2009 MLB Thread (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

Grienke pitches a team best, 15 strike out game, dropping his ERA to 2.43, now a full run better then anyone else in the AL.. but only 12 wins to show for it (boggle)

But at least the Royals aren't the only emberrassing thing in the league lately.. this out of a recent Dodgers game makes it clear to me that the MLB needs a rule. If you're going to sing the national anthem, you MUST know the damn words and not make up your own.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls /forum/thread/284474/2009-mlb-thread/840#post_3599776

THAT is exactly what it means. Hitters do it all the time. You never know exactly where the ball is going to go. Sometimes it goes straight down onto the plate (or foot). Sometimes it goes straight back into the catcher or umpire off the bat. I've even seen it goes straight down and then come back up and hit the batter on the leg or even the upper body. It can go in either dugout, into the on-deck circle...just about anywhere.

But those direct hits into the batter's own foot must really smart.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Couldn't find footage of a major leaguer doing it...but here's a kid in a batting cage hitting one right off his toe.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Because he hit the ball and the ball later contacted his body, does this mean he tagged himself out?

 

[LewB]

The ball strikes the player while he is in the batter's box, that is a foul ball. For the batter to be out by contacting the ball, the ball would have to be in fair territory (ground ball hitting a runner in the base path, for example).

Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls

/forum/thread/284474/2009-mlb-thread/840#post_3599916

 

[Ockeghem]

Well, I'm pleased about this. Penny had a few good outings, but I really never felt like he was good enough to be in the starting rotation.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4425741

It's also odd that not too long after I asked for Smoltz to be released, he was gone. And then Smoltz has his best performance of the year! I do wish him well, unless he plays in the World Series against Boston, of course.

I think I can live with these pitchers for the remaining thirty-six games (and hopefully, the post-season):

Beckett
Buchholz
Halladay (er, I mean Tazawa)
Lester
Wakefield (a wonderful outing for Tim last night -- too bad the score didn't remain 2-1 Boston while he was still in there)

and

Bard
Delcarmen
Okajima
Ramirez
Saito

and

Papelbon (R)
Wagner (L)

 

[Brian Perry]

Okay, here's something remarkable -- and depressing if you are a Cubs fan:

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.

 

[Ockeghem]

That does sound depressing. It reminds me in some ways of the Cavaliers - Celtics run at the best record before Christmas 2008. The Celtics won nineteen straight, and gained one game on Cleveland at that time.

 

[Mike Frezon]

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.

The Sox have been playing pretty well lately. They had another version of Cy Young on the mound today in the person of Paul Byrd. I doubt he'll be able to keep that kind of performance up.

The Sox have won 14 of their last 20 games. But they'll never make up any ground on the Yankees if they keep winning at this incredible pace. The Yanks are currently 20 for their last 26.

 

[Brian Perry]

As the Cubs have been realistically eliminated from the division chase (10 behind the Cards), hope turns to the wild card. However, it is difficult to assess their chances for that because while they are 5.5 games back (4 in the loss column), they are also behind four other teams. I've seen people theorize that you need to add up the games you are behind all the other teams to give you an approximation of how that equates to being behind one team. I can understand the reasoning behind it (because all the teams ahead of you will not usually lose on the same day, you can only gain ground gradually). But that would mean we are the equivalent of 18 games back!

So that's the question -- would you rather be behind one team 10 games, or behind 4 other teams an average of 4 or 5 games each? (I know, you'd rather be the Yankees. )

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Brian Perry /forum/thread/284474/2009-mlb-thread/840#post_3601076

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

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.

 

[Mike Frezon]

After all the recent dangerous beanings, Rawlings it hauling out a more heavy-duty batting helmet.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

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?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls Can't hurt. Well...yes, I guess it can.

 

[EricW]

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!

 

[Robert Crawford]

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

 

[Mike Frezon]

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

This is quite an impressive run the Yankees have put together.

 

[LewB]

Jorge was channeling his inner Bernie Williams [/url]

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

This is quite an impressive run the Yankees have put together.

 

[EricW]

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).