Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[killeverything]

Angels still alive in the wild card race. It's gettin' interesting...

What the fuck? If even Beckett gets the loss, the season is done. Too many primadonnas, not enough dirt dogs.

Got to say though Anaheim and Tampa have made the race really fun. The Rangers have had them on their ass practically all season.

The biggest question for the upcoming Playoffs to me is, do any of you think that Detroit can win on the days that Verlander isn't on the mound? The Fister trade is working out pretty well for them. I'm just curious if they're going to be a one-game pony to someone like the MFY ( remember Seattle in '01 after Garcia won game 1 ).

I like Texas agressiveness on the basepaths, but Lance Berkman was right. Losing Cliff Lee shot their WS chances. I guess it doesn' matter. NO ONE is stopping Philly this year.

We need Yonkel back in here to drop the predictions. I've said it before, I think the NLCS will be Milwaukee/Philly and it'll probably be better than the World Series.

*edit*

Bob Melvin signs a three year extension with Oakland. He must be doing something right in Beane's eyes, because he's notorious for not signing even remotely long deals with anyone ( Eric Chavez excluded ).

[SkyDog112046]

What the fuck? If even Beckett gets the loss, the season is done. Too many primadonnas, not enough dirt dogs.

Got to say though Anaheim and Tampa have made the race really fun.

That's the manager's fault. Francona took his foot off the gas at the end of August and his team tried to coast afterwards. He still refuses to criticize a single player on that roster. There is a balance between "player's manager" and "hard ass", and Francona is too much of a player's guy. You can't tell me that between Dice-K, Drew, Lackey, and Crawford that at least one of these guys didn't deserve a public chewing out over the past couple of years. At the very least he could have gone off on a couple of umpires and gotten himself tossed to fire up the team. The guy has no pulse and the players know it.

Regardless of the moves Theo made or did not make, the fact is that on September 3rd this team had a 9 game lead and the manager decided to sit on it instead of getting close to clinching before backing off. The team went from playing .600 ball to .200 ball. No amount of injuries alone can cause that. Managerial moves are responsible too. How do you think the team felt when Francona put Wakefield's 200th win ahead of the team's playoff chances? How many times has he left a starter in who had lost it? I think Francona has lost his team, and when they end up choking this lead away he needs to be fired. Managers have a shelf life and his is up.

Tampa and Anaheim haven't made the race fun - the Sox have choked away a sure thing.

[Machado]

Angels still alive in the wild card race. It's gettin' interesting...

What the fuck? If even Beckett gets the loss, the season is done. Too many primadonnas, not enough dirt dogs.

Got to say though Anaheim and Tampa have made the race really fun. The Rangers have had them on their ass practically all season.

The biggest question for the upcoming Playoffs to me is, do any of you think that Detroit can win on the days that Verlander isn't on the mound? The Fister trade is working out pretty well for them. I'm just curious if they're going to be a one-game pony to someone like the MFY ( remember Seattle in '01 after Garcia won game 1 ).

I like Texas agressiveness on the basepaths, but Lance Berkman was right. Losing Cliff Lee shot their WS chances. I guess it doesn' matter. NO ONE is stopping Philly this year.

We need Yonkel back in here to drop the predictions. I've said it before, I think the NLCS will be Milwaukee/Philly and it'll probably be better than the World Series.

*edit*

Bob Melvin signs a three year extension with Oakland. He must be doing something right in Beane's eyes, because he's notorious for not signing even remotely long deals with anyone ( Eric Chavez excluded ).

Hi Kill-
You just knew Showalter was going to ask his team to give 150%
vs the sux this week.
I was surprised to learn about the sux loss last night.
Mark Reynolds normally strikes out a lot, but the kid hit 2 more homers
vs Beckett-Why didn't Beckett drill the guy in the back like he usually does vs Yankees???

[Machado]

Derek Jeter admits Yankees caught a break on Jeffrey Maier HR


There are probably some Oriole fans who still can't talk about the Jeffrey Maier home run that Derek Jeter hit against Baltimore in the opener of the 1996 AL Championship Series. But, as bitter as the memory must be for former O's shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., the Hall of Famer can at least have a good-natured conversation about it with the man who hit the ball.

