This Week in Baseball

[therealworldschampion 0]

Spoke too soon Al. Baerga 3 run HR, D'Backs up 4-3.

[KingPK 0]

Guess the Red Sox bullpen's scorless innings streak is over. Mark Malaska and Scott Williamson both give up runs and Texas takes Game 1 4-3.

[Bored 0]

The old terrible Jim Mecir is back as after giving up five runs his last outing to blow a 8-4 lead against the Yankees, he gives up four in the 9th as the A's win by the skin of their teeth 6-5 as Durazo's grand slam ends up being necessary to win it. For the life of me I don't know why Macha kept him in but hey way to shut them down after the four runs Jim!

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Why is Roberto Hernandez allowed to pitch?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Of course, given Hernandez's K/BB ratio of 10:1, I should keep my mouth shut.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

You were correct w/ your original statement.

[Guest Anglesault]

Of course, given Hernandez's K/BB ratio of 10:1, I should keep my mouth shut.

So, I'm guessing that despite "DIPS" saying otherwise, yet another pitcher is bombing.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Of course, given Hernandez's K/BB ratio of 10:1, I should keep my mouth shut.

So, I'm guessing that despite "DIPS" saying otherwise, yet another pitcher is bombing.

Actually not. Hernandez had a 3.18 ERA coming into tonight. I am pointing it out because it is completely out of context with his recent performance.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Hell with Red Sox and Yankees, I think the Cards / Cubs rivalry is infinitely more interesting. These last two games have been classic. With the Cubs going into the bottom of the ninth up 4-1 and the heart of the Cards' lineup due, it made for a very interesting finish. They did plate one run and have two on when Sanders K'd to end the game.

[the pinjockey 0]

Am I the only one wondering how in the hell Jim Thome did not get sent in to pinch hit in the 9th? Jason Michaels, Ricky Ledee, and Tomas Perez were all trotted out there, but Thome couldn't get an AB?

[Guest Anglesault]

Hell with Red Sox and Yankees, I think the Cards / Cubs rivalry is infinitely more interesting.

Blasphemy.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Am I the only one wondering how in the hell Jim Thome did not get sent in to pinch hit in the 9th? Jason Michaels, Ricky Ledee, and Tomas Perez were all trotted out there, but Thome couldn't get an AB?

 

You're not. I was trying to figure out why Tomas was hitting.

[Guest Anglesault]

Hell with Red Sox and Yankees, I think the Cards / Cubs rivalry is infinitely more interesting.

Blasphemy.

Just to clarify this, and I don't mean to offend, but when you have a team that has been as consistantly terrible as the Cubs have been for the last 50 or so years, rivalries tend to mean less.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Doesn't matter. When these two teams lock up, it doesn't matter where they are in the standings. It's just the aura that these two facing each other has. I find the games to usually be much more interesting and memorable, as opposed to the Red Sox / Yankees rivalry. I'm not slamming it, but that one seems to be pretty much built upon one trying to one up the other with their wallets.

 

And even if one team is bad, it doesn't necessarily make the rivalry any less intense. The Cubs / Brewers games tend to be among the most entertaining in the NL during the season and even when the Cubs have been good, the Brewers have been pretty poor, but the games have always been quite unpredictable.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Rob Neyer summed it up well in a chat. The best rivalries depend on region. East coast, and its Yanks/Sox. Midwest, its Cubs/Cards. And west coast, its either Dodgers/Giants or A's/Mariners (I'm not sure).

[Bored 0]

It's definently Dodgers/Giants on the west coast. Honestly the only time (in my lifetime) I saw the A's as having a true rivalry going was in the late 80's and early 90's with the Twins when those two teams owned the American League.

[the pinjockey 0]

Ok, it is time for me to get an official Fire Larry Bowa Fan Club card now.

 

When asked why Thome wasn't used, Bowa only stated he wasn't available.

 

When asked why he wasn't available, Bowa only stated he wasn't available.

 

Thome is, however, playing tomorrow.

 

So apparently the only reason that Thome did not play is because Larry Bowa is a worthless cocksucker.

[Guest Anglesault]

Doesn't matter. When these two teams lock up, it doesn't matter where they are in the standings. It's just the aura that these two facing each other has. I find the games to usually be much more interesting and memorable, as opposed to the Red Sox / Yankees rivalry. I'm not slamming it, but that one seems to be pretty much built upon one trying to one up the other with their wallets.

That's where we differ. (IMO) When two teams are competing over something, anything, it makes the fight seem more important.

 

When one team has had something like 33 losing seasons over fifty years, who the hell cares?

