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

[JPhillips]

I'm so old I remember listening on radio to Browning's no-no.

[Julio Riddols]

I remember the game where he broke his arm too.. Made me sick to my stomach. Browning and Rijo were awesome.

[stevew]

“There are a lot of really good baseball people in the industry that feel very differently than our fans do about what we’re accomplishing and how we’re accomplishing it.”

-Neal Huntington



Yeah, Neal, historic slide last year was bad enough, but you really fucked it up this year. And now you are being a dick. Fuck off.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Homer Bailey seems like he is still improving year to year. He makes a nice number 3 or 4 in this rotation.

I'm still not sold on him. He can't pitch against good teams. He dominates crappy teams but as soon as he pitches against a real team, he gets beat around. Nor can he pitch at his home ballpark.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Nervous about what? The Braves aren't tracking you down and the playoff are a crapshoot.

SI

Until last night the Braves had won 10 of 12.

As of, I believe, two days ago, the Nats played .648 ball since Aug 29... and they lost a game on the Braves. How is that not "tracking you down"?

Oh, and the Nats lost by 10 runs last night.

This is my first postseason with a team that lost 100 games the first two years they were here. I've dealt with 20 years of Snyder owned Redskins. Allow me some nervousness and skepticism!

[JPhillips]

It won't happen, but I wish Dusty would set up the rotation to go Cueto/Bailey/Latos/Arroyo. I'd be much happier with Bailey away than at GAB. I'm sure, though, that Dusty will set it up as Cueto/Arroyo/Latos/Bailey.

[molson]

Let's see, Tigers magic number to win the division is 1 with 3 games left, and the White Sox are in big trouble, and probably staying home. The Orioles magic number to return to the playoffs is also 1 so it's about to happen - the Orioles will actually be in the playoffs. And they're tied with the Yanks for the division lead with 3 games to go, and tied with the Yanks and Rangers for most wins in the AL at the moment. Neither the Orioles, Yanks, or Rangers have actually clinched a playoff spot, but all each of them need is one more win or an Angles loss (so all three actually clinch if the Rangers beat the Angels tonight). But, things have gotten really close in the West. The A's can get within 1 game of Texas with a win tonight and a Ranger loss. Oakland in the driver's seat for the 2nd wild card regardless, but if they drop their last 4, or 3 out of the last 4, it opens the door for the Angles or Rays if either of them can end hot.

Braves still alive in the NL East division race and stalking the Nationals, but the Braves still need to win the last 3 and have the Nationals lose the last 3 to end in a tie. Worst case, they're #1 wild card. St. Louis's only remaining challenger for the #2 wild card is the Dodgers. And assuming the Dogers win today (they're up 4), they have a chance, but to force a tiebreaker, they have to sweep their last 3 and hope the Cardinals only win 1 of 3, or they have to win 2 of 3 and hope the Cardinals get swept.

I think that's everything. The top seeds, i.e, who gets to play the wild card game winner, is completely up for grabs, that will probably come down to head-to-head or whatever the hell they do.

[Jas_lov]

Pretty amazing that 4 teams already clinched in the NL and 0 have clinched in the AL. If the Rangers hold on to their lead 3 teams will finally clinch.

Yanks have a slight advantage getting Teixera back at home vs Boston while the Os have to travel down to Tampa who still has slim playoff hopes. The As just need to win one more game to eliminate Tampa. I think a sweep will give the Yanks the division. 2/3 probably means a one game playoff in Camden Yards. Pettitte would go for NY and they'd have Sabathia lined up for Friday on 3 days rest for a potential WC game.

[cartman]

Huge win for the Rangers in the 2nd half of the doubleheader. In the first game, Nathan blew only his 3rd save of the season. The Rangers have now clinched at least a wild card spot, and have a 2 game lead over the A's going into the final 3 game series of the season against Oakland.

[CraigSca]

Yay O's!

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Yay O's!

I really hope the Red Sox have a really big desire to play spoiler the next 3 days.

[lordscarlet]

OK, the Nats just need a win... against the Phillies.. at home. They should be able to do this. If they do, I will be there (going to all three of the last games).

[SackAttack]

So three road games against Philly in Washington, then?

