The Official MLB 2007 Thread

[dawgfan]

So, can we postpone the talk of demoting Lincecum for a while longer?

[larrymcg421]

What is the RBI record for someone hitting less than .200? Andruw Jones probably has a good shot of getting it.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

They've lost 2 straight in Colorado, and I'm hoping that means the recent winning streak was due more to the competition (weak White Sox and Pirates, slumping D-Backs and Mets) than the Yankees turning it around.

Looking like this was the case...

[Ksyrup]

The Yankees loss almost made up for the fact that the Tigers lost a second game to the Rangers. Almost. Todd Jones is a motherfucker.

[Jas_lov]

Yep, I was afraid of this about the Yankees. Now they've lost 6 of 7 to Colorado, San Fransisco, and Baltimore. Andy Pettitte gets another no decision giving up 3 ER or less because the offense sucks. How do you only score 5 runs in 3 games in Colorado of all places?

Let me ask a question of everyone. Is it that customary not to bring your closer in to pitch in a tie game on the road? Mariano Rivera has pitched once in the last 10 days and Scott Proctor has been overused all season. Saturday against the Giants, Torre leaves Proctor in to pitch a 3rd inning in a tie game in extra innings instead of bringing in Rivera and Proctor loses the game. Tonight, Torre brings in Proctor for the 9th inning in a 2-2 game instead of Rivera. Proctor walks 3 batters including the winning run. Doesn't bringing in Rivera increase your chance of winning the game regardless of whether the game is tied or not or is Joe Torre correct not to use his best pitcher in a tie game on the road?

[henry296]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

Yep, I was afraid of this about the Yankees. Now they've lost 6 of 7 to Colorado, San Fransisco, and Baltimore. Andy Pettitte gets another no decision giving up 3 ER or less because the offense sucks. How do you only score 5 runs in 3 games in Colorado of all places?

Let me ask a question of everyone. Is it that customary not to bring your closer in to pitch in a tie game on the road? Mariano Rivera has pitched once in the last 10 days and Scott Proctor has been overused all season. Saturday against the Giants, Torre leaves Proctor in to pitch a 3rd inning in a tie game in extra innings instead of bringing in Rivera and Proctor loses the game. Tonight, Torre brings in Proctor for the 9th inning in a 2-2 game instead of Rivera. Proctor walks 3 batters including the winning run. Doesn't bringing in Rivera increase your chance of winning the game regardless of whether the game is tied or not or is Joe Torre correct not to use his best pitcher in a tie game on the road?

Typically you use your closer in a tied game at home, but not on the road so the closer can pitch the bottom of the inning if you score and get the save.

[Ksyrup]

This is why Joe Torre, in all likelihood, deserves to lose his job. I understand he's a great clubhouse guy and all, but his bullpen usage is horrible. In tonight's game, I would have let Rivera pitch 2 innings since he's hardly pitched. Especially since everyone is in agreement that Rivera needs steady work to stay sharp.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Well, but you have played us well this year.

See?

[Ksyrup]

Neyer's got a spot-on blog article about Torre's bullpen mismanagement.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

See?

Well, I thought we would win last night. The pitching matchup favored us. But I figured Thompson vs Lackey was going to be an 8-1 shellacking. I'll take a series win against Anaheim any day of the year

SI

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

What is the RBI record for someone hitting less than .200? Andruw Jones probably has a good shot of getting it.

What the! I just checked out his stats. What happened to his AVG? Also, he's from the Netherlands??

Also, does this little blurb on the bottom of his page on mlb.com mean HE has a daughter too, or his SON has a dauther?

Married the former Nicole Derick...They have a son, Druw, and he has one daughter, Madison...

[Ksyrup]

He's from Curacao, which is part of the Netherlands, right? He's from the Netherlands and his BA is in the nether-regions.

[Ksyrup]

The amazing thing is that someone is going to pay him $15M+ a year for declining offensive skills that never quite reached the level we thought they would, plus overrated (at least at this point in his career) defense.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The amazing thing is that someone is going to pay him $15M+ a year for declining offensive skills that never quite reached the level we thought they would, plus overrated (at least at this point in his career) defense.

Knowing that prior to the season, it would take a major hometown discount for the Braves to be able to sign him, I'm wondering if his terrible year will drive his price down enough to where the Braves might be able to keep him. Declining skills or not...as a Met fan, I want him out of the division.

