MLB 2026

[riderpride]

Jays showing signs of recovery after a nasty bug has made its way through the club over the last week+. In addition to the backup catcher throwing, they've been calling up pitchers from AAA that were essentially isolated from the team just to eat innings. On top of that, the injuries continue to pile-up with an injured rotation that's better than most starting 5s, and Barger and Kirk now also taking a seat next to Santander. At least Barger is still in the dugout, so he's not likely out for long. Still no clue who the mystery starter is for Fri, but things will turn around soon enough.

Hopefully it'll turn this weekend as my son and I are off to TO for a boys weekend on Bremner. It'll be his first MLB experience and the Jays have hooked us up with some great experiences that I'm truly grateful for. He has no idea what's happening but is super excited. I'll update once we're back. 

Cheers!

[JohnS]

On 3/31/2026 at 4:41 PM, JohnS said:

When Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran in 1979, after more than 14 years in exile, he was asked by journalist Peter Jennings how he felt about being back in Iran. His answer? "Nothing". As a Mets fan, I wouldn't say that I am feeling quite the same way; however, I am rather rather nonplussed about how things are faring in the first month of the season. Ask me (how I will feel) when the injuries to key players come along, or when losses pile up leading into the All-Star break and I will have a better gauge of things then.

 

On 4/1/2026 at 6:36 AM, JohnS said:

Just an expressive way to say that I don't feel anything too much right now, perhaps? 😂 No need to panic, just stay calm and carry on! 😁

The Mets have lost 10 in a row, scoring 18 runs in those games and conceding 60. I would never have imagined things could get this bad so early in the season. I don't need to add anything else. Watching Tyler Ward's YouTube channel on the Mets was beautifully cathartic today!

[Puros Y Vino]

Didn't love Bo leaving for the Mets. But it goes to show you the grass isn't always greener on the other side.  But the "green" got him to move there.  

[NYGuido]

9 hours ago, JohnS said:

The Mets have lost 10 in a row, scoring 18 runs in those games and conceding 60. I would never have imagined things could get this bad so early in the season. I don't need to add anything else. Watching Tyler Ward's YouTube channel on the Mets was beautifully cathartic today!

I'm maybe a fairly emotional fan, but this time I am backed by statistics: fewer than 5 teams have made the playoffs if they had a 10 game losing streak that season. This feels like a lost season ALREADY, and it isn't even summer yet.

Mendoza clearly is out (just a matter of when). Stearns is looking like he whiffed bigtime this offseason, particularly with his run prevention goal (which I never thought was going to work with players playing out of position). And the locker room seems fractured and totally devoid of leadership. Clearly not a great start to a season for which I was excited (as I am most baseball seasons).

What's worse is that I live surrounded by Yankees fans. Ugh.

[KCCubano]

3 hours ago, NYGuido said:

I'm maybe a fairly emotional fan, but this time I am backed by statistics: fewer than 5 teams have made the playoffs if they had a 10 game losing streak that season. This feels like a lost season ALREADY, and it isn't even summer yet.

Mendoza clearly is out (just a matter of when). Stearns is looking like he whiffed bigtime this offseason, particularly with his run prevention goal (which I never thought was going to work with players playing out of position). And the locker room seems fractured and totally devoid of leadership. Clearly not a great start to a season for which I was excited (as I am most baseball seasons).

What's worse is that I live surrounded by Yankees fans. Ugh.

My Kansas City Royals are not faring much better. Is your wife a KC fan? My youngest son lives in Manhattan and went to Yankee Stadium yesterday to see the NYY crush the Royals. 

[mikejh]

Reds leading the division with one of the worst performing offenses in baseball, not sure how long they can keep that up.

[MoeFOH]

10 hours ago, JohnS said:

The Mets have lost 10 in a row, scoring 18 runs in those games and conceding 60.

Commiserations John. The Red Sox have been awful as well. You know it's a weird season when your ace gets destroyed for 11 runs in less than 2 innings by the Twins.

Strangely slow start to a season for many teams, though, which is something of a saving grace... I guess. 

When well below 500 it always feels like such a grind to get back over. Gotta go on a heater!

