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2010 Baseball - For Those Of Us Who Care

metaldams · 320 · 52173

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Offline metaldams

First off, that was awesome the way The Reds clinched the NL Central last night, with all due respect to the Cardinal fans here.

Secondly, The Red Sox are now officially eliminated, so I want to hear Jim's, and anybody else's opinion, if they have one about the closer role:

Papelbon has obviously not been as sharp this season and has been declining over the past few seasons.  He's lost a few miles an hour on that fastball, and his control is nowhere near what it used to be, as I believe his walk totals have literally tripled.  On nights when his splitter is not working, he can be scary to watch for a Red Sox fan.  Eight blown saves and a 4 ERA will not cut it for the money he's asking.

Daniel Bard (who has been overworked and should not be pitching now that the games don't count), has been much better.  He's a cheaper option, has a better fastball than Papelbon at this point, is younger, and his secondary pitch (slider), is more effective than Papelbon's splitter.  You can make a very good argument he should be the closer next year.

Theo Epstein has said publically it's better to have two good relievers than one, and he has a point.  Even a shaky Papelbon is better than any other guy in the pen not named Bard, so a part of me can see us hanging onto Papelbon for one more year.  Another part of me also knows the Sox don't like to overspend on anybody, as they also assign a value to a player and stick with it.  Like I said, 8 blown saves and a 4 ERA is not 10 + million worthy.

Ultimately, I say they hang onto Papelbon but put him on a leash.  He may very well rebound, he's only going to be 30, but if things aren't working out again, I say he goes by the trade deadline and Bard's the new closer. 
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline shemps#1

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I wouldn't mind stealing Chapman from the Reds. 105 mph! Shit!
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish." - Unknown


Offline metaldams

I wouldn't mind stealing Chapman from the Reds. 105 mph! Shit!

....and he almost threw it for a strike.

Yeah, Chapman has heat, no doubt, but with the likes of Chapman and Strasburg, I'm usually more impressed with hyped rookies when they succeed for a decent period of time.  Now, I'm not calling Bard for the Hall of Fame either, but with 1.5 seasons under his belt, he's worth a look, at least.  

I remember Joel Zumaya threw 104 and was considered a god a few years back, but look at him now.  Injuries have really hurt his career.  

Not that I think it's going to happen, but who I wouldn't mind stealing as closer would be Joakim Soria from Kansas City.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Justin T

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Yeah, Chapman is amazing. 105mph on the fastball is mindblowing. Reds were very smart
to put up the money to grab him.

As a Yankee fan myself, I dont hate the Red Sox I'm just indifferent to them.

I will however give the team alot of credit for staying competitive despite the insane ammount
of injuries to key players. The fact the team was still alive for the wild card going into last weekend
was impressive.

I was listening to Bill Simmons BS Report on ESPN.com last night and he and his friend were doing
an overview on the Red Sox season and they talked about what to do with Papelbon. He felt it
would be best for them to make Bard the closer next year and either keep Paps or trade him to
a NL team who could use him.

I'm wondering about AJ myself Metal, Lackey and Beckett were just awful for you guys this year.
AJ and Vasquez gave us the same feelings during the season.

Thank god we picked up Kerry Wood, he's really helped make our bullpen better. Rivera is still great but
the blown saves are signs that maybe his age if starting to catch up with him. He turns 41 in November.

I'm not feeling very confident about our playoff chances this year, it's going to be a dogfight to win the
AL. And even if we somehow got to the World Series we may end up in a rematch with the Phillies that
would be super tough. CC has been awesome again this year, Hughes had a rough patch but looks to be
pitching like he did earlier this season. He was great Sunday against the Sox. The key is going to be if
Pettitte is 100% healthy for the postseason. If he can't pitch as well as he did last year in the playoffs
were going to be in trouble.

If we play the way we have the last few weeks, were not going to last very long. This is going to be interesting.

The Phillies are really scary right now, Halladay has always been a nightmare for the Yankees. The rest of
their pithcing has been great the last month, the lineup is potent, and they have clinched home field throughout
the NL playoffs. Unless there is a upset I dont see why they wouldn't with their 3rd straight NL pennant.

The fact the NL has home field in the World Series this year could make a difference as well.

Kudos to the Reds for winning the NL Central and their first playoff apperence in 15 years. That walk off home
run to win the game and clinch the division was pretty cool.
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Offline metaldams



As a Yankee fan myself, I dont hate the Red Sox I'm just indifferent to them.


