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Interesting. I think that if I were a Cubs fan I'd be happy.

Five years gives Epstein a chance to get the Soriano and Zambrano contracts off the books. They each get around 17mil a year for mediocre(and declining) results.

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Interesting. I think that if I were a Cubs fan I'd be happy.

I don't know. He did sign Lackey & Crawford didn't he? And from the looks of things the stats approach failed to account for character defects like too much beer, fried chicken & vidya gaming. :lol:

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Interesting. I think that if I were a Cubs fan I'd be happy.

I don't know. He did sign Lackey & Crawford didn't he? And from the looks of things the stats approach failed to account for character defects like too much beer, fried chicken & vidya gaming. :lol:

I don't know either, but the Red Sox did win two World Series with Epstein making the decisions. How long since the Cubs got a ring?

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I don't know either, but the Red Sox did win two World Series with Epstein making the decisions. How long since the Cubs got a ring?

Oh I agree, it's exciting news for Cubs fans. I'd just temper my enthusiasm as the record of successful GMs moving elsewhere and winning again is mixed. He's also worked with the 2nd or 3rd largest payroll. Most of his genius trades happened 8 years ago and that kind of Moneyball maneuvering is harder to do (he admitted as much not long ago in an interview.)

Here's a decent summary of his moves.

I wonder if Theo ran off with his own set of the Diamondview software & data that is property of Red Sox? Obviously I'm not even sure how it works, but given how primitive things were when he joined (typewriters!) they may not have much of a data security policy in place. Just mindless speculation on my part.

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In addition to his extra-inning heroics, Cruz made a nice throw to the plate last night in the bottom of the 8th to nail a lumbering Miguel Cabrera.

This has been airing all season long:

:lol: It is something else when a player gets in a zone (understatement) like this. Also I believe that was the first butt crack to appear in a MLB thread.

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All the offensive heroics in the world can't make up for a lack of strong (mentally and physically) starting pitching. The Rangers have none. That it's a miracle they've made it as far as they have is nice (very), but irrelevant to the immediate task at hand.

Tigers will go to the Series.

Also I believe that was the first butt crack to appear in a MLB thread.

"Heute Deutschland, morgen die Welt!"

The American League would be sufficent, thank you.

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And even if the Rangers do dodge the Dereck Holland/Colby Lewis meltdown-waiting-to-happen this weekend to get into the Series, that shit will catch up with them there. Has a team ever won a WS without at least one fully capable starter going in?

C.J. Wilson...love ya' man, aced up a lot this year, but that bullshit today was was just gutless. Time to lose the attitude and get your shit together. Then bring the attitude back. But only then. If you can't do that, then fuck off.

DFW already has false "superstars" Tony Romo & Dirk Nowitzki (even with a ring, the guy's a fraud at root, and always will be). That's already too many.

I know he's reading this, that's why I'm posting it here. :g

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Time to lose the attitude...

I wish they'd lose those dopey rope necklaces. They're so 2010! ;) I mean, I know gold is expensive, but c'mon, you're major leaguers. Buy some gold if you gotta wear necklaces.

I so thought the Tigers were doomed when they kept the lefty in to face Beltre in the 9th. That was some dangerous managing, but I guess that's what helps keep Leyland so thin as the nerves alone most have burned 300 calories for that at bat.

A case could be made the '75-'76 Reds didn't have much better starting pitching than your Rangers, or at least "going in," namely because Gullett & Nolan usually had injury troubles. Tough seeing C.J. struggle like this as he had a very good regular season. I see what you mean though by comments earlier in the year about how he hasn't shown he can be "the horse" yet.

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Tough seeing C.J. struggle like this as he had a very good regular season. I see what you mean though by comments earlier in the year about how he hasn't shown he can be "the horse" yet.

Exactly. It wasn't that he got beat today, it was that he folded so damn bad. Ok, the Curse of Comerica strikes again (remember how I told you that weird stuff always happens to us in that place?) the ball hits the bag, and bam, ok, so now just deal with it, keep the damage down, we still got this, maybe.

So what does the motherfucker do? Melts down, lets it get away from him, throws a bunch of shit that should not be thrown under those circumstances, with predictable results. Not...mentally...strong...pitching.

And yada yada, Tigers bats "came alive" and all that shit...BULLshit. Almost any time bats "come alive" like that it's because of pitching mistakes. True, the better the pitcher, the lesser the mistakes, and the better the hitter, the more damage done from the mistakes, but really, most "rallies" are predicated on a pitcher either fucking up and not adjusting or else hitters figuring a pitcher out before he can adjust.. C.J. Wilson had been pitching a very respectable game, and his offense was hovering waiting for a kill, But C.J. Wilson's pitching fed a kill for the Tigers, whereas Verlander, a truly mentally tough pitcher (although at what point does his arm start to wear out...is he a freak who can go on forever? I hope so for his sake). PITCHED OUT OF A POTENTIAL RANGERS KILL WITH ONE PITCH. See, C.J., that's what an ace really does, at least more often than not. Justin Verlander is an Ace. C.J. Wilson is just a damned good pitcher most of the time.

Very frustrating evening, went into the game pretty much expecting to lose, saw that Verlander was gettable in spots, so was feeling the need for a C.J. Wilson Giant Step Forward to keep it in sight and instead got Noteworthy Regression, the worst possible outcome.

