The official 2008 MLB thread

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Mike1409

The stadium deal has been pulled. It was a beautiful design with a retractable sail. A lot of the older residents don't want a new stadium 8 blocks from a supposedly good stadium, even though it was 10 years old before a baseball team played there.

If a new stadium gets built in St. Pete it will more than likely be built in the northern part for a little easier access from Tampa but without the waterfront view.

That's too bad, it was certainly a unique design. Are they going to try to develop anything else on the waterfront? It seemed like it could use a little more when I was down there, but I suppose I'm about the polar opposite of the people there.

[ISiddiqui]

I was sad about the new stadium being canned as well. It seemed like it wouldn't have costed St. Pete all that much money (at least according to the flyer they gave us when I went to Tropicana to see the Rays). Would have been the most beautiful stadium in the majors and would have attracted far more fans than the Trop (which, inside, isn't really all that bad, but an eyesore from the outside).

[Buccaneer]

Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball right now. This, to me, is an unbelievable story.

[Mike1409]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball right now. This, to me, is an unbelievable story.

It would be unbelievable if it was in MLB2K8!!! And all 5 starters have 10 wins this season as well.

[ISiddiqui]

The other fun story is that the Houston Astros, who are 14 games back of the NL leading Cubbies, and the Toronto Blue Jays who are 14.5 back of the Rays, would both be in 1st place in the NL West ahead of the D-Backs.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by timmyw3

Those stats can probably go out the window after this year. The Orioles have pitched much better this year under Rick Kranitz than they did last year under Mazzone. Granted many of the faces, especially in the bullpen, are different, every starter in the current rotation (who were all with Baltimore all last year) has an ERA lower than what it was last year.

STARTER--2007 ERA--2008 ERA
Guthrie--3.70--3.51
Cabrera--5.55--4.45
Burres--5.95--5.24
Olson--7.79--4.80
Liz--6.93--4.32

Not to discredit Mazzone, because he's certainly a fine pitching coach, but I think he's a little overrated and is probably not a great fit for certain teams. It seems he tries to fit every pitcher he works with into his philosophy (low & away, low & away, low & away) instead of working with their strengths.

I meant to check back on this later in the year, so here we go...

STARTER--2007 ERA--2008 ERA
Guthrie--3.70--3.57
Cabrera--5.55--5.40
Burres--5.95--6.08
Olson--7.79--6.53
Liz--6.93--7.91

Looks like the Orioles staff regressed quite a bit since earlier in the season.

[Logan]

Mets are playing some fine ball right now. Solid sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee.

[ISiddiqui]

Don't jinx it!!!

[Logan]

Don't worry, I didn't say anything in the 2007 thread and look what happened.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I meant to check back on this later in the year, so here we go...

STARTER--2007 ERA--2008 ERA
Guthrie--3.70--3.57
Cabrera--5.55--5.40
Burres--5.95--6.08
Olson--7.79--6.53
Liz--6.93--7.91

Looks like the Orioles staff regressed quite a bit since earlier in the season.

I went to my first Sox game of the year on Monday against the O's. Olson was pitching, and he was horrible. His line ended up being good 6ip 3er or so, but he walked the bases loaded in the first and had about 8 hard hit balls right at OF'ers in addition to the multiple solo HR's.

Another thing I noticed... being 20 games out, both Markakis and Adam Jones have slowed down and let catchable balls drop (Markakis an Ortiz ground rule double and Jones Kotsay's tying triple yesterday.) Maybe they were just unfamiliar with the walls, but it certainly looked like the were avoiding injury, which can't help the pitchers. In Jones defense, he hit an absolute rocket in the first that might have cleared the parking garage.

Finally, the Dustin Pedroia laser show continues. .618 over his last 10 games, .400+ over the last 2 months.

[Buccaneer]

Did I hear that only 600 or so people showed up for a Marlins game?

[SirFozzie]

Mid day, 96 degrees and humid. I'd question the sanity of the 600 that did show up.

[sterlingice]

Wow. That's nuts

SI

[Logan]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Wow. That's nuts

SI

And they weren't even playing Kansas City .

[sterlingice]

To be fair, KC had a similar crowd today but that's because the first game was part of a day/night doubleheader from last night's rainout:

"The remnants of Hurricane Gustav washed out Wednesday’s game, leading to Oakland’s first doubleheader since being swept in Kansas City on Aug. 18, 2006.

