Baseball 2012 (1 Viewer)

[lancer]

Season is 30 games old and the Nats have established themselves as a great pitching team, with little offensive power. The Nats are currently tied for 1st place in the NL East. They are 18-12, with a 9-6 record in 1-run games. As can be seen, half their games have been the ultimate squeekers, with 4 other games decided by 2 runs. Good thing their pitching ranks #1 in the majors in 5 major catagories: ERA (2.70); Quality starts (24); WHIP (1.09); Batting average against (.212); Home runs allowed (15). This contrasts with their horrid hitting, which ranks near the bottom in several catagories such as Batting average (.236), runs scored (102), slugging (.354), home runs hit (20), etc. Just too little offense. This is partly the result of injuries to their 2 big hitters, Morse and Zimmerman, but also just a general anemia. Zimmerman hasn't been hitting well, even when healthy and playing. Espinoza hoped to be a major offensive factor, has regressed and is hitting only .189 with 1 Hr and 2 rbi's, in106 AB's. Those two hitters failures, along with the absence of Morse, are proving to be crippling. But no one on the team, with the exception of Adam LaRoche, is doing well. The pitching had better hold up or this season will be lost. -- Al

 

[Buster]

Right, exactly as Buck Showater predicted, didn't he say "I'm really going to enjoy beating these guys and their 150 million dollar payroll with my team and their 17.47 payroll" or something to that effect?

The Orioles did the Red Sox fans a favor last year, why prolong the agony as they weren't going to do a thing even if they did make the playoffs.

It's time to make some major changes in Boston, clean house and start over, I'm all for it, bottom line is you can't win the World Series every year (unless you're the Yankees), you're going to have peaks and valleys.

Don't worry though, your new GM is a piece of work; when he got canned in Boston, at his final press conference, he said "Well gee, we spent more days in first place the last several years than any other team".................ok, great, "spent" more days in first place, but never "finished" in first place or won a World Series for that matter.

There is no trophy that says "They spend more days in first place than any other team" as far as I know unless that nitwit knows something I don't.

Meanwhile, enjoy the view from the top Sammy....................

George, I can't tell you how much fun it was last night watching that overpaid, slack-off, spinach-chin, moron Josh Beckett getting shelled for 7 runs in less than three innings and goofball Bobby V. doing the slow walk out to the mound as the boos rained down on the arrogant gasbag Beckett.

Loved the guy behind home plate with the paper bag over hid head ..... classic!

Nice game Beckett, enjoy your 17 million a year EBT card, you're worth every penny.:rolleyes2:

B.

 

[jazzeum]

Falling off the high perch can be quick but I'm surprised it happened to a team like the Red Sox with the resources they have.

All the more reason you have to give credit to the Yankees for staying where they are. It's one thing to have money but another to use it judiciously. My team, the Mets, is a testament to poor spending. It will take them a few years to get back, notwithstanding their recent boomlet.

 

[Warrior]

George, I can't tell you how much fun it was last night watching that overpaid, slack-off, spinach-chin, moron Josh Beckett getting shelled for 7 runs in less than three innings and goofball Bobby V. doing the slow walk out to the mound as the boos rained down on the arrogant gasbag Beckett.

Loved the guy behind home plate with the paper bag over hid head ..... classic!

Nice game Beckett, enjoy your 17 million a year EBT card, you're worth every penny.:rolleyes2:

B.

The guy with the paper bag over his head was classic.

The more Bobby V talks, the more annoying he becomes.

Love the spinach chin reference too; "Hey spinach chin; you mean to tell me you're only a doorman, well there's the door....man......"

 

[lancer]

My goodness, but the Ranger's Josh Hamilton is on fire. He has now hit 8 Hr's in the last 5 games, for a total of 17 this season. He has 40 RBI's on the season, and is batting .407. Can anyone say Triple Crown winning MVP? On the other end is Pujols, who is still mired batting .192, with 1 HR and 11 RBI's. Of course, it is still early, with 80% of the season still ahead, but these trends are becoming ingrained. And it is worth mentioning, even if I am only wishing, that both the Nats and O's are on pace for 100 win seasons. Wouldn't that be something?^&grin -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

Hamilton is first in every offensive category (except SBs).

