It doesn't explain why he sucked last year as well.

Somebody please explain to me why Aaron Heilman is still on a major league roster?

Come on, he always looks so intense, he can't possibly just be pissed off that he's not a starter.

I turned the game off as soon as he came in. I have better things to do.

Piazza has officially retired.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3405188

It was nice to read what he said about his time with the Mets. The guy absolutely turned around the franchise and was always a great guy to root for. Very thankful I had the chance to root for him on my favorite team.

Boo, sign with the Jays.

Anyone else getting those ridiculous Yahoo Music ads on MLB.tv tonight? These things are on EVERY INNING BREAK, TWICE A BREAK. It is ridiculous. Please, please tell me some of you have suffered as I have.

If you're looking for a DH, there's one with an OPS over 1.000 last year available...

Ryan Church just got TKO'ed by Yuniel Escobar on a game ending DP.

Church tried to break up the double play, Escobar tried to go over the top to avoid him, whistled the throw about a half inch from the brim of Church's helmet but Escobar's right knee caught him just off the temple & out went the lights.

Escobar was helped off with a limp, Church was revived with an ammonia cap & was helped off as well. Odd way to end a ballgame.

Fucking hell, DTV/MLB...the Oakland/TB game isn't being broadcast at all?

I'm getting it in the bay area on one of the local affiliates.

I would imagine he's a third ballot HOF player?

You're a funny one.

thats a joke, right?

4th ballot?

So Church goes down now.

I swear to god the MEts are killing me, everytime it looks like they may have some momentum they shit the bed.

Earlier in the year they take 2/3 from a red hot DBacks team then drop 2 /3 to LA.

Now they take 2 from the yanks then get swept in a double header by the braves and leave it up to Pelfry to be the savior.

I would imagine second ballot then? I just dont know if I would consider him a first ballot HOF guy

Ehh... are you really not trolling here?

Because I can't imagine Piazza not being a 1st ballot guy. And he'd probably get in with at least 85% of the votes.

Trolling?!? WTH?

Piazza was one of my favorite players when I was a kid (as a Dodger fan) but I guess I have a hard time giving players the first team ballot nod.

If Piazza isn't a first ballot HOF then I don't know who is.

Well, when you have a catcher with a career OPS+ of 142, even though he had the reputation of having a bad arm (though his range was above average) and was a 12 time All Star, how can you not be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer?

I've never, ever, EVER heard someone come out and say the phrase "third ballot hall of famer?" before in the manner that you did. So while you may not have been trolling (and I wouldn't expect that from you - you seem like a good guy), it definitely seemed like it, hence my original response.

Greg Maddux?

Why not Piazza then?

ESPN just showed a stat on Piazza.

1 of 12 players in MLB history with a .300 average and over 400 home runs.

end of discussion.

This guy Alou is something else. I think he's a great player and all and glad he's on the team, I've just never seen somebody injure themselves so easily. Bottom 3 and they stop the game and he removes himself, not sure if he's injured or flu-like symptoms, but with him I tend to lean more towards the injured side.

Fucking Castillo

lucky it was only 3 runs

If Mike Piazza is not a HOF (and WTF is 1st ballot vs 5th ballot BS? He's in he's in - despite the quasi-masturbation of a press corps that knows little about assessing value), they ought to shut the thing down. He is easily the best offensive catcher in history, and may well be the best C in history. That's a hell of a track record. And I'm a Giants fan who hated the SOB.

FWIW Johnny Bench told me Piazza is the best offensive catcher of all time

I really hope Willie Randolph pulls a Hal McRae type rant before the Mets fire him.

AVG is a very overrated stat, and Piazza played almost his entire career in the steroid era!

(j/k, I expect and want him to be a 1st ballot HOF).

I agree.

Players who hit for average just clog up the bases

Sad Mets :(.

And I had to sit there and watch that disaster in Turner Field.

If they lose today willy needs to go.

I'll take Bobby V back

I've been wanting Bobby V back since late last season.

For those that haven't seen it or don't remember the Hal McRae incident...........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamDqL-AGzI

Our family was friends with the McRae's and a couple of other Royals players. FWIW, McRae's wife wears the pants in their relationship. When he got home that night, his wife's first words were "What the hell was that all about?". She still tells that story to this day.

Here's another good story surrounding that incident.......

Jesus. I don't want to hear you Mets fans complain -- Matt Chico is 10x worse than you'll ever see. :)

Damn you for not going to the game!

SI

the Mets are dead to me.

Nice four-game sweep for the Braves, Hudson is off to a damn good start this year.

Yes, he really has gotten off to a great start. I think it will be the Braves and Phillies into the final weekend of the season.

I'm curious how the new speed up rules will affect things. Apparently this was the first night of enforcement. I'm sure it's like when they ask refs to enforce stuff in hockey, people bitch about it for a month, and then it's back to where it was before rather than actually making quality change that needs to happen.

