MLB - June Thread

[Jedieb]

SC just broke the news, Shef has to have surgery on his wrist and he'll be out until at least Sept. :cry

On the steroid/HGH front, Jason Grimsley getting nailed by the Feds has scores of his former teammates soiling their pants.

Tonight, Schilling and Wright face off, but no matter who wins, the Yanks will still end this series in first place. A bright ray of sunshine on a dark..... horrific.... day.... :cry

[jjwr]

This HGH story could turn out to be the story of the year.

My guess is the MLBPA purposefully left it out of the Steroid agreement so it wouldn't be tested for and now will fight tooth and nail to keep it out. Which means Congress will step in to try and clean up this mess.

At this point my real question is not who has taken Steroids/HGH but who hasn't?

Honestly while it sucks for this year in the long term Sheffield going down is a good thing, for once the Yanks are going to look past one of their high priced older FA's and look to their farm system and because of it Melky is getting a shot and he wouldn't have otherwise for at least a few year or two.

[JMK]

This HGH is going to be the real smoking gun. This will be what brings down everyone. Let's face it - there's a huge amount of players using this because there was no way on earth to detect it reliably, and that one test is not accepted by the MLBPA.

Congress is going to step in and shake it up big time now, and I couldn't be happier. I wouldn't care if 300 players were suspended and had to be replaced with minor leaguers.

[jjwr]

Agreed, clean up the game and get it done. Selig obviously doesn't have the desire to really do so and we know Fehr and the MLBPA are just looking out for themselves so someone else has to step in and get it done.

This really casts a doubt on just about everyone, the players we thought were just great hitters(A-Rod, Manny), Phenom young power players(Pujols, Texeria), heck every maybe even every top pitcher.

[JMK]

This throws the shadow over every single MLB player, including the Ecksteins of the league.

I remember one year when Vlad Guerrero showed up to camp with 30 extra pounds of muscle, and everyone was soooo happy because that meant he'd be so much stronger, but I remember thinking to myself that as much as I hate to think it, he probably juiced up.

[Jedieb]

Yesterday, after the Yanks lost their 4th straight I looked over at ESPN.com to see the Sox were down a couple runs, bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs. Sweet, no ground lost and another game that night. I turned away from my computer and got back to some weekend chores. Later that night I saw Satan had struck again. 2 outs, 2 strikes, then you know who hits a walk off 3 run homer. Big Papi is simply the Devil!

[jjwr]

Papi is definetly the man, sadly the team as a whole isn't nearly consistent enough.

I haven't been able to find the stat but I would bet the Sox are easily near the top of the league in runners left on base. This is becoming a very scary trend with them. They are constantly getting people on but rarely seem to be able to get them in.

[JMK]

Balco Barry cracked #717 last night, #9 on the season. I figure he's got to get to at least 730 this season for him to consider coming back next year as a DH in the AL. He's probably on pace to do just that...and he's still Barry Bonds. He could go on a ridiculous streak and knock out 10 in 3 weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that his knees crap out on him before the end of this year.

[CMJ]

Slightly off topic, but I found the best baseball quote ever tonight!!

"Why certainly I'd like to have that fellow who hits a home run every time at bat, who strikes out every opposing batter when he's pitching, who throws strikes to any base or the plate when he's playing outfield and who's always thinking about two innings ahead just what he'll do to baffle the other team. Any manager would want a guy like that playing for him. The only trouble is to get him to put down his cup of beer and come down out of the stands and do those things."

Danny Murtaugh

LMFAO! :lol :lol :lol :lol

[JMK]

That's friggin awesome!

[jjwr]

Yanks put forth a nice pitching and defensive effort yesterday :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

The Yankees lost again today. Not sure how they let the Nationals beat them two straight. The Red Sox can sweep the sinking Braves tonight. Man how they have fallen this year.

[JMK]

Anyone brave enough to call the end of the Braves reign as NL East winners?

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am, they look terrible I saw the end of that game their bullpen is pathetic.

[CMJ]

I figured when their pitching coach jumped ship in the offseason they were done. He was the rock of the organization.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah that is very true, he was big part of that team's pitching.

[JMK]

I remember thinking that as well. He was the one constant in that organization, and it was always their pitching that made them great.

I remember a few years ago the Braves were 8 or 9 out of first by midseason and I wrote them off....only to watch them come back and win the division by a few games.

[JMK]

The first name in the Jason Grimsley scandal is now known:


NEW YORK (AP) -- Former Montreal Expo and Toronto Blue Jay David Segui said he used HGH and was among the players mentioned by ex-teammate Jason Grimsley to federal investigators.

