World Baseball Classic

[Guest Princess Leena]

A-Rod fucks up again in a scoring situation. That's my baby!

[naiwf 0]

Looks like the umps may have kept the US in this tourney since that questionable call saved us from a potential 0-2 start in this round and guaranteed elimination.

[Vern Gagne 0]

The US team should be fucking embarassed by their effort.

[Guest Princess Leena]

7-1. Could be seriously looking at the mercy rule coming into play this inning. :haha:

 

Edit: Nevermind, only 6th inning.

 

Edit 2: Utley with 2 errors this inning. Good stuff.

[Guest Princess Leena]

A-Rod gently flies out to screw up another run scoring situation. I love him!

[naiwf 0]

A-Rod gently flies out to screw up another run scoring situation. I love him!

 

So you're saying A-Rod's in postseason form in March. Awesome

[Guest Princess Leena]

Yes. I'd love him most if he can do a double and kill both the US team and the Yankees in 2006.

[naiwf 0]

That would be great, but I guess now we know the fruits of A-Rod's labor when he gets up at 6 AM while everyone else is sleeping or driving their kids to school. His October form is equal to that of his obvious preparation to come up clutch for the other team in March. All of the Yankees should aspire to be like A-Rod. Especially Jeter and Mo.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Jeter is too jealous to be respectful of A-Rod. Damn Mr. Potato Head. What kind of leader forces the greatest SS of all-time to move to 3B.

[Guest Princess Leena]

7-1, going to the 9th.

 

US really needs to score some runs here... or, their fate will end up in other countries' hands.

[Guest Princess Leena]

7-2... blah. C'mon A-Rod, do your thing. It doesn't matter much until we get to like 7-4.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Very disapointed in the US.

[naiwf 0]

Is there a reason A-Rod got 5 chances to make outs, which he did, when they've got other guys on the team who can you know, hit in the clutch? No wonder Buck Martinez ends up on ESPN analyzing baseball instead of managing it.

[Bored 0]

From the performance American MLB players and American NBA players in international competition they obviously just don't care about it as much as the other countries athletes.

 

So when does the bidding war for Seung Yeop-Lee begin?

[Guest Posada20]

7-3 Korea wins

[Guest Princess Leena]

Korea def. US 7-3.

 

Scenario for the US: If Japan wins their next 2 games, the US is probably gone. US is in bad shape in the tiebreak.

[Guest Posada20]

I'm thinking Korea and Japan move on now.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Is there a reason A-Rod got 5 chances to make outs, which he did, when they've got other guys on the team who can you know, hit in the clutch? No wonder Buck Martinez ends up on ESPN analyzing baseball instead of managing it.

Alex Rodriguez is a career .305 hitter in the postseason, with a .393 OBP, six home runs. It's amazing what selective memory will do to some people.

 

Look, this is not a game where the United States is incredibly, earth-shakingly dominant. Baseball doesn't work like that. The '98 Yankees lost 50 games, and that's perhaps the greatest team ever assembled. The U.S. team is facing a collection of pitchers they've never seen before, many with funky deliveries. And when your national team is obsessed with playing the worst fielding CF in the majors, they're going to allow some runs. Upsets happen. This is exactly the problem with running a three game round robin.

 

I have to say though, Korea has really raised their profile in this tournament. They didn't just beat the U.S. They stunned Japan as well.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, George Steinbrenner must be pleased, at least.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Alex Rodriguez is a career .305 hitter in the postseason, with a .393 OBP, six home runs. It's amazing what selective memory will do to some people.

Al, where did you find those stats? I'm curious about his average with RISP or if he stacked those stats in blowouts compared to games that necessitated clutch play. I don't mean to sound like an ARod hater, but I feel like he's often produced big games when they weren't really as needed.

[naiwf 0]

Is there a reason A-Rod got 5 chances to make outs, which he did, when they've got other guys on the team who can you know, hit in the clutch? No wonder Buck Martinez ends up on ESPN analyzing baseball instead of managing it.

Alex Rodriguez is a career .305 hitter in the postseason, with a .393 OBP, six home runs. It's amazing what selective memory will do to some people.

 

Look, this is not a game where the United States is incredibly, earth-shakingly dominant. Baseball doesn't work like that. The '98 Yankees lost 50 games, and that's perhaps the greatest team ever assembled. The U.S. team is facing a collection of pitchers they've never seen before, many with funky deliveries. And when your national team is obsessed with playing the worst fielding CF in the majors, they're going to allow some runs. Upsets happen. This is exactly the problem with running a three game round robin.

 

I have to say though, Korea has really raised their profile in this tournament. They didn't just beat the U.S. They stunned Japan as well.

 

Reference stats all you want, if an important game is on the line no one in their right mind wants A-Rod at the plate. He is simply NOT clutch, unless you're a Yankee hater because then he IS the man you want up to bat. By the way he's only had 2 good postseason series out of 8 he's participated in,

 

2000 ALCS w/SEA which they lost to the Yankees, he was 9 for 22 (.409) with 2 HR, 5 RBI

2004 ALDS w/NYY which they won over the Twins, he was 8 for 19 (.476) with 1 HR, 3 RBI

 

Combined that's 17 for 41 (.415) with 3 HR and 8 RBI

 

In his other 6 series, he's 19 for 77 (.247) with you guessed it 3 HR and 8 RBI

 

That looks like vintage A-Rod where he pads his stats with a good series here and there, but never gets it done when it matters.

