This Week in Baseball

[bob_barron 0]

The Cardinals are ridiculous.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And to think I was starting to like Reitsma again.

[snuffbox 0]

Dontrelle Willis is definitley an ace pitcher...and hes still not at his peak yet.

 

Kudos to Al for the Yankees line and a great list of some underrated pitchers that people are unfortunately missing out on. Baseball is a great game and its always sad when folks cant see the exciting forest beyond the Boston and New York trees.

 

And, its pretty cool to see the Milwaukee Brewers at .500 in August after finally winning a series in Philly.

[treble 0]

Dontrell Willis was a early season fluke...he's back to earth now and is NOT an "ace".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

That might be more convincing had he not thrown 8 innings of 4 hit shut out ball today.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Empty numbers. And I'd take Roy Halladay over a lot of the guys Al mentioned.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I fucking hate Dusty Baker. Nomar's in the lineup, but he still manages to get Neifi in there AND bat him second. Then he's got Macias starting his fourth straight game in center. This is a guy who was signed as a utility player, not a god damn starting player. And Hollandsworth is in right because, well, he is 3 for his last 34, so he must be due! And Murton rides the pine again. Fuck Dusty Baker.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Dontrell Willis was a early season fluke...he's back to earth now and is NOT an "ace".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

That might be more convincing had he not thrown 8 innings of 4 hit shut out ball today.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Empty numbers. And I'd take Roy Halladay over a lot of the guys Al mentioned.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Halladay sucks in MVP 2005 for some weird reason when simulated.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

He had a poor 2004.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

And it takes one inning to show why Macias has no business being in the outfield.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Empty numbers. And I'd take Roy Halladay over a lot of the guys Al mentioned.

 

Halladay's ommission from my list was nothing more than a brain freeze. He deserves to rate among the elite.

[bob_barron 0]

Al-

 

Why do you think Jorge Sosa has been as dominant as he's been this season? With Hampton, Thompson and Hudson injured this guy has been an unsung hero for the team this year.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

And Todd Hollandsworth quickly proves why he has no business in the starting lineup.

 

For the Cubs telecasts, they don't post OPB, so it's funny to see how many in the starting lineup have ones that are barely hovering or below .300. That includes the number two hitter and one of the corner outfielders.

[treble 0]

Empty numbers. And I'd take Roy Halladay over a lot of the guys Al mentioned.

 

Halladay's ommission from my list was nothing more than a brain freeze. He deserves to rate among the elite.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I figured that, I just wanted to throw his name out there.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Al-

 

Why do you think Jorge Sosa has been as dominant as he's been this season? With Hampton, Thompson and Hudson injured this guy has been an unsung hero for the team this year.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Mostly luck. Sosa's statistics are not that great. His BB rate his high, his strikeout rate is down, and even his hit rate has not fallen. His ERA is much lower than we might expect given a player with his peripherals. His home run rate is much lower however, so there is some improvement from last season (of course, much of that is the ballpark). Expect a regression, but never count out a pitcher with a good strikeout rate.

[bob_barron 0]

Is it really luck when in his last 10 starts he hasn't given up more then 3 runs?

[fairtoflair7 0]

Cubs fundamentals are disgusting...

[MikeJordan23 0]

Is it really luck when in his last 10 starts he hasn't given up more then 3 runs?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

According to Rob Neyer of ESPN, you can be lucky for 3 years...

[The Czech Republic 0]

The Cubs are testing my patience. We need some changes right now, and anyone who can't see that is blind or delusional, and is probably working for a certain division of the Tribune Company.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Willis is not an ace. Don't be stupid. Wow, a great game against the REDS.

 

And the NL Wildcard race is quite pathetic based on this weekend.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Cubs fundamentals are disgusting...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No shit. I was listening to the ESPN radio telecast and they were ripping them apart. Dave Campbell and random PBP guy were tallying the number of mistakes made by the team defensively. They had six within the first five or so innings. Sorta funny how guys like Macias and Hollandsworthless were at the center of most of them.

[snuffbox 0]

Willis is not an ace.  Don't be stupid.  Wow, a great game against the REDS.

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yep, 15 wins and hes not an ace pitcher.

[Jericholic82 0]

I guess I made a mistake cuz you inferered by that line that I was saying there are no good pitchers left. I know of all the guys you mentioned believe it or not lol I guess I was trying to say that Baseball has become such an offense-dominated game over the last decade that the art of pitching has taken a backseat. Of course more recently the Homers have decreased and alot more closer, low scoring games are occuring (probably a lot of the players are are getting off the roids). With this crazy era you had more kids wanting to grow up to be a big slugger and homer hitter like McGwire on Bonds as opposed to being the next Roger Clemens. And a lot of the list of great current pitchers are older vets. I would liek to see more new young guys who can pitch come up.

 

I try to follow all of baseball, but since I'm such a hardcore Yankees fan, I care most about them. The comment mentioned earlier about living in Boston and being a REDSOX fan rings true with me and the Yanks. I hope that's not a crime. I think I have mentioned before here somewhere that I am probably more of a Yankee fan that MLB fan. I mean I can watch a good baseball game with other teams, but I don't have an emotional interest in the game so it decreases my interest a bit (but is probably better for my health

 

Of course if the game is a wild affair or a close pitching duel, or anything else that is really exciting I can enjoy it a whole lot more. But nothing compares (In my eyes) to the emotional joy and trauma associated with watching my favorite team. Since I don't get to watch them every day, when I do that game often becomes like k the 7th game of the world series to me. But you are right to say that when you only focus on one team you miss a lot of other stuff, which is why I continue to be amazed when teams come out of nowhere (well at the least- to me) to win it all and/or beat my team in October . (see 01 D-Backs, 02 Angels 03 Marlins)

 

So that is why I don't talk much about baseball here other than the Yankees, because they are my number one priority in all of sports. And I follow them more than I folow anything else in MLB.

