This Week in Baseball 8/11 - 8/17

[strummer 0]

I guess maybe that's why I don't appreciate the magnificence of Billy Wagner. Blowing games is insignificant if you have great peripherals. Whatever, it's not even worth arguing about since my team's bullpen has sucked for at least a decade regardless of who has been a part of it.

 

So you approved of the Billy Taylor trade?

[strummer 0]

Former Phillie reliever Darrin Winston has died at age 42

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8458186...s-from-leukemia

 

RIP

[naiwf 0]

I guess maybe that's why I don't appreciate the magnificence of Billy Wagner. Blowing games is insignificant if you have great peripherals. Whatever, it's not even worth arguing about since my team's bullpen has sucked for at least a decade regardless of who has been a part of it.

 

So you approved of the Billy Taylor trade?

 

Yeah, and I was responsible for Kazmir/Zambrano too. I thought they were offering CARLOS, my bad!

[snuffbox 0]

Looks like this is going to be another unpleasant game.

 

oops

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Don't worry. I want to officially approve of the following teams' fans having epic freakouts about possibly choking in the pennant race:

 

Cubs, Brewers, Phillies, Mets, Angels*, Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Twins, White Sox

 

*While Angels fans have this privilege due to 1995, the rest of the AL West sucks so much dick that there's no reason to invoke this. Hand-wringing over which NL West team decides to limp to the finish won't be needed either.

[Guest Vitamin X]

To be fair, the Diamondbacks-Dodgers race in the NL West hasn't been that bad, but yeah no way that anyone else outside of the NL Central gets the wildcard, at least in my opinion.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

The division leader was under .500 for like at least a month.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I guess maybe that's why I don't appreciate the magnificence of Billy Wagner. Blowing games is insignificant if you have great peripherals. Whatever, it's not even worth arguing about since my team's bullpen has sucked for at least a decade regardless of who has been a part of it.

Billy Wagner is a great example actually. Fourth in the NL this year in saves. Third among active pitchers, sixth all time. You do not think Wagner is a great closer. Yet he has all these saves? It seems either Wagner really is a good closer, or the save statistic does not tell the whole story.

 

Honestly though, do you need the save statistic to tell you if a pitcher is blowing games?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Don't worry. I want to officially approve of the following teams' fans having epic freakouts about possibly choking in the pennant race:

 

Cubs, Brewers, Phillies, Mets, Angels*, Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Twins, White Sox

 

*While Angels fans have this privilege due to 1995, the rest of the AL West sucks so much dick that there's no reason to invoke this. Hand-wringing over which NL West team decides to limp to the finish won't be needed either.

 

No I can't freak out. Considering they were picked to finish fourth or last in the division when the year started, this ain't so bad.

[Mike wanna be 0]

Mets pick up Ayala from the Nationals, apparently because a) he was available, and b) he threw strikes a couple of times against the Mets, if Jerry Manuel is to be listened to. Rumor is that 2B Anderson Hernandez is going over to Washington as the "player to be named", which is fine as we've got two Reyeses and a Castillo at 2B/SS, along with Easley, Anderson & Tatis who can all play the position if need be.

 

On that note, what the fuck's the holdup on bringing Church back to the majors? It's a concussion, if he can play in the minors he can play in the majors, it isn't like he had to rehab his brain.

 

Taking a look at the box score through three, you-know-who's got a you-know-what going, fuck if I'm getting called a jinx.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Hanley Ramirez was out by a fucking mile sliding into second because he spent too much time watching at the plate, but the umps blew the call. If we're going to undermine the umpires with this instant replay shit, then let's get it right and hold them accountable for every aspect of their jobs, not just foul pole home runs. The most egregious mistakes are the ones in front of their noses, not the ones 330 feet away.

[Mike wanna be 0]

Hanley Ramirez was out by a fucking mile sliding into second because he spent too much time watching at the plate, but the umps blew the call. If we're going to undermine the umpires with this instant replay shit, then let's get it right and hold them accountable for every aspect of their jobs, not just foul pole home runs. The most egregious mistakes are the ones in front of their noses, not the ones 330 feet away.

 

I agree, but damnit that means Tim Kurkjian was right: once we got instant replay for something, we'll want instant replay for everything.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Maybe this makes me a non-traditional fan, but what is wrong with instant replay in baseball?

[Mike wanna be 0]

Maybe this makes me a non-traditional fan, but what is wrong with instant replay in baseball?

The game's slow enough as it is, it doesn't need video replay on every non-swung-at pitch, according to the naysayers.

[snuffbox 0]

I see it the other way. I'm already investing 3 hours of my time in watching this game; I want it to be called accurately, not as a crapshoot.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Same here. And if you're so concerned about the game speed, you can cut off some things from the game that is either too long or unnecessary.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

I want the game called accurately, but I also want the same standard applied throughout each and every call. It's not fair that a home run down the line is worthy of being ascertained by an anonymous man in a dark Manhattan office, while everything else that happens in a game is supposed to be a total crapshoot. What frustrates me is that I seem to be one of the only people who thinks this way! The same people who think we absolutely need instant replay will shrug their shoulders at inaccurate and unreliable strike zones, saying "c'mon, we're not robots here." It's the same problem in the NFL: bad call, red flag is thrown, but this is not a play that can be challenged. Well, why not? Right or wrong, it seems like this whole instant replay imbroglio was stirred up by the media after a few dubious calls in New York baseball games. I feel like the issue was suddenly thrust upon me so people had talking points, not like this was the logical development of 130 years of human error. If the '85 Series wasn't enough to make fans, players, and ownership demand instant replay, why was this interleague game the breaking point?