 

[lancer]

The Henry Rodriquez experiment as the Nats closer is beginning to spring some leaks. Rodriquez inherited the closer job because of injuries to Storen and Lidge. He had been doing a decent job until a recent stretch. In his last 8 games he has 1 win, 2 losses, 3 saves and 3 blown saves. In the 7 innings he has pitched, he has surrendered 8 hits (2 Hr's), and 3 BB's, to the result of 8 earned runs. He has become very inconsistent, ie., great one night, terrible the next. Not what one wants from the closer. The man has an overpowering fastball that can and has reached 100 mph, but he is in love with the slider when he gets ahead in the count. Normally this wouldn't be a particular problem, except he insists on throwing it with runners on base, and since his slider is consistently 5-6 feet short of the plate, wild pitches abound, with the resulting predictable results of advanced runners and deeper counts where the hitter knows whats coming. Since neither of the other 2 closers are due back soon, Rodriquez is the man, so here's hoping he straightens out or all the great starting pitching is going to go to waste. -- Al

 

[lancer]

I just want to say that I'm glad to see the White Sox (and ex-Nat) Adam Dunn is playing well and springing back from last seasons disaster. He has hit 9 Hr's, with 23 RBI's so far this year, compared to only 11 Hr's and 42 RBI's in all of last season. Dunn was a very popular player here in DC who almost guaranteed 38-40 Hr's a year. We were sorry to see him go. So, good luck to him. -- Al

Dunn has now surpassed last years Hr total, having hit his 12th Hr in only 36 games, to go with 28 RBI's. Looks like his NL to AL adjustment took just the one season. Maybe Pujols will be similar. -- Al

 

[lancer]

The Henry Rodriquez experiment as the Nats closer is beginning to spring some leaks. Rodriquez inherited the closer job because of injuries to Storen and Lidge. He had been doing a decent job until a recent stretch. In his last 8 games he has 1 win, 2 losses, 3 saves and 3 blown saves. In the 7 innings he has pitched, he has surrendered 8 hits (2 Hr's), and 3 BB's, to the result of 8 earned runs. He has become very inconsistent, ie., great one night, terrible the next. Not what one wants from the closer. The man has an overpowering fastball that can and has reached 100 mph, but he is in love with the slider when he gets ahead in the count. Normally this wouldn't be a particular problem, except he insists on throwing it with runners on base, and since his slider is consistently 5-6 feet short of the plate, wild pitches abound, with the resulting predictable results of advanced runners and deeper counts where the hitter knows whats coming. Since neither of the other 2 closers are due back soon, Rodriquez is the man, so here's hoping he straightens out or all the great starting pitching is going to go to waste. -- Al

Leak, indeed. Rodriquez was called on to save last night's game in the 9th with a 3 run lead. He promptly loaded the bases on 3 walks, with just 1 out. DJ yanked him and had LHP Burnett close out the game. DJ won't put up with a rollar-coaster as a closer. -- Al

 

[lancer]

There is a huge difference between being a set-up man and a closer, as the NYY's Robertson has had impressed on him in the last two games. With Rivera's injury, the closer job was passed to Robertson, who is, at this point, uncomfortable with it, or hasn't adjusted to it. His first game as closer was a near disaster as he loaded the bases before getting the final out. The second game was a disaster as he blew a one run lead and took the loss. Question now is whether the NYY's can wait out Robertson's adjustment period and hope he comes around, or do they go in another direction. Going to be interesting. -- Al

Watched Soriano close out and save the NYY win last night. He looked good. Was calm and in control. His 2nd save, and maybe he will be the answer to the closer question. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

Watched Soriano close out and save the NYY win last night. He looked good. Was calm and in control. His 2nd save, and maybe he will be the answer to the closer question. -- Al

Thanks for the update Al, that game wasn't on the MLB network, which is odd, they usually show each and every NYY game on their network.

Maybe they should rename it NYY network.

Glad to see the Yankees have sorted out their closer issues, championship #28 can't be too far off now, those poor long suffering Yankees fans have gone what, three years without a championship, the poor SOB's.

Speaking of the Yankees, caught "Four days in October" last night as part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series, this particular episode tells the story of the four days in October of 2004 when the Red Sox came back from the dead in the ALCS after being down 0-3 to win the series and go on to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

This is about the fifth time I saw the program, it's brilliant really, not so much from a Red Sox fans point of view but more from a sports angle than anything else; to come back from down 0-3, specifically in game 4 on that Sunday night after getting destroyed 19-8 the night before, last inning, last at bat vs the greatest closer of all time, just incredible.