Jeter sat down with Ripken Jr., recently for an interview that will air in part on Sunday on TBS before the network presents Yankees-Red Sox. Ripken, a TBS analyst, opens the conversation by saying, "Do you know why I brought you here?"

"No," Jeter replies.

"It's 15 years since Jeffrey Maier reached out on your flyball to right field and pulled it into the stands, so I want you to admit right here on national TV that it really should've been an out and not a home run."

"It wouldn't have been an out," Jeter says. "Tony (Tarasco, the right fielder) should have jumped. You know he played here with us and I told him the same thing. He should have jumped."

Ripken Jr. sounds persuasive, though. He does get Jeter to admit the Yankees got "a break." Jeter goes on to say that he didn't know what was going to happen to the ball when he hit it. "After the game, you saw what happened but we caught a break," he says.

When Ripken opines that umpire Richie Garcia was out of position on the hit and that instant replay might have said something about how the play came out, Jeter's answer makes it clear who is the active player and who isn't.

"Well, I'm not going to say anything bad about umpires," Jeter says. "I think that 100 percent of the time they're in the right place, positioning well."

"You're still playing," Ripken responds. "Wait'll you get out."

Jeter's homer, as any Yankee fan knows, tied the score at 4 in the bottom of the eighth inning of a game the Yanks went on to win, 5-4, on Bernie Williams' 11th-inning walk-off home run.

Ripken and Jeter also tackle more serious topics in the interview, which will air in full during TBS' coverage of the post-season, including a topic that continues to hover over an aging Jeter - a potential position change.

"Father time catches up to all of us," Ripken says. "There have been some rumblings about you playing another position ... I'm a little sensitive asking you that because I went through that, there was a lot of rumblings of me moving and every day I played shortstop - oh, I was 'too big to play shortstop' - and there were a lot of rumblings about that. But when it plays out publically, it's hurtful, it kind of bothers you. Where do you put those feelings?"

"My job is to play short. I have not been told otherwise," Jeter says. "My job is to prepare to play short…It's tough enough to play this game because it's a game of failure and I try to be positive all the time. Negativity bothers me, I don't want things to bother me when I trying to do my job, so I really try and stay away from it but I'm aware of it, because I'm asked questions about it, but I try not to focus too much energy on it."

[madmaxfan]

Angels still alive in the wild card race. It's gettin' interesting...

The biggest question for the upcoming Playoffs to me is, do any of you think that Detroit can win on the days that Verlander isn't on the mound? The Fister trade is working out pretty well for them. I'm just curious if they're going to be a one-game pony to someone like the MFY ( remember Seattle in '01 after Garcia won game 1 ).

Yeah I have the same question. Fister should do fine and if Scherzer gets in one of his hot streaks then we will be fine. Both him and Porcello give me indigestion with their streakyness.
On a positive note got ALDS tickets in the mail the other day.

[killeverything]

What the fuck? If even Beckett gets the loss, the season is done. Too many primadonnas, not enough dirt dogs.

Got to say though Anaheim and Tampa have made the race really fun.

That's the manager's fault. Francona took his foot off the gas at the end of August and his team tried to coast afterwards. He still refuses to criticize a single player on that roster. There is a balance between "player's manager" and "hard ass", and Francona is too much of a player's guy. You can't tell me that between Dice-K, Drew, Lackey, and Crawford that at least one of these guys didn't deserve a public chewing out over the past couple of years. At the very least he could have gone off on a couple of umpires and gotten himself tossed to fire up the team. The guy has no pulse and the players know it.

Regardless of the moves Theo made or did not make, the fact is that on September 3rd this team had a 9 game lead and the manager decided to sit on it instead of getting close to clinching before backing off. The team went from playing .600 ball to .200 ball. No amount of injuries alone can cause that. Managerial moves are responsible too. How do you think the team felt when Francona put Wakefield's 200th win ahead of the team's playoff chances? How many times has he left a starter in who had lost it? I think Francona has lost his team, and when they end up choking this lead away he needs to be fired. Managers have a shelf life and his is up.

Tampa and Anaheim haven't made the race fun - the Sox have choked away a sure thing.

