Not-So-Obnoxious Baseball Thread

McBrewskie said:

You have got to hold Fielder at third. I mean seriously a 275 pound man scoring from first on a double? With no out you have got to be 100% possitive that there won't even be a play at the plate. It helped my Giants and **** happens and you got to play through it if you're the Tigers, but thy was bad.

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Gene Lamont (3rd base coach) is known to make bonehead decisions. He has cost the Tigers more runs this year than that. For some reason he always wants to send the big guys on the team home, and hold a faster player when he could have scored. The same goes for waving a player to 3rd when they should have stopped at 2nd. When you watch a play develop that involves Lamont having to make a decision you know it isn't going to turn out well. The second thing is that Fielder doesn't know how to slide. I've seen him slide too soon and come up short of the bag, and slide so late he rolls past the bag and gets tagged out. The slide last night was horrible, feet in the air and his backside to the catcher.

Yeh, you don't send a very questionable runner in a 0-0 game that early. Maybe down by 3 or 4 in the middle innings, you take that chance. Early scores set the mode of the game and you gotta be certain. Lead off batter in that situation you send him. Guy who runs a 7 second 40....?

Tigers need to learn how to score. They're swinging at bad pitches and letting good ones go by. I will say that Posey was zoning the ball like a fiend tonight and the umps called a few bad strikes, but they really have no excuse. I wish someone would step up and be a leader and fire them up. In the meantime, I'm off to drown my sorrows

Chin up dudius, the whole season has been a "what the hell" to me. When they go into the "funk" of not hitting. I usually start the game by saying, well at least get a hit, once they get a hit, then I hope they get a run. It's been this way all year. But the Tigers have won 4 in a row before. Maybe it's time to become the 1st team to come back from 0-3.

^Hence why I'm not tempting fate and wishing Detroit good luck tomorrow.

Regardless of what happens, Vogey has been such a great story and such a great comeback in the last 2 years, and I'm proud to have him as a Giant. *sniff*

iaefebs said:

Chin up dudius, the whole season has been a "what the hell" to me. When they go into the "funk" of not hitting. I usually start the game by saying, well at least get a hit, once they get a hit, then I hope they get a run. It's been this way all year. But the Tigers have won 4 in a row before. Maybe it's time to become the 1st team to come back from 0-3.

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We'll see what happens. I took it with the same attitude last night. Just gets frustrating to see the team fall apart the way they do. The Giants, on the other hand, have showed unity and they've played smart baseball. Detroit has it in them to play just as well or better. They just gotta play this "must-win" baseball they keep talking about.

I'm very glad to see Scherzer is on the mound today, and hopefully he'll get some run support.

Whatta pitiful performance by the Tigers. All 'round, every game, sad. Princess completely choked on the big stage, as did Valverde. Cabrera was a joke too, as was Verlander in game one. And WTF was Leyland thinking pinch hitting a scrub who hadn't had an at-bat all post season? I get the lefty/righty match up, but this jackass hit .186 in the regular season and didn't stand a chance against a big league closer. I guess it starts at the top, when a droopy dog manager gives up and stops caring, so goes the team. Sad. Don't get me wrong, I was pulling for SF, but it would've been nice to see the other team at least make it an exciting series.

I think the tigers gave a fight last night but you're right about choking. The big hitters still weren't making enough contact and were swinging at bad pitches. I'm disappointed they didn't win, but SF played better than them in every game. Here's hoping that next year the team can learn to be more unified and maybe they can make it to another Fall Classic and prove the world they can win a damn game.

Yeah, last night they played well until the 10th, when Romo struck out the side easily. I was hoping they'd extend the series another game or two, it's always bittersweet to see the season end. It was surprising to see how poorly Detroit played after handling the Yanks so easily.... it's almost like the Tigers absorbed the souls of their ALCS enemies, which made them play just like the Yankees in the WS.

This is awesome, I think Posey is bringing a dynasty about.

Tip of the hat to all Detroit fans on here. Be proud that you're the best team in the AL this season (especially sweeping the dreaded Yanks...).

Well crap! And Napoli is a Red Sock now

As is Victorino, apparently. Too bad the Doyers didn't hang onto him, considering I enjoyed seeing them fail miserably with him in OF.

