2009 MLB Regular Season Thread

[Lathum]

that had to be so painfull to watch as a Braves fan.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Lathum

that had to be so painfull to watch as a Braves fan.

They took tips from watching you guys the past two Septembers.

[DeToxRox]

Miguel Cabrera graduates to best hitter in baseball this year. 2 HR, 4 RBI so far tonight. Everything he hits is a fucking rocket. God it's a pleasure to watch him every game.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Miguel Cabrera graduates to best hitter in baseball this year. 2 HR, 4 RBI so far tonight. Everything he hits is a fucking rocket. God it's a pleasure to watch him every game.

I offered a guy in my fantasy league Cabrera for David Wright. He said he didn't want Cabrera and would rather do the deal but for Morneau instead

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I offered a guy in my fantasy league Cabrera for David Wright. He said he didn't want Cabrera and would rather do the deal but for Morneau instead

Wow. That is so awful.

BTW Brandon Inge has 3 HR now ... I must be dreaming.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Nice of the Phillies offense to finally wake up.

Wake up? Hell, their best offensive move was to stand there & let the Braves bullpen throw.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Wake up? Hell, their best offensive move was to stand there & let the Braves bullpen throw.

LOL. I just saw those highlights. Did Brandon Lyon play dress up as a Braves RP?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

LOL. I just saw those highlights. Did Brandon Lyon play dress up as a Braves RP?

I was thinking Chan Ho Park.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I was thinking Chan Ho Park.

Eh wait fuck you. I want Jurrjens back.

[Lathum]

lol @ the Yankees

[DeToxRox]

Last years first round pick Ryan Perry is making his debut for Detroit. He has pitched all of 13 professional innings coming into this game, but he features a 100 mph FB and a mean streak.

[Shkspr]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Mark "Tornado" Teixeira. At least I think that's his nickname; why else would I keep seeing "F5" in the scorebook?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Mark "Tornado" Teixeira. At least I think that's his nickname; why else would I keep seeing "F5" in the scorebook?

Well played sir, well played.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Miguel Cabrera graduates to best hitter in baseball this year. 2 HR, 4 RBI so far tonight. Everything he hits is a fucking rocket. God it's a pleasure to watch him every game.

As his owner in the FOFC Hardcore League, I'm perfectly happy with that

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Mark "Tornado" Teixeira. At least I think that's his nickname; why else would I keep seeing "F5" in the scorebook?

I like that. Definitely better than any nickname from the First Letter of First Name + First Three Letters of Last Name camp

SI

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Lathum

lol @ the Yankees

Hey, making fun of teams you don't like makes you a troll!

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

As his owner in the FOFC Hardcore League, I'm perfectly happy with that

SI

I am not sure if you realize this, but Felipe Lopez is basically on pace for 75 HR .. I'll part with him for Miggy. I'm the one getting a raw deal here.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Hey, making fun of teams you don't like makes you a troll!

you just don't get it

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I am not sure if you realize this, but Felipe Lopez is basically on pace for 75 HR .. I'll part with him for Miggy. I'm the one getting a raw deal here.

Tempting...

SI

[sterlingice]

Soria is just filthy and a treat to watch. Same can be said about Zack who went 6+ of 3 hit ball. Juan Cruz with the 2 inning bridge work and the Royals are 1-1.

Before the last pitch, I told my wife "just drop the curve and everyone can go home". A couple seconds later, Dye was just shaking his head as he was a second ahead and a foot over it.

SI

[MizzouRah]

I see the Pirates are kicking our butts again.

[DeToxRox]

So tomorrow it's Porcello vs Romero, both first round picks making their MLB Debut. Apparently this is the first time since the 60's two 1st round picks are making their debuts vs one another. I am not sure the validity, the Tigs announcer didn't seem to certain when he said it tonight.

[JS19]

well, I now understand what you Angels fans have been saying about franky rodriguez.....he sure does like to make things interesting, but a save nonetheless.

[Logan]

I'll cut him some slack on that one. An epic fuckup by Delgado (even if it was a bad call) sure put him in a much worse situation.

[RendeR]

I know I'm sorely out of touch with my Reds, but ummm...

Can someone tell me who these bozos are and what they did with the real Cincinnati Reds?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I know I'm sorely out of touch with my Reds, but ummm...