So maybe Holland steps up on Saturday and keeps the ball down. Maybe we get lucky and win 1 out of 2. The team looked primed and ready to get back to business ASAP (did anybody else see Cruz literally try to pull himself up on the railing to get to that shot that Uehara gave up? It looked like hew was going to climb into the stands!). Home Field Advantage is a good thing this year, so there's that, but bottom line - you need your motherfucking starting pitching to come motherfucking through at least occasionally. Not for a little while and then give it all away, no, do it, and keep it done, then, if needed, hand off to a reliever who will also get it done and keep it done. MOTHERFUCKER!

Win or lose, though, the best-ever Texas Rangers team still has a lot of work to do. I swore not to be swayed by any postseason doings one way or the other because the regular season was truly epic & the love this team instilled in me is real,

But - gotta fix this pitching thing more better than it be fixed now.

We started choppin' for the hot stove yet?

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And yada yada, Tigers bats "came alive" and all that shit...BULLshit. Almost any time bats "come alive" like that it's because of pitching mistakes. True, the better the pitcher, the lesser the mistakes, and the better the hitter, the more damage done from the mistakes, but really, most "rallies" are predicated on a pitcher either fucking up and not adjusting or else hitters figuring a pitcher out before he can adjust.

Hmm, see what you're trying to say but 'Bullshit' way overstates the case. There is a real difference between bats that have "come alive" and those that remain "dead." That difference is this: When the bats are alive the hitters take advantage of a pitcher's mistakes; when the bats are dead, they don't take advantage. The Tigers took advantage of mistakes today in a way they haven't previously in the series. In a corollary, the more alive the bats are, the more they can tee off on even a pitcher's quality pitches. Verlander's 133rd pitch was a 100 mph fastball and not really in a supersweet hitting zone -- yes, the guy is a freak of nature -- but Cruz pounded the shit out of it over the left field wall. That's a very alive bat -- and a guy who is really, really, seeing the ball well. It must look like a basketball at this point to him.

Edited by Mark Stryker
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Point being - C.J. Wilson was making mistakes and did not/could not muster the wherewithal to stop making them. If he was making good pitches that were still getting hit, then I give the hitters more credit. But this guy just went ass up of a sudden. and couldn't get straight. go back and look at where his pitches were going - nothing remotely saying "enough is enough", which is where a true ace can go. C.J. Wilson is not a true ace. If he was, we get out of that inning with the one run, no more than two, and are still in the game. As it is, we de-stressed Verlander, never a good thing to do, and stuck we were. Almost got to Phil Coke in the 9th, but with two outs? Eh.

Oh well, let's see if Derek Holland decides to play with the grown ups on Saturday. He's another one who can do well but in no predictable manner. Just a freaking lack of focus, maturity, discipline, whatever it is.

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Point being - C.J. Wilson was making mistakes and did not/could not muster the wherewithal to stop making them. If he was making good pitches that were still getting hit, then I give the hitters more credit. But this guy just went ass up of a sudden. and couldn't get straight. go back and look at where his pitches were going - nothing remotely saying "enough is enough", which is where a true ace can go. C.J. Wilson is not a true ace. If he was, we get out of that inning with the one run, no more than two, and are still in the game. As it is, we de-stressed Verlander, never a good thing to do, and stuck we were. Almost got to Phil Coke in the 9th, but with two outs? Eh.

Oh well, let's see if Derek Holland decides to play with the grown ups on Saturday. He's another one who can do well but in no predictable manner. Just a freaking lack of focus, maturity, discipline, whatever it is.

Hear ya. You're saying Wilson's attitude in effect helped the Tigers bats come alive. True dat. But Tigers batters were making better swings tonight period in the abstract, even without the help, though they'll take as much help as the Rangers are willing to give. More, please.

Seriously, Cruz is a beast. He and Martinez should just go mano a mano for the pennant -- those guys play with incredible guts and determination.

Edited by Mark Stryker
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I'm saying that in theory pitching should always have the advantage over hitting, and that the best pitchers are the ones who figure out when and why they don't quicker and faster and more conclusively. The better hitters are the ones who make it harder for the pitchers to do that, but all things being equal (which of course they aren't), if an above average pitcher like C.J. get rocked like he got rocked today (and more or less all post season), it's far more likely that CJ's fucking something up than it is the hitters just being so damn good. I'm a big believer in pitching, in case you haven't noticed. :g

As for Cruz, I'm not sure towards whom this was being directed, but it was after his HR off of Verlander, and dammit, "arrogant" or not, that's the way I want to see people play, especially pitchers. Be proud at all times, and do not be afraid to be defiant in defeat.

iInQb.gif

The day I see C.J. Wilson act like this AND consistently pitch to back it up is the day that C.J. Wilson gets to be an ace instead of just being called one.

Edited by JSngry
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I think Cruz was looking at Verlander and giving him some serious attitude. I would not be surprisef if the next time Verlander faces him -- and that's probably going to be next year since after throwing 133 pitches today it's highly unlikely that he would throw at all in a game seven -- Verlander will undoubtedly put one under his chin. He might just plonk him. I'm not generally a believer in the retaliation game for real or perceived sins, including the whole you-disrespected-me-by-showing-me-up thing. (C'mon, guys, grow up.) But Verlander is old school and he's got a streak of Bob Gibson competitive nastiness in him. I'm just saying don't be surprised ...

Edited by Mark Stryker
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According to a report on ESPN this morning, if C.C. Sabbathia opts out of his contract with the Yankees, which he is expected to do, the Texas Rangers are prepared to throw a "boatload" of money in his direction. That should make the hot stove season a little more interesting and, if you're a Yankee fan, potentially disastrous. I'm no fan of giving Sabbathia way too much money for way too many years (a tendency in New York) but, given the "replacement" options that are out there, I shudder to think of the Yank's rotation without him.

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