2025 San Francisco Giants Season Thread

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:

Originally posted by tl57:
Giants are tied to Japanese slugger Murakami.
I'd take it until the Dodgers take care of WS and will swoop in. Actually, believe it or not, I want them to win the WS. Those titles are nothing but fully purchased, meaningless and cheap. Cost a lot of money but the cheapest ones there are, only equaling to the Yankees who used to buy them the same way. At the same time, the entire league, except people in LA and Japan are up to their necks in embarrassing s**t pit. Let's see how many more titles LA scavengers have to win until something is done to turn baseball from the flea market bazaar and make it a sport again. I believe there is actually the quiet watch and whispers already towards the salary cap.

I believe there is no need for a salary cap. I just think this whole deferring of contracts is something that needs to be addressed, and will be.

I think there IS a need for a salary cap and A BIG need to address deferred contracts. Personally, I hope there is a lock out and these are both resolved. But they wont be

Well, if I am choosing one issue to address, its the deferred contracts. I have always stated the bigger issue is not having a salary floor than a salary cap.

Baseball has the most parity out of any of the major sports, yet it is the only one without a salary cap. I get that it is largely due to the randomness of the sport versus others, but that also speaks to the lack of a need for a salary cap IMO. If one team was outspending everyone by a ton and winning WS after WS, then I would understand the need for it. But that simply isnt happening.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

• Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
  

  Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
  

  Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
  

  Originally posted by tl57:
  Giants are tied to Japanese slugger Murakami.
  I'd take it until the Dodgers take care of WS and will swoop in. Actually, believe it or not, I want them to win the WS. Those titles are nothing but fully purchased, meaningless and cheap. Cost a lot of money but the cheapest ones there are, only equaling to the Yankees who used to buy them the same way. At the same time, the entire league, except people in LA and Japan are up to their necks in embarrassing s**t pit. Let's see how many more titles LA scavengers have to win until something is done to turn baseball from the flea market bazaar and make it a sport again. I believe there is actually the quiet watch and whispers already towards the salary cap.

  
  I believe there is no need for a salary cap. I just think this whole deferring of contracts is something that needs to be addressed, and will be.

  I think there IS a need for a salary cap and A BIG need to address deferred contracts. Personally, I hope there is a lock out and these are both resolved. But they wont be

  
  As long as we're talking about needs, I'd like to see a ban on the split finger Here' my reasons.
  
  Number one it's making baseball boring. It's a really tough pitch to hit and even more so now with they way they keep bringing in fresh arms. I like to see a good tight well pitched game on occasion but not every night. We're seeing talented hitters striking out one after another. With all thre guys throwing so hard now the game is really dull. SO or HR. Very few rallies with hits bunched together.
  
  The other reason is it puts a lot of strain on the arm. Many coaches discourage young pitchers from throwing it. It's just one more pitch that can lead to Tommy John surgery. They eliiminated the spitball years ago. It can be done. Something has to change because baseball is getting really boring to watch. They tried changing the rules a little by making relievers face 3 hitters but that hasn't helped.

NJ's response to this
I completely disagree. There are lots of things about baseball that need to be changed but it's downright dumb to even contemplate banning a totally legit pitch. Its not even remotely the same as putting a substance on a ball that artificially made the ball do tricks.

Why not ban a slider then? It puts tons of strain on a pitcher's arm and can make a hitter look stupid. Or why not limit any pitcher to 95 mph because there is a greater chance of getting hurt the harder you throw and really fast pitches are hard to hit.

The split is more unpredictable and really hard for hitters to pick up. Even more than the slider. You can't limit hiw hard pitchers throw and the strain their arm is less than any breaking pitch. Especially now that they limit the pitch counts and many don't even get past the 5th inning.

I don't expect that they will ever do it but baseball really is boring when players can't put the ball in play. Pitchers have so many different pitches now that even good hitters look bad. Look at MLB batting averages. Terrible. Everythiing is HR or bust now. Teams hope for a couple of walks and a 3 run HR. It's like watching basketball where all teams do is shoot 3 pointers.

Oobviously I was making fun of you and not serious about banning sliders or limiting the speed of fastball. The split is a legit pitch that takes tremendous skill and practice to perfect. There is zero chance it will be banned nor should it be. How about getting batting coaches who can get hitters to lay off pitches in the dirt and.put the ball in play?

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
Well, if I am choosing one issue to address, its the deferred contracts. I have always stated the bigger issue is not having a salary floor than a salary cap.

Baseball has the most parity out of any of the major sports, yet it is the only one without a salary cap. I get that it is largely due to the randomness of the sport versus others, but that also speaks to the lack of a need for a salary cap IMO. If one team was outspending everyone by a ton and winning WS after WS, then I would understand the need for it. But that simply isnt happening.

