This Week In Baseball

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I forgot where I read the rumor about Wily Mo Pena going to Tampa for Danys Baez.

No way Cincy makes that deal. They are reportedly asking for two top flight pitching prospects, or one one pitching stud like Carlos Zambrano for Pena or Kearns.

Baez lets the Reds take Graves out from the bullpen and either:

 

1- Use him in the rotation/long relief

2- Trade him

3- Dump him in the Ohio river

 

Baez has very good stuff and is wasted on a team like Tampa, who needs offense and starters.

Tried the whole starter thing with Graves. He was quite awful.

 

Pena also hit 2 more HRs tonight.

[The Czech Republic 0]

After seeing his sorry "fake" ass sitting by himself on the bench last year before he got traded during a close yankee game I have ZERO respect for him.

Because where a guy sits is a true sign of his testament, character, and reliability? If the blithering talk show idiots hasn't gotten a hold of it, it would be a non-story.

Yeah that one instance negates all those years of service I guess! Now who looks bad here?

[ISportsFan 0]

White Sox with a 9-1 win over Detroit tonight. Dye, hopefully, got out of his mini-slump to start the season by getting some big hits (4 RBI on the night). Garland is having the best start of his career (3-0), allowing only 1 run in 8 innings of work.

 

Jason

[Guest Shadow]

should mention the reds got another win via the Graves special.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Baseball fans have the whole "what have you done for me lately?" mentality going on, so it doesn't surprise me that most Red Sox fans are STILL bitter about Nomar's last season and have let it erase everything he did for that team since his debut.

 

Tough break for the Cubs. They weren't getting production from him yet, but that wouldn't have lasted for look. If it's a tear like they said, he could be out for a while. I guess it's better to get the injury now and hopefully out of the way, but this is probably going to be one of those nagging things. And while they're no substitutes for Nomar, Hairston and Perez have been doing well when in the lineup.

 

Excellent win for the Cubs tonight, though. I always get nervous when they play the Cards, especially in St. Louis. That warning track flyball Mabry hit to end the game almost made my heart stop. That's exactly the type of out I'd expect Hawkins to get in a situation like this. Hat's off to Zam, though, who pitched like an ace.

[Guest]

The Dodgers are 12-2, didn't expect that out of any team, much less the Dodgers.

[Big McLargeHuge 0]

Giants lose AGAIN, with Noah Lowry getting his first career loss tonight, losing 2-1 to the D-backs. Lowry had insane trouble with his control early on before getting right later on, holding the Dbacks to 2 hits through six, but walking like 8 million or something. Gents get 11, yes, 11 hits, 1 run.

 

I was hoping fans at SBC would riot after that pitiful game (and generally pathetic performance thus far in the season), but alas, as usual, they were completely apathetic to what was going on. I hate this team.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

But you got a taste of what the team played like when Bonds wasn't in the lineup last season. Why be surprised now? The way the NL West is panning out, the Dodgers can easily lock it up if they keep it going similiar to anything like they've been playing.

 

Speaking of the NL West, what the hell is up with the camo jerseys for the Fathers tonight? Those are ass ugly.

[Guest]

I remember they used to wear the camo back when they played at Qualcomm and had the military appreciation days. Haven't seen them since though.

[Big McLargeHuge 0]

But you got a taste of what the team played like when Bonds wasn't in the lineup last season. Why be surprised now? The way the NL West is panning out, the Dodgers can easily lock it up if they keep it going similiar to anything like they've been playing.

 

Speaking of the NL West, what the hell is up with the camo jerseys for the Fathers tonight? Those are ass ugly.

I thought Moises Alou would be there driving in runs, instead of Michael Tucker grounding out weakly on the first pitch to start the 9th. I also thought Felipe Alou would put his best hitter (Edgardo Alfonzo if you can believe it) in the 3 spot of the batting order instead of a rookie hack who's been in the minors for like 8 years now. You know, things you would expect to maximize your chances of winning.

 

Shit, I missed the Padres fatigues? I love those unis. They're horrible, but in a good way.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

HOT RUMOR?

