MLB 2008

[papsrus]

I'm confused. Nats/Braves on a DC sportstation, flip over to TBS to see what's up there, and they are showing Cubs/Phillies. Why? Does TBS have a general NL deal? Or are people concerned that the lovable Cubs just don't get enough nationwide exposure on their own superstation? Or is it a Caray thing (...and I wouldn't understand)?

Yes, TBS dropped the Braves to show us more of those rare Red Sux (last week, and probably 90% of the rest of their Sunday games) and this week the Cubs, two teams you simply CAN'T see anywhere else. Why don't they just give up baseball altogether and show Raymond 24 hours a day?

I seem to have some foggy memory of all this having to do with the whole superstation thing and TBS was somehow being "required" to broaden their baseball coverage. (ie: they didn't drop the Braves voluntarily). ... Could be wrong, but there was some deal like that involved, I believe.

(glad to clarify things a bit ... )

[zen archer]

Doesn't it say everything about the way things have changed between these two ballclubs that they'd go to this trouble to remove a potential "hex"? I guarantee that if Yankee fans could still be chanting "19-18," the Yankees would say "who cares? We are the YANKEES. There are no curses that can stop us." In fact, you would think given Li'l Boss's obnoxious comments that he would give the order to leave it be, with a statement that no so-called "curse" can stop the Yankees.

But no. The biggest choke in history, no crowns in 8 years, another championship parade in Boston, and they are beside themselves making sure that this shirt gets dug up.

I tell you, the Yankees aren't the Yankees anymore.

It was an Ortiz shirt , maybe it was a reverse jinx ....hopefully he will start hitting again !!...Big Papi

gets a rest tonight .

Cant believe the yanks would consider criminal charges ??....is it against the law to Bury shirts in cement ( without

a person in it )?

Its nice to see them donate it to the Jimmy Fund !!!!!

[jlhoots]

Brewers recover to beat the Mets 2 in a row.

Gagne looking better.

Sheets looking more than that.

[papsrus]

It was an Ortiz shirt , maybe it was a reverse jinx ....hopefully he will start hitting again !!...Big Papi

gets a rest tonight .

Cant believe the yanks would consider criminal charges ??....is it against the law to Bury shirts in cement ( without

a person in it )?

Its nice to see them donate it to the Jimmy Fund !!!!!

Had the exact same thoughts.

Yankees again looked pretty average last night. And is it just me or was it was starting to get a wee bit frustrating watching Dice K nibble around off the edges of the plate for five innings. Morgan was right -- with a 6-run lead, keep it low and make 'em hit the damn ball. They're not hitting anyways. In the end, I guess it worked, but geez.

I'm not sure what else he could have done, but bad move putting Pasada in the game defensively late. Second base was there for the taking after that.

[Dan Gould]

It was an Ortiz shirt , maybe it was a reverse jinx ....hopefully he will start hitting again !!...Big Papi

gets a rest tonight .

Cant believe the yanks would consider criminal charges ??....is it against the law to Bury shirts in cement ( without

a person in it )?

Its nice to see them donate it to the Jimmy Fund !!!!!

Had the exact same thoughts.

Yankees again looked pretty average last night. And is it just me or was it was starting to get a wee bit frustrating watching Dice K nibble around off the edges of the plate for five innings. Morgan was right -- with a 6-run lead, keep it low and make 'em hit the damn ball. They're not hitting anyways. In the end, I guess it worked, but geez.

I'm not sure what else he could have done, but bad move putting Pasada in the game defensively late. Second base was there for the taking after that.

Well, with Molina out, Posada was the only option unless they wanted to activate Girardi and make him the player-manager. Apparently the AAA catcher is going to be called up for tonight's game, with Jeter back in the lineup I assume the defensive wiz SS who hit a lot better than anyone expected will be sent down. But I have to wonder where Posada is with his shoulder. It was implied that he'd be ready to catch again yet the trainers told him not to throw down to second. They can't put him back in there against the run-happy Rays, that's for sure.

As to Dice-K, I want to hope and assume that the extreme cold was what messed up his command. It was just a bad day right from the start, it seemed that he commanded nothing at all. He was lucky to get through 5, and with Papelbon and Okajima unavailable, the team was very lucky to hold the Yankees in check the rest of the way. Everyone but Timlin pitched well but you have to wonder if Timlin has anything left. Of course, we wondered about that after 2006 and he had an excellent 2007 but jeez. He's faced five batters and gone HR, 2B, HR, 1B, 1B, with the first three guys scoring and an ERA of infinity.

[BERIGAN]

From Starks column.....

