MLB 2009 Season

[sheldonm]

...Holliday with four hits tonight....Lugo with a triple and HR.

[Tim McG]

Matt Cain gets to 12-2!

Wow!

A year ago I never would have expected it...but I like it

[Matthew]

Well, Soulstation 1, must be happy, Cleveland absolutely crushed the Mariners over the weekend, left the moose as roadkill.

[BERIGAN]

...the Cards pick up Matt Holliday from the A's for several prospects....will be a pretty nice improvement over Duncan!

m

Mark Buehrle pitches a perfect game vs TB

Yowsa! And to think they were looking to trade him. He's thrown a "regular" no-hitter before as well so he's in some interesting company. Like Steve Busby. (No perfect for Steve, but 2 no hitters.)

Hey, why no love for Bob Forsch??? He had 2 no-no's and he didn't exactly have Nolan Ryan's fastball either!

Mark Buehrle pitches a perfect game vs TB

...and a great catch by center fielder DeWayne Wise in the 9th inning to save a hit/homerun.... he had just entered the game for defensive purposes...what a catch!

m

Ha! Way to go Ozzie, genius manager!

My favorite highlight from yesterday(Well, next to the catch itself) was the reaction of the Phillies clubhouse after the catch...cameraman caught them hopping, and hollering, so excited, very cool!

I might go to the Pirates vs D-Backs tonight

Hope you can get still get tickets this late!

...loved Bob Forsch back in the day! Probably saw him pitch a dozen times.

m

One more Bob Forsch story...my Late Mother and I went to a spring training game between the Phils and Cards in 1981, and got to meet a few players on the field(it was photograph day, but Dane Iorg, my then fav player wouldn't sign a ball, so he stopped being someone rooted for) my Mom took one look at the 6 foot 4 pitcher, and fell in love! I could see women going for him. A nice guy. Met Jack Buck, and he couldn't have been nicer. The nicest player there was another 4th outfielder like Iorg, Tito Landrum. Only instead of saying it was photograph day only kid, he signed my autograph, and I think he thanked me before I could thank him! Needless to say, he became my favorite underdog on the team.

Here is a picture of him and a 14 year old berigan off to his left. I think I still have that cap, somewheres.

Here is Steve Carlton on the mound.

And Pete Rose at the plate.

And a photo of Pete Falcone for some reason( the mets shared spring training facilities with the Cards...I think? Quincy will know1 )

Edited July 27, 2009 by BERIGAN

[Soulstation1]

Rickey Henderson was a stud in his prime!!

2K walks and 3K hits

Barry Bonds should of had those stats

[Quincy]

And a photo of Pete Falcone for some reason( the mets shared spring training facilities with the Cards...I think? Quincy will know1 )

Nice pics! The beauty of Carlton & Rose is that their styles are very recognizable. Aside from being a nice guy Tito was a regular Mr. October in his 50 plate appearances. He made a friend of mine from Chicago cry when his 10th inning home run for the O's (which broke a scoreless game) finished off the ChiSox.

I'm guessing you took the picture of Falcone as the Cards had him for awhile as they got him from the Giants for Reitz. Or perhaps you looked into the future and knew you'd be a Braves fan. He was around at the park as the Mets also played their spring training games in St. Pete during those years (note the home uni pinstripes.)

A bit of Cardinal spring training trivia for ya. During WWII (1943-45 to be specific) the Cards held spring training at Cairo, Illinois.

Speaking of Rose there's a rumor that baseball may make him eligible for HoF voting. Aaron and other Hall of Famers met with Selig concerning the topic. As far as I know most guys who played during his era are okay with it. Schmidt has long been an advocate but to have Aaron on board is big. The steroid stuff probably helps Rose's cause. The timing of it has to do with the 20th anniversary of Rose being banned for life approaching. No guarantee that he'd be voted in, and I think the surviving HoF-ers have to vote on it too. Bob Feller won't be pleased.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Quincy

[Matthew]

Heaven's above, we're on a street called love, but the Mets are in complete shambles right now, it's like a novela that you see on Univision or something.

[Tim McG]

Heaven's above, we're on a street called love, but the Mets are in complete shambles right now, it's like a novela that you see on Univision or something.

