2010 MLB Season

[ghost of miles]

Entertaining game. Nice win for the Rays. Bullpen looks pretty solid, right? And how about Joyce?

A-Rod was starting to look pretty frustrated with each successive at-bat.

I saw that too--I'm sure he is feeling a little frustrated by now, given how long it's been since the last HR and all of the attention, camera flashes, etc. He's pretty much on pace to hit 27 HR this year, so 6-7 games between dingers isn't all that unusual by this season's standards. But yes, a nice win for your guys, and that is indeed an awesome 1-2 punch you have in the bullpen.

[ghost of miles]

And by the way, who are we really kidding?

The fans of the 27 time world champions are the most obnoxious by a factor of at least 10. The reason being that they think it makes them winners, too, and they have a breathtaking sense of entitlement, piled on top of the fact that most of them are New Yorkers who have an arrogance all their own.

Who are we really kidding, indeed? Every baseball fan wants his or her team to win. NY fans are penalized because over the course of history NY's done it more than any other team? I have about five or six friends who are Yankee fans, several of them from the city, several of them not. None of them fit your description. Boorish, insulting, disrespectful, and utterly without class--ah, nope, it doesn't exactly fit the Yankee fans I know, or the fans of just about any team in the league. But it sure does fit folks who get off on venting all of their rage towards a sports team. Talk about getting too personally invested!

[ghost of miles]

Wow, Big Papi just brought the Bosox within 1 against Detroit in the bottom of the 9th with a grand-slam off Valverde, after Valverde walked three in a row. Would be an incredible comeback for Boston to pull off... 2-1 on Victor Martinez right now.

EDIT: Valverde at 54 pitches! First and second, two out, after Beltre's double and the IBB to Drew. Can't believe Valverde's still in there, but I guess Detroit burned through several of their relievers already.

Edited July 31, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Quincy]

And by the way, who are we really kidding?

The fans of the 27 time world champions are the most obnoxious by a factor of at least 10. The reason being that they think it makes them winners, too, and they have a breathtaking sense of entitlement, piled on top of the fact that most of them are New Yorkers who have an arrogance all their own.

I have (make that had) a deceased friend who began our last phone call with (literally, I picked up the phone and this was the gist, not even a "hello") "Well, does this mean we no longer have to listen to their whiny moaning…" Of course it was seconds after the last out of the World Series when the Red Sox won. (He died a couple of days after W. got re-elected. Yet another thing to blame Bush for.) Between the literotia "whoa is me" bores reciting the history of losing to neuroticism that isn't as cute as Woody Allen, Red Sox (GROAN) "NATION" (a reason alone, like the fucking Rally Monkey for the Los Angeles Anaheim California Make UP YOUR FUCKING MIND Angels) is reason enough to root against the team. If it comes down to the supposed evils of the team that outspends everybody and wins vs. the team that outspends everybody but #1 but otherwise tries to play the underdog I don't want hear it. (And to defuse things for our friend Dan, I know Nintendo Nation has the money to field 10 time champions, but ineptitude and a wee bit of whoa is me bad luck has happened along the way.)

Ghost, you are far too Midwestern polite to praise Alex for coming up in the clutch and giving links. I used to use his 2000 line vs. the Yanks in the ALCS (.409/.480/.773) for a friend who grew up in NYC who's out here, and he wouldn't acknowledge it as it didn't happen as a Yankee. "No pressure." Yes, Yankee fans can be obnoxious too.

Anyway… GO RAYS! (Hi Paps, nice team ya got there.) A Texas - Tampa ALCS would be tough as it'd be too nice. There would be no one to root against! Kinsler is hurt again, so time for Big Al to come in and remind why he has it worse than a converted Mariner fan.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Quincy

[Matthew]

You would have to talk Bud Selig off the ledge with a Texas or Tampa Bay vs. San Diego World Series....

[Patrick]

Back up the truck.

Russell Branyan dealt to Seattle for OF Ezequiel Carrera and SS Juan Diaz. Tribe has had quite a bit of recent success in deals with Mariners.

Jhonny Peralta dealt to Detroit for P Giovanni Soto (not much "pure stuff", more deception/command, 19 years old). The end of an era. Peralta has hit more HRs than any Indian in team history. What started off so promising never lived up to his first season.

Austin Kearns dealt to NYY for Toby Namtlader (Shapiro claims "prospect with major league value").

And now it appears that Jake Westbrook is headed to StL. And Josh Tomlin may make his second start on only 3 days rest. Why?

