2006 MLB Thread

[Dave James]

Up over and out.

[ghost of miles]

Nice extra-innings win for the Yanks last night in Detroit. Tied with Boston!

[ghost of miles]

It's official:

Clemens going to Houston

[Dan Gould]

Nice extra-innings win for the Yanks last night in Detroit. Tied with Boston!

Pathetic.

I am really worried where we might be by the end of this road trip, given how we're playing, who we're playing, who's injured and who is pitching (and who isn't). I'm afraid we are going to limp home from New York a week from tomorrow in third place.

Edited May 31, 2006 by Dan Gould

[Soulstation1]

going through some baseball cards

will these guys ever make the HOF?

Jim Rice

Dale Murphy

Keith Hernandez

Goose Gossage

Andre Dawson

Barry Larkin

[Dan Gould]

going through some baseball cards

will these guys ever make the HOF?

Jim Rice

Dale Murphy

Keith Hernandez

Goose Gossage

Andre Dawson

Barry Larkin

Yes

No

No

Definite yes

Definite yes

Definite yes

[BERIGAN]

going through some baseball cards

will these guys ever make the HOF?

Jim Rice

Dale Murphy

Keith Hernandez

Goose Gossage

Andre Dawson

Barry Larkin

Good Question! Interesting, checking out Jim Rice, Dale Murphy, and Keith Hernadez's stats, they all started to go way downhill between the ages of 32-33.

I'd say yes for Rice, sadly no for Dale Murphy, Keith Hernandez's offensive numbers overall aren't quite HOF, but he was about the best 1st baseman of the last 25+ years, 11 gold gloves, so overall he should someday get in.... Why Isn't Gossage in there? Larkin is a tough call, he was injured a fair bit, and of course the strikes didn't help boost his numbers either. He would have had more gold gloves if he hadn't played around the same time as Ozzie. As for Andre Dawson, despite bad knees, and playing in that cavernous park in Montreal for many years. drove in 1592 RBI's. More than......

Rogers Hornsby+ 1584 R

Harmon Killebrew+ 1584 R

31. Al Kaline+ 1583 R

32. Jake Beckley+* 1575 L

Sammy Sosa (36) 1575 R

34. Willie McCovey+* 1555 L

35. Fred McGriff* 1550 L

36. Willie Stargell+* 1540 L

37. Harry Heilmann+ 1539 R

38. Joe DiMaggio+ 1537 R

39. Ken Griffey* (35) 1536 L

40. Jeff Bagwell (37) 1529 R

Rank Player (age) RBI Bats

Tris Speaker+* 1529 L

42. Sam Crawford+* 1525 L

43. Mickey Mantle+# 1509 B

44. Dave Parker* 1493 L

45. Gary Sheffield (36) 1476 R

46. Billy Williams+* 1475 L

47. Rusty Staub* 1466 L

48. Frank Thomas (37) 1465 R

49. Ed Delahanty+ 1464 R

50. Eddie Mathews+* 1453

So, YES!!!!

Edited May 31, 2006 by BERIGAN

[HolyStitt]

going through some baseball cards

will these guys ever make the HOF?

The real question is will Bert Blyleven?

G GS CG SH IP H ER BB SO W L SV ERA

22 Seasons 692 685 242 60 4970.0 4632 1830 1322 3701 287 250 0 3.31

Career Rankings 79 9 91 9 13 14 10 29 5 25 10 -- 368

All-Time Career Strikeouts Leaders

1 Nolan Ryan 5714

2 Roger Clemens 4502

3 Randy Johnson 4372

4 Steve Carlton 4136

5 Bert Blyleven 3701

http://www.bertbelongs.com/

[Dan Gould]

Didn't think this would turn into a new HoF thread, but I definitely think that Blyleven belongs and that Dawson will get in - in Dawson's case it doesn't hurt at all that he was such a class act. No question about Goose either - he's in within another few cycles.

Its interesting about Rice and Murphy in that they had similar overall numbers (I think Rice was the better hitter for average though) and Murphy was certainly better than Rice in every area other than hitting, yet despite being a more complete player, Rice is the one who creeps closer and closer but Murphy has no groundswell of support.