[Chief Rum]

I had thought about posting last night how upset I was at the Angels for losing and putting their backs to the wall (three games out, three games back of the last wildcard), but, really, I should applaud the current team. They have been winning series. They took two of three from the Rangers here and lost the third 8-7. They took of three from Seattle. They swept the Whtie Sox and pretty much gave the Central to the Tigers. I read somewhere they have the best record in baseball since late August, or something like that. Not sure if that's correct or still correct, but I know I read that somewhere recently.

In any case, I can't fault this current team. I'll save my anger for the team that didn't show up in April and didn't show up in early to mid-August. For the rotation that completely went to shit in August. For Pujols for seizing up for all of April. For the front office for not recognizing Trout needed to start from Day One, rather than being brought up on April 27. For the bullpen that kept giving up leads throughout the season. For the team that didn't sack up in numerous important series (lost two of three to the Rangers and Tigers, and three of four to the A's in the last few weeks, swept by the Rays) and dropped a ton of games they should have won (the 11-10 debacle against Texas in late July; two recent Greinke starts that were blown by Frieri; losing an 8-0 lead to the Rays; a number of similar end of game or near end of game losses). For the front office of the past that did the AMAZING stupid of trading Napoli and Rivera to the Jays for Vernon "Salary Anchor" Wells because A) Scioscia is such a ridiculous stickler for catching skills that he refused to consistently start Napoli there and went with sad sack Mathis, even though the team was DESPERATE for offense; and B) that front office felt they needed a "big bat" to make up for completely fucking up the Crawford negotiation (especially when the "big bat" in Napoli that they had was actually better than Wells then and now).

THAT team deserves my anger. But last night's team, kudos to them for keeping their nose to the trail and not giving up. At least they're going down fighting.

[cartman]

I think I read somewhere that Trout had the flu in spring training, and lost almost 30 pounds. That was what kept him off of the opening day roster.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by cartman

I think I read somewhere that Trout had the flu in spring training, and lost almost 30 pounds. That was what kept him off of the opening day roster.

No, that was a convenient excuse. Trout still had a good spring when he played.

He wasn't kept off because of illness but because of the outfield logjam in Anaheim, partially created and complicated by Vernon Wells and his massive contract. Going into this season, the Angels had Trout, Wells, Hunter, Bourjos, Abreu, Morales, Pujols and Trumbo for five starting spots. Pujols was going to play 1B of course, so technically it was seven guys for four spots. Trumbo was the best returning power hitter on the team but his only effective position was 1B (3B experiment at start of season==utter failure). Morales was the best hitter on the team before Trumbo and maybe could play some 1B, but mostly had to DH. Hunter, the leader of the team, had to play somewhere, be it CF or RF. And Wells had to play abit at least because of his damn contract. Oh yeah, and Abreu spent all spring bitching about his limited projected role.

There was just no way to work Trout into the lineup, given no one knew he would be so good so quick. Figuring he would have an okay, but not great rookie campaign, they decided Trout needed to play every day at AAA and not put Scioscia in the position of juggling Wells and Abreu and Trout in the lineup.

That set the scene for April, where Trumbo was awful at 3B and cost us games and Pujols did his early season disappearing act. Torii had to leave the team for personal reasons in late April and Morales was slow out the gate. Then Wells hurt himself. So finally they brought Trout up. The rest is what it is.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I had thought about posting last night how upset I was at the Angels for losing and putting their backs to the wall (three games out, three games back of the last wildcard), but, really, I should applaud the current team. They have been winning series. They took two of three from the Rangers here and lost the third 8-7. They took of three from Seattle. They swept the Whtie Sox and pretty much gave the Central to the Tigers. I read somewhere they have the best record in baseball since late August, or something like that. Not sure if that's correct or still correct, but I know I read that somewhere recently.

In any case, I can't fault this current team. I'll save my anger for the team that didn't show up in April and didn't show up in early to mid-August. For the rotation that completely went to shit in August. For Pujols for seizing up for all of April. For the front office for not recognizing Trout needed to start from Day One, rather than being brought up on April 27. For the bullpen that kept giving up leads throughout the season. For the team that didn't sack up in numerous important series (lost two of three to the Rangers and Tigers, and three of four to the A's in the last few weeks, swept by the Rays) and dropped a ton of games they should have won (the 11-10 debacle against Texas in late July; two recent Greinke starts that were blown by Frieri; losing an 8-0 lead to the Rays; a number of similar end of game or near end of game losses). For the front office of the past that did the AMAZING stupid of trading Napoli and Rivera to the Jays for Vernon "Salary Anchor" Wells because A) Scioscia is such a ridiculous stickler for catching skills that he refused to consistently start Napoli there and went with sad sack Mathis, even though the team was DESPERATE for offense; and B) that front office felt they needed a "big bat" to make up for completely fucking up the Crawford negotiation (especially when the "big bat" in Napoli that they had was actually better than Wells then and now).

