This Week in Baseball 8/18 - 8/24

[naiwf 0]

Mike Pelfrey just pitched his first CG. 108 pitches, 3 each of ER, H, BB & K. If the starters can go 9 every night we might just win the division.

[Annabelle 0]

nate robertson is just so awful. so awful. dave dombrowski saved this team from being the worst franchise in baseball but lately he's laid a few eggs with longterm contracts (inge, robertson, dontrelle, guillen). yes carlos guillen, he's a fine player but he is in a bit of a decline. i can't see him beign worth his contract in 2 more years.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

If the Blue Jays can beat the Yankees again tomorrow they will be tied at 3rd in the division and the wild card race.

 

I hadn't even noticed that the Rays right now are tied for the best record in all of baseball.

 

No such luck; a fine performance by Andy Pettite. Still, it's even Steven today: the Sox and Rays both lose.

 

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Clay Buchholz was optioned to AA Portland. 'Bout time. Love the kid's talent, but he repeatedly showed that he had no business pitching in the major leagues this year. Hopefully his old pitching coach can get his stuff cleaned up so that he can return in some capacity in September, or better yet, in 2009.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Miller Park is on pace to surpass 3 million in attendance this year. Big props to Brewers fans for this recent string of sellouts.

[treble 0]

The Blue Jays traded for Jose Bautista. His 12 home runs are the most on the team now.

[jimmy no nose 0]

What a week for Jose Bautista. He went from starter to "super sub" to benched to Triple A then got traded to Toronto where he'll most likely be getting a good number of starts again.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Have the Nats had a six-run inning all year? Jason Marquis is worse than cancer. Granted, he didn't give up the actual slam, but they were his runners. I wouldn't be so upset if this hadn't happened against the Nationals and the slam hadn't been off the bat of WILLIE HARRIS. Oh, man. I need some drugs right now.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Well the JD Drew haters have something new to feast on, as Mr. Drew is potentially out for the season with a herniated disc in his back. No formal announcement has been made, but things have been getting progressively worse for him all week after sitting out the past 3 games.

 

This really sucks. I wish we had a capable bat to replace him in right field. Someone like Brian Giles might be nice.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

A team that gives up at least 11 to the Nationals is incapable of winning a pennant, sorry.

 

The J.D. Drew injury isn't something for the haters to feast on. He got hurt. People get hurt. Had he taken himself out of the lineup so as not to jeopardize his health heading into a big contract deal, that would be the sort of baggery we've grown to know and love from the brothers Drew.

 

Since the Red Sox farm system is apparently the best one in the history of organized baseball, there's nobody they can promote?

[Guest Smues]

Jason Marquis is worse than cancer.

 

Oh come on. He's got a slightly worse than average ERA, and he's certainly no great shakes, but worse than cancer? I think I'd rather get diagnosed with Jason Marquis than cancer.

 

"Your test results are in, I'm afraid it's...Jason Marquis. You're bar mitzvah is in two weeks."

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Since the Red Sox farm system is apparently the best one in the history of organized baseball, there's nobody they can promote?

 

Sarcasm aside, right field may be one of the only spots on the field where they don't have a capable minor leaguer they can plug in. As recently as last year they had two. Since then David Murphy was traded to Texas in the Gagne trade and Moss was sent off to Siberia for Jason Bay. They've got a couple of guys who can fill in at left while Ellsbury covers right, but nothing that can come close to replacing Drew's bat.

[devo 0]

Luis Ayala has been darn good for Los Metropolatinos in limited action. If he ends up working out it'll be, what, the fifth serendipitous member on the twenty-five man roster? Not a bad ratio.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I wasn't being serious, Smues. I'm not Anglesault or NYankees, for crying out loud.

 

I can't tell if Czech was being tongue-in-cheek about his comments, though. I hope so, because the Cubs are still 4.5 games up and finally playing well on the road. They just suck against the Nationals. It's like how the Cubs dominated the Cardinals in 2006, even though they won a whopping 66 games overall.

[treble 0]

The Jays are kicking the shit out of Boston, but this game is going to take 7 hours to play.

 

And Vernon Wells has 2 homers today, so Jose Bautista has company atop the team's leaderboard now.

