MLB - May Thread

[Jedieb]

The first series between Boston and NY has both teams tied for first place. Truly, the baseball gods are kind to us! And man, doesn't Damon look slick with that clean shave and short haircut? :evil

The Mets have a big lead on the Braves right now but our country's long national nightmare won't be over until the calendar hits Oct. and the Braves are at least 30 games out.

Soon, the Clemens Watch will begin. Come back to Monument Park Rocket.... come back.....:D

Had to edit the title, you can tell this teacher is a bit anxious to get to June.

[jjwr]

Clemens would look awefully nice in that Sox uniform :)

Should be a good game tonight, I just hope the Sox can finally put a few runs on the board for Wakefield.

[jjwr]

BIG PAPI in the 8th!!!

[Jedieb]

Every time Big Papi steps up to the plate, I soil myself. :x

Best clutch hitter I've seen in YEARS. Screw Bonds, there's the scariest man with a bat to face in the late innings.

[jjwr]

LOL, sorry couldn't resist the laugh when I read that.

The man is just impressive, he is on an absolute tear right now too, already 11 homers.

[CMJ]

Other people might put up bigger numbers, but if it's the seventh inning on, there's no one I'd rather have at the plate than Ortiz.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Ortiz was big again last night. As for Clemens I hear the Astros are trying to sign him again.

[JMK]

Ortiz is just the man. He's the guy I want at the plate with the game on the line. Period. He may be the best I've ever seen.

I think Roger may be eyeing a Red Sox uni for mid-season. He's only 1 win behind Cy Young to be the all-time winningest Red Sox starter. That would be a nice way to cap a career, plus he's more or less guaranteed a run at a post season spot.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by JMK
Ortiz is just the man. He's the guy I want at the plate with the game on the line. Period. He may be the best I've ever seen.

I think Roger may be eyeing a Red Sox uni for mid-season. He's only 1 win behind Cy Young to be the all-time winningest Red Sox starter. That would be a nice way to cap a career, plus he's more or less guaranteed a run at a post season spot.

I would love to see it, maybe he end his career with the Sox and go into the HOF as a Red Sox. I guess we will see, the first question is how serious are Houston and are they willing to put out the money to get him back.

[JMK]

Bonds is now 2 away from Ruth. He may be slowing down but he can still mash pretty well.

[Jedieb]

I wish I could get my hands on the foul ball that almost knocked him unconscious yesterday. That's the only Bonds baseball I'd spend a dime on.

[jjwr]

I know its sounds bad but I couldn't help but chuckle when I heard that.

[JMK]

With a head the size of Barry's it's a wonder why that hasn't happened at least once before!

[Jedieb]

When you can make boorish Philly fans seem witty and insightful, you know you're one hell of a screw up.
http://espn-att.starwave.com/photo/2006/0505/mlb_a_bonds_275.jpg

[jjwr]

Thats a great banner!

I heard the Phillies fans also had a "Just Retire" chant going off and on.

[JMK]

As funny as all that stuff is, it only makes Barry want to stick around longer - just for spite.

[JMK]

Good thing K.C. isn't located in Canada otherwise ESPN would have led Sportscenter with the fact that only 9,029 people showed up last night to see the Indians and had a good chuckle about it. That's 22% capacity if anyone's interested....and 16,102 showed up at a relatively new Safeco Field to watch the Mariners and D-Rays.

[Jedieb]

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!! It burns us!!!!!!!!!!!! :x
14-3

[Jedi Master Carr]

Johnson doesn't look the same. I think age is catching up to him. As for the Royals the fans are just tired of losing. They are lucky they have the Chiefs. Heck, most people in KC probably were more interested in the NFL Draft than the Royals season.

[JMK]

Johnson has to be close to the end now. He doesn't have the same stuff that made him untouchable for so long.

[Jedieb]

Back in first place baby!

Thanks to the MLB package I'm watching a ton of Yankees baseball. I've seen over half of Johnson's starts this season, including his last three. Here's what I've seen;
1. He's lost about 4-6 MPH on his fastball. There are games when he doesn't break 92.
2. His control sucks. He can't get his slider over effectively right now.
3. His confidence is shot.