That means Fausto Carmona stays (...a good thing, I think), and that Kerry Wood is still available. Step right up! Veteran that throws hard, perfect setup guy, never mind the 6+ ERA. He only has 20 innings on his arm this year.

[papsrus]

You would have to talk Bud Selig off the ledge with a Texas or Tampa Bay vs. San Diego World Series....

Just another reason to root for it.

Can anyone explain what's going on with the Rangers? Olney touched on it last night. The Rangers are essentially -- in Olney's words not mine -- living on baseball welfare. Yet they are one of, if not the most aggressive team in the trade market. This (according to Olney) has other teams calling MLB asking, WTF?

He figures MLB is trying to make the team look as attractive as possible for a buyer (pssst, wanna buy a first-place team?). Yet from what I can tell, they already have their preferred "buyer" picked out.

So what's going on? Why pump up a team with these trades when the back-room deal to sell them is essentially already done?

Having said all that, I like the Rangers on the field this year. They lost a tough one last night. I watched the end of the Red Sox game (exciting) and then the Dodgers-Giants (zzzzzzz) after the Rays, so missed the fireworks in Anaheim.

[papsrus]

Watching the Jays-Tribe game and the Indians' broadcasters said the Yankees are about to seal a deal for Kerry Wood. Again, this via Buster Olney.

[Patrick]

Looks like cash or player to be named for KWood. Looks like Chris Perez is once again doing his Joe Borowski imitation. Oh well. A nice second start for Josh Tomlin.

[Dave James]

Buster Olney is reporting that the Yankees will get Kerry Wood from the Indians and that Cleveland will pay a huge chunk of his remaining salary for the privilege of dumping him. WTF? I am not a happy camper.

[Patrick]

Cleveland frequently pays a big chunk in order to get a better player back (eg Casey Blake to LAD for Carlos Santana). Tribe may also be paying part of Westbrook's salary.

If Wood trade goes through (and ignoring how much of his $10.5M salary still paid by Tribe), the Indians roster will have a total of 4 players making over $500K a season:

Travis Hafner $11.5M (ouch! The spirit of Wayne Garland lives!)

Grady Sizemore $5.8M (on DL for the season, so much promise, but...)

Fausto Carmona $5.1M

Rafael Perez $800K

And while the unsuccessful small market teams may look and smell like minor league outfits, that doesn't mean the rich and strong just get to plunder there. You want Kerry Wood (...you do, you really do!), you have to give something up. Chris Perez, for the moment, ain't available.

[Dan Gould]

So let's summarize.

The Yankees:

Needed help in the bullpen, got Kerry Wood, who has been highly flammable since coming to the A.L. and gets hurt picking up his newspaper.

Didn't need a DH but got the ghost of Lance Berkman anyway. He'll probably hit about seven homers down the stretch in the Little League field, none of consequence, and at all other times suck donkey dicks.

Didn't need an outfielder, got Austin Kearns. Whatever.

The Rays:

Suddenly needed help in the bullpen because Balfour is out for six weeks, got Chad Qualls. I've heard that Qualls' secondary stats aren't as bad the rest of them but this is a downgrade any way you slice it. Fortunately they've still got some arms there.

Man oh man was I excited when I heard that the Rays were one of the teams in on Manny. That would have put the fucking fear of god into the assholes in the Bronx, I just wish it could have happened.

The Red Sox:

Theo earns his money by not overpaying to try to marginally increase a vanishing (I'll now say <5%) chance of making the playoffs. When the Jays ask for Cuban SS Iglesias or top pitching prospect Kelly for Scott Fucking Downs, its time to turn off the phone and keep building that bridge to 2011.

So he turned to the tried and true: Addition by subtraction.

Ramon Ramirez sent to SF for a bag of balls.

Hermida and his .257 OBP DFA'd.

Dustin Richardson called up, and more excitingly, Ryan Kalish, who has had the best season of any of their prospects and is only 22, takes over for Hermida. In 343 PAs split between AA and AAA, he posted a slash of .294/.382/.502.

The future is now. Watch out in 2011 when we can only assume the baseball Gods will devastate the roster of some other team with a ridiculous series of injuries. And presuming that Theo makes the trade for a franchise bat like Adrian Gonzales or better yet, if Detroit realizes it can't pay him, they should absolutely get Cabrera, who has very much re-established his value this year and is signed for quite a few years to come. Get it done, Theo!

In the meantime,

GO RAYS!!!!

Edited July 31, 2010 by Dan Gould

[BERIGAN]

Not impressed with this Davis guy pitching against the Yankees -- he'll be gone by the fourth.

So...how'd the game turn out???