OK, let's wait until LA wins a couple of more titles, its coming. You think they are done "building" the roster? They are not perfect at backends on both hitting and pitching. I am sure they'll pick up few more All Stars for that in the upcoming offseason.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

• Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
  

  Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
  

  Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
  

  Originally posted by tl57:
  Giants are tied to Japanese slugger Murakami.
  I'd take it until the Dodgers take care of WS and will swoop in. Actually, believe it or not, I want them to win the WS. Those titles are nothing but fully purchased, meaningless and cheap. Cost a lot of money but the cheapest ones there are, only equaling to the Yankees who used to buy them the same way. At the same time, the entire league, except people in LA and Japan are up to their necks in embarrassing s**t pit. Let's see how many more titles LA scavengers have to win until something is done to turn baseball from the flea market bazaar and make it a sport again. I believe there is actually the quiet watch and whispers already towards the salary cap.

  
  I believe there is no need for a salary cap. I just think this whole deferring of contracts is something that needs to be addressed, and will be.

  I think there IS a need for a salary cap and A BIG need to address deferred contracts. Personally, I hope there is a lock out and these are both resolved. But they wont be

  
  As long as we're talking about needs, I'd like to see a ban on the split finger Here' my reasons.
  
  Number one it's making baseball boring. It's a really tough pitch to hit and even more so now with they way they keep bringing in fresh arms. I like to see a good tight well pitched game on occasion but not every night. We're seeing talented hitters striking out one after another. With all thre guys throwing so hard now the game is really dull. SO or HR. Very few rallies with hits bunched together.
  
  The other reason is it puts a lot of strain on the arm. Many coaches discourage young pitchers from throwing it. It's just one more pitch that can lead to Tommy John surgery. They eliiminated the spitball years ago. It can be done. Something has to change because baseball is getting really boring to watch. They tried changing the rules a little by making relievers face 3 hitters but that hasn't helped.

NJ's response to this
I completely disagree. There are lots of things about baseball that need to be changed but it's downright dumb to even contemplate banning a totally legit pitch. Its not even remotely the same as putting a substance on a ball that artificially made the ball do tricks.

Why not ban a slider then? It puts tons of strain on a pitcher's arm and can make a hitter look stupid. Or why not limit any pitcher to 95 mph because there is a greater chance of getting hurt the harder you throw and really fast pitches are hard to hit.

The split is more unpredictable and really hard for hitters to pick up. Even more than the slider. You can't limit hiw hard pitchers throw and the strain their arm is less than any breaking pitch. Especially now that they limit the pitch counts and many don't even get past the 5th inning.

I don't expect that they will ever do it but baseball really is boring when players can't put the ball in play. Pitchers have so many different pitches now that even good hitters look bad. Look at MLB batting averages. Terrible. Everythiing is HR or bust now. Teams hope for a couple of walks and a 3 run HR. It's like watching basketball where all teams do is shoot 3 pointers.

Oobviously I was making fun of you and not serious about banning sliders or limiting the speed of fastball. The split is a legit pitch that takes tremendous skill and practice to perfect. There is zero chance it will be banned nor should it be. How about getting batting coaches who can get hitters to lay off pitches in the dirt and.put the ball in play?

If it was that simple you wouldn't see good hitters missing them by a foot or more. The Blue Jays were told to throw nothing but splits to the Yankess because apparently the entire team can't hit them. At least that's what the announcers were saying.

No pitch is easy to hit but the split may be the hardest of all. 100 MPH doesn't scare hitters. Breaking pitches are all harder to hit but the split is really hard to identify when it's thrown right. The ball looks like a fastball comng in waist high and as you swing it dives into the dirt. Too late to hold up.

I agree they won't ban it. The league seems to like seeing hitters struggle. I was just saying it's something I would like to see. I want a little more action when I watch a game. Get more extended hitting rallies.

Pages of talk of banning pitches that aren't illegal. Lmao

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
Well, if I am choosing one issue to address, its the deferred contracts. I have always stated the bigger issue is not having a salary floor than a salary cap.

Baseball has the most parity out of any of the major sports, yet it is the only one without a salary cap. I get that it is largely due to the randomness of the sport versus others, but that also speaks to the lack of a need for a salary cap IMO. If one team was outspending everyone by a ton and winning WS after WS, then I would understand the need for it. But that simply isnt happening.

Maybe you dont find it disgusting that the Dodgers are paying over 1.3 BILLION dollars to their 4 starting pitchers over the life of their contracts but I certainly do. Put a cap in place and this just wouldnt happen

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
Well, if I am choosing one issue to address, its the deferred contracts. I have always stated the bigger issue is not having a salary floor than a salary cap.

Baseball has the most parity out of any of the major sports, yet it is the only one without a salary cap. I get that it is largely due to the randomness of the sport versus others, but that also speaks to the lack of a need for a salary cap IMO. If one team was outspending everyone by a ton and winning WS after WS, then I would understand the need for it. But that simply isnt happening.