Bottom line, Randy Johnson is no longer a "great" pitcher, just a good one. Make no mistake, he can still be effective and rack up 15-17 wins this season, especially with the Yankees' offense. But come playoff time, he won't be the Yankees #1 starter, that will go to Moose who's off to a great start and beat the Red Sox tonight to become the AL's first 6 game winner. Mussina's ERA is under 3 and he's off to his best start as a Yankee. Surprisingly, the Yankees have the best team ERA in the AL right now. But it'll all come down to how the rotation is doing in Sept. and whether or not Clemens decides to stay with Houston or reunite with Torre and company. With Clemens, the Yanks would have a killer playoff rotation.

[JMK]

Apparently Clemens is prepared to sign with the Astros once again.

[sirdizzy]

I want to send Pierre a dozen roses and a thank you card, where would I go about getting an address to do so.

[JMK]

Wrigley Field
1060 West Addison Street
Chicago, IL
60613-4397

Tel.: (773) 404-2827

[CMJ]

:lol :lol

[jjwr]

Ouch, just saw Matsui come up with a hurt wrist but on the replay you can clearly see his wrist break. Hope its not as bad as it looks.

[jjwr]

Definetly feeling sorry for Wakefield, he's pitched a heck of a game and through 5 full innings he has 8 strikeouts but the Sox have left 10 guys on base.

[Jedieb]

Best game the two teams have played against each other this season. Chacon pitched well, but he got in so many jams that he couldn't get out of the 5th despite only giving up 1 run. We'll be battling back in forth all season probably. The last series of the year will be in the middle of September at The Stadium. Sweet.

[JMK]

KC has won 3 straight? Weird. Didn't think that was possible.

How terrible have the Marlins become? Not even into double-digit wins yet. It's criminal to have talent like Willis and Cabrera and not build around them. Instead, those geniuses Loria and Samson have held the fans & city hostage and are threatening to move if they don't get a new stadium.

[Jedieb]

Matsui... broken wrist... took me all weekend just to get the strength to type i............ :cry

Matsui will be out for around 3 months. He might be back in time for the playoffs. At least this will give some of the young guys like Cabrerra and Crosby a chance to play. Bernie is playing every day now because Shef is out. Unfortunately, Randy Johnson is healthy and starting every fifth day. :x

[Jedi Master Carr]

Johnson is pitching is age. About the Marlins, I have read they will trade Willis before the deadline. That franchise is a mess. I knew that it would become that when Loria took it over.

[JMK]

Well Loria got his World Series title, so it's all good for him now. He's got that trump card to use with the fans. If he can't get that new stadium he will pull up and leave for some other market.

The Red Sox beat up on the O's for the 12th time in a row.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Not too many places for him to go. Just Las Vegas and Portland out there. I am rulling out Mexico it will be hard to produce revenue down there. I suppose they could move to Nashville or Charlotte if they can build a stadium.

[JMK]

He's supposedly talking with San Antonio as well.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Now San Antonio would be nuts. They could never get the revenue to keep a team there. Only the Spurs have been able to survive but that is because they have a salary cap and revenue sharing in the NBA. Baseball is so different a team would just fail there, especially with the Rangers and Astros being so close to it. Now I think Nashville and Charlotte make the most sense both are growing cities and they deserve a team long before San Antonio does.

[JMK]

It could (and probably is) a pressure tactic. If Loria makes it known to the fans that he's negotiating with a city smaller than Miami, it could make whatever Marlin fans rampage against city hall..."If San Antonio can handle MLB, why can't Miami?"

That sort of thing.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by JMK
It could (and probably is) a pressure tactic. If Loria makes it known to the fans that he's negotiating with a city smaller than Miami, it could make whatever Marlin fans rampage against city hall..."If San Antonio can handle MLB, why can't Miami?"

That sort of thing.

Now I could see that. I wouldn't put it pass Loria to try something like that.

[JMK]

It doesn't surprise me one bit. That guy would eat his family members alive if he had to.

