2009 MLB Thread (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Gatie]

I haven't been paying that much attention. This is a "Baseball season doesn't start until someone raises the Cup" year for me.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Awesome piece on Sterling.

Incidentally, Schilling is co-hosting the Big Show on WEEI this afternoon. You can listen online.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Even Mike Francesca was piling on this afternoon with his bloviated home run calls from last night's game. He said Sterling was "out of control." MF was also ranting on Sterling toeing the company line on the fact that the new stadium is a bandbox. Francesca believes it "illegitimizes" Yankee homeruns.

I actually think Sterling can be a really good play-by-play man. I really do. He knows the game really well...and "gets" its rhythms and history. But he feels the need to do this lame schtick in the name of entertainment. It might draw interest in the casual fan...but for those of us fans who tune in on a regular basis...it's painful. And repetitive. And lame.

I find Sterling's pairing with Suzyn Waldman fairly painful to listen to. I liked it when he was paired up with Michael Kay. They seemed to keep each other's annyoing characterisitcs in check. Sterling with Charlie Steiner was the worst of the worst--two pompous play-by-play guys each trying to out-do the other with over-the-top rhetoric and analysis.

He's got a lot of talent. He just needs to use it for good.

 

[TonyD]

Sterling must be the voice espn used for the 3 homers the other day.

whoever it was made each homer seem as if it was flying completely out of the stadium.

The other announcers that annoy me to no end are the guys who do the white sox.
they're fine until a ball goes over the fence, the "put it on the board, yeh"
is just awful.

I miss Harry Kalas.

Tom Mcarthy is a nice guy but he's a bore and never shuts up.
today the phils won 12-5. every half inning he reminded us that the phils had a 6 run lead then a 1 run lead until the phils broke it open.

Fly balls to the warning track are "pop ups" line drives to the second baseman are "bloops".

 

[Scott_J]

Congratulations to Big Papi for tying his fellow Ortizian, pitcher Russ Ortiz, with 1 home run on the season. Let's see who can get to 2 first.

OK, that was my obligatory Red Sox reference. Now onto some real baseball news. The Padres have agreed to trade Jake Peavy to the White Sox for 4 prospects, pending Peavy's approval. He has a full no-trade clause and it isn't a guarantee that he'll approve the deal. Having lost 20-1 this afternoon, the White Sox could use some pitching help.

 

[LewB]

Check out the videos in this piece about Sterling
Can’t the Yankees do better than John Sterling? | River Avenue Blues

 

[TonyD]

after listening to O & A play his clips I know sterling is the
"thuuuuuh Yankees win" guy. jeez just awful.
I guess he if espn stopped playing his calls and played the tv calls
maybe he would be forgotten.

"another a-bomb from a-rod"



I remember back about 15-20 years ago the phils had a guy named Andy Musser, he occasionally missed a call, but it turned out he had a vision problem and the missed calls were a result of that.

language nsfw

 

[Walter C]

Andy Musser... now that's a name that takes me back. Reminds me of the days when listening to the games on the radio on my walkman, or on the car radio, even though my parents didn't care for baseball.

In other news, the Indians have changed their caps for Memorial Day, which would be less offensive this season.

MLB pulls Chief Wahoo off Cleveland's '09 Stars and Stripes cap

 

[Ockeghem]

Well, I was very pleased to see the BoSox sweep the Jays. That doesn't happen all that often for Boston against that team. They moved from 3.5 to .5 games of first, too.

How about them Yankees? I think they'll cool off a bit when they play the Rangers in Texas, but if they don't -- watch out. The Yankees could very easily become a legitimate baseball team again over the next couple of weeks.

I hope Matsuzaka has a strong outing against the Mets today. I like interleague play -- it's interesing, and brings about some neat matchups that we don't really see all that often for obvious reasons.

 

[MarkHastings]

I understand the offense, but wouldn't it also be just as offensive to sing the National Anthem at Clevelands stadium (or Atlanta)?

