This Week in Baseball 9/8 - 9/14

[the max 0]

If it were a bit stronger than a 2, yeah.

 

Even with just being built, a few friends of mine lost brand new houses in 04 to Charley, which was a cat 4.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

Is today an MLB record for most games played in a day? Seems like it must be.

[jimmy no nose 0]

ESPN reports Minute Maid Park survived Hurricane Ike. Honestly, did anyone really believe the stadium was in imminent danger?

The reason for the report may be that the Texans' Reliant Stadium was damaged enough that the game Monday night is most likely not going to be played. I think the retractable roof is what was damaged, and Minute Maid Park has a similar design.

[jimmy no nose 0]

Huge swing in events in the AL East in the last hour. Entering the day the Rays had a 2 game lead on Boston, Tampa won their first game and Boston lost pushing it to 3. In their second games Tampa led 4-2 in the 7th, but blew the lead, and Boston trailed 5-4 in the 8th, make the day a push rather than the Rays picking up 2 games.

[treble 0]

Yeah, I think that's just about it for the Jays chances. It was going to take a minor miracle as it was, but they're going to need a complete Boston collapse now.

[jimmy no nose 0]

They've decided the Cubs-Astros game is happening tomorrow with another Monday, both taking place in.... Milwaukee. Interesting choice. The third game is going to be played after the season ends if necessary. It most likely only ends up being necessary for the Astros, so I'm sure there will be quite a Cubs lineup assembled for that day.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

K-Rod has 58 saves. I wonder how many more saves he'll get this season.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

K-Rod has 58 saves. I wonder how many more saves he'll get this season.

 

Any of you Yankee haters glad that that murderous scum Mariano Rivera* will never hold any save record?

 

 

*October 2004, was it an accident? Or negligent homicide?

 

If you think it was the former, consider why his pool had so much voltage running though it. Was it as he said solely to keep intruders and wild dogs out off of his property?

 

If so, then why was it so lethal? The man wanted to essentially MURDER anyone, or anything, that got onto his property.

 

Put it this way, if that went down here in the US, Rivera would certainly not have pitched in 2005, because he would have been incarcerated for negligent homicide. And sued like crazy by the woman whom he took a child from and left a widow.

 

So when you cheer for Mariano Rivera, you aren't just cheering the greatest closer of all time, you are cheering a murderer of children and puppies.

[Guest Brady's Torn ACL]

That was over "over the top." Hahaha.

 

This Cubs-Astros thing is interesting. The crowd will be made up of Cubs fans coming up from Chicagoland to root for the Cubs, and Brewers fans from Milwaukee coming to root against them. Despite the super-super-short notice for these games, tickets are still $25 to $60, which I think is borderline gouging. From what I've heard, the reason for such a short notice is capricious Texas dumbass Drayton McLane, who was adamant about giving up home games. Um, sir? Your city's a wreck. Nobody's going to want to go to an Astros game right now, inasmuch as the Houston area is a disaster and there are bigger fish to fry. As a result of the weather, the fish may well be in the streets by now. But who cares! WHOOOOOOOOOO-EE DO 'EM UP ASTROS HOW'S ABOUT A LITTLE SEPTEMBER MAGIC YEEEEE-HAW

[Bruiser Chong 0]

At this point, Brewers fans might be best off cheering for the Cubs. They've got a wild card lead that's looking slimmer by the game and the Astros are one of those teams in pursuit.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

At this point, Brewers fans might be best off cheering for the Cubs. They've got a wild card lead that's looking slimmer by the game and the Astros are one of those teams in pursuit.

 

Yes, that is correct. It will be bitter irony if the Astros end up overtaking the Brewers in the Wild Card hunt at Miller Park, while the Brewers continue to struggle, playing a double header today in Philadelphia.

[Guest Brady's Torn ACL]

McLane, Cooper, the players are all menstruating about these games and how there are going to be Cubs fans there. Either they're adapting to the Milwaukee sports mentality in record time or they're oblivious to the fact that there are tons of Cubs fans in Houston too.

 

Boy, imagine if these neutral site games interrupted last year's Craig Biggio Farewell Tour & Viking Funeral! Drayton would really be pissed!

