jsnpritchett

I suppose that's theoretically possible, but logistically, that's an insane amount of elements to put together so quickly if things go south with the RSNs.

I honestly don't know what the short- to mid-term solution for accessing the games on TV will be if Bally Sports and other RSNs go belly up. I know MLB claims to be able to handle the broadcasts if that happens, but unless they do regional coverage on MLB Network, I don't see how they could distribute the games through existing channels (and I don't even know if MLBN has the capability of splitting up 10+ signals to various regions). For the future of streaming, it'll eventually probably be something like a central hub through the MLB.tv app where you can buy a mega-package like NFL Sunday Ticket that gets you access to all games (including your home team), single-team yearly subscriptions, or even one-off single-game purchases. Something like that.

I'll say the same thing I've said elsewhere in this thread: in a world in which carriers are already balking at carrying BSW, why would they pay up for essentially a new version of the same thing, unless it was for a drastically lower fee?

I posted about this earlier.

They were at 78.5 a few weeks ago, so apparently there's been a good deal of money betting the over.

He looks sad. Ha. Cheer up, Matt! You're getting $7.5M to play baseball for a year!

I know.

Nah, I don't think Profar is worth signing.

But, again, who would that be? What currently available networks could take on their broadcasts?

I'm still very curious how MLB itself would pull this off, since it would mean providing broadcasts for essentially half of all games.

Who is that going to be? Whoever it is won't be giving them $150M a year. It can't really be an already-existing RSN that carries baseball, since the team schedules would overlap. Also, for what it's worth, other RSNs not owned by Diamond Sports Group are having issues. The Astros, Rockies, and Pirates RSNs made their first rights payment of the year, but for less than the contracted amount. https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2023/wbd-att-rsns-light-on-mlb-rights-payments-1234709889/

I'm sure there's probably something obvious that I'm missing, but I'm not entirely following what Manfred even means by MLB being able to step in and provide the broadcasts. I could see them doing it online fairly easily, but who would be carrying it on cable/satellite? Doesn't seem to make much sense to have Bally Sports carry broadcasts that are financed/produced by MLB if BS can't make the payments--but from a logistical standpoint, maybe that's the easiest plan?? In terms of revenue, I imagine that what would happen is that the shared revenue from the local rights payments would just be lower to every team. I've read various numbers on what % the team keeps of their own deal, but there's still a pool of roughly half of the total money in local rights fees that gets re-distributed back to all teams equally. So, in theory, if the Bally Sports RSNs don't make any of their payments this year, then a team like the Angels would get $0 from their own portion of the local rights fees, but they'd still get 1/30th of the total local rights fees paid across baseball (that number would obviously be much smaller this year, since about half the teams have rights deals with a BS RSN). They could make up a fraction of that revenue (again, in theory) if MLB lets teams affected by the bankruptcy to sell direct-to-consumer streaming packages for their games.

He went in as a Ranger.

Jackson is the first player listed in the "Others of Note" section: "Second baseman/shortstop Jeremiah Jackson missed the majority of 2021 due to injury, then the Angels jumped him from Low A to Double A for the start of 2022, and he struggled to a .215/.308/.404 line because he just didn’t hit offspeed stuff at all. He can still play shortstop, but the Angels had him play more at second with a few games at third to try to give him a path as a utility player. He’s only 23 this year and I don’t think all is lost, but since his huge 23-homer outburst in short-season Orem in 2019, setting the Pioneer League’s single-season record, there aren’t many positives on his stat sheet to justify much optimism."

19. Ben Joyce, RHP Age: 22 | 6-5 | 225 pounds Bats: Right | Throws: Right Drafted: No. 89 in 2022 Joyce hit 105 last spring for the University of Tennessee, but he doesn’t have an average second pitch or particularly good command of the fastball. The Angels did the smart thing and sent him right out to Double A, as guys who throw this hard don’t usually throw this hard for very long, and Joyce has already had one Tommy John surgery. He’ll have to develop his slider to be a big-league reliever. 20. Victor Mederos, RHP Age: 22 | 6-2 | 227 pounds Bats: Right | Throws: Right Drafted: No. 178 in 2022 Mederos is 96-98 mph with a plus slider and a changeup that might be plus as well, but hitters tag his fastball and he can’t get to the secondaries to get swings and misses. It’s a high-effort delivery with a big head-whack at release, so his command is poor and he’s probably a reliever in the long run, although he has the three pitches to start. He was born in Cuba, spent a year at Miami, and the Angels drafted him in the sixth round out of Oklahoma State.

Here's what he says about Silseth: "Silseth was the first 2021 draft pick to reach the majors, which was certainly a surprise since he was an 11th-round pick who had a 5.55 ERA in his draft year at the University of Arizona. He’s a three-pitch starter with a plus slider, a high-spin four-seamer at 94-97 mph, and a splitter that just doesn’t have the consistent bottom that it needs. He got torched by lefties in the majors and the splitter’s lack of finish was a big reason, as lefties got it and they had better success against the fastball because the splitter often ended up in the same zone as the four-seamer. He could still be a starter, though, if that pitch improves or he tries a changeup or split-change. The two weapons he has give him a high floor as a reliever."

https://theathletic.com/4167188/2023/02/11/angels-top-20-prospect-farm-system-ranked/ I'll leave the full write-ups, etc for the paid article, but here are the actual rankings: 1. Neto 2. O'Hoppe 3. Quero 4. Bush 5. Paris 6. Guzman 7. Silseth 8. Bachman 9. Calabrese 10. Blakely 11. Placencia 12. Madden 13. Adams 14. Marceaux 15. Erla 16. DiChiara 17. Dana 18. Rada 19. Joyce 20. Mederos

I looked at his stats a few days ago, too. Unusual career. He was actually a freshman All-American as a reliever in 2017. Didn't do much at the plate his first couple years, then got hurt (not sure what the injury was) early the year the Angels drafted him (2019). Seems to have switched away from pitching at that point, then back to pitching in 2022. (Side note: that graphic is just about the busiest one I've ever seen... ha ha)

Ah, ok, thanks. Somehow I missed the 13-15 thing. I may be the only one who feels this way, but I really don't like this whole tournament and I don't care who wins. I'd much rather just have the Angels' guys in camp. Just crossing my fingers that no one gets hurt (and, yes, I realize they could get hurt in camp/playing for the Angels, too--but if it's going to happen, I'd at least like it to be in an environment that the team fully controls).

Don't we pretty much know at this point?

You know as much as I do. That was an excerpt from the article, not my commentary.