The Baseball Thread 2007

[Tim McG]

The Giants pay money for their players.

Just like every other team in the league does.

[duh]

[Patrick]

anyone want to guess who has the best record in the AL?

That would be one of those teams not located on the east or west coast but from the north coast, a team from arguably the toughest division. Your Cleveland Indians!!

i really like the indians lineup. hafner, sizemore, martinez, nixon. they should be very good

Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez appear to be locked in right now. Grady Sizemore is getting a lot of key hits, and playing gold glove center, but only batting .240 right now. Jhonny Peralta is starting to improve--batting only .260 but has 6 HRs. Casey Blake and Josh Barfield, not to mention Andy Marte, are currently missing in action (or on the DL). Getting some contribution from Trot Nixon, Ryan Garko, and Shin-Soo Choo. This team will hit a lot better.

The main strength has been most of the starting rotation--Sabathia, Byrd, and Carmona. Cliff Lee just came off the DL (and had a rough season debut), and Jake Westbrook is headed there (good news is that this means Fausto Carmona comes back from Buffalo). 17 quality starts in 24 games. And a bullpen that appears functional (already 10 saves, only had 24 as a team last year). Hopefully, the pitching will continue to be this good.

Only lost series so far have been a sweep by NYY and another by Mother Nature (snowouts).

Now back to Boston, NY, SF, etc.

[Big Al]

Dan , i think Dice K will be fine i do the same thing comparing him to Pedro but thats not fair Pedro

was special and it will be a very long time before you see the likes of him again.

Yeah? Well when the hell will the "real" Dice-K stand up? FIVE f-ing runs in the first inning to freaking Seattle. All started by walking the first three batters and then hitting the fifth (there's a fucking suprise). This guy isn't getting better, he's getting worse! What if KC was the best he can do?

I am freaking pissed right now.

Ah, fond memories of the Chan Ho Park years down here. I feel your pain. Really.

[BERIGAN]

Big Al, who was that in Left field for you guys last night? the Ghost of Roberto Clemente???

[Dan Gould]

anyone want to guess who has the best record in the AL?

That would be one of those teams not located on the east or west coast but from the north coast, a team from arguably the toughest division. Your Cleveland Indians!!

i really like the indians lineup. hafner, sizemore, martinez, nixon. they should be very good

Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez appear to be locked in right now. Grady Sizemore is getting a lot of key hits, and playing gold glove center, but only batting .240 right now. Jhonny Peralta is starting to improve--batting only .260 but has 6 HRs. Casey Blake and Josh Barfield, not to mention Andy Marte, are currently missing in action (or on the DL). Getting some contribution from Trot Nixon, Ryan Garko, and Shin-Soo Choo. This team will hit a lot better.

The main strength has been most of the starting rotation--Sabathia, Byrd, and Carmona. Cliff Lee just came off the DL (and had a rough season debut), and Jake Westbrook is headed there (good news is that this means Fausto Carmona comes back from Buffalo). 17 quality starts in 24 games. And a bullpen that appears functional (already 10 saves, only had 24 as a team last year). Hopefully, the pitching will continue to be this good.

Only lost series so far have been a sweep by NYY and another by Mother Nature (snowouts).

Now back to Boston, NY, SF, etc.

I wouldn't count on any bullpen that leans so heavily on Joe Borowski and his right arm that cost him a multi-year contract because the results of his physical were so disconcerting, and so far has a 1.6 WHIP and 7+ ERA. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

Aside from that, Cleveland looks very good and is more likely to maintain it than that other Northern team, the Brewers. I just wish they hadn't taken the series against the Yanks off or the Yanks would be even further behind.

[Patrick]

Borowski may be a source of concern, especially given the injury history (...though Foulke outdid him this year). His high ERA thus far can be largely explained by one outing in this young season (6 ER in 2/3 inning against NYY--without that it would be about 3.50. Not great for a closer, but trending downward.) Already reminding some folks of Bob Wickman--effective, but you often wonder how/why, and he too often makes the ninth "interesting". I'm not sure what you mean by "relying so heavily". He's made 14 appearances and pitched 13 innings--too many appearances? He pitches in save opportunities and extra inning games. Is the critique that the Tribe needs to have a second solid closer? I think Rafael Betancourt could fill that role reasonably well.