[jimmy no nose 0]

The game is underway and Pavano is still listed as the Yankees starter. Since they're the road team he has yet to take the mound, so anything can still happen.

[Guest Smues]

I wasn't being serious, Smues. I'm not Anglesault or NYankees, for crying out loud.

 

I figured as much. I just like the idea of being diagnosed with Jason Marquis.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Jason Marquis would make a terrible disease, though. Any disease worth a damn has control.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

I'm more concerned with Chad Gaudin having an awful outing. Marquis and Cotts are known commodities of bad. Gaudin is supposed to be good. Gulp.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

You're not really going to let ONE bad outing sour you on a guy who's otherwise been very good, are you? Gaudin's thrown almost 22 innings in a Cubs uniform. He's given up 12 runs, six of which came yesterday while he was taking one for the team. Half of the other runs came in a similar situation in that blowout game against the Cards two weeks ago. He's also struck out 24 while only walking seven. I consider him one of the good arms down in the pen.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

And personally, while I understand that as lifelong Cub fans, worrying has been embedded in our mental makeup, I can't think of many other teams in a better position in all of baseball. Even Red Sox fans have more to worry about right now.

[strummer 0]

Nice feeling to have when your favorite team gets beat by a Brad Ausmus homerun in extra innings

[strummer 0]

Nice feeling to have when your favorite team gets beat by a Darrin Erstad homerun in extra innings

 

 

[strummer 0]

Yankees/Orioles game approaching 3 hours and they're in the top of the 6th.

[garfieldsnose 0]

One of the worst calls ever in the Rays/White Sox game gives Chicago the win. That was unbelievable.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

I missed it. What happened? I was just thinking earlier how I was following three spectacular games--Nats/Cubs, Pirates/Brewers (this is in the top of the 12th), Rays/Sox--and now the Sox won on a bullshit call? That sucks. Hawk/DJ/Farmio/Stoney(yeah, Steve Stone has become as bad as Hawk now) better shut up about the umpire conspiracy now, but if the fact that their playoff run was defined by gift-wrapped fuck-ups (Pierzynski and Dye) hasn't shut them up, then how will this?

[UZI Suicide 0]

It was 5-5 in the 10th inning, Pierzynski was on second. Grounder was hit to the SS and Pierzysnki started heading to third thinking it would get by. He ended up getting caught in a rundown. Willy Aybar chases him back to second, throws it to the second basemen, and while getting out of the way, Pierzynski literally reaches his elbow out and grazes Aybar with it, then flails to the ground and acts like Aybar just ran him over.

 

The ump ruled that Aybar interfered with the runner and gave let Pierzynski have fucking THIRD BASE. Despite the fact that anyone with a brain could see that A.) Aybar was moving out of the way, B.) Pierzynski basically elbowed him, C.) Pierzynski was outside the base path and basically running on the grass, D.) Pierzynski is a fucking faggot.

 

Well, the last one doesn't really have anything to do with the play, but still.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Stupid bullshit like that always manages to find him. It's the damnedest thing. Oh well, Sox stole a win. THAT'S BS! BS! THAT'S BULL! YOU'RE BULL! DADGUM IT.

[Bored 0]

Could have left the player's name out of the description of the play and everyone would have guessed it was Pierzynski. Where's Michael Barrett to punch him the face when you need him?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

It was 5-5 in the 10th inning, Pierzynski was on second. Grounder was hit to the SS and Pierzysnki started heading to third thinking it would get by. He ended up getting caught in a rundown. Willy Aybar chases him back to second, throws it to the second basemen, and while getting out of the way, Pierzynski literally reaches his elbow out and grazes Aybar with it, then flails to the ground and acts like Aybar just ran him over.

 

The ump ruled that Aybar interfered with the runner and gave let Pierzynski have fucking THIRD BASE. Despite the fact that anyone with a brain could see that A.) Aybar was moving out of the way, B.) Pierzynski basically elbowed him, C.) Pierzynski was outside the base path and basically running on the grass, D.) Pierzynski is a fucking faggot.

 

Well, the last one doesn't really have anything to do with the play, but still.

If Pierzynski had to run onto the grass to avoid Aybar when Aybar doesn't have the ball, that's obstruction. Doesn't matter how Pierzynski sells it. If someone has video of it though, I'd like to see it.