THAT team deserves my anger. But last night's team, kudos to them for keeping their nose to the trail and not giving up. At least they're going down fighting.

You take April out of the equation, and they are one of the top 3/4 teams in baseball. They were just so dreadful in April that they had to win late to make it to the playoffs. If they keep this team together, I think they win the division next year. I hope they do nothing over the winter, this team needs tweaking, not wholesale changes.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

You take April out of the equation, and they are one of the top 3/4 teams in baseball. They were just so dreadful in April that they had to win late to make it to the playoffs. If they keep this team together, I think they win the division next year. I hope they do nothing over the winter, this team needs tweaking, not wholesale changes.

I agree, and especially if they bring back Greinke. I would like to see them do that, decline the option on Santana but bring back Haren, then go add a couple more dependable bullpen arms. And hope they can get someone to take Wells off of their hands.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I agree, and especially if they bring back Greinke. I would like to see them do that, decline the option on Santana but bring back Haren, then go add a couple more dependable bullpen arms. And hope they can get someone to take Wells off of their hands.

Sorry, I shouldn't have said nothing, I hope they make minor sensible moves. Greinke and shoring up of the bullpen exactly the sorts of moves

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

So three road games against Philly in Washington, then?

No, since Philly started sucking their fans don't show up. Surprise.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by cartman

I think I read somewhere that Trout had the flu in spring training, and lost almost 30 pounds. That was what kept him off of the opening day roster.

I heard he was busy trying to eradicate the flu in spring training, caused it to lose 30 pounds, then spent the first month of the season nursing it back to health and counseling it on workplace health regulations to prevent it from spreading further.

[bhlloy]

That still doesn't excuse it, a 120lb Trout is better than a healthy Vernon Wells. In fact, the trout I had for dinner last night is probably better than Vernon Wells and it's been in my freezer for a month

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

No, since Philly started sucking their fans don't show up. Surprise.

Sorry we're no longer selling out your stadium. Though you'd think your *own* fans could take up some of the slack.

103

103

Wednesday, Aug 1

boxscore

WSN

PHI

L

2

3

61-42

1

up 2.5

Worley

Jackson

Papelbon

3:16

N

23,777

--

153

153

Monday, Sep 24

boxscore

WSN

MIL

W

12

2

93-60

1

up 5.0

Zimmermann

Estrada

3:26

D

25,302

+

Yeah...I guess MIL doesn't travel well either.

154

154

Tuesday, Sep 25

boxscore

PHI

WSN

W

6

3

78-76

3

15.0

Hamels

Detwiler

Papelbon

2:56

N

42,304

+

Phillies didn't play that Monday, so couldn't get a direct comparison.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

No, since Philly started sucking their fans don't show up. Surprise.

What cuervo said.

[Dutch]

Just one 3-game series left...one spot remains.

A's - 91 wins (Magic # is 1)
Rays - 88 wins
Angels - 88 wins

Need some more crazy season finale shit right now!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Just one 3-game series left...one spot remains.

A's - 91 wins (Magic # is 1)
Rays - 88 wins
Angels - 88 wins

Need some more crazy season finale shit right now!

I say we root for all ties, so we can have the craziest beginning to a postseason ever. We can even have the Sox and Tigers, too, for shits and giggles.

[lordscarlet]

I love how everyone expects a team that has been in a city for 8 years and yet to have a winning record until this season to suddenly sell out a stadium. I know it makes Philly fans feel better about life, but it doesn't bother me. These things take time.

[cuervo72]

I don't expect it, but smack-talking the 1st ranked team for attendance over ticket sales? Yeah, you might get some blowback on that.

(I would expect Nats attendance to keep rising should they continue winning. Likewise I would expect Phillies attendance to drop off if they cease to be competitive. Hasn't happened yet.)

Now, as performance goes, yeah, you can crow about this season.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I say we root for all ties, so we can have the craziest beginning to a postseason ever. We can even have the Sox and Tigers, too, for shits and giggles.

Sounds good to me, anything past #162 sounds good right about now.