[Jedieb]

Down 9-0 in the second.
Down 12-13 in the bottom of the ninth.
No Matsui.
No Shefield.
No Giambi.
NO PROBLEM!
JETER AND POSADA RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EAT IT HATERS!! :crack

And tonight, a Babe Ruth record was tied the RIGHT way by a the RIGHT kind of guy. Bernie hit a double to tie Babe for 3rd place on the all time Yankees doubles list. Eat that steroid boy.

[jjwr]

How can you be happy about that performance? How about the fact that the Yankees gave up 12 runs including one by Rivera?

The problem with the Yankees was never their lineup its been their pitchers and as we are seeing its a big problem.

When the offense blows up they can be scary but what I like better is the 6 or so runs they scored against the A's. Thats what happens when the Yankees face at least a semi competent pitching staff. Think the Sawx, White Sox, etc would give up all those late runs against the Yanks? Nope, didn't think so and that why they do great in the regular season but are wilting in the playoffs.

Great hit by Bernie, he's definetly deserving of that spot. Anytime you tie Ruth in anything its a major accomplishment(unless its Beer drinking or hot dog eating and the like).

[Jedieb]

How can you be happy about that performance? How about the fact that the Yankees gave up 12 runs including one by Rivera?

The problem with the Yankees was never their lineup its been their pitchers and as we are seeing its a big problem.

Are you drunk? It was an amazing comeback when you consider we were missing a third of our starting lineup. 300+RBI's MIA! I stuck through and watched the whole thing. Jeter and Posada were clutch and the Stadium was going nuts. Every team has a starter that gets shelled every once in awhile, but how often do they come back from 9 down? In regards to our pitching, we're much better than last year. In fact, the Yanks have the best team ERA in the division, 2nd best in the AL, and 5th best in the majors. By comparison, Boston is 2nd in the division, 5th in the AL, and 15th in the majors. Before last night's football score it was under 4 runs. All that despite Small not pitching well since coming off the DL and Johnson not learning to pitch with diminished skills. Our pitching is doing just fine and if we win the Clemens Sweepstakes we'll lock up yet ANOTHER division title. :evil

[Ryan Pode]

Well, considering the Yankees spend around 13 times what the lowest paying team spends, they should have good backups.

[JMK]

You've got to give the Yankees props for not giving up after going down 9-0. On the other hand, you've got to be concerned when they give up 12 runs. Check their record when they give up more than 12 runs in a game, I'll bet it isn't that good. Last night was an anomaly in many ways but I would be neither encouraged or discouraged by the Yanks last night.

[Jedieb]

I don't think ANYONE has a good record when they've given up 12 runs. Except the White Sox who seem to score exactly what they need game after game. But I don't care who you are, if you see your team pull that kind of comeback off you have to love it. Seeing the highlights on SC is one thing, but suffering through the entire game is even better. The only reason I even kept watching was because the wife was upstairs watching American Lounge Singer and the game was in the early innings. Once they cut the lead in half then I couldn't turn away. Seeing the same old faces in the middle of each rally was sweet also.

Next week we get yet another Yanks/Sox series. Damn, it doesn't seem like it's always been 19 games a season. I swear that before interleague play teams didn't play each other this often in the modern era. I'm sure stat boy can enlighten us.

[jjwr]

Oh I definetly give them props for the comeback, it was incredible no matter how you slice it.

As for their rotation the numbers are good but can you honestly say you would take that rotation over a lot of other teams? The Yankee fan at work(not like you Jedieb, ridiculously bligerent) brought up something similar so I checked team totals and while the Sox had a higher team ERA all of the teams they played against higher better offensive stats than those that the Yankees played.

As for the Division, the Yankees are no more locks for it than the Sox are but I wouldn't discount the Jays. If they get healthy they have a bette 1-2 punch at pitcher than either the Sox or Yanks. If nothing else they will be good enough that its very unlikely the WC is coming out of the East.

[Jedieb]

The Yankee fan at work(not like you Jedieb, ridiculously bligerent)
Damn, I've got to make these posts a bit more hostile. Here goes;

I'll tell you what, you can beat the O's 13 times in a row, BUT I DARE A TEAM TO TRY TO BEAT THEM 14 IN A ROW! :evil

Yanks and Sox back in a first place tie. I think we'll be seeing this for most of the season which is why Clemens' upcoming decision is going to be so crucial. If he stays in Houston the AL East is up for grabs, but if he goes to Boston or NY that team gets a huge boost and they could easily end up winning the division by 5 games.

