Author Topic: Offical MLB Thread! (Read 340396 times)

L1mpk1d78 · « **Reply #1380 on:** January 13, 2010, 12:38:28 AM »

Why is Mark McGwire saying that he took steroids such a big story? We already knew this. Its nothing new. I guess because football is coming to a close, that nobody cares about hockey and basketball isnt in its last month that this is a big story. IMO this is all about getting into the HALL. Not admitting to taking steroids got him only 25 percent. He thinks admitting it is the only option he has if he wants to get in. Sorry mark you are in the baseball world. Once you are thought of as a cheat, its over. Ask Pete about it.

stax · « **Reply #1381 on:** January 13, 2010, 04:14:57 AM »

Quote from: L1mpk1d78 on January 13, 2010, 12:38:28 AM

Why is Mark McGwire saying that he took steroids such a big story? We already knew this. Its nothing new. I guess because football is coming to a close, that nobody cares about hockey and basketball isnt in its last month that this is a big story. IMO this is all about getting into the HALL. Not admitting to taking steroids got him only 25 percent. He thinks admitting it is the only option he has if he wants to get in. Sorry mark you are in the baseball world. Once you are thought of as a cheat, its over. Ask Pete about it.

Wow, there are a lot of dumb things in this post:

1. We didn't know jack. Prior to this there was as much evidence that Hank Aaron took steroids (he too had a late-in-career surge of power and was teammates with a known roider). Suspicion is not evidence, journalists of this era seem to forget that.
2. Pete Rose wasn't a cheat.

L1mpk1d78 · « **Reply #1382 on:** January 13, 2010, 05:18:48 PM »

Wow, there are a lot of dumb things in this post:

1. We didn't know jack. Prior to this there was as much evidence that Hank Aaron took steroids (he too had a late-in-career surge of power and was teammates with a known roider). Suspicion is not evidence, journalists of this era seem to forget that.
2. Pete Rose wasn't a cheat.
[/quote]

Really you didnt know. I guess you still believe that Santa Claus is real too.

1. Him sitting in front of congress and saying that he didnt want to talk about the past was an admission. When you can not answer a straight yes or no question because you are scared you might have charges brought against you if you answer either way that says a lot. If he says yes I did it than they get him for purchasing illegal drug. If he says no than they can go after him for perjury. You are correct, they havent found used syringes or a doctor that said he gave it to mark but that doesnt mean that we didnt know this. The lasting image of McGwire is not him breaking the single season home run record; it is him dodging questions in front of congress.
2. Pete Rose bet on games as a manager. People feel that he bet on his own team. So the question is, did he make calls that would help him win his bets or did he make calls that would win games? Betting on your team and making calls during the game to influence the outcome of your bet is CHEATING.

Saburo · « **Reply #1383 on:** January 20, 2010, 12:47:06 AM »

GREAT line from today's chat with Rob Neyer:

Jim (Denver)
Thoughts on the Leno-Conan debacle?

Rob Neyer (1:14 PM)
NBC could have avoided some of this mess if they'd just hired a good sabermetrician.

Saburo · « **Reply #1384 on:** January 22, 2010, 01:52:09 AM »

http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2010/01/in_response_to.php

There's old school and then there's just OLD, as in tiresome.

Did Chass EVER have an A-game? Cause when you try to match wits and intellect against the best, you WILL get smashed like a hammer to a pea.

"Fire Joe Morgan" used to do this stuff all the time; I suspect they quit because every column was turning into reruns, what with the number of "mainstream" numbnuts churning out nonsense like sausages. Hopefully there will be enough ammo to keep the likes of Murray Chass at bay until the next generation gets a firm grip on power.

stax · « **Reply #1385 on:** January 23, 2010, 07:21:50 PM »

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/welchbo01.shtml?redir
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemero02.shtml

lol 1990 CYA voters. I get that 27 wins is a lot, but I'm gonna bet that the Athletics 3rd best in the league offense and incredible bullpen on route to 103 wins played a larger role in getting those wins than Welch's ERA, a full run higher than Clemens (who was in Fenway, a hugely hitter-friendly park, making it more impressive).

EDIT - Heck, Welch's teammate Dave Stewart had a better year pitching.

Saburo · « **Reply #1386 on:** January 23, 2010, 08:02:20 PM »

Sheesh, Welch got 5.21 run support per game in 1990; Clemens 4.34.

I remember that year and ridiculed the BBWAA for its slavish devotion to that hallowed stat. A sub-2.00 ERA in friggin' Fenway Park?! I don't remember if I was cynical that things would ever change. Bill James' Abstracts had already been replaced by a new baseball annual (less devoted to hard analysis, although still committed to uncovering Baseball Truth) and it would be some time before Project Scoresheet morphed into STATS, Inc and the internet made information like this available for all so grumps like Murray Chass wouldn't jizz in their bibs just by seeing a big number in the "W" column.

