This Week In Baseball

[Guest Anglesault]

He didn't throw the ball out there.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

No, but Ramirez hitting the ball caused the double more than the pitcher.

[DerangedHermit 0]

Damn Mets can't even win any of the 3 games against the Bucs...although the Pirates' Jack and Craig Wilson are scaring me (especially Craig -- major leaguers don't have long flowing blond hair)

[Slayer 0]

Long hair is making a comeback (much to the dismay of the Yankees)... just you wait and see

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I'm ashamed to say.......

 

I almost have a small amount of hope that Griffey will stay healthy this season. The Reds are a mixed blessing so far though. Dunn is playing great right now and is absolutely on fire. Ryan Freel and Willy Mo Pena look like they could be potential breakout stars as Freel has great speed and Pena's on fire with the bat. Kearns and the pitching still need to get it together. Hopefully they'll still be in the race till close to the end.

[Bored 0]

Joe Morgan's head must be spinning so far tonight with the slow footed A's scoring seven runs against the one run of the old school, hit and run, bunting, "manufacturing runs" Angels.

[Guest Anglesault]

No, but Ramirez hitting the ball caused the double more than the pitcher.

So you don't think a different pitch would have a different result?

 

Manny was fated to hit a double?

 

Long hair is making a comeback (much to the dismay of the Yankees)...

 

Why would the Yankees care? If other teams don't care what their players look like, so be it. If Johnny Damon likes looking like a hobo, good for him.

 

The Yankees like their players to look like professional adults. Some teams don't care either way. Big deal.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

So you don't think a different pitch would have a different result?

 

Manny was fated to hit a double?

 

It would've possibly seen a different result. But the pitcher has little control over what happens when the ball hits the bat. A different swing, defensive alignment, etc., causes different results.

[Guest Anglesault]

This whole thing seems like something created to get pitchers off the hook.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Well, disprove it then. The idea isn't that it gets pitchers off the hook. The idea is that by using stats INDEPENDANT of a team's fielders, we can determine the future prospects of a pitcher.

[Bored 0]

Wow he gave up a double to Manny Ramirez. He should be sentenced to death.

 

Anyways I think it's time to put Joe Morgan out to pasture as an announcer. The man really is losing it and stuck in his "small ball" ways.

[Slayer 0]

The Yankees like their players to look like complete tools

Edited for accuracy

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Can we keep the Red Sox/Yankees flaming crap away from this thread, and board in general? It is really quite tiresome for the rest of us.

[Slayer 0]

Can we keep the Red Sox/Yankees flaming crap away from this thread

No

[DerangedHermit 0]

The man really is losing it and stuck in his "small ball" ways.

Could it be the steroids?

[Bored 0]

Hey I suggested a OAO only topic for it but no one did anything about it.

 

Oh and a *rim shot* for Deranged.

[Guest Anglesault]

I just don't understand how you can fairly judge a pitcher while eliminating hits allowed. A ball bouncing off the center of the Green Monster, for instance, is gonna be a hit, no matter what defensive allignment they have out there.

 

Also, a guy can go out there and have six strikeouts, with four of them being some hapless loser swinging at three straight wild pitches.

[DerangedHermit 0]

Can we keep the Red Sox/Yankees flaming crap away from this thread, and board in general? It is really quite tiresome for the rest of us.

alkeiper = my friend

[Bored 0]

*ESPN Update* OMG BONDS HIT TWO HOMERUNS! Yes so what if the Giants lost and the homeruns didn't mean anything in the end but BONDS IS THE BEST EVER DUDEZ!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Anglesault]

The Yankees like their players to look like complete tools

Edited for accuracy

VS.

 

The Yankees look like tools. Yeah.

 

Can we keep the Red Sox/Yankees flaming crap away from this thread

 

No.

[Guest Anglesault]

*ESPN Update* OMG BONDS HIT TWO HOMERUNS! Yes so what if the Giants lost and the homeruns didn't mean anything in the end but BONDS IS THE BEST EVER DUDEZ!!!!!!!!!

 

I despise ESPN

Edited April 19, 2004 by Anglesault

[DerangedHermit 0]

Typical Yankee fan posting twice

[Slayer 0]

The Yankees like their players to look like complete tools

Edited for accuracy

The Yankees look like tools. Yeah.

