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MLB 2014 Season - Always Take Your Glove To The Ballpark!


JSngry

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At 29, Max Scherzer is the reigning Cy Young Award winner and has made 179 professional starts. Last night he threw his FIRST complete game. In 1971 alone Mickey Lolich pitched 29 (!) complete games and he ended his 16 year career with 195. Another way to think about that: If Scherzer had thrown all 9 innings in every game he has started since his 2008 debut, he would need another 16 complete games to reach Lolich. To be clear: I'm not criticizing Scherzer -- this is the way the game is played today and the way he and his peers were trained. We have effectively bread the 6-inning starting pitcher. But it is striking how much pitching has changed in the last 35 years since the concept of the closer solidified. My memory is that Bruce Sutter was perhaps the Louis Armstrong of the breed starting in the late '70s, though Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers were key transitional figures. But I think it was LaRussa managing the A's who really codified the whole set-up guys in the 7th and 8th then using Eckersley exclusively in the 9th.

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An important challenge of the umpires' call in last night's game between the Nationals and Rockies. Come to find out manager Matt Williams is successful in 65% of his challenges! Is there a list somewhere for the whole of MLB?

Edited by Neal Pomea
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  • 3 weeks later...

Wow....everyone give up on baseball?

Just a few trades today....

Lester to A's, Cespedes to Boston

Source: Yankees get SS Drew from Red Sox

Cards get Lackey, Craig to Red Sox

Nationals acquire SS Cabrera from Indians

O's acquire lefty reliever Miller from Red Sox

Oh yeah, David Price to the Tigers....

Edited by BERIGAN
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Wow....everyone give up on baseball?

No, just relocated to the rehab wing.

From http://www.lonestarball.com/2014/7/31/5957241/tanner-scheppers-alexi-ogando-kevin-kouzmanoff-jurickson-profar-all

The 2014 Texas Rangers disabled list is like the Roach Motel: Players go in, but they don't come out.

apart from that, Price to the Tigers is a strong move, and glad to see Price with a legit contender. That guy's a player!

Not sure if Oakland was smart with the Cespedes deal, though. Boston can throw money to get Lester back in the off-season...time will tell. Oakland has been smart enough and good enough for so long now, I retract the "playing over their heads" suspicion I held about them for too long.

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I don't think it's a question for the A's of keeping Lester, they aren't going to compete to re-sign him. It's all about what it does for them in the next two months and in October. Cespedes was going to be shopped this off-season because he's only under contract through 2015. So the A's didn't wait until the off-season to see what he might fetch for 2015, they are going for it all now.

As a Sox fan, I'm intrigued by Cespedes but not knowing if he'll be in the heart of the lineup past 2015, the whole trade boils down to whether or not the Sox are ready to do what is necessary to get Lester back in a few months. If it's Jonny Gomes for Cespedes that's an incredible trade.

If Lester ends up in the Bronx, it's an unmitigated disaster.

But that's a worry for another day, right now I'm pleased with all of the moves and they feel a helluva lot better than 2012's stunning salary dump. For Lackey they got a strong 26 year old starter and a 29 year old OF/1B who until this year was a fine hitter; the Orioles third-best prospect for two months of Andrew Miller (another guy who could come back as a free agent), and Stephen Drew is the Yankee's problem now.

And for the next year at least, as long as Victorino is healthy, the Sox will have the best OF defense in the game with Cespedes, Jackie Bradley and Victorino.

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Oh and don't forget the two decent pitching prospects the Sox got for Peavey, including a 22 year old whose made it to AAA already.

Could the Red Sox package their prospects plus Cespedes to pry Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins? Stanton is about to get very expensive for Miami, and they really wanted Cespedes when he came over from Cuba and ended up with Oakland.

Lester and Gomes for Cespedes turning into Gomes plus prospects for Stanton almost sounds too good to imagine. But it's not impossible to see that outcome.

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Wow....everyone give up on baseball?

No, just relocated to the rehab wing.

From http://www.lonestarball.com/2014/7/31/5957241/tanner-scheppers-alexi-ogando-kevin-kouzmanoff-jurickson-profar-all

The 2014 Texas Rangers disabled list is like the Roach Motel: Players go in, but they don't come out.

apart from that, Price to the Tigers is a strong move, and glad to see Price with a legit contender. That guy's a player!

Not sure if Oakland was smart with the Cespedes deal, though. Boston can throw money to get Lester back in the off-season...time will tell. Oakland has been smart enough and good enough for so long now, I retract the "playing over their heads" suspicion I held about them for too long.