Not many people made it to the first game.

A 4:10 p.m. start, continued cool weather and two teams a combined 33 games under .500 made for a crowd better suited for a rec league softball game, with a few hundred fans scattered around 38,030-seat Kauffman Stadium for the first pitch."


SI

[Neuqua]

Damnit Radii.

[hoopsguy]

Soriano just hit his 3rd bomb of the night, a 3 run shot to put the Cubs up five and on the brink of breaking their losing skid.

[Lathum]

Wagner done for this year and next.

Mets need to find a FA closer and probably overpay

[Logan]

They're gonna bring in K-Rod, and it's not going to be pretty.

[Crapshoot]

Tim Lincecum tonight - just wow. Was at the game, and really, he's the only thing going for us right now. What a great, great pitcher.

[ISiddiqui]

It is amazing to think that the Cy Young winners from both leagues may come from teams that finish below .500.

[ISiddiqui]

This is insane:

ESPN - Pujols considering having torn elbow ligament fixed - MLB

All the while, he is batting .359/.466/.649 (leading the league in all three) with an OPS+ of 191.

Imagine if he was actually healthy

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Tim Lincecum tonight - just wow. Was at the game, and really, he's the only thing going for us right now. What a great, great pitcher.

Wasn't he traded for Alex Rios in the offseason?

[JPhillips]

The OBP says "clogs the bases" to me.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Wasn't he traded for Alex Rios in the offseason?

GO BACK TO CANADA HIPPIE!

[Travis]

Jays win game one of their double header today, pushing their winning streak to 9 and their record since Cito took over to 42-27 (would translate to a 98 or 99 win season over the course of a full season given his current clip or 87 at this point of the season which'd have them in 1st in the AL East and tied for the best winning % in baseball).

Not bad considering they were 35-39 when he came in and he hasn't had Aaron Hill (or even Wells for quite a period of time).

They've still got 6 with Boston but will pretty much have to win at least 5 of those to have any shot at the post season. Even if they lose AJ in the offseason (highly likely), if they make a couple good tweaks to the lineup, I really like their chances next year.

[BishopMVP]

Absolutely brutal managing job by Francona late in the game tonight. I'll leave out the decision to pitch Papelbon on Sunday in a 7-1 game so he was pitching a 3rd consecutive night for now and stick to what transpired in the bottom of the 9th, down 1 with Percival on the mound.

-Kotsay walks. Great, but then he leaves Ellsbury (leading the AL in steals, 90%+ success rate) on the bench.
-Jason Varitek (batting .210/.302/.342 from the left side) comes up with Ortiz on deck and they proceed to try and bunt Kotsay to 2nd, which almost certainly would have resulted in Ortiz being intentionally walked and 1st/2nd 1 out with Coco Crisp coming up. Needless to say, Varitek whiffs on his bunt attempts (at least one which would have hit him) and looks at strike 3 when he stops.
-Ortiz bats, ends up hitting a fly ball to right that probably would have scored a runner from 3rd.
-2 outs now, Francona pinch runs Ellsbury for Kotsay. Ellsbury promptly steals 2nd and advances to 3rd on a throwing error. Of course, the batter is still Coco Crisp, who pops out to end the game.

I take back some of my mockery of Dusty Baker. It was painful enough to watch that once, it must be terrible to see your manager do it multiple times a month. Not pinch-hitting for veterans, trying to have power hitters sacrifice bunt, waiting until 2 outs to send a pinch-runner in. Ugh.

[JPhillips]

That's not quite Dusty. Dusty would have taken out Ortiz for a better fielder as well. (Yes I know Ortiz is DH, but you get the point.)

[JPhillips]

dola

For the love of God. Dusty had Brandon Phillips bunt with men on first and third and one out in the eleventh inning. BR broke his finger and is out for the rest of the season.

[Lathum]

awesome

Dukes flips out because Pelfry thew inside on him then the next at bat Pelfry hits him.

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by Lathum

awesome

Dukes flips out because Pelfry thew inside on him then the next at bat Pelfry hits him.

Friday's headline: "Mets Pitcher Slain in Drive-By Shooting".

[Lathum]

I am really starting to hate Heilman

[Chief Rum]

Since no one's noticed, FYI, the Angels clinched the AL West today.

[Vince]

I have to say...even though we suck, I'm having a lot of fun watching the Giants this season.