And then we had the 2005 AL Cy Young balloting...

I think that's when I figured NOTHING would EVER change. I remain cautiously pessimistic, the 2009 awards notwithstanding.

Saburo · « **Reply #1387 on:** January 26, 2010, 01:12:00 AM »

Like my friend said, this IS change we can believe in: http://japantoday.com/category/sports/view/japan-to-follow-globally-used-ball-strike-count.

Other things I'd like changed: the dollar-yen exchange rate, driving on the right side of the road and that pesky metric stuff.

Mucca · « **Reply #1388 on:** January 26, 2010, 02:48:12 AM »

The best part about Bob Welch winning the 1990 Cy Young? Roger Clemens finished 3rd in MVP voting that year; Welch finished 9th.

Other pitchers who finished ahead of Welch in MVP voting: Bobby Thigpen (5th), Dennis Eckersley (6th) and Dave Stewart (8th).

So Roger Clemens, by the voters' count, was the most valuable pitcher in the AL...but not the best; on the other hand, writers felt that Welch was the best pitcher in the AL, but only the 3rd most valuable pitcher on his own team.

stax · « **Reply #1389 on:** January 27, 2010, 07:46:29 AM »

Apparently Mariano Rivera has an alter-ego in the offseason...

Saburo · « **Reply #1390 on:** January 27, 2010, 04:43:30 PM »

I'm pleased that the Baseball HOF is excercising good judgement with the Andre Dawson cap issue. Expos fans deserve that much.

p.s. Greg Maddux ain't going in as a Cubbie either, when the time comes.

p.p.s. What the hell is on Gaylord Perry's plaque?

Saburo · « **Reply #1391 on:** January 27, 2010, 11:15:16 PM »

Ugh, read that A. Dawson is NOT pleased about The Cap. I can feel a hissy fit coming on strong, ala Jim Ed.

Crissakes, don't blow it Andre. Montreal NEEDS you!

thatonezombie · « **Reply #1392 on:** January 30, 2010, 03:37:25 AM »

Who wants to read a Ken Griffey Jr interview with me?

http://www.solecollector.com/niketraining/?p=944

Part 2 coming sometime in the future

stax · « **Reply #1393 on:** January 30, 2010, 09:22:56 PM »

Another 90s CYA bone?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1992.shtml#ALcya

Besides Eck winning, which is just dumb, Jim Abbot received no votes despite finishing third a year before with a pretty similar season.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abbotji01.shtml

The difference? 18-11 in 91, 7-15 in 92. Because clearly that, and not his near-identical run prevention, is how you should measure a pitcher.

stax · « **Reply #1394 on:** February 01, 2010, 10:53:13 PM »

Joe Mauer signs a 10 year extension with the Twins, only the 4th 10 year contract in history.

Arod, Jeter, Mauer... and Wayne Garland.

lol

Anyways, good for baseball.

Saburo · « **Reply #1395 on:** February 01, 2010, 11:45:09 PM »

Almost there with Mauer. Didn't Cap Anson have a ten-year deal with Chicago?

And congrats to Jon Miller, baseball's newest Hall of Famer.

Saburo · « **Reply #1396 on:** February 02, 2010, 12:51:00 AM »

Another Dawson/cap story. He's backed away from wearing the Cubs cap and throwing away the class and dignity and goodwill that many baseball scribes and analysts acknowledged in him, even if they didn't support his selection into the Hall (much less his 1987 NL MVP award which may have tipped the scales in his favor, historically speaking).

I think we can blame two people for all this: Reggie (Yankee cap) and Wade Boggs (selling his soul to the Devil Rays).

Not to belabor the issue but how come people who are initally humbled by HOF selection suddenly turn to abject arrogance concerning the same honor? The world needs less people like Jim Ed Rice and Mercury Morris. Besides, it's a MAN being honored, not a goddamn cap/team.

stax · « **Reply #1397 on:** February 02, 2010, 02:07:33 AM »

Quote from: Saburo on February 01, 2010, 11:45:09 PM

Almost there with Mauer. Didn't Cap Anson have a ten-year deal with Chicago?

And congrats to Jon Miller, baseball's newest Hall of Famer.

I think that list is post free-agency, since pre-FA you basically had as long a deal with a team as they wanted.

Saburo · « **Reply #1398 on:** February 04, 2010, 08:26:55 PM »

Marvelous RT from Keith Law: http://twitter.com/keithlaw/statuses/8644204515

Saburo · « **Reply #1399 on:** February 04, 2010, 10:10:15 PM »

Now it's turned into "Principles of Sabermetrics": http://twitter.com/keithlaw/statuses/8647696338