MLB 2008

[BERIGAN]

Man, read this article on the Mariners!!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/base...tml?eref=si_mlb

[papsrus]

Sorry, that was a bush-league move by Coco. He got plunked in the thigh, for crying out loud, as payback for what really was a dirty slide by him (on the wrong guy) last night. Take the base and move on. Instead, he went flying out to the mound as if Shields had just thrown at his head or something. It was a nasty fight that was unnecessary and completely Coco's fault, in my view.

Having said that, Gomes went bananas, wailing away on Crisp while he was being pinned to the ground by Navarro. Gomes is looking at 10 games at least, I would suspect. Not good.

Bottom line, Shields was acting within the unwritten rules of the game. And Coco way overreacted, IMO.

[Dan Gould]

If you agree that Coco was justified in going in hard the second time last night (and I believe he was, he can't be expected to take note of who is covering the bag and act accordingly) then I don't think that Coco was unjustified in his reaction to the beanball, because throwing at him is escalating things. Tit - Tat - Tit means that you've gotten an extra shot in. Maddon certainly did not seem to acknowledge that Coco might have had reason for what he did last night. He's not concerned that he could have broken a finger or wrist because of the way the SS covered the base. he's only concerned about his second baseman being upended. I'll say this: Coco doesn't do shit like that without a reason. He's not Shelley Duncan trying to stretch a single into a double so that he can spike the guy at second.

I missed the actual brawl and am looking forward to seeing the footage. What I am not looking forward to is the medical report on Jacoby, I would not be surprised if he is going to be out for a period of time, and that's a huge blow. Not least of which that Coco will likely miss 3 or 5 games on top of it. They wanted Brandon Moss to keep playing first base full time in Pawtucket but they're nuts if they don't call him up to replace Jacoby, if he is in fact DL'd. The kid can play all three positions and could definitely handle RF if Drew has to play center. They surely can't have Youk out there other than today. I can only hold my breath that they do enough offensively that Youk doesn't hurt them in RF tonight.

[Dan Gould]

Strained wrist - X-ray negative. Question remains of tendon damage and whether he will be day-to-day or if the wrist blows up overnight.

[papsrus]

If you agree that Coco was justified in going in hard the second time last night (and I believe he was, he can't be expected to take note of who is covering the bag and act accordingly) then I don't think that Coco was unjustified in his reaction to the beanball, because throwing at him is escalating things. Tit - Tat - Tit means that you've gotten an extra shot in. Maddon certainly did not seem to acknowledge that Coco might have had reason for what he did last night. He's not concerned that he could have broken a finger or wrist because of the way the SS covered the base. he's only concerned about his second baseman being upended. I'll say this: Coco doesn't do shit like that without a reason. He's not Shelley Duncan trying to stretch a single into a double so that he can spike the guy at second.

I missed the actual brawl and am looking forward to seeing the footage. What I am not looking forward to is the medical report on Jacoby, I would not be surprised if he is going to be out for a period of time, and that's a huge blow. Not least of which that Coco will likely miss 3 or 5 games on top of it. They wanted Brandon Moss to keep playing first base full time in Pawtucket but they're nuts if they don't call him up to replace Jacoby, if he is in fact DL'd. The kid can play all three positions and could definitely handle RF if Drew has to play center. They surely can't have Youk out there other than today. I can only hold my breath that they do enough offensively that Youk doesn't hurt them in RF tonight.

It was a nasty brawl Dan. There's some bad blood going on there again.

I see your point, and I didn't see Bartlett's play on Coco last night, but sliding head-first does carry some risk to the hands. If Bartlett was trying to injure Coco, OK. But I haven't heard that. ... In any case, getting plunked on the thigh is in no way an intent to injure. It is tit for tat, as you say. So take the base and plunk the next Rays batter (on the thigh) if you have to. Inciting a brawl over that pitch was pointless, IMO. ... Too bad it happened.

... Too bad also about Jacoby. He plays hard.

