The 2010 MLB Season Thread

[Comey]

If Casilla grooves one here, Rollins will be all over it. This is a groove situation.

[kingfc22]

I'm going to jump through my TV and choke Joe Fuck out the next time he mentions the Eagles game.

Nobody gives a fuck. This is the NLCS not a midseason NFL game.

[Comey]

GROOVED

[Dr. Sak]

Welcome back JRol!!!!

[Vince, Pt. II]

Yeah, that sucked.

[RedKingGold]

And Rollins says "slump this."

[Comey]

All I could think about, in this spot, was when I went back to PA in July...JRoll had just come off the DL, and took a 1-0 Kerry Wood fastball, at 96 MPH, for his first walk-off homer of his career.

This played out almost exactly like that spot.

[Dr. Sak]

Casilla was just the fat chick that Rollins needed!

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Casilla was just the fat chick that Rollins needed!

Three-way with Sandoval?

[kingfc22]

Somebody please tell this retard in the booth he is doing a baseball playoff game.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Wow, Torres.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Somebody please tell this retard in the booth he is doing a baseball playoff game.

Which retard in the booth are you referring to??

[kingfc22]

Torres - WTF man.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Which retard in the booth are you referring to??

[EagleFan]

Who was the announcer from the first round that gave us the brilliant analysis about the batter who had 2 lifetime homeruns when batting with the bases loaded..... and both were grand slams...?

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Who was the announcer from the first round that gave us the brilliant analysis about the batter who had 2 lifetime homeruns when batting with the bases loaded..... and both were grand slams...?

Dick Stockton

[EagleFan]

But one of my favorite examples of announcers not knowing what they were talking about was Joe Morgan a couple years back in a game between the Phillies and Braves. He kept talking about how they Braves needed to keep an eye on that runner at first and how they weren;t doing a good enough job. "They can't afford to let him get a lead, he'll steal second easily with his speed."

That runner....

Pat Burrell

[Dr. Sak]

Maybe he was talking about Burrell being fast with the ladies.

[EagleFan]

Nice catch!

[RedKingGold]

Cue Crapshoot coming in here and telling me how bad Ibanez is on defense.

[EagleFan]

lol

Oswalt on scoring the run:

"When I saw the stop sign I was already halfway there... I thought too late now."

[RedKingGold]

[cartman]

Rangers give Cliff Lee two runs to work with in the top of the 1st.

[cartman]

Dola,

The Rangers game on Saturday was by far the best atmosphere at a baseball game I've ever been to.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Man, this Cliff Lee fellow is quite good.

[Senator]

No jinx

[Vince, Pt. II]

Apologies, I'll shut it.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Well that was weak. What is that, like the 6th broken bat already this game?

[SackAttack]

Hamilton just missed that.

[TroyF]

I bash umps and refs all the time, so let me give some credit where it is due. I think the home plate ump is having the single best game I've seen a balls/strikes umpire this post season. He's been consistent with both pitchers all night and he's almost dead on with the pitch trax zone.

The first base umpire has also been flawless. A ton of close plays at first and he's got every one dead on. I was sure he missed the Gardner slide until the replay showed he never touched the base. That's an amazing call in a big time situation.

Props to both of them.

Cliff Lee is freakin unbelievable. The announcers are talking about Lee going out in the ninth. I just don't see how you can do it. He's going to be around 130 by the time this inning is over.

As i typed that, the umpire again had a perfect call on the corner. This may be the best home plate umped game I have ever seen.

[Crapshoot]

Cliff Lee is just a remarkable, remarkable pitcher. Seriously.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Cue Crapshoot coming in here and telling me how bad Ibanez is on defense.

He is. The fact that you choose to live in fairy-make believe land doesn't change that.

[SackAttack]

I guess the dropped-third strike rule is interpreted based on where the runners began the pitch, which is why the batter couldn't take first despite the runner on first going with the pitch.

[TroyF]

Lee wasn't coming out to pitch anyway, but now they don't need to worry about it.

If the Yankees were to come back now, I think my HD TV would be in serious trouble. Time to pop in NCAA11 and see how my Oregon Ducks can do against ASU.

[Crapshoot]

Its amazing - if not for one inning, the Rangers might be up 3-0. That's not the whitewash everyone predicted eh?

[cartman]

I am going to name my firstborn Cliff Lee. Even if it is a girl.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I guess the dropped-third strike rule is interpreted based on where the runners began the pitch, which is why the batter couldn't take first despite the runner on first going with the pitch.

