This Week in Baseball 4/16 - 4/22

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I would rather them make up ground now, instead of later, since the Braves and Mets are off to hot starts. They cannot just give games away this early in the season, and they've already given up three or four. Whatever works in the short run will work right now, as long as they have a plan that goes beyond the short run.

Moving your second-best starter to the bullpen makes the team better neither now or later. If Lieber stinks too much to be a reliever, release him.

[vivalaultra 0]

Maybe they should just bite the bullet and trade Leiber for less than the high price that they're looking for and call up that J.A. Happ kid or somebody from the minors to go into the pen. I'm no Phillies expert, so I don't know what kind of arms they have in the minors, but certainly, this is not the best option neither for the short term nor the long term.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

We all need to be talking about J.J. Hardy a lot more. 5 HRs already and he's really only meant to be a #2 hitter.

[2GOLD 0]

The Orioles revamped bullpen has looked exactly that to open the season. Getting out of jams, keeping the score the same to give the offense time to get going and just doing everything last year's bullpen was completely incapable of doing. Other than the one game against the Yankees, they have looked very good to open the season.

 

Loewen still walked too many but his development on the fly is doing ok. He's looked decent so far but he's really got to get better command out there cause eventually those walks are going to get him killed. And best of all for the Birds, Corey Patterson did NOT strike out wearing the #42 in Tribute of Jackie. He actually had a decent game with two singles and an RBI.

 

Not bad, not bad at all. Now if the damn Cubs could get rolling, I'd actually have a positive opening of the season for my favorites.

[UZI Suicide 0]

Russell Fucking Martin!

 

Walk off Grand Slam to beat the Pirates.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

There's a story unfolding in Atlanta, as Willy Aybar did not show up for a meeting with MLB officials. He's skipped two meetings and has not been heard from since Thursday.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

I didn't know Michael was THAT strong. He took the famous Wrigley Field sign down after he homered? Some celebration!

[bob_barron 0]

There's a story unfolding in Atlanta, as Willy Aybar did not show up for a meeting with MLB officials. He's skipped two meetings and has not been heard from since Thursday.

 

I knew we shouldn't have traded Betemit.

[snuffbox 0]

We all need to be talking about J.J. Hardy a lot more. 5 HRs already and he's really only meant to be a #2 hitter.

 

Those two last night were HUGE.

 

And Cordero vs. El Cabello was a neat way to end the game last night.

[vivalaultra 0]

It would've been neater if Caballao would've hit a monster homerun to left field to shutup some of those knucklehead fans that are booing him.

[snuffbox 0]

He refused a contract slightly larger than David Ortiz's so he could leave Milwaukee. Did you want them to be drooling over Carlos?

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Os are 3 games over .500 at 10-7 for the first time in exactly a year, going for the sweep of Toronto today.

[vivalaultra 0]

He refused a contract slightly larger than David Ortiz's so he could leave Milwaukee. Did you want them to be drooling over Carlos?

 

Yes. And Ortiz's contract extension was 4/$52. Wasn't the Lee contract going to be 4/$48? Either way, Carlos Lee is a classy guy who did good things for Milwaukee; they shouldn't boo him just because he left town, it's not like he 'Beltraned' them.

[snuffbox 0]

I, personally, wouldn't boo him. But I don't fault those that did.

 

Tough game today for Milwaukee as it's the Incredible Oswalt vs. Dave Bush & the First Inning of Spotted Runs.

[2GOLD 0]

It's not like Carlos Lee was a homegrown Brewers talent who had been with the franchise forever. He was there for a season and a half, not exactly Mr. Established Star for the club. The only guy right now who I couldn't see them booing if he left is Ben Sheets as long as he didn't bash the franchise before his exit.

 

White Sox fans would have had less reason to boo Lee than a Brewer fanbase that barely knew the guy.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

What is being 'Beltraned?' Did Carlos talk some smack before leaving Houston? Or did he promise to re-sign there? I don't remember.

[Mik 0]

If you can... find a clip of the HR Miguel Cabrera hit today against Washington.