Can someone tell me who these bozos are and what they did with the real Cincinnati Reds?

after spending the last 2 years watching the Reds I would take this team over them is a second.

You want Dunn, Coffee, Griffey Jr, Keppinger. Freel, etc... be my guest

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JS19

well, I now understand what you Angels fans have been saying about franky rodriguez.....he sure does like to make things interesting, but a save nonetheless.

no kidding, Jesus

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Lathum

after spending the last 2 years watching the Reds I would take this team over them is a second.

You want Dunn, Coffee, Griffey Jr, Keppinger. Freel, etc... be my guest

You can keep the rest of them, but I'd definitely like Dunn and his 40 hr and .380 obp. It's going to be a long year with this offense.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

You can keep the rest of them, but I'd definitely like Dunn and his 40 hr and .380 obp. It's going to be a long year with this offense.

I dunno, Dunn seems to miss in a lot of big spots from the games I watched. The HR numbers and RBI are nice, but I'm not a fan.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Logan

I'll cut him some slack on that one. An epic fuckup by Delgado (even if it was a bad call) sure put him in a much worse situation.

It was a good call. I rewound the DVR and frame-by-framed it on the behind the plate camera... and he just barely had pulled his foot by the time he had the ball.

Didn't end up affecting the outcome of the game, but I totally missed that live and also thought it was probably a bad call until I watched the replay a couple of times.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

You can keep the rest of them, but I'd definitely like Dunn and his 40 hr and .380 obp. It's going to be a long year with this offense.

Jay Bruce was doing his best Dunn impression last night, falling down on the Schneider single to right, allowing 3 runs to score instead of 2. That could've made a huge difference in the outcome, that extra run.

Before that, Gonzalez scuffs the sure double play ball allowing a couple more runs.

I do believe our defense is much improved, but WOW the first 2 games have sucked pretty badly.

Too early to call the new Reds offense a washout. The first game they had 3 hits, but it was against freakin' Santana/Putz/K-Rod, so I give them a pass.

Today, they had 7 runs and threatened in the 9th, which with the Reds' pitching will win most games.

Honestly, I blame this on the coaching. No way Volquez should've been out there that long to give up those runs. His velocity was down 4-5 mph on his fastball, and he pitched to 3-4 more batters and gave up those runs. Granted, the D let him down a bit, but Masset should've been in earlier... Volquez is still struggling through his time away with the Dominican team and missing spring training.

Then, Mike Lincoln comes out and looks like crap... and then CONTINUES to look like crap and doesn't get pulled for Rhodes or Herrera, 2 lefties that apparently are unneeded in the bullpen. Those 4 runs in the 7th really killed the game for the Reds. Bad game all around.

But I'm with Lathum, I would rather have good, reliable pitching then have to score 9 runs every game to win. It'll work out more times than not if they can keep hitting. I really like this team, a lot more than the lackadaisical Reds teams of the past few years.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

It was a good call. I rewound the DVR and frame-by-framed it on the behind the plate camera... and he just barely had pulled his foot by the time he had the ball.

Didn't end up affecting the outcome of the game, but I totally missed that live and also thought it was probably a bad call until I watched the replay a couple of times.

They showed it frozen on SNY: ball in his glove, foot barely touching the base.

I could argue that it's the same thing as any catch and throw at second, but it's not important. What is important: Brandon Phillips is a fuckin moron.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Jay Bruce was doing his best Dunn impression last night, falling down on the Schneider single to right, allowing 3 runs to score instead of 2. That could've made a huge difference in the outcome, that extra run.

Did they ever change that to an error instead of a double? What a joke if they didn't.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Before the last pitch, I told my wife "just drop the curve and everyone can go home". A couple seconds later, Dye was just shaking his head as he was a second ahead and a foot over it.

I just start giggling when Soria enters the game. You're pretty much guaranteed to see at least one batter end up looking like a fat guy striking out in a slow-pitch softball game.

Greinke was extremely impressive. He makes it look SO easy. I especially enjoyed the two exchanges between Greinke and Carlos Quentin. In the first at-bat, Greinke threw a fastball high and tight to push Quentin off the plate. Quentin gave Greinke a 'do you know who you're throwing at?' look. Very next at-bat, Greinke threw a first ball fastball that hit Quentin right in the back. Greinke turned with no emotion and headed back to the rosin bag while Quentin glared at him. Business as usual.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Logan

They showed it frozen on SNY: ball in his glove, foot barely touching the base.