Segui added that he used the drug with a doctor's prescription because of a growth hormone deficiency.

Segui, who spent 15 years in the majors and retired in 2004, said on ESPN's Outside the Lines on Sunday that he continues to use HGH legally. He said he first started using the hormone after the deficiency was found when he went for blood work before surgery during his playing career.

The 39-year-old first baseman said Grimsley came to him this past off-season, seeking advice about HGH and how it might help him recover from surgery. Grimsley was waived by the Arizona Diamondbacks this month after acknowledging HGH use and accusing other players of its use in a statement to federal agents.

Segui played for Baltimore, the New York Mets, Montreal, Seattle, Toronto, Texas and Cleveland from 1990 to 2004, finishing with a .291 average and 139 homers. He and Grimsley were Orioles teammates in 2004.

The names of the other players accused by Grimsley have not yet been made public.

I wonder how many times we are going to hear this from other players who will eventually have their names leaked: "My doctor said I could - I have a hormone deficiency!"

[jjwr]

Ortiz just crushed a pitch in the 10th inning to give the Sox a 5-3 win over the Phillies.

This man is a monster, you should hear the stands, chanting very loudly PAPI PAPI PAPI

[CMJ]

He's the most clutch player in the game today.

[Jedieb]

Bottom of the 12th, Red Sox down by one, yada, yada, yada, Ortiz does it again. The man is simply THE DEVIL.

[JMK]

I thought Yogurt was the devil?

Ortiz is just on a planet of his own when the game is on the line. I don't think I've ever seen something like this.

[CMJ]

He might not be able to be MVP because he rarely plays in the field, but over the last 3 seasons or so he'd be the MCP.

Most CLUTCH Player

:cool

[JMK]

Without a doubt. You know, he's only hitting about .265, but you wouldn't know it because his name is always in the highlights. It's unreal.

[CMJ]

Did everyone see Joe Mikulik's meltdown the other day? That was maybe the best tirade I've ever seen. :lol

[CMJ]

As far as the clutch debate goes, off of the Red Sox board on ESPN.


Ortiz has provided more "miracles" to support the belief in "clutch" than Christ did to support the belief in God.

:lol :lol :lol

[Jedi Master Carr]

heh yeah Ortiz is an incredible player. Yeah and I saw that meltdown that has to be up there with Lou Pinellia, Earl Weaver and some of Billy Martin's tirades.

[CMJ]

Martinez goes tonight....

[Jedieb]

The Yanks are locked in an extra inning 2-2 battle with the Braves right now. The starters have pitched well this series, but the bats and the bullpen have been shoddy. Farnsworth is going to give me a heart attack. The injuries have finally caught up to the offense. Cano is now on the DL and the Yanks can't get that key hit when they need it. Without Giambi's power we could have easily been swept this series. He hit another homer today and that's why the game is in extra innings. Bottom of the 11th, time to scream my lungs out.

How about the AL central? All the contenders in that division are on fire. The Tigers have rebounded from their AL East woes and won a bunch of games fending off both the Sox and the Twins. Hell, the Twins have won something like 14 out of 16 and haven't been able to make up any ground because of how hot Chicago and Detroit have been. The AL WC is finally going to come out of somewhere other than the east. Boston and NY are going to battling for that one spot right until the end.

[Jedieb]

Bottom of the 12th, Yanks down by a run and A-Rod steps up to the plate with a man on first and the seemingly inevitable game ending DP calling his name. Then.... a 2 run walk off HR!!!!!! Across Da Bronx cats and dogs begin cohabitating out of wedlock, MASS HYSTERIA! :crack

Really looking forward to Pedro V. Beckett at Fenway tonight. I bet Pedro gets a warm reception at the beginning of the game, but after that Red Sox nation will be all over him.

[jjwr]

Will wonders never cease! I love his reaction to the crowd after they had been booing him all day.

He's only 2 walk off hits behind Ortiz for the week now :)

Should be a great game tonight between Pedro & Beckett, definetly looking forward to it.

As of this morning the top 3 AL Central Teams were all 9-1 in their last 10 games.....ouch!

[JMK]

With the way the AL Central is going the wild card is most definetly going to come from there. If you're in the AL East, you'd better win the division if you want a shot at the World Series title.

[CMJ]

And the win streak goes to 12, thanks largely to Crisp.

[jjwr]

Amazing catch by Crisp!

How about that baserunning by Ortiz?

12th win in a row, longest since '95 and 3 away from tying the 60 year old Sox record

15 games in a row without an error which ties the Major League Record.

[JMK]

That's very unlike the Sox to go so long without making an error.

