but they're both full time jobs so we can't do both. We decided that we'd say something if people were getting up and around, but since they were sitting with their own groups, to let it go if they were sitting.

On a positive note, I got to watch the best Opening Day in America from the swanky seats. Second game I was back down in the tunnel so I missed the "extracurricular activities" between the teams and had to watch the replay at home. Yesterday was back down in the tunnel protecting the visiting team (Cardinals) from the forces of evil, and since it was a Sunday game, ended up getting some of their leftovers from breakfast.


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## mudpuppy (Apr 5, 2021)

Baseball is back!

And Michigan now has legal online sports betting. This could be bad--but so far I'm in the black.


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## leggo PE (Apr 6, 2021)

Yay baseball!

@jeb6294, I have always thought that it is so cool that you work security for the Reds. You have some very interesting perspective into the game because of it!

The Giants are playing the Padres right now. They managed to squeak out a win, 3-2, against them yesterday. Big bummer for the Padres is Tatis Jr. going down in the 3rd inning on an incredible overswing on strike three, where it looked like he overextended and apparently partially dislocated his left shoulder. It’s a real bummer to see anyone get hurt, and especially so when he’s one of the young stars of the game.


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## jeb6294 (Apr 21, 2021)

So, first of all, snow at the end of April is bullshit. Unfortunately it started as pouring rain while the Reds/Diamondbacks were in the top of the 8th inning. If they'd stopped it half an inning sooner, between innings, then they may have called it but since they didn't so they waited forever to decide anything.

After a while some of the powers that be were down in the tunnel trying to decide what was going to happen and we told them, "yeah, uh, half the Diamondbacks already left to go back to the hotel."

Ran into some of the Diamondback players who were still there on my way out. They *were not* happy because none of them brought enough clothes. Told them that, in their defense, we don't usually get snow the end of April.


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## leggo PE (Apr 21, 2021)

But, they are able to check the weather before arriving? Ha, sorry. I saw it was snowing in my former state of inhabitance, Vermont, as well. But that's not totally abnormal there, so I didn't think that much of it.

Hey, baseball! It's still happening! Yay! Only a few instances of COVID, which was absolutely to be expected, I guess.


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## jeb6294 (Apr 21, 2021)

Usually when they do a road trip that far from home, they string together several series in cities in a similar region. I’m not sure where else they were, but I do know they go back to AZ after the game tomorrow so we were the end of their road trip. Could be they were far enough out that the weather report wasn’t right yet or they may not have put much thought into it and just went on what the weather is usually like in Cindy at the end of April.


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## jeb6294 (Apr 21, 2021)

Also, just got word that capacity is being bumped up too. Only from 30% to 40%, but at least it’s something.

For all the ranting and raving people were doing about playing their baseball to a full house, have there been any spikes in Texas?


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## leggo PE (Apr 26, 2021)

Of course! For as much as I watch baseball (which is a lot), I totally forgot that yeah, these people may have been traveling for a week or so before hand.

Also, I haven’t heard of any spikes in Texas, but I haven’t exactly been following Covid anything in Texas either.


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## jeb6294 (May 19, 2021)

Got a bonus last night. One of the not-so-great spots is family parking. Basically a section of the parking garage reserved for players’ families to park when they come to games. Boring, but not gonna lie, the scenery is not bad when the wives show up. I’ve only had to work there once before this season, but I remembered one of the guys there last night from the first time I worked there because he’s the father of one of our new pitchers (Tejay Antone) who is a good one. Talked to him for a few minutes and he headed upstairs. I saw him come back down so I went down to make sure something wasn’t wrong, but he just wanted to tell me appreciated the nice things I said and he’d gotten his son to sign one of his rookie cards and came back down to give it to me.


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## DLD PE (May 19, 2021)

jeb6294 said:


> Got a bonus last night. One of the not-so-great spots is family parking. Basically a section of the parking garage reserved for players’ families to park when they come to games. Boring, but not gonna lie, the scenery is not bad when the wives show up. I’ve only had to work there once before this season, but I remembered one of the guys there last night from the first time I worked there because he’s the father of one of our new pitchers (Tejay Antone) who is a good one. Talked to him for a few minutes and he headed upstairs. I saw him come back down so I went down to make sure something wasn’t wrong, but he just wanted to tell me appreciated the nice things I said and he’d gotten his son to sign one of his rookie cards and came back down to give it to me.