He's certainly to blame in a lot of it. The team had a mental breakdown and is turning on eachother ( most recently Wakamatsu/ Seattle '10 ).

I personally put more of the pitching injuries, at least the severity on Curt Young. See there were so many times when a pitcher should've been pulled early. Bedard ( protect your post-season aquisition ), Dice ( Varitek was saying take him out two fucking innings before they did. He noticed he was hurt ). That's the job of the pitching coach to see that. John Farrel he ain't. OTOH I'm not sure if you can fully put all the injuries on him. Luck just wasn't there this season.

I think they need a scouting over-haul. Alan Baird needs to go. The "picking a diamond in the rough" has been complete suck since '06. Plus it's seems the team has completely gotten away from Theo's philosophy of high OBP guys. Crawford doesn't walk much ( 38/162 BB AVG *this is a new stat I found on Baseballreference.com* I'm playing with it now ), and has a .335 career OBP.

I'm not ready to say it was a bad signing yet. Even though his OPS is a massive .046 over Lugo's bust of 2007, when we needed Crawford more this year. Here's hoping. I think they need a high end situational scouting overhaul. Maybe a voodoo doctor too. The luck just ran out.

Hi Kill-
You just knew Showalter was going to ask his team to give 150%
vs the sux this week.
I was surprised to learn about the sux loss last night.
Mark Reynolds normally strikes out a lot, but the kid hit 2 more homers
vs Beckett-Why didn't Beckett drill the guy in the back like he usually does vs Yankees???

Tampa is fired up right now. They're hungry, gotta give em' that. As for Beckett he doesn't hit everyone who hits off of him. If there's bad blood, or if they try to show him up ( ie. a fucking curtain call for every play the MFY make, God I hate that fucking team ) he throws at him. All pitchers do. Also a lot of MFY's get hit ( Jeter ) because they hover over the plate ( same with Youkilis ).

I also love how Jeter doesn't exactly admit his "clutch" homerun was a blown call that would've been an out. It was more like "well maybe if the situations were different, it might not have been as big of a homerun". Way to state the truth, Captain.

Angels still alive in the wild card race. It's gettin' interesting...

The biggest question for the upcoming Playoffs to me is, do any of you think that Detroit can win on the days that Verlander isn't on the mound? The Fister trade is working out pretty well for them. I'm just curious if they're going to be a one-game pony to someone like the MFY ( remember Seattle in '01 after Garcia won game 1 ).

Yeah I have the same question. Fister should do fine and if Scherzer gets in one of his hot streaks then we will be fine. Both him and Porcello give me indigestion with their streakyness.
On a positive note got ALDS tickets in the mail the other day.

Dude, that's awesome. Congrats on your tix.

I hope they can get their pitching staff firing on all cylinders, because they would dominate in the post-season. I would love to see them take the AL. Aaaannnnddddd I would love to see Verlander take on Halladay or Lee. Fuck that would be good.

Unfortunatley for Detroit fans it probably wouldn't, since no one is stopping Philly.

[TawnyVonJagger]

Soooooo Leo Nunez is not Leo Nunez, but Juan Carlos Oviedo. And he's 29, not 28. The Marlins put him on the Restricted list, and he's in the Dominican Republic dealing with this...identity crisis.

Just another day in the Marlins organization. What a fucked up year.

[Atomicpunk18]

I don't want to interrupt the NeverEndingRedSoxThread so I'll keep it brief. A couple of stat lines from some pitchers you may have heard of:

Roy Halladay: 219.2 IP, 2.34 ERA, 211 K, 30 BB, 1.04 WHIP, 8 CG, 1 SO

Cliff Lee: 210.2, 2.44 ERA, 211 K, 42 BB, 1.03 WHIP, 6 CG, 6 SO

See you in the playoffs.

You also forgot Cole Hamels.

Hamels: 206 IP, 2.80 ERA, 186 K, 41 BB, 0.98 WHIP (leads NL), 3 CG. Not too shabby for a #3 starter.

17 CG from the top 3 starters. Absolutely unreal. There's no way a team is going to be able to get four wins win you have to face these three. Lee is money in the playoffs, Halladay looked pretty "ok" in his first postseason last year and aside from 2009 (his whole year was iffy) Hamels is lights out in the postseason.