[Ford2112]

Its early yet. My Giants have been clawing just to get what wins we have gotten although the offense against the Nats was a little better. The Dodgers are next. You know. The juggernaut?? 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[riderpride]

Back from a trip to TO with the 8yo - it was quick and packed with action on Bremner. As mentioned previously,  this was his first live MLB experience and he had no idea what was planned other than we were staying across the street from the Rog, and a block or 2 from Scotiabank Arena. The team's injury list is long and brutal, and the salary-cap of the injured players was enough to surpass both Mia and Cle's payroll as it included the starting Catcher, RF, and LF as well as SPs 3, 4, and 5. Suffice it to say, we weren't expecting much in terms of a win as spare parts were being brought-up from AAA and the street as a nasty bug was going through the locker room for the last 10 days.

A few years ago (8??), Jays ownership was called-out by MLB for not offering 'enough' for the fans. He was right - it was too cold and transactional which is why I would go to games in Chi and Hou while avoiding Toronto. Fast forward a few years, and the owners have added substantially to the experience, and have dropped some serious $$$ on some renovations.  We weren't able to participate in everything, but here's what our sched would allow:

Saturday - I told some people that we would be in town, and the first thing we were hooked-up with was a tour of the Rog after the renovations. We got to see the control room and see how the magic happens with the video boards, sound system, and media. From there it was a trip to see the reenacted 'Bat Flip' from Joe Bats in '15. There were 19 bats to represent his jersey number and each was positioned in the trajectory of the flip (super needy, but cool to see). After that it was off to see some of the new communal areas and down to the field to watch batting practice where they let my son hanging onto Springer and Vladdy's bats. Springer was practicing breaking his toe (successfully achieved in game), Gimenez was taking some swings, and Lukes was getting in a lot of time  (later announced that he was dealing with vertigo and was essentially unable to see the ball). Jays Mgr John Schneider popped over to chat with us as things were winding down and allowed us a photo op and signed my son's ball that security tossed him in practice.  From there it was a 90 min break until the game where we were front row next to the dugout.  Louis Varland (a rare bright spot this year) was generous enough to stop by for another photo/sig opportunity, and even Febles (3rd base coach) brought my boy a ball after a brief interaction in the 3rd. I jokingly said something to him as he trotted onto the field and he gave us the thumbs-up - the best part is he didn't get to work until my son gave him one back. In the end, it was a loss, but a lot of great memories for him.

Sunday - we started out with a Jr Jays event that we were essentially invited to based on an inquiry. Amongst others, we were treated to a DJ, games, snacks, and all of the legacy mascots while we were able to watch fielding practice from the Westjet Flight Deck. The practice was mostly limited to watching pre-game rituals and the pitching staff horsing around - Gausman makes an amazing RF (vid attached showing his arm and he moved back another 40ft after that nailing the glove).
Seats for this one were in the same filed position,  but 1st row in the upper deck to give the boy a change in perspective. In the end it was another Jays loss, but he did surprise me by declining his opportunity to run the bases after the game (courtesy of the Jr Jays) as we didn't have much time to head to the Scotiabank Arena for the Raps game where they won and  cemented their playoff birth (also my son's first live NBA experience).

In the end, to say a great time was had would be an understatement. Tommy's got so many phenomenal memories and the swimming pool was last on his list of favorite things on the weekend (I'm truly shocked).

Thank you to my friend and the Jays org for so many opportunities, and for so many memories. 

Apologies, as some of the pix are duplicates of the 'Week in Pictures' thread.

Cheers!

[NYGuido]

On 4/19/2026 at 1:25 PM, KCCubano said:

My Kansas City Royals are not faring much better. Is your wife a KC fan? My youngest son lives in Manhattan and went to Yankee Stadium yesterday to see the NYY crush the Royals. 

She IS a KC fan, which was not fun in 2015. Though we have agreed that our son will get to choose between the Chiefs and Giants but he WILL be a Mets fan. 

[riderpride]

25 minutes ago, NYGuido said:

She IS a KC fan, which was not fun in 2015. Though we have agreed that our son will get to choose between the Chiefs and Giants but he WILL be a Mets fan. 

I hope that works. The son of a friend went maximum troll (at age 6 or 7) and picked his favorite to be the biggest rival of his dad's fave, so let's hope he doesn't go Phillies.

Cheers!