[cuervo72]

In full disclosure, I haven't been to a Phillies game in many, many years. I'd consider going to one in DC though because it's closer.

edit: Bah. Dutch spoiled my dola.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I don't expect it, but smack-talking the 1st ranked team for attendance over ticket sales? Yeah, you might get some blowback on that.

(I would expect Nats attendance to keep rising should they continue winning. Likewise I would expect Phillies attendance to drop off if they cease to be competitive. Hasn't happened yet.)

Now, as performance goes, yeah, you can crow about this season.

Again, nailed it. To suddenly hail the Washington franchise as turned around because of one very successful season seems a bit foolish. I would love to see Washington become a viable rival for the Phillies, it would only add to the fan support of both teams.

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Washington's on the right track, but the 2003 Cubs say hello!

[Jas_lov]

No Pedroia, no Ellsbury. The Os better win because the Red Sox are playing people I've never heard of. Tonight is also the worst pitcher the Os will face in their series vs the Rays. I suppose Lester could have a good game tomorrow but the Os probably need to sweep Tampa to stay tied cause Boston looks awful.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

No Pedroia, no Ellsbury.

I see where Pedroia jammed a finger yesterday, so that might be legit. With Ellsbury, who knows, missed 6 of last eight games with an undisclosed physical problem (my guess: he's got Valentinitis)

[Dutch]

Rays win Game #1 of their series. Now we are fans of the Texas Rangers for Game #1 of their series.

We added some extra drama in the 9th...a 2-hr "C-Ring" HR (where the ball hits the rafters) to put the O's at 5-3 and then Rodney puts guys on 1st and 2nd before settling down and striking out three in a row.

Rodney is at 0.61 on the year (75 IP)

[Critch]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I don't expect it, but smack-talking the 1st ranked team for attendance over ticket sales? Yeah, you might get some blowback on that.

I've been to a number of Nats games against the Phillies over the last few years and it's always seemed to be over 50% Phillies fans. Maybe they're just drunker and louder so they stand out more, but they seemed to outnumber the locals. This season that's changed, at least judging by the number of people celebrating being NL East champions tonight.

So, while not wishing to speak for LordScarlet, I took his "they dont show up" as meaning they dont show up in DC anymore now they suck.

[cuervo72]

Heh, yes I know that (and yes they are drunker and louder...that I will not attempt to argue against). I think come next year they will return though. Last series of the season - weekdays in October - not so much.

[Izulde]

Whole season feels like a damned waste now. Way to piss it all away the end, White Sox.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Go Tigers!!

Now let's get that Triple Crown and keep the MVP in The D!

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I don't expect it, but smack-talking the 1st ranked team for attendance over ticket sales? Yeah, you might get some blowback on that.

(I would expect Nats attendance to keep rising should they continue winning. Likewise I would expect Phillies attendance to drop off if they cease to be competitive. Hasn't happened yet.)

Now, as performance goes, yeah, you can crow about this season.

Originally Posted by Critch

I've been to a number of Nats games against the Phillies over the last few years and it's always seemed to be over 50% Phillies fans. Maybe they're just drunker and louder so they stand out more, but they seemed to outnumber the locals. This season that's changed, at least judging by the number of people celebrating being NL East champions tonight.

So, while not wishing to speak for LordScarlet, I took his "they dont show up" as meaning they dont show up in DC anymore now they suck.

Yeah, I'm not really sure why the vitriol is coming out for me. I said that the Nats had to beat Philly at home, then SackAttack made a joke about it being a home game for Philly in DC, and I said that the Philly fans stopped coming to the games in DC this year because of their performance. Somehow I become the douchebag for responding to SackAttack's shitty joke?

[lordscarlet]

So, back on to positive things..


NATS CLINCH!!! NATS CLINCH!!!

I have never been at a professional stadium for something like this. It was amazing. No one cared that the Nats backed into the clinch. Winning the division is what mattered. Even before that, everytime the Nationals had a runner in scoring position the crowd was electric. I can't wait for the playoffs.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Sorry we're no longer selling out your stadium. Though you'd think your *own* fans could take up some of the slack.





Yeah...I guess MIL doesn't travel well either.


Phillies didn't play that Monday, so couldn't get a direct comparison.

Just to drag this out longer than I should, here is a comparison to the actual games where Philly last played in DC:

July 31: 30,167
Aug 1: 23,777
Aug 2: 28,825

I was clearly talking about Philly fans coming to games in DC because Sack made a joke about it being a "home" game for Philly. You compared a game with MIL in DC to a game with WAS in PHI.