I'm glad Stubbs is no longer Cincy's problem. Here's to hoping Shin Soo Choo can hold his own in Center!

Why is Toronto spending money like a drunken sailor and how do they expect to pay for it all?

Loved this quote from the manager of the Tigers Jim Leyland a couple days ago.

"Dave (Dombrowski) is making it easier for me," Leyland said at TigerFest Saturday. "Most people would say, 'Why doesn't he play this guy or that guy,' but now it's pretty simple. I mean, does anybody here not want to lead off Austin Jackson, hit Tori Hunter second, hit Miguel Cabrera third, hit Prince Fielder fourth, hit Victor Martinez fifth? You don't have to go to Harvard to figure that out, do you?"

I like that the Braves added both of the Uptons and somehow made the best bullpen in all of baseball even better. Something about seeing Justin Upton and Jason Heyward in the same lineup gets me excited.

I cant wait to see the Blue Jays play this year. this is potentially their best lineup in 20 years. Even if they make the postseason still going to be lots of competition from tigers, phillies ( last year was a fluke) and giants.

Mets fan here. Just checking in from the cliff.
If I don't decide to jump, I'll check back in for next season.

Phillies last year weren't a fluke, they're old. Philly will be in the playoff hunt, and I wouldn't be shocked if both of the wild cards come from the NL East. Braves and Nationals last year weren't flukes either. Since the advent of Jason Heyward, the Braves have averaged 91.3 wins a season. I can't see any way they're a safe bet to not win 91 or 92 unless they're decimated with injuries like they were in 2011. Can you say the Phillies are better than 91 or 92 wins? I can't. I mean sure perfect world where Utley is healthy and an MVP and Howard is healthy and still a great hitter. Phillies rotation short of injury should be awesome. Halladay should bounce back, his FIP was much lower than his ERA, Lee is one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball and Hamels is great. Unless someone gets hurt their rotation is excellent. As far as their offense goes, this is what they're working with

C - Ruiz - Good but a cheater, lets see how his numbers go from here
1B - Howard - Old coming off a miserable season, who knows where he goes from here
2B - Utley - Old and injury prone.
3B - Michael Young - LOL. Young's value is 100% based on his ability to hit for average. For soem reason I think he'll struggle with that in Philly. Doesn't walk much and his power is in freefall.
SS - Rollins - Old coming off a great season, but I'll bet he doesn't repeat it.
LF - Brown - If he puts it together could be a star.
CF - Revere - Similar, but honestly I don't expect Revere to be more than a poor man's Michael Bourn. At the very least he'll provide great defense for the meh brown and the oh so terrible.
RF - Delmon Young - HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I know he's a former top prospect, and he had some ability, but I don't know where that all went. Can't hit, can't field, can't run the bases. Guy is a bum.

Compare that to the Braves

C - McCann - Risky because he's coming off surgery
1B - Freeman - Young star in the making
2B - Uggla - Solid 2B
3B - Francisco/Johnson - below average 3B
SS - Simmons - Young superstar in the making, may never hit enough to be a superstar but arguably the best defensive SS in baseball.
LF - Justin Upton - Need I say more? Sure he stank a bit last year but him at his worst is still a well above average player
CF - BJ Upton - Not a great defender but can hit really well. Sucks at average but walks and has power.
RF - Heyward - One of the best players in baseball when he's healthy. Kid does it all, hits, walks, steals, homers, plays defense. There's nothing he can't do, except half ass it.

I'll fully admit the Phillies rotation will be better. But that's why the season is interesting.

It's early, but if I had to guess who the best teams in baseball are I'd go with (not in order just trying to pick a top 10)

Nationals
Braves
Phillies
Reds
giants (though never know with the dodgers
Angels
A's
Yankees
Rays
Tigers

Jays could force themselves in that mix as well of course, but they're in a tough division, and a lot of the guys they went out and acquired are risky. First I'll compliment them on getting R.A. Dickey, guy is great, he'll be their ace almost for sure. Also think they made a good low risk signing in DeRosa. Melky is also a good risk signing. Obviously he cheated and that's why he played like an MVP candidate, but his issues were always effort related not talent related so if he puts in the effort, he should be gold. But lets talk about the Marlins trade. Bonafacio is a solid player, like him, Mark Buerhle is a great 3, like him, Josh Johnson is one of the best pitchers when he's healthy, the issue, he's not always healthy. And I loathe Jose Reyes, guy isn't a ball player, he's a show off. Gimme Andrelton Simmons over him any day. One year Reyes can decide to play and be an MVP, the next he can mail it in.