Wouldn't it be better to dump the Native American references altogether (and further separate any kind of reconciliation)? IMO, that would be more offensive than keeping it, but it seems that's what they want.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Hey, TonyD. I'm root, root, rootin' for your team this weekend!

I hope they bring their "A game" to the Bronx. I hope they've heard about the jetstream to right field!

Interesting match-up tonight @ Fenway: Matsuzaka vs. Santana. Talk about disparate styles!

Has anyone else realized that MLB has practically turned the month of June into "Interleague Month?" I was just studying the schedule recently and realized that we're looking at 2-1/2 solid weeks of interleague play from June 12 thru 28. Ugh.

EDIT**

Scott: I just read your comment about liking interleague play. I've always hated it. Besides screwing up (severely limited) intra-league match-ups...members of each league were only meant to meet in the World Series. You could look it up!

It's right near the top of the list of things Commissioner Frezon would eliminate in baseball: instant replay, interleague play, the designated hitter...

 

[Ockeghem]

Mike,

I understand. I agree that members of each league were only meant to meet in the World Series, but since it's been spoiled, I guess I'm making the most of it these days.

I became disheartened years ago when the wild card teams were created in baseball. I'm from an even older school too, when a pennant was won for each league (no ALDS or NLDS, wild card teams, etc., in other words). I was watching baseball in 1967. Those were the days....

Check this out, Mike. I didn't realize that Steve Carlton had pitched against Jim Lonborg in the 1967 World Series!

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal..._revived_hope/

 

[MarkHastings]

Scott, then how would you work the teams so that there's no wildcard? Keep only 2 divisions in each league and just put more teams into each division? or would you have just kept MLB from adding teams in the first place?

And yes, I too hate interleague baseball. But baseball is screwy to begin with. For 90% of the season, they face teams that they'll never see in the World Series, and with the addition of Interleague, they now face teams that they may never face in the World Series.

Man, who would love to see the Red Sox and Yankees play in a *real World Series??

* No offense to those outside of this area, but around these parts, they say that the AL East IS the World Series!!!

 

[Walter C]

Exactly why I like interleague play. Some teams have yet to make it to the World Series, and some have not been there for a long time. Now if teams kept playing the same corresponding divisions year after year, then I would have hated it myself.

And I am rooting for the Red Sox, and I know Mets and Yankees fans will be rooting for the other team this weekend.

Also, I'm not a big fan of the unbalanced schedule. I would like to see more games against teams in other divisions within the same league, but really hard now, with so many teams.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Heck I wonder what you would think of Commissioner Nicholls.

- Stealing home would count for 2 runs
- Grand slam counts as 5 runs
- Starting pitchers must finish a game or be prohibited from playing for a week

Bring the razzamataz back to the game.

 

[MarkHastings]

they should also make the bullpen pitch a minimum number of batters. I don't like this "one pitcher for one batter" deal.

 

[TonyD]

well saying "no offense" doesn't make an insult not an insult.

Not sure were "around these parts" is but around HERE that wouldn't be a real world series.
and i'm not even sure what that means.
I guess it would make sense if the Red sox or Yanks won the series every year.

 

[EricW]

i think there should be a separate pitchers-only home run derby at the all-star game

 

[MarkHastings]

It's just what they say around here in CT because the AL East has had so much participation in the World Series.

Case in Point: In the past 16 years, the AL East has gone to the World Series 11 times and won 8 World Series.

So we always talk about how the AL East is like the World Series for us in CT because it seems like the only way you get to the World Series is to beat the Yankees. It has always felt like beating the Yankees was/is the hardest thing in baseball. The 2004 World Series was such a let down after the AL Championship game. THAT should have been the real world series.

It's similar to the US Olympic Hockey team beating the Russians. No one talks about the game that actually got them the medal. They only remember the Russian game because it meant more.

 

[TonyD]

there's always a good team or two in the al east.