2010 MLB Season

[Brad]

The Phillies scored a run!! The Phillies scored a run!! 6-1 in the top of the 7th.

Holy crap! They just got two more runs! 6-3 top of the 7th.

One more and they'll equal last week's total.

I'm sure they'll soon emerge from this funk. Too much talent on that team for it to go on much longer.

[Quincy]

...but he's hitting .203 from the left side this year. I'd be inclined to take my chances.

Although lifetime he's better vs. LHP he's certainly not weak vs. RHP. It's only June 1st. Unless there's an injury established players tend to revert towards mean performance. In other words, he's due, and with the short RF fence better to risk a double to left rather than a fly ball homer. Although almost 1/3 of a season feels like a lot it's not, and it's not like his May was that horrid (.280/.366/.475).

Elsewhere the number of people who will claim they saw Halladay's perfect game just went up.

[Patrick]

I don't get all this nonsense about pitching around Tex to get to ARod. The score at the time was Yankees leading 2-1. Men on second and third with one out. Why are folks calling this CYA? Are you mentioning this only because the celebrity ARod is involved? It's a long shot, but why not try to get a double play, instead of conceding at least one run which probably seals the game [(1) given the anemic Indian offense, (2) assuming Joba won't pitch--sorry, got to enjoy one of the few pleasures of the Tribe season from hell.] Too bad another good outing for Mitch Talbot was wasted by the combustible Tribe bullpen.

Austin Kearns, Jake Westbrook, and Kerry Wood currently available for some overhyped minor league talent. [see Masterson, LaPorta, Marson. I know, gotta be patient but...]

Step right up!

[BERIGAN]

I don't get all this nonsense about pitching around Tex to get to ARod. The score at the time was Yankees leading 2-1. Men on second and third with one out. Why are folks calling this CYA? Are you mentioning this only because the celebrity ARod is involved? It's a long shot, but why not try to get a double play, instead of conceding at least one run which probably seals the game [(1) given the anemic Indian offense, (2) assuming Joba won't pitch--sorry, got to enjoy one of the few pleasures of the Tribe season from hell.] Too bad another good outing for Mitch Talbot was wasted by the combustible Tribe bullpen.

Austin Kearns, Jake Westbrook, and Kerry Wood currently available for some overhyped minor league talent. [see Masterson, LaPorta, Marson. I know, gotta be patient but...]

Step right up!

Well....from the web...Both of Rodriguez's slams this season came after Mark Teixeira was intentionally walked ahead of him, and A-Rod is 5-for-5 overall when teams intentionally pitch around Teixeira.

Did someone mention that Tex is hitting a robust .220! reminds me of the 2008 Tex, who was pitched to all the time, instead of the hot Chipper Jones, and it almost always worked. He's one of the best first baseman ever, if not the best, and he will always drive in 100 + RBI's, but he's still a guy that you can get out in big situations.

And why is Marson, who I just read is younger than Carlos Santana, still in the majors, while Santana is in the minors????

[Dan Gould]

I'd say last night's game was a good reminder why the Jays will ultimately have a hard time hanging with the big dogs in the AL East: Kevin Gregg and his 4.50 ERA as closer.

This guy epitomizes the argument that a "save" is a terrible stat and why even mediocre pitchers can amass saves just by the statistical likelihood of any major league pitcher getting three outs before allowing 1-3 runs. The guy flat out sucks and no contending team should want him as a closer.

Not that the loss bothers me, in fact since Toronto is in front of Boston we need them to start losing and now is as good a time as any. And with the Yankees breathing down the Rays' neck, I'd rather see the Rays hold on anyway.

[papsrus]

I'd say last night's game was a good reminder why the Jays will ultimately have a hard time hanging with the big dogs in the AL East: Kevin Gregg and his 4.50 ERA as closer.

This guy epitomizes the argument that a "save" is a terrible stat and why even mediocre pitchers can amass saves just by the statistical likelihood of any major league pitcher getting three outs before allowing 1-3 runs. The guy flat out sucks and no contending team should want him as a closer.

Man, you've got that right. The guy was a total disaster. Wild as hell. Walking guys all over the place. Threw a pickoff attempt at second (up by 2 runs at the time) into center field. How in the world did Gaston leave him in so long?

