2014 MLB Thread

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by AdamJoshua

You forgot something fundamental, speaking of mental, pressure, you put a AAA team in front of 50,000 rabid fans against a pro team and I would have to say that is going to cause MORE "funny bounces" for the AAA team because they will most likely be more nervous, over play balls, strike out trying to hit a HR in front of the huge crowd. 19 out of 20 might in reality be a bit much, let's go with 17 out of 20 times the pro team is going to win

It is MORE than "funny bonces" I alluded to, but let's leave that aside. My point was that 19 of 20 may be too great a dominance, and you seem to agree. I hear your point about playing in the bigs, but you overlook the fact that a typical AAA team has quite a few players who have already played in the majors, either as veterans or as youngsters or "AAAA" players called up for cups of coffee. Bottom line, the vast majority of AAA players are AAA players because they are considered to be useful to a MLB team, sometimes on a day's notice. If not, they wouldn't be at the AAA level. Plus, more often than not, MLB trades hinge upon which minor-league players the teams are willing to part with, so even the "true" baseball experts realize their value.

Let's take a step back for a minute. This whole discussion began when Mac expressed the hope that his Mets would field something besides an AAA team this coming season. Now, despite all the injuries and problems my Yankees had last year, no one could reasonably argue that they were not a legitimate MLB team despite the fact that they missed the playoffs by a few games. Well, as Mac would proudly boast, his team swept mine in interleague play last year, going 4-0, and thus it could be argued that the Mets kept the Yankees out of the post-season . . . and, if you accept Mac's premise that they were an AAA team, my point is proven.

Now let's step away entirely. Any thought on the Dodgers' monster contract with Clayton Kershaw? Seven years, $215 million . . . for a pitcher?