This Week in Baseball 3/30 - 4/6

[Gert T 0]

You know there probably is not much reason to logically worry since I am a Cards fan, but does Brewers management think they should have used the 10 million dollars as toilet paper instead of paying Gagne. That was horrible and it was GAME ONE.

 

I hope the Kaz Matsui comparison does not mean bad things for Fukudome's BUTT.

 

The Pirates being the Pirates is just another rite of Spring.

 

Anybody in the NY area, how bad was that rain today? Any chance that game could have been played in the evening?

 

 

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

If you have Comcast, I believe MLB Extra Innings is free this week, so you should be able to watch every game.

I have the EI preview. The problem is that the Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Pirates are in the blackout range. First three teams no problem, I get their games on local cable. The Pirates? Not only do their games not air in my region, the city is over a five hour drive away.

[naiwf 0]

You know there probably is not much reason to logically worry since I am a Cards fan, but does Brewers management think they should have used the 10 million dollars as toilet paper instead of paying Gagne. That was horrible and it was GAME ONE.

 

I hope the Kaz Matsui comparison does not mean bad things for Fukudome's BUTT.

 

The Pirates being the Pirates is just another rite of Spring.

 

Anybody in the NY area, how bad was that rain today? Any chance that game could have been played in the evening?

 

The Yankees/Jays could have been played as they were announcing the game was postponed. I was watching a local newscast that showed people filing out of the stadium at 2:30 and it wasn't even raining there anymore. There's a good chance tomorrow night's rescheduled game gets postponed as well since they're expecting heavy rain at night.

[randomguy 0]

Gagne looked so so bad with the Red Sox last season, hard to believe he was given anything substantial. I suppose "he's a veteran" who "knows how to win" or some shit like that.

[Darthtiki 0]

That Dodger game was pretty good but the opening ceremonies were amazing with Sandy Koufax showing up during the legends intro.

[devo 0]

If you have Comcast, I believe MLB Extra Innings is free this week, so you should be able to watch every game.

I have the EI preview. The problem is that the Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Pirates are in the blackout range. First three teams no problem, I get their games on local cable. The Pirates? Not only do their games not air in my region, the city is over a five hour drive away.

 

Tell me about it. I don't get anything resembling a Pittsburgh broadcast in Columbus and Pirates games are always blacked out.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'm heading to Reading tonight to catch the IronPigs/R-Phils exhibition game. Carlos Carrasco vs. J.D. Durbin. The advantage of a minor league exhibition game is that teams don't feel the need to hold back on their starters.

[NoCalMike 0]

I just bought some $13 bleacher seats for this Saturday in Oakland.....A's/Indians. C.C. Sabathia vs. Dana J. Eveland.....

 

It's pet adoption day, first 15k get an A's pet calendar....WHOOHOO!!!

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Top ten payrolls in MLB as of Opening Day. This is the first time since 2003 that the Red Sox haven't been in second place behind the Yankees.

 

N.Y. Yankees -- $209,081,579

Detroit -- 138,685,197

New York Mets -- 138,293,378

Boston -- 133,440,037

Chicago White Sox -- 121,152,667

Los Angeles Angels -- 119,216,333

Chicago Cubs -- 118,595,833

Los Angeles Dodgers -- 118,536,038

Seattle -- 117,993,982

Atlanta -- 102,424,018

[Guest Smues]

Top ten payrolls in MLB as of Opening Day. This is the first time since 2003 that the Red Sox haven't been in second place behind the Yankees.

 

N.Y. Yankees -- $209,081,579

Detroit -- 138,685,197

New York Mets -- 138,293,378

Boston -- 133,440,037

Chicago White Sox -- 121,152,667

Los Angeles Angels -- 119,216,333

Chicago Cubs -- 118,595,833

Los Angeles Dodgers -- 118,536,038

Seattle -- 117,993,982

Atlanta -- 102,424,018

 

Mike Hampton's contract can not expire soon enough.

[Mik 0]

$21M for the Marlins, in case you were all wondering. $7M less than A-Rod.