 

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,3...2825537,00.html

 

Todd Helton and his $114 million contract through 2011 for Sidney Ponson (who is expendable given his crappy performances as of late),John Parish (never really amounted to much),Jay Gibbons (has shown so far this year he CANT play 1B) and 2 prospects.

 

When I said I wouldn't mind seeing Ponson not in Baltimore, I didnt think it was gonna actually happen..but he would get absolutely ROCKED in Colorado at Coors Field. I cant see this happening...but if you did stick Helton in that lineup..OH MY FREAKING GOD.

[Guest OSIcon]

The players they would be giving up really don't matter too much, but that is a lot of money and a long commitment for Helton. There's also a good chance Helton's power numbers would drop a little once removed from Coors.

[the max 0]

The Orioles already can score runs. They need pitchers. PITCHERS!!

 

 

 

 

On the Nomar thing, Cartman doesn't speak for all New Englanders (there's a shock) with his attitude towards Nomar. I was peeved at him for the way that he conducted himself last season (the contract extensionS that he turned down, being on the IR and not really working to get back to playing health, the incident at Yankee Stadium) and while I was shocked to see him go, I realize that the players brought in played a key role in the Red Sox winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years. So, if I'm supposed to be a bitter person about that STILL, when the team has forgiven him, his teammates gave him a cut of the WS money, forgive me if I don't care what he does in Chicago. Sucks that he got hurt, wish him the best of luck returning, especially in a contract year.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Dodgers are 12-2, didn't expect that out of any team, much less the Dodgers.

I got great enjoyment watching Bill Platschke STILL try to say he doesn't buy the Dodgers. Particularly after the sabermetric community picked the Dodgers to win the division, while "expert" baseball analysts like "Wrong Hole" Buster Olney pegged the Dodgers for 75-80 wins. Strummer said a few weeks ago he heard Chris Russo pick the Dodgers to win less than 80 games because of their lack of team chemestry.

 

This team is a Moneyball hater's worst nightmare. A team that pissed away the concept of team chemestry and kept winning. A team that traded for a "platoon player" at first base and kept winning. A team that lost its "proven closer" and kept winning. A team that traded its "heart and soul" and kept winning. A team that decided to forego defense in favor of offense at second base, and kept winning. A team that lacked a number one starter, and kept winning. A team that kept a supposed "clubhouse cancer" in Milton Bradley, and kept winning.

 

I don't gloat often, but I am doing it now. Myself and a lot of other nerds with computers said the Dodgers were a force, while idiot writers like Bill Platscke, T.J. Simers, and Buster Olney dismissed the Dodgers off-hand. And they can choke on this one. The Giants are not competing without Barry Bonds. The Padres are weak without Khalil Greene for a month. The Dodgers are going to win this division. And if the Phillies do not reach the Series, I hope its Oakland/LA just so I can watch heads explode.

[Mik 0]

Bill Plaschke knows nothing abou baseball. I love ATH but they are awful with baseball.

 

Even the topics are bad. On both ATH and PTI they debated whether Dontrelle Willis would win the NL Cy Young. Half of the ATH Panel and Wilbon both said he WOULD. He's the 3rd best pitcher on the team!

 

Plaschke is the worst on ATH and you're right... he knows nothing about the Dodgers.

[strummer 0]

The Dodgers are 12-2, didn't expect that out of any team, much less the Dodgers.

I got great enjoyment watching Bill Platschke STILL try to say he doesn't buy the Dodgers. Particularly after the sabermetric community picked the Dodgers to win the division, while "expert" baseball analysts like "Wrong Hole" Buster Olney pegged the Dodgers for 75-80 wins. Strummer said a few weeks ago he heard Chris Russo pick the Dodgers to win less than 80 games because of their lack of team chemestry.

 

This team is a Moneyball hater's worst nightmare. A team that pissed away the concept of team chemestry and kept winning. A team that traded for a "platoon player" at first base and kept winning. A team that lost its "proven closer" and kept winning. A team that traded its "heart and soul" and kept winning. A team that decided to forego defense in favor of offense at second base, and kept winning. A team that lacked a number one starter, and kept winning. A team that kept a supposed "clubhouse cancer" in Milton Bradley, and kept winning.

