2006 MLB Thread

[JeeberD]

Astros versus Brewers this week...should help to sort out the top heavy NL Central a bit.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

At what point do the National league pitchers stop pitching to Albert Pujols the way they used to not pitch to Barry Bonds?

Too much talent in that lineup to put him on base all the time. The problem the Giants have always had is finding a bat to protect Bonds.

[JS19]

Anyone know when Pujols' contract is up?? I have a feeling he will stay with the Cardinals probably at a cheaper price, but this guy could very well be the next 200M$ player.

Mets took another one today against the Brewers. The rookie Bannister got his 2nd win but boy was it ugly. Pitched his way in to a bases loades jam in the 2nd with nobody out and the 3rd with 1 out and got out of both of them. Threw i think about 120 pitches in 6 innings (maybe 5, cant remember). Had just about as many balls as strikes. Brewers need to capatalize on situations like that. I think Sheets looked pretty good being it was his first start of the year. Nady looks like he might end up being a steal for the Mets.

[sterlingice]

Just dug up a link to it, but Pujols signed a 7yr, $100M contract a couple of years ago:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4201009

"One of the team’s few homegrown stars in recent years, Pujols would have been eligible for free agency after the 2006 season. To keep him, the Cardinals gave Pujols a $100 million, seven-year contract on Friday, a deal that would be worth $111 million if St. Louis exercises an option for 2011."

SI

[JS19]

Found that one too. Surprised this one passed me by. Woulda been interesting to see the bidding wars that went on had he become a free agent next year.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Just dug up a link to it, but Pujols signed a 7yr, $100M contract a couple of years ago:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4201009

"One of the team’s few homegrown stars in recent years, Pujols would have been eligible for free agency after the 2006 season. To keep him, the Cardinals gave Pujols a $100 million, seven-year contract on Friday, a deal that would be worth $111 million if St. Louis exercises an option for 2011."

SI

What a shame.

[Crapshoot]

The Giants scored 5 runs in 3 games - and won 2. I'm not sure how.

[stevew]

I think Pujols sold himself majorly short. Being a "stand up" type guy is one thing, giving up 5 free agent years at 12-14 million per is questionable, although I guess understandable(still a TON of money). Although I believe he may have signed this at some point(before January 2005) where signing bonus's were still medicare tax free, so depending on wording the real world value could be better than it looks.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by JS19

Found that one too. Surprised this one passed me by. Woulda been interesting to see the bidding wars that went on had he become a free agent next year.

No it wouldn't.

He will be a Cardinal for a LONG time. He will be the guy that keeps that park sold out everynight after the newness wears off.

I already think he is more fun to watch than McGwire was, and that's kind of hard to believe so soon. The man treats every at bat like a guy who loves everything about the game for the right reasons.

[Fighter of Foo]

If he signed at the end of the 2003 season, that means the Cardinals bought out his 3 arbitration years, plus four more. Guesstimating, he probably would have made something like 4, 8 and 12 million over the next three years without a contract extension.

Instead, the Cardinals immediately offered a big raise, lifetime security and get cost certainty and possibly a player under valued for the life of the contract.

Yet another example of why teams that can produce players through their farm systems often beat those that can't, money (almost) be damned.

[Brillig]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

The Giants scored 5 runs in 3 games - and won 2. I'm not sure how.

Oh!Mar. And generally excellent defense. And solid pitching from unlikely corners.

Yeah... this can't last.

[JS19]

I really hope the Mets can do this with David Wright. Not sure when he is even eligible for arbitration being this is only his 2nd yr, but it will be nice to see him locked up for the next decade.

[Bad-example]

Damn, I hope Kent is ok after taking a pitch to the noggin. A minor concussion and some blurry vision in one eye was the early word on espn radio.

Nice series win for the Giants. The pitching has a chance to be real solid this year.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

No it wouldn't.

He will be a Cardinal for a LONG time. He will be the guy that keeps that park sold out everynight after the newness wears off.

I was watching the highlights and I thought to myself "I thought this was a new park, why are there so many empty seats".

So umm yea.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Brillig

Oh!Mar. And generally excellent defense. And solid pitching from unlikely corners.

Yeah... this can't last.

