TWIB #5: 1 May - 7 May

[treble 0]

I don't know what's happened to Josh Towers, but it seems like he's forgotten how to pitch. Gotta wonder how much longer the Jays are going to stick with him in the rotation.

[mike546 0]

It isn't Randys night.

 

How many times have I said that latley?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

My Local A Ball team (Delmarva Shorebirds) are going to be playing a game at Citizen's Bank Park up in Philly on May 15th vs the Lakewood BlueClaws..

Kinda odd.

I'm giving very serious consideration to attending that game, seeing how I do not have work or school, and tickets will be much less expensive than usual for those seats. It's a good opportunity really, especially if you have never been to the park.

[CanadianChris 0]

I don't know what's happened to Josh Towers, but it seems like he's forgotten how to pitch. Gotta wonder how much longer the Jays are going to stick with him in the rotation.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

Time to give Ty Taubenheim a try, do you think?

[treble 0]

Anybody, really. I feel bad, because I like the guy and know he can be a good pitcher, but he's been horrible this year and is a blackhole in the rotation.

[CanadianChris 0]

When does the fun part of the schedule start? You know, Kansas City, Minnesota, Seattle, teams like that.

 

Of course, the Jays lost 2 of 3 to Tampa Bay, so I guess I'd better be careful what I wish for.

[naiwf 0]

It seems that the Mets fear scoring when Glavine pitches (14 runs through his first 6 outings, only 4 in his last 3). They left 7 men on through the first 3, had the bases loaded and no outs and got a run thanks to a BB, then proceeded to make 3 outs. One timely hit and they'd have a 3 or 4 run cushion. It's got to be frustrating for Tommy.

[devo 0]

Well, this inning might help alleviate said frustrations. Four runs scored, three of which came from a Xavier Nady home run. Man he's been good.

 

Also, Wright seems to be breaking out of his slump, as he has three hits on the evening thus far.

[Vern Gagne 0]

When does the fun part of the schedule start? You know, Kansas City, Minnesota, Seattle, teams like that.

 

Of course, the Jays lost 2 of 3 to Tampa Bay, so I guess I'd better be careful what I wish for.

 

 

You already played Minnesota three times.

[KingPK 0]

Remind me why Rudy Seanez was signed again? I know it's pretty much garbage time, but he's the Alan Embree of '06 so far.

[KingPK 0]

My Local A Ball team (Delmarva Shorebirds) are going to be playing a game at Citizen's Bank Park up in Philly on May 15th vs the Lakewood BlueClaws..

Kinda odd.

 

Not really, the Pawtucket Red Sox are going to play a game in Fenway later this summer. I think it's just a way for the big club to sell more tickets (at least they SHOULD be somewhat cheaper).

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The tickets for the Lakewood/Delmarva game are $14 for field level, $20 for diamond club.

[KingPK 0]

At Fenway, tickets will range from $5 for Upper Bleachers to $30 for Monster Seats and EMC Club (where the .406 Club used to be). It's a doubleheader too; the Single A Lowell Spinners will also play a game before the PawSox. I gotta look into this.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

VICTORINO~!

[tominator89 0]

Nice winning streak for the Phils!

 

Al: I'd like to get your thoughts on when a good time would be to bring up Hamels.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Nice winning streak for the Phils!

 

Al: I'd like to get your thoughts on when a good time would be to bring up Hamels.

Around the All-Star break, if possible. The potential problem is that they might not leave him at a level long enough for him to learn what happens when hitters adjust to his pure stuff. You want to get a few starts to get a better picture. But if the Phils are desperate for pitching, it probably wouldn't hurt to bring him up. I will say I wouldn't do it before June 1st at the earliest.

[vivalaultra 0]

'Stros won again against the Cards, who have been swept in the last two series. Andy Pettitte finally got his second win of the year, and I got to see SOOOOOOOOOOOO Taguchi~! And Brad Ausmus is in the top 3 in NL batting average (zuh?!?) and Lance Berkman is atop the NL RBI standings.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

This minor league rotation and speedy offense certainly isn't setting the NL on fire.

[vivalaultra 0]

Well, at least Marshall looks really good, from what I've seen and heard. That's what? 1 for 3 in rookie starters this season? And isn't K-Wood supposed to be on a minor league rehab this week?

[therealworldschampion 0]

Tonight's Cholly-ism:

 

After big win over Braves, quote from Associated Press game story:

 

“We finally got to .500,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “We plan on staying there.”

[naiwf 0]

Tonight's Cholly-ism:

 

After big win over Braves, quote from Associated Press game story:

 

“We finally got to .500,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “We plan on staying there.”

