This Week in Baseball 5/26 - 6/1

[Bruiser Chong 0]

It'd be nice if they would just unload seven or eight runs in the early innings and coast on that. Make it easy on us, PLEASE.

 

You should have specified which team you wanted to do this.

 

Jim Edmonds and his inability to hit a ball, regardless of who throws it, with any hint of authority continues to amaze me. But he gives us a gritty lefty bat with pop!

[Bruiser Chong 0]

And he's a defensive wiz, too! Seriously, Edmonds better not be in San Diego next week, unless it's as part of the paying crowd.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Bot 7th: Chi Cubs

- H. Blanco homered to deep center, M. Fontenot scored

- J. Edmonds doubled to deep center, M. Hoffpauir and K. Fukudome scored

- M. DeRosa homered to deep center, J. Edmonds scored

 

I wholeheartedly accept this close game. I believe this is the biggest Cubs comeback in almost 20 years.

[Guest Desensitized]

Has someone written this week of Cubs baseball? Holy shit. No mas.

[CanadianChris 0]

Joba's starting Tuesday against the Blue Jays. Get ready for that fifth inning run explosion.

[CanadianChris 0]

Actually, reading the article more closely, he's on a pitch count, so he may not even make the fifth. Mmm, Joba-less Yankee bullpen.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Fucking Cubs. Remember that Kansas City-Minnesota game earlier this week that al mentioned? What the fuck, Rockies? Giving up the the 4-3 lead in two innings last night sucked, but this one even's worse.

 

No wonder I stayed away from baseball for so long. Yeah, I'm totally a fairweather fan. Sue me.

[Guest Desensitized]

This must sting, Leo.

[naiwf 0]

Aaron Heilman = piece of shit. That is all.

[geniusMoment 0]

Jay Bruce went 4-5 tonight, hit a double, scored 2 runs, and had an RBI. He either scored or knocked in all 3 reds runs in a win.

 

 

He is now 8 for 14 with four walks and a hit by pitch. In 19 plate appearances he has reached base 13 times

[MFer 0]

Man, I wish Detroit could play Seattle every day. Swept them last week and just put up 7 runs in the 1st inning tonight.

[KingPK 0]

Wow, THREE errors and a wild pitch from the O's lead to three Boston runs in the 13th. And how the hell do you let Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell pull off a double steal?

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Marvin must be spinning in his grave.

[NYU 0]

Good God, Aaron Heilman must go.

 

And why did Willie stick with Heilman for so long tonight? To give up four consecutive hits and three runs...the guy is a nightmare, plain and simple. At this point, if they're not going to send him to the minors, he should only be used in blowout situations. At this point, for any Mets fan, Heilman is the one you clearly cannot trust with the game -- just as Mota was that guy last year -- but Willie has always been too stubborn to accept those realities. Carlos Muniz has been phenomenal this season whenever he has been called up...why not place him in that situation instead? Sure, there's a possibility he might have done just as badly, but the move would have strategically gauged his ability to handle pressure situations. Heilman has been proven to be inept in those scenarios, and he has been that way for years now. Placing Muniz in the game in the ninth with the Mets already down four runs is useless for all parties involved. If there's any reason Randolph should have been fired earlier this week, it's that he has consistently mismanaged his entire pitching staff from starters to the bullpen.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Marvin must be spinning in his grave.

 

I figured when the Os squandered chances to win it in the 11th and 12th, it was a matter of time before something happened and they lost.

 

Speaking of Heilman, his name was thrown around in trade rumors and the Mets are supposedly interested in Kevin Millar. Hmm..

 

also, sad news is that XM is about 30 days away from possibly losing the rights to Baseball after this year if they cant come up with $120 million.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I mentioned the NCAA tournament earlier this week. Bucknell indeed pulled off the biggest upset in school history, beating national #2 Florida State University 7-0. It is a double elimination tournament however, so FSU is not finished. They need to beat Florida, then the Bucknell/Tulane loser, and the Bucknell/Tulane winner twice.

 

Bucknell's only real claim to fame as a baseball school is that they produced Christy Mathewson.

 

I think XM Radio will come up with something as the Sirius merger means there is no other satellite radio provider, so MLB has nothing to gain by shopping the contract elsewhere.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

I got XM Radio entirely for major league baseball. I'll fucking flip out if they don't have it next year.

