2009 MLB Thread (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

Yeah, and being a Sox fan, up until recently, I've never been a fan of the World Series

But seriously, in 2004, other than the joy of winning the World Series, I could have cared less about beating the Cardinals. It wouldn't have mattered who it was. Neither did beating the Rockies. I wish the World Series wins would mean more than just the win.

Beating the Yankees wasn't the World Series in 2004, but it meant SO much more than beating the Cardinals.


EDIT: I just had to edit my previous post. The AL East has actually been to the World Series 11 times in the past 16 years.

 

[Ockeghem]

Mark,

I honestly don't know. It was much harder to make the playoffs back in the 1960s (and slightly later than that). But I do think expansion (to a degree) is good for several sports. But who draws the line?

As for the one pitch for one batter, I do understand the appeal of having a relief pitcher pitch for a longer stint. But I think the 'no save' situation is part of the resolution to that (although it may not have been intended as a remedy). Bring back Rollie Fingers!

 

[Mike Frezon]

I think if Commissioner Nicholls wants more razzamataz back in baseball, he should bring back people and antics like Bill Veeck and Eddie Gaedel!

Commissioner Frezon would also ban green hats and alternate uniforms from the game.

I would need to thoroughly study the schedule issue...but my gut instinct is to keep division play and wildcard status as it is. But if you eliminate interleague play you have a chance to play more teams in your league who are not in your division. That would be a good thing.

 

[MarkHastings]

or for that matter, any color hat that does not represent the team colors.

 

[Walter C]

I guess you don't mind those easy W's against the O's.

 

[Ockeghem]

The BoSox hold on and take the first game of a four-game set with the Twins. With Penny in there, I never feel as though almost any lead is safe.

Here's somewhat of an oddity: Five of the six current division leaders have eighteen losses. Only the Dodgers have less (fifteen).

I was very surprised to hear what happened to Iwamura. Sure, he may not be huge at the plate, but his defensive skills are quite good, and at times, exceptional. Tampa Bay is going to miss him greatly, I fear. The first thing I thought of when I saw the replay today was Tom Brady....

Tampa Bay Rays' Akinori Iwamura out for season with torn ACL - ESPN

 

[Mike Frezon]

Actually the Sox have always done pretty well in interleague play. And ending it wouldn't mean any more (or less) games with the Orioles. It would simply mean more games for the Red Sox against teams in the Western and Central divisions...which makes more sense when working towards an Al pennant winner. Currently, Al teams play different NL teams in interleague play a differing number of games. It's very confusing and "unfair." It's just not a logical system.

But, no, I don't mind easy wins against the O's. Although they're not pushovers. They've got some pretty decent players like Brian Roberts & Nick Markakis.

The Iwamura loss could really hurt the Rays for the rest of the season...except it might give that Zobrist kid more playing time...and he's been coming on strong.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I was away for the weekend and just read about the game a few days ago in which Ray's manager Joe Maddon screwed up his lineup card by failing to designate his DH for the game. This meant that pitcher Andy Sonnenstine had to hit in the 3-hole (!) leaving Evan Longoria on the bench (!).

Crazy. But, wouldn't you know...Sonnenstine goes 1 for 3 with an RBI double! Love it!

Did I ever mention how Commissioner Frezon would get rid of the DH in the American League?!?

 

[MarkHastings]

if my mom were commissioner, there'd be no spitting.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I could co-commish with your mom...

BTW, Penny was really sick with a stomach bug, apparently, when he pitched today. He was throwing up between innings according to Francona.

 

[Ockeghem]

Agreed, the HR by Bailey was huge.

I read today that Penny has had 58 runs scored for him in his starts! That's quite impressive. He is impressed with the Red Sox' ability to score runs, coming as he was from not-so-successful NL teams. And I also see that he's 5-2, so I'll not criticize him too much for the time being.

 

[Walter C]

I will say this, I would like to see a season of no interleague play entered into the rotation. 3 years with it, then 1 without, and so on. A compromise for both sides.

And if I was commissioner, I would eliminate the pitch count. And reduce the number of teams in MLB, which then, eliminates the need for a salary cap.

 

[Mike Frezon]

How about the Indians (at home) scoring two runs in the 8th and 7 runs in the 9th to beat the Rays 11-10 yesterday?!?

There is video of the 9th inning runs...but nothing of the celebration which ensued. Pretty sparse crowd to see the comeback.