[sterlingice]

I just finished watching a 2 1/2 hour movie on DVR and turn it off just to see a 3 run homer by Pena in the 14th in the Rays/Red Sox game.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

The Rays have definitely won interestingly in this series against the Red Sox.

[stevew]

Man, i was trying so hard to follow the pirates this year. They quit sometime last month, however. Even though they've won 60 games with about 15 left, it would not shock me to see them lose 100 for the season.

Brandon Moss has looked decent for stretches, but the rest of the guys they got in the Bay trade have been shit. I know its a smallish sample size, but after 250+ big league at bats, Andy Laroche has a .192/.305/.302 profile. That's not exactly confidence inspiring. Plus he'd make between 30 and 40 errors if he continued at the current rate.

The jury's still out on the yankee pitchers they got for Nady. Karstens seems to be nothing special. Ohlendorf might be a solid starter next year.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Vince

I have to say...even though we suck, I'm having a lot of fun watching the Giants this season.

Word. I don't know if it's because our expectations were bred to be a 100+ loss season, but I've had fun watching this team most every night. Lincecum's absolute scariness, Zito's absolute scariness, the call-ups going through their ups and downs. All in all, I haven't been disgusted, which is what I was expecting.

I also think the ascent of the Giants farm system from bottom five to top five has put a salve on the wounds.

[ISiddiqui]

And you'll have a Cy Young winner this year .

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Damnit Radii.

I know. I was thinking about this over the weekend. Sorry.

[JeeberD]

And that's why you haven't seen me in this thread in a while...

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

The Rays have definitely won interestingly in this series against the Red Sox.

Mind-boggling decisions the past two nights, all after it had appeared Francona was a decent manager.

To start with tonight, we have Coco Crisp being used as a PR at 1st in the 7th with 2 out, Ellsbury (not a whole lot of power) batting, and then don't have Crisp try to steal 2nd. Since Crisp has already been used, Tito decides to pinch run for Mike Lowell with Alex Cora in the 9th, who isn't any faster (for reference, Cora has stolen 33 bases in an 11 year career, 2 the last 2 seasons combined. Mike Lowell has stolen 28 in 11 seasons, and 5 in the last 2.) Bottom 12, man on 1st 0 outs, he has David Ortiz try and bunt. Technically, he does get credited with a sacrifice advancing the runner to 2nd, leading to the Rays immediately walking Kevin Youkilis. Jason Bay strikes out swinging on low slider after low slider and 1/2 the bane of my Red Sox fandom, Alex Cora, comes up in Mike Lowell's spot to end the inning. Top 14, the second 1/2 of that existence, Mike Timlin appears. Half the bar clears out and he gives up 3 runs. Bottom 14, we do load the bases and get a sac fly from Youk, but then Bay strikes out swinging on low slider after low slider and Alex Cora comes up again to end the game.

Joe Maddon (TB Manager) did pull some shameful shit there, faking an injury to Percival to buy time for reliever #2 after he loaded the bases, but not as shameful as leaving Sean Casey (and possibly JD Drew, because he was activated, although possibly still injured) on the bench while Alex Cora ends the inning twice, or misusing pinch runners for the 2nd straight night, or risk injury by having David Ortiz bunt, or by Theo Epstein not having Van Every (as an extra bat/OF'er) Joe Thurston or Argenis Diaz (both speedy middle infielders on the 40-man) sitting on the bench in case these situations came up.



Unrelated question for stevew - Could Jason Bay hit, or at least lay off, a decent breaking ball in Pittsburgh? Unless last night was an unfortunate aberration (like 12 pitches in a row) it appears TB (and anyone else that cares) has a blueprint against him now with breaking balls low and away. I'm so glad Manny and his .396/.488/.776 line isn't ruining our chemistry.

[BishopMVP]

Dola, not to mention, both Bottom 10th for the Sox and top 13 for the Rays, the one time you should bunt a guy over happened - runners on 1st/2nd, 0 outs. Both times the batter ground into a double play.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Mind-boggling decisions the past two nights, all after it had appeared Francona was a decent manager.