Hey lay off Delmon Young LOL... Sure he can't run, (he runs upright with no bend and takes small baby step strides.) He can't field, but he does get there. As far as hitting he was one of my favorite Tigers. I loved seeing him at the plate in a crucial situation.

I'd worry about Reyes and Dickey in Toronto. It's cold up there, no? Reyes needs heat to be able to open up and run. He may have hamstring issues by the end of April. And as good as Dickey is, his ability to deliver that uncanny knuckleball has a lot to do with weather. I know he has no idea what it's going to do in wet weather. With cold, I'm not sure if having little to no humidity is going to help him or not.

I can understand liking a player because they made some big plays. Braves had their guy with that years ago in Mark Lemke. Doesn't mean that Mark Lemke stank any less than he actually did.

I loved Delmon Young as a prospect. But after watching him play, I realized he's just another Jeff Francouer. Million dollar talent, 10 cent head. Maybe someday he puts it together, but I severely doubt it.

JohnnyO said:

I'd worry about Reyes and Dickey in Toronto. It's cold up there, no? Reyes needs heat to be able to open up and run. He may have hamstring issues by the end of April. And as good as Dickey is, his ability to deliver that uncanny knuckleball has a lot to do with weather. I know he has no idea what it's going to do in wet weather. With cold, I'm not sure if having little to no humidity is going to help him or not.

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If baseball physics are true a knuckle ball will be even more deadly in dry weather. May take him some time to get used to it but in dry weather the ball drops more. Also in the cold and dry the ball is less likely to fly further so there's a chance Dickey could be even better.

The main reason I liked Delmon was because my wife, who is a bigger fan than me, couldn't "warm up" to him as a player. I liked him because he seemed to hit when needed. We watch every game so I made it point of calling attention whenever he came to bat in a crucial moment. Sure enough he would get a hit and she started to feel it was our time to score some runs when he was at bat. She developed a Delllllmonnn chant. She still didn't like him though except during a rally. Some great players are rally killers and some mediocre guys are rally ready.

I bet I'm gonna love Delmon this year, because of all the singles he'll play into triples for Heyward.

hoppyhoppyhippo said:

If baseball physics are true a knuckle ball will be even more deadly in dry weather. May take him some time to get used to it but in dry weather the ball drops more. Also in the cold and dry the ball is less likely to fly further so there's a chance Dickey could be even better.

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You and your Canadian science.

I hope you're right. Dickey is a gem on and off the field. I'm going to really miss rooting for the guy in NY.

I've done so much reading on physics on a baseball and the weather because of people insisting Justin Upton cannot hit outside of Chase Field.

Basically what that says is that the ideal hitting environment is warm, well above sea level and humid. That's one of the reasons why before the introduction of the height extreme Coors or the small parks that are out there now, Fulton County Stadium was known as the launching pad. Humid air is less dense than dry air so the ball has less flight. Now the reason this is theoretical is because ball handling is a concern. If the ball is out in the humidity for several hours it will weigh more, but if it's kept in a relatively controlled environment (like an airconditioned room) and then introduced to the humidity, it's a hitters dream. Because what happens with pitchers and humid balls is they're a little softer so they can get a better grip, and as Isaid before heavier so they don't fly as far. That's why the humidor has worked so well in Colorado, all the positives of a super humid ball, without all the negatives of the less dense air. Also the humidor has likely lead to the worse defense of the Colorado OF, since balls drop faster through thin air, can't imagine how much faster they'll drop because they're carrying extra weight as well.

Basically my end conclusion was aside from a few homers maybe not happening because of less advantageous power alleys Justin Upton should still rock in Atlanta.

hoppyhoppyhippo said:

I've done so much reading on physics on a baseball and the weather because of people insisting Justin Upton cannot hit outside of Chase Field.

