Baseball - At Last ! (1 Viewer)

[Capitolron]

The Nationals are at it already. As Gus McCrae would say, "It's a bad start." Game #3 starting, now. Will be eager to see if the Nationals learned how to pitch or field since last night. -- lancer

Lancer

Isn't it amazing that the NATIONALS still have not solved the pitching problem ?

I mean we have suffered with this for three seasons now - and it looks like it is getting worse not better !

Frustrated NATS FAN,

Ron

 

[lancer]

Lancer

Isn't it amazing that the NATIONALS still have not solved the pitching problem ?

I mean we have suffered with this for three seasons now - and it looks like it is getting worse not better !

Frustrated NATS FAN,

Ron

As I watch D. Cabrera (Orioles castoff) do his usual "I can't get anyone out" routine, I am starting to think this could be another looooong season for our Nats. On a personal note, I went to jrhigh and highschool with Mark (I own the Nats) Lerner. I remember him as an o.k. guy but have not seen him since 1971. Do not think I will hit him up for tickets. -- lancer

 

[Capitolron]

As I watch D. Cabrera (Orioles castoff) do his usual "I can't get anyone out" routine, I am starting to think this could be another looooong season for our Nats. On a personal note, I went to jrhigh and highschool with Mark (I own the Nats) Lerner. I remember him as an o.k. guy but have not seen him since 1971. Do not think I will hit him up for tickets. -- lancer

You should - he will probally have plenty to give out !

 

[sammy719]

Beating the yanks is twice as nice!!! bring the brooms tommorow nite, to sweep'em back to NewYork!!!!!!!!...Sammy

 

[lancer]

Well, 6 games into the season and the Nats are on a roll. Granted, they are rolling the wrong way, but a perfect record is a perfect record. Orioles have looked decent (todays game aside) and Guthrie is looking like a real bet to carry the staff for years (assuming the O's don't trade him like they have so many other pitchers over the years). Go Nats & O's. -- lancer

 

[Gideon]

Any game that includes hotdogs (with tomato sauce of course) and beer can't be to bad

That tomatoe sauce is called ketchup and an game with Ken Griffey is probably 20 plus years old.

Ketchup is tomatoe paste with white vinegar, wostershire and honey. It is an American staple and is one of my favorite foods of all time. Good on meatloaf, burgers, omelletes, fries, chips and whole bunch of other things I haven't even thought of yet.

\

 

[Louis Badolato]

That tomatoe sauce is called ketchup and an game with Ken Griffey is probably 20 plus years old.

Ketchup is tomatoe paste with white vinegar, wostershire and honey. It is an American staple and is one of my favorite foods of all time. Good on meatloaf, burgers, omelletes, fries, chips and whole bunch of other things I haven't even thought of yet.

\

Gid,

Ken Griffey, Jr. is back playing with the Mariners again this season.

 

[Rutledge]

Lancer

Isn't it amazing that the NATIONALS still have not solved the pitching problem ?

I mean we have suffered with this for three seasons now - and it looks like it is getting worse not better !

Frustrated NATS FAN,

Ron

I went to see the Braves play the Nats Saturday night. The Braves won and looked good doing it -- however Im concerned it might just have been because of whom they were playing....

 

[OzDigger]

Louis and other baseball fans, how do you guys rate the Mariners chances this season. I am a new fan to baseball and hope I haven't picked a dud team to support. I know their past record isn't great but after watching their recent game against Minnesota they seem to have improved.

It was the first baseball game I have watched all through so I gave myself the choice to support the Mariners or the Twins. And I have to say the Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel didn't inspire much confidence as he seemed very nervous every time he came to the plate, I'm going to call him "Twitchy" Kabel from now on

Btw, there seems to be a lot of Left Handed batters in baseball compared to cricket. Being a left handed batter and right handed thrower myself I wondered if lefties have an advantage in baseball, or is it just all part of another cunning plan.

Gid, I know what ketchup is, but it's rare downunder so we make do with tomato sauce. I actually put tomato sauce AND Mustard on my hotdogs, I guess that seems strange to some of you hotdog devotees but it tastes ok to me.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Oz,

I have to say that the Mariners have a good start to the season but there are still a lot of games to play. But they do look pretty good so far. I am going to the Home Opener here with my son and a about 50000 other fans. So it should be a lot of fun even though I am not an M's fan. I do appreciate a good game. I was the Baltimore Home Opener against my team the Yankees and have to say I was not pleased with the performance of the Pitching staff but there were some very good looking new arrivals who are as fast as lightening and made the loss a little easier to deal with. Of course my kids and wife are all Baltimore fans so as you may guess I caught an earful but it was a great time just the same and like Ron I am so very pleased that Baseball Season is now in full swing! I wish I could get to a Yankee game at the new stadium this year but I dont think I will be back to the east coast until December. As for the Ketchup on the dogs I like mine with mustard onions and kraut (not slaw like in Chicago)

If you have any other questions Oz feel free to ask and enjoy the games when they come on. You can also get them via the internet by going to the teams home page and following the various prompts.

