The official 2008 MLB thread

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

in all fairness - maybe this starts to explain his suckitude this year?

It doesn't explain why he sucked last year as well.

[JS19]

Somebody please explain to me why Aaron Heilman is still on a major league roster?

[Logan]

Come on, he always looks so intense, he can't possibly just be pissed off that he's not a starter.

[Lathum]

I turned the game off as soon as he came in. I have better things to do.

[Logan]

Piazza has officially retired.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3405188

It was nice to read what he said about his time with the Mets. The guy absolutely turned around the franchise and was always a great guy to root for. Very thankful I had the chance to root for him on my favorite team.

[MikeVic]

Boo, sign with the Jays.

[samifan24]

Anyone else getting those ridiculous Yahoo Music ads on MLB.tv tonight? These things are on EVERY INNING BREAK, TWICE A BREAK. It is ridiculous. Please, please tell me some of you have suffered as I have.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Boo, sign with the Jays.

If you're looking for a DH, there's one with an OPS over 1.000 last year available...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Ryan Church just got TKO'ed by Yuniel Escobar on a game ending DP.

Church tried to break up the double play, Escobar tried to go over the top to avoid him, whistled the throw about a half inch from the brim of Church's helmet but Escobar's right knee caught him just off the temple & out went the lights.

Escobar was helped off with a limp, Church was revived with an ammonia cap & was helped off as well. Odd way to end a ballgame.

[Ksyrup]

Fucking hell, DTV/MLB...the Oakland/TB game isn't being broadcast at all?

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Fucking hell, DTV/MLB...the Oakland/TB game isn't being broadcast at all?

I'm getting it in the bay area on one of the local affiliates.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Logan

Piazza has officially retired.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3405188

It was nice to read what he said about his time with the Mets. The guy absolutely turned around the franchise and was always a great guy to root for. Very thankful I had the chance to root for him on my favorite team.

I would imagine he's a third ballot HOF player?

[Logan]

You're a funny one.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I would imagine he's a third ballot HOF player?

thats a joke, right?

[Cringer]

4th ballot?

[Lathum]

So Church goes down now.

I swear to god the MEts are killing me, everytime it looks like they may have some momentum they shit the bed.

Earlier in the year they take 2/3 from a red hot DBacks team then drop 2 /3 to LA.

Now they take 2 from the yanks then get swept in a double header by the braves and leave it up to Pelfry to be the savior.

[MrBug708]

I would imagine second ballot then? I just dont know if I would consider him a first ballot HOF guy

[ISiddiqui]

Ehh... are you really not trolling here?

Because I can't imagine Piazza not being a 1st ballot guy. And he'd probably get in with at least 85% of the votes.

[MrBug708]

Trolling?!? WTH?

Piazza was one of my favorite players when I was a kid (as a Dodger fan) but I guess I have a hard time giving players the first team ballot nod.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Trolling?!? WTH?

Piazza was one of my favorite players when I was a kid (as a Dodger fan) but I guess I have a hard time giving players the first team ballot nod.

If Piazza isn't a first ballot HOF then I don't know who is.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Trolling?!? WTH?

Piazza was one of my favorite players when I was a kid (as a Dodger fan) but I guess I have a hard time giving players the first team ballot nod.

Well, when you have a catcher with a career OPS+ of 142, even though he had the reputation of having a bad arm (though his range was above average) and was a 12 time All Star, how can you not be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer?

[Logan]

I've never, ever, EVER heard someone come out and say the phrase "third ballot hall of famer?" before in the manner that you did. So while you may not have been trolling (and I wouldn't expect that from you - you seem like a good guy), it definitely seemed like it, hence my original response.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Lathum

If Piazza isn't a first ballot HOF then I don't know who is.

Greg Maddux?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Greg Maddux?

Why not Piazza then?

[Lathum]

ESPN just showed a stat on Piazza.

1 of 12 players in MLB history with a .300 average and over 400 home runs.

end of discussion.

[JS19]

This guy Alou is something else. I think he's a great player and all and glad he's on the team, I've just never seen somebody injure themselves so easily. Bottom 3 and they stop the game and he removes himself, not sure if he's injured or flu-like symptoms, but with him I tend to lean more towards the injured side.

[Lathum]

Fucking Castillo

[Lathum]

lucky it was only 3 runs

[Crapshoot]

If Mike Piazza is not a HOF (and WTF is 1st ballot vs 5th ballot BS? He's in he's in - despite the quasi-masturbation of a press corps that knows little about assessing value), they ought to shut the thing down. He is easily the best offensive catcher in history, and may well be the best C in history. That's a hell of a track record. And I'm a Giants fan who hated the SOB.

[Lathum]

FWIW Johnny Bench told me Piazza is the best offensive catcher of all time

[miami_fan]

I really hope Willie Randolph pulls a Hal McRae type rant before the Mets fire him.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Lathum

ESPN just showed a stat on Piazza.

1 of 12 players in MLB history with a .300 average and over 400 home runs.

end of discussion.

AVG is a very overrated stat, and Piazza played almost his entire career in the steroid era!

(j/k, I expect and want him to be a 1st ballot HOF).

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

AVG is a very overrated stat, and Piazza played almost his entire career in the steroid era!

(j/k, I expect and want him to be a 1st ballot HOF).

I agree.

Players who hit for average just clog up the bases

[ISiddiqui]

Sad Mets .

And I had to sit there and watch that disaster in Turner Field.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Sad Mets .

And I had to sit there and watch that disaster in Turner Field.

If they lose today willy needs to go.

