Baseball 2012 (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

I didn't realize 99% of baseball players had been caught cheating. Guess I missed that one.

As far as Jeter cheating, where is the proof? To throw around accusations without proof because you hate the Yankees is not only unfair, it's just wrong. To insinuate otherwise is to make a person disprove a negative. Difficult to do and an unfair burden to impose akin to "when did I stop beating my wife."

He has always been a model citizen, the way a public person should conduct his life. This is no surprise considering his upbringing. If it should ever turn out he used steroids I would be shocked.

I understand cynicism is rampant these days. It is, however, not a way I choose to view prisms through.

 

[Vezzolf]

Take you pinstriped glasses off.

For once.

99% of these guys cheat.

They are professionals with millions of dollars at stake, it's all about making the most money for as long as you can.

I don't know too many 38 year olds who lead the league in total hits; the older you get, the slower you bat gets, it's a reality.

Over the last week two players have been busted for using PED's.

One is going into a contract year, the other is fighting to stay in the game.

So there you go.

Being an avid NY Yankees fan since a kid, I would have to agree that these stats are "quite unusual" for a 38 year old player ( however not totally impossible for an elite athlete like Jeter). Also I agree that just because someone never tested positive does not mean they are not taking performance enhancing drugs.(eg Lance Armstrong seven straight Tour de France wins)....In Jeter's case he has not increased his home run output....He is only maintaining his batting average.....Still possible at 38 for a good hitter....maybe??....However if Jeter is still putting up these numbers in 2 more years I would be very skeptical indeed

 

[Warrior]

I didn't realize 99% of baseball players had been caught cheating. Guess I missed that one.

As far as Jeter cheating, where is the proof? To throw around accusations without proof because you hate the Yankees is not only unfair, it's just wrong. To insinuate otherwise is to make a person disprove a negative. Difficult to do and an unfair burden to impose akin to "when did I stop beating my wife."

He has always been a model citizen, the way a public person should conduct his life. This is no surprise considering his upbringing. If it should ever turn out he used steroids I would be shocked.

I understand cynicism is rampant these days. It is, however, not a way I choose to view prisms through.

I didn't say 99% have been caught, reread what I wrote, take it down a couple of notches and don't put words in mouth field marshall.

These are professionals who get paid millions of dollars to play a kids game, the longer they play, the more money they make.

I go with what my eyes tell me and when a 38 year old who plays a demanding position leads the league in hits, I question that, just like I question a wrecking ball like Colon hitting 96 MPH on the radar gun or a fat and out of shape Roger Clemens going from Boston to Toronto and coming back looking more like a pro body builder than a pitcher and proceeding to win back Cy Young awards.

So there, you see, being on the Yankees has nothing to do with it..........oh wait, both of them played on the Yankees too.........nevermind.

 

[Warrior]

Being an avid NY Yankees fan since a kid, I would have to agree that these stats are "quite unusual" for a 38 year old player ( however not totally impossible for an elite athlete like Jeter). Also I agree that just because someone never tested positive does not mean they are not taking performance enhancing drugs.(eg Lance Armstrong seven straight Tour de France wins)....In Jeter's case he has not increased his home run output....He is only maintaining his batting average.....Still possible at 38 for a good hitter....maybe??....However if Jeter is still putting up these numbers in 2 more years I would be very skeptical indeed

Thanks Frank for sharing your thoughts.

Unusual is all I'm saying and there is a difference between never getting caught and never using.

 

[lancer]

One does have to wonder. But if you question Jeter, who has a clean rep, then that calls into question someone like Chipper Jones who is 40 years old, still playing a marvelous 3rd base, and hitting over .300. His rep is also spotless. I think many players cheat, but I also think there are some remarkable players that are blessed with fantastic skills, have taken care of themselves, and just simply beat the odds for performance at their ages. I could be a little naive, but I would question a player who suddenly springs back to life after a few down seasons, over a player who has maintained a consistent performance line. Colon is just a red flag. Prior to his resurgence with NY and Oakland, he won 14 games, total, over the seasons 2006-2009. He was out of action in 2010 and then, Bang!, he's back being relevent with NY in 2011. A little odd.:rolleyes2: But I still choose to believe that most players aren't cheating, though this is just my view through rose-colored glasses.:wink2: -- Al

 

[Warrior]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Al.

I've got a few questions; what is going on with Strasburg, are they going to shut him down for the rest of the year, assume this has to do with his recent surgery and not wanting to push him?

Also, if the Orioles meet the Yankees in the ALCS, who would you want to win?

And if the Orioles play the Nationals, who then?

And lastly, if the Nationals play the Yankees, who then?

Just curious as you seem to follow all three teams with interest..............

 

[lancer]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Al.

I've got a few questions; what is going on with Strasburg, are they going to shut him down for the rest of the year, assume this has to do with his recent surgery and not wanting to push him?

