This Week In Baseball 9/24-10/1

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

My sense of humor is odd I suppose..

 

Cleveland hasn't won a WS in forever (1948)

 

The two most recent times they make it back, they lose to Expansion teams.

 

Maybe if the Cubs make it to the WS in 2021 and they lose to the Rays that would be funnier or something.

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

I guess some people might find their "Christian-based clubhouse" thing kind of endearing (are they still doing this? and where's Clint Barmes?), but those people would be stupid people. That's the only thing I can think of that's remotely remarkable about the Rockies from an extracurricular perspective. I don't even think their park is that trendy. It looks like the ones in St. Louis and Philadelphia, I think.

 

My sense of humor is odd I suppose..

 

Cleveland hasn't won a WS in forever..

 

The two times they make it back, they lose to Expansion teams.

 

Maybe if the Cubs make it to the WS in 2021 and they lose to the Rays that would be funnier or something.

It's not funny, it's just sort of a coincidence that you notice and then move on from. I don't give a terrible amount of thought to which year the Rockies entered the National League.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I guess some people might find their "Christian-based clubhouse" thing kind of endearing (are they still doing this? and where's Clint Barmes?), but those people would be stupid people. That's the only thing I can think of that's remotely remarkable about the Rockies from an extracurricular perspective. I don't even think their park is that trendy. It looks like the ones in St. Louis and Philadelphia, I think.

 

It was inspired by Camden Yards. Its supposed to be nostalgic, not trendy.

 

And I find it funny as in "HAHA it sucks worse to be a Cleveland Indians fan than it does an Orioles fan" kinda way.

[treble 0]

I kind of look at the Rockies like I did the Warriors in the NBA. And maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember them having a reputation for hardcore fans before last season. And really, winning 14 of your last 15 games to make the playoffs is pretty remarkable, that's a pretty good story in itself that was mostly ignored because of the Mets and Phillies race.

 

Also, Todd Helton making the playoffs is nice, especially after all the trade talk last winter.

[treble 0]

It was inspired by Camden Yards. Its supposed to be nostalgic, not trendy.

It's trendy. The fact that Rogers Centre is less than 20 years old and will be one of the oldest ballparks in the American League in a few years is proof of that.

[Hawk 34 0]

I guess some people might find their "Christian-based clubhouse" thing kind of endearing (are they still doing this? and where's Clint Barmes?), but those people would be stupid people. That's the only thing I can think of that's remotely remarkable about the Rockies from an extracurricular perspective. I don't even think their park is that trendy. It looks like the ones in St. Louis and Philadelphia, I think.

 

It was inspired by Camden Yards. Its supposed to be nostalgic, not trendy.

 

And I find it funny as in "HAHA it sucks worse to be a Cleveland Indians fan than it does an Orioles fan" kinda way.

 

Nostalgic? In Denver?

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

I kind of look at the Rockies like I did the Warriors in the NBA. And maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember them having a reputation for hardcore fans before last season.

The Warriors were a once-proud charter club that just went to shit throughout the 90s and 00s. The Rockies were an expansion team that faded into obscurity. I think they had a lot of people coming to games for the first three years or so, then once the novelty wore off, it just became Wrigley West, Chavez East, or what have you. Anyway, great job to the players for winning 14 of 15, that's cool, but I can't be bothered to care about the long-suffering Rockies Nation.

[Richard 0]

My sense of humor is odd I suppose..

 

Cleveland hasn't won a WS in forever (1948)

 

The two most recent times they make it back, they lose to Expansion teams.

 

Maybe if the Cubs make it to the WS in 2021 and they lose to the Rays that would be funnier or something.

 

 

The Braves are an expansion team?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

A couple things here. First in response to Viva, the Rockies do NOT have a weak rotation. With Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales, they have four good starters. Two of them are lefties. They also have a strong bullpen, with two lefties sitting there as well. The Rockies are no pushovers, and the Phillies certainly did not dominate them over the regular season. They're dangerous.

 

As for the fans, the Rockies finished first their first seven years and in the top three the next two years. Now is a great time for this season, it gives the fans something to cheer and it will boost the franchise in the future. We want strong franchises, right? It's not like the Rockies' fans acted like jackasses or did something to not deserve a winning team.

[CanadianChris 0]

I never never never never never want to hear that Trevor Hoffman is better than Mariano. Every single time Hoffman pitches in a big spot he fucking chokes.

I've never heard a single soul say that until you just did.

 

"I can't believe it," Helton said. "Can you believe it? We were down. We battled back. We did it against the best closer of all time."

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

My sense of humor is odd I suppose..

 

Cleveland hasn't won a WS in forever (1948)

 

The two most recent times they make it back, they lose to Expansion teams.

 

Maybe if the Cubs make it to the WS in 2021 and they lose to the Rays that would be funnier or something.

 

 

The Braves are an expansion team?

 

I was going by the idea that they face and lose to the Rockies in this years WS.

[bob_barron 0]

The city of Denver: Wait....we have a baseball team?

 

And well played, NYU.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Thanks to a staggering run of incompetence by Dan O'Dowd, it's pretty easy to forget that the Rockies may have actually had a better long-term outlook than the Marlins back in '95 when the Blake Street Bombers were around and the team was a perennial league leader in attendance. I don't think anybody in their right mind would argue that they have the historic cachet of the Yankees or even the Padres, but they're not a completely faceless franchise.

 

That being said, I think the Phillies have a slight edge for the series, if only because the short series allows them to mask their greatest weakness (pitching). Like the 2006 Cardinals, the ghastly five man rotation that nearly torpedoed their season becomes a halfway decent trio for the playoffs, with a top shelf pitcher that outclasses anybody that the Rockies can bring to the table.

