2010 MLB Season

[ghost of miles]

I was listening to the game last night, and they said the fans were on their feet for every pitch and that tons of flash lights were going off on every pitch--so clearly Yankee fans do still think it's a big deal. (The same thing's been happening every time he's come to bat so far tonight as well.) I can't speak for other MLB fans. Yes, A-Rod will undoubtedly end up with a symbolic asterisk of his own, given his admission--but it's still a significant milestone, and he's still been an incredible player. All kinds of players' career stats can arguably be put under suspicion now, and frankly, I'm not so sure the glorious 1960s/70s era of our youth was very clean either. I'm not trying to excuse what A-Rod did, but I fault him more for taking a substance that was banned, rather than taking a substance; and I don't agree with the "baseball was a pure sport before the steroids era" narrative, because the use of PEDs has gone on for a long time. Tom House, who was on the Braves when Aaron broke Ruth's record, has gone on record as saying that there was widespread MLB player use of amphetamines and steroids in the 1970s. (Even Aaron admitted to experimenting with amphetamines in his autobiography.) Hell, Dock Ellis was tripping on LSD while he threw his no-hitter!

Again, not trying to whitewash A-Rod's sins, and I can understand why some, or even many, will view his HR progress with either ambivalence or disdain. To me he's still a great hitter, and at least he's trying to make amends for his mistakes.

[Quincy]

Looks like the Cards are going for Oswalt. Man, that could be the clincher for them.

I think Oswalt would not stand in the way as he & Peavy own some forestland on the Illinois side about 100 miles north of St. Louis. They bought the land for hunting, mostly for white-tailed deer as they're genetically larger in that area. Anyways, between the franchise mostly having it to together to continually contend along with it being a good "cultural fit," it looks like it could happen. Though I do wonder how they can afford the current contract and pay Pujols for next year. I wonder if Oswalt is willing to give some money up?

[thelbc]

Any comments regarding what a cluster f... the Seattle Mariners are?

Player goes after coach with the GM standing right there??????

Send 'em off like the Sonics.

Edited July 24, 2010 by TheLBC

[Matthew]

Any comments regarding what a cluster f... the Seattle Mariners are?

Player goes after coach with the GM standing right there??????

Send 'em off like the Sonics.

Here's a link to see the "confrontation."

Anyway, it just seems like 2008 all over again with the Mariners. THE PLAN™ was to have the Dynamic Duo of Hernandez & Lee pitch like heck, and have the back end of the rotation at least be close to .500; play out of this world defense; scratch together some runs, and then have Griffey sprinkle his magic pixie dust over everyone -- VIOLA! Division title! Needless to say, it's been even a huger disaster than 2008. The 4-5 starters have been bad, though Jason Vargas looks very good right now, with an ERA under 3.00. Doug Fister is also showing flashes of being very good. Still, the pitching has not been the real problem, Seattle has the fourth best team ERA in the AL. It's the offense that has let this team down big time. Jack Zduriencik & Don Wakamatsu fell in love with the ideal of the 1960's Dodger teams, all pitching and fielding, no hitting. Well that was then, this is now, and you have to score runs to win in the AL. Why they did not get a good offensive player in the off-season, I'll never know. Milton Bradley was not, is not, and will never be the answer to anything, and Russell Branyan isn't all that much, in fact the Mariners thought so little of him, they made no attempt to keep him during the off-season. No one can hit in the clutch, their team batting average is dead last, if you can believe this, .008 below Pittsburgh! In fact they are last in all of MLB in BA, home runs, RBIs, and hits! Heaven's above, we're on a street called love, but that is beyond bad, beyond any kind of suckitude, beyond gawd awful, in fact, beyond any description I can think of. This team was under a bad sign from the very start, nothing felt right since spring training opened: Lee gets hurt and suspended, Griffey made it very clear he didn't want to be there -- why he didn't retire last year, I don't understand. Think of it, the last image for Griffey in 2009 was him being carried off the field by his teammates, now that would have been a great way to end a career. Bradley, of course, is a mess, don't even mention Figgins! and I never thought Wakamatsu was all that, or even a bag of Doritos. Lopez runs the bases like he's on LSD, no one outside of Branyan has any power, and no one, absolutely no one, can hit in the clutch. But other than that, what a great year. Still, when it's all said and done, the building blocks are there for a turnaround in 2011; you have the pitching, and if they can get some bats, .500 is well within reach next year. So, as you can see, I'm still drinking the teal Kool-Aid, but I'm gagging on it this year, that's for sure. Heck, for old times sake, how about something that always brightens my mood and makes me think good thoughts:

Edit: For spelling

Edited July 24, 2010 by Matthew

[Dan Gould]

Interesting stat just now on MLB Network "Quick Pitch" - Posada reached a milestone 1000 RBIs and joins Fisk, Bench, Carter and I-Rod with 1000 RBI and 250 HRs and 350 2Bs.

So does this make Posada a Hall of Famer? There's one huge problem I see - those other four brought big-time defensive skills to the plate as well as good bats, and we all know that Posada was at best average behind the dish and hasn't reached that level in about three years.