 

I don't gloat often, but I am doing it now. Myself and a lot of other nerds with computers said the Dodgers were a force, while idiot writers like Bill Platscke, T.J. Simers, and Buster Olney dismissed the Dodgers off-hand. And they can choke on this one. The Giants are not competing without Barry Bonds. The Padres are weak without Khalil Greene for a month. The Dodgers are going to win this division. And if the Phillies do not reach the Series, I hope its Oakland/LA just so I can watch heads explode.

Al, one of Buster's greatest hits, a year anniversary of "productive outs"

 

But Boston plays the "Moneyball" style -- never bunt, don't take chances on the bases, sit back and let your hitters hack away and do the work regardless of the game situation, regardless of the identity of the opposing pitcher. Other teams -- the Anaheim Angels and the Florida Marlins, most notably -- prefer to use their outs productively, by bunting, employing the hit-and-run; they put runners in motion and emphasize aggressive base-running as part of a larger strategy to put pressure on the opposing pitcher and the defense behind him.

 

Bellhorn swung away, flied out to right, the inning died, the Red Sox didn't tack on another run. This didn't matter, in the end, as Scott Williamson closed out the Yankees.

 

But it will be interesting to see if, eventually, this passive-aggressive approach hurts Boston, especially with the shift in the team's makeup. The Red Sox nearly bashed their way to the World Series last year, but they improved their pitching for 2004, shed Todd Walker, added light-hitting glove whiz Pokey Reese, and have been playing without injured Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon, whose rehabilitations are being closely monitored.

 

 

The Marlins and Angels have fully diverse offenses: some excellent power hitters, an essential element; some patient hitters who draw walks, also crucial; they have hitters who make contact, advance runners efficiently; and they run the bases.

 

The offenses of the Red Sox and Athletics, on the other hand, are effectively two-dimensional, eschewing the productive out within their philosophy. Boston has one sacrifice bunt, Oakland zero, and through games of April 26, the Red Sox rank next-to-last in productive out percentage -- a statistic developed by the Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN -- at .200; Oakland is last, at .137.

 

 

Productive out percentage is the ratio of productive outs -- generally, advancing runners with the first out in an inning, or driving home a run with the second out. Last season, Anaheim ranked fourth overall in this statistic, at .347, the Marlins fifth, at .334. Juan Pierre ranked third among individual players, with a POP of .545.

 

Going into this season, Detroit Tigers hitting coach Bruce Fields emphasized the value of using outs. "That's how games are won and lost -- productive outs, advancing baserunners and getting guys in from third with less than two out," he told John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press earlier this week.

 

"After watching those situations come up last year and how unsuccessful we were, I wanted to come up with something that would be instrumental in guys focusing on those situations and just realizing the importance of what they mean to one-run losses and one-run wins."

 

Through Monday, the Tigers led the majors in POP, at .430, with 37 productive outs among 86 made in those situations. Carlos Pena has a POP of .545 (6-for-11), Ivan Rodriguez .600 and Alex Sanchez 1.000 (5-for-5).

 

Yup, the lack of productive outs really hurt the Red Sox last year, and the Tigers used their prowess in productive outs all the way to the Series. Good call Buster. You did it again!

[CanadianChris 0]

Average winning % of the top 5 teams in productive outs last year: .455. None of them made the playoffs, and only the Giants came close.

 

Maybe that's why ESPN isn't tracking it so far this year. What a laughably bad statistic.

[geniusMoment 0]

Reds take a 1-0 lead after a rocket shot double by Wily Mo Pena.

 

The Reds have a big Wily................and I like it.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Nomar's out for at least two to three months, meaning we're looking at about a month of Nomar for the rest of the season. That re-signing sure blew up in their faces.