[Guest Anglesault]

Rob Neyer summed it up well in a chat. The best rivalries depend on region. East coast, and its Yanks/Sox.

Yeah, except when fans of other East Coast teams try to horn in on that rivalry. It's kind of sad.

[therealworldschampion 0]

I will be joining the Fire Bowa Fan Club as well. Not using Thome but using Tomas Fucking Perez. This and not bringing in Wagner to get the last out in the 8th on Thursday against St.Louis while up one run has made this decision for me.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

That's where we differ. (IMO) When two teams are competing over something, anything, it makes the fight seem more important.

 

When one team has had something like 33 losing seasons over fifty years, who the hell cares?

 

But honestly, are fans going to care less about a rivalry because the Cubs sucked 30 years ago? The Cubs/Cards rivalry is very much like the Brooklyn Dodgers/Yankees rivalry, where fans lived and worked together.

[Guest Anglesault]

That's where we differ. (IMO) When two teams are competing over something, anything, it makes the fight seem more important.

 

When one team has had something like 33 losing seasons over fifty years, who the hell cares?

 

But honestly, are fans going to care less about a rivalry because the Cubs sucked 30 years ago?

The Cubs sucked two years ago.

 

And in 2000. And in 1999. And in 1997. And 96. They sucked for what we had of 94. 90-92. 85-88. 78-83. 73-76. 64-66. 54-62. And I'm only counting losing seasons, not barely winning or .500 seasons.

 

He said that Cubs/Cards is more interesting, and I just can't see that when a team is brutally bad about 70 % of the time.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Because of the legacy behind the two teams clashing. Whether the Cubs were bad or not, their meetings with the Cards weren't always completely lopsided (aside from their trips to St. Louis over the last decade or so). I know you're all about who's in first and there should only be a fight or rivalry born over that, but I don't think so. I think it's one good reason a rivarly is sparked, but others are creating for various other reasons. With the Cubs and Cards, you've got two teams who are so close geographically that it's hard at times to tell who's the home team.

[therealworldschampion 0]

Rubber game of the series tomorrow between the Phils and the D'Backs. Can Bowa outdo himself in the fuckup department tomorrow?

[Guest Anglesault]

Because of the legacy behind the two teams clashing. Whether the Cubs were bad or not, their meetings with the Cards weren't always completely lopsided (aside from their trips to St. Louis over the last decade or so). I know you're all about who's in first and there should only be a fight or rivalry born over that, but I don't think so. I think it's one good reason a rivarly is sparked, but others are creating for various other reasons. With the Cubs and Cards, you've got two teams who are so close geographically that it's hard at times to tell who's the home team.

Eh. I'm not a big fan of feuds based soley on "Boo! You live near me! Boo!" feuds and NOTHING else. That's why I'm more into Yankee/Sox than Yankees/Mets.

 

That's why, even at six, I HATED George Brett (Granted, at that point, we were at the very tail-end of the feud and most of the hate was just passed on from my folks), thought he was a cheater and soon grew to hate Lee MacPhail for his (wrong) decission.

 

If that business had happened in a Twin game, I probably would have gotten over it at some point.

[Vern Gagne 0]

It's definently Dodgers/Giants on the west coast. Honestly the only time (in my lifetime) I saw the A's as having a true rivalry going was in the late 80's and early 90's with the Twins when those two teams owned the American League.

I also look forward to the A's-Twins series. The two teams have history, going back to their days in Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. They've taken similiar routes in their current success. They're often looked upon has the blueprint for small market team to succeed.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

The best rivalry for me is Cubs/ White Sox, just because I live right in the middle of it. We can argue about who has the better team all preseason and for three more months beyond that, but then finally the two teams clash, and I've always tried my best to get to the games, and occassionally succeeded. It should be even better now with both teams doing well.

 

And "Thank you" to Slapnuts and alkeiper, I think I'm gonna get it.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

A classic game if FUCKED UP thanks to the increasingly worthless Kyle Farnsworth who is incapable of throwing a fucking strike. This guy is pathetic and just shat on everything his team did in the nine previous innings, including two great efforts from the pen in the eighth and ninth. He makes me sick to my fucking stomach.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

Why did Dusty even leave him in there? Why did Dusty even PUT him in there? Fucking ridiculous.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Because Dusty doesn't like to win games. I've defended the guy many times, but his insistence to continually put faith into the big guy who's never going to fully come around, is ridiculous and costing the Cubs big games.

 

As an aside, I'm actually a Pujols fan but what an idiot the guy was in the 10th. He gets WALKED and COMPLAINS because of a strike called on the last pitch.