[Dan Gould]

Borowski may be a source of concern, especially given the injury history (...though Foulke outdid him this year). His high ERA thus far can be largely explained by one outing in this young season (6 ER in 2/3 inning against NYY--without that it would be about 3.50. Not great for a closer, but trending downward.) Already reminding some folks of Bob Wickman--effective, but you often wonder how/why, and he too often makes the ninth "interesting". I'm not sure what you mean by "relying so heavily". He's made 14 appearances and pitched 13 innings--too many appearances? He pitches in save opportunities and extra inning games. Is the critique that the Tribe needs to have a second solid closer? I think Rafael Betancourt could fill that role reasonably well.

I'm just saying that any team relies on its closer to a considerable extent. I hadn't looked at his innings or appearances. Finishing up a win when you are up by six runs is no big deal. Its hanging on to win the tight ones that make the difference in a tough division. Borowski has converted 80% of his save opportunities. I'd say that defines "mediocre" among closers, especially when you factor in how many of those saves are of the three run, one inning variety. Add in his obvious injury risk and I have to wonder whether he will do the job for the entire season. If Betancourt can step up, all the better for the Tribe, because I wouldn't trust Borowski.

The comparison might better be to Todd Jones, actually. He's got the same 80% save rate, and a similar career ERA. Borowski actually has a better Career BAA (.248 to .260). Wickman is weaker in save percentage at 74%. But all three will give you indigestion about 60% of the time that they are given a lead to nail down.

[Big Al]

Aside from that, Cleveland looks very good and is more likely to maintain it than that other Northern team, the Brewers. I just wish they hadn't taken the series against the Yanks off or the Yanks would be even further behind.

Yanks facing my dead Rangers sure didn't help your cause either.

Big Al, who was that in Left field for you guys last night? the Ghost of Roberto Clemente???

He'd certainly be playing better than the current occupant, that's for sure!

Big Al,

Can you please tell me what is wrong with Michael Young this season? I dont understand why he hasnt been hitting. I thought he was a shortstop extraordinaire.

This is starting to feel like a press conference!

Who knows why he isn't hitting? Who knows why nobody on the Rangers is hitting right now?

Personally, I think it's manager Ron Washington's fault. Everybody feels too comfortable around him. He's spinning everything in a positive light, and not challenging or pushing these guys at all. He's coming dangerously close to making me miss Showalter.

Man, it really sucks to be a sports fan in D/FW right now. Stars out, Mavs collapse, Rangers suck even more than usual, and I couldn't care less about the Cowboys.

[Tim McG]

Russ Ortiz is on the 15 day DL so the Giants are bringing up Tim Lincecum.

As a Giants fan, I am sure hoping they aren't putting him in the bigs too soon....he's scheduled to start on Sunday's ESPN game.

Keep yer digits X'd.

[Noj]

I guess that means that, as a Dodger fan, I should hope Lintcomb or whatever his name is gets shelled for about 8 earned runs, totally shattering his confidence.

[Tim McG]

I guess that means that, as a Dodger fan, I should hope Lintcomb or whatever his name is gets shelled for about 8 earned runs, totally shattering his confidence.

Did I mention the Giants swept your guys in LA last week?

Oh and thbbbtttt

sheesh

[Quincy]

Russ Ortiz is on the 15 day DL so the Giants are bringing up Tim Lincecum.

As a Giants fan, I am sure hoping they aren't putting him in the bigs too soon....he's scheduled to start on Sunday's ESPN game.

Keep yer digits X'd.

Thank you GoodSpeak, I just added him to my 2 fantasy teams before anyone else got him. His numbers look impressive, and I'm betting he'll work out.

Didn't you say the other day why can't the Giants get pitching & hitting on the same team. If this kid works out you could have yourself one heck of a rotation.

