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KingPK

This Week in Baseball

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I don't think it's entirely Jimy's fault the Astros are only 4 over .500. They are a flawed team. Sure, some of the day-to-day lineups Jimy runs out there are a little screwy in regards to who plays and who sits, but in his defense (and I can't believe I'm gonna try and defend Jimy):

 

- Pettitte has been hurt for half of the year and he's had to run Brandon fucking Duckworth out there.

 

- Oswalt's oblique muscle strain (or whatever it is in his side) IS affecting him, regardless of whatever Roy says. Witness yesterday's fifth inning against the Brewers. Roy cruised through the first 3+ innings...trainer comes out to check Roy in the fourth, and then in the fifth, the Brewers pound out 5 runs against him. Oswalt's never had an inning that poor, ever.

 

- Wade Miller has been a very average pitcher this year. They need more from him. Hard to blame Jimy for that.

 

- Bagwell can barely lift his arm (much less throw) due to his shoulder injury, which is only going to get worse. It's affecting his play. Check out the dip in his batting average over the last few weeks.

 

- Richard Hidalgo hasn't homered since April 13, and Morgan Ensberg hasn't homered at all. It's not Jimy's fault those guys aren't producing squat.

 

- His bullpen hasn't been spectacular. Lidge and Dotel have been ok, though shaky at times and Miceli's been better than I think most thought he would be. But getting the ball to those guys has been a problem.

 

One thing that seems obvious to me that Jimy ought to do is bump Berkman up to third in the lineup and drop Bagwell at least to the 5 hole. Berkman's their best hitter, and he'd probably get 20-30 more AB's just by doing that. I think it might jumpstart the offense a bit.

 

Oh, and quit sac bunting Everett EVERY FREAKING TIME Biggio gets on to lead off an inning. This would be even more crucial with Berkman hitting third, since it could lead to more big innings, which the Astros usually need to score. They are not a good "small ball" team.

 

I think the problem for the Astros might be that they'll end up stuck with this team, for the most part. They're in contention, so you can't just trade 5 or 6 players "just because," and their farm system is somewhat depleted so it might be hard to acquire someone else. Their biggest piece of trade bait is/was Hidalgo, but with him having a poor year and an insane contract, I'd be shocked if anyone took him.

 

Another question is what happens if/when Clemens hits the wall? Without him doing as well as he has, they'd be dead already.

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Kyle Farnsworth just proved why he's going to be a never was. I feel for the guy and really wish he could get it together, but the Cubs hand him over a three-run lead and he gives it up before he records an out. Granted, it was the Angels' two best hitters, but that's a reliever's job; getting those tough outs.

 

Those two runs for the Cubs in the 8th were a blessing, but unless Rodriguez is done and the Angels don't end the game in this frame, it's going to be tough for the Cubs to end it with a win.

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A's score 13 more runs today to give them 71 in the last six games. They've gone from not ranking the Top 20 in runs scored in MLB to being in the Top 10 and now have scored more runs this year than the Angels. Thank you Reds and Pirates pitching.

 

To go along with their amazing home record in recent years they are now 42-9 at home in interleague play. Too bad they play 18 of 24 on the road to close out the first half of the season so they are gonna cool off. Oh well not like literally every regular can stay red hot like they are right now.

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Kyle Farnsworth just proved why he's going to be a never was. I feel for the guy and really wish he could get it together, but the Cubs hand him over a three-run lead and he gives it up before he records an out. Granted, it was the Angels' two best hitters, but that's a reliever's job; getting those tough outs.

 

Those two runs for the Cubs in the 8th were a blessing, but unless Rodriguez is done and the Angels don't end the game in this frame, it's going to be tough for the Cubs to end it with a win.

Yeah, I think at this point there's no reason to keep him around. Patterson and Farnsworth for Beltran indeed.

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Guest webmasterofwrestlegame

Have the Angels won yet? I'm in England and rely on MLB.com for my updates - the Gameday Pop-Up window looks very nice but the bloody thing is updated once an hour it seems.

