This Week in Baseball 4/7 - 4/13

[Brett Favre 0]

Sabathia's offense sucked? Sizemore, Martinez, and Hafner just spat at you.

 

Peavy and Webb haven't helped anyone with the way they've pitched in the playoffs, and Santana hasn't looked "dominant". You said an ace should look dominant and lead their teams to victory. Sabathia didn't look dominant. Peavy and Webb sucked ass and Santana has looked better, but his team didn't advance. You keep changing your argument from being able to win games, to being able to dominate games, to being able to lead teams to victory, and all this crap. Just cause Wang ain't as good as Beckett or Santana doesn't mean he can't be an ace.

[snuffbox 0]

This week is baseball has sucked.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Tomorrow, it's Should Be A Hall Of Famer Some Day vs. He's So Hot Right Now

[naiwf 0]

Sabathia's offense sucked? Sizemore, Martinez, and Hafner just spat at you.

 

Peavy and Webb haven't helped anyone with the way they've pitched in the playoffs, and Santana hasn't looked "dominant". You said an ace should look dominant and lead their teams to victory. Sabathia didn't look dominant. Peavy and Webb sucked ass and Santana has looked better, but his team didn't advance. You keep changing your argument from being able to win games, to being able to dominate games, to being able to lead teams to victory, and all this crap. Just cause Wang ain't as good as Beckett or Santana doesn't mean he can't be an ace.

 

The fact that YOU wanted a rookie to start the postseason opener means he can't be an ace even to you. An "ace" who can only pitch well at home when he's spotted a 4 or 5 run lead isn't an ace, that's a # 3 starter, which is what Wang would be on a team that doesn't put up about 6 runs per game when they're on. My argument was that on the Yankees you can't be an ace if you can't win a postseason series as the "#1". Swap any of the other big name pitchers for Wang and you guys would have been between 27 & 29 titles by now. Put Wang on Minnesota, San Diego, Arizona or Cleveland and they don't make the playoffs because his 19 wins each of the last two years would look more like 13-15 at best.

[Brett Favre 0]

That's BS. Wang has an ERA of like 3.70 the past 3 years in the AL East. You make it sound like he's fucking Jason Marquis or some shit.

[Guest]

This team leaves too many goddamn people on base. Fuck.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Wang is not the most dominant pitcher, but he's effective because he has a good offense and does not allow many walks or home runs. Since he's a groundball pitcher, he will have days where he gets hit, particularly when the grounders roll to Jeter's left. I don't worry much about the definition of an ace, it really doesn't matter.

 

With Willy Aybar hurt, Evan Longoria is in the Majors for Tampa Bay.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

What does dominant mean in this sense? A strikeout pitcher? I would assume that you can be dominant in other ways - like the way Wang is with groundballs and forcing GIDP's when he needs them. Although the downfall to that style of pitcher is that the Yankees defensively are not very good. They don't have a real strikeout guy in the rotation until either a) Hughes continues to progress or b) when Chamberlain becomes a starter. Pettitte, Mussina, and Kennedy aren't really going to K you.

[naiwf 0]

Santana shitted the bed today. I thought Shea was supposed to cut down on his HR total. I guess he didn't get the memo.

 

 

That's BS. Wang has an ERA of like 3.70 the past 3 years in the AL East. You make it sound like he's fucking Jason Marquis or some shit.

 

That would be true except for the fact that Marquis has a better postseason W/L record and ERA than Wang.

[Brett Favre 0]

So you rather have Jason Marquis over Chien-Ming Wang?

[Mister Kennedy 0]

Justin Upton with a home run today as the Diamondbacks lead 7-1

Danny Haren was the best offseasen pickup of the year

Bo-Mel is leading this team of great young players

[Mister Kennedy 0]

Chris young with a home run too 8-1 good hittin guys

[Mister Kennedy 0]

Any u dudes watchin this game its better than Yankees Boston

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

They switched us in LA because Boston/NY went to a rain delay.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I find it funny a mason working on the new Yankee Stadium tried to curse the Yankees for 30 years by putting a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey in the concrete mix down the 3rd base line.

 

I think somebody should start digging up Wrigley Field.