To start with tonight, we have Coco Crisp being used as a PR at 1st in the 7th with 2 out, Ellsbury (not a whole lot of power) batting, and then don't have Crisp try to steal 2nd. Since Crisp has already been used, Tito decides to pinch run for Mike Lowell with Alex Cora in the 9th, who isn't any faster (for reference, Cora has stolen 33 bases in an 11 year career, 2 the last 2 seasons combined. Mike Lowell has stolen 28 in 11 seasons, and 5 in the last 2.) Bottom 12, man on 1st 0 outs, he has David Ortiz try and bunt. Technically, he does get credited with a sacrifice advancing the runner to 2nd, leading to the Rays immediately walking Kevin Youkilis. Jason Bay strikes out swinging on low slider after low slider and 1/2 the bane of my Red Sox fandom, Alex Cora, comes up in Mike Lowell's spot to end the inning. Top 14, the second 1/2 of that existence, Mike Timlin appears. Half the bar clears out and he gives up 3 runs. Bottom 14, we do load the bases and get a sac fly from Youk, but then Bay strikes out swinging on low slider after low slider and Alex Cora comes up again to end the game.

Joe Maddon (TB Manager) did pull some shameful shit there, faking an injury to Percival to buy time for reliever #2 after he loaded the bases, but not as shameful as leaving Sean Casey (and possibly JD Drew, because he was activated, although possibly still injured) on the bench while Alex Cora ends the inning twice, or misusing pinch runners for the 2nd straight night, or risk injury by having David Ortiz bunt, or by Theo Epstein not having Van Every (as an extra bat/OF'er) Joe Thurston or Argenis Diaz (both speedy middle infielders on the 40-man) sitting on the bench in case these situations came up.



Unrelated question for stevew - Could Jason Bay hit, or at least lay off, a decent breaking ball in Pittsburgh? Unless last night was an unfortunate aberration (like 12 pitches in a row) it appears TB (and anyone else that cares) has a blueprint against him now with breaking balls low and away. I'm so glad Manny and his .396/.488/.776 line isn't ruining our chemistry.

To be fair, it seems everyone falls over backwards saying how great Scioscia is, and as an Angels fan, I by and large agree with them--but he still occasionally does some mind-bogglingly stupid things, too.

I think even the best managers have their bad moments. Francona's pretty much earned his stripes by this point.

BTW, maybe I am biased because Maddon is a long time Angels bench coach, but I see the fake the injury thing as pure gamesmanship. You see that stuff all the time in baseball. No biggie to me.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, I'm with CR. It's like hiding sandpaper in your glove or something. It's part of the game.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Unrelated question for stevew - Could Jason Bay hit, or at least lay off, a decent breaking ball in Pittsburgh? Unless last night was an unfortunate aberration (like 12 pitches in a row) it appears TB (and anyone else that cares) has a blueprint against him now with breaking balls low and away. I'm so glad Manny and his .396/.488/.776 line isn't ruining our chemistry.

I really haven't followed them much before this year. And I really only listened to the games on the radio this season.

0-7 aside, he's hit about what you would expect him to. Solid .880ish OPS guy. I'd think he'll hit a few more homers in boston since the right field is obviously much more of a hitters thing than PNC is.

[Chief Rum]

The Angels need to work on this save situation thing. You see, if they score too many runs, K-Rod can't get a save. Unless we bring him in the seventh. Maybe we'll do that.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

To be fair, it seems everyone falls over backwards saying how great Scioscia is, and as an Angels fan, I by and large agree with them--but he still occasionally does some mind-bogglingly stupid things, too.

I think even the best managers have their bad moments. Francona's pretty much earned his stripes by this point.

BTW, maybe I am biased because Maddon is a long time Angels bench coach, but I see the fake the injury thing as pure gamesmanship. You see that stuff all the time in baseball. No biggie to me.

Fair enough on Maddon. The only thing that set it apart was he already had 2 relievers warming before the inning even started. At least try to hide it a little.

Francona's always (at least in Boston) had the rep as a great players manager and good to have over a full year because he looks at it as a marathon, not a sprint. He's never been looked at as a great in-game manager, and it was just a succession of detrimental moves in the 2 most important games for determining whether we face CWS/MIN (easy) or Anaheim (which I really don't want to do) that prompted me to vent.

[Chief Rum]

I should have had more faith. The pen let the M's back in the game, or at least enough for K-Rod to get his save opportunity.

Thigpen and K-Rod are now tied atop MLB's lists for the single season save record.

[Crapshoot]

Meh - its maybe his 3rd best season. The Save stat is up there with RBI in terms of distorting performance from actual value.