Senior citizen of the week: As John Smoltz closes in on the 3,000-Strikeout Club (a club with only about half as many members as the 3,000-Hit Club, by the way), one scout who attended the Smoltz-Santana duel last Sunday had this glowing review:

“If John Smoltz had shoulder problems, he sure didn’t pitch like it. His stuff was better, across the board, than Santana’s. He’s just got so many ways to get you out, and such great movement on all his pitches, it’s testimony to all the benefits of having a fluid delivery. If you’re a kid 11 or 12 years old and you want to learn how to pitch, look at John Smoltz. That’s why he’s still throwing 96 miles an hour and he’s 40 years old.”

He really was hitting 96 the other day!!! Amazing, since I saw 94 sometimes 95 tops last year. He just doesn't look like he should be able to whip it up there at that speed, does he???

[WorldB3]

A quick public service announcement to remind everybody who has the best record in the AL:

Thank you, that is all

[Chalupa]

How are the umps doing?

Rays have had two awful calls go against them (in NY) and one highly questionable call (in their home-opener last night) already. The two calls in NY were clearly blown calls (runner called out at first when the tag missed by a foot after the throw pulled Giambi off the bag; the second was one where the base runner had clearly made it to second before the throw on a force-out. No question on either of those. ... Last night on a closer play, Upton slid into third on a would-be triple before the tag and was called out. OK ... human error. It was a close play in real time. But in a tight game it was a big factor.

These things are supposed to even out over time, so I'm looking forward to some favorable calls here soon.

Well the umps BLEW IT yesterday. Adrian Johnson(remember his name because I'm sure he'll blow some more calls) called a foul ball, which replays clearly showed was foul, a home run yesterday. Phils lose in extra innings 6-5. YO ADRIAN! GET SOME GLASSES!

But DeRosa's phantom homer - replays showed the ball clearly went behind the foul pole in left field - had both clubhouses talking afterward.

"He said the ball was inside the pole," Manuel said of his conversation with Johnson in the sixth. "He said it was fair. I asked him to get help. He did. I had a good shot at the ball. It was foul."

Manuel argued so vehemently that Johnson ejected him.

"It looked fair to me," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

But, Lou, replays showed the ball clearly was foul.

"Really?" he said. "You mean the umpires were wrong?"

[Patrick]

It's painfully obvious now. Joe Borowski must have comprising pictures of Eric Wedge and/or Mark Shapiro together or with farm animals or ... already two blown saves, velocity is down. A stacked bullpen. How much longer???

Hey Red Sox Nation, enjoy the gift you received tonight.

[Dan Gould]

It's painfully obvious now. Joe Borowski must have comprising pictures of Eric Wedge and/or Mark Shapiro together or with farm animals or ... already two blown saves, velocity is down. A stacked bullpen. How much longer???

Hey Red Sox Nation, enjoy the gift you received tonight.

thanks, I surely did.

Hopefully for your sake Wedge and Shapiro will mount a counter-espionage operation to secure those photos and will make the change, and last night's comeback win by Detroit hasn't set them back on the right path. Before last night, they needed to play .600 ball the rest of the way to reach 92 wins, which will put you in position to contend for the wild card but isn't likely to get the division crown.

I'd say the odds still favor Cleveland - if they get Borowski out of there.

One thing to consider though - if he swaps places with Betancourt, who is to say that he doesn't give up the crushing home run to Manny in the seventh inning instead?

[skeith]

I watched it too and to quote a famous Yankee - It was deja vu all over again and Groundhog Day too!!

Former Indian and now Indian nemesis Manny Ramirez sure earned his paycheck last night!!!

[papsrus]

That ... was a painful loss for the Tribe. Was toggling between that game and the Rays game last night. Manny's got one sweet swing.

And can we get some warm weather going here?! It's even chilly in Fla. now, damnit!

[Noj]

I tuned in just in time to watch the inning and see Ortiz get a flare single. As the inning progressed, I could just feel the choke coming. When Manny stepped to the plate, I thought "he's gonna hit a bomb." Sure enough, Manny hits a shitrod.

Then I switched back to watch the Dodgers' Saito serve up a 3-run shot to the Pirates' McLouth and blow a one-run ninth inning lead with two outs. Ugh. It was more fun when it was Cleveland's pain and not my own.

[Soulstation1]

F MannRam

[Patrick]

In my alternative Indians bullpen universe, Joe Borowski is the long man. Maybe closer by committee, or give it to Betancourt. Rafael Perez, Jensen Lewis, Masa Kobayashi, and to a lesser extent Jorge Julio are the setup guys. Of those guys, the only one that you can make a legitimate argument is weaker than Borowski is maybe Julio (based on age, injuries), or possibly Kobayashi (unproven in MLB). Good news is that JoBo just got placed on the DL with a strained right biceps muscle. Tom Mastny, the last bullpen cut, was promoted. I suspect Betancourt will get first crack at the closer role.