Omar's play tonight was simply jaw dropping. He didn't hesitate for one moment to turn and throw to 3rd. Incredible.

[Karlifornia]

It looked like the new Busch had a bunch of empty seats in the highlights....was I just hallucinating?

[Brillig]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Omar's play tonight was simply jaw dropping. He didn't hesitate for one moment to turn and throw to 3rd. Incredible.

That was an amazing play. I think I'm even more impressed to know that he planned the whole thing...

Originally Posted by SFGate.com

Vizquel's defensive genius also contributed to the win. With two on and one out in the sixth, Kenny Lofton hit a slow bouncer to Durham, who flipped to Vizquel for the force at second. Knowing he had no shot at doubling up Lofton, Vizquel immediately swiveled left and fired a throw to third, where runner Cody Ross had rounded the bag. Pedro Feliz tagged him out for the double play. Knowing how fast Lofton is, Vizquel actually advised Feliz during a meeting on the mound to be ready for that play, and the shortstop turned it, he said, for the fourth time in his career.

[stevew]

Wow, that Vizquel play was really good. It's on the ESPN site in that video window thing.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

It looked like the new Busch had a bunch of empty seats in the highlights....was I just hallucinating?

A section of the park is not open yet and won't be until June or July. Currently it's only operating at something like 40K seats but then it will be at 45K+. Basically the stadium's not quite finished.

SI

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

A section of the park is not open yet and won't be until June or July. Currently it's only operating at something like 40K seats but then it will be at 45K+. Basically the stadium's not quite finished.

SI

What he said.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Brillig

Oh!Mar. And generally excellent defense. And solid pitching from unlikely corners.

Yeah... this can't last.

That 4-6-5 DP - just great.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

At what point do the National league pitchers stop pitching to Albert Pujols the way they used to not pitch to Barry Bonds?

When his OBP starts hovering around .600....

[kingfc22]

So when do people start hollering about Chris Shelton and steroids?


EDIT:Forgot to add smiley face.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

So when do people start hollering about Chris Shelton and steroids?

OMG! Steroids!!

Hey, HR numbers and BA are up to levels unheard of since the 1930s! If this season ends up with higher scoring than the previous ones, it'll be very interesting to hear the reasons why. Personally, I'm leaning to the theory that pitchers used more steroids and amphetamines than the hitters and therefore have been most affected.

[ISiddiqui]

Mets Win!! They beat the Braves and are now 10-2, with a 5 game lead over the Braves (who are in 2nd place in the NL East).

Pedro's 200th win .

[Logan]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Mets Win!! They beat the Braves and are now 10-2, with a 5 game lead over the Braves (who are in 2nd place in the NL East).

Pedro's 200th win .

Fastest a team has ever had a 5 game division lead.

[ISiddiqui]

Sweet . Though hopefully they don't blow it!

[JS19]

Although the Mets won we have much reason to worry, David Wright's batting average has dropped below .400!!!!!!! He better get his act together.

On a serious note, Floyd left with an injury that hopefully isn't serious, and Beltran sat out his 2nd game in a row, hoping that hamstgring isn't worse then we were told.

[JeeberD]

Astros take the first game against the Brewers in a back and forth game, 8-7.

[MrBug708]

Maddux just finished a game in one hour and 59 minutes. *sigh*

[kingfc22]

Crazy game in Arizona tonight. Giants were up 7-0 after 3. And then trailed 9-7 after 6. Only to end up winning in the 9th 10-9.

[Neuqua]

Time to start the Maddux for Cy Young Watch!!

[samifan24]

Are there any Reds fans here? If so, can you tell us what you've seen in Austin Kearns that's different this year? He's really hitting the ball and last night hit cleanup when Griffey went on the DL. Might this be the year he finally breaks out?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by samifan24

Are there any Reds fans here? If so, can you tell us what you've seen in Austin Kearns that's different this year? He's really hitting the ball and last night hit cleanup when Griffey went on the DL. Might this be the year he finally breaks out?

Confidence. He said that last year, he was worried that every time he didn't hit well, he'd be benched in favor of Wily Mo Pena... he doesn't have that worry this year. He is free to have a slump or two, knowing that his place in the lineup is secure.