Basically what that says is that the ideal hitting environment is warm, well above sea level and humid. That's one of the reasons why before the introduction of the height extreme Coors or the small parks that are out there now, Fulton County Stadium was known as the launching pad. Humid air is less dense than dry air so the ball has less flight. Now the reason this is theoretical is because ball handling is a concern. If the ball is out in the humidity for several hours it will weigh more, but if it's kept in a relatively controlled environment (like an airconditioned room) and then introduced to the humidity, it's a hitters dream. Because what happens with pitchers and humid balls is they're a little softer so they can get a better grip, and as Isaid before heavier so they don't fly as far. That's why the humidor has worked so well in Colorado, all the positives of a super humid ball, without all the negatives of the less dense air. Also the humidor has likely lead to the worse defense of the Colorado OF, since balls drop faster through thin air, can't imagine how much faster they'll drop because they're carrying extra weight as well.

Basically my end conclusion was aside from a few homers maybe not happening because of less advantageous power alleys Justin Upton should still rock in Atlanta.

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tl;dr

As a Mets fan, I hope you're horribly wrong. Horribly.

Well I may be. Mets got D'Aurnaud back who should be a star catcher, Noah Snydergaard is also really good even if his name is hard to spell. Mets were able to get rid of Beltran and Dickey 2 talented players who probably wouldn't be talented by the time the Mets got good again and turned them into their current 3 best prospects. Guys who they can build around. They should have done the same with David Wright, but Wright is more of an image than a player. He's like the Dale Murphy of the Mets.

hoppyhoppyhippo said:

Well I may be. Mets got D'Aurnaud back who should be a star catcher, Noah Snydergaard is also really good even if his name is hard to spell. Mets were able to get rid of Beltran and Dickey 2 talented players who probably wouldn't be talented by the time the Mets got good again and turned them into their current 3 best prospects. Guys who they can build around. They should have done the same with David Wright, but Wright is more of an image than a player. He's like the Dale Murphy of the Mets.

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Agreed 100%. I am, however, happy that they resigned Wright. Not just because I enjoy rooting for him, but it restores just a tiny bit of faith in the game for me. I like to see a guy come up through the system and work to improve not only himself, but that system. Not seek the most profit.

Am I being naive? Probably. But I don't care.
Two weeks until pitchers and catchers report.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2013-01-31/news/a-rod-and-doping-a-miami-clinic-supplies-drugs-to-sports-biggest-names/full/

So much funny stuff. A-Roid of course is using again. What a shock that is, guy clearly can't play anymore and wants to but can't stay healthy. HGH helped others "cough Clemens and Bonds" stay healthy.

Also would be nice seeing if Gio Gonzalez can be a Cy Young candidate without his PEDs,now that he's actually "as clean as apple pie"

BTW as clean as apple pie is now my new favorite saying.

hoppyhoppyhippo said:

Phillies last year weren't a fluke, they're old. Philly will be in the playoff hunt, and I wouldn't be shocked if both of the wild cards come from the NL East. Braves and Nationals last year weren't flukes either. Since the advent of Jason Heyward, the Braves have averaged 91.3 wins a season. I can't see any way they're a safe bet to not win 91 or 92 unless they're decimated with injuries like they were in 2011. Can you say the Phillies are better than 91 or 92 wins? I can't. I mean sure perfect world where Utley is healthy and an MVP and Howard is healthy and still a great hitter. Phillies rotation short of injury should be awesome. Halladay should bounce back, his FIP was much lower than his ERA, Lee is one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball and Hamels is great. Unless someone gets hurt their rotation is excellent. As far as their offense goes, this is what they're working with

C - Ruiz - Good but a cheater, lets see how his numbers go from here
1B - Howard - Old coming off a miserable season, who knows where he goes from here
2B - Utley - Old and injury prone.
3B - Michael Young - LOL. Young's value is 100% based on his ability to hit for average. For soem reason I think he'll struggle with that in Philly. Doesn't walk much and his power is in freefall.
SS - Rollins - Old coming off a great season, but I'll bet he doesn't repeat it.
LF - Brown - If he puts it together could be a star.
CF - Revere - Similar, but honestly I don't expect Revere to be more than a poor man's Michael Bourn. At the very least he'll provide great defense for the meh brown and the oh so terrible.
RF - Delmon Young - HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I know he's a former top prospect, and he had some ability, but I don't know where that all went. Can't hit, can't field, can't run the bases. Guy is a bum.

