Warrior
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Agreed; the best part is they won't trade him now or else their four fans will riot, so all they'll get when he walks at the end of the year is a draft pick.
Awesome.
Baseball 2014 (1 Viewer)
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Agreed; the best part is they won't trade him now or else their four fans will riot, so all they'll get when he walks at the end of the year is a draft pick.
Awesome.
Warrior
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Couldn't agree more, that stadium is joke; the whole "the catwalk is in play" thing is a joke unto itself.
They develop players who then walk when they become free agents because they can't afford to sign any of them; the only time that stadium is crowded is when the Sox or MFY's visit, in both instances it's crowded with Sox and MFY fans...................
You all have to remember that Florida has very few actual natives. Most of the population is made up of Northerners who have migrated south when they retire. The NYY's and Sox have built in rooting sections when they play in Florida. They come out for their 'home' teams, just like when they lived up north. A Florida team will always labor under this disadvantage until the state requires that all retirees must transfer their team allegiance to Florida as part of citizenship requirements. Perhaps Florida can offer a twofer to incoming retirees, buy a season ticket and get one free. It couldn't hurt. Or maybe Florida should tie getting a driver's permit to pledge of allegiance to a Florida team. Naw. Florida teams are just going to keep suffering.:rolleyes2: -- Al
Anyone ever notice that Cy Young started 815 games in his career and completed 749 of them? In today's numbers, that's like starting 32 games in a season and completing 30 of them. Not a bad stat. In 11 of his 22 seasons, he averaged 43 starts and 41 complete games per season. I wonder how his arm stayed on and how today's pitchers can't go 6 innings without needing TJ surgery.:rolleyes2: -- Al
jazzeum
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He pitched mostly in the dead ball era and it's hard to compare eras. Moreover, he used less pitches than players do today, mostly his fast ball and curve. More than not, he was, as some have said, a freak of nature. He is better known than most of his contemporaries because of the survival of the fittest. I'm sure there were other good pitchers but they suffered arm trouble and usually that finished your career, especially when owners could pick from others. Young survived when others could not and that's part of the reason we know of him today.
By the numbers, there were a lot of freaks of nature back in that era. Men like Mathewson, Alexander, Brown, and Johnson all had unbelievable careers, both in total numbers and total years. There were also many pitchers who put up huge numbers for a few years and then disappeared, victims of arm damage that couldn't be fixed back then. One thing most eras have in common, when age and numbers catch up, you are out of the game pretty fast. Very few pitchers decline slowly enough to hang around for long periods. I am referring to starters, not the specialist relief pitchers. In general, a pitchers arm can't fool mother nature. Except for guys like Young, or Ryan, or Spahn,... :wink2: -- Al
jazzeum
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You hear about those guys because not only is it a survival of the fittest but those guys were good. Moreover, the era makes the difference. Many of these early pitchers didn't have to face HR hitters. Those days were still to come. The so called Home Run Baker had less than 20 HRs.
Right you are. John "Home Run" Baker earned his nickname for a run from 1911 thru 1913 when he hit 11, 10, and 12 Hr's, an unheard of amount. He hit a total of 96 career Hr's. Incidently, like Ruth, he was a Maryland boy. ^&grin -- Al
O's dropped game 3 to the Mariner's but took the final game today, 4-3, to give them a 6-4 road trip against the 3 West contenders. We'll take it. Some real good pitching made it possible. For the first time in a LONG time, the 5 current O's starters now all have ERA's below 4. Considering that not too many games ago, pre all-star break, all 5 were over 4, this marks an important demarcation line. With a 3 game lead, the O's are now the hunted. Sure hope the starting pitching can continue to improve. They sure have surprised me. -- Al
Nats are now 6-3 out of the all-star break and continue to hold on to a narrow 1.5 game lead. If not for a terrifically pitched 1-0 loss to the Reds yesterday, the Nats would have swept the Reds. As it is, they won 2 out of 3 from each of the Brewers, Rockies, and Reds. Now on to red hot Miami, who have gone 7-3 since the break. Odd thing about the Nats is that the starting pitching is being lead by the two pitchers that weren't expected to be the leaders. Fister is now 10-2, and pre-season #5 starter Roark is 10-6. The pitchers I expected big years from are kind of just having average type years. Strasburg has pitched well, for the most part, but has had early inning troubles on several occasions and now stands at 7-8. Zimmermann, who I still think is the Nat's best, is 6-5 and has been a bit more inconsistent than I expected, but should have 10 wins with any run support. Gonzalez is 6-6 and has had bad luck with run support also. He was the victim of the 1-0 loss to the Reds yesterday. Anyway, the pitching has been good and a few more runs of support would be most welcome. -- Al
Rutledge
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I disagree with this post. Living next to the state I know plenty of native Floridians. Sure, they're some sunbirds, but there are lots of natural born Floridians. Ever been to a Miami Hurricane or Fla Gator or Fla State college football game? Their fans are maniacal, and most are from the state. College football is king down south. High school football in Fla is also huge, as evidenced by the incredible talent they churn out every year. The other problem is the Fla baseball teams are stll brand new, compared to old line teams in the AL. They haven't had the time to really build up a good true blue fan base. With all the Hispanics there surely the teams have that going for them. Perhaps now too with LeBrons exit south Fla will start caring more about their other teams.