Wang threw a nice game tonight, he and Mussina have been our most consistent starters so far. The 8 innings Wang threw gave the bullpen some much needed rest.

[jjwr]

What I was most suprised about was his pitch count. I opened up the MLB Game tracker and saw he was still pitching in the 8th and when you highlight their pictures it shows stats and in the 8th he only had like 85 total pitches thrown. Very impressive.

I'm really curious if the two injured pitchers, Pavano & Wells will give anything to either team.

[Jedieb]

Originally posted by jjwr
What I was most suprised about was his pitch count. I opened up the MLB Game tracker and saw he was still pitching in the 8th and when you highlight their pictures it shows stats and in the 8th he only had like 85 total pitches thrown. Very impressive.

I'm really curious if the two injured pitchers, Pavano & Wells will give anything to either team.

Wang is a groundball machine. Last night, even when men got on base (Cano had 2 errors and almost had a couple more) he was able to get DP's because the Rangers just couldn't get the ball in the air when they needed to. He also throws fairly hard for a sinkerball pitcher. His fastball can get up to 94. Wright is starting tonight and he's a mystery. You just don't know what kind of start you'll get from him. After losing his first 3 starts he's won his last 2 and only gave up a couple of runs in each of those starts. But Johnson just looks wretched at times. If he keeps this off Torre should forget about bruising his ego and relegate him to the bullpen come playoff time.

[jjwr]

I can't resist...


and relegate him to the bullpen come playoff time.

But won't he playing golf by then? :)

Heard Pavano had a rough start in his Single A game, got pulled early due to arm pain?

[Jedieb]

Haven't heard anything about Pavano. Wright lost yesterday, but pitched well. He didn't allow any runs the first six innings before giving up a 2 run HR in the 7th. Shoddy defense by Cano allowed the other 2 runs to come in that inning off a reliever. The Subway series starts today. I think the Mets should alternate between the Yanks and Sox every other year. Boston and Philly isn't much of a match up. The only other interesting NL team I can see for the Red Sox would be the Reds. Get some old time Reds and Boston players and you can have a memorabelia field day,

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by Jedieb
Haven't heard anything about Pavano. Wright lost yesterday, but pitched well. He didn't allow any runs the first six innings before giving up a 2 run HR in the 7th. Shoddy defense by Cano allowed the other 2 runs to come in that inning off a reliever. The Subway series starts today. I think the Mets should alternate between the Yanks and Sox every other year. Boston and Philly isn't much of a match up. The only other interesting NL team I can see for the Red Sox would be the Reds. Get some old time Reds and Boston players and you can have a memorabelia field day,

For some reason the Red Sox interleague rival is Atlanta. I guess it is because they used to be the Boston Braves. Although, that was so long ago there aren't too many people who remember it.

[JMK]

Nice defense in the 1st inning by Damon and A-Rod. :lol

Didn't the Spankees blow a 4-0 1st inning lead to the Mets last night too? With Johnson on the mound? :lol :lol

[Jedieb]

Not as bad as blowing a 4 run lead in the ninth. :lol

TAKE THAT HATERS!!! :shootin

[JMK]

It seems watching a game through 8 innings isn't enough anymore. Stupid Mets giving away a great outing by Pedro. Morons.

[Darth McBain]

In case you hadn't heard, Bonds finally tied the Babe. I was holding out hope that it would never happen, but it was inevitable, I guess. He was quoted as saying "It's just great to be in the same class [as Ruth]". I don't care what you say, Bonds - you're not, nor will you ever be in the same class as Ruth or Aaron. Congratulations on your 714 homers - now try to hit some without the juice...

[JMK]

Well to be fair, he did hit several hundred without the juice, but your point about him not being in Ruth's class stands in my mind. He would have topped out at 500-550 without the juice I think.