 

 

 

 

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

What does dominant mean in this sense? A strikeout pitcher? I would assume that you can be dominant in other ways - like the way Wang is with groundballs and forcing GIDP's when he needs them. Although the downfall to that style of pitcher is that the Yankees defensively are not very good. They don't have a real strikeout guy in the rotation until either a) Hughes continues to progress or b) when Chamberlain becomes a starter. Pettitte, Mussina, and Kennedy aren't really going to K you.

Dominant is simply the ability to collect outs over an extended period of time. If we look at ERAs from 2006-08 (I used a minimum 300 IP), the top five are Santana, Webb, Peavy, Chris Young and John Smoltz. That's reasonable, though Young benefits from his home park. People forget about Smoltz for some reason. Chien-Ming Wang ranks 15th, between Fausto Carmona and Cole Hamels. (That's a bit misleading, Carmona is hurt by his awful relief stint in '06 and Hamels pitches in a tough park.) He's easily in the top 15-20 though, and if you consider an ace one of the top 30 starters, he's an easy pick.

 

The concern is that starters with a low K/9 rate rarely last. My theory is that pitchers who pitch to contact falter because if the batter can make contact, the next step is to adjust and hammer the pitch.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

No Cubs/Phillies game tonight. When UPN/WB joined up, my cable company dropped UPN 57. Sometimes they air the games on the local cable company channel, but tonight they have the AAA IronPigs feed.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

im pissed the NASCAR race is gonna get premepted for me due to OMG REDSOX YANKEES since I watch FOX out of NY

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Take it to the NASCAR thread, Marvin.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

It's not pre-empted because it's Yankees/Sox, it's pre-empted because it's another four hour game.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Shut up, Al. Don't you know Marvin's a victim of circumstance?

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Take it to the NASCAR thread, Marvin.

ha ha..

 

very funny

 

Im over here listening to the Os on XM winning 2-1 (Holy crap with Dcab pitching a great game) and trying to watch the race..ugh

[KingPK 0]

It's not pre-empted because it's Yankees/Sox, it's pre-empted because it's another four hour game.

 

Surprisingly, the game was at about the 2:30 mark through 7 2/3 when the rain started. It was the damn 2 hour rain delay that did it.

 

EDIT: I'm guessing Papelbon has tomorrow off since he warmed up three times during the delay and then pitched 1 1/3. He was still firing rockets in there, though.

Edited April 13, 2008 by KingPK

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Lehigh Valley IronPigs are now 0-10. Jesus.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

This week's thread has been lacking. Is that a result of the subpar games or is just that none of us know what to say anymore?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

There's been quite a bit of news. Jordan Schafer suspended for PED use. Scott Spiezio released by the Braves, possibly for showing up drunk to a AAA game. Derek Jeter is hurt, Jimmy Rollins is hurt, Dontrelle Willis is hurt. We've had two Red Sox/Yankees games and it only sparked a bit of discussion about Chien-Ming Wang. It's quite odd.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

We found out Luke Scott carries a concealed glock and takes notes of all of his ABs...something to think about hmm...

[the max 0]

I didn't watch either Red Sox/Yanks game so far, and I probably won't watch tomorrow's.

 

For games in mid-April, there's no need to get more excited for them than any other game. Still, of course FOX pulls out all the stops for every meeting (I don't know if they've softened or anything this year, I didn't watch the game) and ESPN is really no better or worse. The games have become something of an EVENT for national tv, which I can understand for games down the stretch and in the playoffs, but for games 11-13 of the season? It's hardly something worth covering like the fucking ALCS or something. I'd rather just relax and wait until later in the season before being subjected to the usual band of idiots for those games.

[Bored 0]

There's been quite a bit of news. Jordan Schafer suspended for PED use. Scott Spiezio released by the Braves, possibly for showing up drunk to a AAA game. Derek Jeter is hurt, Jimmy Rollins is hurt, Dontrelle Willis is hurt. We've had two Red Sox/Yankees games and it only sparked a bit of discussion about Chien-Ming Wang. It's quite odd.

And you left out Al Reyes getting tasered by the cops at his own birthday party.

[Boon 0]

But it's the GREATEST RIVALRY IN SPORTS!!!!!!