He also had a substantial home field advantage, hitting from the left side at Yankee Stadium because of the plurality of righties in the league - he slugs .50 points better at home than on the road.

I just can't see Posada in the Hall. I might grade him a little closer than Bernie Williams because of the relative rareness of power hitting among catchers but he's no Hall of Famer in my mind.

[Quincy]

Interesting stat just now on MLB Network "Quick Pitch" - Posada reached a milestone 1000 RBIs and joins Fisk, Bench, Carter and I-Rod with 1000 RBI and 250 HRs and 350 2Bs.

So does this make Posada a Hall of Famer? There's one huge problem I see - those other four brought big-time defensive skills to the plate as well as good bats, and we all know that Posada was at best average behind the dish and hasn't reached that level in about three years.

He also had a substantial home field advantage, hitting from the left side at Yankee Stadium because of the plurality of righties in the league - he slugs .50 points better at home than on the road.

I just can't see Posada in the Hall. I might grade him a little closer than Bernie Williams because of the relative rareness of power hitting among catchers but he's no Hall of Famer in my mind.

It's also that 250 HRs nowadays isn't 250 HRs like it was for Fisk, Bench & Carter. Posnanski's column is about Alex reaching 600, but to a certain extent is applies here as far as HR totals:

"Steroids are not the only thing that caused the home run explosion of the 1990s — I’ve long suspected that they weren’t even the biggest thing. Smaller strike zones, harder bats, body armor, smaller ballparks, weight training (not even including performance enhancers), money incentives, expansion… all these things and more pointed toward bigger power numbers. The game did not tilt… it was tilted. A lot of people wanted more home runs. And the men running baseball had to give people what they wanted."

Also the doubles inclusion above is just silly to add to the mix. This is done to exclude Berra & Piazza (who misses by 6 doubles) and other catchers who were better than Posada, but it creates a smaller subset, thus making Posada look more exclusive. What happens if we throw out 350 doubles and replace it with 50 triples? I don't know, but that would be silly too.

[ghost of miles]

Yankee and non-Yankee fans alike might enjoy this--a Twitter account satirizing Yankees YES announcer Michael Kay. Some samples:

# Hey fans! Now, to give fans a treat, I'm heading down to the field to dive shirtless on the tarp! OH WHAT A FEAST FOR THE EYES! about 18 hours ago via web

# Hey fans! How about another milestone?! Will A-Rod steal his 600th base tonight?! History! Yelling! Factual errors galore! Next! about 19 hours ago via web

# Hey fans! OH WHAT A MILESTONE HOME RUN FOR POSADA! HIS 1,000TH! about 19 hours ago via web

# Hey fans! OH! OH! OH WHAT A BUNT BY GRANDERSON! He's out. 7:09 PM Jul 22nd via web

Hey fans!

Edited July 24, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Dave James]

I love Michael Kay. Wish I could listen to him all the time. As "good" as he is, though, he's no Jerry Coleman. Some examples:

"Enos Cabell started out here with the Astros and before that he was with the Orioles."

"He slides into second with a stand up double."

"If Rose's streak was still intact, with that single to left, the fans would be throwing babies out of the upper deck."

"Larry Lintz steals second standing up — he slid, but he didn't have to."

"McCovey swings and misses, and it's fouled back."

"Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen."

"There's a hard shot to LeMaster and he throws Madlock into the dugout."

"There's someone warming up in the bullpen, but he's obscured by his number."

"They throw Winfield out at second — and he's safe."

"Whenever you get an inflamed tendon, you've got a problem. OK, here's the next pitch to Gene (Tenace) Tendon."

"Willie Davis is not as young as he used to be."

And my all-time favorite:

"Winfield goes back to the wall, he hits his head on the wall and it rolls off! It's rolling all the way back to second base. This is a terrible thing for the Padres."

[ghost of miles]

And my all-time favorite:

"Winfield goes back to the wall, he hits his head on the wall and it rolls off! It's rolling all the way back to second base. This is a terrible thing for the Padres."

:lol: Classic!

[Matthew]

This day in history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrFzGbM_g4Y&feature=player_embedded#!

[Brad]

Someone needs to do John Sterling quotes. I'm sure they'd be worth a laugh.

NY baseball has had some great broadcasters. There was Russ Hodges, Vince Scully, Red Barber, Tim McCarver and Lindsey Nelson.

Also very good was Bob Murphy, Frank Moesser and Bill White. Ralph Kiner is also excellent. Hexane McCarver were a great team.

Who can forget Rizzuto, not great, but definitely unusual.

Can't think of any city with this amount of quality and please don't tell me Chicago or St. Louis; bunch of homers.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Brad

[Dan Gould]

This day in history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrFzGbM_g4Y&feature=player_embedded#!

I got a much better one:

[ghost of miles]

This day in baseball history, 1978:

Billy Martin resigned his job as Yankee manager on July 24, 1978, in the wake of his statement to the press calling owner George Steinbrenner and right fielder Reggie Jackson “liars.” Dick Howser was named interim field boss, and the Yankees lost to the Royals, 5-2. Happier days were coming when Bob Lemon stepped in.