[strummer 0]

Met bullpen blows a 4-2 in the 9th to the Braves

 

crushing loss

 

Phils could cut the lead to 1 game tonight

[snuffbox 0]

Goddam, Milwaukee's the worst.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

Met bullpen blows a 4-2 in the 9th to the Braves

 

crushing loss

 

Phils could cut the lead to 1 game tonight

 

Well, Mets have dusted themselves off and came back after horrific losses already in the last few weeks, going back to that collapse in Philly, there should be some fight in them heading into the final two weeks.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Phillies have a chance to tie the wild card tonight. Brett Myers on three games rest against Jeff Suppan.

[snuffbox 0]

It wouldn't matter even if Milwaukee was sending a prime Sandy Koufax, or something, out there.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

It wouldn't matter even if Milwaukee was sending a prime Sandy Koufax, or something, out there.

If the Brewers don't make the wild card, does Ned Yost need to go?

 

He's running the same lineup out tonight that he did this afternoon. Honestly, is Jason Kendall THAT important that he needs to play 18 innings?

[jimmy no nose 0]

Not that they were ever officially in, but the door's basically closed on St. Louis after they got swept by the Pirates. Combined with Houston's 4 game sweep of Pittsburgh things have really shifted between the two teams. Who said the Pirates never play meaningful games in September?

[Guest Brady's Torn ACL]

Yes. Brewers fans were champing at the bit to see him fired at the end of last year for fading down the stretch; those sentiments would only intensify after this year. Even though the Brewers kept Phil Garner for seven years of Milwaukee's worst baseball, there's no way to justify a seventh season for a manager with no playoff berths, especially when it's well-documented how much Yost pissed down his leg last September. I don't think he's the one thing standing between the Brewers and a world championship, or even a playoff berth, but for the sake of maintaining goodwill with the fans, at some point Attanasio has to make a "point B to point C" move. Is Buck Showalter this offseason's First in Line?

 

I dont get the Kendall thing either.

[KingPK 0]

So we're basically back to where we were this time last week in the AL East with Boston a game back of Tampa with a three game series between the two looming. After that, Boston plays Toronto AGAIN, this time on the road. Tampa then plays a HUGE series with Minnesota should they fall out of the division lead.

 

Who made up this schedule?

Edited September 14, 2008 by KingPK

[snuffbox 0]

I've defended Yost in the past but I can't anymore if Milwaukee misses the playoffs. Again.

[snuffbox 0]

I thought Suppan was supposed to be good in these late-season big games.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I thought Suppan was supposed to be good in these late-season big games.

He's gotten big double plays in both innings. The only extra base hit was Rollins stretching a single into a double.

[snuffbox 0]

That's cool and all but it's 4-0 after two innings.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

If the Brewers don't make the wild card, does Ned Yost need to go?

 

As a Cubs fan, I'd say no. But otherwise, Doug Melvin's a damn fool not to get rid of Yost. The blame can fall only on him, but talking with knowledgeable Brewers fans (yes, there actually are some) who have a chance to watch this team every day, they're able to point to several things that back up the notion that Yost is a big part of the problem. He was quick to yank his starters last year, resulting in an taxed bullpen. He's gone the other way this season, leaving his starters in until they're absolutely gassed. There's the insistence on making Gagne the eighth inning guy, despite all indications that he is toast.

 

The Brewers pretty much bet their bankroll on making it to the World Series this year. It's unlikely they re-sign Sheets, especially after an uncannily healthy year. It was the worst kept secret in baseball that CC was a three-month rental. That means even if there's an improvement in the young position players, the Brewers still have to deal with not having their 1-2 punch. Yes, there's Gallardo, but imagine the type of improvement that'll be necessary to compensate for the departure of Sheets and Sabathia.

 

I think the team's still going to be a force in the NL Central in the coming years, but things aren't looking quite as rosy now. Their gamble to let it ride on this year looks like it might not even result in a playoff berth.

 

Speaking of Milwaukee, the Cubs drove that bastard Randy Wolf out of the game before the end of the third frame and are sporting a 5-0 lead early on. Hopefully this signifies the Cubs are over whatever the hell the last two weeks were.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Carlos Zambrano through eight. I mention this because I decided the next subtitle will be, "Watch Al jinx more no-hitters!"

[Bored 0]

Hasn't the city of Houston suffered enough?

 

ESPN will break in live when they go to the bottom of the 9th.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

By all accounts, Z's command tonight is impeccable. Even when he's missing, he's just missing. Here we go.

[strummer 0]

Go Zambrano

 

I really hope the Cubs knock the Astros out of contention.

 

I don't want to hear about what a great clubhouse they have and about the "veteran presence" of Brad Ausmus

 

we had enough of that in 04/05