It's really amazing how many Rangers have gone down this year, and for the season...kinda surprised that writer didn't briefly mention that Prince Fielder (neck), Matt Harrison (neck), Martin Perez also are done for the year....aren't there even more????

When I first heard the Lester deal, I thought the A's, as much as any team can these days, had punched their ticket to the W.S. Then the Tigers got Price. Now , one of those teams is going to be real disappointed come October. I was going to say that would be the real W.S., but after just seeing the Dodgers sweep the Braves , they will not be a patsy come the W.S. (assuming they make it, don't see any team save the Cards being a real threat to them moving on)

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My friend Berigan will know what I'm talking about here:

Wash Post 8-2-14: "The Nationals and Braves continue to mimic one another, for both richer and poorer. From June 28 to July 13, the Nationals went 10-4 but gained no ground in the NL East. In the past 10 days, the Nationals have gone 3-6, but they’ve only lost a half game because they Braves have gone 4-6, including a loss last night on the West Coast in which they allowed the Padres 20 hits."

The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat!

Edited by Neal Pomea
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My friend Berigan will know what I'm talking about here:

Wash Post 8-2-14: "The Nationals and Braves continue to mimic one another, for both richer and poorer. From June 28 to July 13, the Nationals went 10-4 but gained no ground in the NL East. In the past 10 days, the Nationals have gone 3-6, but they’ve only lost a half game because they Braves have gone 4-6, including a loss last night on the West Coast in which they allowed the Padres 20 hits."

The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat!

Oh Neal, do I ever!(I started a post on this hours ago, got distracted, left the house, and it got deleted...sigh) anyways...I though for sure this was the Nats year, Starting pitching was so much better than the Braves, then the braves lost Medlen and Beachy...no chance. Got Ervin Santana, got super lucky with Aaron Harang (3.40 ERA right now) still, a patched together rotation that wouldn't scare anyone. A much weaker bullpen. But, for the most part the pitching is fine. It's the complete lack of hitting(at least timely hitting) that keeps the Braves down. Freddie Freeman, a very good, but streaky hitter. Justin Upton, an even more streaky hitter(Still only 26, which amazes me) BJ Upton, who apparently can't hit without astroturf...or something. How can he leave the AL East, and tiny home attendance, and go from a fairly poor, 240-250 hitter, to a hitter that has "improved" this year to a .211 average? 7 HR's and 27 RBi's, and until a month or so ago, wasn't batting leadoff(Batting leadoff, he has actually improved his B.A., sigh... ) 3 more years after this year at 15 mil. Dan Uggla, recently released, (Braves seriously thought someone would trade for him when he was hitting .165?) How did he completely lose the ability to hit? Very odd. It's happened to Andruw Jones, Jeff Francouer, BJ and Uggla while wearing a braves Uni) Jason Heyward. Perhaps the best Right Fielder in the game, but after being the media darling his first year, seems be getting worse and worse at the plate(After 3 hits tonight, he is up to .267, and does look better at the plate) still only 24. But man, after his first season...just not what we expected. Chris Johnson, hitting better, but still way below last year, somewhat expectedly. Andrelton Simmons, great, great SS, but has regressed at the plate, .249 right now. Evan Gattis has 17 HR's and a 280 BA, so not much to complain there (Well, he needs to improve blocking the plate, but then again, Brian McCann never was great at that either) But seriously, does that look like a playoff team???

I know the nats have had injuries, Zimmerman most recently...but I still think they will win in the end. Just surprised they haven't taken off yet....Of course, this probably means the Marlins, even without Jose Fernandez, will go on some huge run and win the division, and break the hearts of the A's in the W.S :rfr ,

Re-reading that post tells me it's too late for me to be posting :rolleyes:

I feel on the one hand, I should be glad that they are even competing, but one the other, no one is having even close to those career years you see one teams that get into the playoffs, (Most are having below average years) and if they do somehow get in...smoke and mirrors wouldn't even begin to explain it....

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Dan,

I'd be surprised (pleasantly) if Lester returns. The talk seems to be that the ownership is averse to signing pitchers over 30 to long-term contracts.

Drew actually was our problem last night. He had 4 RBIs against us in a game in which Buchholz couldn't hold two different 3-run leads. If he's our ace now, it's hello cellar (but we're there already).

One assumes that they'll pursue some experienced starters in the off season.