One of the things that struck me is even though the Red Sox were down, they were so loose during the entire four days, while the Yankees, specifically A-Rod, were tight as a drum, he blew a gasket during BP before game 5 as a cameraman zoomed in on him and a couple of other Yankees near the batting cage. Also loved the way he tried to justify knocking the ball out of Aroyo's glove in game 6 after he was called out by claiming it was the natural running motion of his arms that did it, not him swiping the ball out of his glove with those goofy hamburger helper white gloves he wears; yeah right Arod, whatever you say.

By far my #1 greatest Boston sports moment, there will never, ever, ever be anything else to top that one, brings a smile to my face everytime I think of it, the only sad part being all the Red Sox fans who passed before this happened, specifically my grandfather, who loved the game and my uncle, who came to Boston on vacation in 1975 and took me to about 15 Red Sox games that summer, probably my most favorite summer of all time..................

 

[sammy719]

Thanks for the update Al, that game wasn't on the MLB network, which is odd, they usually show each and every NYY game on their network.

Maybe they should rename it NYY network.

Glad to see the Yankees have sorted out their closer issues, championship #28 can't be too far off now, those poor long suffering Yankees fans have gone what, three years without a championship, the poor SOB's.

Speaking of the Yankees, caught "Four days in October" last night as part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series, this particular episode tells the story of the four days in October of 2004 when the Red Sox came back from the dead in the ALCS after being down 0-3 to win the series and go on to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

This is about the fifth time I saw the program, it's brilliant really, not so much from a Red Sox fans point of view but more from a sports angle than anything else; to come back from down 0-3, specifically in game 4 on that Sunday night after getting destroyed 19-8 the night before, last inning, last at bat vs the greatest closer of all time, just incredible.

One of the things that struck me is even though the Red Sox were down, they were so loose during the entire four days, while the Yankees, specifically A-Rod, were tight as a drum, he blew a gasket during BP before game 5 as a cameraman zoomed in on him and a couple of other Yankees near the batting cage. Also loved the way he tried to justify knocking the ball out of Aroyo's glove in game 6 after he was called out by claiming it was the natural running motion of his arms that did it, not him swiping the ball out of his glove with those goofy hamburger helper white gloves he wears; yeah right Arod, whatever you say.

By far my #1 greatest Boston sports moment, there will never, ever, ever be anything else to top that one, brings a smile to my face everytime I think of it, the only sad part being all the Red Sox fans who passed before this happened, specifically my grandfather, who loved the game and my uncle, who came to Boston on vacation in 1975 and took me to about 15 Red Sox games that summer, probably my most favorite summer of all time..................

That was was one of the best baseball playoffs in my life time (and I'm a O's fan)...matter fact I bought a book by none other then the great Steven King (not a horror novel this time) but the story of the 2004 Red Sox season, pretty interesting, plus anybody that's beating the Yankees are always close to my heart!!!...Sammy

 

[Warrior]

That was was one of the best baseball playoffs in my life time.......

Yep, I liked it too.............Sox lose to the Doofin Rays 2-1 tonight, there goes the five game winning streak.

And the 9,435 at the Trop go wild, what a following that team has, have to give credit where credit is due, those are some rabid fans down there.............

 

[lancer]

The quarter way mark has arrived and it is obvious that the AL and NL East are the best divisions. Most of MLB's winning teams are located in these two divisions and both of the divisions claim the closet races and will continue to do so. I am most pleased that the Nats have done so well, but their success is all due to pitching and this has lead to 23 of their 39 games being decided by 2 or fewer runs, in which they are 12-11. I think this pattern will stay in place and that Nats fans are due for a nail biting season. When Morse gets back and if Zimmerman can start hitting, things may get better. We'll see. The real surprise is the Orioles. They appear to be for real. They have very good hitting and adequate pitching, with the bull pen being a standout. They score well and the bullpen does a great job in close games, leaving them with a 15-4 record in games decided by 2 or fewer runs. These two divisions looked to be dogfights from the beginning and this seems to be holding true. Looks like it will be a mad race down to the final gun. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

The Red Sox rolled into Baltimore tonight and beat the first place O's in front of about 8,438 rabid fans; hate to think how many would show up if the Orioles were in last place.

And speaking of last place, at least for the moment, the Red Sox are finally out of the cellar.

It's the Yankees turn to dwell in the cellar, losers of 4 strait.

