This week in baseball

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

How in the hell does Kip Wells pitch a 4-hit shutout, striking out 12? And Vicente Padilla doesn't fill me w/ any hope tonight.

 

Still, this team is only five games out of a wild card berth, and behind only two teams at that. If you think this season is over, you are a damed fool.

Outside of the 12-1 homestand, what have they done this year that gives you any hope? And down 1 starting pitcher (2 if you count Padilla), w/ Charlie's utter inability to be even a half-way competent manager, I'm not holding out any hope.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Outside of the 12-1 homestand, what have they done this year that gives you any hope? And down 1 starting pitcher (2 if you count Padilla), w/ Charlie's utter inability to be even a half-way competent manager, I'm not holding out any hope.

 

They're a .500 team. .500 teams regularly run off hot streaks and can make a run at things if they are still in the race. It is not likely, but it is far from impossible.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

I know Yankees fans are Pedro Martinez haters.

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I love Pedro, he was the most fun opponent we ever had, and the easiest to respect. I was really disapointed that we didn't push to sign him.

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Me too. Pedro's a laugh riot, great for a quote, has been great for the Mets clubhouse (When the Mets are good it makes baseball in this area more fun) and is one of the most consistant and dominating pitchers I have ever been able to watch.

[MikeJordan23 0]

Abreu is the best outfielder in baseball.

 

 

Better than Vlad Guerrero? I don't see that. I'm not even sure he's better than Jim Edmonds.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Abreu is the best outfielder in baseball.

 

 

Better than Vlad Guerrero? I don't see that. I'm not even sure he's better than Jim Edmonds.

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This year yes. Career wise Abreu wouldn't rank the highest, but he is certainly in Guerrero's league.

[MikeJordan23 0]

Curt Schilling will pitch out of the bullpen while recovering from an ankle injury, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Wednesday.

 

 

Schilling

 

Francona said in a radio interview that Schilling, who had offseason surgery to repair the right ankle made famous by his bloody sock in the 2004 postseason, will pitch in relief while he tries to get back to full strength.

 

"For an inning or two, he might be one of the best in the game," Francona said on WEEI-AM. "For now, I think this is the way to get him back and impact our ballclub."

 

Schilling will pitch in relief for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday and probably throw at least one more time in the minors after that, Francona said.

 

That would put him on pace to join the Red Sox bullpen after the All-Star break next week.

 

Schilling struggled Monday night in what was supposed to be his final rehab outing, allowing five runs in five innings for Pawtucket. In Texas with his teammates on Tuesday, he said there were still "physical issues ... just some inconsistency there, velocity-wise."

 

The Red Sox need help in the bullpen. Keith Foulke, who closed out all four games in last year's World Series, was sent back to Boston to have MRI exams on both his knees. The right-hander is 5-5 with a 6.23 ERA and 15 saves, and two of his four blown saves have come in the past week.

 

Schilling started the season on the disabled list and made just three starts -- going 1-2 with an 8.15 ERA -- before bruising his right ankle on April 23 and going back on the DL. He is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two rehab starts for Pawtucket.

 

Schilling injured a tendon in his ankle near the end of the 2004 regular season and struggled in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against New York. After testing an unprecedented procedure on a cadaver, the team doctor made a wall of stitches in Schilling's ankle to keep the tendon in place.

 

With blood seeping through his sock, Schilling beat the Yankees in Game 6, catapulting the Red Sox to an improbable comeback. The procedure was repeated before Game 2 of the World Series to help Boston sweep St. Louis in four games for its first championship since 1918.

 

www.espn.com

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Speaking of relief shenanigans...

 

CHICAGO - With Lance Carter's implosion in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the White Sox the latest debacle, manager Lou Piniella apparently felt there is no way any of the Devil Rays relievers can protect a lead in the eighth inning.

 

So he decided his next move is to try something that is totally different, potentially controversial and perhaps unprecedented.

 

Starting tonight, Piniella said he will use a reliever for the first two innings, then bring in his scheduled starter with the idea that he can pitch through the eighth before yielding to closer Danys Baez.

 

"I've made up my mind, and that's what we're going to do," Piniella said. "People are going to think I'm crazy, but we're just going to try it.

