Baseball 2013 (1 Viewer)

[lancer]

Al,

From what I read, they have to do some tests and so forth. Since he will be out for 2014, I suppose waiting a month or two is not going to make that much of a difference. I read in the paper today that almost 1/3 of all current pitchers have had Tommy John surgery. Didn't know it was quite that high.

The Mets minor league system is equipped to replace him but I don't think the front office wanted to rush them. Moreover, they were probably planning to use one of them as trade bait for a hitter. The two hot prospects are Noel Syndergaard (who they got in the Dickey trade) and Rafael Montero. Right now Syndergaard is at Double A and doing well. Montero started out at Double AA this year where he lit it up and is now at Triple A where he's still adjusting.

Right now the Mets only have three reliable starters: Wheeler, Gee and Niese. Dice K is not the answer and I would have let him go but they are short of arms now. Signing Phil Hughes is a possibility as a stop gap; Yankees have no interest in him for 2014 and Citifield would probably suit Hughes.

Brad

Geesh, didn't know the TJ rate was that high either. Kind of atrocious. Obviously the new approaches to conditioning and arm care don't seem to be working.:rolleyes2: Maybe time to go old school and teach the pitchers how to go more than 6 innings. Before this pitch count and restricted innings obsession, (back in pre-historic baseball ca. 1890-1980ish), pitchers were able to throw complete games and go 275 innings in a season. Heresy! As to Hughes of the Yanks, he has never impressed me and I well understand why the NYY might let him go. He's been awful this year. I hope Harvey doesn't have to go the surgery route, but history seems to indicate the partial tear means he will. Tell him to give Strasburg and Zimmermann a call as they have both recovered very successfully. -- Al

 

[Panzer ace]

I know injuries happen and the human body can only with stand so much. I am not a Met's fan but the lose of Harvey is bad for baseball in general. He is a competitor and one of those players that had you checking the box score every he time pitched.

 

[sammy719]

O'hs no!!!! my O's are getting there arse handed to them by the Red Sox 8-2 in 5th these next 2 series will make or break them for the AL East chase, maybe a wild card still possible but if they lose both series (sox/yanks) even the wild card is going to be tough to reach...Sammy

 

[lancer]

O'hs no!!!! my O's are getting there arse handed to them by the Red Sox 8-2 in 5th these next 2 series will make or break them for the AL East chase, maybe a wild card still possible but if they lose both series (sox/yanks) even the wild card is going to be tough to reach...Sammy

Yeah, this is going to be a bad night for us. O's down 11-2 and the Yanks up 7-0 as all the new Yankee players are contributing. Soriano has 2 more HR's and 4 RBI's, Jeter has 2 hits and an RBI and A-Rod and Reynolds both have dingers. Ugly, ugly, ugly. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

The Sox missed the extra point last night, but won anyway 13-2 or whatever the score was.

And thanks Angels for the win vs the Rays, thanks Rodney, you crooked hat wearing fool, for blowing yet another save, no arrow shooting for you.

Napoli crushed another one last night, not as much as that absolute bomb he hit in Dodger stadium Sunday night, but still a titanic blast in it's own right, he picked a great time to get hot again, maybe those few days off with the sore foot helped him.

Sox 2.5 games up now, keep it going boys, and for the rest of the AL;

FEAR THE BEARDS.......................

 

[jazzeum]

Good win by the Halos. Trout hit a bomb and good hit by Aybar to drive in the winning run. Rodney is not the same as last year. He's blown eight saves this year. The stadium in which the Rays play is god awful. There was no one there and the team is in a race. Reminds me of the ball park of a losing team. Even the Angels and Mets who are having terrible seasons are drawing better than that.

 

[lancer]

Yeah, this is going to be a bad night for us. O's down 11-2 and the Yanks up 7-0 as all the new Yankee players are contributing. Soriano has 2 more HR's and 4 RBI's, Jeter has 2 hits and an RBI and A-Rod and Reynolds both have dingers. Ugly, ugly, ugly. -- Al

This loss hurts. Leaves the O's 3.5 games out of the WC with 32 games to go. Not a disaster but the O's also have to jump the Indians at some point. I wish we could get some better pitching out of the starters. Tillman was great the other night but now Chen is hitting an inconsistent patch and is 1-4 since August 1. In fact, O's starters are only 7-8 in August and that has to be improved on to make a run. Inconsistent starting pitching has been the O's problem all year long and is going to become harder to overcome in the heat of the WC race. The 2 journeyman pitchers brought in via trade, Feldman and Norris, have been doing an adequate job, but Gonzalez hasn't won since July 20 and now Chen is having problems leaving only Tillman as a really reliable starter, but he is prone to high pitch counts and has only made it past 6 innings 8 times in 26 starts. He needs to go deeper. As has always been the basic truth of baseball, you only go as far as the pitching takes you. O's starters need to step it up. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

The stadium in which the Rays play is god awful. There was no one there and the team is in a race. Reminds me of the ball park of a losing team.