Giants aren't much better

3-7 in the last 10 games and sinking like a rock in a lake in the NL West/Wildcard race.

Grrrrrr

Edited July 28, 2009 by GoodSpeak

[vajerzy]

Berigan- you are correct- Mets and Cards shared St. Pete- Al Lang Stadium.

[Matthew]

Heaven's above, we're on a street called love, but the Mets are in complete shambles right now, it's like a novela that you see on Univision or something.

Giants aren't much better

3-7 in the last 10 games and sinking like a rock in a lake in the NL West/Wildcard race.

Grrrrrr

At least Cain, Lincecum, and Panda are still doing good. Seattle looks like it's starting to come back down to earth, they're getting pounded since the all-star break.

[Big Al]

Thank you Victor Martinez!!!!

[Tim McG]

Heaven's above, we're on a street called love, but the Mets are in complete shambles right now, it's like a novela that you see on Univision or something.

Giants aren't much better

3-7 in the last 10 games and sinking like a rock in a lake in the NL West/Wildcard race.

Grrrrrr

At least Cain, Lincecum, and Panda are still doing good. Seattle looks like it's starting to come back down to earth, they're getting pounded since the all-star break.

This is true, but Rowand's bat has been spotty and Molinas runs hot then cold.

My guys need some hitting if they are even considering a run at the WC.

You know, I hate the Dodgers but I love it that Joe Torre is doing so well. Kind of thumbing his nose at the Yankees front office.

[Brad]

Did any of you hear or watch that Mets news conference where Omar Minaya fired Bernazard (Assistant GM) and then accused a reporter of writing the story so he could get a front office job, which Omar then had to apologize for, sounding like a moron. He was barely intelligible. They should fire him. It's embarassing. In the midst of all this, the Mets have won three in a row, with the possibility that some of the walking wounded may be returning from the DL.

Oh, it's trying being a Metsie!

[Soulstation1]

Finally

The Tribe is playing some ball

[Soulstation1]

Finally

The Tribe is playing some ball

[Dan Gould]

Since the Red Sox may be prepared to transform their roster in the remaining days before the deadline, I will suspend my withdrawal to see what they do. But if nothing happens in the end, I'm withdrawing from the season and this thread - that's a guarantee.

In the meantime though - the Sox have apparently offered Buchholz, Bowden and a 19 year old named Westmoreland (regarded as the best athlete in the system) for Doc Holladay. Very interesting, and a pretty good haul for Toronto. I'd accept that package even if they have to add one more prospect as long as it doesn't include anyone at the top of the prospect list. Holladay is the one true difference-maker, and I'd go all-in again if they can land him. It would make Smoltz failures immaterial if they have a rotation of Beckett, Doc and Lester. That beats anyone anywhere and even without another bat (LaRoche looks like he is paying Fenway dividends already), I think they'd be WS favorites this year and next. And there's something to be said for not locking Holladay up when he is 32 now and has a lot of wear on those tires. Get him for 15 months, possibly win at least one WS, then if the bidding gets out of hand (hello Mr. Steinbrenner) let the Yankees have him, he'll be a great match for Sabathia's declining years.

Also find it very intriguing that the Sox are supposedly talking to the Indians about a blockbuster that would bring Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee. Probably too costly for both though, and I'd like to save some bullets for a run at Adrian Gonzales though San Diego probably prefers to build around him than jump-start their rebuilding by selling him.

And how about this headline you may not have heard: Dice-K has gone wah-wah-wahing to the Japanese media about what the Red Sox have done to his training and pitching regimen, and that's to blame, not, say, arriving out of shape and having over-pitched in March for that stupid fucking WBC title. Knowing full well how Dice-K used to throw 100 pitches just to get loose, I wondered last year when he was pitching so well but making such short outings, what would happen if they left him in there? AFter this disastrous season, I'd make this proposal:

Dice-K, you can throw as often as you want, and on your starts, we'll let you go 120 pitches minimum so long as you haven't pissed the game away. But to protect our investment, you've got to give something back: If you pitch, and pitch well, and never get hurt, great. Full payment of entire contractual obligation. But if you do get hurt, or suck shit again, we pay you 1/2 of your salary only. If your performance necessitates a release or a trade, again, 1/2 of your salary is guaranteed. The rest you kiss goodbye because you are a whiny pussy-toad.