 

2011 can't come soon enough!

[strummer 0]

Pedro Martinez is already hurt.

 

He leaves the game in the 4th with an apparent hamstring or groin injury.

 

I doubt he'll be back by the All Star break.

 

Looks serious as he could barely walk

[Smartly Pretty 0]

Why the hell is John Maine the Mets #4? He's the second best pitcher on the team.

[treble 0]

Fuck you Melky Cabrera.

 

That was a good game, though.

[NYU 0]

Pedro Martinez getting hurt in the second game of the season is just catastrophic.

 

Now our rotation -- which still looking good with Santana, Maine, and Perez -- is backed by Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey. I shouldn't be surprised though.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Does the PM throw out the first ball at the Skydome?

 

Brian Mulroney did in 90, along with George HW. That's the only time I ever remember it happening - and the fact they opened against the Texas Rangers probably had something to do with it.

 

Fuck you Melky Cabrera.

 

That was a good game, though.

 

Agreed. And a few stolen bases - they're doing something about their problems of last year. To continue the 'same ol' end of things, 1-11 with runners on base.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

13 scoreless innings now for the SF Giants.

[devo 0]

The team says Martinez has a strained hamstring. He's getting an MRI tomorrow. Let's not freak out just yet.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Daric Barton misplayed a routine pop-up so poorly that it hit him in the shoulder.

[NoCalMike 0]

Kind of dissapointing to see the A's getting their 3rd At-Bats of the game and are still whiffing at 90mph fastballs.....jesus.

[naiwf 0]

The team says Martinez has a strained hamstring. He's getting an MRI tomorrow. Let's not freak out just yet.

 

Pedro told Randolph he felt it "pop". At the rate Pedro heals we might get him back in 6 months . . . and then he'll blow out his other hammy in his next outing. At least it wasn't Johan going down in his first start of the season.

[A Happy Medium 0]

Pretty clutch home run tonight by Josh Hamilton for the Rangers. Top of the 9th, and he hits a laser of a home run off of Putz.

[Guest]

2-0 is always good, especially against the Giants. Those guys are in for a long year.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Read an interesting stat that right now Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the 14th oldest ballpark in baseball and you have Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Oakland Colliseum, Dolphin Stadium and the Metrodome going out within the next couple years or so. Pretty much the only stadiums that are older after those go are Wrigley and Fenway (obviously), both LA Stadiums, Kaufman Stadium, Rogers Centre, US Celluar Field and Tropicana Field. That would put Oriole Park at #9 where I figure they'll stay for a while but its still weird feeling.

 

I also got my tickets via fed ex yesterday to the 5/21 Os/Yankees game up in NY. Looking forward to it very much since its the last year and all. Im going to be in the 2nd row out in RF (section 41) and with my bright orange rimmed Os hat I should stick out enough on the HD broadcast to be visible.

 

 

 

[Guest (Loggins Name)]

Angel Stadium is an interesting one, because it's been at that site since the mid-'60s, but drastically renovated twice since its completion, once for the LA Rams, and then again for the Disney-fied Angels.

 

That's Anaheim Stadium! It's crazy.

 

I'm really impressed with how the Nationals' park turned out. It's so clean and bright. Camden Yards is great and all, but the returns were really diminishing with the most recent Neo-Retro parks. The Washington park looks great from the outside, but I wish the outfield dimensions were a little more symmetrical. The exterior seems very smooth and curvilinear, and yet the outfield walls are very jagged and angular, when it should be a gentle symmetrical arc. It's strange how contrived outfield walls have become the norm (which is irritating when they're not forced by exterior constraints on the lot) and to have symmetry like Kauffman would be a novelty. The real shame is that a nice piece of contemporary ballpark architecture didn't get built in Montreal.

 

To continue talking park, maybe some Cardinals fans can tell me what's up with the Ballpark Village development that's supposed to be done by next year? There's supposed to be some stuff beyond left field, but I'm pretty sure it's just been an empty construction zone for two years now.

