2012 MLB Thread (Cabrera Gets Triple Crown, first since Yaz 1967)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Other than the Dave Roberts stolen base, has there really ever been a "major" stolen base in postseason history?

Well there's this little tidbit (sorta)
Appearing as a pinch-runner for Joe Rudi in game two of the 1974 World Series, Herb Washington was picked off first base in a crucial ninth-inning situation by Dodgers' reliever Mike Marshall.

Then again, there probably aren't that many "major" outs recorded or clutch hits by the 25th guy on the roster either

Francisco Cabrera had only 11 regular season plate appearances for the 1992 Atlanta Braves.

[Logan]

Andres Torres was a single short of a cycle today.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Vin Scully, lip-reading and "translating" a Jim Tracy ejection. Just awesome. Snip.it | Collect Your Web

Gotta love Vin Scully. There will never be another like him.

SI

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I'm still stunned and at a loss with regard to Ryan Vogelsong. I think the only plausible answer is that Dave Righetti is actually a wizard.

He looked great.

[Ksyrup]

Mike Trout is so good he drives in 2 runs on a SF.

[kingfc22]

Stay hot Buster Posey.

[cougarfreak]

Whew.........Reds with a nice comeback today. Thanks to Dale Sveum for taking out Travis Wood, appreciate it.

[Sun Tzu]

Hunter.

Pence.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Mike Trout is so good he drives in 2 runs on a SF.

Too bad he's not enough to win us more games, because it seems like, outside of maybe Jered Weaver, there isn't another player on the team that has sacked up and come to play this month.

3-8 in August so far, with the division title just a mere slip of a dream of a possibility and rapidly losing ground in the wildcard chase.

[Easy Mac]

The Braves know they're allowed to win on days the Nationals lose, right?

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Too bad he's not enough to win us more games, because it seems like, outside of maybe Jered Weaver, there isn't another player on the team that has sacked up and come to play this month.

3-8 in August so far, with the division title just a mere slip of a dream of a possibility and rapidly losing ground in the wildcard chase.

Trumbo needs to find his bat again and Wells need to come up with a minor injury so Scoscia doesnt feel the need to play him. I still think they are the team to beat should they make the playoffs.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

The Braves know they're allowed to win on days the Nationals lose, right?

No they're not.

[Ksyrup]

I watched the 9th inning of the Braves/Mets game last night. Speaking of Little League... that was painful to watch.

[stevew]

Glad to see the Pirates scrape 1 of 3 from the lowly padres. Looked like we were going to get swept.

[stevew]

How did this never make it up around here. Freakin Hilarious.

The Three Birthday Cakes Of Roberto Fausto Carmona Hernandez | Getting Blanked | Blogs | theScore.com

t was no laughing matter when the Cleveland Indians pitcher that we knew as Fausto Carmona was caught earlier this year on identity theft charges in the Dominican Republic. It turns out that the 28 year old Carmona was actually 31 year old Roberto Hernandez.
Following his arrest, confession, suspension and the restructuring of a contract that cost the pitcher millions of dollars, Hernandez made his return to the Indians club house on Sunday. His teammates turned what might have otherwise been an awkward moment into a humorous one by welcoming him with three birthday cakes. One was for 29 year old Fausto, another for 30 year old Fausto, and finally one for 31 year old Roberto.
While presumably grateful for their lighthearted take on the serious issue, Hernandez made a point of apologizing to his teammates.

[Suicane75]

How are those cakes supposed to feed 25 pro athletes? Good thing Todd Coffey isn't on the Indians.

[sterlingice]

The "Fausto Carmona" cakes thing is awesome

SI

[SirFozzie]

sad news for Red Sox fans today as Johnny Pesky long time Red Sox player and associate of the team passed away. Will be greatly missed

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

sad news for Red Sox fans today as Johnny Pesky long time Red Sox player and associate of the team passed away. Will be greatly missed

Oh no!

[SirFozzie]

yeah, the last 18 months have seen so many people I thought would live forever pass

[cuervo72]

Dang, Nats!

[molson]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

sad news for Red Sox fans today as Johnny Pesky long time Red Sox player and associate of the team passed away. Will be greatly missed

I loved how he showed up for everything, from truck day to the World Series wins. The players on the 2000s teams especially, he seemed to bond with. They all looked like they were tending to their grandfather when they were around him. Man, there's not a lot of players left from the 1940s who spent their prime years fighting in WWII.

I saw the Yankees did a moment of silence for him tonight, that was pretty cool.

[SirFozzie]

Agreed. The Yankees earned props. What is the world coming to that I can't even hate the Yankees anymore?

[jbergey22]

Vogelson's streak of 22 games of pitching 6+ innings comes to an end with a lot of help from the defense. Hard to believe all of them runs were earned.

Must have been part of the Baseball Prospectus jinx since they just did an article on his incredible streak yesterday.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

How did this never make it up around here. Freakin Hilarious.