You see, I can't accept that.  I'm a Red Sox fan, and I hate the Yankees with a passion.  I expect Yankee fans to feel the same about us.  One of my best friends is a Yankee fan and he feels the same way as you do, so I'll say the same thing to you I say to him -  It's a rivalry, the best one in sports, so be thankful you're in it and show some passion. 


I'm wondering about AJ myself Metal, Lackey and Beckett were just awful for you guys this year.
AJ and Vasquez gave us the same feelings during the season.


Beckett was awful, Lackey was just mediocre, which doesn't cut it for a guy with his contract.  My brother and I both agree we're paying Beckett and Lackey for Lester and Buchholz's performances.  Also, not to brag, but I completely hit the nail on the head about Vasquez before this season began.  He's a NL pitcher, period.


The Phillies are really scary right now, Halladay has always been a nightmare for the Yankees. The rest of
their pithcing has been great the last month, the lineup is potent, and they have clinched home field throughout
the NL playoffs. Unless there is a upset I dont see why they wouldn't with their 3rd straight NL pennant.


I've respected Halladay for years and am so happy to finally see him pitch in the playoffs.  Complete game pitchers are rare this day, and boy does he deserve to pitch in some meaningful games.  Halladay/Oswalt/Hamels....the Phils have themselves a nice 1-2-3 combo, no doubt.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Lefty

As for Roy Halladay, I was wondering why Charlie Manuel let him pitch the entire division-clinching game on Monday, before a crowd of 99% Phillies' fans in D.C.  Obviously it was to be his final regular-season start.  Hopefully this coming Wednesday Doc can pick up where he left off, against whichever opponent the Phillies face.  An interesting situation with the scheduling:  If the Phillies somehow face the Giants, both the Phillies and Eagles will be playing in San Francisco on 10/10/10.  The following Sunday, should the Phillies and Braves capture their respective NLDS series, the MLB and NFL will both have Atlanta at Philadelphia.  And another item:  The Flyers play a home game against their archrival Penguins Saturday night, October 16th -- right across the way from where the Phillies would play Game 1 of the NLCS -- could be a traffic nightmare in South Philly.


Offline Justin T

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You see, I can't accept that.  I'm a Red Sox fan, and I hate the Yankees with a passion.  I expect Yankee fans to feel the same about us.  One of my best friends is a Yankee fan and he feels the same way as you do, so I'll say the same thing to you I say to him -  It's a rivalry, the best one in sports, so be thankful you're in it and show some passion.  

Yeah, I phrased that wrong, I don't like the Red Sox.  >:D

I do enjoy the rivarly alot, and believe me I take plenty of enjoyment when we beat the Red Sox.
"Moronica must expand! We must lend our neighbors a helping hand. We must lend them two helping hands, and help ourselves to our neighbors!"
Moe in "You Natzi Spy!"

Larry: Say, when I come back I’ll give you a password.
Moe: Brilliant, what’ll it be?
Larry: Open The Door!
"Studio Stoops"


Offline shemps#1

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Yikes, not only do we get double-header but both games go 10 innings with each time picking up a win. This means the Rays and Yanks are tied record wise, but the Rays are in the drivers seat because they won the season series 10-8. So if the Rays win or the Yanks lose tomorrow (later today actually since I am a night owl and keep awful hours) Rays are the AL East champs and Yanks are the Wild Card. I don't think this will matter much for the first round because I expect both teams to knock off the Rangers and Twins (although it will suck to start the postseason in Minnesota instead of at home) but should have a big impact on the ALCS. The Rays are younger, hungrier and yes...slightly better than the Yanks so those old-timers will need home field advantage to bore me with another WS appearance.

I'm finding the NL more intriguing. If the Padres and Braves both win we will a three team clusterfuck for the last two spots. I know the Padres have won the season series against the Giants so would the Padres be awarded the West while the Giants play the Braves for the WC? If the Giants beat the Padres and the Braves lose we will have a one game playoff for the WC between ATL and SD.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish." - Unknown


Offline metaldams


I'm finding the NL more intriguing. If the Padres and Braves both win we will a three team clusterfuck for the last two spots. I know the Padres have won the season series against the Giants so would the Padres be awarded the West while the Giants play the Braves for the WC? If the Giants beat the Padres and the Braves lose we will have a one game playoff for the WC between ATL and SD.

It's quite complicated, but all explained here.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101002&content_id=15355972&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

Yeah, I phrased that wrong, I don't like the Red Sox.  >:D

I do enjoy the rivarly alot, and believe me I take plenty of enjoyment when we beat the Red Sox.