[Butter]

So, the Reds feel like they have been playing out the string for a while now. Other than the no-hitter, it's been a really unimpressive month of September, carrying over into October.

Not real excited about their playoff chances, I have to say. Especially if Dusty is saving Latos for Game 3 or 4 of the NLDS.

[MizzouRah]

Congrats to the A's!

Hoping for a Cardinals win tonight!

[Thomkal]

So Albert Pujols...perhaps you should have stayed with the Cards after all?

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Yeah, I'm not really sure why the vitriol is coming out for me. I said that the Nats had to beat Philly at home, then SackAttack made a joke about it being a home game for Philly in DC, and I said that the Philly fans stopped coming to the games in DC this year because of their performance. Somehow I become the douchebag for responding to SackAttack's shitty joke?

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

No, since Philly started sucking their fans don't show up. Surprise.

Just attempting to defend the brand. The original comment implied that a) the team sucks (they're now two over, not great but not horrid) and b) the fans suck (gee, SURPRISE that they don't show up).

The comparisons were intending to show that even though Phillies fans may not have made it to more recent series against the Nats...well, the Nats fans haven't exactly either. The team won the division and attendance still regularly dips below 30k (though yes, in general it has risen). The sucky team with the sucky fans up 95 meanwhile still pull 40k+. Unless that number was boosted by road-tripping Nats fans.

[JonInMiddleGA]

All this attendance jabber made me curious ...

Contenders by % of capacity - attendance / 2011 avg attendance
* indicates division winner/leader
*Giants 99.5% - 41,695 (3rd) - 41,818
Cards 91.5% - 40,252 (4th) - 38,196
*Tigers 90.6% - 37,383 (6th) - 32,617
*Yankees 86.9% - 43,714 (1st) - 45,107
*Rangers 86.9% - 42,719 (2nd) - 36,382
Angels 83.3% - 37,799 (5th) - 39,090
*Nationals 72.0% - 29,872 (8th) - 24,877
Pirates 68.7% - 26,353 (11th) - 24,255
*Reds 68.5% - 28,978 (9th) - 27,327
Braves 60.1% - 29,878 (7th) - 30,037
White Sox 59.8 - 24,271 (12th) - 24,705
A's 59.7% - 20,408 (13th) - 18,232
Orioles 58.6% - 26,610 (10th) - 21,943
Rays 56.8% - 19,345 (14th) - 18,878
------
Phillies 100.8% - 44,021 (*1st) - 45,440

[wade moore]

I'm not a baseball guy by any stretch, but does a team AVERAGING over 100% capacity not raise red flags about their attendance reporting?

Edit: Maybe there is a reason for that, I don't know.

[wade moore]

FWIW, Google found me this...

Phillies' Sellout Streak, Which Was Fake Anyway, Ends At 257 Games


All of the teams may be doing this, I don't know - but that over 100% seemed off to me.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by wade moore

FWIW, Google found me this...

Phillies' Sellout Streak, Which Was Fake Anyway, Ends At 257 Games


All of the teams may be doing this, I don't know - but that over 100% seemed off to me.

The percentages/sell out streaks are a marketing gimmick, I care more about the average attendance to the right, where the Phillies had drawn an average of 40,000+ fans per night.

The article admits as much: "But don't cry for the Phillies. They're still leading baseball in attendance, and last night's gate of 41,665 would still be good for the third-best average in MLB."

[molson]

Originally Posted by wade moore

FWIW, Google found me this...

Phillies' Sellout Streak, Which Was Fake Anyway, Ends At 257 Games

All of the teams may be doing this, I don't know - but that over 100% seemed off to me.

Ya, the Red Sox do this too. They were reporting games as "sellouts" when Boston Globe writers were going to the ticket offices in the 7th inning and finding many tickets available. If the Sox were a little short right before gametime they'd do giveaways to organizations/individuals who wouldn't even be in a position to use the tickets, and that counts as attendance under MLB rules. Both teams sell a ton of tickets, and probably do have higher % of capacity sold than all other teams, but the streaks are definitely fudged. Even when the Red Sox were at their hottest, you could show up at the ticket offices day of game and usually find something (they'd sell the tickets they "gave away" to charities/VIPs at some point shortly before the game started when they weren't used).