Compare that to the Braves

C - McCann - Risky because he's coming off surgery
1B - Freeman - Young star in the making
2B - Uggla - Solid 2B
3B - Francisco/Johnson - below average 3B
SS - Simmons - Young superstar in the making, may never hit enough to be a superstar but arguably the best defensive SS in baseball.
LF - Justin Upton - Need I say more? Sure he stank a bit last year but him at his worst is still a well above average player
CF - BJ Upton - Not a great defender but can hit really well. Sucks at average but walks and has power.
RF - Heyward - One of the best players in baseball when he's healthy. Kid does it all, hits, walks, steals, homers, plays defense. There's nothing he can't do, except half ass it.

I'll fully admit the Phillies rotation will be better. But that's why the season is interesting.

It's early, but if I had to guess who the best teams in baseball are I'd go with (not in order just trying to pick a top 10)

Nationals
Braves
Phillies
Reds
giants (though never know with the dodgers
Angels
A's
Yankees
Rays
Tigers

Jays could force themselves in that mix as well of course, but they're in a tough division, and a lot of the guys they went out and acquired are risky. First I'll compliment them on getting R.A. Dickey, guy is great, he'll be their ace almost for sure. Also think they made a good low risk signing in DeRosa. Melky is also a good risk signing. Obviously he cheated and that's why he played like an MVP candidate, but his issues were always effort related not talent related so if he puts in the effort, he should be gold. But lets talk about the Marlins trade. Bonafacio is a solid player, like him, Mark Buerhle is a great 3, like him, Josh Johnson is one of the best pitchers when he's healthy, the issue, he's not always healthy. And I loathe Jose Reyes, guy isn't a ball player, he's a show off. Gimme Andrelton Simmons over him any day. One year Reyes can decide to play and be an MVP, the next he can mail it in.

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So if Halladay and Lee are going to bounce back then where are these extra wins they're picking up coming from? in order for their win totals to go up somebody's have to go down. my bets are that the Marlins and the mets are going to have bad years. Lee and Halladay can Steal games by themselves so only a marginal improvement in offense will make a huge difference

Goofynewfie said:

So if Halladay and Lee are going to bounce back then where are these extra wins they're picking up coming from? in order for their win totals to go up somebody's have to go down. my bets are that the Marlins and the mets are going to have bad years. Lee and Halladay can Steal games by themselves so only a marginal improvement in offense will make a huge difference

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Marlins and Mets may have 60 win seasons each. But I think that likely the Nationals drop in win total as well though not much. Will be interesting to watch. As always I think health will dictate which of the teams is best. Last year the Nationals were almost freakishly healthy, Storen and one other reliever are all I can think that got hurt on the pitching side, and they had some guys miss some time on offense, but most of the guys who missed games weren't one of their key play players like Werth and Ramos. Braves offensively didn't have many injuries but the injuries hit arguably their 2 best hitters, one being the obviously gonna get hurt Chipper Jones, the othter was the devastating shoulder injury to McCann that he had scoped out.Phillies had a ton of injury issues as well. Ruiz, Howard, Utley, Polanco, and Halladay. That said, Polanco and Utley, lets face it they're in the same boat as Chipper Jones was, getting 120 from them is a miracle. Howard could be heading down that path as well but who knows. Ruiz is a catcher fresh off an amphetamine bust and 34 so who knows where he goes. Phillies are certainly a threat, I just think the Nationals and Braves are more complete teams.

Astros will lose 100 games this year....

iaefebs said:

The main reason I liked Delmon was because my wife, who is a bigger fan than me, couldn't "warm up" to him as a player. I liked him because he seemed to hit when needed. We watch every game so I made it point of calling attention whenever he came to bat in a crucial moment. Sure enough he would get a hit and she started to feel it was our time to score some runs when he was at bat. She developed a Delllllmonnn chant. She still didn't like him though except during a rally. Some great players are rally killers and some mediocre guys are rally ready.

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I've never forgotten Delmon throwing the bat at the ump in AAA. He was a punk and I was glad to seem him squirt out the back end of our organization quickly. Glad he worked out for the Tigs though.

6 days until pitchers and catchers report!!!!! Yay baseball!

Let's Go Rangers!

Looking for a battle of the beltways world series this year. DC/Baltimore.

Orioles might be a team to watch this year.