Also, if the Orioles meet the Yankees in the ALCS, who would you want to win?

And if the Orioles play the Nationals, who then?

And lastly, if the Nationals play the Yankees, who then?

Just curious as you seem to follow all three teams with interest..............

George, what you describe is the ultimate agony and pleasure for me. I have been a fan of the O's and Yanks since the 60's, but since it has been so long for them, I would choose the O's over the Yanks, if it comes to that. Otherwise, it's the Yanks over the rest of the AL. I have followed the Nats with a microscope since they came to DC, and am heavily invested, emotionally, with them even though it's only been a few short years. I will choose the Nats in any scenario over other teams, including the Yanks or O's. Nats over all; O's over all but the Nats; Yanks over all but Nats and O's.
As for Strasburg, there is no doubt he will be shut down. It is because of the TJ surgery and what the Nats feel is best for him/club in the long run, not just this season. It is a rather unusual stand over the more common 'now or never' view. The Nats feel that even though Strasburg is so good, that the rotation and team is so deep as to be able to survive the loss of Strasburg, even in the post-season, for this year. Subtract Strasburg and the Nats replace him with veteran John Lannan and the Nats still have 5 strong starting pitchers. Gonzalez and Zimmermann are great, with Jackson, Detwiler, and Lannan to back them up, plus a really decent bullpen. Strasburg or no, the Nats have a playoff caliber staff, just not quite as good as with Strasburg, IMO. It has only become a question because of the Nats sensational run. If the Nats were playing .500 ball, no one would care if he was being shut down, it becomes a non-story. It is going to be hard for Strasburg to stomach and I would not want to be in the position of telling him to sit and watch his teamates continue a possible playoff run and not be part of it after the season he is having. But that is what GM's are for. It is a huge debate just about everywhere but DC, as we have known since the off-season that the Nats were going to shut him down. Still hard to take, though. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

I've got a few questions; what is going on with Strasburg, are they going to shut him down for the rest of the year, assume this has to do with his recent surgery and not wanting to push him?...

See this article in the Times from a couple of days ago, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/s...erm-commodity-for-nationals.html?ref=baseball

 

[lancer]

What started out as a huge showdown between 1st place Nats and 2nd place Braves was a disaster for the Nats for the first two games of the four game series. The above game on Friday night was followed on Saturday by the Braves shutting out the Nats 4-0 in game 2 and the Braves cutting the division lead to 1.5 games. The Nats could have panicked, layed down, and lost the division lead if the Braves were able to win games 3 and 4 of the series. The Nats managed to regain their composure and behind their usual great starting pitching, won games 3 and 4 to maintain the division lead that they came in with. This turn around is directly attributable to left-handed pitcher John Lannan, who was the Nats starter who lost out to the numbers game in spring training and had languished all season in the minors. Lannan was brought up to pitch game 3 of the series with the huge pressure to stop the panic and put the ship back on course. He did this in A-1 style. He gave up 2 runs in the 1st then shut the Braves down for the rest of his 7 inning stint, gaining a 5-2 win, and saving the Nats in the process. The Nats then walked away with game 4 today, 9-2. Thank you, John. I hope the Nats appreciate what you did. I sure do. -- Al

It would seem that the Lannan win in the game mentioned above, on July 21, was more important than I thought. It started the Nats off on their current tear that has them ahead of Atlanta by 6 games and has buried the rest of the NL East. Since the Lannan game, the Nats have gone 24-8, winning at a 75% clip. The Braves have gone 19-11 in the same stretch. Pretty good but the Braves have still lost 4 games in the standings since July 21. Since this landmark game, the Nats have only lost as many as 2 games in a row once, while running off winning streaks of 6 and 8 games. This has been a great run for the Nats. Go Nats!^&grin Please excuse the gushing. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

George, what you describe is the ultimate agony and pleasure for me. I have been a fan of the O's and Yanks since the 60's, but since it has been so long for them, I would choose the O's over the Yanks, if it comes to that. Otherwise, it's the Yanks over the rest of the AL. I have followed the Nats with a microscope since they came to DC, and am heavily invested, emotionally, with them even though it's only been a few short years. I will choose the Nats in any scenario over other teams, including the Yanks or O's. Nats over all; O's over all but the Nats; Yanks over all but Nats and O's.
As for Strasburg, there is no doubt he will be shut down. It is because of the TJ surgery and what the Nats feel is best for him/club in the long run, not just this season. It is a rather unusual stand over the more common 'now or never' view. The Nats feel that even though Strasburg is so good, that the rotation and team is so deep as to be able to survive the loss of Strasburg, even in the post-season, for this year. Subtract Strasburg and the Nats replace him with veteran John Lannan and the Nats still have 5 strong starting pitchers. Gonzalez and Zimmermann are great, with Jackson, Detwiler, and Lannan to back them up, plus a really decent bullpen. Strasburg or no, the Nats have a playoff caliber staff, just not quite as good as with Strasburg, IMO. It has only become a question because of the Nats sensational run. If the Nats were playing .500 ball, no one would care if he was being shut down, it becomes a non-story. It is going to be hard for Strasburg to stomach and I would not want to be in the position of telling him to sit and watch his teamates continue a possible playoff run and not be part of it after the season he is having. But that is what GM's are for. It is a huge debate just about everywhere but DC, as we have known since the off-season that the Nats were going to shut him down. Still hard to take, though. -- Al

Thanks for the information Al, I guess you'll be happy with whatever happens in the post season this year.


