The Official MLB 2007 Thread

[Ksyrup]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Too bad it was Karstens and not Wang.

[Atocep]

The line drive broke Karsten's fibula. He'll be out for a while.

[mauchow]

Cubbies with their first 3 game win streak. Is this the start of the REAL Cubs?

[SirFozzie]

Orioles score a run that doesn't count in the third inning, and then after the umps check the rulebook later in the game, they re-add the run to the Orioles in the sixth.

Yeah.. that's bizarre

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Orioles score a run that doesn't count in the third inning, and then after the umps check the rulebook later in the game, they re-add the run to the Orioles in the sixth.

Yeah.. that's bizarre

Have anything else on this? Was this a "did the out or score happen first" kind of thing?

SI

[SirFozzie]

Veteran umpire Ed Montague took the blame for a run being added to Baltimore's total three innings after it appeared to be waved off in the Orioles' 7-4 victory over Cleveland on Saturday night.

The Indians played the game under protest after Montague, the crew chief, called the official scorer in the bottom of the sixth to add the third-inning run which scored on a sacrifice fly.

"There's going to be a tremendous follow up with this and we'll see if we can get it figured out," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said.

The bizarre sequence started with Baltimore leading 2-1 in the top of the third. Nick Markakis was on third base and Miguel Tejada on first with one out when Ramon Hernandez hit a line drive to center field.

Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore made a diving catch. Markakis tagged up, headed for home and appeared to cross the plate before Tejada doubled off first. Plate umpire Marvin Hudson waved off the run.

Orioles bench coach Tom Trebelhorn disputed Hudson's call before the start of the fourth, and Hudson then conferred with Montague and the other umpires.

"We kicked it around and now I'm having a brain cramp on it," Montague said. "So I sent Bill (umpire Bill Miller) in, I said 'You know what, cause we're debating, you go in. Lets make it 100 percent sure."'

Miller checked the rule and said the run should have counted. Montague was vague about why it took until the sixth to make the change, saying "it kind of went on" with the umpires conferring with the managers.

"It was my screw up and we can't go off of umpire's error," he said. "What's right is right. We have to score the run."

Montague said he couldn't remember anything like it happening and didn't blame Wedge for his protest, which will be decided by commissioner Bud Selig's office.

Wedge protested the game because the change was not made immediately.

"I know the umpires have a tough job to do, but there is a process and there are rules," he said. "When the next pitch is thrown, that's it. The fact is the home plate umpire waved it off. I've never seen runs put on the board three or four innings later."

Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo said Trebelhorn alerted him that the run should count.

"I told Sammy it's never too late," Trebelhorn said. "That's our run. I've seen runs put on the board after the game."

[Ksyrup]

Least surprising line of the year so far:

Jeff Weaver

2007 Season Stats
SPLIT	G	IP	H	R	HR	BB	SO	W	L	Sv	P/GS	WHIP	BAA	ERA
Season	4	11.1	31	23	2	4	7	0	4	0	65.8	3.09	.492	18.26

It sill blows my mind that he left STL, or at least, the NL. I guess dude REALLY likes the West Coast. Doesn't surprise me that the Mariners signed him, though.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Least surprising line of the year so far:

Jeff Weaver




It sill blows my mind that he left STL, or at least, the NL. I guess dude REALLY likes the West Coast. Doesn't surprise me that the Mariners signed him, though.

I couldn't be more happier for this jackass.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Least surprising line of the year so far:

Jeff Weaver

As much as people may have thought Weaver sucked, I don't think anyone was realistically expecting an implosion of this magnitude. Weaver isn't just bad right now - bad would be an ERA around 7.00 and a WHIP at or near 2.00.

No, Weaver right now is historically awful - you could probably pluck any random high-A ball pitcher right now and get performance at or better than what the M's have gotten so far from Weaver.

To think that Weaver would go from a decent half-season with the Cards including some pretty good pitching in the post-season to this...well, something's obviously not right in his head.

