Hamhock

Didi Gregorius is returning to the Phillies for two years and $28 million.

White Sox right-handed hitters preparing a feast on that stove...

Apropos of nothing, I just want to say how much I enjoy the little "10 Months later..." tags that appear when an old thread gets updated. It feels like a plot device in an old-timey crime show.

Important part of the press release: That’s...that’s Josh Gibson’s entrance music!

I'll just go with my first show:

All of the MLB teams’ minor league affiliation “invitation” announcements are finally being released now. Full lists: https://www.mlb.com/news/new-minor-league-affiliates-for-2021

Phew... Big Don sounded like one of those terrible Vince story cycles (Vince calls himself “The Big Don”, humiliates several wrestlers, feuds with top face for 2-3 months, gets soundly thrashed at a PPV by top face, Vince shows up at Raw and a lower-card wrestler snickers at him, Vince announces new fascistic policy (“Zero Tolerance”/“Merciless Power”/“Violent Reprisals”), repeat next step, repeat next step, etc.)

Theo Epstein’s last day with the Cubs is this Friday; Jed Hoyer will take his place.

Well, if Dusty got the Backlund run then there wouldn’t be an unfulfilled Flair/Dusty dream match, because he would have wrestled Flair in the title vs. title match at the July 4 ‘82 show in the Omni, like Backlund did... Man, this whole alternate timeline is crazy, because then Hogan wrestles Dusty several times for the title in his early heel run, and then maybe doesn’t take the movie offer, goes to Mid-Atlantic/Crockett as McMahon asked him to, wrestles Flair in 1981 before heading to Florida and headlining there against Kevin Sullivan?

One of the joys of watching the postseason on MLB.tv is the repetitive ads; I do enjoy seeing a deadpan-expressioned Johnny Bench hoist seven hamburgers into the air, however.

Joe Buck ripping off his mask to reveal that he’s Marc Lowrance, without any change in his vocal inflection, and soberly announcing that the next World Series game will be contested as a Captain’s Match...

Andre the Giant performed “The Fish Song”. Jimmy Hart lip-synced “Eat Your Heart Out, Rick Springfield”.

The Sheik teamed up with Dusty in 1988 for a tag match in Detroit against Murdoch and Sullivan - he turned either mid-match or after the match (and Murdoch turned face at the same time to save Dusty or something), but he technically began the match as a face.

The White Sox clinched a postseason spot with their win today.

No one’s mentioned a returning Piper as a possibility yet? He and Savage could have gone 3-4 months easy.

Apparently it was Wilpon’s terrible idea, not Manfred’s, so Van Wagenen just had to awkwardly apologize via press release.

At least four of tonight’s games are postponed thus far: Phillies/Nats Red Sox/Blue Jays Twins/Tigers Rangers/A’s

And with CB Bucknor as the home plate umpire!

I’m just happy the Phillies finally traded away Nick Pivetta.

Minifood in Newspeak. Now my mind is filled with converting Vince-jargon into Newspeak: championship opportunity = oppochamp medical facility = medfac just want to have fun and entertain the WWE universe = doubleunifun

The more games a team in that scenario doesn’t play, the more that issue cascades to its scheduled opponents’ records as well. For an extreme example, if we pretend that the Cardinals were wiped out for the year at five games played overall, that’s ten games out of 60 that the Cubs/Reds/Brewers don’t play and seven games that the Pirates don’t play.

Verlander’s out for the year with an elbow injury. Edit: Apparently not?

At least the rain will stop Angel Hernandez from umpiring.

Dr. Fauci will throw out the first pitch at the Nats game on Opening Day.

I don’t recall if that game is still viewable via the MLB.tv archive, but if it is, the natural park audio option is there for it. But you’re right - Hawk Harrelson talked so much/loudly that you could hear him faintly in the background of the Orioles telecast.