Being a Jim Ed fan since the age of 12, when I adopted his batting mannerisms for backyard wiffleball games, the little boy in me will be very very happy when he gets the call.

[Noj]

I'm betting there wasn't much Don didn't hear on the field.

[Dave James]

Noj,

Up over and out.

Edited May 31, 2006 by Dave James

[Dan Gould]

I'm betting there wasn't much Don didn't hear on the field.

The question is, was he good enough to get unmercifully heckled? With those ears he'd have heard every put-down, that's for sure.

[Dave James]

Don Mossi

Nickname: The Sphinx

Born: 1929

LHP 1954-65 Indians, Tigers, White Sox, Athletics

Career Stats

Innings Pitched: 1548

Won: 101

Lost: 80

ERA: 3.43

Looks like ol' Don wasn't too bad a hurler, in spite of those ears. Lots of teams today would kill for a guy with those stats.

Up over and out.

[sheldonm]

Up over and out.

Not to poke fun at him but he looks like a freakin' cartoon!

[BERIGAN]

Up over and out.

Not to poke fun at him but he looks like a freakin' cartoon!

Uhmm, what would you say if you would you were to poke fun at him?

[Quincy]

Up over and out.

With that raw material you could make a Don Adams and have some stuff left over.

[ghost of miles]

Assuming New York holds onto their 6-0 lead (still in the top of the 9th--spankin' Detroit on the road!), Yanks and Bosox remain tied as of tomorrow's morning papers & June 1. Great summer in the making... Here's somebody else who thinks Clemens blew it by not going back to Boston:

Clemens' missed opportunity

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

May 31, 2006

Roger Clemens got an easy commute. Get on I-10 in the heart of his hometown of Katy, Texas, make a straight shot into downtown Houston, left on Texas, left on Crawford and there you are, Minute Maid Park, where the Rocket will be paid $12.6 million to play for his hometown Houston Astros for the rest of the season.

And for the rest of his life, he'll be stuck wondering what could have been …

Back in Boston. Back where it began. Back near the Back Bay where he struck out 20, where he won the first of his seven Cy Young Awards, where he first thrilled a fan base with the promise that his golden arm would end decades of futility.

He'll spend the rest of his life wondering what it would have been like to …

Take the hill in Fenway Park once again, that old "B" on his cap, in the middle of that one-of-a-kind rivalry with the New York Yankees, again pushing for October where that wonderful, chilly, see-your-breath New England air awaits, an entire town, a baseball town, in the palm of his hand one last time.

He'll wonder if that wasn't the way to end a storied, break-the-mold career.

But he got an easy commute. And more time at home. And maybe a chance to play with his son, Koby, an Astros farmhand.

Intellectually, we can't dismiss those things. You can't blame Clemens for staying put.

But, for any baseball fan who thrives on the game's history, its storylines, its legends, there was only one proper choice in Clemens' unique free agency – one where he waited until mid-season to choose a team and "unretire" – and that was Boston.

Clemens in Boston would have been the story of the year, pushing Barry Bonds' ridiculousness far out of mind. Every start would have been an event, every appearance an encore performance of energy and emotion.

Imagine Clemens returning to Yankee Stadium, once again on the other side of the game's best rivalry, haunting a club he stood up when he "retired" for a couple months in 2003, would have been must-watch television. It would have been a reverse Babe Ruth move.

Houston was an interesting story two years ago. Clemens' buddy Andy Pettitte signed with the club late in 2003 and when Clemens got sucked into the excitement around this long-slumbering franchise, the two of them declared the goal was the World Series, which was laughable until the Astros reached two consecutive playoffs, including last year's October Classic against the Chicago White Sox.

Clemens has always understood that there is more to a career than numbers. He has always seemed to be a sucker for great stories, too.

Now the Houston thing, at least to anyone who isn't an Astros fan, just seems played out. Houston went 11-19 in May and, 6½ games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, has little chance of winning the division. While the Astros are only four games out of the wild card, they are behind six clubs. Clemens will help, sure, but this is not likely to be a postseason team, which was supposed to be a criterion for his signing.

