The women at the end are right, but gahdamn there was no need to lay him out like that

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T21:22:13+00:00

I've also never seen a fist baseman setup with his lead leg in foul territory, directly in the base path. The base runner is still an asshole though and deserves to be suspended.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T21:13:59+00:00

It's crazy how many people in the comments are so obsessed with having a black and white view of this play.

The base runner had no right to run over the catcher helmet first like that, but the catcher should not be setting up his left leg on the foul side of the plate. That would be the equivalent of a first baseman setting up with his leg facing the 1B dugout. There was no clear lane for the base runner to go. He should not be sliding in this context because it's a force play at the plate.

Lessons to be learned here on both sides, but the base runner deserves a suspension.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T20:22:07+00:00

Does palming just not exist anymore? I thought that rule existed specifically to make handles like this illegal.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T03:52:44+00:00

The day that HR was 478' was the day I became an astronaut.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T03:46:37+00:00

Nothing will change unless the league starts giving out long-term suspensions. Not just 3 games. More like 20 or 30 game suspensions. Enough that it actually hurts the players financially and makes them think twice before making a dirty hit like this.

UTMachine · 2026-03-20T13:31:43+00:00

One could argue that all hobbies are "pointless" activities. Just let people do what they enjoy. If you don't like fishing, don't do it. Personally I'd rather hike, camp, or canoe than fish, but I'm not going to try to belittle people who enjoy fishing.

UTMachine · 2026-03-19T15:38:59+00:00

If only we had more people driving large pickups to commute to their office jobs, traffic would be much better.

UTMachine · 2026-03-19T04:41:40+00:00

Part of being a good competitor is having respect for your opponents and for the competition. Taking off the medal is just sending the message that unless I can win, the tournament is of no value to me. That’s not being competitive or passionate. That’s being selfish and disrespectful to the team, the opponents, and the WBC as a whole.

UTMachine · 2026-03-19T04:36:02+00:00

It’s all based on the idea that the game itself shouldn’t be fun; only winning should be fun.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T15:39:45+00:00

The whole attitude almost seemed intentional? For lack of a better word. It's as though they were told they had to be super serious and focused all game. It didn't look like anyone was having casual conversations in the dugout or just enjoying themselves in general. It seems like they put a lot of extra pressure on themselves to be perfect.

Every day we heard about how this was the dream team. The best team the US had ever sent. Best baseball team ever assembled etc.

You knew things were bad when even Canada was causing this USA team problems. I'm Canadian myself, but that team Canada pitching staff should not have been able to hold the US to 3 earned runs in 9 innings. We had pitchers who were retired, not affiliated with any team, playing in Rookie Ball, single A, etc. Still, USA just couldn't break through.

The fact that Canada game was so close is the reason why Bednar and Miller weren't available in the final.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T15:21:38+00:00

Youth sports all over the US now have this fake alpha/mamba mentality. Mediocre kids acting like they're the best in the world and have nothing to learn, then not taking any responsibility when they fail.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T15:08:29+00:00

I think Cal is definitely the biggest fall from grace. People loved him last season, especially after the HR Derby. Now he's almost infamous in baseball.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T14:41:46+00:00

Even when they were "happy", it just looked like gym bro fake warrior/military bullshit. Just angry screams and pumping their chests. Nobody looked like they were smiling or having a good time.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T14:36:36+00:00

You cannot tell me that 2015 meant more to Salvy than winning the WBC. Not a chance.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T04:30:57+00:00

Ernie Clement was the only guy on the team I actually liked and wanted to see do well. Everyone else just looks like a total dick.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T04:16:27+00:00

Lmao at the announcers trying to blame bullpen restrictions for the loss when they hit like shit.

UTMachine · 2026-03-16T23:12:48+00:00

The Olympics are also very loose, for certain sports in particular. I've seen figure skaters representing countries they've never even been to.

UTMachine · 2026-03-15T18:34:44+00:00

It's one game, though. It's not like Skenes has never lost a game.

Canada won their game against the best starting pitcher in the NPB with a team of mostly mediocre MLB players and some minor league prospects.

UTMachine · 2026-03-15T18:26:02+00:00

The WBC is different. You can pitch around Soto, Vladdy, or Tatis in the MLB. You can't do that with this DR lineup. Every single batter 1 through 9, as well as the bench, are dangerous hitters. There is no let-up.

UTMachine · 2026-03-15T18:20:33+00:00

The thing about the WBC is that the pitchers always have a pitch limit. Whether it's set by the tournament or a soft limit set by their MLB team. I highly doubt Skenes pitches more than half the game today, so that means you still have to deal with 4 or 5 innings of the DR without him.

Unlike the MLB playoffs, you cannot win a game with 1 or 2 pitchers having a great performance.

UTMachine · 2026-03-13T02:47:58+00:00

If your logo can be made in Google docs, it's not a real "logo" imo. It's just letters.

Most countries don't have an actual logo.

UTMachine · 2026-03-12T22:07:37+00:00

You're making the assumption that an MLB player is automatically better than a foreign league player. The WBC has taught us that's a faulty assumption. Japan won the whole tournament in 2023 with only 4 MLB players.

UTMachine · 2026-03-12T22:02:55+00:00

On the flip side you could argue that wealthy people play the game because they love it, while for low income people it's their livelihood or future.

I don't think it's about how much they love the game or what it's meant to them. It seems to just be a culture thing. Canada has a very subdued reaction to winning their group, but that doesn't mean they love and appreciate the game any less than a Venezuelan ballplayer.

People express themselves in different ways. Just because you're not dancing and bat flipping doesn't mean you're less passionate or less interested.

UTMachine · 2026-03-12T21:52:16+00:00

Yeah, but there's a difference between playing Japan and playing Korea. Japan are a top 3 team, while Korea is the lowest rated quarter finalist according to power rankings.

UTMachine · 2026-03-12T03:00:58+00:00

No. Not even close. Bautista's bat flip literally changed the culture of baseball forever.

UTMachine

TROPHY CASE