Author Topic: Offical MLB Thread! (Read 311612 times)

Saburo · « **Reply #120 on:** August 21, 2005, 04:26:36 AM »

Mets' bullpen: a disgrace.

Pedro leaves after six IP but who woulda thunk the bullpen would gave up eight runs in three innings.

Thimas X · « **Reply #121 on:** August 21, 2005, 06:20:47 AM »

yea Mets were lucky today

---
Know whats funny?

Turning the tv on to ESPN NEWS and seeing "Breaking News - KC snaps 19 game losing streak"

hahahaha
Breaking new?! hahahahaha

Saburo · « **Reply #122 on:** August 21, 2005, 06:27:14 AM »

That IS breaking news!

Beating the A's, in their park, a one-run nail biter... Certainly more newsworthy than, say, some NFL player that smoked weed.

Streak ends at 19 games. ESPN said: only three teams have had longer losing streaks in the expansion era (I assume this is from 1961). Of course there's the rest of the season that manager Buddy Bell and company have to deal with.

Saburo · « **Reply #123 on:** August 25, 2005, 11:12:25 AM »

I picked up "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis last weekend and just finished it today. The book was published in 2003 and the paper back came out in 2004 but only got around to getting it now because I had a 30-percent-off coupon at Borders.

And god only knows why I waited a damn year after the paperback came out. If you are a fan of baseball (not just MLB) then do NOT go on another day without reading this book. I would count this, along with Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" and anything by Bill James, as the most important books on baseball, period.

Michael Lewis, in his preface, writes: ... the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it -- before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games?

Lewis, a reporter who has written books focused on economics and the business sector, draws out the success of the Oakland Athletics under the direction of general manager Billy Beane, who produces winning teams with one of the lowest payrolls in MLB -- almost one half of that enjoyed by the likes of the Yankees and Red Sox. Lewis explains that in order to do that Beane had to analyze baseball talent in ways that old-school traditionalists scoffed at, while trying to get the most out of a limited budget.

This involved adopting a kind of baseball intellectualism that only existed before in the books of Bill James, the (once freebie) online articles of Rob Neyer and a host of fledgling internet websites. Philosophies such as placing more value on on-base percentage rather than stolen bases was always in the public forum but never had been embraced by an actual general manager of a major league baseball team. Until now.

Now we have Beane in Oakland, Theo Epstein in Boston, DePodesta (Beane's former right-hand man) in L.A., and so on. Yes, the revolution is here and "Moneyball" was a chronicle that somehow wound up on the best-seller lists.

I can't recommend this book highly enough.

daigong · « **Reply #124 on:** September 01, 2005, 09:56:42 AM »

Great review! I heard that it's an incredible book ...yet somehow DePodesta just doesn't get it though

At least the Wild card is looking good - esp. the NL:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/standings?type=wild+card

Damn Yanks are like neck-and neck with Boston. What else is new. David Wells getting suspended was like ZZzzzzZZZZzz. Get that fat fuck off the TV.

scrock7 · « **Reply #125 on:** September 04, 2005, 08:23:45 AM »

Quote from: daigong

Great review! I heard that it's an incredible book ...yet somehow DePodesta just doesn't get it though

At least the Wild card is looking good - esp. the NL:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/standings?type=wild+card

Damn Yanks are like neck-and neck with Boston. What else is new. David Wells getting suspended was like ZZzzzzZZZZzz. Get that fat fuck off the TV.

wow... yankees must feel really stupid as far as i am concerned.. spending so much $$ for all the all-stars and they aren't even a great time... just "decent"... they "might" make it into the playoff but even if they do, they won't be able to win the World Series

i mean just compare Cleveland Indians to Yankees... Indians are pretty much on a minimun salary cap and Yankees are waay high up there... and yet in my opinion, Indians are a better team than the Yankees

Saburo · « **Reply #126 on:** September 04, 2005, 09:24:33 AM »

Quote from: scrock7

wow... yankees must feel really stupid as far as i am concerned..

Signing Tony Womack to a multi-year, multi million-dollar deal was perhaps the most ridiculed transaction of the past off season.

Here's a guy who LOOKS like a great athlete, can run like the wind and has a World Series ring. But does he do anything to create runs to help a team win? Not really: all the stolen bases in the world don't mean jack if you don't get on base A LOT to attempt them. And if you're not making the swipes at a 75 percent success rate or better, you're hurting the team, period.

The recent loss of Mussina due to an elbow injury signals a grave stretch run for the Bronx Bombers. Who do the Yanks have in the rotation that can help them overtake Boston in September? Randy Johnson, Chacon and... Hey, whatever happened to Nomo? Can't be any worse than Al Leiter, whose position as ESPN baseball analyst looks more and more secure come October.

scrock7 · « **Reply #127 on:** September 05, 2005, 04:33:02 AM »

Quote from: Saburo

Signing Tony Womack to a multi-year, multi million-dollar deal was perhaps the most ridiculed transaction of the past off season.

ha... Womack? he should be happy if he is batting.... he is not even on the line-up as far as i am concerned

Saburo · « **Reply #128 on:** September 05, 2005, 12:33:26 PM »

I get Fox Sports West on my cable system and catch Anaheim Angel baseball games a lot.

Unfortunately, the announcers are typical Fox dunderheads. I heard one great line that was quoted on one of many great baseball blogs:

"Second and third one out, a perfect situation for a productive out from Erstad."

Umm, I think even little leaguers are trained to hope for the opposite of making an out...

Saburo · « **Reply #129 on:** September 05, 2005, 09:42:18 PM »

[rant]

I follow baseball. I am a baseball fan: MLB, mostly but I'll give a look at a college game and even NPB if you give me a little background on the players.

