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2009 MLB Thread - Page 30

post #871 of 1171
8/31/09 at 6:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon View Post

Grenke does it again today.  Complete game one hitter.  The hit came in the second inning and Grenke retires the last 22 he faces. 

Crazy. 

It's hard sometimes for people to really grasp how incredible Greinke has been this season.  He plays on one of the worst teams in the league.. he has a defense behind him that on a good day could be called porous.  They have the second most errors of any team (96) and one of the lowest fielding percentages.  Combined with the lowest rate of double plays.  

 

Greinke has by far the worst run support of any pitcher in the league, and yet he holds them in there.   Sports Illustrated nails it down:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/08/26/zack.greinke/

That was before his one-hitter Sunday.

It is kind of shameful his talent is being spent here.  But the season he's having is one of the most insane things I can remember.  A "good" pitcher can go to a great team and put up some great numbers.  They have the advantages of a good defense and run support.  Greinke has neither of those.

Kansas City fans need to take a moment and really appreciate what we have here.

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post #872 of 1171
8/31/09 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 
After all the recent dangerous beanings, Rawlings it hauling out a more heavy-duty batting helmet.
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post #873 of 1171
8/31/09 at 11:37am
That article says that the Cubs are pioneering the use of the improved batting helmet.

Do the Cubs think actively going after bean-balls will improve their chance at getting a runner on base? 
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post #874 of 1171
8/31/09 at 1:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls View Post

Do the Cubs think actively going after bean-balls will improve their chance at getting a runner on base? 

   Can't hurt.  Well...yes, I guess it can. 
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post #875 of 1171
9/1/09 at 8:11pm
2 funny things tonight

1) Jorge Posada starting to walk back to the dugout after a 3-1 strike, thinking he struck out, then getting back in the box with the team laughing, then after a couple foul offs, he homers :)

2) Shaq standing next to big bad Albert Pujols (in that idiotic "Shaq Vs" show), and Pujols barely reaches his shoulders!
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post #876 of 1171
9/2/09 at 4:52am
Actually, Posada forgot the pitch count twice during at-bats yesterday.  The first time, he was still standing at home plate after the umpire signal "Ball four" and the umpire had to tell him to take first base.




Crawdaddy
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post #877 of 1171
9/2/09 at 6:00am
Thread Starter 
I saw those Posada highlights on SportsCenter last night.  Pretty amusing stuff. 

This is quite an impressive run the Yankees have put together. 
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post #878 of 1171
9/2/09 at 4:13pm
Jorge was channeling his inner Bernie Williams
Screw the legends seats, I'd love to get a pass into the next session of the 'kangaroo court'.  Mo Rivera is the judge.
It's all good as long as you are winning.  Hopefully CC and Pettitte continue to pitch as they have recently.  Gotta get Burnett straightened out.  Then we'd have 3 pitchers who can get the game to the re-worked bullpen with Hughes, Coke, Aceves and Mo.
Screw Joba and the freekin' rules.  First thing I'd do is fine him every time he shakes off the catcher.  See if he can win if he just concentrates on making pitches.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon View Post

I saw those Posada highlights on SportsCenter last night.  Pretty amusing stuff. 

This is quite an impressive run the Yankees have put together. 
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post #879 of 1171
9/2/09 at 7:30pm
as good as CC and Pettitte are doing now, the 1-2 punches are stronger in the NL, with Lincecum/Cain and Carpenter/Wainright, and even Happ/Lee.  that's quite worrisome (not that one should look that far ahead).
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post #880 of 1171
9/2/09 at 9:07pm
I completely disagree.  While Lincecum has been great, as have Carpenter, the NL right now is just.. the hitting simply isn't there.  If you look at the interleague play records it's embarrassing for the NL.  And when was the last time they won an All Star Game.. (?)  Face inferior product nightly, in a lineup that is 80% on it's best night of an AL lineup, since no DH, and you're stats will always be better ;)

This isn't to say the NL won't win it all.. could happen.  But I think this year more then most, it's apples & oranges.
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post #881 of 1171
9/4/09 at 8:46am
I was quite pleased to see the BoSox take a series from Tampa Bay in Tampa.  That hasn't happened for a while.  And to think, it could easily have been a sweep....

The Yankees are looking very, very good.  They are firing on all cylinders, and Sabathia really is (IMO) the run away leader in the A.L. Cy Young at this moment.

I didn't think that the Tigers were going to hold on to their divisional lead, but with Chicago fading, I believe that only Minnesota can make a serious run for the division.  The Angels and Yankees are sure bets at this point; all that remains is to see if Boston or Texas will get the Wild Card, and whether the Tigers will hold on to their lead.