I went to a Reds game years ago in the 90s. Nice place!

I'm sure parking is a pain just about everywhere. Several years ago we paid $20 at Dodger Stadium, but that was before they lowered the price.


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## leggo PE (May 19, 2021)

Hey, my Giants are in town right now for you, jeb!

On a very general baseball note, ESPN had a pretty in-depth article about the rise of the strikeout in baseball over the recent decades. I didn’t read the whole article and skipped a few parts where it was just person after person saying pitchers right now are amazing and hitters have forgotten about hitting for contact and instead are only hitting for home runs and are okay striking out.

The main point I took away from it is that pitchers are pitching harder and have more pitches available to them than in the past, and batters’ haven’t been able to catch up, plus their general approach has changed (simplified, wait for a pitch to hit for a home run, even if it means you’re in an 0-2 count and then likely have to swing defensively). Makes for some boring baseball, in my opinion. I don’t think it’s the pitcher’s issue, kudos to them for being able to beat the batters. But the batters need to be able to combat this better!


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## jeb6294 (Jun 5, 2021)

GABP is back to full capacity, of course, our big re-opening day got postponed due to rain. And another sign that things are getting more back to normal, it looks like we’ll be getting closer to being back on the field next homestand. I got an email last night about the new procedures for security in the camera wells in the dugouts.

Not sure if we’ll actually be going on the field yet, back to wearing a mask for anyone in the dugout who isn’t a player, and they’re putting up plexiglass between the camera well and the actual dugout, but it’s a start.


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## jeb6294 (Jun 9, 2021)

They’ve got some ridiculous rules in place, but at least we’re back on the field...


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## DVINNY (Jun 11, 2021)

As a Pirates fan, I have absolutely nothing to be excited about.


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## jeb6294 (Jul 6, 2021)

Back on the field AND we don't have to wear masks anymore which is nice because being down in the dugout on a hot day with a mask on is like being waterboarded. Of course, coming out of the dugout, I almost ran over Joey Votto on TV for the world to see, but other than that....


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## leggo PE (Jul 15, 2021)

Second half, here we go!


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## djl PE (Jul 15, 2021)

Big braves fan here- disappointing season for several reasons, but losing Acuña is very sad. Going to see the boys play the Giants in August and hope for the best against the best record in baseball.


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## leggo PE (Jul 15, 2021)

Ohhhh @djl PE you’re talking to a lifelong, diehard, never giving up, super excited about her team’s record right now, SF GIANTS FAN right here!

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, man, I was bummed to here about Acuña’s injury. He’s a true superstar and while I never like seeing any player get hurt, it’s especially awful when it is one of the young stars. I hope for a speedy and full recovery for him!


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## NJHHEngineer P.E. (Jul 16, 2021)

djl PE said:


> Big braves fan here- disappointing season for several reasons, but losing Acuña is very sad. Going to see the boys play the Giants in August and hope for the best against the best record in baseball.


Right there with ya...Interesting to see why they turned to Joc...High Risk High Reward in my opinion. He's not having the best year so far but here's hoping he can fill the Acuna void.


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## jeb6294 (Jul 16, 2021)

leggo PE said:


> Second half, here we go!


Well, for some…stupid Yankees. Hopefully, MLB doesn’t start going back to some of the silly COVID rules that have finally been going away.


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## djl PE (Jul 16, 2021)

NJHHEngineer said:


> Right there with ya...Interesting to see why they turned to Joc...High Risk High Reward in my opinion. He's not having the best year so far but here's hoping he can fill the Acuna void.


I didn't expect the braves to be buyers this year... Joc seems like a huge douche but in the words of a friend of mine, "now he's OUR douche"


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## NJHHEngineer P.E. (Jul 16, 2021)

djl PE said:


> I didn't expect the braves to be buyers this year... Joc seems like a huge douche but in the words of a friend of mine, "now he's OUR douche"


He's our douche...and hopefully he's still got something left in the tank. He was a pretty solid offensive player for LA a few years back, although seems to be a shell of that now. Hope he can find that form again.

Although, giving up our #12 prospect, albeit a 1st baseman kinda sucks. I don't see Freeman going anywhere but he isn't getting any younger.