All the best

Dave

 

[OzDigger]

Thanks for the input Dave.

 

[Capitolron]

Well - Guys tonight is the Season Home Opener for the Nationals - I will be there and I will have my fingers crossed Although, the last time they played the O's a few days ago they won - unfortunate it was a pre-season game.

Still - with all our NAT troubles - Baseball is Back and its great to have the season going again.

 

[lancer]

Oz - a good left hander (hitter or pitcher) is worth his weight in gold in baseball. As a pitcher, all his breaking pitches (curve, slider, fork-ball) will break into a right handed hitter, making it more difficult to hit. Same goes for the left-handed hitter facing a right hander (Obviously in the majority). The pitches will break into him making it easier to hit. This is why "platooning" is such a big part of the game, ie. righties facing lefties and vice-versa. Also, the fielding position of first base has a slight left hand advantage because of positioning just as the fielder at catcher is best as a righthander because of throws to second and third base. A good left-handed pitcher will always find a job in baseball as long as he can make it to the mound. Hope this helps, it is actually a complicated question you have asked and I am sure others can answer it better. -- Al

 

[OzDigger]

Thanks Lancer, that was very helpful.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Oz,

The Mariners have one of the best left-handed batters in the game, Icheru Sizuki, a Japanese import who is lightning fast and uses the other advantage of the left handed batter, standing in a batters box two steps closer to 1st base, to beat out a lot of infield hits, and get more than 200 hits every season, quite an accomplishment. He is also an excellent outfielder with a canon for an arm.

The Mariners also got one of the all time greats, Ken Griffey, Jr., a certain hall of famer, back at the tail end of his career (he played his first 5 or 6 seasons in Seatle, before heading elsewhere as a free agent). If he stays healthy he will probably produce 20-25 home runs. The problem with the M's is they have a very low payroll, and, accordingly, have difficulty retaining the good young players they drafted and developed once they become free agents. Over the years several hall of fame caliber players, including Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez (arguably the best player in baseball, with 3 MVP awards), Randy Johnson (an incredible 6'11 tall left handed Pitcher who in his prime threw in the upper 90's, won 3 Cy Young Awards [the pitcher's version of the most valuable player award] and is coming up on his 300th victory, placing him in the top 30-40 pitchers in major league history, and Tino Martinez (a first basement who left Seatle for the Yankees and won 4 World Series titles and five AL pennants in 6 seasons), have left the M's in the prime of their careers to seek money and championships elsewhere. Not that long ago, in 2000, the M's set the all time record for the most regular season wins with 116 (but lost to the eventual world champion Yankees in the playoffs). This year, I wouldn't expect the M's to win their division (the American League Western Division) because both the Angels and Oakland A's have better pitching.

 

[OzDigger]

Thanks Louis, it seems I have picked a team with some good potential, I hope they keep it up.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Thanks Louis, it seems I have picked a team with some good potential, I hope they keep it up.

They are presently in first place with a 5-2 record, so you are doing well so far!

 

[lancer]

Louis - you mentioned Randy Johnson. Where is he playing? I thought he went to SF but I don't remember. He is one of the last pitchers around with a chance at 300 wins. Might be the last, ever, with 5 man rotations and 5 inning starts being in vogue. -- lancer

 

[Louis Badolato]

Louis - you mentioned Randy Johnson. Where is he playing? I thought he went to SF but I don't remember. He is one of the last pitchers around with a chance at 300 wins. Might be the last, ever, with 5 man rotations and 5 inning starts being in vogue. -- lancer

You're correct, he is pitching for San Francisco. He has more than 290 wins at present, so I expect he will get his 300th this year.

Mike Mussina is another weird baseball story. Here is a guy that is pretty much always a solid number 2 pitcher, winning between 15-19 every year, but he can never win twenty games, despite playing on Yankees teams that make the playoffs every year, and win two pennants. Then in his last season, when everyone thinks he is over the hill and won't do anything, he wins 20 games, bringing his career total to 270. All he needs is two more 15 win seasons (something he did for an AL record number of seasons in a row) and he will go to the hall of fame with 300 victories. Instead, inexplicably, he retires. His retirement after a 20 win season was almost as surprising as his fianlly winning 20 games.

 

[4th Hussar]

You're correct, he is pitching for San Francisco. He has more than 290 wins at present, so I expect he will get his 300th this year.

Mike Mussina is another weird baseball story. Here is a guy that is pretty much always a solid number 2 pitcher, winning between 15-19 every year, but he can never win twenty games, despite playing on Yankees teams that make the playoffs every year, and win two pennants. Then in his last season, when everyone thinks he is over the hill and won't do anything, he wins 20 games, bringing his career total to 270. All he needs is two more 15 win seasons (something he did for an AL record number of seasons in a row) and he will go to the hall of fame with 300 victories. Instead, inexplicably, he retires. His retirement after a 20 win season was almost as surprising as his fianlly winning 20 games.

I think Moose figured it was better to go out on top rather than attempt to hang on until you are an embarassment.