MLB 2009 Season

[Matthew]

What was really exciting though, was Ryan Langerhans home run to win for Seattle in the bottom on the 11th. The wild card is looking interesting right now:

Boston

Texas 1 (Big Al is excited! )

Tampa Bay 2.5

SEATTLE 5.5

Cleveland 15.5 (Had to add that for Soul station!)

Obvious that Tampa Bay has the talent to take it, but sometimes having the talent is just not enough. I don't think Boston can hang on, their ptiching is way too iffy right now.

Edited August 8, 2009 by Matthew

[PHILLYQ]

F*&#in' A!

F*&#in' A-ROD!!!

Lord, that was an epic.

WOW!!!!! That was some game!!! I spent a few innings standing up in my living room because the tension was too great. Great pitching by both sides and it came down to Francona having nobody left, so he has to put in some kid making his MLB debut.

That was Tazawa, the promising guy Dan referred to several posts up the thread... man, tough game and environment to make your debut in. Amazing catch by Drew in the 14th, btw, to keep the Bosox alive.

I'm also really impressed that the NY pitchers limited Boston to only 4 hits over 15 innings. The bullpen seems a lot more solid than it did earlier this season. Did you see any of the postgame, btw? Again, this strikes me as the loosest Yankee team I've seen in years. I mean, even A-Rod seems to have finally found his place and fit in...I was glad that it was Jeter on base when he hit his walk-off.

I think having Hughes in the bullpen has helped a great deal. He's been coming in and throwing gas at 95 and that has helped the entire bullpen as far as roles, etc.

I watched a little of the postgame- A-Rod got 'creamed' by Burnett(missed almost all of his face), and he was laughing about it and he said some complimetary things about the Bosox pitching.

They do seem very loose, especially compared to last year. Girardi has really loosened up quite a bit- last year he seemed like he was ready to explode at any minute, this year he's much more relaxed. The additions of Burnett & Swisher have really helped the clubhouse atmosphere, those two guys love to pull pranks and horse around. This also seems to be the closest team they've had in awhile, it really seems like they're genuinely pulling for each other.

I'm hoping for a strong and long outing from Sabathia today.

Still, plenty of baseball left...

[BERIGAN]

What was really exciting though, was Ryan Langerhans home run to win for Seattle in the bottom on the 11th. The wild card is looking interesting right now:

Boston

Texas 1 (Big Al is excited! )

Tampa Bay 2.5

SEATTLE 5.5

Cleveland 15.5 (Had to add that for Soul station!)

Obvious that Tampa Bay has the talent to take it, but sometimes having the talent is just not enough. I don't think Boston can hang on, their ptiching is way too iffy right now.

Clearly, the Yanks-Sox game was the game last night(It ended late, and the half hour baseball tonight they re-run at 3 am only had highlights up to the 14th)

but the Mariners game has to make that team feel great. Langerhans was supposed to be a big part of the Braves offense for years to come, and had one of the worst starts ever in 2007(.068 in 44 abs)...glad to see him as the hero.

And braves, after being royally screwed by a dope of an ump(McCann made the best throw he ever made in his life to get Furcal at 2nd, but the ump called a strike a strike, but apparently really meant ball 4 so it was 1st and 2nd, and Casey Blake hit a 3 run homer) came back against Broxton to tie it up in the 9th, and won the game 9-5 in the 11th!

West coast games suck, because espn is basically off the air after 2 am.

[Matthew]

What was really exciting though, was Ryan Langerhans home run to win for Seattle in the bottom on the 11th. The wild card is looking interesting right now:

Boston

Texas 1 (Big Al is excited! )

Tampa Bay 2.5

SEATTLE 5.5

Cleveland 15.5 (Had to add that for Soul station!)

Obvious that Tampa Bay has the talent to take it, but sometimes having the talent is just not enough. I don't think Boston can hang on, their ptiching is way too iffy right now.

Clearly, the Yanks-Sox game was the game last night(It ended late, and the half hour baseball tonight they re-run at 3 am only had highlights up to the 14th)

but the Mariners game has to make that team feel great. Langerhans was supposed to be a big part of the Braves offense for years to come, and had one of the worst starts ever in 2007(.068 in 44 abs)...glad to see him as the hero.