I am under the belief that you make sure everyone on your team knows every aspect of that rule. To go along with that, the batter should run on EVERY dropped third strike. Hopefully the catcher throws to first out of instinctive reaction and throws it away. The key is that everyone on your team knows the situation so the runners don't do anything stupid but wait for a possible bad throw.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by cartman

I am going to name my firstborn Cliff Lee. Even if it is a girl.

How are you going to explain to her why she plays for the Yankees?

[Senator]

2 more

[Crapshoot]

Good luck guys. I never thought I would ever see Bengie Molina "running" the bases again. Rooting for a Rangers-Giants WS.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Cliff Lee is just a remarkable, remarkable pitcher. Seriously.

This. His playoff record is just insane right now.

[MikeVic]

I know there's arguments or proof or whatever that clutch doesn't exist, but I guess I've never been in that camp. I think some people can elevate during certain circumstances, and Cliff Lee is showing a good example of that. Same with Mariano Rivera too I guess. They're normally great pitchers, but come on.

[LloydLungs]

So I guess the Yankees either have to win three in a row, or beat Cliff Lee in game 7. Daunting task either way, and yet, the game 1 Rangers make me think it's entirely possible.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

I am under the belief that you make sure everyone on your team knows every aspect of that rule. To go along with that, the batter should run on EVERY dropped third strike. Hopefully the catcher throws to first out of instinctive reaction and throws it away. The key is that everyone on your team knows the situation so the runners don't do anything stupid but wait for a possible bad throw.

Oh, sure.

I'm just saying I hadn't been aware of that interpretation, and even Rule 6.09 doesn't explicitly make mention of how the umpire is to determine the occupation of a base when the runner is in motion.

So I would have to think there's something in Rule 7 that covers that exigency. I'm examining the rule now, but so far, I don't see anything.

I would think the interpretation would be that the runner, having broken for second, has abandoned his legal claim to first base, and that the batter-runner would be entitled to attempt to take first on the dropped third strike. That clearly isn't how it was enforced tonight, so there's got to be something in the rulebook that backs up that enforcement.

So far, I'm not seeing anything.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by LloydLungs

So I guess the Yankees either have to win three in a row, or beat Cliff Lee in game 7. Daunting task either way, and yet, the game 1 Rangers make me think it's entirely possible.

It's the Yankees, anything is possible. I was thinking about the same thing you were though. They now have to win three in a row OR face Cliff Lee in game 7.

And while you think the game Rangers think anything is possible, I kind of lean the other way. Outside of one inning, the Rangers have simply destroyed the Yankees in every area.

Outside of the one inning, the score of the three games is 21-3. I know, I know, what ifs don't mean anything. I understand that and the Yankees could easily win three in a row and end this series. But to do it, they need to completely change what's happened in the first three games. As of now, I think it's more likely the Rangers win this series before it ever gets back to Cliff Lee.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

I am under the belief that you make sure everyone on your team knows every aspect of that rule. To go along with that, the batter should run on EVERY dropped third strike. Hopefully the catcher throws to first out of instinctive reaction and throws it away. The key is that everyone on your team knows the situation so the runners don't do anything stupid but wait for a possible bad throw.

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Oh, sure.

I'm just saying I hadn't been aware of that interpretation, and even Rule 6.09 doesn't explicitly make mention of how the umpire is to determine the occupation of a base when the runner is in motion.

So I would have to think there's something in Rule 7 that covers that exigency. I'm examining the rule now, but so far, I don't see anything.

I would think the interpretation would be that the runner, having broken for second, has abandoned his legal claim to first base, and that the batter-runner would be entitled to attempt to take first on the dropped third strike. That clearly isn't how it was enforced tonight, so there's got to be something in the rulebook that backs up that enforcement.

So far, I'm not seeing anything.

6.05(c) says the batter-runner is out on a dropped third strike when first base is occupied and there are less than two out.

7.05(i) says "If the batter becomes a runner on a wild pitch which entitles the runners to advance one base, the batter-runner shall be entitled to first base only."

I'd have to see how the pitch happened again, I guess. If the catcher dropped it and booted it, 6.05(c) applies, because it's not a wild pitch.

If the batter swung and missed at the pitch for strike 3, but it went wild, the runner on first would be, by rule 7.05(i), no longer occupying first base, and the batter should have had the opportunity to attempt to take first.

That's the only thing I can find in rules 6 and 7 that would seem to make any effort at determining the base occupation status of the runner on first in that situation.