Oh well, great teams find new ways to win. This team seems to be coming together just fine.

[Jedieb]

Perfect day, Marlins end the Sox win streak, El Duque pitches great, but the Yanks still get the win. The bullpen came through when Mussina came out after only 4 innings because of a rain delay. Man, the Mets have now lost 4 straight to the Sox and Yanks. That pretty much sums up the biatch slappin' the AL has put on the NL this year. The Mets are suppose to be the class of the NL and they look inept against the AL East and that's not even the best the league has to offer right now.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think St Louis is better when Pujuos is 100%. The Mets just got off to a hot start. What is really sad is that right now the Yankees if they miss the playoffs are probably better than the rest of the NL.

[CMJ]

The Marlins have been playing great ball for about a month now. I'm sure they can't keep it up(too young this year), but if they do they could get in the Wild Card race by August.

[Jedi Master Carr]

If they are out will they trade Willis? I ask because there have been rumors they could.

[CMJ]

I guess they might. Florida has a great farm system. I mean look, they had a the firesale after '97 and built up their'03 team basically from within. They've broken up that team now and have loads of young talent(especially in the minors apparently). From what I read they could be contending again in acouple of years.

The Marlins are turning into one of those basketball schools that can't stock up on talent, so they build for that 1 great class of seniors, and then has to wait for 3 years while the new freshamn class learns how to win.

[Jedi Master Carr]

True but they have a moron for an owner. I wouldn't be shocked if he moves the team. I am not sure if he knows how to run a team.

[CMJ]

The Marlins very well might move. The owner isn't the best. That doesn't mean that they don't have a great farm organization and will build quality young talent. So unless they sell it off when they're still in the minors, they'll at least have a contender evey few years.

[Jedieb]

Moving that team would break my father's heart. There were rumors that they had considered building a new park in the old Hialeah race track. That place has more than enough room and is only a few blocks from the house I use to live in when I was a kid. They need a new stadium, watching games there now is just brutal.

Meanwhile, Randy Johnson is back to being a batting practice machine. They Mets have tagged him for no less than 8 runs through 6 innings. He's basically giving the bullpen a day off right now. Ughh.

[jjwr]

Mussina pitched a gem in the first game of that series though. So far him and Wang are by far your best pitchers. Johnson just can't be counted on, he may go out and be lights out or he might be lit up, no way to know before hand.

[JMK]

Johnson is just not a true Yankee.

[Jedieb]

The Allstar Game is here!!!! :zzz

[CMJ]

So what are the thoughts from the season's first half? Mine would be the shocking performance of Detroit.

[JMK]

Yep, absolutely the biggest story of the first half. 30 games above .500 at the break? That's insane for a team that was SO bad last year. And even worse the year before.

Pujols was in the process of writing a remarkable story but that's over with now. No record for him, not this year anyway.

I think after last night's home run derby we officially got notice that there's a changing of the guard in MLB. David Wright, Miguel Cabrera and winner Ryan Howard were the 3 finalists. This is where the power now lies in the majors. Oddly enough, all 3 players are from the NL East. That's an oddity.

[CMJ]

I thought the HR contest was the best in a few years. And Howard picked a perfect homer to win it on.

[JMK]

Wasn't that awesome? Right off the banner. I'm sure the suits at Mastercard were kicking themselves. These companies always put banner or cars, other targets out there to be hit with the knowledge that they will almost never be hit, AND they get the free promotion. This time MasterCard actually gets dinged with 500 free flights. :lol

Howard was amazing though. He seemed to get stronger as the derby went on. Still, no one will compare to Abreu from last year.

[Jedieb]

I didn't even watch it. Selig can try any gimmick he wants, but the game just doesn't mean as much anymore. I don't even think I'll tune in tonight. I'm just counting the days until games start up again.

I think that Detroit is the real deal. They may not win it all, but I think there this year's White Sox. I think they'll be battling until Sept. and I wouldn't be shocked if they steal the division from Chicago.

[JMK]

Yeah, I think Detroit has already punched their post season ticket. At this point you've got to believe the wild card will come out of that AL central. Chicago isn't going anywhere, in fact I think they will eventually overtake Detroit, leaving the Tigers to cling to the w.c.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The Tigers are the big story this year, no doubt. I am not sure what to expect from the game tonight. I am figuring the AL will dominate the NL as they have for the last few years.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Not a bad game, although it didn't get really exciting until the 9th. Man the American League is just dominating the alstar game.

[JMK]

Not a bad game at all. It was well under 3 hours, and if you take away the tank job by Hoffman and the presentation by Selig it would have been about 2 1/4 hours, which is the way baseball should be.