The rotation is really scary (in a bad way) now. Allen Webster couldn't find the plate on Saturday night.

I don't think it's a question for the A's of keeping Lester, they aren't going to compete to re-sign him. It's all about what it does for them in the next two months and in October. Cespedes was going to be shopped this off-season because he's only under contract through 2015. So the A's didn't wait until the off-season to see what he might fetch for 2015, they are going for it all now.

As a Sox fan, I'm intrigued by Cespedes but not knowing if he'll be in the heart of the lineup past 2015, the whole trade boils down to whether or not the Sox are ready to do what is necessary to get Lester back in a few months. If it's Jonny Gomes for Cespedes that's an incredible trade.

If Lester ends up in the Bronx, it's an unmitigated disaster.

But that's a worry for another day, right now I'm pleased with all of the moves and they feel a helluva lot better than 2012's stunning salary dump. For Lackey they got a strong 26 year old starter and a 29 year old OF/1B who until this year was a fine hitter; the Orioles third-best prospect for two months of Andrew Miller (another guy who could come back as a free agent), and Stephen Drew is the Yankee's problem now.

And for the next year at least, as long as Victorino is healthy, the Sox will have the best OF defense in the game with Cespedes, Jackie Bradley and Victorino.

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Sorry to hear Shane Victorino is going to need season ending back surgery. Does seem like it will give the Red Sox a chance to see what Allen Craig can do for them though...

On the subject of Victorino...a "Top Commenter" on ESPN made such a brilliant comment, many fellow commenters felt the need to congratulate him! ;)

(can't copy from espn with all the avatars, so via Notepad)

Oh, and this guy looks to be in his mid 20s to boot

Robert Santana · Top Commenter
Play reckless, get hurt. The "Flyin' Hawaiian" has been grounded. If you take care of your body, you'll play baseball for a long time. I've thrown my body around a lot while playing sports and I've never gotten injured. It's all about knowing your limitations and how to land properly.
Reply · Like · 1 · Edited · 3 hours ago
Thomas Barrow · Top Commenter
Robert Santana really love these posts from all the self promoting faux athletes playin weekend warrior and comping themselves to real athletes.
Reply · Unlike · 33 · 3 hours ago
Ryan Sheahen · Top Commenter
Robert Santana playing sports games on Xbox doesn't make you an athlete..
Reply · Unlike · 18 · 3 hours ago
Chris Kimmel · Top Commenter
Robert Santana of all the stupid stuff that's been posted in the ESPN comment section this has to be top 10. Keep up the good work, moron.
Reply · Like · 15 · 3 hours ago
Andy Kovatch · Top Commenter
Robert Santana Checkers does not qualify as an athletic competition.
Reply · Unlike · 10 · 3 hours ago
Alex Barron
In fairness, you have to be in peak physical condition to tutor SATs. It takes grueling hours in the gym to build that kind of stamina. Sure, Victorino has helped two teams to world championships, but does he have what it takes to give study tips to high school kids like our boy Robert? Didn't think so.
Reply · Unlike · 10 · Edited · 3 hours ago
Andy Kovatch · Top Commenter
Alex Barron Valid point. And being a genius, I'm sure our boy Bobby Santana knows EXACTLY how to land when you throw your body around. After all, he is a world renowned athlete!
Reply · Unlike · 7 · 2 hours ago
Ian Chin · Top Commenter
Robert Santana he's a professional athlete who plays baseball at the highest level. I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing.
Reply · Unlike · 3 · 2 hours ago
Andy Kovatch · Top Commenter
Ian Chin Not quite at the level of the infamous Bobby Santana though...
Reply · Unlike · 3 · 2 hours ago
Daniel Piergeti · Top Commenter
Robert Santana frisbee is not a sport you tool
Reply · Unlike · 4 · 2 hours ago
Caitlin Schmo · Top Commenter
Robert Santana oh ok.. being a weekend hack with ur critical reading and writing jabros isnt exactly like being victorino or the typical pro athlete. a lot of it is in the genes and pure luck or fate.. injuries often just happen, plus he's 33!
Reply · Like · 2 · 2 hours ago
Robert G. Warner III · Top Commenter
Robert Santana - that is one of the most idiotic comments I have seen on an ESPN chat board...and with the drivel out there these days that's quite an accomplishment.
Reply · Unlike · 3 · 2 hours ago
David Park · Top Commenter
Robert Santana, masturbating does not make you an athlete.
Reply · Unlike · 10 · about an hour ago

Edited by BERIGAN
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