[Noj]

Oh and thbbbtttt

sheesh

Classic GoodSpeak.

[Tim McG]

Russ Ortiz is on the 15 day DL so the Giants are bringing up Tim Lincecum.

As a Giants fan, I am sure hoping they aren't putting him in the bigs too soon....he's scheduled to start on Sunday's ESPN game.

Keep yer digits X'd.

Thank you GoodSpeak, I just added him to my 2 fantasy teams before anyone else got him. His numbers look impressive, and I'm betting he'll work out.

Didn't you say the other day why can't the Giants get pitching & hitting on the same team. If this kid works out you could have yourself one heck of a rotation.

This is true.....but my stomach will be churnning all day Sunday.

[Tim McG]

Oh and thbbbtttt

sheesh

Classic GoodSpeak.

[Soulstation1]

anyone want to guess who has the best record in the AL?

one day later

anyone want to guess who has the best record in the entire big leagues?

Edited May 4, 2007 by Soulstation1

[Soulstation1]

old school

[Tim McG]

Hey...no school like the old school.

[Chalupa]

Police: Hancock legally drunk

Marijuana found in pitcher's sport utility vehicle

Posted: Friday May 4, 2007 11:36AM; Updated: Friday May 4, 2007 2:58PM

Josh Hancock was dead "within seconds" from head injuries suffered in a car crash early Sunday morning.

AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk and talking on his cell phone at the time of his fatal accident, and marijuana was found in the sport utility vehicle he was driving.

Medical examiner Michael Graham said at a news conference Friday that the 29-year-old reliever was dead "within seconds" from head injuries in the crash early Sunday on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. His vehicle hit the back of a tow truck parked on the highway to assist a driver from a previous accident.

"There is nothing at all that could have been done for him," Graham said.

Hancock's blood-alcohol level was 0.157, nearly twice Missouri's legal limit of 0.08, Graham said.

Police Chief Joe Mokwa said 8.55 grams of marijuana and a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana were found in the rented Ford Explorer. Toxicology tests to determine if drugs were in his system had not been completed.

An accident reconstruction team determined Hancock was traveling 68 mph in a 55 mph zone when his SUV struck the back of a flatbed tow truck stopped in a driving lane. Mokwa said there was no evidence Hancock tried to stop. He did swerve, but too late to avoid the collision.

Hancock was not wearing a seat belt, but Graham said the belt would not have prevented his death.

Mokwa said Hancock was speaking with a female acquaintance about baseball and baseball tickets and that the conversation ended abruptly, apparently when the accident occurred. A police report said Hancock told the female acquaintance he was on his way to another bar, and that he planned to meet her there.

Hancock was driving alone.

Cardinals officials expressed sadness at the news and said the team will re-examine what it can do to warn players of the dangers of drinking and driving.

"I think it's probably a wake-up call to everybody," general manager Walt Jocketty said at a news conference at Busch Stadium. "The one thing they have to understand is they're not invincible. They have to conduct themselves and make better decisions. Unfortunately, Josh didn't make very good decisions that night."

Jocketty and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa both acknowledged the Cardinals continue to provide alcohol to players after games, but said use of alcohol in the clubhouse has diminished over the years. Jocketty said the team will "examine and discuss" its policy.

La Russa was arrested on a drunken driving charge in Jupiter, Fla., in March, when police said they found him asleep at the wheel at a traffic light. His blood alcohol level was measured at 0.093 -- Florida's legal limit is 0.08.

Hancock, who pitched three innings of relief in last Saturday's 8-1 loss to the Cubs, left Busch Stadium around 6:30 p.m. and arrived about two hours later at Mike Shannon's, a restaurant and bar owned by the former Cardinals third baseman who now is a team broadcaster. Police said Hancock left Shannon's shortly after midnight.

Around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, the tow truck came upon a disabled Geo Prism and stopped behind it with its yellow lights flashing to protect the car. A few moments later, Hancock's SUV struck the rear of the tow truck. The tow truck driver was not hurt.