[strummer 0]

what happened to Nomar was almost the same exact thing that happened to Mike Piazza in San Francisco in 2003. The injury happened to Piazza in late April/early May and he did not return until late August.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Cubs got a huge break in the inning because of catcher's interference and had runners at second and third after a wild pitch with one out. Of course, they can't score, even though they have two of their big hitters up there. Credit to Carpenter, but why the hell is Lee, their hottest hitter, batting SIXTH? Oh yes, the L-R-L-R bullshit. Well, glad to see it panning out for them. Fucking Dusty Baker.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Adding on to this whole playing by the book thing, Dusty brings in Remlinger in to face Walker, who's batting over .400 against him. Why? Oh, the lefty vs. lefty thing. I guess you gotta go by the book. Might be wise to bring in a guy lefty who's effective against lefties and who has good numbers against the guy he's coming in to face.

[The Czech Republic 0]

HOT RUMOR?

 

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,3...2825537,00.html

 

Todd Helton and his $114 million contract through 2011 for Sidney Ponson (who is expendable given his crappy performances as of late),John Parish (never really amounted to much),Jay Gibbons (has shown so far this year he CANT play 1B) and 2 prospects.

 

When I said I wouldn't mind seeing Ponson not in Baltimore, I didnt think it was gonna actually happen..but he would get absolutely ROCKED in Colorado at Coors Field. I cant see this happening...but if you did stick Helton in that lineup..OH MY FREAKING GOD.

I'm sort of amused by the Baltimore Orioles and their flagrant lack of pitching. They're the anti-Braves.

[ISportsFan 0]

The White Sox won again, a 4-3 decision over the Tigers, making this 4 wins in a row and two consecutive two game sweeps. The Sox have won each of the six series they've played so far this year. Buehrle wasn't "on," but did pitch well enough to get his 3rd win of the season. A late comeback from a 3-1 deficit led to the victory over Bonderman, who did pitch very well for 6 1/3 innings. This puts the Sox at 12-4, which will be either 2 or 3 games ahead of Minnesota (depending on the outcome of that game against Kansas City this afternoon). To put this in perspective (although it's very, very early and probably means absolutely nothing), the White Sox never led the AL Central by more than 2 games all of last season.

 

Jason

[Bruiser Chong 0]

You're down 4-0 in the ninth. You need baserunners. What do you do? If you're Aramis Ramirez and Jeromy Burnitz, you probably answered "swing at the first pitch and fly out." Last time I checked, solo homers only equated to a single run.

 

Lee, on the other hand, worked a count in his favor and singled. Stoney pointed out that everytime he came to bat today, nobody was on base. Brilliant move, Dusty. And when they got two on in the ninth, who was in the on-deck circle? Why, Jose Macias, of course. Not Jason Dubois, like logic would suggest.

 

This is one of those losses where I feel physically ill. I know that sounds extreme, but it's not even so much that they lost. It's that the decisions that were made during the game made the Cubs and their manager look like hapless jackasses who don't deserve to be contenders.

[Guest Smues]

Atlanta beats Washington 2-1, thanks to Guzman throwing the ball into the braves dugout in the 9th. The offense is still really struggling, but the starting pitching has been superb.

[strummer 0]

Back to what we were talking about earlier, Chris Russo and Mike Francesa were just ranting about how the Dodgers start is a fluke and they are doing it with smoke and mirrors. It's great to see these "experts" backpedal.

[geniusMoment 0]

The reds must hope Griffey will retire, as he is hurting Cincy. Hopefully he retires soon, then the reds will be able to let their gigantic Wily loose on an everyday basis.................and trust me that is not a bad thing.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Dave Campbell just suggested without a hint of sarcasm that the Cubs may want to look into trading for Alex Gonzalez (who now plays for the D-Rays).

 

Like I said, Perez is no Nomar, but I'd rather see him in there than Gonzalez or most of the guys they could probably get to fill in right now.

[bob_barron 0]

Atlanta beats Washington 2-1, thanks to Guzman throwing the ball into the braves dugout in the 9th. The offense is still really struggling, but the starting pitching has been superb.

I don't hate Reitsma that much anymore.

 

If the Braves could score runs, they'd be unbeatable