 

Maybe this makes me a non-traditional fan, but what is wrong with instant replay in baseball?

The game's slow enough as it is, it doesn't need video replay on every non-swung-at pitch, according to the naysayers.

We also don't need Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek holding conferences after every pitch outside the zone, buuuuut...

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The Tigers/Os game has taken 2 hours and 5 minutes to play 4+ innings . the Os are winning 13-5 though.

 

Mora has 4 RBI, Huff just hit his 26th HR..everyone but Cintron has a hit.

[snuffbox 0]

I agree. Safe/out calls, ball/strike calls, home runs, errors/hits, they should all be reviewable. We want to see who wins the games with fair statistics, not the random opinions or confusion of the umpires.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Mora just hit his 2nd HR of the game to go with 6 RBI to give him 20 HR and 91 RBI on the year. He has been scorching red hot since the All Star Break as well (9 HR 43 RBI and his hitting .283 which is up from .233 on July 12)

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The problem is that some calls directly influence other action on the field. One of the most controversial calls in history occurred in the 1980 NLCS. With runners on first and second, Gary Maddox hit a low liner to the pitcher. Was it caught or was it trapped? The runners saw the umpire signal a trap, it was ruled a catch. The correct call determines what the runners do, what the fielders do, who is in jeopardy on the basepaths.

 

The fair/foul home run is one of the few situations that does not encounter this problem. The problem though is that it happens so infrequently that it is hardly worth the effort and expense.

 

For the record, if total instant replay where imposed I would demand a replay of the '77 NLCS. Starting at game four with the Phillies LEADING the series 2-1. Davey Lopes was out, damnit.

[naiwf 0]

I guess maybe that's why I don't appreciate the magnificence of Billy Wagner. Blowing games is insignificant if you have great peripherals. Whatever, it's not even worth arguing about since my team's bullpen has sucked for at least a decade regardless of who has been a part of it.

Billy Wagner is a great example actually. Fourth in the NL this year in saves. Third among active pitchers, sixth all time. You do not think Wagner is a great closer. Yet he has all these saves? It seems either Wagner really is a good closer, or the save statistic does not tell the whole story.

 

Honestly though, do you need the save statistic to tell you if a pitcher is blowing games?

 

I don't think the save is the greatest statistic, or even a necessary one, but I'd be the first to petition for a statue of Billy Wagner if he saved 60 games in a season and only blew 5. The Mets have been AWFUL this season after the 7th inning and he's cost us quite a few games with big leads. Wagner is no more trustworthy than Benitez or Looper was before him but he's getting paid twice as much which is what is so infuriating.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

Billy Wagner is 30 thousand times more trustworthy than Armando Benitez and Braden Looper were.

 

Mets acquired Luis Ayala. Is his ridiculously bad ERA indicitive of how he's pitched this season?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Mets have lost a couple big ninth inning leads but otherwise, not so bad. Both the Mets and Phillies have lost seven games they led going into the seventh inning. The Blue Jays have the best bullpen ERA in baseball, and they have lost ten such games. Dodgers have lost nine such games.

 

Leading going into the ninth, the Mets have lost five games. The Dodgers have the best bullpen ERA in the NL, they have dropped three of those.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Billy Wagner is 30 thousand times more trustworthy than Armando Benitez and Braden Looper were.

 

Mets acquired Luis Ayala. Is his ridiculously bad ERA indicitive of how he's pitched this season?

Given his number of baserunners, that's an unusually high number of runs allowed, pointing to some bad luck. A better indicator might be his opponents' batting line, which is 280/352/427. A bit above average, but the Mets will take it at this point.

[naiwf 0]

Oops, I thought CC was pitching today. Anyway, Braun just hit a 2 run bomb with two out in the 9th. The Brewers were down 5-1 heading into the inning and it's now tied at 5.

 

EDIT: And Ethier wins it with a 2 run bomb in the bottom of the 9th. Nice.

[snuffbox 0]

It was exciting. I would've liked a different conclusion, though. Fortunately, the Cubs and Cards both lost today so it doesn't really hurt Milwaukee much. Unfortunately, the bullpen remains very shaky and Suppan is unreliable at best.

 

CC starts tomorrow.

[Guest Smues]

It was exciting. I would've liked a different conclusion, though. Fortunately, the Cubs and Cards both lost today so it doesn't really hurt Milwaukee much. Unfortunately, the bullpen remains very shaky and Suppan is unreliable at best.

 

CC starts tomorrow.

 

Sadly the Cubs won 9-2. Not much of a loss I'd say.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

If it was, it was a tremendous loss.

[snuffbox 0]

I suffer from upside-down dyslexia. Don't make fun.