I could argue that it's the same thing as any catch and throw at second, but it's not important. What is important: Brandon Phillips is a fuckin moron.

Well, granted I'm watching the Reds broadcast, and obviously they were more than happy to move on past that play with minimal replays. But it WAS very close.

I agree about Phillips at times.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I know I'm sorely out of touch with my Reds, but ummm...

Can someone tell me who these bozos are and what they did with the real Cincinnati Reds?

This is the main thing that keeps me from getting back into baseball.

Teams like the Reds seem to have a revolving door for players, while teams like the Yankees pick and choose from the ones who are too expensive for the Reds to re-sign when contracts expire.

Then you have a team the next season that has few familiar faces, and for me, its hard to get into that. I feel like I am watching a local low-level minor league team where a few guys are just stuck playing low level ball and others are there for a year or part of a year, and then gone.

Guys like Cueto and Volquez will be gone within a few seasons too, I would be willing to bet. If they pitch to their abilities, they will be too expensive for the Reds, and they will probably want to play for a team with a better shot at a title anyway.

I feel more optimistic about the Bengals chances at a title than I do the Reds, and that says something I think.

To believe that any Reds team will ever be able to compete for a title again for more than a year or two at a time would be dreaming, IMO.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

You can keep the rest of them, but I'd definitely like Dunn and his 40 hr and .380 obp. It's going to be a long year with this offense.

QFT. Though Dunn is a better fit for a team that has a DH spot.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Jay Bruce was doing his best Dunn impression last night, falling down on the Schneider single to right, allowing 3 runs to score instead of 2. That could've made a huge difference in the outcome, that extra run.

Before that, Gonzalez scuffs the sure double play ball allowing a couple more runs.

I do believe our defense is much improved, but WOW the first 2 games have sucked pretty badly.

Too early to call the new Reds offense a washout. The first game they had 3 hits, but it was against freakin' Santana/Putz/K-Rod, so I give them a pass.

Today, they had 7 runs and threatened in the 9th, which with the Reds' pitching will win most games.

Honestly, I blame this on the coaching. No way Volquez should've been out there that long to give up those runs. His velocity was down 4-5 mph on his fastball, and he pitched to 3-4 more batters and gave up those runs. Granted, the D let him down a bit, but Masset should've been in earlier... Volquez is still struggling through his time away with the Dominican team and missing spring training.

Then, Mike Lincoln comes out and looks like crap... and then CONTINUES to look like crap and doesn't get pulled for Rhodes or Herrera, 2 lefties that apparently are unneeded in the bullpen. Those 4 runs in the 7th really killed the game for the Reds. Bad game all around.

But I'm with Lathum, I would rather have good, reliable pitching then have to score 9 runs every game to win. It'll work out more times than not if they can keep hitting. I really like this team, a lot more than the lackadaisical Reds teams of the past few years.

Over the course of the season the Reds will have serious offensive problems. By my count at least four positions will be below average(LF, CF, SS, C) with nobody so far above average to make up for even one of them. Add in Dusty and I'd be shocked if they win more that 82-83 games.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Over the course of the season the Reds will have serious offensive problems. By my count at least four positions will be below average(LF, CF, SS, C) with nobody so far above average to make up for even one of them. Add in Dusty and I'd be shocked if they win more that 82-83 games.

I really think Dickerson is going to be better than people give him credit for in left. And Taveras came off the bench with a triple last night. I think both OF spots aside from Bruce are getting the shaft from people analyzing the team. Even Hernandez I don't think will be below average... they showed a stat last night that over the last 3 years he has the 3rd most home runs in baseball among catchers.

If the Reds can get 4-5 runs a game, they should honestly be fine. I have extreme confidence in the staff, and a bit more confidence than you in the offense.

That is NOT to say I have totally bought into this offense. Gonzalez and Hernandez could be complete crap... Dickerson could regress into his minor-league numbers, and Taveras could come up with his lovely .300 OBP number this year. Hell, even Edwin Encarnacion could fall into a slump he can't climb out of. All that happens, the Reds will be lucky to get 70 wins. I think we'll know a lot more about the individual players by the middle of May or so.