 

From Charlie's lips to God's ears. If the Mets can take another 2 out of 3 from Atlanta this weekend, they'll be 8 out on May 8th.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I can't believe Freddie Bynum is starting at second. Is Jerry Hairston dead? Cubs look to be well on their way to keeping their one run per game average alive. That is, if they score tonight.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Yeah, this anorexic guy Cruz was even shutting you guys out. Oh well.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

The funny (or sad) thing is we had him and traded him away. I can't recall for who. Surely someone who never panned out.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Twelve more baserunners and no runs. Five runs in the last six games and shut out three times in the last five games. I know teams slump, but no team with playoff aspirations (HA!) look this listless. Probably too early to jump the gun, but damn, can't even the hitting coach be shown the door? I can't believe I wasted all this money on tickets to see a AAA team play.

[naiwf 0]

I don't think we have enough complaints about the Cubs in this thread. I mean, what did you realistically expect from them with Prior, Wood and Lee on the DL? Take 2 frontline starters and the best hitter off of any team and they'll struggle mightily. You're still a game over .500 for crying out loud. If you were the Pirates or Marlins I could see the "all hope is lost" philosophy, but it's NOT that bad just yet.

[vivalaultra 0]

Don't be so glum. Remember the reigning and defending NL champs started last season 15-30, and 2-21 on the road. They were shutout 17 times over the season, three times by the Pirates. They were at the bottom of every offensive category in the National League. I mean, we did have Oswalt, Pettitte, and Clemens at the top of the rotation, but we also started the season with Brandon Duckworth as our number five starter...and then we had Ezequial Astacio, who only pitched really well in one game against the Cubs, and Wandy Rodriguez...who was...just okay.

[Guest Felonies!]

I don't think we have enough complaints about the Cubs in this thread. I mean, what did you realistically expect from them with Prior, Wood and Lee on the DL? Take 2 frontline starters and the best hitter off of any team and they'll struggle mightily.

That's not an excuse. Subtracting Lee from the lineup should not cause the team's batting average to plummet this drastically. This isn't The Derrek Lee Show here. Check this out, it's a novel concept, there are nine players in the lineup who have jobs to do, and they're not all doing them. When Juan Pierre can't get the ball past the second baseman, Jacque Jones is making one-pitch popouts, and Ramirez is swinging for the fences and missing, how is that tied into Derrek Lee being gone? It's not as if he carried the team on his back when he was here. These are supposed to be talented players. They should be picking up the slack. Like I said before, this was going to be a test of character: they could either try to compensate and increase their production in Lee's absence, or they can say "oh noes we can't" and fold. They're either trying so hard to pick up the slack that they're not thinking, or they're folding. Any way you slice it, the Cubs are playing bad baseball, and I don't know what it's going to take to smack them out of it.

 

You're still a game over .500 for crying out loud.

That doesn't mean anything. We're living off that sweep of the Cardinals. It's been sub-.500 ball if you subtract that series, and we're in a downward trend.

[Hawk 34 0]

I don't think we have enough complaints about the Cubs in this thread. I mean, what did you realistically expect from them with Prior, Wood and Lee on the DL? Take 2 frontline starters and the best hitter off of any team and they'll struggle mightily.

That's not an excuse. Subtracting Lee from the lineup should not cause the team's batting average to plummet this drastically. This isn't The Derrek Lee Show here. Check this out, it's a novel concept, there are nine players in the lineup who have jobs to do, and they're not all doing them. When Juan Pierre can't get the ball past the second baseman, Jacque Jones is making one-pitch popouts, and Ramirez is swinging for the fences and missing, how is that tied into Derrek Lee being gone? It's not as if he carried the team on his back when he was here. These are supposed to be talented players. They should be picking up the slack. Like I said before, this was going to be a test of character: they could either try to compensate and increase their production in Lee's absence, or they can say "oh noes we can't" and fold. They're either trying so hard to pick up the slack that they're not thinking, or they're folding. Any way you slice it, the Cubs are playing bad baseball, and I don't know what it's going to take to smack them out of it.

 

You're still a game over .500 for crying out loud.

That doesn't mean anything. We're living off that sweep of the Cardinals. It's been sub-.500 ball if you subtract that series, and we're in a downward trend.

 

Also you have to factor that being one game over .500 isn't good when you compete against four other teams who are also well over .500. One game over .500 might be good elsewhere but in the NL Central, it's not good.

[naiwf 0]

Also you have to factor that being one game over .500 isn't good when you compete against four other teams who are also well over .500. One game over .500 might be good elsewhere but in the NL Central, it's not good.

 

They don't need to win the division to get to the postseason or the World Series. Again, it's only May 5th. The NL Central won't end up with 4 or 5 teams pushing 100 wins, so the Cubs still have 135 games to make up the whopping 4 1/2 deficit they're facing. They're not the Pirates or Marlins who are already staring at mathematical elimination.