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## leggo PE (Jul 16, 2021)

I will forever hate Joc Pederson! Mostly because he’s a former Dodger and his face looks very punchable.


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## leggo PE (Jul 30, 2021)

What a freaking nuts trade deadline week this has been! I wasn’t exactly expecting fire sales from the Cubs and the Nats. It seems like at least half the teams in the MLB got in the action somehow! I can’t even keep track of it all.


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## DLD PE (Jul 30, 2021)

Dodgers acquired a decent pitcher and a shortstop.


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## djl PE (Oct 1, 2021)

Hello! The Braves have clinched their fourth straight NL Least title! Brew Crew beatdown loading... BOOM


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## leggo PE (Oct 1, 2021)

What else can I say besides… GIANTS GIANTS GIANTS! BEAT THE EVIL DODGERS!


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## DLD PE (Oct 1, 2021)

leggo PE said:


> What else can I say besides… GIANTS GIANTS GIANTS! BEAT THE EVIL DODGERS!




Evil Dodger fans (before going to a game in 2014) lol


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## djl PE (Oct 1, 2021)

The dodgers are doodoo!!!!


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## leggo PE (Oct 4, 2021)

And the Giants toppled the evil Doodoos from their prized spot as the NL West Champions! It took all 162 games, but they did it. It’s awesome.

I’m going to NLDS Game 1 on Friday!


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## DLD PE (Oct 4, 2021)

@leggo PE come play mafia with us!


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## leggo PE (Oct 4, 2021)

DuranDuran PE said:


> @leggo PE come play mafia with us!


Nope!


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## djl PE (Oct 12, 2021)

Y'all it's Joctober... Go braves!!!!!!


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## DLD PE (Oct 12, 2021)

Dodgers are down 1-2.


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## DLD PE (Oct 13, 2021)

Hey @leggo PE , did you get tickets for Game 5?


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## djl PE (Oct 13, 2021)

Trying to figure out if I want the dodgers to win so braves have home field or giants because I think they match up better with them...


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## leggo PE (Oct 13, 2021)

DuranDuran PE said:


> Hey @leggo PE , did you get tickets for Game 5?


Nope, I did not. I think that atmosphere might be a bit too intense for little old me. But if the Giants advance, I may skip tickets for the NLCS and hold out hope for the World Series.

Tomorrow’s gonna be crazy!!


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## djl PE (Oct 14, 2021)

The team the Braves want in the NLCS is ...


The Braves are waiting, but who should they want to be waiting for? Atlanta advanced to the National League Championship Series by defeating Milwaukee in Tuesday's Game 4 of the NL Division Series. The Braves will face one of the two best teams in baseball next -- either the Giants




www.mlb.com




It's settled. Im rooting for the dodgers tonight 
Sorry Leggo


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## leggo PE (Oct 14, 2021)

djl PE said:


> The team the Braves want in the NLCS is ...
> 
> 
> The Braves are waiting, but who should they want to be waiting for? Atlanta advanced to the National League Championship Series by defeating Milwaukee in Tuesday's Game 4 of the NL Division Series. The Braves will face one of the two best teams in baseball next -- either the Giants
> ...


I feel… betrayed!


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## djl PE (Oct 14, 2021)

Good news is for you is that it doesn't matter who I'm rooting for!


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## mudpuppy (Oct 14, 2021)

The Cubs were terrible this year with their lack of investment, so I'm rooting for the Giants... Kris Bryant got screwed by the Cubs and it'll be great to see a team that actually values him win the WS.


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## leggo PE (Oct 14, 2021)

mudpuppy said:


> The Cubs were terrible this year with their lack of investment, so I'm rooting for the Giants... Kris Bryant got screwed by the Cubs and it'll be great to see a team that actually values him win the WS.


I couldn’t believe it when the Giants landed Bryant. He did cool off a lot when he came here but he’s paying dividends here in the NLDS! I will be interested to see where he ends up next year. I have no clue if the Giants would try to resign him with the plethora of outfielders they have, but I think I’d like him to stay around.


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## DLD PE (Oct 14, 2021)

So Knebel is starting tonight for the Dodgers instead of Urias? WTF?


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## djl PE (Oct 15, 2021)

DuranDuran PE said:


> So Knebel is starting tonight for the Dodgers instead of Urias? WTF?


