Baseball 2005

[PHILLYQ]

My baseball watching experience is forever altered--On Saturday I got to go to the Dodger game, and sat in a "luxury suite" fully stocked with Amstel light, trays of hot dogs, wings, salads, etc.  A desert cart loaded with cheesecakes, caramel apples, and assorted treats even came by the room.  The luxury suites come with  around 10 Herman Miller Aeron chairs (retail at $800-$1000 a pop) for everyone to sit in--a far cry from the plastic seats/waiting in line for beer & grub common to general attendance.  The view of the field was unbelievably good.  Who says money doesn't buy happiness?

Dodgers won 6-2. B-)

You are now spoiled and regular seats will never be as good anymore. I went through the same thing- after years of upper deck & mezz seats, a guy on my job got me seats for a Yankee game that were in the 8th row between third base & home. I can't get used to seats for normal folks now.

Edited May 2, 2005 by PHILLYQ

[Man with the Golden Arm]

my boss had a facsimile of this on his wall of a seat you would invariably get at Cleveland Municipal back in the day.

[Dan Gould]

May 2nd and the Yanks are makin' major changes:

New York Times

Robinson Cano, a top prospect batting .333 at Class AAA Columbus, will be promoted to start at second base. The ripples will be felt throughout the roster, with Tony Womack shifting from second base to left field, where he said he had never played.

Left fielder Hideki Matsui will play center, leaving Bernie Williams, whose right elbow is ailing, as the designated hitter.

On top of which, Randy Johnson is missing a start tonite with a sore groin, and Steve Karsay, surely one of the worst free agent signings in history, was designated for assignment, so the Yanks are eating his 22.5 million dollar contract. Did he even pitch 20 innings in his Yankee career? I remember when they signed him thinking, Jesus, the rich get richer, what do they need Karsay for? and the next thing you know, he's got arm problems, he misses two years, he's ineffective, he's gone.

But back to these changes: Is Matsui quick enough to be an everyday centerfielder? I don't see him covering ground any better than Bernie does, and his arm is no better. And Womack hasn't played the outfield in like six years, and never played left.

I think they just want to shake things up by getting this kid in to play second and see what he can do. Its kinda sad though if this is the end of Bernie Williams as an everyday player.

[Dave James]

I'm not going to say at this point that I can remain ambivalent about what's going on in The Bronx. Nothing seems to be working very well. Bernie is just the latest in a series of disappointments. I thought when he Yanks let Lofton go, that they were gambling big time on Williams ability to be their everyday center fielder. And, to answer the question about Matsui, no, I don't see him in the middle at all. At best, he's an average left fielder, but covering Death Valley at Yankee Stadium is a wholly different and much more challenging assignment. The other problem is he hasn't been hitting a lick lately. This will just put more overall pressure on his overall game. Not a good thing. Matsui certainly can't be what they have in mind for the long haul. Maybe they're just trying to shake Bernie out of the doldrums or, for that matter, shake up the whole team.

I'm kind of wondering what Steinbrenner would be up to if he wasn't concentrating so much on the horse he owns that's the favorite in the Kentucky Derby. I have to think at some point, even though I've heard absolutely nothing along this line, that Torre's position has to be in jeopardy. I mean, he's been there 10 years. Maybe it is time for a change.

No comment on Karsay. His arm is dead and so's his career. Probably a good idea when they signed him that just turned out badly. At this point, I'm a lot more concerned about Tom Gordon. He's getting lit up pretty regularly.

With regard to the term "chin music", that one goes back a lot further than Jim Grant. Those of us who have been around for awhile will fondly recall, Sal "The Barber" Maglie...he of the close shave. I believe this term may have originated with him.

Up over and out.

Edited May 3, 2005 by Dave James

[Dan Gould]

Dave,

I don't think Torre's job is at stake so much as Cashman's. Note there's no more talk about re-signing him, and his contract expires after this year.