Maybe you dont find it disgusting that the Dodgers are paying over 1.3 BILLION dollars to their 4 starting pitchers over the life of their contracts but I certainly do. Put a cap in place and this just wouldnt happen

I find it disgusting, sure. But I find it more disgusting when you have billionaire owners paying $50m a year to their entire roster. If more teams spent a lot of money on their teams, maybe all these players wouldnt just flock to the Dodgers.

You and I will never see eye to eye on this, but I firmly believe that Judge or Ohtani could have been Giants if we ponied up more money. I truly believe that you would see talent more spread out if all teams were spending.

But even still, more teams have won World Series over the past 2-3 decades than the amount of different teams have won it in any of the salary capped sports. That has to mean something.

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:
Pages of talk of banning pitches that aren't illegal. Lmao

It was just a suggestion that I acknowledged won't happen. I just want to see a little more action in baseball. The fact that the split is legal doesn't mean it can't be banned. The spitter was legal at one time too. I guess you can say I was just spitballing with that idea.

I love baseball but watching pitchers dominate game after game isn't exciting. How many times do we see games now where we get to the 5th inning or later with one or two runs scored. Maybe none at all. It's just too common now. It's easy to say hitters need to change their approach but that doesn't appear to be happening. Averages keep getting lower.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
It was just a suggestion that I acknowledged won't happen. I just want to see a little more action in baseball. The fact that the split is legal doesn't mean it can't be banned. The spitter was legal at one time too. I guess you can say I was just spitballing with that idea.

I love baseball but watching pitchers dominate game after game isn't exciting. How many times do we see games now where we get to the 5th inning or later with one or two runs scored. Maybe none at all. It's just too common now. It's easy to say hitters need to change their approach but that doesn't appear to be happening. Averages keep getting lower.

The spitball was banned because it was doctored and made it hard to see. The pitches you listed are not doctored. It's just grip and throwing motion. Banning that is dumb. Ban it if it goes against the rules, not because it's hard to hit.

Averages are lower because hitters have adopted to fresh arms. SPs don't go 8-9 innings anymore and everyone throws high 90's. And it's a stable of fresh arms throwing high 90's for 9 innings. That's harder to hit than a pitcher throwing 92 and going for 125 pitches over 8 innings where you see the same guy 3-4 times as they get tired. There are a ton of things different than the game in the 80-90's. Nobody is complaining dudes don't steal 100 bags a season anymore. Or that bunting is almost obsolete. among other things.

Baseball just needs to establish a salary cap and kill
deferred payments. The game adjusts after that.

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
It was just a suggestion that I acknowledged won't happen. I just want to see a little more action in baseball. The fact that the split is legal doesn't mean it can't be banned. The spitter was legal at one time too. I guess you can say I was just spitballing with that idea.

I love baseball but watching pitchers dominate game after game isn't exciting. How many times do we see games now where we get to the 5th inning or later with one or two runs scored. Maybe none at all. It's just too common now. It's easy to say hitters need to change their approach but that doesn't appear to be happening. Averages keep getting lower.

The spitball was banned because it was doctored and made it hard to see. The pitches you listed are not doctored. It's just grip and throwing motion. Banning that is dumb. Ban it if it goes against the rules, not because it's hard to hit.

Averages are lower because hitters have adopted to fresh arms. SPs don't go 8-9 innings anymore and everyone throws high 90's. And it's a stable of fresh arms throwing high 90's for 9 innings. That's harder to hit than a pitcher throwing 92 and going for 125 pitches over 8 innings where you see the same guy 3-4 times as they get tired. There are a ton of things different than the game in the 80-90's. Nobody is complaining dudes don't steal 100 bags a season anymore. Or that bunting is almost obsolete. among other things.

Baseball just needs to establish a salary cap and kill
deferred payments. The game adjusts after that.

I agree but that's not going to happen soon. Players and agents are too greedy. Strike or lockout probably coming in 2026.

Pitchers are throwing harder but not much. The guns they use now add 3-4 MPH to the posted speeds since they measure at the release point instead of when the ball crosses the plate. We also see a lot of taller pitchers now so they're a little closer to the plate when they release the ball. When pitchers were expected to throw complete games if possible they often started out throwing hard then backed off in the middle innings to save a little for the end.

It's not the speed as much as the number of different pitches. MLB hitters can handle speed but when 90+ breaking pitches are mixed in then it becomes a real problem. Splitters and sliders are really hard to tell from a fastball if thrown right. They just disappear with late movement. I don't know how hitters can hit that stuff. It almost has to be a mistake up in the zone to be hit.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
It was just a suggestion that I acknowledged won't happen. I just want to see a little more action in baseball. The fact that the split is legal doesn't mean it can't be banned. The spitter was legal at one time too. I guess you can say I was just spitballing with that idea.