Plus, his shoulder is back to 100%, he did have previous shoulder problems. Guy has a good bat... I like him as a hitter even more than Dunn personally, because he can hit things other than HR's.

[Fighter of Foo]

Originally Posted by samifan24

when Griffey went on the DL.

OK Who had April 17th?

[JS19]

Well, looks like the Mets are gonna lose this one to the Braves. As Lathum has already pointed out to us, Zambrano sucks. Kind of saw this loss coming being Zambrano was on the mound, and Jose Valentin and Endy Chavez were in the starting lineup. I'm a huge Jose Reyes fan, probably because he came thorugh the system, but I really wish he would become more of a "leadoff" hitter. Figured I would mention it here rather then the Zambrano Sucks thread, but although the Mets are off to a great start and the pitching has looked good, they need to do some work with that staff. As it was mentioned in the other thread, Oliver and Feliciano have no business in the majors, Julio looks to be a bust, Zambrano sucks and it's too early to tell on Bannister. How great would it be to see Clemens come and take charge of this staff and lead the team?

Beltran sat out his 3rd straight game, Floyd his 1st.

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...ticle_4188.asp

ESPN reality show is running flat in the ratings

By Toni Fitzgerald
Apr 19, 2006

With all the chatter about Barry Bonds over the past few months, including a bestselling book detailing his alleged steroid use and Major League Baseball’s investigation into the allegations, you’d expect a show called “Bonds on Bonds” to do quite well.

But in fact ratings for ESPN’s new limited-run reality show about the San Francisco Giants slugger have been stunningly mediocre. The show averaged a 0.3 household rating and 273,000 viewers 18-49 in its April 4 premiere on ESPN2, about even to the same timeslot average last year.

It perked up a bit in week two when it moved to ESPN, where it had been preempted by NCAA women’s basketball the previous week. Airing in the 7 p.m. timeslot last Tuesday, “Bonds” averaged a 0.5 household rating and 379,000 18-49s, again in line with last year’s numbers. ESPN and ESPN2 are available in roughly the same number of households.

By comparison, that’s about 23 percent below ESPN’s primetime average of 494,000 in 18-49s last week and about a tenth of the audience of the week’s No. 1 show on basic cable in that demo, USA’s “WWE.”

ESPN certainly advertised the show well enough, and it even stirred up controversy before it aired. Some ESPN employees reportedly were upset about the lines it blurred between entertainment and newsgathering, since Bonds is a frequent focus of the network’s signature sports news show, “SportsCenter.”

ESPN’s ombudsman even recommended shelving the project for a few months until the steroid allegations against Bonds had been dealt with.

But far from stoking further interest in Bonds, the controversy seemed to inspire indifference.

The truth is that the media, and especially ESPN, cares much more about Bonds than the public ever has. As New York Daily News columnist Bob Raissmun has observed, “See, at ESPN it's not just ‘Bonds on Bonds, it's ‘SportsCenter on Bonds,’ ‘Baseball Tonight on Bonds’ and ‘Pardon The Bonds.’”

If fans are upset, and they must be to some degree, it's not hurt baseball viewership levels. Regular-season baseball ratings held up just fine last year amid all the steroid talk. This season, Bonds has been the target of fans’ razzing, but it's just as likely a reflection of his poor play of late than over whether he lied to a grand jury.

“Bonds” has seven more episodes left after last night. Says an ESPN spokesperson: “Episode two earned 540,000 households on ESPN, up by 60 percent from the premiere episode on ESPN2. We're hopeful viewership will continue to grow.”

[Terps]

O's take 2 out of 3 from the Tribe after taking 3 of 4 from Anaheim. Erik Bedard is now 4-0.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Terps

O's take 2 out of 3 from the Tribe after taking 3 of 4 from Anaheim. Erik Bedard is now 4-0.

Ugh after a blowout in the first game the series went downhill for the Tribe fast. First we lost Miller and Betancourt and now Carmona was lit up a day after Westbrook forgot how to throw. It's just two games...it's just two games....

[miami_fan]

Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has two fractured bones in his left wrist, team general manager Jim Hendry said Thursday.