[Dan Gould]

Here are some photos. Coco made a nice move to get out of the way of Shield's punch, which was surely thrown in extreme anger:

And here's a good indication of why you think Gomes may be looking at 10 games (wasn't he the one who flew into the picture to take a shot at Duncan in the ST game?):

Coco almost looks like a lightweight pro here:

[papsrus]

If you watch the tape, you'll see Shields initially looked like he didn't anticipate Coco charging the mound. He kind of does a little double-take, like, WTF?. Then, OK MF ... and it was Katy bar the door.

And yeah, Gomes was way over the line, IMO.

Edited June 6, 2008 by papsrus

[papsrus]

btw, Red Sox picked up a local kid with the last pick in the first round of the draft today.

Some background:

Casey Kelly, a pitcher/shortstop, picked up the Class 6A Player of the Year honors in baseball.

At the plate, the senior led the Sailors, who advanced to the regional semifinals with a 25-3 record, with a .473 batting average. The University of Tennessee football signee had 13 doubles, 5 home runs, 31 RBI and 47 runs scored.

On the mound, the two-time Herald-Tribune Player of the Year had an 8-1 record with a 1.16 ERA and 77 strikeouts.

Wants to play SS, apparently. And wants more money than a 30th pick is slotted for.

Edited June 6, 2008 by papsrus

[Tim McG]

I hear the [hated] Dodgers got into a brew-ha-ha today as well.

Here's hoping for LOTS of Dodger supensions

[Dan Gould]

And Kelly has to be convinced not to go to Tennessee on a full boat scholarship. I hate using a first pick on a guy who may not sign, but then again, no one thinks this is a great draft class but next year should be deeper.

Nice win for Lester, whose ERA over something like the last eight starts is around 2.5, and its extra nice to see zero walks in his line score.

Now we'll see what the fallout is from Coco and Jacoby's misadventures. If we have to play June without two of our most dynamic offensive forces, we'll be in some trouble.

Edited June 6, 2008 by Dan Gould

[Dan Gould]

OK, now I've seen the play from last night.

Bartlett was completely out of line. If Coco comes in with a regular slide, he's on his way to the hospital with deep spike wounds. He did it because he knows that Coco slides headfirst on steals. I've never seen a second baseman put his leg across the bag like that.

Now, was the pitch at Coco pretty innocuous? Probably, though it seemed to tail in more toward his midsection than thigh (like if he had turned into the pitch instead of away, he might have had an impromptu cup check). But I still understand Coco's actions because he felt he was wronged originally and was reacting to it. Going after him is escalating it.

Now on top of Jacoby's injury, it looked like Manny tweaked his troublesome hamstrings in his last at-bat and I don't know what the hell went on between him and Youk in the dugout. That's not what I expect to see lately from that roster. The Baseball Tonight guys asked if there was an issue between them over who went out to the mound during the brawl - was Youk really upset if Manny didn't make it out of the dugout or dawdled? Its nothing like it was in the early 2000s - there was one brawl where almost everyone stayed in the dugout. I remember Trot Nixon berating some of his "team"mates for not sticking up for their comrades.

[zen archer]

In the post game interview asked about the scratches on his face Coco said that Tampa fought like

little girls .......that is sure to add some fire to that late June series in Tampa.

What the heck is a Haymaker ?

Edited June 6, 2008 by zen archer

[Dan Gould]

A haymaker is a boxing term that dates, I am guessing, to very early in the 20th Century. Not sure of the derivation (though I am curious) but it basically means a hard punch designed to end the fight with a single blow.

Edit to say that I hope Paul spots this and answers. He knows the fight game, maybe he knows where the phrase came from.

Edited June 6, 2008 by Dan Gould

[Dan Gould]

Coco almost looks like a lightweight pro here:

I was pretty close to the truth: The Boston papers are all mentioning that Coco had 17 knockouts in 17 amateur fights. He definitely knows how to slip a punch.

[papsrus]

I never liked these brawls, particularly when they get this nasty. It even spilled over into the Red Sox dugout with Manny and Youk measuring one another's dicks, apparently. Bartlett simply should have been plunked his next at bat on Wednesday and it probably would have been over. I guess that wasn't going to be enough, though.

.... Nothing like a good rivalry ...