"If you drink, don't drive," Mokwa said. "Use a taxi. Have a designated driver. Call a friend."

Graham said Hancock had severe chest injuries as well as the fatal head injuries.

An estimated 500 mourners turned out Thursday for a memorial service for Hancock in Tupelo, Miss., recalling the pitcher as a goodhearted prankster. Among the mourners were Hancock's teammates, coaches, La Russa and Jocketty. Hancock was buried Wednesday in rural Itawamba County, Miss.

Hancock, a key bullpen member on the World Series championship team last season, made his major league debut in September 2002 and played for four major league clubs. He went 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 62 regular-season appearances for the Cardinals last season, leading the bullpen in innings, and pitched in three postseason games.

He was 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in eight games this season.

Hancock joined the Cardinals in spring training last season after Cincinnati released him for violating a weight clause in his contract. He also pitched for Boston and Philadelphia.

The Cardinals postponed a home game the day of the accident against Chicago and haven't won since. They were swept in a three-game series in Milwaukee and had a day off Thursday.

Three days before the fatal wreck, Hancock was involved in another accident. The front bumper of his SUV was torn off in a crash with a tractor-trailer that happened at 5:30 a.m. on April 26 in Sauget, Ill., when Hancock moved forward into an intersection to make a left turn.

Hancock's death marked the second time in five years the Cardinals have mourned the loss of a teammate. Pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in his Chicago hotel room in 2002. Kile, 33, died of a coronary artery blockage.

Edited May 4, 2007 by J.H. Deeley

[Dan Gould]

anyone want to guess who has the best record in the AL?

one day later

anyone want to guess who has the best record in the entire big leagues?

One day later and it ain't the Indians no more. Its that team with the big payroll that plays in the "lyric little band box of a stadium"

and they've extended their lead to 6 1/2 games. You gotta love it when it would take a week of crappy play (and a week of great play by a rival) to lose hold on first place. And I never thought it would happen last night, when there were three teams tied for second. I figured there was no way that each of them would lose while we beat Minnesota. But I'll take it - especially the way the Yanks imploded. I just can't see how they hang around with Kei Igawa and Darrel Rassner in the rotation for the next six weeks or more. (Of course, who knows what might happen if Hughes and Clemens returned around the third week of June? )

Today's "Reverse Lock" Match-ups??

Part of the reason I was so happy to pick up a game on Friday was looking ahead to today's matchup. In New York, its Wang vs Jeff Weaver. That's such a mismatch, even if Wang isn't pitching very well, it would take a miracle for Weaver to shut down the Yanks.

And in Minnesota, its Cy Young himself, Johan Santana, vs Julian Tavarez. Poor Tavarez - as the number five starter, with all the April weather shenanigans, this will be the fourth time he's faced an opponent's number one. On the other hand, he beat Wang last start, and before that, the team came back to beat Doc Holloday, so who knows?

I still say it would take an act of God for the Yanks to lose and the Sox to win today, so I'm just going to enjoy the Fox game, hope for the best, and not sweat it either way.

[J Larsen]

The Giants have a rich recent tradition of pitchers lighting up the minors and flaming out in the majors (the AFW trio being the most obvious examples, and Cain being the obvious exception... so far). Personally, I suspect that Righetti is worse than useless as a coach, which is one reason to be glad that Bochy is the manager now. I sometimes wonder if Liriano and Nathan would have been any good w/ SF had they not been traded. I have to admit that I wasn't sad to see Nathan go at the time - he was really horrible that one year.

[Matthew]

I love it! What pitcher other than Jeff Weaver can go 5.2 innings, give up 6 ERs, and lower his ERA by more than 2.00?? You gotta love this game.

[Tim McG]

The Giants have a rich recent tradition of pitchers lighting up the minors and flaming out in the majors (the AFW trio being the most obvious examples, and Cain being the obvious exception... so far). Personally, I suspect that Righetti is worse than useless as a coach, which is one reason to be glad that Bochy is the manager now. I sometimes wonder if Liriano and Nathan would have been any good w/ SF had they not been traded. I have to admit that I wasn't sad to see Nathan go at the time - he was really horrible that one year.