[Darth McBain]

Point taken - he did hit a bunch before he became Bar-roid, but the whole steroids issue aside, I never liked his demeanor on field - that also sets him apart from the greats in my book. His arrogance is such a put-off. He doesn't even really play good baseball, all he does is swing for the fences, and when he finally does launch one, he just sits there, proudly watching it sail out of the park. There are things called "hustle" and "respect for the game", and Bonds just ain't got 'em. He just arrogantly treats the game like its his own personal home-run contest.

I think it's painfully obvious that he's done the juice, but adding in his arrogance, he just cannot stand alongside the greats in my book.

[jjwr]

He's always been a dick but he was such a good player he could get away with it.

He was easily a HOF quality player before the roids and would have hit 500+ but I doubt he'd have gotten a sniff of 714 without the roids.

[sirdizzy]

Thats the question without the roids and say 550-600 homeruns he was an easy shoe in for the hall of fame. He was a good player without juicing up he just wasn't phenomenal like he was when he was juiced. Funny thing is at 550 steroid free homeruns he was a shoe in but at 714 steroid enhanced dingers he is no longer a shoe in.

He's no longer a first ballot as the stain of steroids will ruin that, he will probably get in eventually but it may take 10 years and theres a chance he may never get in. So he may have sacrificed a hall of fame bid for some isntant success and a chance at the records, question is was it worth it.

[sirdizzy]

this a great article that tries to estimate where bonds homerun total would have been without steroids and comes up with 616 a fair estimate in my opinion

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/060512

[Jedieb]

I was going to post a link to that article on ESPN, it was a pretty good read. It's a baseball stat geek's dream of an article.

BTW, I HATE YOU ALL!!!! :shootin (Except Doc of course.) At least we had some fun in the 9th and Shef will be back soon. Ugh, brutal couple of weeks on the injury front.

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL no comment.

[jjwr]

Nice to see A-Rod come up with a "big" hit in the 9th ;)

Anyone wanna bet he would have struck out if the Yanks were down by 1 there? :)

[Jedieb]

Well, that A-Rod moon shot is probably his biggest hit of the year. With 3 innings left and the Devil Ortiz getting 1, maybe two more AB's, it isn't a cheap HR. Maybe I'll get to dish out some serious trash talk tomorrow.

[Jedieb]

What a shocker, Johnson gets lit up in the first inning. Manning hit his 3rd HR of the series over the Green Monster. Clement is pitching for the Sox and his ERA is over 5 as well so this game is probably going to have plenty of crooked numbers. Only Ortiz has failed to reach base so far.... well, the damage is over, for now. This is what I've seen from Johnson for most of this season. If the Red Sox don't light him up for at least 6 runs in 4 innings I'd be shocked.

[jjwr]

Yanks are up 8-5, definetly an offensive night. Nice to see the Yanks string some runs together without relying on homers. Course thats exactly what the Sox are doing :

[JMK]

The inevitable has happened. Balco Barry finally passed the Babe for second place on the all-time HR list.

Here's hoping he doesn't hit another 41 in his career. :\

[Darth McBain]

Originally posted by JMK
Here's hoping he doesn't hit another 41 in his career. :\

Amen to that - Boo Barry...

[JMK]

Realistically, he does have a very good shot at it. If he can hit another 15-20 this year that will put him well within striking distance. He may choose to go to the A.L. and be a DH. Stupid A.L. with their mickey mouse style of play. :mad

[Darth McBain]

You're right, but we can hope...

[Jedieb]

The next week is going to be huge for the upstart Tigers. They've got a couple of 4 game series with the AL East Big Boys; Yanks and Sox. Johnson pitched his best game of the year today giving up only 2 hits before getting pulled in the 7th. Jeter jammed his wrist and got pulled early causing me minor heart palpatations.

And how about Nomar boys and girls? Great to see Mia's significant other getting his swing back and leading the Dodgers into contention. I always like it when the Dodgers are in the thick of things. They were the team I loved to hate when I was growing up.

[JMK]

I fully expect the Dodgers to fall apart. Again.