You would have to talk Bud Selig off the ledge with a Texas or Tampa Bay vs. San Diego World Series....

Just another reason to root for it.

And can anyone explain to me how in football, if the SD Chargers or NO Saints are in the Superbowl, it doesn't hurt tv ratings, no one laughs??? But God forbid it's the Rays and the Reds and (practically)no one will watch???

[papsrus]

The Rays:

Suddenly needed help in the bullpen because Balfour is out for six weeks, got Chad Qualls.

I missed that! An intercostal strain? Don't know anything about the intercostal muscles but a quick look around seems to indicate they have to do primarly with the chest and rib area, but also the front of the arm? I assume Balfour's injury is with the chest area.

Damn.

[Dan Gould]

Do you really need an explanation? :rolleyes:

Fine.

The Superbowl is a one-off event that brings in literally tens of millions of people who don't watch a single game during the season. Some of those people only watch for the fucking commercials!

[ghost of miles]

Remember that incredible 9th inning the Rockies had a few weeks ago? Well, they topped it.

[Matthew]

Not impressed with this Davis guy pitching against the Yankees -- he'll be gone by the fourth.

So...how'd the game turn out???

How about this one for tonight? This Garza looks terrible warming up, won't last an inning.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Matthew

[Quincy]

Remember that incredible 9th inning the Rockies had a few weeks ago? Well, they topped it.

I'm starting to wonder if there's something to the humidor conspiracy theory.

[papsrus]

... Ryan Kalish, who has had the best season of any of their prospects and is only 22, takes over for Hermida. In 343 PAs split between AA and AAA, he posted a slash of .294/.382/.502.

He had a real nice game today with a pair of hits, RBI, looked sharp at the plate, and made a nice catch against the wall in left. Looks like a player all right.

Nice comeback today after falling just short last night.

[Patrick]

A bit more on the Jake Westbrook deal from the Plain Dealer:

The final hurdle was money. Westbrook has $3.2 million left on his $11 million contract. Westbrook also receives a $2 million bonus if he's traded. The last year of his contract is also prorated at $1 million if he's traded.

Westbrook helped make the deal work by reducing his trade bonuses. He would not say by how much.

"Anyway I could help the Indians, I wanted to do that," said Westbrook, before leaving to catch a flight to St. Louis. "I don't feel I honored the contract with them because of my health. It was in my best interest and the Indians best interest to do something like that."

Chris Antonetti, Indians in-coming general manager, said the Indians sent cash to the Cardinals and Padres to make the deal work.

"Typical of the person he is, Jake worked with us and the Cardinals and Padres," said Antonetti. "We'll be sending some cash to the Cardinals and a little to the Padres because of the difference in Ludwig and Westbrook's salary.

Nice change of pace from another athlete that recently left Cleveland...

[Dave James]

My link

[ghost of miles]

Papsrus, another great game tonight--Matt Joyce really seems to have our number. Just glad we got those two late titanic shots from Tex and Cano. I know it's a cliche to say so, but this series really does feel like an early playoff bout... if NY doesn't go all the way, I'll be rooting for Tampa Bay or Texas to do it instead.

Edited August 1, 2010 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

Yankees-Rays season against each other so far:

5 games played at NY, 5 games played at TB

NY: 5-5, 58 runs scored

TB: 5-5, 56 runs scored

Edited August 1, 2010 by ghost of miles

[papsrus]

Papsrus, another great game tonight--Matt Joyce really seems to have our number. Just glad we got those two late titanic shots from Tex and Cano. I know it's a cliche to say so, but this series really does feel like an early playoff bout... if NY doesn't go all the way, I'll be rooting for Tampa Bay or Texas to do it instead.

That was a great game. Bombs away tonight.

I think it was Swisher that Garza had gotten out twice with the curve ball. He went to the well a third time with two strikes and Swisher launches on him. Garza was just asking for trouble throwing that pitch in that situation. Not real imaginative.

Pena tweaked his foot somehow. May be out tomorrow, not sure.

Shields - Sabathia for the rubber match.

[Dave James]

Garza was just asking for trouble throwing that pitch in that situation. Not real imaginative.

Depends on who called the pitch. Not sure how the Rays operate, but Garza was probably just following directions, either from the catcher or from the bench. Regardless, I'm pleased with the results.

After a brief slump, Cano is back in the groove. Man, that guy can hit.

I'm hearing that Manny Ramirez was briefly in play and that the Yankees at one point were sniffing around. How great would it have been to see Man Ram in pinstripes the next time the Yanks went into Boston? Holy jumpin' up and down Martha.

Edited August 1, 2010 by Dave James