I didn't watch, but I'm guessing it was for righty/lefty matchups in the first? Then the switch to Urias? It worked!


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## DLD PE (Oct 15, 2021)

djl PE said:


> I didn't watch, but I'm guessing it was for righty/lefty matchups in the first? Then the switch to Urias? It worked!


Yes, which I didn't realize. Dang that game could have gone either way!


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## leggo PE (Oct 15, 2021)

Bummer of an end to that game, but oh well. The Baseball gods giveth and the baseball gods taketh. Truth be told, the Giants offense didn’t really show up this entire series, and they got to game 5 with stellar pitching (that was not that stellar in games 2 and 4). Well, they got the stellar start again (Webb!!) and I suppose Rogers’ plan with evil Knebel worked, though I’m not sure it was necessary considering how successful Urias was against the Giants in game 2. I’m not going to complain about the check swing call to end the game other than to say it was pretty much the worst ending to a game that truly mattered imaginable. I will forever remember the name Gabe Morales!


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## DLD PE (Oct 15, 2021)

leggo PE said:


> Bummer of an end to that game, but oh well. The Baseball gods giveth and the baseball gods taketh. Truth be told, the Giants offense didn’t really show up this entire series, and they got to game 5 with stellar pitching (that was not that stellar in games 2 and 4). Well, they got the stellar start again (Webb!!) and I suppose Rogers’ plan with evil Knebel worked, though I’m not sure it was necessary considering how successful Urias was against the Giants in game 2. I’m not going to complain about the check swing call to end the game other than to say it was pretty much the worst ending to a game that truly mattered imaginable. I will forever remember the name Gabe Morales!


Ditto. It was definitely a bad call, but bad enough for a series to end like that. 

As far as the Knebel/Urias thing, it just shows I know little about baseball lol.


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## leggo PE (Oct 15, 2021)

Well, the NLCS should be quite interesting for the two of you, @djl PE and @DuranDuran PE!

Also, rather than pitching matchups, I think the Braves probably wanted the Dodgers because it also gives them home field advantage! Which they wouldn’t have gotten had the Giants advanced. I hope it’s a competitive series and that the Braves offense gets lots of runs! Ditto for the the Red Sox vs. the Asterisks, as the cheaters are probably going to produce a lot on offense.


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## DLD PE (Oct 15, 2021)

My in-laws are Braves fans. Heck, a lot of people in the South are Braves fans. Should be exciting!


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## leggo PE (Oct 15, 2021)

DuranDuran PE said:


> My in-laws are Braves fans. Heck, a lot of people in the South are Braves fans. Should be exciting!


Honestly, when I was a kid, I watched a lot of Braves games (more than Giants games on tv, honestly) because they were always on TBS and, living in CA, the night games were always on at 4 pm when I was home from school doing homework. This was before every Giants game got televised, which has since been the standard now for a while now. I wouldn’t describe myself as a Braves fan per se, but I definitely got to see a lot of great players and baseball was (and generally still is) way more fun to watch than anything else. We would still listen to the Giants games on the radio that night!


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## DLD PE (Oct 16, 2021)

My in-laws already starting to cry....


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## djl PE (Oct 18, 2021)

I'm sure it hurts for dodgers fans today but I'll sell you what, I'm feeling great! 
Also, headed to watch MNF in Nashville tonight, it's a sports filled week for me! Titan up and chop on!!!!


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## DLD PE (Oct 18, 2021)

Yep it hurts but there's plenty of baseball left!


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## djl PE (Oct 18, 2021)

DuranDuran PE said:


> Yep it hurts but there's plenty of baseball left!


See : 2020 NLCS


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## djl PE (Oct 20, 2021)

Mookie Freakin Betts @DuranDuran PE


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## DLD PE (Oct 20, 2021)

djl PE said:


> Mookie Freakin Betts @DuranDuran PE


My 2 BILs were talking up a storm the whole game. Then Bellinger, then Betts. Then the texting got quiet lol.


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## DLD PE (Oct 20, 2021)




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## djl PE (Oct 20, 2021)

Hahahahaha

I knew the hat had to drop at some point... My sports life was going too well- Saturday braves walkoff / sunday braves walkoff / monday titans win MNF on 4th down stop while I sat in a suite at nissan stadium.... All good things come to an end. It's ok! As a friend of mine once said, 


DuranDuran PE said:


> plenty of baseball left!