It's one of those things I dread about series with the Red Sox, in particular. Practically everyone from their leadoff to end of the bech hitter has some ridiculous routine that takes 20 seconds between pitches. I mean, geez, KC and Boston had a 2-1 game that went 2:50 this past week. That's insane. I'm a pretty patient baseball fan who likes slow games and pitching duels but that's just stupid.

Mike Sweeney used to have this for the Royals- kick dirt out of batters box, tap shoes with bat, bat between legs to adjust gloves, recollect bat, touch both back corners of plate, a couple of practice swings half in and half out of box, and then he was ready to go again. But he was the only one on the team with little more than a couple of quick batting practice swings. You could set a clock to it and that clock would take about 20 or 25 seconds to complete between every pitch and it was just too much.

SI

Don't look now but Barry Zito has actually pitched ok with a 3.22 ERA in his last 4 games. That said, his walk numbers over that stretch have been insanely high so maybe he's just getting lucky that batted balls in play haven't been finding holes.

SI

Longoria with another game winning hit for Tampa Bay. I don't know how many that makes this season but he has definitely been clutch late in the game.

Crazy game between the Pads and Reds - now in the 18th inning. It won't be long until both teams will start using bench players as relief pitchers.

Okay, so your team is out in the field in a 2-2 game in the bottom of the ninth, no one out, no one on. The player you are facing...

A) you have not gotten out all game
B) is responsible for the two runs your opponent has
C) hit a game-winning homerun to beat you last week

Given all this, do you:

1) Walk him and go get the next guy?
2) Groove a fastball on the inside of the plate for him to hit out of the park for the gamewinner?

If you are a logical, rational person, you pick #1.

If you are Mike Scioscia, manager of John Lackey and the Angels, you of course pick option #2. Way to go!

There is no way in the world you can convince me that putting the leadoff runner on in a tie game in the 9th is a good idea. Now maybe it's time to go to another pitcher (tho Lackey was only at a Madduxian 80ish pitches thru 8) but in no way do you walk the lead runner in the 9th. Pinch runner, stolen base, and suddenly, they're ahead of you in terms of outs vs bases to home so that they can just sacrifice/ground out and then sac fly or any other of a myriad of things to get that run home.

SI

That is supposedly why we have a closer, and last I checked, we were paying him a bunch of cash to be that closer. The numbers don't lie. Quentin has absolutely killed us, and in particular tonight, where we couldn't get him out even once. And that whole time, that was Lackey--a presumably more refreshed Lackey--who could not get him out. So what basis is there to assume the tired ninth inning Lackey was going to get him out?

Even if you walk Quentin, Lackey was obliterating the rest of the White Sox lineup, so even if you leave him in to do this, chances are, he's just fine. Why make him pitch to the one guy who's killing him? Makes no sense.

and somewhere, Brant Brown is smiling...

:mad::mad::mad:

The Jays complete a sweep of the Royals today, putting their season record for day games at 13-1 (according to yahoo expanded standings) while their night game record is 15-24.

So I'm not sure if this indicates that most games are just past Gibbons bed time or if the players are taking a bit too long of a nap in the afternoon. Just seems like a bit of a bizarre split even relatively early in the season.

Want him? we'll throw in $30M. Please?

Unless he can swing a bat and drive in more than 4 runs in a 4 game series, we have some more urgent issues.

SI

Hard to comprehend but here it is Memorial Day and as of right now, Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball.

And the Yankees after a 5 game winning streak that ended today are last in the AL East.

Yes, they won't finish there, but still.

Figure this is the best place to post this...former Cubs pitcher Geremi Gonzalez died when he was struck by lightning while on a beach in Venezuela yesterday. He also pitched for the Devil Rays, Red Sox, Mets, and Yankees. Terrible, only 33.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

What, you're telling me that Dusty didn't still have the starter in through the 18th?

Actually that's close. I believe both teams had Tuesday's starter in. Since they had Monday off, they could adjust the rotation.

Holy Ichiro, talk about a hell of a time to switch to the game.

The Reds ended up using 3 starters in total, and Arroyo as a pinch hitter. I believe the only guy that didn't play was the previous day's starter, Cueto.

Argh! Royals get within 1 game of .500 and then promptly go on the quickest 8 game losing streak I've ever seen, dropping 4 in a row on the road both at Boston and Toronto.

So, they come back home tonight (and I'm at the game). Still punchless lineup (8th game in the last 9 with 3 runs or less). But they get the miracle of miracles, down 3-0 in the 9th, 2 on- Joe Nathan's first pitch is hit by Teahen down the left field line, misplayed by Delmon Young, for a game tying inside-the-park 3 run homer. The place just exploded, with what fans were left. But the Royals just couldn't get across another run and lose in 12 :(

SI

For the love of @#$#@$@

SI

It's any wonder there haven't been any news reports of seppuku among Royals fans... :(

SI

Cubs sweep the Dodgers!

The funny part is that most fans in other towns would likely complain about Jose Guillen's comments after the game where he said the team was full of babies. The reaction I've seen from Royals fans thus far is "It's about time someone called out these players for playing lousy baseball!".