Jeter looks like the biggest tool in all of MLB, and Giambi went from looking like a badass to a metrosexual tool.

 

Can we keep the Red Sox/Yankees flaming crap away from this thread

 

No.

At least we agree on something

[Guest FrigidSoul]

VS.

I'd pick Damon to win that fight. He would club Quantrel with his bat in a neanderthalesque fassion before rubbing his own feces into Paul's face and beating on his chest in a sign of dominance. Don't fuck with Unfrozen Caveman Center Fielder

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I just don't understand how you can fairly judge a pitcher while eliminating hits allowed. A ball bouncing off the center of the Green Monster, for instance, is gonna be a hit, no matter what defensive allignment they have out there.

 

You can easily judge a pitcher that way, because walks and strikeouts are an amazingly good indicator of pitching talent. In addition, batting average in general is subject to wide variations. Walks and strikeouts don't have it. Its a tough concept to grasp, but the more you really research it, the more you see it.

 

Also, a guy can go out there and have six strikeouts, with four of them being some hapless loser swinging at three straight wild pitches.

 

In that case, SOMEONE will lay off those pitches, and you will see it in the walk totals. Look at Chad Hutchinson. In 2001, he K'd 111 batters in 97 2/3 IP. He also walked 104.

 

Believe me, this all works.

[Guest Anglesault]

The Yankees like their players to look like complete tools

Edited for accuracy

The Yankees look like tools. Yeah.

Jeter looks like the biggest tool in all of MLB, and Giambi went from looking like a badass to a metrosexual tool.

 

Giambi went from a 30 year old trying to be 17 again to a professional business look.

 

And I don't get a caveman vibe from Damon. He looks like he should be bathing in the McDonalds bathroom.

[The Czech Republic 0]

The Yankees like their players to look like complete tools

Edited for accuracy

The Yankees look like tools. Yeah.

Jeter looks like the biggest tool in all of MLB, and Giambi went from looking like a badass to a metrosexual tool.

 

Can we keep the Red Sox/Yankees flaming crap away from this thread

 

No.

At least we agree on something

Jeter reminds me of a cross between the Rock and a monkey.

[Styles 0]

UPDATE: 7-0, as Javy Lopez drives in another, has an 11 game hitting streak and is on pace for the best offensive season in MLB history!

 

Here's a question to ponder. Javy Lopez hit 42 home runs last year, out of NOWHERE. He's continued hitting this year. He's an aging catcher. Why hasn't anyone levied the dreaded steroid acquisation? If anyone is on roids in MLB, based on stats alone, its this guy.

First of all, he hit 43 homeruns, get it right, son! Second, you wouldn't be the first to throw the accusation his way. He's always had good offensive numbers. He was injured for most of the 2 years prior and came back and had an abysmal season in 2002. He then went on a strick diet and changed his workout regiment and got into the best shape of his life which led to his best offensive season ever and is continuing it this year.

Anyway here's an article from last year:

 

Catcher's Comeback, Javy Lopez's turnaround raising many eyebrows

 

By Paul Newberry

The Associated Press

 

    ATLANTA -- Javy Lopez got a chance to experience rock-bottom.

    His body was bloated. His mind was a mess. His career had reached a critical crossroads.

    "Last year," Lopez said, shaking his head and grimacing, "was horrible. It was not fun at all."

    The two-time All-Star catcher knew it was time to take drastic measures. Step one was easy to figure out -- all he had to do was step on the scales. Lopez had ballooned to 248 pounds, more than 20 pounds above his purported playing weight.

    So, he hired a trainer and stopped eating like someone who had just been rescued from a deserted island. He lifted weights nearly every day. When he wasn't pumping iron, he was running off the calories.

    By the time Lopez reported to spring training for the Atlanta Braves, he was 210 pounds.

 

    But the resurrection of his career wasn't complete.

    With apologies to "Cool Hand Luke," Lopez had to get his mind right. That process wasn't simply a matter of eating less and working out more. An athlete's psyche is filled with all sorts of idiosyncrasies that must be sorted out.

    "Just the mind-set, knowing you can hit instead of fighting yourself," said Terry Pendleton, the Braves' hitting coach. "Last year, he was fighting himself a lot. He was his own worst enemy. When he didn't get a hit, it was an end-of-the-world type of thing."