 

EDIT: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8033002216.html Here's someone who isn't as enamored with it as I am. While he has a great point that there can be too much of an emphasis on amenities and convenience at the expense of concentrating on the architecture itself, this columnist/critic loses points with me for claiming that the RFK Stadium was architecturally superior because it recalls the Roman Colosseum, which is quite a reach for the humble old concrete donut. I look at the park blending in with its surroundings as a positive: I thought integration was the aim, and aesthetically pleasing. Having a ballpark obtrusively pop up smack-dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood is generally frowned upon by modern architects, zoning boards, and jealous crosstown fans. The complaint that $611 million in public funds to build luxury boxes that resemble a Marriott while most of Washington sits in abject poverty is one I cannot dispute.

 

EDIT2: lol, "pre-cast stone"?!?

[geniusMoment 0]

The Cubs are threatening to block the view of the rooftop fans if they don't pay up. Isn't this an annual thing?

[Darthtiki 0]

I just bought some $13 bleacher seats for this Saturday in Oakland.....A's/Indians. C.C. Sabathia vs. Dana J. Eveland.....

 

It's pet adoption day, first 15k get an A's pet calendar....WHOOHOO!!!

 

$15 for Field Reserve Against the Giants

$15 for Parking

$15 for 2 DodgerDogs & a large Coke

$60 for a 50th Anniversary Sweatshirt

$11,000 and almost 2 years of my life of nothing but school

To be able to live my childhood dream and do this....Priceless

 

And yes I did use my Mastercard for the sweatshirt.

[Guest (Loggins Name)]

The Cubs are threatening to block the view of the rooftop fans if they don't pay up. Isn't this an annual thing?

To clarify, it's not the rooftop "fans," it's the rooftop owners who are supposed to pay 17% of their revenue to the Cubs, and it's one particular rooftop owner (I can't remember which one) who has been late on his payments. I'm unashamedly with the Cubs on this one. The rooftop cottage industry (dicey metaphor given the buildings are anything but cottages) has grown from a few buddies grilling burgers on the roof and watching games from across the street to cultivating these ersatz luxury suites that can be rented out for corporate outings and what have you. If you're charging admission to a product you aren't totally producing without giving your fair share to the Cubs, that's just as unfair to the team as the douchebags in the Lake View homeowners' association who have fits over the number of night games that are played even though Lake View property values have absolutely skyrocketed since the advent of night baseball. My grandmother's aunt owns a building on Sheffield Avenue which is going to be sold for millions of dollars after she dies. I forgot how much it cost to buy, or what it would be adjusted for inflation, but trust me when I say that the real estate has appreciated significantly.

 

So you charge $200 for a rooftop seat and you pay $34 to the Cubs. That's perfectly fair in my eyes.

[geniusMoment 0]

I disagree with the whole concept of the rooftop owners paying anything. Part of what makes the Cubs special (different from any other team) is the stadium they play in, and the rooftops and surronding area are a big part of that. That atmosphere is a big reason why they sell-out game after game, have become a merchandise wonder and have profited millions of dollars. If I owned the Cubs (meaning I would be worth hundreds of millions) I wouldn't look at the rooftop owners as taking money from me, I'd look at the overall picture and realize how lucky I was to own something special. If the rooftop owners are making money good for them, considering how much the Cubs take in (17%) why even fight the battle. It's not like that amount of money should mean anything to the owners of the Cubs.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I saw the special on HD theatre showing the Nats ballpark being built. Im not too fond of it myself, its sort of bland. The cherry blossom trees wont look pretty past April so the biggest feature of the ballpark will probably be the view of the Capitol building which is lame.

 

OPACY got the scoreboard upgrades which were awesome to see in HD on Monday. The OOTS in right is now full color and can show more info, and they didnt really change anything dramatically to make it look any different. The biggest asthetic change is the skyline view which has now been drowned out by the Baltimore Hilton which blocks the famous Bromo Seltzer Tower (which I guess is better than Holiday Inn which used to be visible, heh). Its also possible that it could affect the wind paterns in the stadium as well.

 

 

(notice the new scoreboard in CF)