So as I work on the computer today, I've got sportstalk radio on in the background and gee whiz, guess what they are talking about; an article on MSN Fox Sports where Skip Bayless is wondering what is going on this year with Jeter.

He's wondering how he's having his best statistical year since 2009 at the age of 38 and asks if he's using HGH, which as I'm sure you know Louis and Brad, cannot be tested for.

Both of you know that right?

I'm sure you do; hey Brad, why don't you email Skip and throw your lawyer speak mumbo jumbo at him and see what he says.

As far as I know, Skip is not a Yankee hater.......................so there you go, it's not just little old me who's wondering..........

 

[lancer]

Thanks for the information Al, I guess you'll be happy with whatever happens in the post season this year.


So as I work on the computer today, I've got sportstalk radio on in the background and gee whiz, guess what they are talking about; an article on MSN Fox Sports where Skip Bayless is wondering what is going on this year with Jeter.

He's wondering how he's having his best statistical year since 2009 at the age of 38 and asks if he's using HGH, which as I'm sure you know Louis and Brad, cannot be tested for.

Both of you know that right?

I'm sure you do; hey Brad, why don't you email Skip and throw your lawyer speak mumbo jumbo at him and see what he says.

As far as I know, Skip is not a Yankee hater.......................so there you go, it's not just little old me who's wondering..........

Hi George. Yeah, I'll be happy as long as one of those 3 teams win. If not, I gonna have to wonder about my luck, missing out with 3 teams instead of one, and I'll probably start looking for a vein to open. And, yes, I do know what HGH is but I hope it isn't the case and don't believe it is. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

George,

Is lawyer mumbo jumbo the same as the toy soldier mumbo jumbo that you spew to customers to get them to buy stuff? :wink2: just askin' that's all.

 

[Warrior]

George,

Is lawyer mumbo jumbo the same as the toy soldier mumbo jumbo that you spew to customers to get them to buy stuff? :wink2: just askin' that's all.

Awesome retort.

Just awesome.

And there are all sorts of PED's other than steroids, most of which are SO easy to use all the while flying under the radar.

Steroids are yesterdays PED's, so 1970's-1990's........................

 

[jazzeum]

Anything to amuse a fan of a team that just blew a 6-0 lead and which is obviously not taking steroids ^&grin

 

[lancer]

NYY's lead down to 2.5 games and their starting pitching is in a mess, too. A little late in the year for this kind of pitching trouble. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

NYY's lead down to 2.5 games and their starting pitching is in a mess, too. A little late in the year for this kind of pitching trouble. -- Al

Multiple sources are quoting the Red Sox are close to a deal which would send Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers for a package of minor league prospects.

Please God, I don't ask for much; make this happen....................

 

[jazzeum]

Why trade Adrian? Thought he was good. Better trade Crawford before he goes under as you can't trade someone on the DL in the middle of a contract.

 

[Buster]

Multiple sources are quoting the Red Sox are close to a deal which would send Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers for a package of minor league prospects.

Please God, I don't ask for much; make this happen....................

Substitute Valentine for Gonzalez and you got yourself a great deal. How 'bout Crawford, Beckett, Punto, Dice K, and Boobby V. for a large ice coffee and a bag of munchkins. :rolleyes2:

B.

 

[Warrior]

Why trade Adrian? Thought he was good. Better trade Crawford before he goes under as you can't trade someone on the DL in the middle of a contract.

Because he's a 21 million dollar a year singles hitter, that's why.

Crawford already had his surgery and you can trade a guy on the DL.

HUGE salary dump here, nothing more, nothing less.

Pencil them in for last place in the AL East next year.

And the year after that.

And the year after that.

And the year after.......well you get the picture.

And I wouldn't be shocked to see the team go up for sale now either.

 

[Warrior]

It looks like this is a done deal; Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford and Punto for James Loney and four minor league prospects.

And a boatload of cash going to the Dodgers too.

So the Red Sox let Beltre go, who's lit it up in Texas the last two years, traded away three of their top prospects for Gonzalez, moved Youk to third, then dumped him for nothing this year, now they've traded away AGone too.

Their payroll now drops to about 48 million as well.

Small market payroll in a big market city.

Can't wait for talk radio tomorrow.