"He wants to have a chance to win in October, so that is very important," Clemens' agent, Randy Hendricks, told Yahoo! Sports last week. "Houston sure needs to reverse their recent trend."

Since Hendricks told me that, Houston has gone 2-5.

At this point, another year in Houston is just another year in Houston.

For all the dreamers out there, Clemens in Boston was tantalizing. The Rocket has always been about the big stage, the big spotlight, and nothing would have afforded it like a return to pitch for a fan base that once adored him, later hated him and was (mostly) ready to embrace him again.

It is almost impossible to imagine how big Clemens was in Boston in 1986, when he rocketed to a 24-4 record, a Cy Young and carried the Red Sox into the World Series against the New York Mets. Larry Bird had won three NBA titles, was nicknamed "Legend" and he wasn't any more popular than Clemens.

Rocket Roger owned the town. Despite the crushing loss to the Mets, Red Sox Nation believed he'd eventually lead them to glory. Only the World Series title never happened. By 1996, Clemens, slowed by nagging injuries and seemingly not in tip-top shape, left for more money in Toronto and the Red Sox turned to Pedro Martinez as their ace.

It was a bad breakup. Bad things were said, bad feelings lingered. It got worse two years later when Clemens signed with the Yankees, got in better shape, became a better pitcher and proceeded to win a World Series. In 1999, when Clemens was rocked in an American League Championship Series Game 3 matchup with Martinez, Fenway Park was venomous and all you could imagine Sox fans ever wanting from their once-beloved Rocket was a pound of flesh.

But in 2003, in the middle of a heated ALCS with the Yankees, Fenway gave the supposedly retiring Clemens a standing ovation. By 2006, Boston was willing to embrace him again, a live arm and a clubhouse leader joining what is already the AL East leader for another World Series. They too wanted to be a part of baseball's prodigal son story.

"He didn't leave Boston because of the fans or the current management, so the old days no longer count," Hendricks said. "He has a high regard for how Boston has handled this."

Only it didn't happen. Clemens is staying home, choosing ease over excitement, the same old, same old over a chance to rekindle old memories, relive old glory. You can't fault him there.

But for a guy who always seemed to covet that kind of drama, who always seemed to want to go out on top, you have to imagine he is going to have a lifetime of wondering what one more Fenway Fall would have been like.

Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Dan is the author of two new books.

[BERIGAN]

Assuming New York holds onto their 6-0 lead (still in the top of the 9th--spankin' Detroit on the road!), Yanks and Bosox remain tied as of tomorrow's morning papers & June 1. Great summer in the making... Here's somebody else who thinks Clemens blew it by not going back to Boston

...

Well, I hear his son may get a September call-up with the Astros, that might be a big reason. The Astros are at .500, which is probably better than they were the last 2 years at this time, and still made the playoffs.

I could see why he wouldn't want to come back to Boston, the way he was treated by the team, and fans since he left. And he wants to be at home, he doesn't even go on the road when he isn't starting, so why would he go to the Yankees(and they always treated him well, why stab them in the back?) or Boston? The Rangers, on the other hand, would have made a lot of sense IMO. He would win 15 starts even starting this late in the year with their offense, and they would have gone nuts if the Rangers made it to the W.S. for the first time with Roger helping get them there. But, he did do that last year with the 'stros, so perhaps they can get back there again with him strong all the way thru Oct.....

Edited June 1, 2006 by BERIGAN

[Dan Gould]

Interesting report out of Boston says that, if Houston is out of the race by the trade deadline, the Red Sox would be the most likely destination, given that it came down to Boston or Houston before. The Globe reports that this has already been discussed with Clemens and with Houston. So the dream lives!

Meanwhile, a question for you Yankee fans:

Has Cinderella finally turned back into a pumpkin?

Small can't get out of the third inning today, charged with seven runs, all earned, and his ERA climbs perilously close to double digits. You just had to know that a guy who didn't even qualify for the term "journeyman" (how can he when he barely ever stuck with any team for an entire season?) before his stunning performance last year would revert to his previous level.

