Dan Gould Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Schilling will not be offered an extention, plans to be a free agent after season Since Schill stated that he doesn't expect a raise over the 13 mil he's getting, and only wants one year, I thought that Theo would get it done before the season starts. Turns out that he wants to be sure that Schilling still has it, and doesn't get hurt, before they commit. Probably a smart move, although unless Zambrano doesn't re-sign with the Cubs, I don't see a lot of marque free agent pitchers next year. Its possible that Theo sees Lester as being ready to step in to the rotation and excel by 2008, on the other hand, the top prospect pitchers aren't going to be ready in 2008, or if they are, they'll follow the Papelbon-Lester model of getting their feet wet at some point, and be shooting for 2009. All things considered, I like this approach. Schilling pitching for a contract can only have a positive impact on his performance, and if he truly excels, I still think he'd accept a decent offer to stay after the season (not only has he sold his other houses and moved to Boston full time, he's founded a PC gaming company in Boston. He definitely plans to live there year round). I also like not commiting to a guy who could break down or decline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 listening to count basie 'hey jackie robinson, hit that ball.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 1st game today rockies vs chisox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 listening to frishberg's 'dodger blue' in memory of clem labine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Bonds might be in tucson on monday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Bonds might be in tucson on monday ...cheater! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Bonds might be in tucson on monday ...cheater! yeah, but what will be the reaction to Gary Mathews Jr and Jerry Hairston? I guess Matthews is lucky, that gigantic contract allowed him to retain the services of former OJ attorney, Bob Shapiro. Too bad Johnny Cochran dropped dead, I'm sure he'd have preferred to hire him (and we would have enjoyed the show that much more - "if the needle didn't stick, you must acquit!" ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 barry was in town yesterday Zito............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soul Stream Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 ...call be a beotch...but baseball ought to be a $27,000 dollar a year career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 ...call be a beotch...but baseball ought to be a $27,000 dollar a year career. It already is for the vast majority of professional players and umpires who never make it, as well as the scouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalupa Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Dan, no comment about this??? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/n...tory?id=2789755 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Dan, no comment about this??? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/n...tory?id=2789755 Well he's having an excellent start, obviously. I thought it was funny how he put his glove to his face when Varitek came out to say something when there were runners at second and third, but apparently they managed to communicate in English. Actually, right now, I am just having fun reading the comments of so many Yankee fans on the MLB Yankee forum who seem to seriously believe that Major League hitters will "figure him out" after one or two starts (some idiot actually claimed that Hanley Ramirez already figured him out after just one at bat, because in his second at bat, he whacked a line drive through the box that Dice-K made a nice play on). I mean, how stupid can you be? Either these Yankee fans fear what he'll accomplish, or they honestly don't understand that if you throw six pitches for strikes, its pretty much impossible to "figure out" someone. Yeah, Dice K is going to get hit, and he's going to get beat. But you don't "figure out" someone like that. You beat him by hitting his mistakes, hoping he doesn't have command, and by shutting down the Sox lineup. Good luck with all that, cuz I wouldn't look for it to happen too often. I say 18+ wins, ERA under 3.50, Top 3 or better finish in Cy Young balloting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalupa Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 "The right-hander threw 47 pitches, 31 for strikes, including a first-pitch strike to 10 of 12 batters. .....His fastball topped out at a brisk 151 -- that's kilometers per hour, as measured by Japanese TV. It translates to 94 mph." "My readiness for the season is difficult to judge from the outside," Matsuzaka said through a translator. "I'm probably 40 to 50 percent there." Only 40-50% "there" after that performance???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 "The right-hander threw 47 pitches, 31 for strikes, including a first-pitch strike to 10 of 12 batters. .....His fastball topped out at a brisk 151 -- that's kilometers per hour, as measured by Japanese TV. It translates to 94 mph." "My readiness for the season is difficult to judge from the outside," Matsuzaka said through a translator. "I'm probably 40 to 50 percent there." Only 40-50% "there" after that performance???? Not only that but there were Marlins players who thought they saw the "gyro": Gyroball makes ‘debut’: Matsuzaka dazzles Marlins hitters By Michael Silverman Boston Herald Sports Reporter Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - Updated: 11:30 AM EST JUPITER, Fla. - The gyroball exists and Daisuke Matsuzaka throws it, at least that’s what a couple of major league hitters were left thinking yesterday. In Matsuzaka’s Red Sox debut against major leaguers, two Marlins - Jason Stokes and Jeremy Hermida - said they saw a pitch that had movement and action unlike any other pitch they had ever seen before. Hermida saw it three times, Stokes once and the UFO broke down and away to the left-handed hitting Hermida and in on the hands of Stokes. The ball spun in a clock-wise direction, or reverse to what they are used to. It had a screwball-like rotation that left them shaking their heads. Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell said Matsuzaka’s changeup was the pitch they actually saw but that was not what the Marlins called it. “It’s a pitch that’s somewhere between a changeup and a splitter but it’s got a sideways spin,” said Stokes. “It’s like a split, but it’s slower, more movement.” Stokes had one at-bat against Matsuzaka, a seven-pitch plate appearance with the next to last pitch being the supposed gyroball. “He threw four different pitches to me - a fastball, slider, gyro and curve,” said Stokes. On the gyro, “He threw it up and in. I could see it was obviously a ball right away. I’m thinking ‘Get out of the way.’ It kind of backs up on you.” Hermida encountered the pitch three times. He affirmed Stokes’ version that it was a gyroball, saying it was somewhere between a changeup and split-fingered fastball. “It looks like a split, but it’s slower,” said Hermida. “It didn’t have the same spin as a split. It had its own unique character.” Hermida saw Matsuzaka turn his wrist over in a screwball-like manner, which gives the ball its reverse spin. “It’s got a good, hard and downward break but comes out with more speed than a changeup,” he said. “It comes out of the hand good and then it just dies on you.” Hermida hesitated to use the word “gyroball” but he clearly had no idea what it was. “I think that it is what it is, but it might not (be a gyro),” he said. Stokes took his “gyro” for a ball. Hermida popped up both times and took the other for a strike. The believe-it-or-not “gyro” was part of Matzusaka’s three scoreless frames in a 14-6, 10-inning win. Dice-K gave up two hits, struck out three and walked one.cw0 Farrell said Matsuzaka “turns over” his changeup, which accounts for its spin and unconventional movement as well. He did not hesitate to single out the pitch that Hermida and Stokes saw as Matsuzaka’s changeup. “That’s how (his changeup) moves,” said Farrell. The gyroball was invented by a pair of Japanese scientists trying to devise a new and unhittable pitch on their computer. They concluded the pitch behaves the exact opposite - breaking away from righty hitters and into lefties - from what Farrell describes as Dice-K’s changeup. The scientists published a book about it, and at last year’s World Baseball Classic, in which Matsuzaka was named MVP, he became associated with it. He has since been coy, never completely denying it since being signed by the Red Sox [team stats]. Matsuzaka, of course, has nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting inside the heads of major league hitters, letting them think he’s got a gyroball up his sleeve. As far as he and the Red Sox are concerned, an imaginary gyroball is just as good as a real one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quincy Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Yeah, Dice K is going to get hit, and he's going to get beat. But you don't "figure out" someone like that. You beat him by hitting his mistakes, hoping he doesn't have command, and by shutting down the Sox lineup. Good luck with all that, cuz I wouldn't look for it to happen too often. I say 18+ wins, ERA under 3.50, Top 3 or better finish in Cy Young balloting. Schilling is impressed. He says so in his blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald byrd 4 EVA Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 did anyone notice how every media outlet,newspaper,blog had something on the gyroball? bastards. i have a question. where did the expression hot stove league come from? it never sounded right to me. go padres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald byrd 4 EVA Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 i kinda hope matsuzaka is a bust. paying 50 million just to have the right to sign him is ridiculous. also ridiculous: the payroll of the red sox, yankees, curt shilling, a-rod's horrible pr instincts (this guy shoots himself in the foot time and time again,) the soriano contract (not the player,) the barry zito contract (maybe the player?) the fact that you have to pay $ to read espn baseball articles (free peter gammons) I saw tony gwynn today so awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 did anyone notice how every media outlet,newspaper,blog had something on the gyroball? bastards. i have a question. where did the expression hot stove league come from? it never sounded right to me. go padres It dates well back into the last century, when in winter time, baseball fans would sit around the hot stove and talk about what trades they would like to make to improve their team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 i kinda hope matsuzaka is a bust. paying 50 million just to have the right to sign him is ridiculous. also ridiculous: the payroll of the red sox, yankees, curt shilling, a-rod's horrible pr instincts (this guy shoots himself in the foot time and time again,) the soriano contract (not the player,) the barry zito contract (maybe the player?) the fact that you have to pay $ to read espn baseball articles (free peter gammons) Matzuzaka was universally recognized as the best available pitcher on the market. Just because the posting system calls for blind bids which tend to inflate the price doesn't make the total investment a bad one. Dice-K should have received some of that bid but compared to what some pitchers have made in this off-season, its not a bad deal. Unless, and against all odds, he does turn out to be a bust. As far as the rest of your rant: the payroll of the Red Sox and Yankees are based on the revenues those teams generate. Maybe if more people supported your favorite team, they could afford a payroll closer to the leaders. No one held a gun to the Cubs or Giants to offer the contracts they did. And I don't know what you wouldn't like about Zito the player. yes, ESPN is a pain for charging for so many "insider" columns. But you know what? What are you really missing? Find some other columnists you like and read them if they are free. There are plenty of blogs that will give you links to those articles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 oh hell yeah i'm gonna see greg maddux pitch today vs the chisox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 batteries full power and film loaded on camera..... i hope my homie jim thome is playin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 batteries full power and film loaded on camera..... i hope my homie jim thome is playin' ....what's film? m~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 (edited) maddux was a last minute scratch thome hit one over the 405' center field sign and 30' wall, probably a 425' shot he hit another in the bottom of the 9th but i had left to beat traffic Edited March 13, 2007 by Soulstation1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 I got a nice surprise in today's Globe. We've got tickets for the game against the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, and it turns out Schilling is making the bus trip. Making the trip is surprising enough but ever since he joined the team he's refused spring training games against division foes, says he doesn't want them to see what he's working on. If there's no Dice-K, I'd say seeing the big guy is the next preference, so we're happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.