[Guest Princess Leena]

A-Rod is the Randy Orton of baseball.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Is there a reason A-Rod got 5 chances to make outs, which he did, when they've got other guys on the team who can you know, hit in the clutch? No wonder Buck Martinez ends up on ESPN analyzing baseball instead of managing it.

Alex Rodriguez is a career .305 hitter in the postseason, with a .393 OBP, six home runs. It's amazing what selective memory will do to some people.

 

Look, this is not a game where the United States is incredibly, earth-shakingly dominant. Baseball doesn't work like that. The '98 Yankees lost 50 games, and that's perhaps the greatest team ever assembled. The U.S. team is facing a collection of pitchers they've never seen before, many with funky deliveries. And when your national team is obsessed with playing the worst fielding CF in the majors, they're going to allow some runs. Upsets happen. This is exactly the problem with running a three game round robin.

 

I have to say though, Korea has really raised their profile in this tournament. They didn't just beat the U.S. They stunned Japan as well.

 

Reference stats all you want, if an important game is on the line no one in their right mind wants A-Rod at the plate. He is simply NOT clutch, unless you're a Yankee hater because then he IS the man you want up to bat. By the way he's only had 2 good postseason series out of 8 he's participated in,

 

2000 ALCS w/SEA which they lost to the Yankees, he was 9 for 22 (.409) with 2 HR, 5 RBI

2004 ALDS w/NYY which they won over the Twins, he was 8 for 19 (.476) with 1 HR, 3 RBI

 

Combined that's 17 for 41 (.415) with 3 HR and 8 RBI

 

In his other 6 series, he's 19 for 77 (.247) with you guessed it 3 HR and 8 RBI

 

That looks like vintage A-Rod where he pads his stats with a good series here and there, but never gets it done when it matters.

 

You ever heard of a thing called small sample sizes? Look, I am far from an A-Rod lover, but I feel obligated to defend him when people start ripping his lack of clutch play. It's been shown time and time again that there is no such thing as "clutch ability" (re: Baseball Between the Numbers, Mind Game). A-Rod has performed just as well in the playoffs as he has in the regular season, but people just tend to remember him coming up short in a couple of situations. The Yankees wouldn't have even sniffed the playoffs without A-Rod on the team last year... seems sort of short-sighted to blast him for not carrying the team on his back in the playoffs.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Alex Rodriguez is a career .305 hitter in the postseason, with a .393 OBP, six home runs. It's amazing what selective memory will do to some people.

Al, where did you find those stats? I'm curious about his average with RISP or if he stacked those stats in blowouts compared to games that necessitated clutch play. I don't mean to sound like an ARod hater, but I feel like he's often produced big games when they weren't really as needed.

I couldn't compile the stats with RISP, because 118 at bats is a small enough sample as it is without dividing that up. I can look at individual series though. In the 2004 ALDS, the Yankees defeated the Twins in four games. A-Rod went 4-6 in game two, doubling in the tying run in the 11th and placing the eventual winning run at third. In game four, again in extra innings and the score tied, Rodriguez doubled and stole third, scoring the go-ahead run. Two games where A-Rod's hitting directly effected the outcome.

 

I think the big problem is that A-Rod's been used as a table setter in New York. He gets on base and others drive him in. He's pitched around and walked often, and when he does contribute it's at the front. No one remembers the leadoff hitter unless he steals 50 bases. That's why people don't have highlight memories, I would think.

 

Almost every superstar has bad postseason performances. Reggie Jackson hit .227 lifetime in ALCS play. Going into the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees, David Ortiz was a .200 postseason hitter. Albert Pujols went 2 for 18 in his first postseason. I think it is unfair to A-Rod to castigate him for his postseason play, especially when it has been relatively good.

 

And FYI, the statistics are available via Baseball-Reference.com, on each player's page. Clicking on the links will bring you to the linescores, and additional links from there access box scores and play-by-play.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Also to answer naiwf, I'm sure any hitter looks bad when you remove his best performances. If you instead remove A-Rod's two WORST performances, he's a .371 hitter (26 for 70).

[Guest Princess Leena]

Yeah. So, all of you be nice to Alexander now.

[mike546 0]

Looking around the fact A-Rod killed any chance the Yankees had at a comeback in game 5 by hitting into the DP, he was pitched around like crazy in that entire series. He was walked 6 times and I can recall atleast 2 HBPs.

[nl5xsk1 0]

A-Rod is the Randy Orton of baseball.

 

Yeah. So, all of you be nice to Alexander now.

 

So, Leena <3's ARod?

 

And, thanks for the info, al. I really have no issues with ARod. I know that it's sacrilige to be a Masshole and say that, but he's not the villain that everyone around here (meaning my hometown, not TSM) portrays him to be.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Yes, I <3 A-Rod. He's sooo cute and uber-rich. And ALL the boys are jealous of him.

[Brett Favre 0]

From the performance American MLB players and American NBA players in international competition they obviously just don't care about it as much as the other countries athletes.

 

Or maybe the other countries are just better? That's a crazy thought. This is why people hate Americans. If Americans don't win, its because they didn't try hard enough. Fuck that shit, they just suck ass.