 

"Starting (tonight). I'll bring in whatever reliever I feel like starting the game with, and I'll bring my starter in in the third inning and we'll play nine innings of baseball that way. I'm serious."

 

Piniella first mentioned the idea last weekend, then dismissed it over concern for the starters' physical preparation.

 

But after watching Carter turn a hard-earned 4-3 lead into a frustrating 6-4 loss, giving up a three-run homer to Frank Thomas, as the Rays lost for the eighth time in a 34-game span after taking a lead into the eighth, his frustration got the best of him and led to the radical decision.

 

"I don't want to be an innovator," Piniella said, "but we're just going to try it."

 

Several players seemed skeptical Piniella would follow through - "We'll see if that happens," Tuesday starter Mark Hendrickson said - and pitching coach Chuck Hernandez politely declined to discuss it.

 

The plan presents some problems of its own: Piniella said he would decide each day which reliever would start and "keep the other manager guessing," which goes against baseball protocol of having an announced starter; the Rays could end up short pitchers if he uses one or two relievers early and a game goes extra innings; and starters who get rewarded financially for their number of starts, either through incentive clauses or in contract negotiations for the next season, may be troubled.

 

But right now, with no proven reliever on the staff to handle the assignment and the front office unlikely to acquire one, Piniella insists he is willing to risk any criticism or consequences - and perhaps make a point to his bosses in the process.

 

"We're going to try it and see what happens," he said.

 

Casey Fossum is scheduled to start tonight and said he had not been told any differently. But Fossum, who started the year in the bullpen, didn't dismiss the idea.

 

"Obviously, we've got to try something," he said.

 

The eighth inning has been something of a seasonlong problem. The Rays have lost 10 times (all in their past 47 games) after taking a lead into the eighth and have been outscored a mindboggling 90-27 in 84 games, including 52-10 on the road.

 

The eighth inning meltdowns, which have involved just about every reliever they've had, are a primary reason they have blown a major league-high 16 saves and have the worst bullpen ERA in the league.

 

The Rays worked hard to take the 4-3 lead into the eighth, rallying twice after the Sox had tied. The latest plan was to use Carter, their most experienced setup man, in the eighth, and minimize the potential for trouble by bring him in at the start of the inning.

 

The plan was executed the way the Rays wanted, but the problem was that Carter couldn't get anybody out.

 

He gave up a leadoff double to Scott Podsednik, a single to Tadahito Iguchi and then a towering three-run homer to Thomas.

 

"You saw it, what do we need to talk about it for?" Carter said. "He's paid to hit pitches that are terrible, and that was a bad pitch. He's hit a lot of home runs, and he got that one. If I could take it back I would, but I can't."

 

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/06/Rays/Lou...to_starti.shtml

 

Somewhere, Earnshaw Cook is smiling.

[MikeJordan23 0]

That's a very interesting concept. We'll see how it works...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

That's a very interesting concept. We'll see how it works...

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I hope it works. I don't think giving shuffling relievers is going to make them any better, but it is nice to see some innovation.

[smh810 0]

Reason # 368 why Lou Piniella is awesome.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Outside of the 12-1 homestand, what have they done this year that gives you any hope? And down 1 starting pitcher (2 if you count Padilla), w/ Charlie's utter inability to be even a half-way competent manager, I'm not holding out any hope.

 

They're a .500 team. .500 teams regularly run off hot streaks and can make a run at things if they are still in the race. It is not likely, but it is far from impossible.

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I'll guarantee right now that the Phillies will not make the playoffs.

[MikeJordan23 0]

I was watching ESPN news today and Peter Gammons was on and said something I find interesting. He said MLB reps stated yesterday on a radio show (WEEB? maybe WWEI, didn't catch that part) that there's no rule that states every team has to be represented in the All-star game. Managers don't have to picka player from every team, they just decide to do so for their own reasoning.

[therealworldschampion 0]

Who else pisses me off.

 

Oh yeah, BOBBY ABREU. "OMG! All Star! What a year!"

 

ABREU DOESNT FUCKING DO SHIT AFTER THE 7th INNING. HE IS AS WORTHLESS AS JIM THOME WAS LAST YEAR. NO CLUTCH HITS. NOTHING BUT DOG SHIT DOUBLE PLAY PUSSY SHIT!