[cabbageboy 0]

Ah, but who on the Phillies is going to be their Jeff Weaver, the career bum who comes out of nowhere and goes out of his mind in the playoffs?

[Slayer 0]

 

"hi!"

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Carlos Pena and Dmitry Young won the Comeback Player of the Year awards for their respective leagues. Pena was a total lock in the AL, but Young surprised me. I though Josh Hamilton and Rick Ankiel had the inside track on the award.

 

Matt Holliday's totally clutchy hit last night brought him up to second in the National League in Win Probability Added (WPA - 2nd to Prince Fielder). You could make a case that he won the MVP award solely on last night's performance, both in the traditional and sabermetric way of determining value.

[The Man in Blak 0]

It's hard to argue that Hamilton "came back" from anything, considering that he only made his major league debut this season. Ankiel, however, would have probably been the concensus choice, had the Cardinals called him up earlier in the season. And HGH.

[Guest]

I never never never never never want to hear that Trevor Hoffman is better than Mariano. Every single time Hoffman pitches in a big spot he fucking chokes.

I've never heard a single soul say that until you just did.

 

"I can't believe it," Helton said. "Can you believe it? We were down. We battled back. We did it against the best closer of all time."

They're probably friends. Does not count. Also, the time on my post says that nobody up to that point had said Hoffman was better, after all, Helton probably made that quote an hour later.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I never never never never never want to hear that Trevor Hoffman is better than Mariano. Every single time Hoffman pitches in a big spot he fucking chokes.

I've never heard a single soul say that until you just did.

 

"I can't believe it," Helton said. "Can you believe it? We were down. We battled back. We did it against the best closer of all time."

They're probably friends. Does not count. Also, the time on my post says that nobody up to that point had said Hoffman was better, after all, Helton probably made that quote an hour later.

 

What did you want him to say? "We did it against a closer who has a great reputation because he's racked up the most saves in history, but in reality the save is a meaningless stat and it wasn't that hard to rough up a flyball pitcher in the thin air of Colorado when his change-up and weak fastball have no separation."

 

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, you know?

[Guest]

Well, of course. There's not a single player out there that won't overstate his team's accomplishments, so I expected Todd to say, "Hoffman is the best closer of all time."

[CanadianChris 0]

No, you're right, I just read that article and your post about two minutes apart and thought it was funny.

[Brett Favre 0]

The replay didn't really show the whole slide. He probably didn't touch it, but Barrett's foot did move a little and when he continues to slide, his hand continues to move on the side of the plate, but you can't see it cause his body is in the way.

 

I'm glad for the Rockies. Helton deserves to play in the playoffs, and I like Tulowitzki and Holliday.

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

Barrett should've punched Holliday right in the face for getting away with that non-tag.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Quick notes from today:

 

-Omar Minaya says Randolph will be back next year. Tom Glavine, on the other hand, probably won't be. He has a $13 million option, but rumors are he'd like to return to Atlanta.

 

-Andruw Jones will not return to Atlanta next year. The Braves could take a look at a rental like Mike Cameron or Kenny Lofton

 

-Adam Eaton did not make the Phillies playoff roster

 

-Tim Wakefield was scratched from the Red Sox playoff roster due to a back injury. Jon Lester will replace him

 

-Scott Schoenweis reportedly received shipments of steroids when he played for the Chicago White Sox.

[Guest Smues]

Quick notes from today:

 

-Andruw Jones will not return to Atlanta next year.

 

FUCK.

 

 

...FUCK!

 

That sure didn't take long. I guess I should be glad it wasn't a long drawn out process, but fuck I was holding out a slight glimmer of hope that the Braves would be able to sign him.

 

 

FUCK

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Just heard on the radio today that MLB's season attendance was just under 80 million fans, setting a new record. Oh, I'm sure all those fans are only in New York, LA, and Chicago, so only those teams should be in the playoffs, right?

 

This is a great time for baseball right now.

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

Just heard on the radio today that MLB's season attendance was just under 80 million fans, setting a new record. Oh, I'm sure all those fans are only in New York, LA, and Chicago, so only those teams should be in the playoffs, right?

Indignant!

 

Okay, look. Milwaukee fans really distinguished themselves this year, coming in at around 2.8 million paid attendance. That's quite good. The defending world champions didn't draw that well in 2004. Still, you can't deny that some cities just plain draw better than others, and always will. Stop snuffboxing. I want all 30 teams to draw well, as it does nobody any good to leave PNC Park half-empty all year, but the truth of the matter is that there are some cities that you can count on to pack the park day-in-day-out (as well send out a big road contingent), then there are the rest whose gates rise and fall with the fortunes of the team, and then there are a couple that are probably lost causes no matter what the team does. Personally, if I'm looking at this from a television executive's point of view, I want the eight teams showcased in prime time playoff baseball to be the ones with the most numerous and dedicated fans, thus reaching the largest audiences. Though baseball can certainly be damn entertaining in and of itself irrespective of the teams (see last night for a great example of this, and a great example of a legendary botched call), but just think of how it'd be even more special involving more celebrated and storied teams. That's just the nature of it. Why do I have to explain myself every time this comes up? I'm not taking a revolutionary stance here.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

90% of attendance is win/loss percentage. Then you have new stadiums that draw, and old stadiums that work as a nostalgia draw. Things change in nearly every city. In 1966, Chicago drew an average of 18,000 fans a game. That's Cubs and White Sox combined.

[snuffbox 0]

snuffboxing

 

Hmm.

[Guest]

Just heard on the radio today that MLB's season attendance was just under 80 million fans, setting a new record. Oh, I'm sure all those fans are only in New York, LA, and Chicago, so only those teams should be in the playoffs, right?

Since you asked, if I had it my way...