And even if you do get a win versus one of them there's still the chance you have to face Roy Oswalt. While he's been subpar this year, he can step it up in the clutch and when he gets in a groove he'll shut a team down.

It's almost unfair to whoever has to face Philly...

[Machado]

Hi Kill-
You just knew Showalter was going to ask his team to give 150%
vs the sux this week.
I was surprised to learn about the sux loss last night.
Mark Reynolds normally strikes out a lot, but the kid hit 2 more homers
vs Beckett-Why didn't Beckett drill the guy in the back like he usually does vs Yankees???

Tampa is fired up right now. They're hungry, gotta give em' that. As for Beckett he doesn't hit everyone who hits off of him. If there's bad blood, or if they try to show him up ( ie. a fucking curtain call for every play the MFY make, God I hate that fucking team ) he throws at him. All pitchers do. Also a lot of MFY's get hit ( Jeter ) because they hover over the plate ( same with Youkilis ).

I also love how Jeter doesn't exactly admit his "clutch" homerun was a blown call that would've been an out. It was more like "well maybe if the situations were different, it might not have been as big of a homerun". Way to state the truth, Captain.

The biggest question for the upcoming Playoffs to me is, do any of you think that Detroit can win on the days that Verlander isn't on the mound? The Fister trade is working out pretty well for them. I'm just curious if they're going to be a one-game pony to someone like the MFY ( remember Seattle in '01 after Garcia won game 1 ).
[/quote]

Kill-You don't have to remind me how much HATE you have for the Yankees. I have even more HATE for your Sux!
Remember when that construction worked attempted to bury a Sux jersey at Yankee Stadium about 3 yrs ago?
Could be the curse of the jersey because the sux have done nothing since,
Last night I watched "The Town". Only to see Fenway Pahhhhhhhhhk get robbed by Ben Affleck

[killeverything]

Hi Kill-
You just knew Showalter was going to ask his team to give 150%
vs the sux this week.
I was surprised to learn about the sux loss last night.
Mark Reynolds normally strikes out a lot, but the kid hit 2 more homers
vs Beckett-Why didn't Beckett drill the guy in the back like he usually does vs Yankees???

Tampa is fired up right now. They're hungry, gotta give em' that. As for Beckett he doesn't hit everyone who hits off of him. If there's bad blood, or if they try to show him up ( ie. a fucking curtain call for every play the MFY make, God I hate that fucking team ) he throws at him. All pitchers do. Also a lot of MFY's get hit ( Jeter ) because they hover over the plate ( same with Youkilis ).

I also love how Jeter doesn't exactly admit his "clutch" homerun was a blown call that would've been an out. It was more like "well maybe if the situations were different, it might not have been as big of a homerun". Way to state the truth, Captain.

The biggest question for the upcoming Playoffs to me is, do any of you think that Detroit can win on the days that Verlander isn't on the mound? The Fister trade is working out pretty well for them. I'm just curious if they're going to be a one-game pony to someone like the MFY ( remember Seattle in '01 after Garcia won game 1 ).

Kill-You don't have to remind me how much HATE you have for the Yankees. I have even more HATE for your Sux!
Remember when that construction worked attempted to bury a Sux jersey at Yankee Stadium about 3 yrs ago?
Could be the curse of the jersey because the sux have done nothing since,
Last night I watched "The Town". Only to see Fenway Pahhhhhhhhhk get robbed by Ben Affleck [/quote]



How is that a curse? NY spent HALF A BILLION dollars buying their '09 ring. There was 900 million availible in free-agents, NY spent 450. That's having a massive revenue. Not a curse, mystique, aura.

Henry, Werner and Lucchino got the highest payroll in Baseball history ( prior to NY's audacity ) to "break Boston's curse". That again is having a massive revenue.

[NeverSurrender]

Happy 84th bday, Tommy Lasorda.

[killeverything]

Happy 84th bday, Tommy Lasorda.

Happy B day Lasorda.


The upcoming series between Milwaukee and Arizona is for homefield in the Playoffs. Now Milwaukee has the best home record in MLB ( 53-23 ), where they are pretty unstoppable.