 

You haven't been drinking Howard Eskin's Kool-Aid have you?

 

But yeah, this team is screwed. I don't think Cholly could even manage a donut stand, let alone an MLB team...

[devo 0]

Mets commit two stupid baserunning mistakes, ending their three-run rally in the sixth. Score's 4-3, Mets.

[devo 0]

Whoo. The Mets' bullpen does a fantastic job, throwing 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Mets win 5-3. Glavine with the win, Hernandez with the loss (first time in 11 starts).

[Brett Favre 0]

AJ Burnett struck out 14 Brewers in 6 innings. Had he not allowed 4 runs, or 124 pitches, he probably would have broken the record.

[snuffbox 0]

The Brewers-Marlins game has gotten really frustrating.

[Mik 0]

Which part, the Marlins having a perfect game from the 3rd inning on?

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Yanks come back from 10-6 bottom of the ninth deficit against Foulke and Boston, with a 3 run Delgado homer, a solo shot to tie it up by Posada, and an RBI game winning base hit by Pudge Rodriguez.

 

Oh wait, that was in MVP Baseball. Yanks were off tonight. I am going to game 3 of this weekend's 4 game series against Cleveland on Saturday, which is also Old Timers Day.

[devo 0]

Hell yes. Mets beat the Nationals in the 11th inning, 3-2, and win the series 3-1. I never dreamed that they'd take 3 in Washington.

[the max 0]

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ne...t=.jsp&c_id=bos

 

Red Sox get Alex Cora from the Indians for Ramon Vasquez. Also might be bringing back Gabe Kapler, which I like.

 

BIG series for both the Sox and O's tonight. Wells has been ok in his last few starts, hopefully Manny and Papi can keep up their hot streaks. I'd like to see at least 3/4 taken from the O's this series

[bob_barron 0]

Braves shutout the Cubbies again today. Horacio Ramirez has been awesome recently.

 

Do we put Bruiser on suicide watch now?

[KingPK 0]

Also, the Sox designated Jay Payton for assignment, which probably is a precursor to either a trade or outright release.

 

The Cora trade gives them more bench depth (defensively in this case) and if they get Kapler back, well that's just a bonus.

[snuffbox 0]

And the Brewers bust out a wicked Trent Reznor impression in Florida.

[Mik 0]

Man, don't buy into the hype. The Nationals are being outscored on the season. Their luck is going to run out, big time. They are going to crash hard.

 

Hell yes. Mets beat the Nationals in the 11th inning, 3-2, and win the series 3-1. I never dreamed that they'd take 3 in Washington.

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[devo 0]

I can buy that. But up until this point, they've been unbelievably hard to beat in close games at home. If this marks the end of that trend and the end of their luck, I welcome it with upon arms.

[Cartman 0]

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ne...t=.jsp&c_id=bos

 

Red Sox get Alex Cora from the Indians for Ramon Vasquez. Also might be bringing back Gabe Kapler, which I like.

 

BIG series for both the Sox and O's tonight. Wells has been ok in his last few starts, hopefully Manny and Papi can keep up their hot streaks. I'd like to see at least 3/4 taken from the O's this series

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Apparently Francona doesn't think this series is too important. The linupe tonight is pathetic:

 

SS Cora

3B Mueller

DH Ortiz

RF Nixon

LF Millar

1B Olerud

C Mirabelli

CF Stern

2B Bellhorn

[Guest Mosaicv2]

I have a funny feeling the Orioles are going to kick the Red Sox asses in this four-game series.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I have a funny feeling the Orioles are going to kick the Red Sox asses in this four-game series.

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You wouldn't have that feeling if you've seen the O's play over the last two weeks.

 

They MIGHT win tonight, but only because their best pitcher of their four is pitching tonight. Lopez/Ponson/Chen have been horrible lately ( I dont even want to know their collective ERA over the last 3 games, but 22 runs in about 5 innings...thats what..about 50?)

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Braves shutout the Cubbies again today. Horacio Ramirez has been awesome recently.

 

Do we put Bruiser on suicide watch now?

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No, but Dusty Baker better get his head examined for putting Jose Macias in the two slot against John Smoltz, having Neifi Perez lead off, and Corey Patterson (0-4 in his career with four K's against Smoltz) in the lineup. Idiot.