TWiB 6/26 - 7/2

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

They paid money for him?

Yeah, baffles me too. Meanwhile, Vicente Padilla has a 4.56 ERA in Texas.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

The Reds have found quite a lot of motivation as of late. They realize they CAN win this division with the way the Cards are playing. And hey... as long as it gets Ken Griffey Jr. back in the spotlight, I'm all for it. I really hope the guy reaches 700 homers before it's said and done. Don't know if that'll be a stretch though.

I still think the Cards have the division well in hand. They're playing arguably their worst baseball in years and still have first place all to themselves. Once interleague is over, I'd imagine the Cards will get back to resembling the team we've come to know and fear (until October).

 

I'm pulling for the Reds to take the wildcard and honestly, if they can hold off Houston, they've got a great shot the way the East is playing these days.

[Mik 0]

While maybe not the biggest news, 1999 #1 overall draft pick Josh Hamilton was allowed to play minor league baseball this year. He was picked ahead of Josh Beckett and threw 98 mph while hitting 500 foot HRs back in the day.

 

He was, of course, tragically sidelined by a drug addiction. The talent is there... let's hope he's grown up and can do something in the minor league.

 

He's on the D-rays, fyi.

[CanadianChris 0]

Odd stat: With their win over the Phillies, the Blue Jays extended a streak (winning or losing) to four games for the first time this year. Previous to tonight, they'd won three straight four times and lost three straight three times.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Interesting strategy going on in the Cards/Royals game. Pujols gets on with a single, and gets advanced to second by the next batter. A wild pitch sends Pujols to third...so Buddy Bell counters by intentionally walking Encarnacion and Taguchi to load the bases for Yadier Molina.

 

LaRussa (probably having to stifle the laughter) subs out Molina for Scott Spiezio...which prompts Buddy Bell to bring in a new pitcher. (EDIT: And that pitcher happens to be Burgos, he of the 6.50+ ERA.)

[The Man in Blak 0]

And yet, somehow, it pays off, as Burgos strikes out Spiezio and the batter that follows (Miles). You have to love how terrible decisions in baseball can still lead to positive outcomes.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I was wondering the logic behind bringing in a guy who's continually failed in the closer's role, but then I remembered it's Buddy Bell. Spiezio K'd on a pitch that was easily ball four.

 

With a leftfielder who sports a good arm, the Royals probably blow that runners at the corners and nobody out, but Taguchi can't throw out the runner at home on a shallow flyball. That is sooooooooooooo Taguchi. Gathwright follows up with an RBI-double.

 

Only in interleague. I guess if we're looking for silver linings, Pujols will bat if they get anyone on.

[The Man in Blak 0]

With a leftfielder who sports a good arm, the Royals probably blow that runners at the corners and nobody out, but Taguchi can't throw out the runner at home on a shallow flyball. That is sooooooooooooo Taguchi.

 

Yeah, that was the absolute worst. Jeremy Giambi could have gotten Teahen at home, but Taguchi managed to take out the wedge and chip a five hopper to the plate. I don't care how bad John Rodriguez is slumping, they're no excuse to put Taguchi out there in left, where his primary defensive commodity (range) is effectively neutered.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Royals are playing .500 ball since DeJesus came off the DL.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

They've also been playing the NL.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Jeff Brantley is without question the biggest idiot on BTN.

 

Bob Wickman blew the game against the Reds, because he's a below average pitcher. Not because it wasn't a Save situation.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Rotoworld said the same. Of course, they weren't serious.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Dusty's latest excuse; this one in regards to not arguing a very close play at the plate yesterday:

 

"I couldn't even see the play," Baker said. "From where we are in the dugout, you can't see second base, you can't see first base and you can't see the plate. From where I was, I couldn't tell if he was out or safe, because I couldn't see where the plate was. That's why I didn't come out to argue."

 

...

[Guest Felonies!]

Maybe he should sit on Neifi Perez's shoulders and get like three feet higher.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I just find it a bit concerning that we're paying a guy $4.5 million to keep an eye out on third base.

[naiwf 0]

Thank God for Randy Johnson aka the slumpbuster.

[naiwf 0]

Jerry Davis needs to get his ass fired. How can you not tell if a guy right in front of you got hit with a ball or not? Stupid fucker just killed this inning. Instead of bases loaded and no out, we have 1st and 2nd with 1 out. The officiating in all the major sports have been fucking awful this year.

[Guest Brian]

Not to mention the missed call at first and the fact that he got in the way of that foul ball.

[naiwf 0]

Only at Yankee Stadium can Melky airmail a ball some 30 feet over Posada's head and not get an error.

 

It's 7-2 now and RJ's lucky the damage isn't worse thanks to that botched Nady call and Marrero swinging at a surefire ball 4.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Good thing I decided to play Aramis Ramirez today.

[vivalaultra 0]

'Stros 5. Rangers 0. Buchholz went 7 2 hit shutout innings. In 16 innings against the Rangers, he's given up 0 runs, 7 hits-only one for extra bases. Mike Lamb was a single short of hitting for the cycle. He was about to hit his 2nd homer of the game in the 8th, but Gary Matthews Jr., who is really underrated, did a Spiderman impression and made a hellacious catch, which will probably be the top webgem of the day, or at least in the top two.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Matt Murton can't even get into the game when Nevin's taken out. The Cubs must see something in career minor-leaguer Angel Pagan the rest of us just don't.

[vivalaultra 0]

It's his ungodly speed and his ability to "play the game the right way."

[Bruiser Chong 0]

AJ hits a three-run, go-ahead BOMB off Dempster. That's probably the worst case scenario. If he finishes off ROSS GLOAD, this doesn't happen.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

And now the fans have buried the outfield with trash. Not classy, but I can understand the frustration. They gave Jenks more time to warm up, though.

 

Oh well. I guess Aramis gets to go for the cycle now.

[Guest Felonies!]

This is the worst.

[Guest]

If there's a team that deserves trash treatment, it's the Cubs. At least the fans care.

 

Sure, it's bad, but opinions have been expressed.

[Guest Felonies!]

SSSHH CUBS FANS DON'T CARE

[treble 0]

There Jays Canada uniforms are ugly. The red they threw in there don't fit with the rest of the colour scheme, looks like pink on the front.

[KGB 0]

There Jays Canada uniforms are ugly. The red they threw in there don't fit with the rest of the colour scheme, looks like pink on the front.

 

They totally half-assed it. What a joke.