Lee will be in a cast for 6 weeks and likely will face 2-4 weeks of rehab after that, meaning the Cubs will be without one of their best hitters for 8-10 weeks.

Lee, an All-Star and the reigning National League batting champion, was hurt in the seventh inning. Rafael Furcal led off the inning with a bunt single to the right of the mound, and reliever Scott Eyre dived for the ball before flipping it toward first base with his glove. The ball sailed over Lee's glove as Furcal crashed into him at the bag.

It was believed Wednesday night that Lee suffered a sprained wrist in the collision.

Lee, a two-time Gold Glove winner who played in his first All-Star Game last season, has appeared in no fewer than 155 games in any of the previous six seasons and has never been on the disabled list since making his big-league debut in 1997 with San Diego. He had a career year last season with a .335 average, 46 homers and 107 RBI.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has two fractured bones in his left wrist, team general manager Jim Hendry said Thursday.

Lee will be in a cast for 6 weeks and likely will face 2-4 weeks of rehab after that, meaning the Cubs will be without one of their best hitters for 8-10 weeks.

Lee, an All-Star and the reigning National League batting champion, was hurt in the seventh inning. Rafael Furcal led off the inning with a bunt single to the right of the mound, and reliever Scott Eyre dived for the ball before flipping it toward first base with his glove. The ball sailed over Lee's glove as Furcal crashed into him at the bag.

It was believed Wednesday night that Lee suffered a sprained wrist in the collision.

Lee, a two-time Gold Glove winner who played in his first All-Star Game last season, has appeared in no fewer than 155 games in any of the previous six seasons and has never been on the disabled list since making his big-league debut in 1997 with San Diego. He had a career year last season with a .335 average, 46 homers and 107 RBI.

Interesting. I had heard a report on ESPN at some point today that the "first set of x-rays" was inconclusive, but it strikes me that if he broke 2 bones in the wrist (wrist or arm, I wonder) that the cracks would have shown up.

Either way, that's a bummer for the Cubbies. Maybe they ARE cursed...

/tk

[Cuckoo]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has two fractured bones in his left wrist, team general manager Jim Hendry said Thursday.

Lee will be in a cast for 6 weeks and likely will face 2-4 weeks of rehab after that, meaning the Cubs will be without one of their best hitters for 8-10 weeks.

[JS19]

Kaz Matsui, can't stand the guy but i'll give him his credit here, hit a HR in his 1st AB of the year for the 3rd yr in a row, this one happened to be an inside the parker.

To any of the other Mets fans here, how do you feel about Keith Hernandez?? When he is in the booth I almost wanna put the radio on and mute the TV, he's terrible. Makes either the dumbest or the most obvious comments, and ALWAYS talks about himself during his playing days.

Beltran and Floyd were both back in the lineup which is good to see.

[JS19]

Spoke too soon, Beltran has now been taken out of the game.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by JS19

Kaz Matsui, can't stand the guy but i'll give him his credit here, hit a HR in his 1st AB of the year for the 3rd yr in a row, this one happened to be an inside the parker.

So that makes 3 career "1st at bats of the season," with 3 HRs. Has anyone done that before?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Logan

So that makes 3 career "1st at bats of the season," with 3 HRs. Has anyone done that before?

Nope. No one has done 2 in a row. Kaz has done 3 in a row, from the first opening day he's started.

[kingfc22]

Ugh, the Giants bullpen BLOWS!!!!

[Brillig]

Bonds finally homers, on a pace for ten this year!!!!

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by JS19

...

To any of the other Mets fans here, how do you feel about Keith Hernandez?? When he is in the booth I almost wanna put the radio on and mute the TV, he's terrible. Makes either the dumbest or the most obvious comments, and ALWAYS talks about himself during his playing days.

Beltran and Floyd were both back in the lineup which is good to see.

I love Hernandez. Even better was the 3-man booth which is as much as I have ever enjoyed watching a baseball game.

Hernandez & Cohen >>> Kay & Singleton.

[kingfc22]

Looks like Matt Morris hit 2 batters in the first in retaliation for Vizquel getting plunked by Mesa last night. Only thing is he got tossed.

I wonder if he will start again or wait the normal 5 days.