The Three Birthday Cakes Of Roberto Fausto Carmona Hernandez | Getting Blanked | Blogs | theScore.com

Haha! Clever.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Vogelson's streak of 22 games of pitching 6+ innings comes to an end with a lot of help from the defense. Hard to believe all of them runs were earned.

Must have been part of the Baseball Prospectus jinx since they just did an article on his incredible streak yesterday.

I guess the Nats didn't like people claiming Vogelson is better than Zimmermann (who until 2 starts ago hadn't had a single start this year under 6+ innings). Zimmermann will get a chance to prove it again tonight!

[molson]

More excitement in what has been a exceedingly bad/entertaining Red Sox season:

Report: Red Sox players take Valentine gripes to ownership - The Buzz - Boston.com sports news

I still have to lean towards the Red Sox players just being a bunch of crybabies who shit the bed last September, ran their manager out of town, and are now crying about the consequences of that, but, you'd think Gonzalez and Pedroia are actually two of the more respectable guys on a team full of losers. I'd be surprised if the owners want to be perceived as making a mistake and dumping Valentine so soon, so this should lead to some more good 'ole fashion bitch-ball in the weeks to come.

[ISiddiqui]

Talk about the ultimate "be careful what you wish for".

[JPhillips]

If they can't play for Francona or Valentine it's time to break them up. I can't believe they were bitching to ownership after less than five months of playing for Valentine.

[kingfc22]

Bumgarner has been on tonight. Glad to see the Giants bounce back after last night's train wreck.

[Butter]

Pirates threatening to play themselves out of a Wild Card spot.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

If they can't play for Francona or Valentine it's time to break them up. I can't believe they were bitching to ownership after less than five months of playing for Valentine.

According to one of the guys on Baseball Tonight, before Valentine was hired he claims Red Sox players were texting him about being sick to their stomach that he's being considered and not wanting to play for him.

I don't know if Valentine is the right guy or not, but I think the owners know they needed someone 180 degrees from Francona and are unwilling to give in. This is like kids rebeling after you've finally laid down the law and stopped allowing them to walk all over you. I just don't know if hardass/asshole was the right type of guy to bring in.

[spleen1015]

The players have to have other reasons for not liking the guy other than him being a hardass/asshole.

There hasn't been anyone who thought the hire was a good idea, except the owners from the very beginning.

[JPhillips]

I'm not defending Valentine, but the players obviously didn't give him a fair chance. After last year that's a clear sign this group of players isn't going to work. They should look to clear out a few more high profile guys even if it means a short term setback. Dragging this out for another two or three years would be a disaster.

[CraigSca]

If you read the original Yahoo article, it's pretty eye-opening. From Valentine sarcastically chiding Middleton between innings after making an error, and, of course, the pic of Pedroia making fun of Valentine while he's sleeping in the clubhouse. Crazy stuff.

[Ksyrup]

Exactly. It's like they listened to the media talk about what a shithead he was and gave up before they gave him a chance. Now, it certainly looks like he's lived down to everyone's expectations, but that still doesn't mean you shouldn't be a professional and quit whining to the owners. I'd hate to be Cherrington right now. He's got so little influence/leverage in that organization that he might as well not be employed.

[PilotMan]

I hope if the Nats shut Stausberg down that they miss the playoffs as well. I wonder if they make the playoffs and he hits his magic 160 prior to that if they will bench him for the whole thing?

[Ksyrup]

They said they would because he'd still have to throw during the interim, so if they shut him down he's done until next year.

[Big Fo]

I was up in New York for about a week and saw the Saturday night game where the Braves beat the Mets 9-2 and I really like Citi Field. It's a nice looking ballpark inside and out and the food/beer selection is a lot better than I'm used to at sporting events. I had a lot of fun but Atlanta taking a 9-0 lead after two innings sort of killed the interest my friends (both rooting for NY) had in the actual game. Of course I didn't mind. Freddy Freeman hit one of the longest homers I've seen in person, way over the center field wall. It was only the fifth MLB stadium I've been to but perhaps the best, especially if you don't factor history into it.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by molson

More excitement in what has been a exceedingly bad/entertaining Red Sox season:

Report: Red Sox players take Valentine gripes to ownership - The Buzz - Boston.com sports news

I still have to lean towards the Red Sox players just being a bunch of crybabies who shit the bed last September, ran their manager out of town, and are now crying about the consequences of that, but, you'd think Gonzalez and Pedroia are actually two of the more respectable guys on a team full of losers. I'd be surprised if the owners want to be perceived as making a mistake and dumping Valentine so soon, so this should lead to some more good 'ole fashion bitch-ball in the weeks to come.

I'm so glad I didn't waste any time on this team this year. What a fucking laughable trainwreck.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I hope if the Nats shut Stausberg down that they miss the playoffs as well. I wonder if they make the playoffs and he hits his magic 160 prior to that if they will bench him for the whole thing?

Why do you hope that? You think the team should risk the health of their young pitcher for the sake of one year?