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Guest webmasterofwrestlegame

Ok - so the moment I type that I get an update that went from Molina being at bat, to Anderson being out after Vlad walks after Molina struck out swinging. Great work mlb.com, that really IS a useful real-time tool you have there. Dicks.

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I don't see either Patterson or Farns being traded. Patterson seems to be one of Baker's boys, so I'd be surprised to see him shipped off. Plus I could see Patterson finally putting it together once he was no longer wearing Cubbie blue a la Dontrelle Willis.

 

As for Farns, with Borowski going down, there's no way they're getting rid of Farnsworth, since he's being seen as their setup guy now. Farns is an effective guy at times but he's too inconsistent to rely on on a regular basis.

 

With the Stros and Cards winning today, this is going to be a tough one to swallow should they lose.

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I don't see either Patterson or Farns being traded. Patterson seems to be one of Baker's boys, so I'd be surprised to see him shipped off. Plus I could see Patterson finally putting it together once he was no longer wearing Cubbie blue a la Dontrelle Willis.

 

As for Farns, with Borowski going down, there's no way they're getting rid of Farnsworth, since he's being seen as their setup guy now. Farns is an effective guy at times but he's too inconsistent to rely on on a regular basis.

 

With the Stros and Cards winning today, this is going to be a tough one to swallow should they lose.

I'm wondering who the Cubs are going to pick up this year...we did quite well getting Ramirez, Simon, Lofton, Karros, and Grudzielanek last year. I'm sure we'll pick up a few more guys before the deadline.

 

Cubs are up!

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Guest webmasterofwrestlegame

Roman Ortiz, please go away and never come back to Anaheim.

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Have the Angels won yet? I'm in England and rely on MLB.com for my updates - the Gameday Pop-Up window looks very nice but the bloody thing is updated once an hour it seems.

 

Consider picking up MLB's Gameday Audio. Its $15 (American) for the entire season, and you can listen to any game this season via the archives.

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Guest webmasterofwrestlegame

What is it? As far as mlb.com is concerned Chone Figigns is still at-bat.

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I just got back from Cleveland. I am just about ready to give up on the Reds season and root for the Cubs. One more thing, I do not want to offend any Philly people here but I really hope Jr. does not hit his 500th in front of those scumbag Philly fans. If he does they will probably boo him. I would rather the reds lose, which they probably will, and Jr. get it at Cincy, then for the reds to win and for him to hit it in front of those fans.

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One more thing, I do not want to offend any Philly people here but I really hope Jr. does not hit his 500th in front of those scumbag Philly fans. If he does they will probably boo him. I would rather the reds lose, which they probably will, and Jr. get it at Cincy, then for the reds to win and for him to hit it in front of those fans.

 

Honestly, Philly fans have an undeserved reputation. They are quicker to boo than most fans, but it is generally deserved, with the exception of Scott Rolen. I think they would cheer 500, as long as it doesn't win the game for the Reds. Remember, Griffey is very popular throughout the league, and many fans will show up because Griffey is there.

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Didn't Philly cheer when Michael Irvin was almost crippled during a football game, or was that some place else? Maybe their football fans are more rowdy then their baseball fans. The thing I am worried about is the game will be a blowout as the Reds have Bong pitching and then their bullpen. So Philly will probably be up by around 10. This worries me because they are more likely to pitch right at Griffey.

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Didn't Philly cheer when Michael Irvin was almost crippled during a football game, or was that some place else? Maybe their football fans are more rowdy then their baseball fans.

 

Football fans are morons. They are a different breed.

 

Wow. Prior vs. Clemens tomorrow.

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Guest webmasterofwrestlegame

Angels seemingly trying to beat the 17 inning game of less than a week ago.

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EXCELLENT win for the Cubs today, John Leicester pitches three shutout innings to get his first major league win, while Greg Maddux was waiting in the pen, ready to go in if need be, after pitching Friday night.

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