[ISiddiqui]

Nick Adenhart of the Angels was apparently killed by a hit and run driver after the game last night.

Angels Starting Pitcher Killed After Ball Game - TMZ.com

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Lathum

after spending the last 2 years watching the Reds I would take this team over them is a second.

You want Dunn, Coffee, Griffey Jr, Keppinger. Freel, etc... be my guest

I'll take Paul Coffey based on what I've seen from him. 95-96 MPH with good sink.

He blames the Reds for making trying to make him use the 4-seam fastball instead of his sinker.

Not sure why anybody would want to mess around with that sinker. He'll make a nice middle reliever for the Brewers this year. Definitely miscast as a closer in Cincy.

[Logan]

Damn, that's terrible.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Nick Adenhart of the Angels was apparently killed by a hit and run driver after the game last night.

Angels Starting Pitcher Killed After Ball Game - TMZ.com

That's awful.... why do people have to drive like idiots?

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Nick Adenhart of the Angels was apparently killed by a hit and run driver after the game last night.

Angels Starting Pitcher Killed After Ball Game - TMZ.com

Yeah I just heard that, really sucks, guy was promising. Very sad story for his family.

[ISiddiqui]

It really is a shame. And right after Adenhart had a great pitching performance.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I really think Dickerson is going to be better than people give him credit for in left. And Taveras came off the bench with a triple last night. I think both OF spots aside from Bruce are getting the shaft from people analyzing the team. Even Hernandez I don't think will be below average... they showed a stat last night that over the last 3 years he has the 3rd most home runs in baseball among catchers.

If the Reds can get 4-5 runs a game, they should honestly be fine. I have extreme confidence in the staff, and a bit more confidence than you in the offense.

That is NOT to say I have totally bought into this offense. Gonzalez and Hernandez could be complete crap... Dickerson could regress into his minor-league numbers, and Taveras could come up with his lovely .300 OBP number this year. Hell, even Edwin Encarnacion could fall into a slump he can't climb out of. All that happens, the Reds will be lucky to get 70 wins. I think we'll know a lot more about the individual players by the middle of May or so.

Let's look at some career numbers:

Hernandez has career numbers below league average in avg, obp, and slg.

Tavarez has career numbers below league average in obp and slg(by 100 points!)

Gonzalez has career numbers below average in avg, obp, and slg

Phillips has career numbers below league average in avg, obp, and slg(even in Cincy he's only had one year with an ops at or above league average)

Even if you project Dickerson to match his career minor league numbers he'd be below league average in avg and slg.

It's possible many of these guys will have career years and the offense will be fine, however, it's much more likely that they'll play near their career averages and the Reds' offense will suck.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

It's possible many of these guys will have career years and the offense will be fine, however, it's much more likely that they'll play near their career averages and the Reds' offense will suck.

I usually expect the worst, but for some reason this year with this team, I am hoping for the best. Like I said, we'll see what happens. I think at least SOME of the players you mentioned will play up to the potential that the club sees in them. Dickerson hit over .300 in September last year. At any rate, we'll know a lot more in about 6 weeks.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Logan

What is important: Brandon Phillips is a fuckin moron.

Granted I'm only listening to the radio feed, but it seems like he showed evidence of this again today. With Reyes on 1st, Phillips allowed a Dan Murphy pop-up to drop. Murphy hustled down the line and beat the throw to 1st, and Reyes came very close to beating the throw to 2nd on the tag play.

Brandon, you have a 3 run lead in the 7th inning. Get a god damn out and stop trying to kill your team. Reds fans, does this guy have any baseball intelligence? Is it possible I've seen his only 3 huge mental fuckups (2 of which have come in the first 3 games of this season)?

[RendeR]

Oh see, I meant I'm *REALLY* out of touch. Think 1990 when considering my position on Cincinnati baseball =)

These guys are inept and it appears the coaching staff is worse. Whats worse, I dunno who to blame. I don't recognize any of them.

[Ksyrup]

Indians starting pitching looks AWFULLY shaky - Lee was terrible, Carmona wasn't much better, and Pavano should have claimed another buttocks injury instead of taking the mound today - 1 IP, 9 ER. And then there's the 4th and 5th starters, who are considered the weak links of the rotation!