That's more like it.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Lefty

Yikes, not only do we get double-header but both games go 10 innings with each time picking up a win. This means the Rays and Yanks are tied record wise, but the Rays are in the drivers seat because they won the season series 10-8. So if the Rays win or the Yanks lose tomorrow (later today actually since I am a night owl and keep awful hours) Rays are the AL East champs and Yanks are the Wild Card. I don't think this will matter much for the first round because I expect both teams to knock off the Rangers and Twins (although it will suck to start the postseason in Minnesota instead of at home) but should have a big impact on the ALCS. The Rays are younger, hungrier and yes...slightly better than the Yanks so those old-timers will need home field advantage to bore me with another WS appearance.

This was another fine example of MLB teams' gouging the public with these day-night doubleheaders.  A game at 1:00 and another one at 7:00 is one thing.  Nothing against Bostonians, but it would have been funny for that Fox-induced 4:11-starting game 1 to have gone like 18 innings with some rain delays, just to find out if the Sawks' owners would have told the fans to get out and come back an hour later for game 2 (maybe at 0300 hours).  Even Los Mets played a "real" doubleheader this past Wednesday, starting at 4:10, 2 games for the price of watching a bad team.


Offline Justin T

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Yikes, not only do we get double-header but both games go 10 innings with each time picking up a win. This means the Rays and Yanks are tied record wise, but the Rays are in the drivers seat because they won the season series 10-8. So if the Rays win or the Yanks lose tomorrow (later today actually since I am a night owl and keep awful hours) Rays are the AL East champs and Yanks are the Wild Card. I don't think this will matter much for the first round because I expect both teams to knock off the Rangers and Twins (although it will suck to start the postseason in Minnesota instead of at home) but should have a big impact on the ALCS. The Rays are younger, hungrier and yes...slightly better than the Yanks so those old-timers will need home field advantage to bore me with another WS appearance.

I'm finding the NL more intriguing. If the Padres and Braves both win we will a three team clusterfuck for the last two spots. I know the Padres have won the season series against the Giants so would the Padres be awarded the West while the Giants play the Braves for the WC? If the Giants beat the Padres and the Braves lose we will have a one game playoff for the WC between ATL and SD.

Yeah, I watched both games yesterday. Ugh, that was a long night. If Fox hadnt forced the 4pm start time for the first game it wouldn't have been as bad.
The second game was ugly, it was like watching a comedy of errors but I wasnt laughing. Still, I'll take the split rather than losing both.

I agree it doesn't matter to much if the Yanks finish with the division or the wild card, the only preference I have is if we have home field. The Rays are darn good, unless we totally choke in the first round (which is always a possibility) its probably going to be Yankees/Rays for the ALCS.

The NL is definatly intriguing. 3 teams fighting for 2 playoff spots on the last day. Very exciting.
"Moronica must expand! We must lend our neighbors a helping hand. We must lend them two helping hands, and help ourselves to our neighbors!"
Moe in "You Natzi Spy!"

Larry: Say, when I come back I’ll give you a password.
Moe: Brilliant, what’ll it be?
Larry: Open The Door!
"Studio Stoops"


Offline falsealarms

For the AL/NLDS, I'll go -

TB over TEX in 5 - My pick for the best series of the 4.

NYY over MIN in 4 - Twins have seemingly always struggled against the Yanks in October. But I'd love if that should change now. I just don't expect it.

SF over ATL in 4 - Subpar lineup even worse sans Chipper and Prado, T.Hudson has struggled late in the year.

PHI over CIN in 3 - Not really feeling Cincy and no team is coming in hotter than PHI. Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt = good morning, good afternoon, good night.


Offline curlysdame

SF over ATL in 4 - Subpar lineup even worse sans Chipper and Prado, T.Hudson has struggled late in the year.

Should be an interesting series.  Hopefully Lincecum will pitch on Thursday (I'm a huge Giants fan, btw).  Although, I cringe at the thought of Zito on the mound in the post-season, after Saturday's game; he went 3 innings, gave up 3 runs, and was booed off the field. 
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline falsealarms

Should be an interesting series.  Hopefully Lincecum will pitch on Thursday (I'm a huge Giants fan, btw).  Although, I cringe at the thought of Zito on the mound in the post-season, after Saturday's game; he went 3 innings, gave up 3 runs, and was booed off the field. 