That's right ladies, the Yanks are in the cellar.

Red sox win, Celtics win, Yankees lose, Rangers lose.......................not a bad day in the world of sports.

 

[lancer]

The Red Sox rolled into Baltimore tonight and beat the first place O's in front of about 8,438 rabid fans; hate to think how many would show up if the Orioles were in last place.

And speaking of last place, at least for the moment, the Red Sox are finally out of the cellar.

It's the Yankees turn to dwell in the cellar, losers of 4 strait.

That's right ladies, the Yanks are in the cellar.

Red sox win, Celtics win, Yankees lose, Rangers lose.......................not a bad day in the world of sports.

Hi George. In defense of the fans who did not turn out, it rained all day and there was a good chance that the game wouldn't be played. Not quite used to the first place thing yet, so give us some time to build up to the level of the rabid fans in winning cities. Just for the record, there were 16,392 rabid fans there. At any rate, first place IS much better than our usual last place. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

Hi George. In defense of the fans who did not turn out, it rained all day and there was a good chance that the game wouldn't be played. Not quite used to the first place thing yet, so give us some time to build up to the level of the rabid fans in winning cities. Just for the record, there were 16,392 rabid fans there. At any rate, first place IS much better than our usual last place. -- Al

16,392? A lot of those fans must have been dressed as empty seats then.

As far as rabid fans in winning cities; the Orioles were give or take the class of the American League from about 1966 through 1983, those teams were loaded with not only great talent, but Hall of Fame talent, there was a bit of a dip from 1976 through 1981, during which time the Yankees were buying their World Series appearances.

As a fan of baseball, to see a franchise with such a rich tradition of excellence sink as far as the Orioles did is a real shame IMO, I hope they get back there sooner than later............

 

[Combat]

16,392? A lot of those fans must have been dressed as empty seats then.

As far as rabid fans in winning cities; the Orioles were give or take the class of the American League from about 1966 through 1983, those teams were loaded with not only great talent, but Hall of Fame talent, there was a bit of a dip from 1976 through 1981, during which time the Yankees were buying their World Series appearances.

As a fan of baseball, to see a franchise with such a rich tradition of excellence sink as far as the Orioles did is a real shame IMO, I hope they get back there sooner than later............

I'm amazed at the number of empty seats for the Nationals games. DC clamored for a MLB team for decades and they spent millions of taxpayer dollars to get it done. And the place is like a tomb on most nights. I do wonder how many of those empty seats are sold for top dollar to some company and they rarely use them.

 

[jazzeum]

According to 2012 attendance statistics to date, the Nats are averaging approximately 27,000 per date, which is 15th. The percentage is 65.8, which, subject to the following sentence, I take to mean that the ballpark is 65.8 percent filled on average. However, I know that teams count attendance differently: fannies in the seat vs. tickets sold.

Interesting the other teams in the NL East are as follows: Atlanta 25th, Miami 11th, Mets 14th and Phillies First. One thing to bear in mind is that the Nats, having been a bad team for a few years, are not going to draw until they can show they are consistenly competitive. Just because they are good right now doesn't mean they will start drawing big crowds immediately. If they keep playing well and as the weather gets nicer, the crowds should grow.

 

[lancer]

I'm amazed at the number of empty seats for the Nationals games. DC clamored for a MLB team for decades and they spent millions of taxpayer dollars to get it done. And the place is like a tomb on most nights. I do wonder how many of those empty seats are sold for top dollar to some company and they rarely use them.

This is a great puzzle. I was discussing this the other night with some other fans from Germantown. Part of the reason is residual from the long period of no team in DC, ie., the fans became loyal to the O's and a lot still are. Also kin to this long period without is that the Redskins took a death-grip on the fan base and turned DC into a football town. Part of the problem, from where I stand, is the stadium location. It is just not easily accessible. It is located on the wrong side of the city (no small factor with our traffic problems) and parking is all but non-existent in the stadium vicinity. This makes public transport very important but our Metro system has a lot of problems. Getting to the game via the Metro, from where I live for example, is a major undertaking in terms of time and convenience. It is a 50/50 shot with our locals between going to Baltimore or DC. Part of the problem is that it will take time to build a following in DC, with so many people here from other places and on the move so often. I think the fans will come, especially if the team becomes consistently successful, but I don't think the Nats will ever draw like the Redskins. -- Al