Dan, from what I can tell here, Kelly is (on the somewhat questionable advice of his father, an ex-big leaguer) using the Tennessee scholarship as some sort of bargaining chip to try to get better money. He sounds eager to sign with the Sox. He also sounds like he's being advised to negotiate hard. Keep in mind, if he signs with the Sox he would likely end up playing rookie league here near his home, another possible incentive for him. (And if the Sox move their spring training headquarters to Sarasota, further incentive in the long run.) ... I get the sense this kid wants to play baseball.

Funny ... got a call at the paper yesterday after he was picked from a Red Sox PR guy wanting some up-to-date stats on Kelly. I'm thinking, "You picked him!"

Turns out the guy had stats through June 2, which are as up-to-date as it gets.

[papsrus]

Crisp gets 7 games, Shields 6, Gomes just 5 ...

Lester got 5 and Casey 3. Jackson got 5, Crawford 4 and Aki 3.

[Dan Gould]

Crisp gets 7 games, Shields 6, Gomes just 5 ...

Lester got 5 and Casey 3. Jackson got 5, Crawford 4 and Aki 3.

OK, penalize Crisp the worst - fine. But Gomes doesn't get as much as Shields? And Crawford did shit in the pile that was just as bad as Gomes. But what I cannot fathom is Lester's suspension. Did he do anything during the fight? Because otherwise a couple of harmless, you can't tell if it was intentional HBPs should not result in the second worst penalty on the team!

At least there is an off day Monday which means that Colon can pitch on regular rest and Lester can get pushed back a day.

They also got good news that Jacoby's wrist isn't seriously injured, with a negative MRI result, though he's out of the lineup tonight.

[papsrus]

Crisp gets 7 games, Shields 6, Gomes just 5 ...

Lester got 5 and Casey 3. Jackson got 5, Crawford 4 and Aki 3.

OK, penalize Crisp the worst - fine. But Gomes doesn't get as much as Shields? And Crawford did shit in the pile that was just as bad as Gomes. But what I cannot fathom is Lester's suspension. Did he do anything during the fight? Because otherwise a couple of harmless, you can't tell if it was intentional HBPs should not result in the second worst penalty on the team!

At least there is an off day Monday which means that Colon can pitch on regular rest and Lester can get pushed back a day.

They also got good news that Jacoby's wrist isn't seriously injured, with a negative MRI result, though he's out of the lineup tonight.

Can't fathom why Gomes wasn't penalized more harshly. And I didn't notice Aki doing anything but standing around. Must have missed his involvement.

Crisp is appealing, so will continue to play. Suspensions are staggered.

[Dan Gould]

According to the Boston papers, Aki and Crawford were in on the pummeling/scratching/hair pulling of Coco while he was down.

In the meantime, let me get this straight - Sidney Ponson gets released then somehow gets a chance with Texas, goes 4-1, 3.88, then gets designated for assignment

because of off-field issues that have arisen in the past few weeks.

General manager Jon Daniels said the problem that led to the decision was Ponson's lack of respect toward teammates and staff.

"Based on recent events, I don't think Sidney wants to be here or deserves to be here," Daniels said.

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/articl...sp&c_id=mlb

What a fucking loser. Of course you are probably better off in the end Al.

[Dan Gould]

I know that the win streak at home was going to end, and probably sooner than later but it is motherfucking pathetic when the "best team" in the league can't fucking handle the worst team, by far. I should have fucking turned this game off the moment Colon threw away the double play ball in the first.

[BERIGAN]

I know that the win streak at home was going to end, and probably sooner than later but it is motherfucking pathetic when the "best team" in the league can't fucking handle the worst team, by far. I should have fucking turned this game off the moment Colon threw away the double play ball in the first.

Are you really complaining about losing a game, when you were without your 2 best hitters plus Ellsbury out??? Against Felix Hernandez, who in two starts in Fenway has never given up a run there???

Watch the Braves for just one week, and you will kiss the feet of Julio Lugo!

I slept thru the game tonight, but from what I read, it was about as bad a loss as they have ever had in a regular season game....

Some highlights...

The second baseman[Kelly Johnson] dropped a pop fly by Chris Coste with two outs in the ninth for an error, allowing Eric Bruntlett to score the tying run from second. Johnson threw out Pedro Feliz, who tried to score from first on the play, to end the inning. Braves fans, on their feet to cheer the expected win, were too stunned to even boo.