As for Matsui, yeah, he's fundamentally sound but he's not the guy to patrol a big patch of turf. And his quick release and generally accurate arm aren't going to work too well in centerfield either. And who knows how Womack handles left? I don't see him gunning a lot of people down, though I imagine his speed will allow him to cover some ground.

I think this is going to be temporary and that it was partially forced by Bernie's injured elbow. If he can at least throw like he did last year, he's probably still a better choice than Matsui. It will probably all depend on what this rookie does at second base. If he forces his way into the lineup, than the shake-up stays, or maybe they move Bernie back to center if his elbow problem clears up.

[Dan Gould]

And yes, Tom Gordon should definitely be a worry, just as Foulke is for the Sox. Based on age and past consistency, I expect Foulke to come out of it quicker than Flash, but they gotta get their shit together soon.

[Dave James]

Holy schnikee. Kevin Brown just gave up six earned runs and nine hits in the fist innning against Tampa Bay tonight. Glad to see the new lineup is working well. Oops...guess they forgot about pitching. Man oh man, this is getting ugly.

Up over and Harold.

Edited May 4, 2005 by Dave James

[Dan Gould]

Yeah, Brown and the first inning is just getting ridiculous, especially after his last start when he pitched OK at the start. For your sake, RJ's groin better be a minor tweak and not a trip to the DL.

[Soulstation1]

THE BOSS has gotta be really pi$$ed

maybe next year he'll bump it up to $300 million

i guess the big unit's big johnson is sore

ss1

[Big Al]

Holy schnikee. Kevin Brown just gave up six earned runs and nine hits in the fist innning against Tampa Bay tonight.

SWEET!!!! Couldn't've happened to a nicer fellow!

[Soulstation1]

when they gonna catch a white boy from the u s on 'roids?

bonds' knee is messed up again

[catesta]

when they gonna catch a white boy from the u s on 'roids?

bonds' knee is messed up again

When are they gonna catch a real player?

[Dan Gould]

Well, the Yanks have had a nice run of pitching and the first three game win streak since the ALCS. 'Course, we know what that streak led to.

Meanwhile though, an interesting stat I heard last night: Since Schilling and Wells went on the D.L., Sox starters are actually 9-0. And Wade Miller had a nice first start on Sunday: 5 innings, three hits, two runs, six strikeouts and 1 walk, with a fastball consistently at 92-93 and a sharp, sharp curve.

And the three guys left behind when Schilling and Wells went down look like this:

Arroyo, 4-0, ERA of 3.18

Wakefield, 4-1, ERA of 3.18

Clement, 4-0, ERA of 3.35

Yeah. I think we'll be OK.

[Soulstation1]

wouldn't the yanks be responsible for the remainder of giambi's phat ass contract if they released his juiced up ass?

[Dan Gould]

wouldn't the yanks be responsible for the remainder of giambi's phat ass contract if they released his juiced up ass?

Of course.

And what a sloppy game going on in the Bronx today. A-Rod throws a sure double-play ball into right field, and Pavano gives up a three run and a two run homer, 5-0 Mariners. Then Moyer loads the bases with nobody out and by the time the inning was over, it was 5-5.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Sox blow one in the top of the ninth!

NOT!

Varitek walks one off to the Pesky Pole!!!!! Nice call as I had to listen to the Spanish station since the regular call on my AM radio went by the wayside in the ninth.

[Soulstation1]

happy belated 80th yogi b

11 rings??

[jazzypaul]

what what you say? Chicago WHITE SOX first team in the majors to 30 games.

If they keep up this average all season long, they'll have won 120+ games.

And, they just bent the cubs over this afternoon.

Boston is next.

[MartyJazz]

Gee, the World Champs seem to be in a struggle to stay in 2nd place in the AL East with a weekend series against the Yanks coming up. Their record is not as good as the 2nd place AL Central's Twins while the top two teams in the AL West also have a better record (albeit, slightly) than the Sox. I know Red Sox fans would love to win the AL East for once but has it dawned on any of you that your team might have to turn it up a notch just to be a wild card entry this year? What's going on?