 

Also, guys, chill out with Heilman. Until last night, he had been pitching great. He had a slow start, then really got going, and then had one bad outing last night. It happens. Having said that, if a team wants to trade us a good 8th inning guy for Heilman so they can make him a starter, I'd be content with a deal like that.

[Boxer 0]

Griffey hits #599. One more to 600. Still in my opinion the best hitter of all-time and well, he's proven thus far to be on nothing but talent. Now if only he could win a championship and head back to Seattle for good.

[Annabelle 0]

Griffey hits #599. One more to 600. Still in my opinion the best hitter of all-time

ok come on

 

[devo 0]

If anything, his is the story of potential unfulfilled. Having missed literally hundreds of games due to various injuries, I've gotta wonder if, had he been able to stay healthy, Griff would be making a run at Aaron's mark right about now.

 

Edit: Hell of a win for the Mets today. Pelfrey was darn good through seven, allowing only two earned runs on seven hits and two walks, but the offense kept coming up short against Billingsley. But when Broxton comes in to pitch the bottom of the eighth, Wright doubles, Beltran homers, and Tatis singles in the go-ahead run a few batters later. And in the ninth, Wagner continues to be just short of automatic by striking out the side. Great game.

[Dandy 0]

I can't remember the exact figures that I did on Griffey and the missed games, but it seems like he missed 2.5 full seasons since joining the Reds. An average of 30 homers a year would put him above Willie. Perhaps the injuries curttailed his production during the games he played, so he perhaps could have been closer to 700. Even with the missed time and injuries bringing down his production, he has put up HOF numbers. He still plays a mean outfield, and is robbed constantly due to the shift. He still has a lot of talent for a 38 year old with his injury history.

[DMann2003 0]

Griff will have at least one more at bat now, unless Harriston/Bruce can get the walk off first.

[devo 0]

Jay Bruce is kinda good.

[DMann2003 0]

So, that Bruce kid's not having too shabby a debut week, eh?

[bob_barron 0]

Death.

 

Taxes.

 

The Braves losing by one run on the road

[Dandy 0]

I'm going to get an order in on a Bruce jersey ASAP. Time to call my friend in Cincy to see if she can pick one up cheaper.

[DMann2003 0]

Your first career HR is a GW Walk off- Damn!

[Guest Desensitized]

Reds fans (and it seems like there are more than I thought there were here), would you rather have Josh Hamilton or Edinson Volquez? Follow-up question: would you rather have your given name be "Edinson," or your current given name?

[geniusMoment 0]

Just got back from the reds game, bruce followed up his 4-5 by going 3-5 with a walk and the walkoff home run.

 

Bruce is now 11-19 with five walks and a hit by pitch, in his first 25 big league at bats he's reached base 17 times. He must be approaching one of the best starts to a career ever.

 

 

 

It's tough, Hamilton was my favorite player last year and will be one of the best players in the game as long as he is healthy and off the drugs. An outfield of Hamilton, Bruce and Dunn for the next 6 years would be simply amazing (possibly the best hitting outfield ever). But, Volquez has been so good. I take Volquez over Hamilton, I just wish we would've traded someone else.

 

 

And there are a surprising number of reds fans here, most don't post much, but I think there are like 6 or so in total. I know Hawk, Dandy, myself, Dmann and there are a few others that post every once in a while.

[Dandy 0]

As good as Hamilton is, I take Volquez in retrospect. Hamilton is a special player, and I think he is going to get better. However, he lost a few years of baseball, and is now 27 playing his first full year barring injuries. It will be interesting to see how his body holds up this year. He had nagging injuries all last year, and I get the feeling that he has done some damage that could prevent him from having a longer career. I see him going on the DL for periods of time, and it may screw up his power if his legs aren't there.

 

Volquez has been very good so far, but his walks and high pitch counts could catch up to him. As of today, it was an excellent trade for both teams, but I am glad we got a very good starting pitcher. Bruce will replace Hamilton (hopefully) with the offense, and is 6 years his junior. Volquez hopefully has some dominant years ahead of him as well. As bad as I wanted to see Dunn traded for Volquez instead of Hamilton so we could have Hammy and Bruce on the field at the same time, I am pleased with having the guy with the lowest ERA in baseball. Every time he takes the mound, he puts us in a position to win. It is hard for a position player to do that.