This Week In Baseball

[MrRant 0]

My whole year has been soured.

 

Unless the M's go on a massive win streak.

[sfaJack 0]

I'm starting to fear for that umpiring crew's safety. One more bad call tomorrow, and they'll be lucky to escape Chicago with all their bones intact.

 

Good god Wood got screwed. At least they got the safe call on Barrett's grounder in the ninth right. Not that it matters now.

[sfaJack 0]

Oh, I'm sorry he isn't getting his normal 5 inch off the plate strike today.

 

Boo hoo, go cry Wood. I'd be upset at your bafoon manager, not the ump.

5" off the plate? Are you fucking blind or something? BOTH of those pitches should have been called strikes. The overhead replay clearly proved that.

[sfaJack 0]

Holy fuck. Wagner is a fucking monster.

You aren't just now finding this out, are you? That was one trade I was ecstatic to see happen because it got Wags the hell out of the Central.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Oh, I'm sorry he isn't getting his normal 5 inch off the plate strike today.

 

Boo hoo, go cry Wood. I'd be upset at your bafoon manager, not the ump.

5" off the plate? Are you fucking blind or something? BOTH of those pitches should have been called strikes. The overhead replay clearly proved that.

The 1st one was border line. The 2nd one was clearly a ball. Thanks.

 

Edit: And oh, to clear things up, I didn't want it to sound like I was saying those balls were 5 inches off the plate. I was noting how he didn't get his usual expanded strike zone today, so he cried like a baby about it. Did Graves cry yesterday when Sosa should've been rung up? No sir.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Did Graves cry yesterday when Sosa should've been rung up? No sir.

That's because the game only lasted about three more pitches after that leaving him little time to complain.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Did Graves cry yesterday when Sosa should've been rung up? No sir.

That's because the game only lasted about three more pitches after that leaving him little time to complain.

No doubting the next pitch was a fat one and the 2nd pitch to Alou was on a tee.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Holy fuck.  Wagner is a fucking monster.

You aren't just now finding this out, are you? That was one trade I was ecstatic to see happen because it got Wags the hell out of the Central.

I've known. Go back in the archives of posts and you'll find my praise of the deal. But its one thing to read up on a pitcher, and another to see it in person. In Philly we're used to seeing Jose Mesa. He'd come in. Throw the ball. Maybe its a strike, maybe not. If we were lucky, he wouldn't blow it and the Phillies would win. Wagner comes in, no nonsense. 100 fucking MPH. And STRIKES. The fans aren't watching Wagner. They're watching the scoreboard to see if its 100 MPH, or merely 99. The opposing batters don't have a damn chance. I love it.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

If you have the Bill James Handbook, check the stat on 'pitches at over 100MPH'

 

Wagner is ahead of the competition by like 150 pitches

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Way ahead of you. I mentioned that tidbit on page 7.

[MrRant 0]

I refuse to go to a Mariners game until they get to .500 .

 

Which means sometime around the All Star Break.

[Slayer 0]

I refuse to go to a Mariners game until they get to .500

Get on the waiting list for next year

[Guest OSIcon]

Not exactly.

 

They'll start off real strong because all of their offense is really clicking right now and their pitching is getting by. However when people come down to Earth and its basically left to Sidney Ponson, Tejada, Javy Lopez, and Palmeiro(like it came down to Halladay, Vernon Wells, Carlos Delgado, and Frank Cattalanato) the team will start its decent into the middle of the pack.

 

Actually, when you look a the stats, nobody is really hitting above themselves so far (maybe with the exception of Javy). Everyone else is generally hitting about on the level they usually do or below. So I wouldn't say they are "really clicking" right now. Nobody is really playing above themselves so you really can't say that they will "come down to earth" (again, Javy being the exception probably).

 

That's been the most positive thing to me about the O's season thus far. They haven't played spectacular or anything. It isn't like they are on this real hot streak where everyone is crushing the ball and the pitching has been lights out. Instead, some guys have been playing reall good, some haven't. They've gotten some bad starting pitching performances and some good ones (more bad than good). They aren't incredibly hot or anything, yet are still winning. Their performance over the first ten games IS NOT a peak performance like you make it out to be. Just watching the gams and reading the box scores will show you that the team as a whole is not playing as good as it potentially can. Its not like they are 9-1 and everyone is putting up better numbers than they ever have.

 

I am not saying that they will necesarily stay near the top all year, but it is a joke to say that they are playing to the peak of their abilities now and that it will be all down hill from here.....

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Yankees are already looking into the trade market for Kenny Lofton in order to clear up their OF log jam. AngleSault will praise this news until Lofton leaves and Bernie Williams' shoulder falls off and his knees buckle under him.

[geniusMoment 0]

Actually both pitches to Dunn were outside, the question is whether those pitchers were called strikes all day. If they were then wood has an argument if not he should sit his ass down. If Cincy's bullpen had held the lead in Philly and in Chicago they would be 8-2 instead of 6-4. Now wilson is going tomorrow, with his under 1.0 ERA. The bad news is Haynes is going on Monday, the good news is we face Clement, who we always hammer, so expect a lot of runs on Monday. I think the reds will probably split this series with the Cubs, possibly taking 3 of 4.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Actually, when you look a the stats, nobody is really hitting above themselves so far (maybe with the exception of Javy).  Everyone else is generally hitting about on the level they usually do or below.  So I wouldn't say they are "really clicking" right now.  Nobody is really playing above themselves so you really can't say that they will "come down to earth" (again, Javy being the exception probably).