But for both of these teams, whoever loses faces Philly in the first round. Do you want to face the Phillies ( in Philly ) in a 5 game series or 7? Not having to face both Halladay and Lee twice in the same series is ideal, but whoever loses gives up home field.

So that's a catch 22 if I've ever seen one. At what point do you want to face that pitching staff? You're fucked either way.

*edit*

Ya know what? I hope the fucking Red Sox do miss the Post Season. Something needs to happen to fire this team up for next year. Avilles' error ( not charged ) on not making the play at third. Crawford not making that catch, which would've saved five runs and got out Jones on the DP.

Jon Lester not being able to locate his FB, Carl Crawford cracking under pressure, John Lackey.....being alive, etc.

Fire Curt Jones. Fire Alan Baird. Burn Lackey at the stake.

[tin00can]

. Burn Lackey at the stake.

Somebody on an Angels board was suggesting trading Lackey back to the Angels for Wells. That was awesome.

[killeverything]

. Burn Lackey at the stake.

Somebody on an Angels board was suggesting trading Lackey back to the Angels for Wells. That was awesome.

Fuck on the game yesterday one of the Fox polls was would trading Lackey for Burnett benefit NY or Boston more? Both fucking suck, both are owed 82.5m, unfortunatley AJ would be better than Lackey. You know you fucking suck when AJ Burnett is a better option than you.

[SkyDog112046]

Stick a fork in 'em. It's over.

[killeverything]

Milwaukee won it's 55th home game.

Which leads back to my earlier question. Would you wanna face Philly in 5 game series there, or in a 7 game series?

[johnk5150]

Triple. Walk. Walk. Walk. Wild pitch game over.

Your 2011 Cubs in a nutshell!

[Tenacious_Dio]

My stepson is a Bosox fan, and I pull for the Braves. It's like gagging dueling banjos.

[Machado]

Milwaukee won it's 55th home game.

Which leads back to my earlier question. Would you wanna face Philly in 5 game series there, or in a 7 game series?

Great question. I would probably lean towards facing Philly in a 7 game.

[killeverything]

Milwaukee won it's 55th home game.

Which leads back to my earlier question. Would you wanna face Philly in 5 game series there, or in a 7 game series?

Great question. I would probably lean towards facing Philly in a 7 game.

It's the ultimate catch-22. Milwaukee's record at home is awesome, so in a 7 game they'd have more oppurtunities to play there.

There's that one problem though ( well two ), They would have to face Halladay and/or Lee more than once.

[Machado]

Kill-
Did you send flowers to Scott Proctor already?
He alone might have saved your sux this season.

I just knew as soon as he entered the game, there was no chance he could
throw a scoreless inning. Impossible. Proctor came through like a champ.

Your team goes to Baltimore beginning tonight for a 3 gamer.

Yankees flew all night to Tampa for a series that means so little, Hector Noesi is getting the start tonight
He took the place of Hughes.
Last night the Yankees announced Hughes would be pitching out of the pen for the final 3 games and in the post-season!!!

[killeverything]

Kill-
Did you send flowers to Scott Proctor already?
He alone might have saved your sux this season.

I just knew as soon as he entered the game, there was no chance he could
throw a scoreless inning. Impossible. Proctor came through like a champ.

Your team goes to Baltimore beginning tonight for a 3 gamer.

Yankees flew all night to Tampa for a series that means so little, Hector Noesi is getting the start tonight
He took the place of Hughes.
Last night the Yankees announced Hughes would be pitching out of the pen for the final 3 games and in the post-season!!!

Nah. Proctor's work load in 2006-07 pretty much killed him. That Joe Torre pitch him till his arm falls off mentality.

Personally I want Boston to miss the Playoffs. Heads need to roll in the organization, and doing the Yankee mystique and aura routine, and trying to buy Championships then failing misrably. Someone needs to be fired.

The scouting has sicked since 2006. Alan Baird I'm talking to you. Then we have JohnfuckingLackey till 2014? Yeah. The "Boy Wonder" GM is starting to rub me the wrong way. If he didn't have Henry's billions, some of the signings would've sank the organization. Think Oakland ( yeah, I know the contract they gave Chavez ) and how they could've handled Rent-a-wreck, Lackey, I'm not ready to say the Crawford signing was a mistake yet, but if it was? Damn, etc.

