2009 MLB Thread (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

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.

 

[Ockeghem]

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.

 

[mattCR]

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.

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by mattCR

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.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem /forum/thread/284474/2009-mlb-thread/870#post_3602739

 

[EricW]

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

 

[Mike Frezon]

So much for the triumphant return of Paul Byrd to MLB, I guess.

 

[EricW]

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

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon ">[/url]




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

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by EricW /forum/thread/284474/2009-mlb-thread/870#post_3602903

 

[EricW]

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.

 

[Brian Perry]

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.

 

[EricW]

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

 

[Ockeghem]

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.

 

[Walter C]

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!

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Walter C

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.

 

[mattCR]

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*

 

[LewB]

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.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by LewB )
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.

 

[Ockeghem]

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.