 

That's been the most positive thing to me about the O's season thus far.  They haven't played spectacular or anything.  It isn't like they are on this real hot streak where everyone is crushing the ball and the pitching has been lights out.  Instead, some guys have been playing reall good, some haven't.  They've gotten some bad starting pitching performances and some good ones (more bad than good).  They aren't incredibly hot or anything, yet are still winning.  Their performance over the first ten games IS NOT a peak performance like you make it out to be.  Just watching the gams and reading the box scores will show you that the team as a whole is not playing as good as it potentially can.  Its not like they are 9-1 and everyone is putting up better numbers than they ever have. 

 

I am not saying that they will necesarily stay near the top all year, but it is a joke to say that they are playing to the peak of their abilities now and that it will be all down hill from here.....

Heres how I look at it:

 

Brian Roberts - off to a slow start (he might get bounced when Hairston comes back)

Melvin Mora - off to a decent start although not as good as last year

Miguel Tejada - slow start, although hes getting hits but only 1 HR and 3 RBI

Rafael Palmeiro - off to a good start

Javy Lopez - O's hottest player, 13 game hit streak going back to last year

Jay Gibbons - O's coldest player, not looking real good at the plate

David Segui - not injured yet which means hes doing better than expected as DH

Luis Matos - decent at the plate, doing wonders in CF defensively

Larry Bigbie - slow start, but hes got some pop in the 9th spot in the lineup

 

As for the Pitching, its too early to put much judgement on the Starters, but the Bullpen has been very effective. If the bullpen can remain as effective as its been, then Im not so worried about Riley/Ainsworth/Dubose/Bedard.

[Guest Anglesault]

Yankees are already looking into the trade market for Kenny Lofton in order to clear up their OF log jam. AngleSault will praise this news until Lofton leaves and Bernie Williams' shoulder falls off and his knees buckle under him.

I'm not sure what good Kenny Lofton would do for the team.

 

He's hitting as poorly as everyone else, and he blew a big play in center already. His attitude isn't worth it.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Gange struggling for the 2nd day in a row.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Ack. No reason to keep Wood in there when you've got Mercker, Hawkins, and Borowski, as somebody said.

 

I do think something needs to be done with that Kyle Farnsworth fellow. Can't we trade him for somebody good by saying "Look how well Choi and Estes turned out"? I hope GMs are that gullible.

 

Maddux is next in the rotation....help us

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Homeplate Umpire is already pissing off people in the Atlanta/Florida game. Russ Ortiz pitched the ball right down the middle(not over exahgerating) and the ump called it a ball when it should have been strike 3. So how does he make it up to Ortiz? Well the batter hits a single and Mike Lowell goes to score on it, slides under the tag and the home plate Ump calls him out.

 

I blame Questec starting up again a couple of days ago on this. Its placing added pressure on the umps. A system which leads the authority of the game doubting their own calls over and over again is not good for the game.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

Angel Berroa is on the 15 day DL due to a severe migrane headache

[Bored 0]

My whole year has been soured.

 

Unless the M's go on a massive win streak.

Bill Bavasi: "So I'll trade Randy Winn and John Olerud for Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. Now you got yourself a team!"

[Mik 0]

Good thing about TBS: Can watch the Marlins whenever they play the Braves.

 

Bad thing about TBS: The past two games. The Marlins haven't looked good, but hell, you can't win them all. Still have the best record in the majors, but it would have been nice to send a message to the Braves in this series. Hopefully tomorrow they can salvage a win.

[CanadianChris 0]

Lost in the shuffle of the Yankee hitting woes...New York is LAST in the AL in fielding percentage. I can't even remember the last time they were even close to the bottom in fielding.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Fielding percentage is a red herring.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

Any thoughts on this:

 

via Neyer

"After his last start--I believe in last Saturday's KC Star--they interviewed Pena and Affeldt, and they both agreed there was no injury, which I think was the point of the Star article.

 

However, they also talked about a "philosophical change" to his style that was designed to induce contact and thus minimize his pitches. They did not want him to strike people out, but instead work efficiently as a starter."

 

basically, they think that strikeouts = high pitch count.

 

I think that's a total load of shit. It does explain about of the irritating nibbling that Royals pitchers do.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The problem is that pitchers can't control what happens when a ball is put in play. So obviously intentionally limiting strikeouts would probably hurt the pitcher. Moreover, the only real way to intentionally limit strikeouts is to pitch worse. So I don't see how it helps. The best way to hold pitch counts down is to throw strikes and collect outs. Not getting outs does more to raise your pitch count than strikeouts.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The problem is that pitchers can't control what happens when a ball is put in play. So obviously intentionally limiting strikeouts would probably hurt the pitcher. Moreover, the only real way to intentionally limit strikeouts is to pitch worse. So I don't see how it helps. The best way to hold pitch counts down is to throw strikes and collect outs. Not getting outs does more to raise your pitch count than strikeouts.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

Sportscenter showed the Strike Zone digitally during yesterday's Cubs game, and they WERE strikes, as us Cubs fans and probably some Reds fans in hiding knew all along. We should be half a game back in the standings now, but instead we're down to third due to this idiocy.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Interesting games today.......

 

Florida @ Atlanta

Penny vs. Hampton

1pm

 

NY Yankees @ Boston

Contreras vs. Lowe

2pm

 

Oakland @ Anaheim

Zito vs. Escobar

8pm

ESPN

 

From ESPN.com's preview......

 

The Athletics have gotten off to a surprisingly good start this season, winning each of their first three series. They have split their first two games with the Angels, who rallied for a 6-3 victory on Saturday.

 

When will this idiocy stop? Surprisingly?