[Ksyrup]

It's a small sample size. I bet he had 4 starts like this (or close to this) for the Angels last year. He's just a bad pitcher. Mind issues are only part of it. He's pitching in a tougher league against teams that have beat the crap out of him.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

It's a small sample size. I bet he had 4 starts like this (or close to this) for the Angels last year. He's just a bad pitcher. Mind issues are only part of it. He's pitching in a tougher league against teams that have beat the crap out of him.

His worst 4-start stretch last year in terms of ERA was from April 28th to May 14th where he was at 9.58. His worst 4-start stretch in terms of WHIP was from July 17th to August 2nd where he was at 2.03 (this was his first 4 starts for St. Louis).

So what he's done so far this year nearly twice as bad as any stretch he had last year in terms of ERA, 1.5 times as bad in terms of WHIP.

I agree his stuff isn't all that good, but it's more than just that. I don't see any other evidence that he's pitching injured (though that certainly wouldn't shock) me - it just appears that he's battling a combination of bad luck and a fucked-up mental state. He was a serviceable pitcher last year in the post-season and for the last month of the regular season - to go from that to what probably ranks among the worst 4-start stretch in major league history is fairly remarkable.

Yeah, many people thought he sucked heading into this year, but almost nobody was predicting he'd suck anywhere near this bad thus far.

[Bad-example]

Tim Lincecum pitched another gem at triple-A: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 K, 0 HR

His numbers on the season: 4-0, 0.29 ERA, 31.0 IP, 12 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 11 BB, 46 K, 0 HR

The Giants are getting good starts from their rotation, so there just isn't room for him to start for the big club. The bullpen has been pretty decent as well. How long will Sabean be able to resist bringing him up even without a real need?

[MizzouRah]

Hey Edmonds, you suck! Mr. 18 mil man, try hitting the f'n ball for once!

[Ksyrup]

Philip Hughes - 6.1 no-hit innings...and a hamstring injury!

[Logan]

Unreal. Out of the game.

[Ksyrup]

I almost wanted to threadjack the HAHAHAHAHAHAHA thread with this information.

[Ksyrup]

Well, first the no-hitter ends, then the shutout. About the only thing that could be better would be a 9-run comeback.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Logan

Unreal. Out of the game.

Yep.. the Yanks can't find a break. Not that I'm complaining much, but damn!

[Ksyrup]

Actually, I'd settle for about 5 Rangers runs and 3 more relievers used.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Philip Hughes - 6.1 no-hit innings...and a hamstring injury!

They say out 4-6 wks.

[Ksyrup]

Awesome. With a capital FUCK THE YANKEES.

[ISiddiqui]

Jesus... even I don't wish for injuries... not classy man.

[Ksyrup]

I'm not wishing for injuries...they're just happening. And when they do, I'm happy they are hurting the Yankees' chances of digging themselves out of a hole. Sucks for Hughes, but frankly, I want him to fail as long as he's a Yankee, so not pitching works just as well.

And actually, it's nothing personal against (most of) the Yankee players. If Hughes somehow found himself traded, I'd root for the guy to be a HoFer. If he remains a Yankee, I hope he turns into a glorified Brien Taylor. I hoped the Big Unit sucked as a Yankee; as a D-Back, I hope he pitches another 5 years. If injuries are going to be a part of the reason the Yankees underachieve, bring them on. I won't cry foul.

[Lathum]

I'm on par with Ksyrup. I hate the yankees more than anything ( I really hate their fans ) . While I don't root for injuries IF they happen I am glad it happens to a Yankee.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Bad-example

Tim Lincecum pitched another gem at triple-A: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 K, 0 HR

His numbers on the season: 4-0, 0.29 ERA, 31.0 IP, 12 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 11 BB, 46 K, 0 HR

The Giants are getting good starts from their rotation, so there just isn't room for him to start for the big club. The bullpen has been pretty decent as well. How long will Sabean be able to resist bringing him up even without a real need?