That's what scares me about this move.

And I'd love to have Joe Nathan back in an SF uniform....oh well.

[J Larsen]

But if you never bring them up because Righetti sucks or the PCL is a deceptively easy pitcher's league or whatever the issue is... what is gained then? Again, Cain is a young guy... One concern is that Cain and Lincecum apparently hate each other, but for hte money they are making (even at the min) I think they can learn to deal.

[Matthew]

Interesting article about Bond's off of ESPN:

Racial issues hover over the chase

Stark

By Jayson Stark

ESPN.com

Archive

We keep trying to envision the scene when the Greatest Record in Sports goes tumbling down.

We keep trying to envision all the emotions Barry Bonds will unleash as he makes that historic tour of the bases.

We knew this moment would be complicated. Awkward. Uncomfortable. But until we saw the results of this ESPN/ABC News poll, we hadn't fully digested just how complicated, how awkward, how uncomfortable.

Love him or hate him, Barry Bonds will be the home run king before long.

We knew most fans didn't like this man, wouldn't root for this man, wouldn't cheer for this man on what should be the most joyous occasion of his career.

But would you have known, from the way this issue has been portrayed by all of us in the media biz, that the percentage of fans who wish this moment wasn't happening would be only 52 percent?

Would you have guessed that three fans out of every eight actually want Barry Bonds to break this record?

If those percentages are accurate, many of us have misread the mood of the nation on this. And in more ways than one.

Until now, we haven't spent much time talking about the racial issues that hover over this man and this event. But this poll tells us we need to do more of that, too.

Look at these numbers. The poll says 74 percent of black fans want Bonds to break this record. And nearly half of all black fans think Bonds has been given a raw deal. And a quarter of those fans think that raw deal is all about race -- not steroids or anything else.

We're not so sure they're right in attributing the alleged mistreatment of this particular historical figure to racially charged motives. But for nearly all white fans who think Bonds has been treated unfairly to say race has nothing to do with it is stunning. We say to those fans: You're kidding yourselves if that's what you truly think.

We hear all the time from African-American readers who are outraged over the coverage of Bonds and his pursuit of history. We don't agree with all of their complaints. But we know, from those e-mails, that their passion is real, and often raw.

All of us need to keep that in mind as we chronicle this story, wherever it leads.

Even many years down the road, when -- or if -- it leads to Cooperstown.

We'd bet most Hall voters think it's the will of the citizens that they should rise up to keep Barry Bonds out of the Hall of Fame. But those voters had better look again at these poll results.

If 58 percent of all fans, and 53 percent of white fans, and 85 percent -- yes, 85 -- of black fans think Bonds should be elected to the Hall, then the voters who vote against him someday may have to reexamine their belief that theirs is an overwhelmingly popular stand to take.

If you look carefully at these poll numbers, they tell you just how conflicted America truly is about what's going to unfold.

When that day finally comes, one of these weeks, and Barry Bonds is out there making the trot of a lifetime, it clearly won't be the euphoric moment we all once would have imagined it would be if someone ever broke Hank Aaron's record.

If 73 percent of these fans think Barry Bonds used steroids -- but 58 percent still want him in the Hall of Fame, and just 52 percent are openly rooting against him -- it tells you something.

It tells you it isn't as simple as we often assume it is to connect the dots between cause and effect. Between "cheating" and shame. Between the suspicions people may have about Bonds and the way those suspicions have colored their appreciation of how great a baseball player he has been for the last 22 years.

So when that day finally comes, one of these weeks, and Barry Bonds is out there making the trot of a lifetime, it clearly won't be the euphoric moment we all once would have imagined it would be if someone ever broke Hank Aaron's record.

But we have a greater feel now for all of the powerful elements that will collide when that historic baseball takes its fateful ride through the sky. And they won't be colliding quite the way most of us suspected before these poll results knocked on the door to our brains.

Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

Edited May 6, 2007 by Matthew