[MoeFOH]

On 4/20/2026 at 2:31 PM, riderpride said:

Back from a trip to TO with the 8yo - it was quick and packed with action on Bremner. As mentioned previously,  this was his first live MLB experience and he had no idea what was planned other than we were staying across the street from the Rog, and a block or 2 from Scotiabank Arena. The team's injury list is long and brutal, and the salary-cap of the injured players was enough to surpass both Mia and Cle's payroll as it included the starting Catcher, RF, and LF as well as SPs 3, 4, and 5. Suffice it to say, we weren't expecting much in terms of a win as spare parts were being brought-up from AAA and the street as a nasty bug was going through the locker room for the last 10 days.

A few years ago (8??), Jays ownership was called-out by MLB for not offering 'enough' for the fans. He was right - it was too cold and transactional which is why I would go to games in Chi and Hou while avoiding Toronto. Fast forward a few years, and the owners have added substantially to the experience, and have dropped some serious $$$ on some renovations.  We weren't able to participate in everything, but here's what our sched would allow:

Saturday - I told some people that we would be in town, and the first thing we were hooked-up with was a tour of the Rog after the renovations. We got to see the control room and see how the magic happens with the video boards, sound system, and media. From there it was a trip to see the reenacted 'Bat Flip' from Joe Bats in '15. There were 19 bats to represent his jersey number and each was positioned in the trajectory of the flip (super needy, but cool to see). After that it was off to see some of the new communal areas and down to the field to watch batting practice where they let my son hanging onto Springer and Vladdy's bats. Springer was practicing breaking his toe (successfully achieved in game), Gimenez was taking some swings, and Lukes was getting in a lot of time  (later announced that he was dealing with vertigo and was essentially unable to see the ball). Jays Mgr John Schneider popped over to chat with us as things were winding down and allowed us a photo op and signed my son's ball that security tossed him in practice.  From there it was a 90 min break until the game where we were front row next to the dugout.  Louis Varland (a rare bright spot this year) was generous enough to stop by for another photo/sig opportunity, and even Febles (3rd base coach) brought my boy a ball after a brief interaction in the 3rd. I jokingly said something to him as he trotted onto the field and he gave us the thumbs-up - the best part is he didn't get to work until my son gave him one back. In the end, it was a loss, but a lot of great memories for him.

Sunday - we started out with a Jr Jays event that we were essentially invited to based on an inquiry. Amongst others, we were treated to a DJ, games, snacks, and all of the legacy mascots while we were able to watch fielding practice from the Westjet Flight Deck. The practice was mostly limited to watching pre-game rituals and the pitching staff horsing around - Gausman makes an amazing RF (vid attached showing his arm and he moved back another 40ft after that nailing the glove).
Seats for this one were in the same filed position,  but 1st row in the upper deck to give the boy a change in perspective. In the end it was another Jays loss, but he did surprise me by declining his opportunity to run the bases after the game (courtesy of the Jr Jays) as we didn't have much time to head to the Scotiabank Arena for the Raps game where they won and  cemented their playoff birth (also my son's first live NBA experience).

In the end, to say a great time was had would be an understatement. Tommy's got so many phenomenal memories and the swimming pool was last on his list of favorite things on the weekend (I'm truly shocked).

Thank you to my friend and the Jays org for so many opportunities, and for so many memories. 

Apologies, as some of the pix are duplicates of the 'Week in Pictures' thread.

Cheers!

Great stuff! 

[MoeFOH]

This knit kinda reminds me of the line from when Harry Met Sally... this stupid wagon wheel Roy Rogers garage sale coffee table!

But I want one all the same. 

[Ford2112]

My Giants seem to be pitching better overall. Webb just hasn't been to form. But we played well against the Plodgers and their billion dollar offense. 2 of 3 I will take than any day. Offensively seems to be on an upswing. 

Ohtani is impressive. His ERA is 0.38. He has over .800 ops. Gotta love those deferred contracts!

[Capn_Jackson]

My favorite pitcher Nasty Nate just gave up 4 HR’s in a loss yesterday. Glad we got that one outta the way!

[Capn_Jackson]

On 4/20/2026 at 2:31 PM, riderpride said:

Back from a trip to TO with the 8yo - it was quick and packed with action on Bremner. As mentioned previously,  this was his first live MLB experience and he had no idea what was planned other than we were staying across the street from the Rog, and a block or 2 from Scotiabank Arena. The team's injury list is long and brutal, and the salary-cap of the injured players was enough to surpass both Mia and Cle's payroll as it included the starting Catcher, RF, and LF as well as SPs 3, 4, and 5. Suffice it to say, we weren't expecting much in terms of a win as spare parts were being brought-up from AAA and the street as a nasty bug was going through the locker room for the last 10 days.