And then he goes at the ump for ... what? Not calling his wild-ass pitches strikes?

That wasn't a Rays comeback. That was a Jays implosion.

[Dan Gould]

The thing is he is way too terrible way too consistently to close for a decent team. He'd do well for a crappy team with no expectations but just look at his record - seven or eight losses a season, eight or nine blown saves a season. Obviously some of those end up being "double-counted" but my point really is that anyone who watched him blow up the Cubs' chances last year saw a guy whose best pitches are usually hittable.

[Dan Gould]

This ought to go viral. Check out angry midget Rays fan vs fat Red Sox fan (I swear it isn't me):

[papsrus]

[ghost of miles]

I don't get all this nonsense about pitching around Tex to get to ARod. The score at the time was Yankees leading 2-1. Men on second and third with one out. Why are folks calling this CYA? Are you mentioning this only because the celebrity ARod is involved? It's a long shot, but why not try to get a double play, instead of conceding at least one run which probably seals the game [(1) given the anemic Indian offense, (2) assuming Joba won't pitch--sorry, got to enjoy one of the few pleasures of the Tribe season from hell.] Too bad another good outing for Mitch Talbot was wasted by the combustible Tribe bullpen.

Austin Kearns, Jake Westbrook, and Kerry Wood currently available for some overhyped minor league talent. [see Masterson, LaPorta, Marson. I know, gotta be patient but...]

Step right up!

Well....from the web...Both of Rodriguez's slams this season came after Mark Teixeira was intentionally walked ahead of him, and A-Rod is 5-for-5 overall when teams intentionally pitch around Teixeira.

...with 18 RBI and only one "out," which was Castillo's infamous dropped pop-up that cost the Mets a game last year against the Yanks. Hey, all I can say is that if managers want to keep walking Tex to get to A-Rod in any kind of situation...well, I am A-OK with that!

Edited June 2, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Patrick]

Again, the Indians really couldn't afford to surrender one more run. Even if you pitch to Tex, what are the chances he gets an RBI when he flies or grounds out? Of course the strategy didn't work out for Cleveland. But would everyone be second guessing it if Tribe had pitched around ARod to get to Tex?

Carlos Santana (cue the Abraxas clips, please!) likely will get called up by the All-Star break. He can't throw anyone out, but is crushing minor league pitching (memories of VMart?). Question for mgmt is whether they keep vet Mike Redmond who's doing a nice job helping Carmona back to effectiveness and keep two kids (Santana and Marson) or send Marson down.

that last sentence makes no sense, but I can't get the editor to show me what I'm typing so I will just stop. Makeof it what you will.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Patrick

[skeith]

Again, the Indians really couldn't afford to surrender one more run. Even if you pitch to Tex, what are the chances he gets an RBI when he flies or grounds out? Of course the strategy didn't work out for Cleveland. But would everyone be second guessing it if Tribe had pitched around ARod to get to Tex?

Carlos Santana (cue the Abraxas clips, please!) likely will get called up by the All-Star break. He can't throw anyone out, but is crushing minor league pitching (memories of VMart?). Question for mgmt is whether they keep vet Mike Redmond who's doing a nice job helping Carmona back to effectiveness and keep two kids (Santana and Marson) or send Marson down.

that last sentence makes no sense, but I can't get the editor to show me what I'm typing so I will just stop. Makeof it what you will.

not sure what to make of it, but since I am another Indians fan in exile, I read all of your Indians posts with great interest.

[Dan Gould]

Jon Lester was named AL Pitcher of the Month and David Ortiz was named AL Player of the month. Take that, Dave James!

The release from MLB:

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and starting pitcher Jon Lester have been voted the American League Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for May. It marks the first time that the two A.L. monthly awards were captured by teammates in the same month since June 2006, when Minnesota’s Joe Mauer and Johan Santana won the honors.

In 23 games in May, Ortiz hit .363 (29-80) with four doubles, 10 home runs, 16 runs scored and 27 RBI. The 34-year-old also posted a Major League-best .788 slugging percentage and a .424 on-base percentage. Last month marked the second time in his

career that he has tallied at least 10 homers, 25 RBI, and a .350 batting average in a calendar month, previously accomplished in June of 2004.

