Guest Anglesault Report post Posted September 25, 2004 In 1998 the Padres spoiled the plans again. 98 was a so called magical year in baseball. It was the McGwire/Sosa home run chase and the year the Yankees won 114 games. It seemed everyone wanted another Braves/Yankees World Series but Padres spoiled by soundly defeating the Braves. . Yeah, that was a bit of a letdown. Kind of anti-climatic. I think the real loser in that whole scenario was Trevor Hoffman, though. He was exposed there. There are a lot of people who will always remember Hoffman as a great closer who sucked in his biggest game ever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 EDIT II: Boone 0-6 with 8 LOB, anyone wanna give the reasons why the M's should dole out to keep him around next year? Because it's a vesting option, and they don't have a choice. Boone's option vested automatically with 450 plate appearances, which he has reached. So he's under contract for next season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Today we've got a slate of games that most of us will not see thanks to the programming geniuses at fox. 1pm sees Cubs/Mets (or Brewers/Astros). Then viewers on the West Coast get to see Giants/Dodgers or Angels/Athletics, while those of use on the East coast get whatever crap our local affiliates choose. For example, my local fox affiliate is showing a tour of Pennsylvania's golf resorts, followed by a full hour of Celebrity Justice and episodes of the King of Queens and Friends. Seriously, would Celebrity Justice really draw more fans than a live baseball game? This is downright insulting. It's the second to last weekend of a pennant race. Programmers should be crawling over each other trying to put on every single game of significance. Oh well, thank god for MLB Gameday Audio. Fuck McCarver and Buck, I've got Vin Scully. Prior pitches against Heilman today in New York. The Cubs hold the lead in the wild card race, by 1 1/2 games. We've got A's/Angels at 4, Redman vs. Washburn. Then we've got Dodgers/Giants at 4, Hennessey vs. Lima. Shawn Green is sitting this one out thanks to Yom Kippur. 7pm sees the Sox/Yankees, Wakefield vs. Vazquez. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Gotta get MLB Extra Innings, al. I have every game that's being played today at my fingertips I might catch some of the Angels v. A's game later on. And I'm not looking forward to Wakefield starting tonight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Gotta get MLB Extra Innings, al. I have every game that's being played today at my fingertips I might catch some of the Angels v. A's game later on. And I'm not looking forward to Wakefield starting tonight. Its against Javy. Which in truth means a Yankee loss. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Gotta get MLB Extra Innings, al. I have every game that's being played today at my fingertips I might catch some of the Angels v. A's game later on. And I'm not looking forward to Wakefield starting tonight. Wow, how? I've got that and I don't have any of the games until 7. I never get any of the games that can possibly be shown on Fox on Saturday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 If you live in the Tri-state area, you should have been listening to Russo on the FAN today. He went NUTS on the Giants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest GreatOne Report post Posted September 25, 2004 I don't care if it is the Royals and the Devil Rays, if they made it there, they deserve to be there. This is very personal to me because I am San Diego Padre fan, a team that will be dumped on whenever they make the post season. This is something that has happened in their history. I'll give you an example: In 1984 the Padres went to their first NLCS, against the Cubs. Everybody in the national media wanted it to be a Detroit Tigers/Chicago Cubs World Series. The Cubs went up 2-0 in the series and it looked like it was going to happen. But the Padres came back to win the series 3-2. It was almost as if the national media was outraged that the Padres went to the World Series over the Cubs. In fact, after that series MLB changed the LCS to a best of 7 series, because the Padres didn't beat the Cubs, the Cubs just ran out of games. In 1998 the Padres spoiled the plans again. 98 was a so called magical year in baseball. It was the McGwire/Sosa home run chase and the year the Yankees won 114 games. It seemed everyone wanted another Braves/Yankees World Series but Padres spoiled by soundly defeating the Braves. Bob Costas almost had a heart attack. The media said they were grateful that at least the Yankees made the series and they were not stuck with a Padres/Indians World Series. You're not going to sell me on history or tradition because they really have no place in baseball today. It's nice to look at during the off season but has no place during the season. I learned at an early age to dislike baseball elitist and will always take joy when a team spoils there big plans. If everybody was screaming bloody murder over the wildcard format, which was the same as the LCS from 69-84 (2-3 with predetermined sites) from 95-97. It might have had something to do with the "wrong team" winning but I guarantee you that wasn't IT. So the Padres wouldn't have been good enough to go back to Chicago and win either 6 or 7 had that been in place in 84? If Selig gets his way and the LDS eventually goes to seven, will we be hearing this same argument? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Wow, how? I've got that and I don't have any of the games until 7. I never get any of the games that can possibly be shown on Fox on Saturday. I'd be suspicious of that as well, because I remember the complaints because most fans could not see Maddux's 300th win. In any case, I don't have satellite or digital cable, so Extra Innings is unavailable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Sosa has three more strikeouts. It's clear he's not going to recover from the downward spiral he's been in and it's sad to think the guy who's the appointed captain is one of the individuals doing the most damage to the team. It's hard to swallow the fact that we're stuck with him for another season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Sosa's .327 OBP is looking ugly. As I stated in my column, this team can crush the ball, but they have NO OBP. There's no denying that Sosa is hurting the team at this point. It's odd because he had a nice first half, and usually you wouldn't expect such a quick decline. I mean, he's dropped 178 points of OPS between the first and second half. I think Sosa will rebound slightly next season, but the old Sammy is probably gone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Looking over stats, its worth noting that Sosa declined significantly in 2002-03 in the second half. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Gotta get MLB Extra Innings, al. I have every game that's being played today at my fingertips I might catch some of the Angels v. A's game later on. And I'm not looking forward to Wakefield starting tonight. Wow, how? I've got that and I don't have any of the games until 7. I never get any of the games that can possibly be shown on Fox on Saturday. Extra Innings is subject to blackout rules as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 I think Sosa will rebound slightly next season, but the old Sammy is probably gone. Hopefully any kind of Sosa will be gone after next season. He's got four strikeouts on the day, the latest coming with the bases loaded. And all have been swinging. This is supposed to be our franchise player. Hell with that. I look at Bonds, Pujols, Helton, Jeter and the like; those are franchise players. Not this schmuck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Cubs fans are overreacting more than Red Sox fans now. Sammy has one bad year (sorry, but a 61 home run per year average is not something I mind seeing decline since it's impossible to hold), CUT HIM! TRADE HIM! SHIP HIM OFF! Prior doesn't go 11-0 to start the season. FIRE BAKER! HE'S KILLED HIS ARM! BOO! No wonder some peope are starting to hate the Cubs, the fans are starting to make Boston look calm. Prior has went 8 innings today btw and is pitching like the old Prior for the last two games. Baker didn't kill his arm, Prior's confidence and mechanics were just off. Stop with the overreaction Cub fans, it's below us. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 How ironic speaking of the Cubs having no OBP. They walked six times today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 No, overreacting would be flipping out after every missed scoring opportunity. Pointing out the captain of a team striking out on average of two times a game, while barely batting above .250, isn't overreacting. It's showing concern. Considering how much he's being paid and all of the bitching and moaning he's done over the years about not being protected in the lineup, he can't do anything but expect negative responses to his significant decrease. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 He's right. Stars are supposed to carry teams, and get out of slumps. Jeter was batting 190 in May, hes raised his average 100+ points. Bonds carries his team on his shoulders, Pujlos doesn't need too. Obviously its no coicidence Sosa has struggled this year. Maybe hes just losing it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 The Astros once again can't the Brew Crew, losing 8-0 and if the Cubs hold on for the win will drop to 3 1/2 out of the Wild card. Meanwhile in NY, Dempster has walked back to back runners to bring the damn tying run to the plate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 He's right. Stars are supposed to carry teams, and get out of slumps. Jeter was batting 190 in May, hes raised his average 100+ points. Bonds carries his team on his shoulders, Pujlos doesn't need too. Obviously its no coicidence Sosa has struggled this year. Maybe hes just losing it. Except for Bonds, those guys are in their primes or close to it. Sosa is 35. Many players, even HOFers, decline around his age. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Metty Magic~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Sosa striking out with the bags full really hurts now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Is this Diaz guy a good proscpect? From what I've seen of him in the last month, hes got some nice power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anglesault Report post Posted September 25, 2004 (edited) Cubs fans are overreacting more than Red Sox fans now. Sammy has one bad year (sorry, but a 61 home run per year average is not something I mind seeing decline since it's impossible to hold), CUT HIM! TRADE HIM! SHIP HIM OFF! Prior doesn't go 11-0 to start the season. FIRE BAKER! HE'S KILLED HIS ARM! BOO! No wonder some peope are starting to hate the Cubs, the fans are starting to make Boston look calm. I like the new Cubs fan. That Lovable Loser shit was really wearing thin Edited September 25, 2004 by Anglesault Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treble 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Sosa'll probably end up driving in the winning run, anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Alright Chong. If your going to curse Sosa out, do it now. 4Ks and a GBDP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Sosa'll probably end up driving in the winning run, anyway. If by that you mean grounding into an inning-ending double play, then right on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Sosa has had a slight decline in numbers the previous two years as well. I wouldn't get my hopes up on him turning it around next year. Not everyone can be Barry Bonds and not have a decline in their career as they get older. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treble 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Sosa'll probably end up driving in the winning run, anyway. If by that you mean grounding into an inning-ending double play, then right on. There's more than one extra inning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2004 Yeah, but I think once Calvin Murray replaces you, it's pretty tough to win the game for the team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