Now that Ortiz is pitching like the pitcher we thought he was, it's time for the Giants to crown his ass. He's back up to a 6.44 ERA, which is about par for the course.

[SunDevil]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Now that Ortiz is pitching like the pitcher we thought he was, it's time for the Giants to crown his ass. He's back up to a 6.44 ERA, which is about par for the course.

Ortiz is a fat f$!k, I hate that guy.

[SunDevil]

dola

Yankees suck, go SOX.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by SunDevil

Ortiz is a fat f$!k, I hate that guy.

Yeah, but if he stays in the Giants' rotation and continues to pitch poorly, then maybe the D-Backs will finally get something for the money they are paying him!

[Ksyrup]

Brewers improve to 18-9. Anyone know what happened with Capuano? Only 3 IP.

[Ksyrup]

I'll answer my own question:

"The Brewers announced Capuano had a contusion on his right calf and is listed as day-to-day."

[Ksyrup]

What's with Gary Sheffield suddenly running the bases like Rickey Henderson? He's already got 5 SBs, which matches last year and 2004. He had 10 in 2005. He's on track for a 30/30 year!

[bosshogg23]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

What's with Gary Sheffield suddenly running the bases like Rickey Henderson? He's already got 5 SBs, which matches last year and 2004. He had 10 in 2005. He's on track for a 30/30 year!

Some ass was talking about Sheff on ESPNews. "Looks like a much different player since he was beaned". Such shit, he is batting .467 over the past 8 games and was hit on Monday. I guess he was ignoring the other 5 games.

I saw Sheffield's SB today, I was holding my breath he didnt come up lame. He hasn't had twenty stolen bases in 17 years, a gap like that would have to be some sort of off the wall record.

[Ksyrup]

We should take up a collection for this guy...


Updated: May 2, 2007, 9:36 PM ET
After rash of injuries, Yankees fire conditioning coach

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The New York Yankees fired their strength and conditioning coach Wednesday following a rash of injuries to the pitching staff that has contributed to the team's poor start. Marty Miller was hired by the Yankees in the offseason as director of performance enhancement. "It got to the point where the perception is there's a problem here," general manager Brian Cashman said. Miller, 34, will be replaced on an interim basis by Dana Cavalea, who was Miller's assistant. "The knowledge that Marty had was certainly impressive," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "Now, does that mean that because you know a lot about the body, it relates to baseball? That's what we don't know." Kurkjian on ESPN Radio Call it bad luck, but Tim Kurkjian says on The SportsBash he's never seen a starting staff so decimated as that of the Yankees. Listen The latest injury to New York's depleted staff came Tuesday night, when Phil Hughes carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his second major league start before a hamstring injury knocked him out of the game against the Texas Rangers. The 20-year-old right-hander, considered one of the top prospects in baseball, is expected to miss four to six weeks. Hughes was called up from Triple-A Scranton to fill a spot in the team's injury-ravaged rotation. Mike Mussina (hamstring), Carl Pavano (forearm) and Jeff Karstens (broken right leg) are on the disabled list. Chien-Ming Wang also missed the first three weeks of the season with a hamstring injury. He hopes to start Saturday after breaking a nail on his pitching hand in his most recent start. Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon, bothered by a bad back and sore legs much of the season, said Miller introduced conditioning tools that some players weren't accustomed to using -- but also agreed to bring in equipment that players requested. Still, Damon thought it was unusual that so many pitchers succumbed to hamstring problems, an injury more common for position players. "I think when you get a number of pitchers go down with the same problem, it opens up eyes and it makes you start thinking there might need to be a change," Damon said. The Yankees entered Wednesday night's game at Texas with a 10-14 record that left them in last place in the AL East. The slow start roused owner George Steinbrenner to issue a statement Monday rebuking the $195 million team for its record but also supporting Cashman and manager Joe Torre.