The NL Wild Card is very interesting these days, too.  I'm kind of pulling for the Giants, mostly because we don't see them in the playoffs all that often.  And I'd also like to see more of Lincecum, as well as one of the N.L. co-Cy Young award winners this year.*





















*Forget Lincecum.  The co-Cy Young Award winners in the N.L. this year will most definitely be Brad Penny and John Smoltz. ;)
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post #882 of 1171
9/4/09 at 10:27am
I just don't get the buzz over CC.  He may win the Cy Young, but it'd be pretty hollow.  He's 7th in the league in ERA.  He's not in the top five outside of Wins and Innings Pitched (second in WHIP, my bad)

Strikeouts, ERA, everything else he trails outside of the top five.  But he's in NY, and he's with a team that will be playoff bound, and since he has one of the best fielding infields, he's got several more wins left likely.

Then again, us small town folks look at Grienke and Verlander and see an ERA more then a run per game better then CC, more complete games, more strike outs, etc. and we know the media buzz is definitely helping CC...  Because trust me, if Grienke were in NY, and had that run support, and a 2.32ERA, he'd be near 20 wins.. now.  Verlander too. 
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post #883 of 1171
9/4/09 at 10:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

I just don't get the buzz over CC.  He may win the Cy Young, but it'd be pretty hollow.  He's 7th in the league in ERA.  He's not in the top five outside of Wins and Innings Pitched (second in WHIP, my bad)

Strikeouts, ERA, everything else he trails outside of the top five.  But he's in NY, and he's with a team that will be playoff bound, and since he has one of the best fielding infields, he's got several more wins left likely.

Then again, us small town folks look at Grienke and Verlander and see an ERA more then a run per game better then CC, more complete games, more strike outs, etc. and we know the media buzz is definitely helping CC...  Because trust me, if Grienke were in NY, and had that run support, and a 2.32ERA, he'd be near 20 wins.. now.  Verlander too. 

Matt,

I believe I know where you're coming from regarding Sabathia.  But he was virtually untouchable in August, and the sports writers I've heard and read the past few days have said that TPTB look closely at September when they choose the Cy Young awards.

Verlander!  How I'd love to have him on the Red Sox.  He's my favorite active non-Boston pitcher in MLB.
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post #884 of 1171
9/4/09 at 3:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ockeghem View Post

Verlander!  How I'd love to have him on the Red Sox.  He's my favorite active non-Boston pitcher in MLB.
 

Man...you'd have to pry him away from Jim Leyland with a crowbar! 
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post #885 of 1171
9/4/09 at 5:10pm


accoring to si.com:
of 134 starts against the Yanks this year, only 9 times has a starter gone 7 innings and got the win*.  only ONCE has this happened with a right handed starter in Yankee Stadium (Brett Myers of the Phillies, 5/22).  speaking of right handed starters in Yankee Stadium, they are 11-28 this year, and 5-19 since that Myers start in May.

of course these stats would be more meaningful in context, but still - quite impressive.

*though right now Doc looks like he might make it 10

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post #886 of 1171
9/4/09 at 6:45pm
Thread Starter 
So much for the triumphant return of Paul Byrd to MLB, I guess. 




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post #887 of 1171
9/4/09 at 8:08pm
Quote:
So much for the triumphant return of Paul Byrd to MLB, I guess
maybe they can trade him to an NL team and he'll dominate.  BWAHAHAHAHAHA
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post #888 of 1171
9/4/09 at 8:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon View Post




Man...you'd have to pry him away from Jim Leyland with a crowbar! 
 

Mike,

Yeah, I know.  Call me odd, but if given the choice, I'd take him over Halladay in a heartbeat.
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post #889 of 1171
9/4/09 at 9:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by EricW View Post


maybe they can trade him to an NL team and he'll dominate.  BWAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm trying to figure out if that's just "one of those things"...or if the NL is really that inferior to the AL. 
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post #890 of 1171
9/5/09 at 10:09pm
Quote:
I'm trying to figure out if that's just "one of those things"...or if the NL is really that inferior to the AL. 

and Contreras just went 6.2 innings and held the Diamondbacks to 1 run :) 

in terms of AL vs NL, this year the AL is 138-114, which translates to a .548 winning percentage.  while this may seem to be only slightly over .500, one must remember that baseball is a sport where even the elite teams will only win 10% more games than the average team (right now the Yanks are the only team over .600), so that .548 is actually pretty significant.  of course, i've already mentioned in previous posts that the AL, imo, does have a significant overall advantage in vs competition because of the DH, but i can't really quantify that. 

the 138-114 is a +24 win difference, and Boston / New York only accounts for 6 of those wins, so it's not just the big 2.
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post #891 of 1171
9/5/09 at 10:12pm
 
Quote:
Since August 3, 26 days ago, the Cubs have not gained an inch of ground in the standings on any day.  They have either stayed the same or fallen further behind every single day since August 3.