"It just didn't stick," Johnson said. "It hit the palm. That's probably the one spot in your glove it's going to pop out."

Manny Acosta (3-4) lost for the second time in three days, giving up two hits and two runs while recording only one out.....

The Braves didn't score after loading the bases in the third and seventh innings and botched a suicide squeeze in the sixth.

"You can't try and give away a game as many times as we did tonight," said Chipper Jones of the Braves. "Bad baserunning, not executing squeezes, defense was not good at critical times. We can't do that with premier clubs."

Comments from 2 guys on a braves board who are usually the most glass half full guys(hey, even after the loss, we are still just 3 games out of 1st!!!)

#1. Is it just me being PO’d, or did they truly reveal tonight that they don’t have a shot in 2008?

#2 Maybe the single most-disgusting loss I’ve seen in 30 years of watching this team. It’s been a LONG time since I physically wanted to be sick after a game, but I honestly think I’m going to throw up now, then go to bed.

That stash of cash I have for playoffs and World Series tickets? Monday morning, I’m putting that in my IRA … no way this team goes to the playoffs if they keep giving away games like this.

Actually, change that. They’ve given away games all season long, but NOTHING like this. Single-most painful, hurtful, devastating loss since Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS in Houston.

Add to that, Chipper Jones is having the best season any 36 year old without steroids has ever had(.421 after 2 hits tonight) is starting to be walked more and more because Teixeira is more often than not, failing to make teams pay for this insult. He has 43 RBI's most likely because the guy in front of him has a .504 OBP!!!! 128 times he has been on base, not including fielder's choices he has reached on... He ain't worth the 20+ million one of the NY teams will pay him(I predict 25 Million myself)

And the dumbest, most senile manager in baseball was given an extension thru next year...yippee!

Dan, how would you feel if Buchholz pitched on 3 days rest, in mid May??? The dumb fucker did that with 22 Jair Jurrjens on May 16th, and he has had his worst starts of the year the last two times out.

Or what if Papelbon pitched 1 1/3 in the first game of a double header(A game your team was leading by 6-1) then brought him back for the nightcap to save a game???

Would the Nation like to see Papelbon pitch 1 1/3rds back to back nights, then come in for the 3rd straight night???? Well, that's what Booby did to Manny Acosta, the main closer(That Smoltz, Soriano, Gonzalez bullpen never will be) and now he has stunk it up back to back nights....but he is only on pace for 75 innings, so most folks don't realize how Cox abuses pitchers.

One week, and you will thank God you have the Team and Manager you have, guaranteed. And never complain again....ok, I won't go that far!

[Dan Gould]

You know I'll always complain, Conrad!

In fact, this season come October I'll probably be pissed off when we win in five instead of our customary sweep.

[BERIGAN]

And if anyone's GM acts like they are really looking around for Relief help, but doggone it, there just isn't any out there, Bullshit! Chris Resop was DFA'ed 10 days ago by the braves, and cleared waivers, and was sent to AAA. He throws 98 MPH, and had some good games, and some bad. Until his last two outings, he hadn't given up a run in 9 of the last 10...but ol' Bobby didn't have him pitch after the 3rd of May til the 15th!!!! And he wasn't hurt...Kinda hard to stay sharp that way...

[BERIGAN]

You know I'll always complain, Conrad!

In fact, this season come October I'll probably be pissed off when we win in five instead of our customary sweep.

[papsrus]

The Red Sox guy and the Braves guy bemoaning the baseball gods.

Well, the Braves I can understand this year. But -- what -- 15-20 years of excellence ought to sustain you for a little while. And they're just a hot streak away from clawing back into the thick of things now. As a Rays fan, I've been stuck in baseball hell for 10 years. But I guess the suffering makes this year all that more enjoyable.

I remember the big bet around the office before each season would always be, will they win 70 games? Taking the under was a popular thing.

Nice win by the Rays last night at Texas. Kaz was locked in (Damn, I wish he'd gone in Boston). Bats were nice and lively, too, with four dingers. Longoria's was a second-decker to left. A thing of beauty, that swing.

(And, nice to see the Yankees back in last place ... )