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## DLD PE (Oct 20, 2021)

djl PE said:


> Hahahahaha
> 
> I knew the hat had to drop at some point... My sports life was going too well- Saturday braves walkoff / sunday braves walkoff / monday titans win MNF on 4th down stop while I sat in a suite at nissan stadium.... All good things come to an end. It's ok! As a friend of mine once said,


I wish I had been there! That was a great finish. I work 15 mins from the stadium. We were at the 2019 game vs the Bills. Titans lost 7-14 but it was a fun experience!


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## DLD PE (Oct 21, 2021)

I think after tonight, the Dodgers will be watching the rest of the playoffs on the sidelines!


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## djl PE (Oct 21, 2021)

DuranDuran PE said:


> I think after tonight, the Dodgers will be watching the rest of the playoffs on the sidelines!


I think so too.. But anything can happen! I refuse to draw definite conclusions after last year. 

Dave Roberts has been full of interesting pitching decisions this post- how do you feel about pitching decisions @DuranDuran PE ?


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## DLD PE (Oct 21, 2021)

djl PE said:


> I think so too.. But anything can happen! I refuse to draw definite conclusions after last year.
> 
> Dave Roberts has been full of interesting pitching decisions this post- how do you feel about pitching decisions @DuranDuran PE ?


I think the criticism toward Dave Roberts is unfair. Baseball often boils down to who's hot and who's not on a given day. The Dodgers could have easily been 2-0 after the first two games, and his decision with Urias made sense at the time. On the flip side, his gamble at the start of game 5 against the Giants seemed counter-intuitive to me, but it worked. Reporters get the benefit of criticizing after the fact.


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## leggo PE (Oct 21, 2021)

That’s the thing when a coach does something seen as untraditional/risky. If it works, the coach is a genius! If it backfires, the coach is panned by the reporters, who yes, do always have the benefit of writing and analyzing after the fact. So while hindsight can always be 20/20, in the moment it’s really hard to make heads or tails of any of these changes in pitchers until you see it pan out.


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## DLD PE (Oct 25, 2021)

Congrats to the Braves! Tough weekend in sports for me. Vols were 7 points away from Bama going into the 4th quarter, but 28 points later it was a 24-52 drudging by the Tide as expected. My only salvation was a convincing Titans win vs the Chiefs. 

Should be a good series between Braves and Astros!


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## djl PE (Oct 25, 2021)

Loved the braves win.. If I wasn't married already I would marry Tyler Matzek. He was amazing. 
I watched like 3 plays of the bama game because it was the same time as the braves.
Loved the titans win.. Chiefs are bad... long season though


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## leggo PE (Oct 25, 2021)

Nice win for the Braves! I’m intrigued to see how they play against the behemoth that are the Asterisks.


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## djl PE (Nov 3, 2021)

World Series champs.... Sounds amazing. Go Braves!!!!!


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## DLD PE (Nov 3, 2021)

Congrats to the Braves! They beat my Dodgers, but my hat is off to them. Happy for the Braves fans!


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## leggo PE (Nov 3, 2021)

Congrats to the Braves!! They stacked up very well agains the Asterisks, whom I would never like to see win a WS ever again (or really, in the WS at all, it’s kind of boring) even if I do like Dusty Baker.

It’s so fun to see the perceived underdog come out on top!


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## leggo PE (Nov 4, 2021)

Dang, Buster Posey is retiring. I'm very sad about it as a diehard Giants fan, but I give him props for stepping down after such an amazing season. He definitely could have kept going in the sense that any team would have likely wanted him, but I give him props for leaving on his own terms (plus he has two sets of twins!!). He's a class act of a baseball player, which I feel there aren't so many of these days. And I am selfishly happy that he's retiring as a forever Giant! I hope he sticks around the game in some capacity, especially if it means for the Giants somehow.


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## leggo PE (Dec 3, 2021)

As if the lockdown isn’t already disappointing enough (even if it was seen a mile away), look at this:









MLB, Rob Manfred under fire after explosive exposé


A new exposé proves that MLB deployed two different kinds of baseballs in 2021 without informing players of the changes that impacted their careers Major ...




fansided.com





Manfred has got to go! He is only interested in keeping the owners rich, and thus, happy.


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