A few years ago (8??), Jays ownership was called-out by MLB for not offering 'enough' for the fans. He was right - it was too cold and transactional which is why I would go to games in Chi and Hou while avoiding Toronto. Fast forward a few years, and the owners have added substantially to the experience, and have dropped some serious $$$ on some renovations.  We weren't able to participate in everything, but here's what our sched would allow:

Saturday - I told some people that we would be in town, and the first thing we were hooked-up with was a tour of the Rog after the renovations. We got to see the control room and see how the magic happens with the video boards, sound system, and media. From there it was a trip to see the reenacted 'Bat Flip' from Joe Bats in '15. There were 19 bats to represent his jersey number and each was positioned in the trajectory of the flip (super needy, but cool to see). After that it was off to see some of the new communal areas and down to the field to watch batting practice where they let my son hanging onto Springer and Vladdy's bats. Springer was practicing breaking his toe (successfully achieved in game), Gimenez was taking some swings, and Lukes was getting in a lot of time  (later announced that he was dealing with vertigo and was essentially unable to see the ball). Jays Mgr John Schneider popped over to chat with us as things were winding down and allowed us a photo op and signed my son's ball that security tossed him in practice.  From there it was a 90 min break until the game where we were front row next to the dugout.  Louis Varland (a rare bright spot this year) was generous enough to stop by for another photo/sig opportunity, and even Febles (3rd base coach) brought my boy a ball after a brief interaction in the 3rd. I jokingly said something to him as he trotted onto the field and he gave us the thumbs-up - the best part is he didn't get to work until my son gave him one back. In the end, it was a loss, but a lot of great memories for him.

Sunday - we started out with a Jr Jays event that we were essentially invited to based on an inquiry. Amongst others, we were treated to a DJ, games, snacks, and all of the legacy mascots while we were able to watch fielding practice from the Westjet Flight Deck. The practice was mostly limited to watching pre-game rituals and the pitching staff horsing around - Gausman makes an amazing RF (vid attached showing his arm and he moved back another 40ft after that nailing the glove).
Seats for this one were in the same filed position,  but 1st row in the upper deck to give the boy a change in perspective. In the end it was another Jays loss, but he did surprise me by declining his opportunity to run the bases after the game (courtesy of the Jr Jays) as we didn't have much time to head to the Scotiabank Arena for the Raps game where they won and  cemented their playoff birth (also my son's first live NBA experience).

In the end, to say a great time was had would be an understatement. Tommy's got so many phenomenal memories and the swimming pool was last on his list of favorite things on the weekend (I'm truly shocked).

Thank you to my friend and the Jays org for so many opportunities, and for so many memories. 

Apologies, as some of the pix are duplicates of the 'Week in Pictures' thread.

Cheers!

That’s what it’s all about right there! Loved all of that, except the mention of Joey Bats’ bat flip in 2015. We Rangers fans don’t need a reminder of it. 😆 

[MoeFOH]

Well, it's April and the Red Sox just fired Alex Cora and a huge swath of the coaching staff. 

Good times. 

 

[riderpride]

2 hours ago, MoeFOH said:

Well, it's April and the Red Sox just fired Alex Cora and a huge swath of the coaching staff. 

Good times. 

That's a lot of heads rolling over there. I thought Cora was a good manager and am curious about the rumors behind this. 

Owner should probably look in the mirror. 

Cheers!

[mikejh]

Elly and Sal Stewart are quite the combo. 

[Ford2112]

Between Lee, Casey Schmitt and Arraez the offense has been decent enough for a 4 and 2 homestand against 2 solid teams (except we know the Dodgers are cheaters). Pitching was overall good other than Houser.

[ElLoboLoco]

The Sox are in pure dysfunction.

😭😭

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, ElLoboLoco said:

The Sox are in pure dysfunction.

😭😭

The Mets and the Phillies are there, just beside them currently!

[ElLoboLoco]

It’s early...if that helps us cope. 🤣

[David8406]

Speaking of the Mets and Phillies, to be 30 games into the season and already 10 games back…I don’t wish that on anyone. My Braves went through that just last year. It is a gut punch.

[riderpride]

2 hours ago, JohnS said:

The Mets and the Phillies are there, just beside them currently!

Things haven't been this bad at Citi since the cinematic masterpiece Sharknado 2: The Second One. 

Cheers!