This Week in Baseball 8/18 - 8/24

[Bored]

ESPN/FOX/TBS Games to Poison Our Youth

 

MONDAY

Astros (Randy Wolf) at Brewers (C.C. Sabathia), 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2

 

WEDNESDAY

Angels (Jered Weaver) at Rays (Matt Garza), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN

 

SATURDAY

Dodgers at Phillies, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX

Rays at White Sox, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX

Braves at Cardinals, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX

 

SUNDAY

Rays at White Sox, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, TBS

Dodgers at Phillies, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN

[Bruiser Chong]

Phillies have been getting some mad Sunday Night Baseball love the last month or so, no?

[MFer]

No Yankees or Red Sox? When was the last time that happened?

[jimmy no nose]

So John Maine threw 5 shoutout innings, but in a shocking turn of events the Mets bullpen allowed 5 runs in 3 innings to lose the game.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

So John Maine threw 5 shoutout innings

No runs aloud.

[Mike wanna be]

Speaking of CC Sabathia, the top prospect that went to Cleveland in that trade (Matt Laporta) just got beaned in the head by a Chinese pitcher, and he now has a concussion

[strummer]

There's been talk of moving Maine into the closer role due to injuries and his inability to pitch deep into games.

 

I don't like that move at all. He walks far too many hitters.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

beaned in the head by a Chinese pitcher

Oh this is a real gold medal construction here.

[Guest]

The Dodgers acquired Greg Maddux. LA Times says so. With Penny going back to the DL, that was bound to happen. As long as he pitches six innings most of the time, it's good for the team. The bullpen hasn't been so hot lately, so hopefully Maddux doesn't leave them having to eat innings. A scenario in which Maddux can't go past five too often may not turn out well.

[snuffbox]

Milwaukee managed to beat Houston at home. Unfortunately, Ryan Braun re-injured his ribs.

[jimmy no nose]

CC went for the complete game despite allowing 13 batters to reach base. Maybe they just wanted to keep his bat in the lineup.

[Bruiser Chong]

There was no excuse to let him finish the game tonight. And I'm not just saying that as a Cubs fan. The game wasn't much of a contest by the midway point, so there's no reason to let him throw almost 130 pitches. I understand the part about getting their money's worth, but is being able to say he has another complete game worth putting him at risk to run out of gas by time he's supposed to be pitching in October?

 

If you can't trust your pen to go get three outs against a .500 team in a seven-run game, then there's an issue.

[snuffbox]

You're right, there is an issue with the Milwaukee bullpen. See last night for example.

[KingPK]

Didn't overusing him end up screwing the Indians in the LCS last year?

[snuffbox]

Overuse him, they lose. Bring in the bullpen, they lose. What more do I want?

[Bruiser Chong]

If a bullpen can't hold a seven-run lead against a .500 team for ONE inning, then they shouldn't even think about playing in October. This isn't a one, two or even three-run game we're talking about. Had it been, I would've seen the justification for leaving CC in. I would've probably even advocated it. But in a blowout game, you might want to let the pen go work one inning and rest the guy who's already thrown a boatload of pitches that you're pinning all of your playoff dreams to.

[snuffbox]

Or, the bullpen was used heavily on the west coast trip, they didn't have a day off upon returning to Milwaukee, and CC has proven himself to be a workhorse.

 

But, I do have to agree that they probably don't have much business thinking about October baseball. They're a small-market team with remarkable consistency for late-season collapses.

[cabbageboy]

The Brewers might just be trying to get the most bang for their buck with Sabathia. He isn't likely to sign a new deal with them, so maybe the upper management isn't terribly concerned about his long term future a few years from now.

[Bruiser Chong]

I'm not trying to get into a whole thing with you, but regardless of what kind of workload he's been able to handle to this point doesn't take away from the fact that he's likely going to be tapped come October if Ned Yost keeps standing in the dugout with his arms folded while CC surpasses 120 pitches each outing.

 

KingPK drew on an interesting point earlier by noting CC's ineffectiveness in the playoffs last year following a high-pitch season. Someone over at BBTF said he threw 3,581 pitches last year. He's nearing 3,000 pitches after tonight's start with probably seven or eight more outings left. Following the trend, he should easily pass the amount of pitches he threw last year by mid-September.

 

It's probably the worst kept secret in baseball that CC is a three-month rental and so the Brewers feel the need to get everything possible out of him. But they should be conserving his arm when the situations allow it. Tonight was one such situation. An inning may not seem like a big deal, but pulling him an inning earlier when the team has a decent lead could amount to a full start in October.

[Bruiser Chong]

The Brewers might just be trying to get the most bang for their buck with Sabathia. He isn't likely to sign a new deal with them, so maybe the upper management isn't terribly concerned about his long term future a few years from now.

I'm not even talking about his long-term health. Last season was proof that a heavy workload noticeably affected his effectiveness when the playoffs started. He's on pace to eclipse the amount of pitches he threw last year, so while the Brewers don't need to concern themselves with his long-term health, how they use him now could very well affect the team's chances in the playoffs.

[snuffbox]

I think this was either the second or third 120+ pitch game for him as a Brewer. Most of his CGs have been in the low 100s.

 

This is Milwaukee, though. He'll probably tear every muscle in his arm before the season ends.

[Bruiser Chong]

And I thought we Cub fans were pessimists.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

Keep an eye out for Rays highlights, apparently Upton pulled a hell of a baserunning gaffe.

[Bruiser Chong]

And again, because he was being lazy on the basepaths. This despite being benched several times in recent weeks for that very reason. Kids.

[jimmy no nose]

I can't believe Maddon didn't bench him again. He tried to explain after the game that it wasn't that Upton wasn't trying, he just made a mental mistake, but I'm pretty sure that if a guy gets benched multiple times for not hustling then makes that play he's not getting the message. He might be the fastest guy on the team and he got ran down by Mark Texeira.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

Online Olympic Baseball has text commentary, apparently by the online version of Marty Brennaman.

 

Hessman has swung and missed an awful lot versus these pitchers he's never seen before. Still, Team USA has no real choice but to use him with Matt LaPorta down.

 

Seriously, have you seen Hessman's numbers? He's the minor league version of Adam Dunn. That's his game. (Though Hessman can play well at third, while Dunn is a poor corner outfielder.)

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe]

I'm going to the Phillies/Nationals game on Thursday night. Very excited to check out CBP. I got really good seats too, behind the first base dugout.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

I'm going to the Phillies/Nationals game on Thursday night. Very excited to check out CBP. I got really good seats too, behind the first base dugout.

Excellent. Check out Bull's BBQ, where Greg Luzinski is usually in attendance. The park itself is incredible.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

When I went to Borders on Saturday to pick up that cod book mentioned in Book Recs., they were having a sidewalk sale, as they usually do this tme of year. I checked it out, because I've been able to find some good books for $3 in the past. Shit you not, half of the books there were by or about Cal Ripken Jr. Suffice to say that Ripkenmania '07 has come and gone. If I never have to see his creepy blank face on a motel commercial or sit through his anaesthetized baseball "analysis" ever again, I'll be quite content.

 

 

I DON'T KNOW YOU TELL ME

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe]

If I never have to see his creepy blank face on a motel commercial or sit through his anaesthetized baseball "analysis" ever again, I'll be quite content.

 

Count your blessings, sir, because I'm still bombarded with his motel ads.