The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native reached base safely in 21 of his 23 games in May, including nine multi-hit performances and eight multi-RBI outings. In Boston’s final game of May, the five-time A.L. All-Star hit his 10th home run, reaching double-figures in a month for the first time since August 2006. This

marks David’s fourth career Player of the Month Award (last accomplished: September 2007).

Lester, who posted a perfect 5-0 record in six outings during May, allowed just 24 hits through 44.0 innings of work while leading the Majors with 45 strikeouts. The 26-year-old also posted a 1.84 ERA, the lowest of any A.L. pitcher with more than 27 innings pitched. Lester earned a 6-2 win for the Red Sox in his 100th career start on May 20th against Minnesota at Fenway Park, allowing only one earned run on six hits in the complete-game effort. It marked Jon’s fifth career complete game and the first time a Sox pitcher has earned a complete-game win with no walks and at least nine strikeouts since Pedro Martinez accomplished the feat on August 12, 2004.

This marks Jon’s third Pitcher of the Month honor (last accomplished: September 2008).

[ghost of miles]

Congrats to both, they had great months.

Via Jon Heyman on Twitter--Ken Griffey Jr. is retiring.

AP report

When Griffey Jr. was with the Mariners, I thought he was the best bet around to break Hank Aaron's HR record--particularly since Junior had started playing in the majors at age 19, a la Hank.

Edited June 3, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Dan Gould]

You know why that fucking blind ump knows he fucked up the call? Because Cabrera jawed at him forever and he didn't get run out of the game.

What a shame.

What a pathetic excuse for an umpire.

[Chalupa]

Congrats to both, they had great months.

Via Jon Heyman on Twitter--Ken Griffey Jr. is retiring.

AP report

When Griffey Jr. was with the Mariners, I thought he was the best bet around to break Hank Aaron's HR record--particularly since Junior had started playing in the majors at age 19, a la Hank.

About time.

[ghost of miles]

You know why that fucking blind ump knows he fucked up the call? Because Cabrera jawed at him forever and he didn't get run out of the game.

What a shame.

What a pathetic excuse for an umpire.

I just watched the replay on GameDay...outrageous! Galarraga was robbed. And that after former Yankee prospect Austin Jackson made a tremendous catch at the start of the inning to preserve the perfect game. Wow--that would've been what, the third perfect game in less than a month?

Edited June 3, 2010 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

MLB's current rules regarding replay appeal pertain only to home runs, correct? Boy, if ever there was an argument for expanding that a bit, that call certainly makes it. I feel terrible for Galarraga, who seemed to handle it better than his understandably outraged teammates.

Here's the play.

Matthew, thought you'd appreciate this comment via Blogging Bombers:

Good thing this didn't happen to Braden…they don't take kindly to blown calls in the 209.

Here's Austin Jackson's catch that kept it alive at the top of the 9th.

Hey Dan, I haven't checked the vibe over at Over the Monster (and I can only imagine what it is over at Bless You Boys), but at Pinstripe Alley Yankee fans are seriously p*&#ed about the Jim Joyce call.

Photo via Bless You Boys (Tigers SB Nation blog):

Edited June 3, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Mark Stryker]

You can not imagine how deflating that call is here at the epicenter.

Oh, man.

[Chalupa]

You know why that fucking blind ump knows he fucked up the call? Because Cabrera jawed at him forever and he didn't get run out of the game.

What a shame.

What a pathetic excuse for an umpire.

I just watched the replay on GameDay...outrageous! Galarraga was robbed. And that after former Yankee prospect Austin Jackson made a tremendous catch at the start of the inning to preserve the perfect game. Wow--that would've been what, the third perfect game in less than a month?

MLB's current rules regarding replay appeal pertain only to home runs, correct? Boy, if ever there was an argument for expanding that a bit, that call certainly makes it. I feel terrible for Galarraga, who seemed to handle it better than his understandably outraged teammates.

Here's the play.

Matthew, thought you'd appreciate this comment via Blogging Bombers:

Good thing this didn't happen to Braden…they don't take kindly to blown calls in the 209.

