This Week in Baseball

[KingPK 0]

Interleague continues, as the AL teams head to the NL parks. It'll be interesting to see how guys like Ortiz and Manny will use the thin Colorado air to their advantage.

 

But the game to watch today (Monday) is most definitely Cubs-'Stros with Mark Prior facing Roger Clemens. I'm assuming ESPN has it as their Monday afternoon game? I didn't hear what game they were airing when I was watching the Sox game.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

Monday night, I believe.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

But the game to watch today (Monday) is most definitely Cubs-'Stros with Mark Prior facing Roger Clemens. I'm assuming ESPN has it as their Monday afternoon game? I didn't hear what game they were airing when I was watching the Sox game.

You would be correct. The game is on ESPN at 8pm EST.

[The Czech Republic 0]

I hate when ESPN carries the Cubs because I can only watch it on DirecTV in one room of my house...it's blacked out on the cable system.

[KingPK 0]

Hey Al, you said in your recent baseball column that "The Diamondbacks are easily baseball's most successful expansion franchise." How do you figure that? The Marlins have TWO titles, and a lot of those Diamondbacks were gone over the next few years, or weren't the same (Luis Gonzalez, for one).

Edited June 14, 2004 by Kingpk

[NoCalMike 0]

the A's have continued to tear it up in interleague play. An 11-1 homestand and 11-0 vs. the NL Central.

 

The Cubs & Cardinals are coming up next though and should prove to be much stiffer challenges.

 

I think I am gonna go to the A's/Giants game on June 26th.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Hey Al, you said in your recent baseball column that "The Diamondbacks are easily baseball's most successful expansion franchise." How do you figure that? The Marlins have TWO titles, and a lot of those Diamondbacks were gone over the next few years, or weren't the same (Luis Gonzalez, for one).

 

Luis Gonzalez is the same. His season in 2001 was a fluke, but he's produced at a consistant level the other four seasons.

 

As for D'backs vs. Marlins. The Diamondbacks needed just two years to capture a division crown. They won a World Championship in their fourth year. In six years of existance, they've won a title, three division titles, and finished above .500 five times.

 

The Marlins have won two titles, but what else have they done? Nine out of eleven years, they finished below .500. They have never won their own division. If it were not for the abomination known as the Wild Card, they would never have won anything.

[alfdogg 0]

So did anyone see that guy in Texas almost gore some little kid trying to get a foul ball?

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Yeah, what an ass. People are fucking goofy.

 

Anyway, I'll be watching tonight, but the Cubs have the deck stacked against them, that's for sure. They're coming off a 15-inning game that finished at night (in terms of where they're heading right now), a cross-country trip and facing an guy who's pitching better than anyone in all of baseball. Hopefully Prior can make things interesting by pitching like he did in his first game back.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

This all hypothetical, but anyways...

 

Say tonight against the Phillies the Reds are up by like 7 or more in later innings. Griffey comes up and hits a long fly ball into the gap that bounces and rolls around for a bit. Does he go for the inside the park homer and grab history that way, or does the 3rd base coach hold him up and stop him so he has a chance to grab it at home in the next series?

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Depends on the arm of the outfielder and his chances at scoring. Personally, I think that the 3B coach should make the decision because no lead is insurmountable and Griffey is a team player so I don't think he'd put himself ahead of the team.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The Orioles should have just skipped Cleveland and taken the forfeited loss.

 

What is it now, 12-0 in the 5th..

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Considering Griffey's leg problems over the past couple of years, that ball would have to be rolling around for a long time for him to even entertain the idea of an inside the park homer.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Browns 14

Ravens 0

[geniusMoment 0]

No chance in hell the Phils will be down by 7, remember they are playing the reds. Its much more likely the Reds will be down by 7, in which case there is no point in trying to take an extra base unless you can make it standing.

[Bored 0]

I guess this question would be specifically for Vern Gagne, although anyone can answer, but is Lew Ford eligible for the ROY or not? I'm fairly certain he isn't but espn.com lists him as a rookie in their statistics section.

[Big McLargeHuge 0]

I'm going to the Giants/BoSox game on Sunday. Which is fortunate for the Sox, because every Giants game I've ever attended ended with a loss.

 

Can't wait.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

is Lew Ford eligible for the ROY or not? I'm fairly certain he isn't but espn.com lists him as a rookie in their statistics section.

He's elligible. This is his first taste of the Big Leagues.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Yes. Last year he played under the limits of 45 games and 150 at bats (not sure if those are exact, but they sound good).

[sfaJack 0]

Well, I'm off to Minute Maid for the Prior/Clemens duel. I really hope it's a classic since I paid nearly $60 for my seat, but I'll settle for any sort of Cubs win.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I got my copy of The Neyer/James Guide To Pitchers in today. Interesting book, mainly giving an extra look at pitchers, and what kind of pitches they threw. In the back, Bill James criticizes the Pitcher Abuse Points system, and states there is little evidence that high pitch counts alone cause injuries. I'll have more in my column, but its an interesting critique, and really could force a rethinking of how we view pitchers' workloads.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Thome hits #400 and ties the game in the first inning.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Adam Everett's already leaving the game in the first, after getting an infield hit. Looks like he hurt his leg running. Could be serious for the Stros if this isn't a day-to-day injury, because he's been key for the team this season.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Yes. Can you imagine if the Astros were forced to play Morgan Esnberg every day? He might actually prove himself.

[geniusMoment 0]

Damn, Al bringing the sass. I do not think god wants the reds/phils to play the 3rd game of this series. It would be crappy if the game is called and thome goes back to 399.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I don't mean to knock Everett at all. Its better for the Astros with him at short and Ensberg at third. But Jimy Williams refusal to play Ensberg at times borders on insanity.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I like how Clemens took about two hours to retire Paul f'n Bako and Prior. I mean, you can't take anything for granted in this game, especially with runners at the corners with only one out, but good god. I think even the Astro fans were getting frustrated with how long Clemens was taking in between every single pitch.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

And FINALLY Clemens has lost his first game of the year, at the hands of The Chicago Cubs and MARK PRIOR!!!! Woohoo!!!!!

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Phillies game is official.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Its weird. The Phillies game is in its second rain delay. I live 90 miles North, and we've had no rain whatsoever.