MLB

Indians and Cubs both one step closer to a classic World Series. Last night the Indians completed a sweep of the Red Sox. Tonight, the Cubs came back from 3 down in the 9th to beat the Giants 3 out of 4 (sorry DD).

If you aren't watching the World Series game 7, you're missing a game for the ages.

up7587 wrote:If you aren't watching the World Series game 7, you're missing a game for the ages.

Watched it in a sports bar with a heck of a lot of Cubs fans.....but even more importantly, with heck of a lot of baseball fans who walked away happy and entertained, regardless of who won the World Series.

Mariners' offense came alive today against the Angels. They were up 9-3 going to the bottom of the ninth. With 2 outs, it was 9-5. They lost 10-9, for their 6th loss in their first 7 games. Since 2011, teams leading by six or more runs going into the ninth inning were 2,529-1. Now 2,529-2.

The first pitcher out of the bullpen to start the 9th, Fien, gave up a homer to Pujols on his first pitch. A walk, a single, and a walk followed; based loaded. The closer Diaz came in after a quick warm-up. He got a ground out that let in a run, and a strike out. Then he gave up a 2 run double (9-7), walked the next two guys, and up came Pujols again. He drove in 2 more to tie the game. The next batter hit one to the base of the outfield wall, and game over.

Follow-up on Mariners: here's a batter by batter analysis. I had noticed the sketchy ump calls. I learned a reason that happens.
http://www.sbnation.com//angels-mariners-ninth-inning-comeback

So... uh. They are serious about this, huh?

https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/news/erry-2018/11/9f131f89806005/portland-diamond-project-has-d.html

The location is odd... It could be worse, but.... odd.

PilotNut wrote:The location is odd... It could be worse, but.... odd.

They really want the ambience of being on the river, having a view of Mt. Hood, and having a location in the city. We'll all be expected to take public transportation or water taxis to the stadium.

What public transportation?

Are we supposed to jump on the Coast Starlight as it rolls through?

You walk 39 minutes from the closest max line stop near Union station.
Which is a minute longer than the proposed water taxi from Vancouver.


Not to mention it’s in the Superfund district and about 10-15 years further from resolution than the Franz campus. We all know how easy it is to get the feds and State to move on that stuff.

Scratch that. It’s just as close to being cleared or development as it was in 1993 when I moved to Porland.

Perhaps government subsidies, as of yet undisclosed perhaps, extending Light Rail to the ball park will make the location more palatable. Is it possible that taxpayers will be asked to subsidize this project?

The Washington Nationals play near the Navy Yard exit: parking is expensive around the ballpark, and not particularly convenient. The vast majority of the crowd arrive on the subway and walk to the park. The crowd arrives in waives via the subway and exits the same way.

The Streetcar is closer than MAX (and much less expensive to extend/build), but its capacity is not nearly enough for this sort of use. I suppose a MAX spur running up Front/Naito from Union Station could work, but that doesn't help the red and blue lines unless it could also link up at Oldtown?

Water taxis are cool, but how about a zipline from Adidas?

I've got to ask my fellow sports fans. Do you think there are enough baseball fans in this region to sustain this whole venture, funding aside?

When the Timbers and Beavers were lower division, the Timbers drew in one game what the beavers did in the  A short season.

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PilotNut wrote:The Streetcar is closer than MAX (and much less expensive to extend/build), but its capacity is not nearly enough for this sort of use.  I suppose a MAX spur running up Front/Naito from Union Station could work, but that doesn't help the red and blue lines unless it could also link up at Oldtown?

Water taxis are cool, but how about a zipline from Adidas?

Well, there are tracks there and I suppose there could be an extension in the right of way, but I’m the average cost for a mile of Max line is $205 million.


Who pays for that?

BTW

My unimpeachable source on light rail cost is this guy:

Anyone watching the Mariners?  They traded away most of their better players in the off-season, and looked to be in a rebuilding year, i.e. tanking for draft picks.  Now they have started the season 12-2, best record in MLB.  They are scoring at a rate matched only by the 1932 Yankees, that had nine future hall of famers including Ruth and Gehrig.  They are leading baseball in homers, by a fair margin.

It probably won't last.  Their bullpen is suspect.  And they have two infielders who've made three errors in an inning.  But for now it is interesting to watch, waiting for them to run off the rails.

up7587 wrote:Anyone watching the Mariners?  They traded away most of their better players in the off-season, and looked to be in a rebuilding year, i.e. tanking for draft picks.  Now they have started the season 12-2, best record in MLB.  They are scoring at a rate matched only by the 1932 Yankees, that had nine future hall of famers including Ruth and Gehrig.  They are leading baseball in homers, by a fair margin.

It probably won't last.  Their bullpen is suspect.  And they have two infielders who've made three errors in an inning.  But for now it is interesting to watch, waiting for them to run off the rails.

Haha, that didn't take long. Now on a 5 game losing streak.

Portland Diamond Project eyes ballpark location in MLB expansion pursuit

5.24.2023

The Portland Diamond Project is “revisiting the struggling mall that has been an anchor of Northeast Portland’s Lloyd District for more than six decades as a preferred urban location for a ballpark,” according to sources cited by Bill Oram of the Portland OREGONIAN. The “ultimate goal” is to “lure a team to Portland when MLB makes its expected move to 32 teams.” Identifying a site or procuring land is “only one step toward making MLB in Portland a reality,” but it is a “badly needed one to regain relevance in the base race.” The Diamond Project has “never had a site that made quite as much sense as the Lloyd Center, both for baseball and for the city.” The Diamond Project has been “linked to the Lloyd Center for years.” But sources said that it has “emerged as a more realistic target,” after other sites “lost steam and as the once popular mall…failed to rebound from the pandemic and fell into foreclosure.” It “remains unknown who is backing these ambitious real estate efforts” and it is “unclear how exactly it would work at Lloyd Center.” Whether the Diamond Project would be “looking for an option to purchase the property like it had with the Port of Portland at its marine terminals” or would “buy it outright, like it initially intended to do with the public schools site before withdrawing the offer in 2018” (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/23).

Sports Business Journal article copied in its entirety because SBJ is a subscription service.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2023/05/24/Facilities/portland-diamond-project-lloyd-center-mall-site.aspx