[Dave James]

I have a hunch that the Yankee's play for more pitching nets them Dan Haren. RIght now, the Diamondbacks want the sun, the moon and most of the stars, but their asking price is bound to come down as the end of the month approaches. That's because, as much as they'd like their fans to think otherwise, this isn't about beefing up for the future, it's about dumping salary. The rest of the league is aware of their predicament and this will wind up undermining the strength of their bargaining position. If you're a Yankee fan, one thing you know for sure is that Sergio Mitre isn't the answer, not even on an interim basis. He was dreadful today against the Royals. With the reliability of Burnett and Vazquez still in question, a solid, dependable guy like Haren would be a welcome addition.

[Dan Gould]

What a perfect example last night of why the Red Sox are doomed.

Two wins in a row against one of the shittiest teams in the majors.

Their ace on the hill who was fucking D - E - A - L - I - N - G, with a perfect game and 9 strikeouts through five innings.

I'm fucking stupid enough to keep watching but at least I went to bed after the perfect game went bye-bye on a pathetic error in CF and then everything went to hell with a shitty pitch to a shitty hitter who hammered it about 450 feet.

If you really think they have some sort of chance, you'd have to agree they have no margin for error. Losing a game like they did last night is just another nail in the coffin.

[Matthew]

What a perfect example last night of why the Red Sox are doomed.

Two wins in a row against one of the shittiest teams in the majors.

Their ace on the hill who was fucking D - E - A - L - I - N - G, with a perfect game and 9 strikeouts through five innings.

I'm fucking stupid enough to keep watching but at least I went to bed after the perfect game went bye-bye on a pathetic error in CF and then everything went to hell with a shitty pitch to a shitty hitter who hammered it about 450 feet.

If you really think they have some sort of chance, you'd have to agree they have no margin for error. Losing a game like they did last night is just another nail in the coffin.

Yeah, that was a terrible error by Patterson. Seems like if that didn't happen, Lester would have gone the rest of the game, and the Mariners would still be looking for a hit. Just looked like Lester was thrown off stride by it all. Dug Wilson's suicide squeeze though, thought that was the best play of the year for the Mariners, a very tough pitch to bunt, and Bradley running out his triple was hilarious. I still don't think Boston is doomed, you never know, baseball is one strange game.

[ghost of miles]

NY's up 6-3 over KC heading into the bottom of the 7th at Yankee Stadium, and this comment just popped up on GameDay Audio's At Bat page:

Must score more runs, lead is far from Joba-proof

Actually, it's a good point.

EDIT: a very good point. Yanks scored a run in the bottom of the 7th, then Joba came in and promptly walked the first batter, then gave up a home run, making it a 7-5 game.

Edited July 25, 2010 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

Report: Haren to the Angels.

[Matthew]

OH..... MY...... GOSH! I hope Dan isn't watching the game, he is going to be in bad shape.

[ghost of miles]

Yeah, they pulled Bard after he gave up a single to start the 8th, and Okajima proceeded to give up 5 hits in a row. (Two of them bunt singles, I think.) Crazy turnaround...Boston batting now in the top of the 9th.

EDIT: yikes, just watched the highlight of Bradley's RBI squeeze, and Okajima ran in front of Youk and basically wiped out any chance Youk had of either nailing the runner at home or at least getting Bradley at first.

Edited July 25, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Tim McG]

Hey! A 6-1 road trip for my guys

[Chalupa]

Someone needs to do John Sterling quotes. I'm sure they'd be worth a laugh.

NY baseball has had some great broadcasters. There was Russ Hodges, Vince Scully, Red Barber, Tim McCarver and Lindsey Nelson.

Also very good was Bob Murphy, Frank Moesser and Bill White. Ralph Kiner is also excellent. Hexane McCarver were a great team.

Who can forget Rizzuto, not great, but definitely unusual.

Can't think of any city with this amount of quality and please don't tell me Chicago or St. Louis; bunch of homers.

You forgot Mel Allen.

[paul secor]

Someone needs to do John Sterling quotes. I'm sure they'd be worth a laugh.

NY baseball has had some great broadcasters. There was Russ Hodges, Vince Scully, Red Barber, Tim McCarver and Lindsey Nelson.

Also very good was Bob Murphy, Frank Moesser and Bill White. Ralph Kiner is also excellent. Hexane McCarver were a great team.

Who can forget Rizzuto, not great, but definitely unusual.

Can't think of any city with this amount of quality and please don't tell me Chicago or St. Louis; bunch of homers.

You forgot Mel Allen.

And Jim Kaat.

[Matthew]

The Phillies as your company's softball team.

[Quincy]

Apologies for dragging fantasy into this this, but I cut Granderson yesterday as a full year & change of .239 was too much. The nice guy s.o.b. hits 2 solo HRs as soon as he's off of my team. Again, double apologies for this intrusion, but anyone who's ever played the game (fantasy, not really played) understands. After Matthew's synopsis of the M's recent play I think I'm excused for fantasy excursions.