And braves, after being royally screwed by a dope of an ump(McCann made the best throw he ever made in his life to get Furcal at 2nd, but the ump called a strike a strike, but apparently really meant ball 4 so it was 1st and 2nd, and Casey Blake hit a 3 run homer) came back against Broxton to tie it up in the 9th, and won the game 9-5 in the 11th!

West coast games suck, because espn is basically off the air after 2 am.

I have no idea how people on the East Cost stay sports fans, no way I'm staying up a late as you guys, games that start at 10:30 p.m., absolutely not.

[ghost of miles]

Bosox can't catch a break...they bring on Ramirez in the 7th and the ump throws him out of the game after he brushes back Teixeira and hits Rodriguez on the first pitch.

[Soulstation1]

We'll move pass oakland tonight!!!!!!!

[Chuck Nessa]

I didn't remember Cleveland had a team. My bad.

[Dan Gould]

Bosox can't catch a break...they bring on Ramirez in the 7th and the ump throws him out of the game after he brushes back Teixeira and hits Rodriguez on the first pitch.

As if the MFY need the help of the umps. First he rings up Ortiz when there is no fucking way in hell that the third base ump calls him out. It wasn't even fucking close. Not remotely. The head of the bat was at a 90 degree angle from his body, and stopped short of the front edge of the plate. The very fucking definition of checking your swing. And the home plate umpire, who is supposed to look for help on those calls since he has no angle and is supposed to watch the pitch, rings him up.

Fucking asshole.

Then the very next inning, when it is not possible for a pitcher to be purposefully head-hunting, the fucking asshole umpire throws him out for hitting A-Rod. Fuck him! He should be fucking fined and suspended for gross incompetence. And Francona should have fucking let him know that. Such an utter bullshit decision, Francona should have been in his face and gotten his money worth and gotten himself rung up.

But then again, Fancona can be a fucking idiot himself. Case in point: Toughest lefty in the league. Must win game. Runs at a premium. Can't give up too many, even more so when the entire lineup is sucking donkey dicks. You've got Lowell at third base - makes sense. Youkilis has to play anyway, but he's a righty too. But Bay is out and Baldelli is on the DL, and you've got a rookie, Reddick, who plays a fine OF (scouts think he could be a starting CF in the future) is a lefty, and Kotchman, the backup 1B, is a lefty too.

So what does Francoma do? He sits Reddick, plays Kotchman, and puts Youkilis in LF. Way to play your best defense, Tito you fucking moron. What happens? Two guys end up on 2B because Youkilis can't play the position.

And why the fuck is Kotchman in anyway? The only thing I could figure was that he must hit Sabathia really well. Right? Right? NO - he's 1 for 4 against him.

So you could play Reddick and have your defense lined up or you could play Kotchman and fuck up your defense. The kid is going to hit against Sabathia sooner or later.

SO LET HIM FUCKING PLAY.

You think it can't get worse, or more embarrassing, but it does.

[Soulstation1]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Edited August 8, 2009 by Soulstation1

[Chuck Nessa]

[Dan Gould]

And how about Buchholz? Six innings/2 runs pretty good. 6 innings, 12 base runners, not very good. Some excellent clutch pitches, and way too many that missed the plate. Probably the biggest difference was that he missed off of the plate instead of missing over the heart of it, and that's how he avoided the crushing blow. In a way he looked like Lester did in the early part of his career. Too many pitches, not enough innings per start, but the occasional flash of something that made you think there was some hope for the future.

Too bad he's the number three starter NOW.

[ghost of miles]

Man--I would not have guessed a week ago that the Yanks would now be sitting on a 5.5 game lead in the AL East.

I think the Bosox have a good chance to take tomorrow's game, though, given that Lester's starting. Pettite's been strong for NY lately, so it'll be a great match-up.

[Dan Gould]

All Lester needs to do to join the parade of losers is give up three runs. It might only take one, but they'll probably manage to break this pathetic streak of scoreless innings. Then immediately start a new one.

Boston Massacre III - CATCH IT!

[ghost of miles]

Nice article: Rodriguez understands Ortiz's plight. Even though he's been putting up somewhat substandard A-Rod #s this year, he really seems to feel much more at peace as a Yankee.