Also, the 160 inning number is a fabrication of the media. Stephen Strasburg’s innings limit: A refresher - Nationals Journal - The Washington Post has good information on the actual situation with shutting down Strasburg so that you can hopefully actually know what the situation is.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by molson

More excitement in what has been a exceedingly bad/entertaining Red Sox season:

Report: Red Sox players take Valentine gripes to ownership - The Buzz - Boston.com sports news

I still have to lean towards the Red Sox players just being a bunch of crybabies who shit the bed last September, ran their manager out of town, and are now crying about the consequences of that, but, you'd think Gonzalez and Pedroia are actually two of the more respectable guys on a team full of losers. I'd be surprised if the owners want to be perceived as making a mistake and dumping Valentine so soon, so this should lead to some more good 'ole fashion bitch-ball in the weeks to come.

Yeah, the team needs to show better leadership obviously. Valentine is an idiot which I think many of us agree on but not liking the manager is no excuse to act like they are this year. They are suppose to be professionals yet act like a bunch of junior high kids.

If you dont like the manager it should give them a reason to go out there and win despite him. They are just making themselves look like a bunch of clowns right now.

As far as the complaint about leaving Lester in to take that beating I see nothing wrong with it. Lester is a professional athlete and is being paid to be one. Perhaps Valentine wanted to save the pen instead of ruining it for the next 2-3 days and probably wanted Lester to try to work out some of his issues by actually pitching. That is just lame to pick that out as a reason to come to ownership.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Why do you hope that? You think the team should risk the health of their young pitcher for the sake of one year?

Also, the 160 inning number is a fabrication of the media. Stephen Strasburg’s innings limit: A refresher - Nationals Journal - The Washington Post has good information on the actual situation with shutting down Strasburg so that you can hopefully actually know what the situation is.

How would you explain to the fan base that you sat down the best player on your team, costing your team a real chance at making the series, on a hunch that it might save him innings in the future although there is no real evidence to back this up.

The kid is young, you have a legit chance to win it all. You go for it. Period.

[rowech]

The Red Sox are getting what they earned. They screwed Francona over by taking advantage of him and now they get to deal with Valentine. They brought it on themselves.

[Chief Rum]

Yup, lordscarlet, you can never count on playoffs every year, not if you're not the Yankees. So when your team has a chance to do it and to maybe do something, you don't take it for granted that you'll be back some other year and follow through with your inning plan. You give your team its best shot in a given year to win it all.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Yeah, the team needs to show better leadership obviously. Valentine is an idiot which I think many of us agree on but not liking the manager is no excuse to act like they are this year. They are suppose to be professionals yet act like a bunch of junior high kids.

If you dont like the manager it should give them a reason to go out there and win despite him. They are just making themselves look like a bunch of clowns right now.

As far as the complaint about leaving Lester in to take that beating I see nothing wrong with it. Lester is a professional athlete and is being paid to be one. Perhaps Valentine wanted to save the pen instead of ruining it for the next 2-3 days and probably wanted Lester to try to work out some of his issues by actually pitching. That is just lame to pick that out as a reason to come to ownership.

Vin Mazzaro laughs at Jon Lester

SI

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Why do you hope that? You think the team should risk the health of their young pitcher for the sake of one year?

Also, the 160 inning number is a fabrication of the media. Stephen Strasburg’s innings limit: A refresher - Nationals Journal - The Washington Post has good information on the actual situation with shutting down Strasburg so that you can hopefully actually know what the situation is.

What they appear to be doing though is burning a useful year of their young pitcher. There's no guarantee that he will even be with the Nats past what, 2015? They're potentially burning 1/4 of his Nats playoff window (yes, they MAY re-sign him, but there's no guarantee). And while the team is young and looks to have a bright future, you never know what will happen. They may not make it back to the playoffs all (or any) of the next three seasons. They may be a completely different team at the end of his contract. You just don't know. But, you DO know that they have a shot now.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Yup, lordscarlet, you can never count on playoffs every year, not if you're not the Yankees. So when your team has a chance to do it and to maybe do something, you don't take it for granted that you'll be back some other year and follow through with your inning plan. You give your team its best shot in a given year to win it all.

It's just not that simple. If you're the Cubs, did you handle Kerry Wood right by riding him into the ground in 1998 and 2003, their 2 playoff years between 1990 and 2005? Could his career and the team performance have been better if he was eased up on those seasons, possibly letting the playoffs slip away?

SI

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

It's just not that simple. If you're the Cubs, did you handle Kerry Wood right by riding him into the ground in 1998 and 2003, their 2 playoff years between 1990 and 2005? Could his career and the team performance have been better if he was eased up on those seasons, possibly letting the playoffs slip away?

SI

Seriously. They know the asset they have - is it worth ruining his career for it? The Nats have all the reasons in the world to use him; if they aren't, there must be significant medical advice suggesting they should not.

[cuervo72]

211.0 IP - at 26 - is hardly riding a guy into the ground.