======================

And today is the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest games ever played in baseball: Harvey Haddix' 12 inning perfect game.

Noteable not only for Haddix' unbelievable accomplishment...but for the strange way in which the game ended.

 

[Ockeghem]

Mike,

What a comeback. I saw the highlights about three times. Seven runs in the bottom of the ninth against the Rays? Wonderful. I think the Rays are going to begin to hate the number seven.

BTW, I learned this morning that the Rays loss was the fourteenth in a row at Cleveland, their last victory there coming in September of 2005 (1-0).

And how about them Padres? They must have the quietest ten-game winning streak in baseball history.

 

[Jason Seaver]

How can you eliminate the pitch count? It's a measurement, not a rule. I mean, Hypothetical Commissioner Seaver could say he'd eliminate the save, but the definition of the "save situation" is out there, and it will be used whether I like it or not.

As to reducing the number of teams - really? Which ones? Would you make a concerted effort to destroy any remaining interest in baseball in the area, as MLB did in Montreal? Would this "eliminate the need for a salary cap" by making sure that there are no longer teams in cities that could (supposedly) benefit from the cap?

FWIW, Hypothetical Commissioner Seaver would:

* Eliminate interleague play
* Fund a system for electronic ball/strike calls so that the strike zone doesn't change for a given umpire/pitcher/hitter
* Keep the current DH/P system, and in fact see if there is any other way of differentiating the AL and NL (and encourage good-hitting NL pitchers by tweaking the way the DH is handled in the minors)

... and that's close to being it.

 

[Walter C]

Mitch Williams's idea doesn't sound like a bad idea, which he said on MLB Network - round up all the pitch counters and set them on fire.

But seriously, I think it's ridiculous to take a pitcher out just because it's assumed he is tired after throwing 100 pitches. That would be like a football team taking a quarterback out after throwing the ball 40 times. Next thing you know, a complete game will be treated like a no-hitter.

Fewer teams means more good teams and lesser mediocre or bad teams in the league. Talent would not be so diluted in the league. I miss the days of 2 divisions in each league, and the schedule being more balanced within the division.

As far as which ones, well... I don't know.

 

[Jason Seaver]

The 100 pitches thing is a rule of thumb that is applied too consistently, but it's going to be hard to get rid of because it's (a) easy to remember and (b) like the save rule, in that it gives managers an easy way to avoid actually thinking.

Even without pitch counts, though, the complete game was going to become an endangered species. 6 IP + pen is pretty good strategy, in terms of not letting hitters get too familiar facing a single pitcher, and those six innings likely take as much effort as a complete game, since many teams work the count more and have credible offense at positions like catcher and shortstop that were strictly defensive in earlier years.

Even if contraction was a good idea in theory, the reality of depriving two cities of major league ball and ten of minor league ball makes it a non-starter. Especially since you'd likely wind up doing to those cities what was done to Montreal, killing interest entirely in certain markets for marginal increases in others.

And I'm not sure the idea that fewer teams means fewer mediocre/bad teams. Aren't you just as likely to end up with some Kansas City A's or Washington Senators types. Also, I think there's an argument to be made that talent is actually less diluted now than in the so-called good old days. Depending how far you go back, you lose Japanese, Latin American, and African American players. There may be more teams now, but the pool of available talent has arguably grown at a greater clip.

 

[Ockeghem]

I agree. I can't even fathom how good this Boston team could be if Lester, Beckett, and Matsuzaka were all around (even) .500 after six or seven decisions. Their starting pitching has been very disappointing up to this point. Oddly, though, I feel very comfortable with their middle relief pitchers -- it's almost as if three or four of them have had a 'rebirth' of sorts this year. I'm a bit flummoxed over that, but I'm not complaining. It was just about the opposite for me last year. Whenever Okajima (or Timlin, and to a lesser extent, Masterson) came on to pitch, I got very jittery.

 

[Mike Frezon]

And those are two things I did not realize until I read them here.

Both are fairly astounding. The former more than the latter.

===============

And, by the way, the 13 inning Haddix game was played in less than three hours! That's another thing Commissioner Frezon would do: shorten the amount of time it takes to play a nine-inning game. Get the ball and throw it!

 

[Ockeghem]

Mike,

Yeah, who knew the Indians were that successful against the Rays in Cleveland?

As for the Padres, that streak has got to be one of the best-kept secrets in baseball. I was routinely looking down the 'Last 10' columns of all of the teams yesterday, and almost fell off my chair when I saw that!