Here's Austin Jackson's catch that kept it alive at the top of the 9th.

Joyce is douche. Last year when the Phillies were playing the Red Sox in Philly, Joyce was the first base ump when Greg Dobbs hit a ball that appeared - on the replays that I saw - to go right over the top of the right field foul pole. Joyce, who was about 5 feet inside the line, called it foul. Chollie came out and protested and asked for a video review. Joyce refused to review it.

Damn, that guy was OUT. Even Stevie Wonder can see that. That said, I don't think that the league office should be in the habit of overturning calls on the field. But I would just this one time. I agree this is the best argument yet for expanding replay use.

Edited June 3, 2010 by J.H. Deeley

[ghost of miles]

J.H., I agree re: overturning. Incredibly exceptional circumstances and yes, they sure need to expand the situations in which teams can appeal via instant replay.

Plus, you want to talk about an "unwritten" baseball rule? If that's a close, could-go-either-way call, then the ump in that circumstance should surely come down on the side of Galarraga and the Tigers--particularly as it wasn't a game-changing play. But it wasn't even a close could-go-either-way call...Donald was clearly out. Why on earth Joyce chose to call it the way he did is utterly beyond me.

Edited June 3, 2010 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

Joyce has admitted that he blew the call.

It's the top story on Yahoo's home page right now.

Jon Heyman at the Times tweets:

was it me or did indian jason donald look slightly disappointed to be called safe? would have been funny if he argued call

In other, admittedly less dramatic news, Toronto's blown another lead against the Rays, and Boston's on the verge of sliding past them into 3rd place in the AL East.

Edited June 3, 2010 by ghost of miles

[papsrus]

I missed all this -- because I was watching the blown call at third base up in Toronto tonight that robbed the Rays of a run (down 2-1 at the time).

The umps have had some real issues lately.

[Dan Gould]

J.H., I agree re: overturning. Incredibly exceptional circumstances and yes, they sure need to expand the situations in which teams can appeal via instant replay.

I could not disagree more. Bad calls are a part of the game. It happens in games that should be "Perfect" and it happens in a game that should have ended a World Series and it happens in games that are instantly forgotten. The human aspect of umpiring is a part of the game and that cannot change. Not to mention the fact that the league is trying to keep games from going so long, and you want to expand the video review to bang-bang plays at a base?

Plus, you want to talk about an "unwritten" baseball rule? If that's a close, could-go-either-way call, then the ump in that circumstance should surely come down on the side of Galarraga and the Tigers--particularly as it wasn't a game-changing play.

And you've lost me even more on this. No umpire should ever get caught up in the moment or possibly have a "preferred outcome" which your example would assume. Umps call it as they see it in the moment, and Joyce saw him safe. It was surely closer than Denkinger's blown call! Related to that is the fact that umps should be respected for the ability to ignore the jawing that they get, or after ringing up a manager for arguing balls and strikes, doing their best on the next pitch and the pitch after that, and not take out their own anger on the team that pissed them off.

Lest you think I'm defending umps too much, let me say that I think that something has to be done about the a-holes who have made themselves the focus of a lot of games recently.

As for Joyce, he's obviously not well-regarded by MLB. I saw that his last "marque" game assignments was an All-Star game and a World Series around the turn of the century. That's a long time to not earn another playoff shot. Ques-Tec must hate him.

Edited June 3, 2010 by Dan Gould

[ghost of miles]

Denkinger's blown call is an even better argument for there being some sort of expanded replay appeal--that was an even more historically significant mistake. Limit it to 1-2 challenges a game to prevent abuse. And I'm not arguing for a "preferred outcome," I'm just saying that if we're going to talk "unwritten rules" this year thanks to Dallas Braden, I think most umps would have been inclined to call in favor of the pitcher there if they were on the fence about the decision. Giving a potentially perfect-game pitcher the shaft is a much bigger deal than potentially taking away a single from a hitter on a team down 3-0. But Joyce obviously didn't even think that it was a "could-go-either-way" call--or else he did and was determined to show he wasn't going to be "swayed" by circumstances, which leaves one just as prone to screwing up anyway.