I will say this: I thought the Yanks were exceptionally good to him to give him a one year, 1.5 milllion dollar contract. They surely did not have to do that and it gives a guy who was at his very best a marginal big league player a nice payday to finish up with. I'm sure he and his family could use it. Steinbrenner's money being used for good! Who'd a thunk it?

[Dave James]

Dan,

Don't forget, Small went 10-0 last year. I really think the $1.5 million was paid to say thanks for your help then as much as it was paid hoping he would be effective now. Rarely is lightning caught once in a bottle, much less twice.

I see Jeter had to leave in the sixth inning of today's game. More hand problems. With so many other guys already out or hurting or sick, this doesn't bode well for the four game set with the Red Sox that begins tomorrow night.

Up over and out.

[sheldonm]

Assuming New York holds onto their 6-0 lead (still in the top of the 9th--spankin' Detroit on the road!), Yanks and Bosox remain tied as of tomorrow's morning papers & June 1. Great summer in the making... Here's somebody else who thinks Clemens blew it by not going back to Boston

...

Well, I hear his son may get a September call-up with the Astros, that might be a big reason. The Astros are at .500, which is probably better than they were the last 2 years at this time, and still made the playoffs.

I could see why he wouldn't want to come back to Boston, the way he was treated by the team, and fans since he left. And he wants to be at home, he doesn't even go on the road when he isn't starting, so why would he go to the Yankees(and they always treated him well, why stab them in the back?) or Boston? The Rangers, on the other hand, would have made a lot of sense IMO. He would win 15 starts even starting this late in the year with their offense, and they would have gone nuts if the Rangers made it to the W.S. for the first time with Roger helping get them there. But, he did do that last year with the 'stros, so perhaps they can get back there again with him strong all the way thru Oct.....

I think the team they are fielding right now (with the addition of Clemens) is not near as good a team as they had the two previous years (no Bagwell, no Beltran, no Kent...no Petitte ). Maybe a wildcard if they are lucky.

m~

Edited June 4, 2006 by sheldonm

[Dan Gould]

Dan,

Don't forget, Small went 10-0 last year. I really think the $1.5 million was paid to say thanks for your help then as much as it was paid hoping he would be effective now. Rarely is lightning caught once in a bottle, much less twice.

No doubt it was a thank you more than anything. But they didn't have to do it - good for him that they did.

What are your thoughts about Wang at this point? I am still not sure what you have in him and almost think that if a trade could be worked out for an established starter like Dontrelle Willis (or someone who isn't in his walk year) you should let him go. When the sinker is on and he doesn't have trouble with the strike zone, he's an excellent pitcher ... but if the sinker isn't working, or he puts people on base - the guy can't seem to pitch out of the stretch, and he gets pounded. I also wonder about the long-term success of a guy who hardly strikes anyone out.

Should be a good series - I wouldn't be surprised if Jeter misses Monday's game but the news doesn't sound nearly as bad as the ball did when it hit him.

[Dave James]

Dan,

I was as surprised as anyone to see Wang in the closer's role yesterday. Farnsworth has pitched himself out of favor for the time being and even though Proctor got the win, he also blew the save, even if not from a statistical standpoint. Not sure what's happened to Villone but I would have expected to see him at the end, not Wang.

Wang's future is up in the air. I think the Yankees like him and like his potential...he is as cool as a cucumber in the crucible that is Yankee Stadium, so you have to take that into account. Frankly, I don't see much of anything happening anywhere until we get closer to the trade deadline and teams figure out if they're in hold 'em or fold 'em mode. That will give the Yankees time to see if The Unit is back on track and to make sure Mussina stays in the groove. I think if they get "pitched", so to speak, with the right deal, though, Wang probably moves as he is definitely one of the few bargaining chips they have. As to prospective future pinstripers, that's not exactly what I'd call an open casting call. Willis, Pryor, Wood and Zito are the ones one hears most often mentioned, but Willis' record right now sucks and I'm not sure I'd take a chance on either of the two Bruins unless they really buck up health-wise over the course of the next six weeks. With Zito, given the situation in the wide-open West, I think the A's believe they will be in it all way, so I see him staying in Oakland.