Briefly to other positive things. Travis Hafner, while not totally locked in averagewise, is presently not in the shackles of last year. Jake Westbrook was solid and steady again. If Cliff Lee can continue to pitch at the level he was pitching a few years ago, then Paul Byrd can rightly reclaim his spot as the fifth starter (behind CC, Fausto, Westbrook, and Lee) instead of the third starter (much of last season). Sabathia has been brutal so far, but I remain confident during his contract year.

Most of the time, Manny Ramirez in a foreign uniform does not bother me. The guy can swing, and doesn't seem to take himself too seriously (usually). Occaisionally he does deserve a knockdown pitch following the posing at home. Manny was Manny, but it was Youk that I had a bad feeling about before the game started. That guy just kills the Tribe.

And first pitch was thrown by Mudcat Grant. Accompanied by Al Downing, and JR Richard, two other African American 20 game winners.

Hot stove league may be over, but let's keep the stove hot in Cleveland (...and a few other places) for at least a few more weeks.

[BERIGAN]

Man, can the injury bug hit fast! first, Hampton, then the closer Raphael Soriano goes on DL with Elbow issues, Glavine tweaks his hamstring,(May go on DL for very first time in his career) now Peter Moylan who looked great in his first chance to close, has a sore elbow!!! If folks don't know about him, he throws sidearm, and hit 96 the other night...perhaps he was "tossing" too hard!!!

[papsrus]

Man, can the injury bug hit fast! first, Hampton, then the closer Raphael Soriano goes on DL with Elbow issues, Glavine tweaks his hamstring,(May go on DL for very first time in his career) now Peter Moylan who looked great in his first chance to close, has a sore elbow!!! If folks don't know about him, he throws sidearm, and hit 96 the other night...perhaps he was "tossing" too hard!!!

It does seem like there are a lot of injuries early this season. Borowski placed on DL today.

[Chalupa]

Wow. Phils score 4 in the 9th to beat the Astros 4-3 last night. The win improves their record to 7-7. Last year at this time it was 4-10. They still haven't been above .500 this season.

From yesterday's Inky....

They didn't get over .500 until May 26 last season, and they needed five attempts to do it. They didn't get over .500 until May 5 in 2006, either. For whatever reasons, this team starts slowly. Every year. They haven't had a winning April since 2003. That's a lot of bad baseball in Aprils since.

[Soulstation1]

Red Sox are beginning to piss me off

[Dan Gould]

Red Sox are beginning to piss me off

Only beginning to?

I laugh in your face.

[Dan Gould]

This motherfucking umpire is a piece of shit. I hope he enjoys cashing Hank Steinbrenner's check.

[Tim McG]

Hey, Molina puts one in the left field seats for a walk-off HR!

Giants win! Giants win! Giants win!

A one game winning streak....BOO-Ya!

That's really amazing. But it must suck to know that the season highlight happened on April 8.

We shall see, Dan-O.

[papsrus]

Red Sox are beginning to piss me off

Only beginning to?

I laugh in your face.

This motherfucking umpire is a piece of shit. I hope he enjoys cashing Hank Steinbrenner's check.

..... BASTIDS!

[Dan Gould]

Well I guess we just weren't supposed to win this motherfucking game after all. On the plus side:

We showed that Wang isn't quite the blossoming ace some people were making him out to be. In fact, this performance was very much on a par with most of his starts against the Sox, except that it came at Yankee Stadium. But the history kinda suggests that it was last week's gem that was the fluke.

Tomorrow is still Mussina vs Beckett, and the Yankees had to go deep into the bullpen to win this. Can Mussina last even six innings? Joba is still gone and the only guy the Yankees didn't use was Farnsworthless. We've got Okajima, MDC and Papelbon rested, and Beckett should be ready for a seven or eight inning start anyway.

Pedroia, Manny, Drew, Youkilis and Casey are all tearing the cover off the ball, and Ortiz is getting his shit together slowly but surely. The pitching may not be what it was last year but there are a lot of good hitters on this club.

[papsrus]

That was one wacky game. Thirty total hits. Four hours. ... man. Wang never did find the plate. But Giambi looks like he may be coming around slowly. Yankees lineup is suddenly looking better than it was a week ago. But they are still an aging and very average defense. On balance, Red Sox have the better defense, better mix of youth and experience, more solid lineup, better starting pitching, better pen, better manager. Drew's off to a monster start and Casey is looking like a brilliant move. I just think the Yankees aren't going to be able to sustain over the long haul. ... hoping anyways.

Rays on a three-game skid after dropping a close one in Minneapolis. Bah!