Yes; having been there, the place is God awful, zero and I mean zero charm, doesn't feel like a ballpark, it feels like a place they should have tractor pulls, rodeos and motorcross events at.

You're talking about a team that back in 2008 couldn't sell out ALCS and WS games, so this is not unexpected.

Plus there was an early bird special at Sizzlers last night..............:wink2:

 

[Combat]

The Dodgers offense has suddenly cooled off. They lost to the god awful Cubs last night even with Kershaw pitching.

 

[jazzeum]

Better that it happen now than in October. The streak they've been on just can't be sustained. They will find their bearings and turn it on again.

 

[Warrior]

Lackey pitched his rear end off tonight, gave up two bombs to Muchacho and Davis*, Sox couldn't do a thing against some tomato can pitching for the O's, then they got two off the bullpen to tie, another to go ahead and they won 4-3.

And the Yankees got hammered by the Jays.

So, they both fall another game off of the division and wild card pace.

FEAR THE BEARDS..............

 

[Warrior]

Interesting stat on MLB network; O's were 29-9 in one run games last year, 14-24 so far this year.

You live by the one run game, you die by it.

 

[lancer]

Interesting stat on MLB network; O's were 29-9 in one run games last year, 14-24 so far this year.

You live by the one run game, you die by it.

That is a remarkable turn-around and fall-off but it hasn't really made any difference to the O's overall record which is within a couple of games of where it was last year at this time. They are just winning games by more runs than last year to off-set the decline in 1-run wins. Sure wish we could have saved a few of those 2012 1-run wins for this season though. We'd be a lot closer. -- Al

 

[snowyowl]

Jays took two of three from the Yankees. Finally!!!!!!

 

[jazzeum]

I would rather watch paint dry than have to see Dice K Matsuzaka again. Last night pitching line: 4 1/3 innings, 110 pitches, five runs allowed.

I realize the Mets have no choice now as they have lost three front line starters in the last month so pencil any game that Dice K pitches as a "L." I'm sure they will cut him at the end of the season.

 

[Warrior]

I would rather watch paint dry than have to see Dice K Matsuzaka again. Last night pitching line: 4 1/3 innings, 110 pitches, five runs allowed.

I realize the Mets have no choice now as they have lost three front line starters in the last month so pencil any game that Dice K pitches as a "L." I'm sure they will cut him at the end of the season.

Welcome to my world, I had to watch this guy for five years when he pitched for the Red Sox, that brilliant GM Theo Epstein paid a small fortune to get this guy, was afraid he'd be signed by the Yankees, he was good his rookie year and then stunk after that.

He stole a ton of money from the Red Sox, at least Jesse James wore a mask.

The further away I get from Epstein, the more I realize how overrated he was, good luck Cubs with this guy running the show.

 

[lancer]

I would rather watch paint dry than have to see Dice K Matsuzaka again. Last night pitching line: 4 1/3 innings, 110 pitches, five runs allowed.

I realize the Mets have no choice now as they have lost three front line starters in the last month so pencil any game that Dice K pitches as a "L." I'm sure they will cut him at the end of the season.

Dice K is just one of those borderline pitchers who wouldn't be in the majors if there weren't 30 teams trying to fill rosters. He has 118 career starts and only 1 complete game, with an ERA north of 4.5. There are a lot in MLB like him with 1 or 2 decent seasons and then nothing. 30 years ago he doesn't sniff the majors. -- Al

 

[lancer]

O's manage to save the final of the series with the Sox as Tillman won his 15th game. Gained on Oakland, Tampa, and Boston. -- Al

 

[Panzer ace]

I would rather watch paint dry than have to see Dice K Matsuzaka again. Last night pitching line: 4 1/3 innings, 110 pitches, five runs allowed.

I realize the Mets have no choice now as they have lost three front line starters in the last month so pencil any game that Dice K pitches as a "L." I'm sure they will cut him at the end of the season.

4 1/3 innings and 110 pitches says it all.

 

[lancer]

The Nats are back in the race.:rolleyes2: They've gone on a tear (well, what constitutes a tear for them) and won a whole 5 games in a row to get back to 1 game above .500, a major accomplishment this season. Being only 8.5 games out of the last WC spot, I figure if they win 25 or so of their last 33 games, they're in.:tongue: Too little, too late. Maybe they can save a little face and finish above .500. On the plus side, Jordan Zimmermann looked like his pre-All Star break self and won his 15th game. The only real question left in DC, baseball wise, is about who will be the new manager when DJ retires at the end of the season. Cal Ripken's name has been mentioned more than once in the dark corners of the rumor mill. I doubt it, a lot, but it would be a fabulous coup. :wink2: -- Al

The Nats have refused to lay down and die. They have gone 14-5 since August 9, have cut two games off the WC deficit and are thus 6.5 out of the WC. Still a steep hill to climb but they are still clawing at it. Best news is that only 3 of their next 23 games come against a winning team. Time to make hay! --Al