I love baseball but watching pitchers dominate game after game isn't exciting. How many times do we see games now where we get to the 5th inning or later with one or two runs scored. Maybe none at all. It's just too common now. It's easy to say hitters need to change their approach but that doesn't appear to be happening. Averages keep getting lower.

Aside from a spike in the steroid era, there is not a marked difference in runs scored over the course of a season. Sometimes it goes up a little, sometimes it goes down a little.

https://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hiruns4.shtml

^Obviously what I said was in the context of the modern era.

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
It was just a suggestion that I acknowledged won't happen. I just want to see a little more action in baseball. The fact that the split is legal doesn't mean it can't be banned. The spitter was legal at one time too. I guess you can say I was just spitballing with that idea.

I love baseball but watching pitchers dominate game after game isn't exciting. How many times do we see games now where we get to the 5th inning or later with one or two runs scored. Maybe none at all. It's just too common now. It's easy to say hitters need to change their approach but that doesn't appear to be happening. Averages keep getting lower.

The spitball was banned because it was doctored and made it hard to see. The pitches you listed are not doctored. It's just grip and throwing motion. Banning that is dumb. Ban it if it goes against the rules, not because it's hard to hit.

Averages are lower because hitters have adopted to fresh arms. SPs don't go 8-9 innings anymore and everyone throws high 90's. And it's a stable of fresh arms throwing high 90's for 9 innings. That's harder to hit than a pitcher throwing 92 and going for 125 pitches over 8 innings where you see the same guy 3-4 times as they get tired. There are a ton of things different than the game in the 80-90's. Nobody is complaining dudes don't steal 100 bags a season anymore. Or that bunting is almost obsolete. among other things.

Baseball just needs to establish a salary cap and kill
deferred payments. The game adjusts after that.

agree with everything you said. The players wont agree to a salary cap so i really hope their is a lock out that lasts until the players cave in.

I would like to see a salary floor but I dont think that is going to fix the problem that exists with the Dodgers. The GREAT players are going to go to the Dodgers IF the Dodgers want them. Why? Because the great players want rings, want a great atmosphere to play in, and LA offers that as well as being willing to spend at all costs to get their guys. Only a salary cap and elimination of deferred money can stop it.

We all knew LA was going to buy players until they won. I think everyone knows how they've went about it, and nobody respects it. Similar to Bonds' HR records. They're official, but they will always carry a stigma because of public perception. When people remember this era of Dodgers baseball they will think about the money and the deferred salaries of all their hired guns. I think deep down Dodger fans know it.

Im just grateful to have witnessed the Giants win 3 legitimate titles in a 5 year run. Post steroid era, but also before Rob Manfred ruined the game with all his ridiculous changes. Built with a backbone of homegrown players and strategic trade pieces, not money. In many ways the Giants' mini dynasty marked the end of the classic, traditional era of baseball.

LA bandwagoners can have fun watching this $2 billion roster win, but I know its not nearly as satisfying as watching homegrown talent develop into a special group of winners. Paying an All-Star team full of other organizations' products is such a soulless LA type strategy.

Originally posted by Niners99:
We all knew LA was going to buy players until they won. I think everyone knows how they've went about it, and nobody respects it. Similar to Bonds' HR records. They're official, but they will always carry a stigma because of public perception. When people remember this era of Dodgers baseball they will think about the money and the deferred salaries of all their hired guns. I think deep down Dodger fans know it.

Im just grateful to have witnessed the Giants win 3 legitimate titles in a 5 year run. Post steroid era, but also before Rob Manfred ruined the game with all his ridiculous changes. Built with a backbone of homegrown players and strategic trade pieces, not money. In many ways the Giants' mini dynasty marked the end of the classic, traditional era of baseball.

LA bandwagoners can have fun watching this $2 billion roster win, but I know its not nearly as satisfying as watching homegrown talent develop into a special group of winners. Paying an All-Star team full of other organizations' products is such a soulless LA type strategy.

That's why I had the fantasy of mine before the season started to ridicule the Dodgers, the league and the commissioner and possibly force the stop on buying and circumventing the game. In the process expediting the insistence on at least the immediate elimination of deferred salaries, but most importantly instituting the salary cap as well. Just eliminating deferred salaries is a good start but at this point it'd be like closing the barn after the horses got out.
Back to my fantasy, I was hoping that the entire nation and all the fans around the world (other than in LA and I assume in Japan) will totally boycott every Dodgers game. Attending it, watching it, listening to it. Unfortunately, it was only my fantasy, I know it would never happen. As a matter of fact, it probably drew more fans to watch that crooked, tainted product. I did my part, haven't attended, watched or listened to a single second of the Dodgers game, regular season or playoffs. Maybe there are few other disgusted souls just like me. But what are few of us on the hugely vast battlefield.