[sterlingice]

Dayton Moore makes a move that looks like the Royals of old all over again. Just a couple of weeks from stealing another year of service time from Billy Butler, he calls him up on May 1 to give a spark to a team with a struggling offense, who, oh by the way, is careening towards another 100 loss season. So, why deprive the team of him in his year 27 season in favor of maybe giving a little life to the team when he's 21? Stupid. Just stupid. Then again, so was giving Alex Gordon the keys to the starting third base spot a few days into spring training. Again, make these guys earn it a little at AAA before rushing them to the majors and proclaiming them the next great savior.

SI

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Dayton Moore makes a move that looks like the Royals of old all over again. Just a couple of weeks from stealing another year of service time from Billy Butler, he calls him up on May 1 to give a spark to a team with a struggling offense, who, oh by the way, is careening towards another 100 loss season. So, why deprive the team of him in his year 27 season in favor of maybe giving a little life to the team when he's 21? Stupid. Just stupid. Then again, so was giving Alex Gordon the keys to the starting third base spot a few days into spring training. Again, make these guys earn it a little at AAA before rushing them to the majors and proclaiming them the next great savior.

SI

Alex Gordon had the highest PECOTA projection of any Royal coming into this season. At a certain point, it makes no sense to keep your best players down (though yes, I understand the Butler point).

[kingfc22]

Bonds had an impressive night. 2-run HR early and then game winning bases loaded single in the 8th.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Bonds had an impressive night. 2-run HR early and then game winning bases loaded single in the 8th.

Yeah - I'm not sure how to react to a Giants team actually scoring runs in the 8th inning to win the game.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Alex Gordon had the highest PECOTA projection of any Royal coming into this season. At a certain point, it makes no sense to keep your best players down (though yes, I understand the Butler point).

Giving Gordon the job out of spring training could cost them a year of his service, though. Letting him go down to AAA to start the year allows them to see how he does in AAA and delays his arbitration clock. As a small market team its not as simple as putting your best players out on the field. You also have to maximize the amount of time you'll have access to your players.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Alex Gordon had the highest PECOTA projection of any Royal coming into this season. At a certain point, it makes no sense to keep your best players down (though yes, I understand the Butler point).

Which is great, except for 2 things if you're the Royals GM

1) I'm not running my team based on BP's computer model. It's not perfect.

2) See above- you keep him in AAA for 6 weeks of a bad season and you get him for another year when you're hoping to contend

SI

[Ksyrup]

So Ryan Langerhans got traded again last night - second time in less than a week, this time to Washington for Chris Snelling. I'm guessing his drop of a routine liner to CF in last night's game factored into it. He played 2 games for Oakland, went 0-4, and got traded.

[Ksyrup]

I find it hard to believe, in 2007, that the Yankees gave their strength and conditioning coach the title "Director of Performance Enhancement."

[lungs]

Break up the Brewers!

Granted, it's early, but 2007 has been the year I've been waiting for as a Brewer fan. After sitting through years upon years of losing with no hope, it's almost as if I need to pinch myself to wake up from this dream.

There is hope for all you fans of small market teams. Get yourself a good GM (Doug Melvin is awesome) and a good scouting director, and give yourself a few years.

[Fighter of Foo]

Wait until Braun comes up.

Their pitching is what's holding them back. It will be interesting to see whether they can keep up their pace and if so, whether Melvin trades for some rental arms in July.

I was pimping the Brewers last year but it was a little too early for them. Probably the same thing with Arizona this year.

It feels weird, but the best young teams in baseball are Milwaukee, Arizona and Tampa. Not sure if Detroit is still young or not.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

It feels weird, but the best young teams in baseball are Milwaukee, Arizona and Tampa. Not sure if Detroit is still young or not.

just wait until all their good young players becme free agents and the Yankees, Mets, Angels, Rangers, Red Sox, St. Louis and the Cubs steal them.