My post was just a shot at the baseball fan base down there. No argument that college football rules in Florida, as it does most everywhere in the south.^&grin -- Al
sammy719
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Al, I'm trying to reserve my excitement for the Orioles as with each passing week turns into one more month in the books for Baseball and I'm starting to get the afternoon score check butterflies at work/home!!! hell, I had almost forgotten about NFL camps starting, can't remember the last time the O's won the division out right, 96-97 maybe?? to long ago that's for sure, I am by no means looking past the next two months but man has it been a wild ride so far!! hoping the ride continues to be fun for these next few weeks...Sammy
Panzer ace
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As of 2012 in the United States, only Nevada had less native born residents than Florida by percentage.
Panzer ace
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And……………….the Giants get swept by the Dodgers.
I hate to single anyone out, after all getting swept is a team effort. However, I can’t figure out why the Giants picked up Uggla. He was 0-8 in the series with 5 strikeouts and 3 errors. When a team such as the Braves releases a player you have to know that it was for a good reason. Atlanta is one of the best organizations when it comes to evaluating talent yet the Giants picked him up after they discarded him. Even if it did not cost them anything, there has to be better options out there.
I hate to single anyone out, after all getting swept is a team effort. However, I can’t figure out why the Giants picked up Uggla. He was 0-8 in the series with 5 strikeouts and 3 errors. When a team such as the Braves releases a player you have to know that it was for a good reason. Atlanta is one of the best organizations when it comes to evaluating talent yet the Giants picked him up after they discarded him. Even if it did not cost them anything, there has to be better options out there.
Jason, it was an interesting signing that had me scratching my head. Uggla produced nothing in Atlanta the last couple of years. I watched enough of last night's game to see him boot the ball all over the place. Uggla was known for his bat, not his glove, and now that the bat has gone MIA, it's a wonder how he'll stay in MLB. There does seem to be a shortage of available second basemen right now, so finding a suitable replacement might be tough. Maybe Uggla will come around. If he ever finds that bat again, he will be worth having. -- Al
Rutledge
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A meaningless stat. I wasn't born in Ga. Parents moved here when I was 4. But yet I consider myself a native.
Atlanta has plenty of transients but there are plenty of natives too. I know because I am one.
Panzer ace
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Al:
I guess every team takes a chance from time to time. Uggla seems lost in the field and at the plate. His swing is gone and he can't even hit pitches that are grooved to him. There is always a chance that he will regain some form and hit but his fielding is not going to get any better.
Local talk radio thinks the Dodgers are going to make a push for Lester or price. If they get one of those two the Giants will be in trouble.
-Jason
Well, money talks, but it would be incredible if LA was able to add Price or Lester to what is already one of the top rotations in baseball. My gosh, they already have three 12 game winners in Kershaw, Greinke, and Ryu. I guess this means LA doesn't expect anything out of Beckett or Haren. The possibility is mind-boggling. Gad, going into a 5 or 7 game playoff series with the likes of Kershaw, Greinke, and Lester or Price as starters would be as close to being a sure thing as there is likely to be in baseball. -- Al