[Ksyrup]

Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the White Sox and Beuhrle may sign an extension:


"The Boston Red Sox, who had jumped out as the clear favorite to acquire White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle during the weekend, have pulled out of the sweepstakes, according to one source. And not because the asking price of top minor-league prospects was too high or because they no longer coveted Buehrle's services, but because Buehrle is no longer on the trading block for the time being.

The Sun-Times has learned that a change of heart in both the Buehrle and White Sox camps during the last 48 hours has led to talks about the sides somehow getting together and agreeing on a contract extension by the end of the week."

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Logan

Knowing that prior to the season, it would take a major hometown discount for the Braves to be able to sign him, I'm wondering if his terrible year will drive his price down enough to where the Braves might be able to keep him. Declining skills or not...as a Met fan, I want him out of the division.

I would much rather have the Braves sign him, even at a discounted price. Locking up a declining centerfielder long-term would be much better for the Mets since it would severely handicap the Braves financial flexibility.

However, I know the Braves are smart enough to let him walk.

[Logan]

Head to head though, Jones punishes the Mets. That's why he can go IMO.

[Atocep]

And this is an emmy award winning analyst

Bob (Brooklyn): What's more important to evaluate a pitcher: Wins or ERA?

Joe Morgan: I've always believed that an ERA is like a batting average. It's a personal thing. For instance, a guy could hit .300, but not be as valuable as a guy that hits .270. A guy that makes 7 outs out of 10 with guys on base, he's not that valuable. But if you're clutch, but hit .275, you're more valuable. That's why I think wins are better. It's just as tough to win a game 7-6 as it is 1-0. The only thing that matters at the end of the year is how many games did we win.

Kyle (Kansas): What is the most overated stat in baseball?

Joe Morgan: Batting average and earned run average and this OPS stuff they do. OPS doesn't tell you anything except about the individual. The same as the other stats. It doesn't tell you anything about the team. A .300 average doesn't help you win games, run production does.

[dawgfan]

Well, he got one out of three - he's right that batting average is over rated.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Atocep

And this is an emmy award winning analyst

My god Joe Morgan is the biggest dumbshit in baseball. This just confirms my feelings for him.

[Ksyrup]

He's such a joke that I'm fairly certain those are softball questions designed to provoke the kind of non-analytical/old-school answers he always gives, for the amusement of the masses. It's too bad, because I actually like him and it's nice to have someone who is a tie to the past to bring perspective to today's game...it's just unfortunate that his thinking hasn't progressed past his glory days.

[dawgfan]

What's amusing to me about Morgan is that many of the statistical concepts he rails against are precisely the reasons why he's so highly thought of by sabermatricians as a hitter - despite frequently posting a sub-.300 batting average, he was a very valuable hitter because he drew a ton of walks (high OBP) and hit for a good power considering the era and his position (good SLG + high OBP = very good OPS).

[Ksyrup]

Isn't it ironic?

Maybe that's why he's always been so modest...deep down he thinks he sucked and can't understand why he's so highly thought of!

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

What's amusing to me about Morgan is that many of the statistical concepts he rails against are precisely the reasons why he's so highly thought of by sabermatricians as a hitter - despite frequently posting a sub-.300 batting average, he was a very valuable hitter because he drew a ton of walks (high OBP) and hit for a good power considering the era and his position (good SLG + high OBP = very good OPS).

Despite that, he actually thinks the saber way of thinking would have overlooked him as a player. He's mentioned it a few times. He's so set in his ways its almost sad.

I saw someone ask him once why he's never read moneyball and refuses to. He said that since Michael Lewis didn't play baseball there was nothing he could learn from him. Which I guess is an improvement since he's always referred to it as "the Billy Beane book".

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Joe Morgan

and this OPS stuff they do

I imagine him saying this with the same scorn an old white guy uses when describing "this rap stuff colored folk do."

[Ksyrup]

Clemens looking good in mid-season.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Clemens looking good in mid-season.

Not the same in the AL....

[Ksyrup]

I think it's funny that with all the pitching problems they've had, it's the offense that is killing them.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

The Royals salvage the third game against the Brewers (it's always salvage when you win the 3rd game, too- one of those in the long list of baseball cliches). This evens their June record at 11-11 with only 5 games to go. Unfortunately, three are against the best team in the league (Anaheim) and then 2 against the White Sox. If they do manage to go 3-2, it will be their first winning month since 2003

SI

With 2 to spare!