Edited August 9, 2009 by ghost of miles

[Patrick]

I didn't remember Cleveland had a team. My bad.

They were actually pretty good two seasons ago--just one win away from the World Series.

Kinda like the Cubs in 2003 and 1984.

[Big Al]

What was really exciting though, was Ryan Langerhans home run to win for Seattle in the bottom on the 11th. The wild card is looking interesting right now:

Boston

Texas 1 (Big Al is excited! )

Actually, I am, mainly because they DIDN'T do that stupid trade for Halliday, and now especially since they've dumped Padilla.

However, as a NYY friend pointed out to me tonight, IF the Rangers win the WC, guess who they face in the first round? Just once I'd like for the Rangers to make the playoffs and NOT face the Yankees!

[Soulstation1]

We don't have to take any guff from Cubs fans

At least the Indians have won 2 Series in the last 100 years

Nessa was in his 50s the last time the Cubs won the series in 1907

and 1908

LOL

[Matthew]

Does anyone do baseball worse that ESPN, please talk about what's going on in the game once in a while, please!

[Soulstation1]

Can Boston score a single run?

Could this be an old school world series?

Yanks vs Dodgers

[Noj]

The Dodgers' bats have been very quiet lately, it's got me worried. Doesn't look like they'll get past the Phillies or the Cards.

[marcello]

Does anyone do baseball worse that ESPN, please talk about what's going on in the game once in a while, please!

I have to agree with you there!

I had to turn off the Yankee / Red Sox game.

[ghost of miles]

Man! I was logging in to lament Girardi's not putting Hughes in in the 8th (& the Bosox subsequently breaking their dry spell w/Martinez' two-run homer) when the Yanks erupted with 2 out in the bottom of the inning. Six straight hits! Hopefully Rivera can mop things up here in the top of the 9th.

[ghost of miles]

Whew! Rivera let the tying run come to the plate but got out of it. Always nerve-wracking when he goes up against the Red Sox...

If the Yankees can make it all the way to the World Series, I'd love to see them face the Dodgers. Lots of history there, not to mention the modern-day drama of Torre now being L.A.'s coach.

[Dave James]

As I die hard Yankee fan, it's almost impossible to say anything nice about the Red Sox. Nonetheless, I feel bad about what's happening to Big Papi. The fact that he's toyed with the Mendoza Line most of the year is bad enough, but when you add to this his budding PED problems, it's pretty safe to say that 2009 is not going to go down as his all-time favorite year. Anyhow, I can't help myself, I just like the guy. I sincerely hope that he gets things squared away (as long as it doesn't negatively effect what's going on in the Bronx.)

Another thought. The addition of Nick Swisher may be the single most important move the Yanks have made in some time. You can just see how loose this group is and how much fun they're having. A good portion of this is attributable to the free spirit that is Mr. Swisher. Even A-Rod, who, statistically, is having a serious off-year, is visibly happier. You simply can't say too much about the effect of good chemistry.

Up over and out.

[ghost of miles]

A-Rod's definitely not at his best--probably in large part to lingering hip issues (certainly has affected his running, as we saw tonight with that infield grounder he would have beaten out in the past), but yeah, he seems genuinely happy and really into the team spirit of things. BTW, Dave, you probably saw this mentioned in the ESPN broadcast, and it was in the online recap as well:

It was the sixth time Damon and Teixeira have hit consecutive homers, the most ever for a pair of Yankees in one season.

Surprising! More than Ruth & Gehrig or Maris & Mantle ever put together? In any event, I was whooping it up after Teixeira's shot...my wife called down the stairs excitedly and said, "What happened?" After dejectedly watching Lester dominate the Yanks all night long (save for A-Rod's blast) and Bard make short work of Matsui and Jeter, I had logged on here to say, "Hey, 3 out of 4 ain't bad..." And 4 out of 4 is even better! Is that truly the first time we've swept the Sox in 24 years?

I'm sure not counting Boston out yet, though. Martinez is obviously a great addition to their line-up. And when are Dice-K and Wakefield due back from the DL? Just hoping we can take 2 of 3 at Fenway.

Edited August 10, 2009 by ghost of miles