    A slight change in Lopez's stance -- barely noticeable to the casual fan when he made it in early May -- gave him the needed confidence boost. Instead of flailing helplessly at pitches, he started hitting them over the fence.

    Going into the weekend, Lopez was among the major league leaders with 23 homers -- more than doubling the 11 he hit a year ago. His average had climbed from a dismal .233 in 2002 to a robust .316. He already had 46 RBIs, not far off the 52 he managed all of last season.

    "There's no comparison in the way I feel this year compared to last year," Lopez said. "Last year was very negative. I was trying to hit .300 in every at-bat."

    At 32, Lopez has managed to reverse the normal career path of a catcher, who often falls into a spiral of declining productivity as the years of wear and tear take their toll. Certainly, he has silenced those critics who believed his days were numbered.

    "That's what keeps me motivated," he said. "I have a chance to shut all those people's mouths by playing good baseball. Whoever thought my career was over, I have to tell them I'm sorry. I still have a long way to go."

    With that, Lopez reveals a long, satisfying smile. Clearly, he is proud of this amazing transformation -- and willing to admit culpability for letting himself go.

    "I'm doing more lifting during the season, usually three or four times a week," he said. Then, sounding a bit embarrassed, he added, "Last year, it was maybe once a month."

    A cynic might point out that Lopez is in the final year of his contract, willing to put in some overtime to protect his $7 million salary. There's been speculation that the Braves might trade their hard-hitting catcher before July 22, when he gains enough seniority to veto any trade.

    In pursuit of a 12th straight division title, Atlanta seems more likely to keep Lopez for the rest of the season, then cut him loose. Johnny Estrada, currently playing at Triple-A Richmond, has been touted as the catcher of the future. Just as important for the budget-conscious Braves, he will command far less money.

  Lopez made the All-Star game in 1997 and '98, the latter coming during the best season of his career: .284 with 34 homers and 106 RBIs. The following year, he was hitting .317 when a torn knee ligament ended his season after just 65 games.

    From there, a steady decline. For three seasons in a row, Lopez's numbers got progressively worse, culminating with that grim wake-up call in 2002.

    Pendleton acknowledged that Lopez wasn't exactly the hardest-working player on the team.

    "The difference this year and what he did last year, I have to say, is that he gets prepared every day," the hitting coach said. "His work is more frequent. He came into spring training and worked harder this spring. He prepared himself."

    Lopez is actually taking fewer swings during batting practice, believing that trying to show off for the fans lures him into some bad habits. But beneath the stands, away from prying eyes, Lopez works diligently in the batting cage before every game.

    Of course, it takes more than hard work.

    On May 10, the slimmed-down Lopez was hitting just .227 when he stepped into the box against San Francisco's Kirk Rueter. In one of those spur-of-moment decisions that makes baseball such an intriguing game, Lopez tightened up his stance, pulling his legs closer together and pushing his arms a bit farther away from the plate.

    Voila!

    "Since that day, I've just felt totally different," Lopez said. "Fastball in, fastball away, it doesn't matter. They all feel like they're right down the middle now."

    He's not trying to hit homers -- "I just want to hit the ball hard" -- but the result has been some prodigious shots. Last week, Lopez crushed a 436-footer into the center-field stands off Philadelphia's Kevin Millwood, one of the longest homers in Turner Field history.

[Guest Anglesault]

I just don't understand how you can fairly judge a pitcher while eliminating hits allowed. A ball bouncing off the center of the Green Monster, for instance, is gonna be a hit, no matter what defensive allignment they have out there.

 

You can easily judge a pitcher that way, because walks and strikeouts are an amazingly good indicator of pitching talent. In addition, batting average in general is subject to wide variations. Walks and strikeouts don't have it. Its a tough concept to grasp, but the more you really research it, the more you see it.

 

Also, a guy can go out there and have six strikeouts, with four of them being some hapless loser swinging at three straight wild pitches.

 

In that case, SOMEONE will lay off those pitches, and you will see it in the walk totals. Look at Chad Hutchinson. In 2001, he K'd 111 batters in 97 2/3 IP. He also walked 104.

 

Believe me, this all works.

How do they take different umpires into account?

 

A pitcher could throw the exact same game, with every pitch landing in the exact same spot, three times and end up with 10 Ks, no BBs in the first, 0 Ks, 10 BBs in the second, and 5 and 5 in the third.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

No need. A good pitcher adjusts to the strike zone.