Still true...going on a month and 3 days!  I'd love to know if this is an all-time record.  That is, has a division leader ever not lost ground to the second place team for as long a streak as the Cardinals currently have?  (32 games and counting.)  Maybe I'll check the '69 Mets, who caught and passed the Cubs in a blur and never looked back.
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post #892 of 1171
9/5/09 at 11:29pm
back in the late 80's / early 90's, then they Jays contended every year, there was a season where Baltimore was in second place most of the season, behind the Jays, and for an incredible 1 or 2 stretch, they remained between 0.5 and 2.0 games back for the entire stretch.  it was uncanny.  everyday the newspaper would have the number of games back that the Orioles were in a box on the top left of the Sports Section, and it never changed :P
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post #893 of 1171
9/9/09 at 6:56am
I never thought the Rays would be this buried in September.  The Yankees are firing on all cylinders, and the Rays are falling apart at the worst possible time.  They've now lost seven straight (they also did this right before last year's All-Star game) and are now 17.5 out of first (and 8.5 behind Boston for the Wild Card).

What a difference a year makes.  Last year, no one could catch them for the division, the Yankees didn't make the playoffs, and Mark Teixeira was sitting home watching teams battle for the A.L. pennant after the Angels were defeated in four games by the Red Sox.
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post #894 of 1171
9/10/09 at 12:12pm
Here's hoping both the Giants and Cubs make it to the top of the Wild Card standings, so the games between them will have extra meaning at the end of the month. I will be at those games when I visit the Bay Area, as well as a couple A's games against the Rangers (who I hope keep pace with either the Red Sox or Angels).

I know, it's asking for way too much!
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post #895 of 1171
9/10/09 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walter C View Post

Here's hoping both the Giants and Cubs make it to the top of the Wild Card standings, so the games between them will have extra meaning at the end of the month. I will be at those games when I visit the Bay Area, as well as a couple A's games against the Rangers (who I hope keep pace with either the Red Sox or Angels).

I know, it's asking for way too much!
 

Walter,

I'd love to see the Giants in the playoffs -- esp. with a healthy Lincecum, and the N.L. Cy Young Award winner, Brad Penny. ;)
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post #896 of 1171
9/12/09 at 6:32am
Grienke's season can be summed up last night.  7 IP, 1ER, drops his ERA to 2.12, now almost 1 1/2 runs better then anyone else in the AL... and still can't get a win  *argh*
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post #897 of 1171
9/12/09 at 9:16am
Congrats to Derek Jeter on breaking the all time Yankee hit record.  If the fates allow, he should be able to get to 3K in the early part of the 2011 season (crosses fingers )
Maybe now the Yanks can get back to 'business'.  I'm a rabid Yankee fan who bleeds pinstripes but the media coverage of this was way over the top.
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post #898 of 1171
9/12/09 at 10:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LewB View Post

Congrats to Derek Jeter on breaking the all time Yankee hit record.  If the fates allow, he should be able to get to 3K in the early part of the 2011 season (crosses fingers )
Maybe now the Yanks can get back to 'business'.  I'm a rabid Yankee fan who bleeds pinstripes but the media coverage of this was way over the top.
 

The Yankee publicity department did their job well with this Yankee all-time hit business.  I'll be more excited when he gets to 3000 and agree it was way over the top especially with Michael Kay's Mount Olympus pontifications.
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post #899 of 1171
9/12/09 at 10:41am
I'm happy for Jeter.  He's a class act.

Years ago, I was surprised to learn that no Yankee had had 3,000 hits.  I guess I just expected it to have occurred.

The Orioles are having their way thus far with New York.  They won 10-4 last night, and are leading in today's game, 6-1.  Their best hitter, Roberts, just hit a Grand Slam.
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post #900 of 1171
9/13/09 at 9:33pm
Quote:
Grienke's season can be summed up last night.  7 IP, 1ER, drops his ERA to 2.12, now almost 1 1/2 runs better then anyone else in the AL

1.5 runs?

AL EARNED RUN AVERAGE ERA
Zack Greinke
Zack
Greinke		 1. Zack Greinke, KAN 2.19
2. Felix Hernandez, SEA 2.52
3. Roy Halladay, TOR 3.03
4. Cliff Lee, CLE 3.14
5. Edwin Jackson, DET 3.22
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