[Ksyrup]

I was a little confused on the dropped third strike thing, but on another play in the game. There was a runner on first, 2 outs, and a strike 3 in the dirt. Batter could/should have tried to run to first, but didn't, and wasn't tagged, and the inning ended without any sort of play. I know from coaching softball that with 2 outs, the runner on first rule doesn't apply and the batter is not automatically out even with first occupied. I assume the batter just decided not to try fo first and everyone walked off the field? Odd.

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by TroyF

And while you think the game Rangers think anything is possible, I kind of lean the other way. Outside of one inning, the Rangers have simply destroyed the Yankees in every area.

True -- though that one inning contained a heavy dose of the Darrens and the other jokers in that bullpen, so I wouldn't necessarily regard it as fluky. I'm sure that they did a great job getting Oakland guys out in mid-June or whatever, but if I'm Ron Washington and I'm relying on these guys to get big 7th/8th inning outs against the Yankees in October, I'm shitting myself.

As bad as it's going for the Yanks right now, even if Burnett sucks again tonight and they have to win 12-11, finding some way to win the game where they had to start Burnett will turn the momentum of the series, I think. Because of the game 1 debacle there's no way I'm going to be able to believe in the Rangers until they secure out #27 of win #4. And I might even hold off for a couple minutes after that just to be absolutely sure.

[Ksyrup]

As much as I want the Rangers to win, I have absolutely no confidence they will win the series. The game 1 loss is the kind you look back on and shake your head thinking "if only..." while sitting on the couch watching someone else play in the WS.

That said... FUCK THE YANKEES.

[TroyF]

Just for kicks, some jbergey quotes after the Cliff Lee trade:

First take on the trade:

They dont have a legit chance of making the World Series IMO. Their pitching will still be the worst among AL playoff teams.

This is probably why the Twins and their small market have been able to stay successful for a very long time. They dont give up their key prospects for 2 month rentals.

The Rangers have one of the most talented minor leagues in baseball right now so Im sure they would have had other chances to make the playoffs.

Id be pissed if I was a Rangers fan. Most pitchers that go to Texas just suck anyway as its not much different than the old coors field there.

Yep, Rangers fans are PISSED off about this deal. Really, really pissed off.

in response to me saying the playoffs are a crapshoot:

First of all this move guarantees nothings. The White Sox are always throwing shit against the fan around this time of year and it hardly ever works out for them.

Secondly we obviously have different opinions on this as I am a Twins fan and they dont waste their talent on this type of stuff. Other teams may feel a 2 month rental on a good pitcher is worth one of the top prospects in baseball while I think it is just not very smart. I am very glad the Twins opted to not give up Ramos and Hicks for Lee.

If the playoffs started today the Rangers odds of winning the World Series would probably be around 30-1. So basically they gave up one of the top prospects for a 1 and 30 chance of winning the World Series. With that said the Rangers do have a decent sized payroll budget so this is a mistake they can likely live with.

ummmmm. . ok Wish I ould have had those 30-1 odds now.

In response to Logan:

Talking out my ass? Why dont you decide this when the Rangers get beat out in the 1st round and Smoak is a 5 time all star

Well, they got out of the first round. Because of Cliff Lee. Smoak doesn't look like a five time all star to me.

Another comment:

This is why I hate trades like this. If the Rangers dont win the World Series they gave up a big part of their future for nothing. Im sure the Sox thought Peavy would be the key into getting them into the playoffs and possibly a World Series and now all they have is a hurt pitcher and missing a big part of their future.

The Rangers lose Lee this offseason they get two more first round picks with a farm system that is already deep as hell. I think they may just be ok after this no matter what.

Lastly:

Lee pitching in a pitchers park and now going to a hitters park. Lee is also a flyball pitcher which isnt a great thing for Texas either.

I guess we will have to pull up this part of the thread next year at this time

We don't need to wait next year or even the offseason. This deal is already a great one for the Rangers. He got them out of round one and gave them a lead over the vaunted Yankees in a critical game three. Even were they to lose this series, they can look in the mirror and know they gave themselves every chance they could to go as deep into the playoffs as possible.

The Twins are my second favorite team in baseball. They chose to avoid the "rental" and were swept out once again by the Yankees.

FWIW: I think the Rangers have a chance of keeping Lee. He seems to like the clubhouse, they have their ownership situation straightened out and I could see him taking a little less to stay in a good situation.

Maybe that's just me praying he doesn't go to the evil empire, but I don't think it's a done deal.