I don't follow football (the "American" game, mind you). Not the NFL, not the NCAA, not even pee-wee or pickup games. I am NOT a fan of the game, period.

We are at the time of the year when summer turns to fall and my favorite sport is forced to take a backseat to my not-so-favorite sport, at least in terms of reporting coverage. This past Saturday's Sportscenter showed highlights of at least a half dozen college games and reported on one NFL pre-season affair before turning to a MLB game.

Yeah, I understand the shift in coverage. The average NFL or college football game has more impact value than the average MLB game, probably been that way for at least 30 years. And a consumer like myself who is in the minority has to either accept the way things are (shaddap and watch Sportscenter) or turn to alternatives (turn off the tube and go to the Internet for my fix).

It's probably the time of year (football season) when I log more hours online than in front of the TV. I'm sorry the Internet wasn't here even earlier.

[/rant]

daigong · « **Reply #130 on:** September 10, 2005, 10:07:43 PM »

or they force you to order XM!! :evil:

The Wildcard and playoff races are REALLY heating up. I bet the Yankees are gonna get right back in it...I think the Rays are off their sked for the year LMAO.

I'd like to see how Bonds does the rest of the way. Maybe rack up 3 walks agame? :evil:

Saburo · « **Reply #131 on:** September 11, 2005, 10:12:41 AM »

Yanks take another step backwards, losing to the one pitcher (Curt Schilling) they'd LOVE to pound to smithereens.

Cleveland wins, Oakland wins. Wild Card still within reach but not if their bats fail like today (their pitching is already suspect enough).

daigong · « **Reply #132 on:** September 13, 2005, 09:38:01 AM »

Yo dude, can u believe that shit Cleveland is actually on top in the Wildcard now! I'm pulling for NYY and Florida for wildcard since I kinda predicted them in the playoffs

and shiiittt. Bonds might as well surpass Babe Ruth this year LOL. THAT close to hitting a homer.

Saburo · « **Reply #133 on:** September 17, 2005, 11:13:38 PM »

Quote from: daigong

and shiiittt. Bonds might as well surpass Babe Ruth this year LOL. THAT close to hitting a homer.

Amazing stuff. Barry hit his first dinger of 2005 yesterday but might have strained that fragile knee of his to the breaking point. He'll probably sit out today's (Saturday) game and who knows about Sunday.

One thing I heard being mentioned about Bonds... He's gotten a hero's welcome back in San Fransisco. Everybody in SBC Park is hailing the return of The King. Naturally, right? I mean, if you're a Giants fan then you HAVE to be thankful for having your marquee player return for the stretch run. And WHO KNOWS? Six games back of the Padres, it wouldn't be completely shocking if the Padres went into a tailspin and some other team got lucky. Especially in THIS division.

Anyway, some dunderhead (i.e. sportswriter) wrote a column saying that Bonds and the San Fransisco fans should be "banned" from the game. Why? Cause they cheered their returning star back to baseball. Baltimore fans in Camden Yards, on the other hands, got his props because some people had the good moral sense to boo Winstrol Raffy.

Is it me or am I still the only MLB fan who doesn't give a shit about steroids? Or the surly side of Barry Bonds? I'm serious: I am still waiting for the scientific study that shows a correlation between muscle conditioning and OBP.

daigong · « **Reply #134 on:** September 18, 2005, 09:53:18 AM »

steroids actually made the game more entertaining. I'm still on the fence on whether it's "Fuck you bitch!! They cheating!" and "Whatever, let it sliiiiiddee" depends on the player really. You really need actual hand eye coordination to connect too. I can't roid up and take a ball outta the park.

The book I have just picked up is Jose Canseco's "Juiced" LOL.

Saburo · « **Reply #135 on:** September 18, 2005, 10:29:05 AM »

Regarding books about steroids, I really want to get THIS book:

http://www.mesomorphosis.com/store/books/carroll-juice-baseball-steroids.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/156663668X/002-2046639-7272831?v=glance

Will Carroll is perhaps my fave online baseball writer right now (especially since Rob Neyer has been trapped in the ripoff ESPN "Insider" section). I'm surprised that he's getting ripped on Amazon.

In any case, I think it's clear that players take/took steroids not just to be buff and strong but also for conditioning. The MLB season is long and arduous. Bodies break down, muscles melt down like ice cream in the summer heat. What steroids can do is help you to stay in condition and prevent a player from losing that body mass from not just the games but from the workouts inbetween. I think this was probably the case with Rafael Palmeiro, who has played 140-150 games a year since the late 80s.

Yeah I've seen the 500-foot home runs and maybe there's something to that. But I'll say it again: if steroids help you with strike zone judgement (Bonds, Giambi) then I think a LOT of players should gobble them like M&M's.

Saburo · « **Reply #136 on:** September 19, 2005, 02:48:32 AM »

Bonds hits #705. Amazing!

Thimas X · « **Reply #137 on:** September 19, 2005, 03:49:32 AM »

awesome, hes crazy skilled

daigong · « **Reply #138 on:** September 20, 2005, 09:46:52 AM »

LOL. that's us man...we just want to see the long ball. All the guys are "use roids, you're a cheater" ... I wouldn't be surprised if someday Curt Schilling gets nailed. And look at all those former power sluggers who get so injured now. Griffey? Juan Gonzalez?

And so they gonna test Bonds like nuts...Selig is definitely hiding something.

...but

Cleveland is creeping in on the AL Central. Who'd thunk the ChiSox would be challenged?

daigong · « **Reply #139 on:** September 21, 2005, 09:18:08 AM »

#706

and he says something about losing weight cuz his knees can no longer support his weight without throbbing.