[Jedieb]

The Yanks have taken the first 2 games from Detroit, but I'm still pretty impressed with the Tigers. They've got a deep staff and some good bats. I was hoping to at least get a split from this series so anything more wins at Comerica this week will be a bonus. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays keep beating up on the Red Sox so we're back in a tie for first place. Detroit gets Boston next and I may check a couple of those to see how those teams stack up against each other.

Clemens made it official today, he's back with Houston. I guess the idea of not only staying close to home but playing with his son was too much to pass up. The last time I checked the Astros were only 3.5 out in the WC race so he's got a chance to make it back to the post season as well. That leaves Yankees and Sox fans to dream of what could have been. :cry

[JMK]

13 million prorated for the rest of the year. That's crazy! If he was on from day 1 he would have made 22 million. :eek

Is anyone still doubting that the Blue Jays are a real threat to the big fish in the AL east? Can these guys mash or what? Glaus has 17, Wells has 15, Rios has 10 and Overbay has 8. They're second to only the defending champs in HRs. They're hitting .300 AS A TEAM!!!!!!!!!! There's no bigger gap between 2 teams' total average as there is from Toronto's .300 and Cleveland's .288.

They're getting Gustavo Chacin back, Burnett is not too far off...if their rotation can hold, they've got a real shot to not only challenge for the division title or the WC, but make a serious playoff run. Their owner has opened the purse strings big time and if they're still in it trade deadline, or whatever deadline there is, they will try to bring in more arms.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I knew Clemens would go back to the Astros, it made the most sense.

[JMK]

It really was a no-brainer in the end. His son is there. His best friend is there. His hometown is there. They were willing to pay him as much as anyone. They're going to have a shot at the WC. It's a perfect situation for him, and I'm surprised more older players don't do what he's done, come in halfway through the season as a DH or something. I bet we see more players do that in the future.

[sirdizzy]

Don't say that because you know who's going to do that next, Barry Bonds. I so expect to see him the AL next year as a DH so he can steal Aaron's record.

[JMK]

Yeah, I expect that too. But that's hardly a bold prediction. People have been saying that for months now. He can't run, he has no arm, but he can still hit and as a DH would be able to focus on hitting and thats it. There would be teams lining up to sign him if he makes himself available in that capacity. If he's on Aaron's doorstep can you imagine the draw he would be?

[Jedieb]

Sturtze - out for the year
Pavano - still hasn't pitched this year
Matsui - Probably out for the year
Shef - Back on the DL
Crosby - due back from the DL soon
Damon - fractured bone in his foot, he'll have to deal with it for the rest of the year
Posada - hamstring/tendon problems behind his knee
Jeter - wrist
Rivera - back spasms are keeping him out of tonight's game

It's a damn MASH unit!

[Jedieb]

Mo's back spasms just cost us a game. Farnsworth just blew the damn save. Well, at least we got 3 out of 4. Let's see how the Tigers stack up against the Red Sox this weekend.

[JMK]

Didn't they just sweep the Tigers...the best team in the majors?

Either means 1 of 2 things:

1- The Tigers aren't for real
2- The Yankees are learning to be a team again, like they were 10 years ago, and not a collection of high priced talent...though they still have several all-stars in their lineup.

[Jedieb]

This series with the Red Sox is going to be huge for Detroit. They've been beating up on the likes of KC and they've got a lot of young arms so they still have a lot to prove. I think they're good enough to make a run at the AL Wilc Card. They may even give the White Sox a run for the division. Last night's come from behind win might give them a boost heading into this weekend's Boston series. Tonight it's Schilling v. Kenny HowAboutACameraInYourFace Rogers. They both have similiar records and ERAs so this should be a good match up.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't think Detriot is for real though, I think the White Sox are still the best team in the American League.

[Jedieb]

The Tigers beat the Sox today and the Yanks continue to have their way with the O's so for the first time in awhile, the Yanks have first place to themselves. The Tigers remind me a lot of Chicago last year. I think they have the pitching to keep them in the race. I think what the Yanks hae done over the last 3 weeks has been remarkable. They've had one guy after another go down, (even A-Rod missed a game yesterday because of a stomach flu) and they've still managed to win 14 of their last 17. A lot of young guys are getting playing time and they're delivering.