I really like this Cubs team. They aren't overhyped to death like the 1985, 1990, and 2004 teams - expectations have been pretty conservative. They are doing everything that critics and fans alike have been saying for 25 years - take a few pitches, be more selective, move runners over, strengthen the back of the bullpen - and it's working. Who knew?

Take that, Johnny Toothpick.

John Smoltz is done for the year, with shoulder surgery to be announced today.
Could also be a career ender for the 41 year old.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...oltz_0605.html

That sucks.

That sucks. Can Julio Franco pitch?

As much as it pains me to say so as a Cubs hater, I'll agree with this assessment. The Cubs look damn tough so far.

I don't think that they are this good, but I don't think they are bad enough to squander away the division. They've corrected their flaws of the past and have a pretty darn nice team right now.

Thankfully the Brewers are starting to turn it around. I'm not sure what to think of them at this point. I thought they were contenders coming into the season and about two weeks ago I thought they were dead in the water.

Hopefully they can make a run at the wild card, I guess, because the Cubs don't look like they will be conceding anything anytime soon. Although I can point out that 4 of the Cubs' 8 losses at Wrigley have come at the hands of the Brewers :)

Sad ending if so. As a rival Phillies fan, I have nothing but respect for guys like Smoltz, C Jones, Glavine, and Cox. True baseball guys.

Wow. The Pads swept 4 from the Mets and on a come from behind HR in the 8th. Didn't expect any of that.

I did.

You probably haven't seen the Pads play this year then. I think that's pretty surprising. :)

you must not be following the Mets.

I swear to god if they don't fire Willie today...

#600 for Griffey.

It's hard to believe he got 250 of them with the Reds.

:thumbsup:

For Griffey. He didn't get enough talk going for this. I knwo the steroids era has made this sort of achievement less impressive, but I have never heard Griffey mentioned with steroids, and he's always been a good guy from what I have seen. Even when he was with the M's, I liked him.

It's a shame that injuries derailed him the way it did. Perhaps had that not happened, Barry would have been breaking Aaron's record--to get into second place on the all time list.

I was flipping through the channels, noticed ESPN showing coverage of the game and figured I'd stop and watch. He hit it on the next pitch.

Definitely happy for him as well.

Same. Congrats to Griffey. With that sweet swing and non-sulky disposition, he would have been a great face of baseball breaking the home run record :)

SI

It's disappointing he had all those injuries. Great player who should have broke the home run mark. Still though, 600 is not a bad number to get to.

Griffey was one of my first favourite athletes.

I believe the official count is 398 with Seattle, 202 with Cincinnati.

I'm bad at math.

But I did have Griffey's Upper Deck rookie card. That was a big deal in middle school. Hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago. The card was probably worth more then than it is now.

Quietly flying under the radar, the Orioles are still at .500. Coming into the season, 100 losses was almost a given considering they dealt their best pitcher (Bedard) and best hitter (Tejada).

It's a shame how the coverage has been limited compared to that of Bonds and Sosa when they hit 600. I don't know if thats because of the steroids-era, or with Griffeys recent decline due to injuries, but of the recent players to reach 600, nobody is more deserving.

+1

I have grown to really like Jr., esp once he got over his whiny stage that he had the last year at Seattle and first year at Cincy.

I just tuned into the reds-cards game and they said Pujols had to be pretty much carried off the field in the 7th. They said it didn't look good, and that is was something in the lower leg by the looks of it. Anybody watching the game that know of anything?

suck (re: Royals-Rangers; would an easy win be just too much to ask?)

SI

Strained left calf. Cards' GM didn't sound optimistic.

Maybe now's the time to get that surgery he's needed for a season or two.

SI

I thought it was his elbow he needed surgery on?

Yeah, but if he's significantly hurt from this, better to get the rehab time started on the other injury. Then again, that's supposed to take him down for a year so it takes a bit of planning.

SI

So I was watching SportsCentre this morning, and I think it was the D-backs game last night that had an awesome exchange by the commentators and camera crew. The entire highlight package for that game was a part of the game where teh commentators noticed some girl that looked like Kirsten Dunst. And they showed her a couple of times, then a batter, then showed her and kept talking about her... then showed a picture of Kirsten Dunst. Then something about a HR being hit... but then right away they show her cheering and they continue talking about her.

It was so awesome. One of those things you don't see in other sports really. :)

*grumbles something about hating ESPN*

I still don't get how that ESPN Live or whatever that show was called failed. You know, the one where they spent an hour on ESPN talking about pop culture and celebrity but not sports, kindof like the rest of the time.

SI

Second verse, same as the first. Two nights in a row, 5-1 lead going into the 7th, no wins to show for it. Ouch.

SI

I just watched Griffey's 600th since there's another controversy regarding who has the ball. The one thing that I noticed that fans still do not go to Marlins games.

Well, do you blame them? ;)

It's pretty painful to be a Braves fans these days.

It is painful to be a Brave player these days!