 

They called it 468 but he hit is deep into the Upper Deck at Dolphins Stadium. It was one of the biggest bombs I have seen in awhile.

[vivalaultra 0]

What is being 'Beltraned?' Did Carlos talk some smack before leaving Houston? Or did he promise to re-sign there? I don't remember.

 

I don't know if he explicitly said that he would be stying in Houston, but there was definitely a general consensus that he would stay. He was a guy that everyone in the city bent over backwards trying to convince to say; fans took up donations to give to his favorite charity, Jeff Bagwell took out a full-page ad in the newspaper in Beltran's hometown thanking him for playing and saying that he hoped he'd stay in Houston, managment and players all talked about how much they liked Beltran and all that. And I know Beltran made comments about how much he enjoyed playing in Houston and living there and how he didn't want to be in a big city with lots of craziness. Then, he blew off a 7 yr/$112 million contract to sign for SLIGHTLY more in New York, actually it was basically for the same amount, since Texas doesn't have a state income tax. There were oodles of angry fans in Houston after he left. The first Mets' series in MMP after he went up there was craziness. They had fans out on the streets sellings shirts that said "Beltran $ucks" and so forth. They had some fans in left field that had a fishing pool with a dollar bill on it that would lower it down over his head while he was playing. Stuff like that. I was upset to see him go at the time, but, meh, he's a great player and baseball's still a business, so, yeah. And at least with Carlos Lee leaving, the Brewers got some good players in return-Cordero especially. When Beltran (and Pettitte) went to New York, the 'Stros got nothing.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Ron Santo was hospitalized last night with an irregular heartbeat, so let's hope he'll be okay soon.

[Mik 0]

If he dies before getting into the HOF that's a great injustice.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

If he dies before getting into the HOF that's a great injustice.

Well, that's what's going to happen, because he's never getting in. If he hasn't yet, he never will. "He clicked his heels!" Who fucking cares? Injustice indeed. And he did it all with diabetes, too. What a shame.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

You'd think they would learn not to run on Shane Victorino by now.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Golly, that wind's blowing out today. 4-4 in the 4th.

[strummer 0]

Shit. The Braves are good again

[CanadianChris 0]

Oof, it's looking a lot like a sweep at the hands of Baltimore and a 5-game losing streak for the Jays. They just look completely flat, maybe disheartened at all the injuries. It's still early yet, but getting a potential 4.5 games down to Boston can't be good.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Nobody wants to win/lose this Cards-Cubs game. 7-7 now! They are a-flyin', as you'd expect when Chicago's #5 starter takes the field on an 80-degree wind-blowing-out day against the Cardinals.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

HOOOOLY SHIT. 9-9 tie in the bottom of the 9th, three Cardinals couldn't catch the ball. You can have your Yankees-Red Sox nonsense, but this should be just as big. To the tenth!

[Annabelle 0]

There's a story unfolding in Atlanta, as Willy Aybar did not show up for a meeting with MLB officials. He's skipped two meetings and has not been heard from since Thursday.

 

I knew we shouldn't have traded Betemit.

 

betemit is as much of a non-factor as aybar so far this year.

[Guest]

Much like the Atlanta Braves, Angels infielder Erick Aybar has been unable to reach his older brother, Willy, an infielder who has been AWOL from the Braves for a week and, according to his agent, is battling a substance-abuse problem.

 

"I call every day, and he doesn't pick up the phone," Aybar said. "It's weird, because I don't know what's going on. I feel bad for my mom. She's crying every day. Willy won't answer the phone for her too."

 

Willy Aybar, a former Dodgers infielder, failed to report to New York for a meeting with baseball officials Friday. He is believed to be in Boston with another brother, Francis.

 

"Vladimir [Guerrero] called him, too, and he answers,"

I think this is why we got rid of him, btw. I'm not entirely sure about that though.

 

Betemit is hitting .125. We've been playing Valdez a lot.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

aw shitballs fucking Pujols it's 12-9 now.