Last but not least, the Mets are lucky to be in the division they are in. After Minaya is rightfully fired, they are headed to a next-to-last place finish for a long time to come. Nothing in the minors, thanks to the psychotic POS Bernazard (and Minaya), and a lot of money tied up in a few stars on the major league roster. If Wilpon hadn't lost his shirt with Madoff, maybe there would be money left to fix the problems, but this looks very much like a franchise that is heading for Oriole-level of incompetence for several years to come.

[Tim McG]

Giants acquire Ryan Garko from Cleveland.

So we will see what his bat can do to help out.

Edited July 28, 2009 by GoodSpeak

[Dan Gould]

Since Halladay is the number one prize, it will be interesting to see if anyone else confirms that report about the Red Sox including Buchholz in their offer. Then we'll have an idea whether this report has legs. The interesting thing then will be if the Yankees do anything to prevent this from happening. I don't think they can afford to let it happen but its been reported that the Jays told them it would take Joba and Hughes to get Doc. Do they try to get the Sox to pay more if it comes down to that?

[ghost of miles]

Since Halladay is the number one prize, it will be interesting to see if anyone else confirms that report about the Red Sox including Buchholz in their offer. Then we'll have an idea whether this report has legs. The interesting thing then will be if the Yankees do anything to prevent this from happening. I don't think they can afford to let it happen but its been reported that the Jays told them it would take Joba and Hughes to get Doc. Do they try to get the Sox to pay more if it comes down to that?

Surely not a trade I'd like to see--that's a big part of the Yankees' pitching future IMO.

[Brad]

I don't really agree with the Mets heading for Oriole-level incompetence for years to come. Some of their injured players may be back soon and I think they'll make a respectable showing (of course, I don't think they'll win anything).

For the near future, they have some decent or could have some decent starting ptiching and they have Reyes, Beltran, Wright and Franceour under contract, with Martinez hopefully blossoming. No, their farm isn't that great so some work needs to be done there. I'm not as pessimistic but by no means optimistic either. Madoff has definitely hurt ownership (some say $700 million) so where things go who knows. They'll just be so so, not great, not Oriole-like.

[Chuck Nessa]

Stayed up to hear Soriano hit a grand slam last night. This kept the Cubs in first place - weak division or not. It was thrilling.

13 innings is enough for me.

[Tim McG]

Stayed up to hear Soriano hit a grand slam last night. This kept the Cubs in first place - weak division or not. It was thrilling.

13 innings is enough for me.

Hey, 1st place is still 1st place.

I'd settle for that with my guys.

[BERIGAN]

I don't really agree with the Mets heading for Oriole-level incompetence for years to come. Some of their injured players may be back soon and I think they'll make a respectable showing (of course, I don't think they'll win anything).

For the near future, they have some decent or could have some decent starting ptiching and they have Reyes, Beltran, Wright and Franceour under contract, with Martinez hopefully blossoming. No, their farm isn't that great so some work needs to be done there. I'm not as pessimistic but by no means optimistic either. Madoff has definitely hurt ownership (some say $700 million) so where things go who knows. They'll just be so so, not great, not Oriole-like.

Interesting that Franceour is hitting, and hitting with some pop with the Mets. It shows just how poor a hitting coach Terry Pendleton is.

[Dan Gould]

Well the Red Sox and Jays are both denying the previous rumor about a Red Sox offer, and now Buchholz is doing his best to make sure that eventually, no one will want him by the time Theo figures out he's a worthless POS: 6 hits in two innings so far.

Someone needs to send Theo a telegram:

There's no such thing as a pitching prospect.

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And now the M's are supposedly ready to deal, and that includes Washburn to the Yankees. A fifth starter with a sub-3 ERA. Granted, that's based on a big park and good outfield defense, two things the Yankees don't have. But I bet he ends up in NY and I bet he pitches much better than you expect.

[Dan Gould]

I obviously picked the wrong day to break my promise, so I am reinstating it:

Fuck them all with a white hot poker, starting with that asshole inbred hillbilly fuck, Papelbon.

I am finished.

See you in the 2010 thread.