It is interesting that there had been a lot of concern over the past couple of seasons about how pitching was dominating the game and resulting in low scoring games. That 'problem' would seem to have corrected itself. Personally, I much prefer the low-scoring, close game where pitching and defense matter. Obviously, though, there are many who prefer runs, runs, runs, as MLB itself seems to. The crowds dig the long ball. I find myself wondering if maybe MLB hasn't tampered with the ball in some way because the Hr's sure are flying out of the stadiums. I find nothing wrong with the occasional 10-9 game or the 8-0 rout, but 13, 14, 17 runs by one team? Not much to recommend a game like that, especially if your team is on the short end. One thing for sure, with pitching being at a premium, and so many teams needing it, there are a lot of pitchers in the majors that would never have even sniffed the big leagues had they been around even a few years ago. I know the offense and pitching seems to go in waves, with one or the other seeming to dominate in any given year (or years), but I can't help but miss the baseball of the 60's thru the 80's. I just don't have any use for football scores amongst the 'boys of summer'. End of lament.:wink2: -- Al
Baseball 2016 (3 Viewers)
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Have to careful what I wish for, and when. Wrote this before the Nats game and blast if the Nats didn't lose 1-0 and got held to 2 hits. Yesterday, the Nats hit 6 Hr's and scored 12, today, zip. Oh well, that's baseball at it's best, up one day, down the next. I still prefer the 1-0 game, although I like my team on the winning end.:wink2: -- Al
I see that Timmy L has had a rough time in his comeback with the Angels. After a very successful first start and victory, his last 3 starts have been awful with 2 losses and an ND. He has a total of 18 innings in 4 starts and an ERA of 7.50. I hope things improve for him as I would like to see him succeed. -- Al
The Mets made the Nats pitching look like high school amateurs last night. Nats had the lead on 3 different occasions and the terrible pitching couldn't hold any of them. I would venture to say that the Nats have rarely (if ever), hit 4 Hr's and lost. Anyway, the game sure wasn't boring. Round 2 tonight with a great match-up between Thor and Strasburg. -- Al
Anyone notice that the SuperCubs have been very un-super for almost 2 months now? On May 14, the Cubs were a spectacular 27-8. Since then they have been a VERY average 25-25. That hot start, coupled with the Cardinals and Pirates mediocre seasons, leave the Cubs with an 8 game lead. The door is open but I'm not confident that the Cards or Pirates can take advantage. -- Al
Brad, they've done a lot better than reasonably well. They swept the Cubs , took 2 of 3 from Miami, and now beat the Nats in Game 1. That's about as good as it gets. :wink2: -- Al
How long are the O's going to continue to use Jimenez? He got shelled, again, in tonight's game against the Angels. Lasted all of 1.1 innings, giving up 5 runs and leaving with a season ERA of 7.38! How is this guy even in organized baseball, much less MLB? O's can't afford him any longer, regardless of how much money he makes. 
-- Al
-- AlThe O's are in trouble because of their lousy starting pitching (excepting, of course, Tillman). On June 29 the O's had a 5.5 game lead in the AL East. After last night's debacle, the lead is now 1 game, and it's because of the terrible starting pitching. In the last 2 weeks, O's starters are averaging less than 5 innings a start, with a ERA of 7.03. On the season, the starters have a combined 5.23 ERA, 2nd worst in the AL. Currently, the O's starters have ERA's of 3.55 (Tillman), 4.15, 5.22, 5.97, 6.10, and Jimenez at 7.38, whose ERA is the highest amongst MLB starters with 80 innings pitched, and highest by over 1.5 runs. In addition, Jimenez has given up more runs than innings pitched in 8 starts this season. No other pitcher in MLB has done that more than 5 times this year. I understand that the O's owe UJ $26.5 for 2015 and 2016, a LOT of money for no return, but the O's need to cut him and eat the money because UJ is a huge drag on the team. But, obviously, he is not the only problem, just the worst one. Moves have to be made but the pitching market is thin, so where will help come from? I have no answer, and neither does Baltimore, which is why UJ keeps getting put on the mound. It is all becoming quite discouraging. -- AlHow long are the O's going to continue to use Jimenez? He got shelled, again, in tonight's game against the Angels. Lasted all of 1.1 innings, giving up 5 runs and leaving with a season ERA of 7.38! How is this guy even in organized baseball, much less MLB? O's can't afford him any longer, regardless of how much money he makes.
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The Met's injury run is pretty bad. Harvey is out for the season, Syndergaard left yesterday's game with arm fatigue and Cespedes is out with some sort of muscle strain. If they can stay in it with those types of injuries then Collins is up for manager of the year.
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It is difficult to imagine them trading for a starting pitcher, at the start of the season they had one of the top 3 rotations in baseball.
It is a terrible run of luck. I'm skeptical of the report of arm fatigue to explain Syndegaard's leaving last night's game. Pitchers get arm fatigue all the time yet don't leave a game in the middle of a batter because of it. It is probably related to the bone spur/discomfort and the Mets don't want it known. For Thor's sake, I hope it is just fatigue. The Mets run of injuries is exactly why the old saying is true, "You can never have too much pitching". I hope Harvey recovers okay and that Thor's arm clears up, as well. -- Al
After tonight's game, Murphy is batting .437 with 6 Hr's and 19 RBI's in the 12 games against the Mets. Just killing them. -- Al
sammy719
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Well Al, our boys made it to the break with the AL East lead but like you mentioned unless the Orioles can find some way to improve on the pitching I do not think it will end up with a Division win, matter of fact it could turn ugly real quick as after the break the O's have a ton of games on the road starting the 2nd half, I'm hoping for the best the the offense can carry us but you and I both know that all the runs, HRs mean nothing if you can't find some pitching going into the 2nd half, we'll see...Sammy
Murph! He strikes again in the 1st inning of today's game with a 2-run Hr. Maybe the Mets should pull a walk-a-thon on Murph like the Cubs did to Harper. Murphy just continues to slaughter the baseball. -- Al
Sammy, you make an excellent point about the road games for the O's. Their record on the road is not good. In fact, they have a worse road record than any other division leader in MLB; a worse road record than any 2nd place team in MLB, and have a better road record than only 1 3rd place team in MLB. Pitching problems and road troubles are not a good combination with a bunch of road games staring you in the face. Still, 1st place is 1st place. I'll take it.:wink2: -- Al
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The Giants look great going into the break, still lots of baseball to be played though.