That is assuming they aren't traded for more prospects in their walk year and the whole process begins again.

The system in baseball is so fucked.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by lungs

Break up the Brewers!

Granted, it's early, but 2007 has been the year I've been waiting for as a Brewer fan. After sitting through years upon years of losing with no hope, it's almost as if I need to pinch myself to wake up from this dream.

There is hope for all you fans of small market teams. Get yourself a good GM (Doug Melvin is awesome) and a good scouting director, and give yourself a few years.

I sure do miss Suppan. Good for the Brewers.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Lathum

just wait until all their good young players becme free agents and the Yankees, Mets, Angels, Rangers, Red Sox, St. Louis and the Cubs steal them.

That is assuming they aren't traded for more prospects in their walk year and the whole process begins again.

The system in baseball is so fucked.

{bitter}Yes, but many fans of those teams think it is their god-given right to succeed because, of course, they are better at business than the other teams and deserve to succeed, never mind being in markets 2x-5x the size of some other teams.

But don't worry, little small market teams, you can compete. Just look at Oakland and Minnesota. That's the only verse of that song we know, but we like to rant it over and over. We just like to gloss over the part where our teams can be run pretty mediocre and play even with excellently managed clubs.{/bitter}

Oh, hey, the Royals have won 2 in a row. Two straight starts of 7 innings, the second by Gil Meche. I'm really liking the giant chip he seems to have on his shoulder when he pitches, almost a quiet "I don't care if everyone else doesn't think I'm not worth that kind of money" pissed off where he goes out and retires 16 Angels between hits by Vlad.

He definitely has been an ace here, but the standards are pretty low. Still, I think most clubs would take 7 starts where all were 6 innings or more and only 1 had more than 3 earned runs given up for an ERA in the low 2's.

SI

[Lathum]

I am a Mets fan BTW

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I am a Mets fan BTW

I'm a Mets fan, too. I think the system may actually be getting worse. I know right now it seems like more teams have a shot at the playoffs, but both the Mets and Yankees have started to realize they have a big advantage in the draft and in foreign markets and I think it will really start to show in the next couple years. They can take chances on drafting guys with signability issues and throw money at them (Mike Pelfrey). Same for foreign players. Jose Tabata and Fernando Martinez are good examples there.

The best thing that could happen to small market teams right now is for Steinbrenner to panic and fire Cashman at some point. Cashman is dead-set using their financial advantage to build up the farm system and the Yankees with a deep farm system is a scary thought.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Which is great, except for 2 things if you're the Royals GM

1) I'm not running my team based on BP's computer model. It's not perfect.

2) See above- you keep him in AAA for 6 weeks of a bad season and you get him for another year when you're hoping to contend

SI

1) You're right - the Allard Baird model worked out so well for you guys. Clearly those stats nerds know nothing.

2) I do agree with the basic point, but the premise was that Gordon may not be a complement to the team - the general perception was that he would be the best hitter (and likely the best player on it). At that point, keeping him doing hurts the perception of a franchise far more than it helps.

2a) - consider the effect on Teahen if he had to make a mid-season move to RF instead of in ST.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I'm a Mets fan, too. I think the system may actually be getting worse. I know right now it seems like more teams have a shot at the playoffs, but both the Mets and Yankees have started to realize they have a big advantage in the draft and in foreign markets and I think it will really start to show in the next couple years. They can take chances on drafting guys with signability issues and throw money at them (Mike Pelfrey). Same for foreign players. Jose Tabata and Fernando Martinez are good examples there.

The best thing that could happen to small market teams right now is for Steinbrenner to panic and fire Cashman at some point. Cashman is dead-set using their financial advantage to build up the farm system and the Yankees with a deep farm system is a scary thought.

I agree with all of this. My biggest beef with the system isn't that the big market teams can pay players more but that small market teams can't afford to keep the players they have developed.