Interesting speculation on Clemens. Two things. If that happens, it practically forces the Yankees' hand in terms of having to make their own blockbuster deal. Second, The Rocket is going to cost the Sox the bluest of their blue chip prospects, so they'd better be prepared to dig deeply for his services. Also, if the 'Stros do go South, maybe Pettite winds up back in New York.

Up over and out.

Edited June 5, 2006 by Dave James

[Soulstation1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2472025

Eric Gregg passes away after major stroke

[BERIGAN]

Dan, I am sure you are not exactly happy with the recent play of the Red Sox, but trust me, your teams problems are a molehill compared to mountain that is the braves issues. Your team WILL get well against us. And the Braves may very well finish in last place this year.

from the AJC blog (Dave O'Brien) a few days ago before being swept by the Marlins....

The Braves are 3-11 with a 6.29 ERA since May 29, and have a league-worst 2-9 record in June. They’ve scored four runs or fewer in 10 of their past 14 games, and allowed seven runs or more in half of those 14 games, including games with 12, 13 and yesterday’s season-high 14 runs allowed.

*The Nationals are 9-4 with a 3.69 ERA since May 29, the Marlins are 8-4 with a 3.17 ERA since May 29.

*The Mets? They’re 8-3 with a 2.86 ERA in their past 11 games and 5-0 with a 2.80 ERA and .325 team batting average and 46 runs in their past five games, all on the road.

*The Braves have allowed 20 home runs in June; no other NL team has allowed more than 17.

*The formerly pitching-rich Braves have fallen to 15th in the NL with a 4.78 ERA, and have only 389 strikeouts with 214 walks.

*The starters are 10th with a 4.61 ERA and have the second-fewest wins (17) while being tied for the most losses (27) in the NL.

*The bullpen is officially horrendous, with a league-high 12 blown saves (in 27 chances) ande 5.12 ERA that ranks 15th in the NL. They have the third-fewest strikeouts (128) and are tied for the second-most walks (99).

*The bullpen has allowed .366 opponents’ on-base percentage that’s 13 points higher than any other NL bullpen.

*Braves second basemen have the NL’s worst batting average (.237) and second-worst OBP (.326).

*Braves first basemen have the NL’s worst batting average (.243) and rank 11th in RBIs (36).

*Braves outfielders rank 15th in the NL in on-base percentage (.313), ahead of only the rookie-littered Marlins (.309).

*Braves hitters have more strikeouts (485) than every NL team except Milwaukee (486) and Florida (495), while they’re tied for 10th with 208 walks.

*Four Braves have at least 50 strikeouts, and leadoff man Marcus Giles has 46 K with a .235 average and .328 OBP.

*Ryan Langerhans has hit .212 with two homers, six RBIs, 32 K and a .311 OBP in 107 at-bats in his past 37 games.

*Giles has hit .224 with a .313 OBP in his past 22 games, and .115 (3-for-26) with one run and one RBI in his past six games.

*Chris Reitsma has a majors-worst 9.11 ERA, an NL-worst .364 opponents’ average, and an NL-worst .411 opponents’ average with runners on base. He’s allowed 18.2 baserunners per nine innings pitched; no other qualifying NL reliever has allowed as many as 16 per nine innings pitched.

*San Francisco’s Tim Worrell (8) is the only NL reliever who has allowed more homers than Reitsma and Oscar Villarreal, who’ve allowed seven apiece.

*Villarreal has an 8.79 ERA and .350 opponents’ average in his past 11 appearances.

*Macay McBride has allowed two runs, three hits and six walks with one strikeout in three innings in his past three games.

*Reitsma has allowed 12 hits and 11 runs in 2-2/3 innings (37.13 ERA) in his past three games, has a 15.43 ERA and .440 opponents’ average in his past 11 appearances, and a 7.91 ERA and .359 opponents’ average in 50 appearances since Aug. 7.

*Among qualifying starters, Jorge Sosa has a league-worst .380 average allowed with runners in scorig position, and John Thomson has the fifth-worst overall opponents’ BA (.300).

*Reitsma is the only NL pitcher with a higher opponents’ average with men on base than Sosa (.402).

*The Cubs’ Greg Maddux (82.4) is the only NL pitcher with fewer pitches per start than Thomson (85.2).

.