Edited May 26, 2005 by MartyJazz

[Dan Gould]

Gee, the World Champs seem to be in a struggle to stay in 2nd place in the AL East with a weekend series against the Yanks coming up.  Their record is not as good as the 2nd place AL Central's Twins while the top two teams in the AL West also have a better record (albeit, slightly) than the Sox.  I know Red Sox fans would love to win the AL East for once but has it dawned on any of you that your team might have to turn it up a notch just to be a wild card entry this year?  What's going on?

←

Let's see:

Schilling on the shelf and Wells either injured or ineffective when he pitches.

Ramirez, Bellhorn, Millar and Renteria not hitting like they're supposed to (and until very recently, neither was Mueller).

Foulke having a surpringly un-Foulke like year.

Yes, we have to kick it up a couple of notches - even Damon has said tonite's game against the Blue Jays is a "must win". But the fact remains that overall, the pitching has held up remarkably well without the #1 and #2 starter (and Wade Miller is already showing that he may be the most important "acquisition" of all), and despite the hitting woes of a significant portion of the lineup, the team is very close to the top in runs scored again and is in fact ahead of the pace set by last year's record setting offense.

With 2/3 of the season to go, I have to believe that Manny, Millar, Renteria will hit as they always have, Schilling will be back soon enough, and if Wells doesn't get his act together, we'll still have a superb staff of Schilling, Miller, Arroyo, Clement and Wakefield. And Foulke has been one of the most consistent relievers for a long time, so he's going to perform up to standards eventually.

[Dan Gould]

Unfucking believable. Seven losses in ten games and now we're looking up at the Jays, Yanks and Orioles, and the latest report is that Schilling won't be back til the All Star break.

[Big Al]

Six in a row for the Rangers! Of course, three of those came against the lowly Royals, but hey, a W is a W! This weekend promises to be exciting: the White Sox are coming to town! Hope the hot streak continues (for us, that is!)!

[BERIGAN]

Six in a row for the Rangers! Of course, three of those came against the lowly Royals, but hey, a W is a W! This weekend promises to be exciting: the White Sox are coming to town! Hope the hot streak continues (for us, that is!)!

←

Big Al, please! This is a Red Sox/Yankee thread!

Really, its great! Kenny Rogers has an e.r.a. of 1.69!!!! Yikes! Chan Ho Park is 4 and 1!!! Double Yikes!!! A quick check at espn shows that Mark Teixeira leads the team with an 30 R.B.I.'s which ain't that many for that team. (Your beloved A-Rod has what, 49?) Wait til they really start to cook.

[bluesForBartok]

I hear ya Dan. Last night's game was painful to watch. Especially since the Yankees have heated up and don't seem to lose very often.

Unfortunately we have to take the good with the bad. Considering how baseball ebbs and flows I'm confident they'll heat up soon.

Unfucking believable.  Seven losses in ten games and now we're looking up at the Jays, Yanks and Orioles, and the latest report is that Schilling won't be back til the All Star break.

←

[Big Al]

Six in a row for the Rangers! Of course, three of those came against the lowly Royals, but hey, a W is a W! This weekend promises to be exciting: the White Sox are coming to town! Hope the hot streak continues (for us, that is!)!

←

Big Al, please! This is a Red Sox/Yankee thread!

←

heh heh heh

Really, its great! Kenny Rogers has an e.r.a. of 1.69!!!! Yikes! Chan Ho Park is 4 and 1!!! Double Yikes!!! A quick check at espn shows that Mark Teixeira leads the team with an 30 R.B.I.'s which ain't that many for that team. (Your beloved A-Rod has what, 49?) Wait til they really start to cook.

←

Well, I tell ya, if anyone had told me Chan Ho would have four wins by now (hell, even ONE win), I'da laughed. Kenny is just a die-hard workhorse; if he keeps putting up the numbers like he's doing right now, he may start approaching Nolan Ryan status around here. The defense is rock-solid (as always) and the O comes in at the right times.

Who's A-rod?