I would start Lincecum, Cain, and Sanchez in the NLDS. Probably don't need a 4th starter in a 5 game series. If they get to the NLCS, I'd make Bumgarner the 4th starter if they need one then. Zito had a big April but has a 4.76 ERA since the calendar turned to May. For these playoffs, Zito's best served as a lefty out of the pen or a guy who can come in and go multiple innings. He shouldn't start in the playoffs.


Offline shemps#1

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I see the Rays sweeping Texas, Yanks over the Twins in 4, Phils sweeping the Reds and for my upset special Braves over the Giants in 5. I'm picking the Phillies to beat the Rays in the WS.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish." - Unknown


Offline metaldams

I watched the Giants game yesterday, that was nuts seeing Sanchez launch one into triple's alley.

My picks:

Yankees Vs Twins: The Twins better thank their lucky stars they have home field advantage, as I believe Ron Gardenhire has only won 3 games in about 9 seasons in New York, or something ridiculous like that.  Still, as much as the Yanks are struggling with starting pitching, they'll have CC going and for whatever reason, the Yankees always seem to beat the Twins. 

YANKEES in 4

Rangers Vs. Rays:  Texas certainly has the better line-up and the have Cliff Lee, but Tampa Bay has stronger overall pitching and always seem to come up with the clutch hits.  Probably the best 1st round series.  This is a tough call, but I'll go with.....

RAYS in 5

Phillies Vs. Reds:  Homefield advantage, Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels, and a lethal line-up.  Hmmmm.....who do I pick here?

PHILLIES Sweep

Giants Vs. Braves:  Well, both teams just scraped in, so it's not like one is more rested than the other.  Giants have home field I believe and Lincecum and Cain is a pretty lethal combo.  I think the Giants will eventually come undone by their weak line-up, but it will be against Philadelphia pitching.

GIANTS in 5

Go anybody but the Yankees!

- Doug Sarnecky


Offline curlysdame

I watched the Giants game yesterday, that was nuts seeing Sanchez launch one into triple's alley.

Giants Vs. Braves:  Well, both teams just scraped in, so it's not like one is more rested than the other.  Giants have home field I believe and Lincecum and Cain is a pretty lethal combo.  I think the Giants will eventually come undone by their weak line-up, but it will be against Philadelphia pitching.

GIANTS in 5

I agree.  "Omg, did Sanchez just hit a triple?"  And then the triple was turned into a run.  ...Yeah, we have the home field for the first 3 games, with our best pitchers.  You're right, neither team has had a decent rest, so it's anyone's guess right now.  I have to say though, as much as I love The Giants, when they're tired, things can get messy, quick - just look at Zito; he's been playing tired since 2007.   :P


Go anybody but the Yankees!

"Oh, The Yanks won another Series?  *YAWN*"
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline metaldams

One more observation from a bitching and whining Red Sox fan after watching that Giants game.

Since when did Ramon Ramirez and Javier Lopez become lights out relievers?

Seriously, they showed Ramon Ramirez's stats with the Red Sox and Giants this year.

ERA with Boston 4.46
ERA with San Francisco 0.68

What the Hell?  I guarantee you put Ramirez in a Boston uniform and Tejada in a Baltimore uniform in the same situation on Sunday, and that's a three run homer.

I can't wait to watch Manny Delcarmen emerge next year as Colorado's lights out closer.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline LoU fRoM pRiSoN

Being a lifelong Pirates fan, may I use this forum to officially coin the phrase:

"Wait'll year after next year!"...


Offline metaldams

4 - 0 Texas as I type this.  Looks like Price is getting roughed up and Lee survived a bases loaded situation in the 1st.

I wonder if the Trop sold out?   [pie]
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

The Rangers win.  Cliff Lee was 4 - 0 last year in the postseason and gets another win today. 1 R,  7IP, 10 K.  Impressive.  Always big for a team to take game 1 on the road.

For tonight, Go Twins!
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

Halladay's got a no-hitter through 7!  A shame this guy hasn't pitched a playoff game until now.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

My God, he did it!  Congratulations Lefty, Gary, and any other Phillie fan reading this.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline falsealarms

I had a feeling he might finish it once he got through Votto and Rolen in the 7th. But not much in sports is more dramatic than watching a guy go for a no hitter... in the postseason no less.... the last playoff no-hitter was Don Larsen in 1956 and Larsen's was a perfect game. And don't forget Halladay had a perfect game in May.

All 27 of Halladay's outs from today: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12756599