Bored 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 ESPN/FOX/TBS Games to Poison Our Youth MONDAY Mets (John Maine) at Cardinals (Kyle Lohse), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN WEDNESDAY Red Sox (Daisuke Matsuzaka) at Rays (Scott Kazmir), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN SATURDAY Red Sox at Yankees, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Cubs at Cardinals, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX SUNDAY Cubs at Cardinals, 3:00 PM/Noon, TBS Red Sox at Yankees, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN All-Star rosters will be announced after the TBS game on Sunday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 Thank god interleague is over. What a nightmare. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brett Favre 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 What's so bad about interleague? It's just..different matchups. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandy 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 Set your DVRs to catch a rare Red Sox game making national TV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devo 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 Three in a week. That's bordering on asinine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 What's so bad about interleague? It's just..different matchups. The Cubs played some of their worst baseball of the year during that stretch and I was subjected to three games worth of idiotic White Sox fans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandy 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 Three in a week. That's bordering on asinine. To be fair, Sox/Rays is a good game to show, and you know they are going to show the biggest rivalry in Yanks/Sawx. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 What's so bad about interleague? It's just..different matchups. In this case, there has not been any pennant race action in the NL in two weeks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 Amazingly the Marlins are only 1 game back of the Phils after 81 games. Josh Willingham, Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez are all coming back after very long injuries. 50 games for Willingham and over a year each for Johnson and Sanchez. If one of those two pitchers regain their form then it's going to be a very tight race, I think. This is very exciting because I wrote the team off preseason and wasn't expecting this at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 Apparently Manny being Manny includes shoving the team's travel secretary to the ground when he can't secure you 16 tickets on the day of the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devo 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 The folks over at Baseball Think Factory were discussing just how dick a move that is considering the guy can't reasonably fight back. Pushing another player is one thing, but doing it to do a guy who's going to be thrown out on his ear if he lays a finger on Ramirez is another. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandy 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 Good news for the guy is that he is most likely set for life now, if he so chooses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 The folks over at Baseball Think Factory were discussing just how dick a move that is considering the guy can't reasonably fight back. Pushing another player is one thing, but doing it to do a guy who's going to be thrown out on his ear if he lays a finger on Ramirez is another. That's what bothered me most about the situation. It's not like he shoved a guy who is going to fight back, even if he's able to. The city of Boston would have a fit if their star player got hurt by anyone, regardless of how at fault Manny was. The incident reeks of hypocrisy on Manny's part, too, since he and Youkillis went at it less than a month ago after Manny took issue with Youkillis' pissy antics after bad at bats. Elsewhere, I would greatly appreciate the Mets resembling a good team for at least the next three days. They may resume being an expensive disaster Thursday if they so desire. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devo 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2008 I wouldn't count on it considering that they barely resemble a baseball team at the moment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 On Wednesday the A's will officially sign "the top Dominican Republic pitching prospect of the last decade" Michael Inoa to a $4.25 million signing bonus, the largest ever for an international, non-Cuban amateur player. The A's some how managed to outbid the Yankees for his services. He's 6-foot-7 and has a fastball in the mid-90s...and he's only 16 years old. And people complain about high school basketball players trying to make millions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandy 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 The Yanks supposedly had an offer of $2.75 million, and the Reds supposedly had a $3 million offer. Word now is that the Reds will be signing Yorman Rodriguez, the number two international prospect, tomorrow. Nice walk-off home run for Griffey tonight to kick off the homestand against the Pirates! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Man in Blak 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Some bitter tea for a certain Cubs fan: The Brooklyn-based brother-and-sister rock act known as the Fiery Furnaces is known for multi-layered, highly conceptualized, deeply personal and complex music and whirlwind live shows that border on insanity. ...Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger grew up outside of Chicago and have pleasant memories of their early days as die-hard White Sox fans. Matthew even credits a White Sox employee for musical inspiration, believe it or not. Matthew also mentioned that he cried when the South Siders finally won a World Series in 2005, and he has no love for the Cubs. “I grew up with a lot of Cubs fans,” Matthew said. “I don’t really want to wish them bad, but I hate the Cubs. They get what they deserve, in my opinion, and they deserve to lose.” Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Cubs fans have Eddie Vedder on their side, though. He even wrote a song for you guys ("All the Way"). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Maybe this should go in the ESPN thread, but I just saw on 1st & 10, one of the guys arguing that the Rays winning and being in first place "is not good for baseball." He admitted that baseball thrives more when the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, etc. do well. Talk about being blatant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Maybe this should go in the ESPN thread, but I just saw on 1st & 10, one of the guys arguing that the Rays winning and being in first place "is not good for baseball." He admitted that baseball thrives more when the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, etc. do well. Talk about being blatant. He was talking about baseball's bottom line, which is true. A Rays vs anyone but maybe the Cubs WS would not draw much interest nationally. I think people only love an underdog when the underdog is a collegiate team or from a big city who wasn't expected to be there. If everyone in Tampa watched the games it still wouldn't do much ratings wise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Then THAT is baseball's problem. The NFL can put ANYONE in the Super Bowl and it is well established they will draw big ratings every damn year. If MLB needs a certain city team to be in to draw big ratings for their big set of final games, they have not done a good job making every team in their league seem important. What the hell are they going to do if Boston, Chicago, and New York all go back into their "not involved in any major races" funk? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Further to that, who gives a shit about "what's best for baseball" or any other TV ratings garbage. Give me two good teams in a competitive World Series and I could give a shit if all of the new "die hard" Red Sox fans from central Mississippi (for instance) watch a single inning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treble 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Yeah, I don't get that. It's not a sitcom, they're not going to cancel the World Series because of poor ratings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Then THAT is baseball's problem. The NFL can put ANYONE in the Super Bowl and it is well established they will draw big ratings every damn year. If MLB needs a certain city team to be in to draw big ratings for their big set of final games, they have not done a good job making every team in their league seem important. What the hell are they going to do if Boston, Chicago, and New York all go back into their "not involved in any major races" funk? The problem is that MLB doesn't even try to establish the "little guys". The only times you'll see the Rays or teams of that stature is if they're playing a NY, Chicago, Boston or LA based team. The same applies with the teams that play on the West Coast in that you'll only get those teams if there's a national doubleheader taking place and ESPN decides to air a 10 PM EST start or Fox has a 4 PM Saturday game. The NFL plays by the same rules, especially with the flex schedule thing they recently adopted. They also have the inherent advantage of being the only major US sport that goes by a one and done postseason. If the baseball, basketball or hockey playoffs were single elimination the ratings would be almost surely be higher, but they could never get away with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest !!! Report post Posted July 1, 2008 The National League is far more balanced in terms of drawing power. The Cubs, Mets, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Cardinals, Giants, and Reds all have a pretty big cachet among fans. In the AL, it's the Red Sox, the Yankees, and everybody else. The A's used to be a big deal but have mutated into a curiosity. They're really trying to push the Angels as a marquee team, but I'm not buying. Most casual observers can rattle off more of the roster from Major League than members of the existing Cleveland Indians. The Rangers only ensure that there's an even number of teams in the league. It didn't have to be this way. Blame the marketing arm located between Boston and New York. No surprises on the Friedberger front, by the way: there's a song on Blueberry Boat about the '17 Series. NGL, when I first read the lyrics, I felt the way people feel when they find out someone is a Scientologist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2008 Actually, the Tampa area is the 13th largest media market in the US. So, while not on par with NY/LA/Chicago, it's not the little burg some would make it out to be. And I agree with those who don't care about the ratings. TV ratings for baseball keep declining year after year, yet baesball is still awash in cash, so I doubt it matters a whole lot, as they continue to expand into foreign markets, more merchandising, attendance continues to rise, etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2008 Apparently Luke Hochevar sounds like Hoshaver from Joe Angel, and damnit I must be 11 but Im getting a giggle out of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandy 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2008 Before the end of last night's Reds/Pirates game, they showed a stat on Cincy's record against winning and losing teams. On teams .500 or better, they were like .573 or something. Against teams under .500? They were 11-21 or somewhere in that ballpark. Wow. After interleague play, where the AL demolished the NL as a whole, the AL has 10 teams over .500. The NL has 6 teams over .500. The Orioles are two games under and there are 3 teams in the NL that are 3 games or less under. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandy 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2008 Okay, time to gripe about a call involving my favorite baseball team. Doumit from the Bucs ran through a stop sign at third and tried to make it back. The relay wasn't at the bag. Doumit dives from foul territory as Encarnacion dives to tag him. He tags him on the hip, and then the leg. Doumit did not reach the bag and was called safe. He then reached over with his other hand and tagged the base and was called safe a second time. Encarnacion jumped up and was immediately tossed from the game. This reminded me of The Naked Gun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2008 Before the end of last night's Reds/Pirates game, they showed a stat on Cincy's record against winning and losing teams. On teams .500 or better, they were like .573 or something. Against teams under .500? They were 11-21 or somewhere in that ballpark. Wow. After interleague play, where the AL demolished the NL as a whole, the AL has 10 teams over .500. The NL has 6 teams over .500. The Orioles are two games under and there are 3 teams in the NL that are 3 games or less under. They're 42-40..two games over. Through 82 games last year they were 36-46, and they didnt get their 42nd win last year until 7/17/07 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