The organization has gotten away from what made it successful in the first place. High OBP players and a 100m dollar player development machine. This feels like 2006 all over again.

[David_Lee_Halen]

The Sox better win their last 3 games to ensure their postseason. The Yanks have no need to win these last 3 games against Tampa, and Tampa wants it bad.

[Machado]

The Sox better win their last 3 games to ensure their postseason. The Yanks have no need to win these last 3 games against Tampa, and Tampa wants it bad.

I'm in a dilemma.

As a Yankee fan, do I want a "red hot" rays team to make the post-season or do I prefer to have the sux limp into the post-season?
Tough choice.
Sux are a bitter rival and facing them in the ALCS won't be easy.
Will it be any easier to face the rangers/tigers/rays/angels in the ALCS?
Unsure about that as well.

Part of me wants the sux to make the post-season because they are dangerous enough to win the ALDS and then be very exhausted and perhaps a good match-up vs the Yankees in the ALCS

[David_Lee_Halen]

The Sox better win their last 3 games to ensure their postseason. The Yanks have no need to win these last 3 games against Tampa, and Tampa wants it bad.

I'm in a dilemma.

As a Yankee fan, do I want a "red hot" rays team to make the post-season or do I prefer to have the sux limp into the post-season?
Tough choice.
Sux are a bitter rival and facing them in the ALCS won't be easy.
Will it be any easier to face the rangers/tigers/rays/angels in the ALCS?
Unsure about that as well.

Part of me wants the sux to make the post-season because they are dangerous enough to win the ALDS and then be very exhausted and perhaps a good match-up vs the Yankees in the ALCS

I would love to see a 2004 repeat with the Yankees. That was better than any World Series in recent memory.

[SkyDog112046]

So not only is John Lackey a shitty pitcher, but he's a shitty human being as well. He's divorcing his wife in he middle of cancer treatments. I know there's a pre-nup involved but I hope she takes him to the cleaners.

[David_Lee_Halen]

So not only is John Lackey a shitty pitcher, but he's a shitty human being as well. He's divorcing his wife in he middle of cancer treatments. I know there's a pre-nup involved but I hope she takes him to the cleaners.

If this is true, that is pretty shitty. His wife's pretty hot too. Boy was he pissed last night when Francona took him off the mound.

[SullyHernia]

John Lackey has always came off like a total tool...I hated that guy when he was in L.A. too. Now it's cemented, I'm glad he's melted down this season for Boston, my least favorite baseball player, fuck that guy.

Don't sleep on Arizona's pitching staff in the playoffs either...Rotation of Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, and Joe Saunders is pretty damn strong...they "just" need to hit (will need Upton, Roberts, Goldschmidt, Young, and Montero to have a big series if they wanna advance). Trades from the last few years have really worked out for the D-Backs. (minus Marquis)

[Machado]

Don't sleep on Arizona's pitching staff in the playoffs either...Rotation of Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, and Joe Saunders is pretty damn strong...they "just" need to hit (will need Upton, Roberts, Goldschmidt, Young, and Montero to have a big series if they wanna advance). Trades from the last few years have really worked out for the D-Backs. (minus Marquis)

That staff is perfect for the NL.
I hope they reach the WS so I can see their demise.
No chance that pitching can match up well vs A.L. hitting teams.

[killeverything]

The Sox better win their last 3 games to ensure their postseason. The Yanks have no need to win these last 3 games against Tampa, and Tampa wants it bad.

I'm in a dilemma.

As a Yankee fan, do I want a "red hot" rays team to make the post-season or do I prefer to have the sux limp into the post-season?
Tough choice.
Sux are a bitter rival and facing them in the ALCS won't be easy.
Will it be any easier to face the rangers/tigers/rays/angels in the ALCS?
Unsure about that as well.

Part of me wants the sux to make the post-season because they are dangerous enough to win the ALDS and then be very exhausted and perhaps a good match-up vs the Yankees in the ALCS

The MFY have Sabbathia........

There is no way in hell they make it past Verlander, Porcello, Fister.

I think Detroit will win the AL.