I'll take Bobby V back

[ISiddiqui]

I've been wanting Bobby V back since late last season.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I really hope Willie Randolph pulls a Hal McRae type rant before the Mets fire him.

For those that haven't seen it or don't remember the Hal McRae incident...........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamDqL-AGzI

Our family was friends with the McRae's and a couple of other Royals players. FWIW, McRae's wife wears the pants in their relationship. When he got home that night, his wife's first words were "What the hell was that all about?". She still tells that story to this day.

Here's another good story surrounding that incident.......

The day after that, the Royals had a bunch of high school sports reporters attend the game to see how the media works while at Royals games. So I went to represent our school, going through all the pregame stuff, getting the stadium tour and such before watching the game, courtesy two free tickets. They brought us to where they held press conferences at the time, so we all took seats there as the PR people explained the process.

After about five minutes, here came Hal McRae, taking a seat behind the mic. We were going to have a mock press conference with McRae, less than 24 hours after that tirade. McRae said, "OK, I'll take your questions." No one said one word for about 10 seconds, leaving McRae's eyes to scan left, then right, then left again when a smirk emerged on his face. "It's OK, you don't see any ash trays up here, do you?"

With that, we all burst into laughs. Icebreaker delivered.

[lordscarlet]

Jesus. I don't want to hear you Mets fans complain -- Matt Chico is 10x worse than you'll ever see.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

yes. But my negative energy would have affected Lester an he wouldn't have thrown a no-no.

Damn you for not going to the game!

SI

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Jesus. I don't want to hear you Mets fans complain -- Matt Chico is 10x worse than you'll ever see.

the Mets are dead to me.

[Big Fo]

Nice four-game sweep for the Braves, Hudson is off to a damn good start this year.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Nice four-game sweep for the Braves, Hudson is off to a damn good start this year.

Yes, he really has gotten off to a great start. I think it will be the Braves and Phillies into the final weekend of the season.

[sterlingice]

I'm curious how the new speed up rules will affect things. Apparently this was the first night of enforcement. I'm sure it's like when they ask refs to enforce stuff in hockey, people bitch about it for a month, and then it's back to where it was before rather than actually making quality change that needs to happen.

It's one of those things I dread about series with the Red Sox, in particular. Practically everyone from their leadoff to end of the bech hitter has some ridiculous routine that takes 20 seconds between pitches. I mean, geez, KC and Boston had a 2-1 game that went 2:50 this past week. That's insane. I'm a pretty patient baseball fan who likes slow games and pitching duels but that's just stupid.

Mike Sweeney used to have this for the Royals- kick dirt out of batters box, tap shoes with bat, bat between legs to adjust gloves, recollect bat, touch both back corners of plate, a couple of practice swings half in and half out of box, and then he was ready to go again. But he was the only one on the team with little more than a couple of quick batting practice swings. You could set a clock to it and that clock would take about 20 or 25 seconds to complete between every pitch and it was just too much.

SI

[sterlingice]

Don't look now but Barry Zito has actually pitched ok with a 3.22 ERA in his last 4 games. That said, his walk numbers over that stretch have been insanely high so maybe he's just getting lucky that batted balls in play haven't been finding holes.

SI

[Ironhead]

Longoria with another game winning hit for Tampa Bay. I don't know how many that makes this season but he has definitely been clutch late in the game.

[Buccaneer]

Crazy game between the Pads and Reds - now in the 18th inning. It won't be long until both teams will start using bench players as relief pitchers.

[Chief Rum]

Okay, so your team is out in the field in a 2-2 game in the bottom of the ninth, no one out, no one on. The player you are facing...

A) you have not gotten out all game
B) is responsible for the two runs your opponent has
C) hit a game-winning homerun to beat you last week

Given all this, do you:

1) Walk him and go get the next guy?
2) Groove a fastball on the inside of the plate for him to hit out of the park for the gamewinner?

If you are a logical, rational person, you pick #1.

If you are Mike Scioscia, manager of John Lackey and the Angels, you of course pick option #2. Way to go!

[sterlingice]

There is no way in the world you can convince me that putting the leadoff runner on in a tie game in the 9th is a good idea. Now maybe it's time to go to another pitcher (tho Lackey was only at a Madduxian 80ish pitches thru 8) but in no way do you walk the lead runner in the 9th. Pinch runner, stolen base, and suddenly, they're ahead of you in terms of outs vs bases to home so that they can just sacrifice/ground out and then sac fly or any other of a myriad of things to get that run home.

SI

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

There is no way in the world you can convince me that putting the leadoff runner on in a tie game in the 9th is a good idea. Now maybe it's time to go to another pitcher (tho Lackey was only at a Madduxian 80ish pitches thru 8) but in no way do you walk the lead runner in the 9th. Pinch runner, stolen base, and suddenly, they're ahead of you in terms of outs vs bases to home so that they can just sacrifice/ground out and then sac fly or any other of a myriad of things to get that run home.

SI

That is supposedly why we have a closer, and last I checked, we were paying him a bunch of cash to be that closer. The numbers don't lie. Quentin has absolutely killed us, and in particular tonight, where we couldn't get him out even once. And that whole time, that was Lackey--a presumably more refreshed Lackey--who could not get him out. So what basis is there to assume the tired ninth inning Lackey was going to get him out?

Even if you walk Quentin, Lackey was obliterating the rest of the White Sox lineup, so even if you leave him in to do this, chances are, he's just fine. Why make him pitch to the one guy who's killing him? Makes no sense.

[Toddzilla]

and somewhere, Brant Brown is smiling...