 

But I really appreciate the fact that all of you here appear to be true fans of Baseball, since it's not often the "cool sport" to the general public anymore.

 

I'm sorry if my general ignorance has offended anyone, but I can only tell you what I feel.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I grew up wanting to be Jim Hunter. I'm sure there are quite a few people who wanted to be a pitcher when growing up.

[Jericholic82 0]

We can only hope I guess right?

 

When I was a kid I also wanted to be a pitcher, though my second choice would be 1B cuz of Mattingly.

 

Obviously my dream never came true. But I still love the strategy of pitching and defense.

[snuffbox 0]

I grew up wanting to be Jim Hunter. I'm sure there are quite a few people who wanted to be a pitcher when growing up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I want Rollie Fingers' mustasche when I grow up.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

On an unrelated note, I loved how the A's of the 70s had interesting names, like:

 

Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Bob Locker, Sal Bando, etc

[sfaJack 0]

Willis is not an ace.  Don't be stupid.  Wow, a great game against the REDS.

You mean the Reds that lead the National League in team OPS and is second only to the Cards in runs scored, or another Reds team whose offense sucks?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Is it really luck when in his last 10 starts he hasn't given up more then 3 runs?

 

It can be. There's nothing in Sosa's numbers to indicate dominance. Is it a dominant strikeout rate? He's only struck out 6.5 per nine. Low walk rate? He's walked 4.8 per nine, a poor total. Even his hit rate is 8.1 per nine, not especially good. His WHIP has only falled by 0.1 since last year. The only thing different is that his peripherals are not adding up to runs scored, which indicates that Sosa has been fortunate in clutch situations. So he is either lucky, or clutch. And if he is clutch, I would wonder why he does not use his ability to prevent baserunners in the first place.

 

His HR rate is down, and having Andruw Jones in center will benefit any pitcher's statistics. Sosa's better than last year, but he is simply not this good. If recent history is any indication, the Braves will trade Sosa after the season and reap the rewards.

 

On an unrelated note, I loved how the A's of the 70s had interesting names, like:

 

Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Bob Locker, Sal Bando, etc

 

As Baseball Prospectus noted, the Mets' system has names that top anything Dickens could come up with. Aarom Baldiris, Ian Bladergroen (since traded), Ambiorix Concepcion, Lastings Milledge, Prentice Redman, Bartolome Fortunado, Yusmeiro Petit, Jae Weong Seo.

 

You mean the Reds that lead the National League in team OPS and is second only to the Cards in runs scored, or another Reds team whose offense sucks?

 

Checkmate.

[King Kamala 0]

How's everyone's local minor league team doing as they go down the final stretch?

 

The Portland Sea Dogs are at the top of the division by 2 games, and it doesn't look like they're going to falter. They've got a boatload of prospects (I think they have something like 8 out of the top ten Red Sox prospects) and the 2005 Red Sox 1st round draft pick, Craig Hansen is getting called up this week to bolster the bullpen. I can't get too excited, cause the last time they made the playoffs was 1997 when the team was led by Kevin Millar and Josh Booty (They got eliminated by the Harrisburg Senators which had a young Vladimir Guerrero on the squad).

[Boon 0]

Willis is not an ace.  Don't be stupid.  Wow, a great game against the REDS.

You mean the Reds that lead the National League in team OPS and is second only to the Cards in runs scored, or another Reds team whose offense sucks?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You got served.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

How's everyone's local minor league team doing as they go down the final stretch?

 

The Portland Sea Dogs are at the top of the division by 2 games, and it doesn't look like they're going to falter. They've got a boatload of prospects (I think they have something like 8 out of the top ten Red Sox prospects) and the 2005 Red Sox 1st round draft pick, Craig Hansen is getting called up this week to bolster the bullpen. I can't get too excited, cause the last time they made the playoffs was 1997 when the team was led by Kevin Millar and Josh Booty (They got eliminated by the Harrisburg Senators which had a young Vladimir Guerrero on the squad).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The Red Barons sit at 56-60, seven games out of the division lead, and nine out of the wild card. The roster is fairly slim as there are only two position players of any promise, catcher Carlos Ruiz and center fielder Shane Victorino. Victorino has really been a bright spot. He's a 24 year old speed player who added power to his repetroire and retained his plate discipline. He's good enough to at least be a reserve outfielder in the bigs. Ruiz is old for a prospect but got a late start. He's at least a backup catcher, and possibly a future starter.

 

The pitching has seen the steady improvement of Eude Brito and the collapse of Gavin Floyd. Floyd has looked completely lost on the mound, setting a new team record for hit batsmen. Overall, the big problem for our team has been the pitching. Franklin Perez imploded, Dan Giese imploded and then retired, and other pitchers have seen better days. It would take a hell of a run in the last 28 games to reach the postseason, but they've been fun to watch (I've seen over two dozen games in person). Over the last couple weeks they have added Aquilino Lopez and Jared Fernandez, and they could be quality acquisitions.

[Guest]

The best thing at Single A Rancho Cucamonga in the batting department is Brandon Wood. This kid is a power hitter. He's hitting .311, has 40 doubles, a nice 35 HR's and 94 RBI's, .661 slugging percentage and .375 OBP. He has 101 strikeouts, which is probably why he hasn't been called up yet. Those 18 errors don't help either.