[sterlingice]

*gets out the unlikeliest of brooms* Hooray!

SI

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, the Tigers, Angels, and Red Sox scuffling a bit this week. Lucky for the Red Sox they are probably going to back into a division championship at this point.

[sterlingice]

Just 1.5 back and starting 3 games against the White Sox. I have to think this would be the latest in the season not in last place since 2003 if they can pull ahead. I'll be at the game Sunday for the Negro Leagues game

SI

[MrBug708]

Anyone want Nomar? The one times he's healthy, he cant hit anymore

[Ksyrup]

Poor Matt Cain. 2-9, but with a 3.37 ERA. According to Joe Morgan, this guy is a bum!

[CraigSca]

My daughter will be honorary batgirl at tonight's Orioles-Yankees game as the O's look for the sweep !

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

My daughter will be honorary batgirl at tonight's Orioles-Yankees game as the O's look for the sweep !

i'll send her $5 if she kicks A-Fraud or Jeter or the caveman-traitor in the shins.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

My daughter will be honorary batgirl at tonight's Orioles-Yankees game as the O's look for the sweep !

neat!!

I hope pine tar washes off easily

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i'll send her $5 if she kicks A-Fraud or Jeter or the caveman-traitor in the shins.

I'd settle for her to distract the firstbase ump while an Oriole fan reaches over the fence and catches an Orioles' warning track flyball that is called a HR and wins the game.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

My daughter will be honorary batgirl at tonight's Orioles-Yankees game as the O's look for the sweep !

That's cool!

[MizzouRah]

F'n Glavine and the Mets.. and RAIN!!!!!!!

[Oilers9911]

Frank Thomas hits #500 off Carlos Silva and the Twins...and his average creeps over .240! Way to go big Frank!

[MikeVic]

So I stumbled across a wiki entry on Josh Gibson, and then followed that up with Satchel Paige.

I also read a couple more websites that had mini-biographies of Paige. Is there any concrete literature on these two players? Or is anything bound to have some information that can't be proved? Paige interests me more actually. It seems like he played against better competition than Gibson, and seems like a really interesting player.

[Ksyrup]

Watching the Orioles/Yankees game last night was painful. Yankees have a 4-2 lead, then promptly blow it to go down 6-4. Then the downpour starts. But it lets up long enough to play the top of the 8th. Orioles bring in John "Todd Jones" Parrish, who walks the first 2 guys of the inning. Always a good idea when protecting a lead. I didn't see what happened next, but next thing I know it's 6-6, Chris Ray is in, there are 2 outs, and the rain has come back, and I mean it's pouring. Instead of calling the game right there, the umps - apparently trying to help the Orioles - keep letting them play, seemingly hoping they can get that last out of the inning. But no, they give up a couple more hits, and Jeter knocks in the go-ahead runs. And at that point, the game is called and play ultimately suspended.

What a joke that was. It was like watching a soccer game in extra time, where the ref continues to let the team on the offensive play on until they are stopped, at which point time is "magically" up. One of the Orioles got pissed and was arguing with the umps over it. That was BS.

[Butter]

Same thing happened to the Reds last night. Water was pooling on the field for a good 5-10 minutes, but they kept letting the Phillies bat until they got the game-winning hit. Such crap.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

So I stumbled across a wiki entry on Josh Gibson, and then followed that up with Satchel Paige.

I also read a couple more websites that had mini-biographies of Paige. Is there any concrete literature on these two players? Or is anything bound to have some information that can't be proved? Paige interests me more actually. It seems like he played against better competition than Gibson, and seems like a really interesting player.

It's really hard to find Negro Leagues information and "official" Negro Leagues stats for parts of history. Later on in the league's life, there are better stats but early on there's not much to go on.

SI

[Atocep]

Is it safe to say Alex Gordon has things firgured out now? He has an .885 OPS in June, although he dug him self such a huge hole in April/May that his line is still only .240/.331/.376

[k0ruptr]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Is it safe to say Alex Gordon has things firgured out now? He has an .885 OPS in June, although he dug him self such a huge hole in April/May that his line is still only .240/.331/.376

I'd say so, but don't ask Joe Morgan.

[Ksyrup]

Nice catch Dave Roberts!

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Nice catch Dave Roberts!

I wonder how soon after his games he checks this thread.

[Ksyrup]

Denny Green passes my messages to him by 8:30 the next morning.