Topic: 2010 Baseball - For Those Of Us Who Care

[Curly4444]

Dam, and i missed it. !#$@@!  The phillies must be dancing in the streets.

[Justin T]

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

I agree, congrats to Phillies fans for getting to witness baseball history. Amazing performance
by Halladay. He joined Don Larsen in a very exclusive club. Wow.

Lee pitched great yesterday too, but his 10K domination of the Rays got eclipsed by Halladay's no hitter.

Rays are in trouble right now, Texas beat up on Price and now they have Shields going in Game 2.
Shields has a 5.18 ERA and he's given up a ton of home runs this season. He was pretty bad in September and this
is the guy the Rays send out to avoid a 2-0 hole before going to Texas for Game 3? Doesnt sound like a
good idea to me.

Looked to me the Twins were going to pull it off last night, CC was having a rough night and Liriano was giving us
alot of problems, but then the bats woke up and the Yanks pull off a come from behind win 6-4.

Major props to Granderson and Texeria for coming up with the biggest hits of the game. Mo also looked good.
I hope Andy pitches well tonight so we have a shot at going up 2-0.

[Lefty]

Well, this Phillies' fan is soitenly happy with last night's result.  I not only recorded the last out on TV (TBS), but I got the last pitch on audiotape live from the Phillies' radio announcers.  The radio broadcast was in sync with the TV broadcast, which made it a tad more difficult to time things, but it worked out well. 

It's true that watching a no-hitter late in the game, especially involving your favorite team, is very spine-tingling, maybe as much (for this hockey fan) as sudden-death overtime in the playoffs.

[shemps#1]

No "props" to any Yankee (the NY baseball kind of course, not people from the Northeast like myself) for anything. I don't care if they win every WS from now on they will always suck. Well, except Yankee Legends Kevin Brown and Javy Vasquez. 

Halladay's no-hitter was the best post-season pitching performance ever. Why do I put it over Don Larson's? Well look at the innings each man had eaten during the seasons in which they pitched their playoff no-no's. Halladay 250.2, Larson 179.2. That 71 more innings pitched during the season has to be taxing, to say the least. Also, the average player today is better than the average player of 1956. That's just natural sports evolution. To use a football analogy, if you had a time machine and grabbed both the 1972 Miami Dolphins (who went undefeated, winning the Super Bowl) and the 2007 New England Patriots (who went undefeated before losing the Super Bowl) and had them play each other the 07 Pats would win easily.

I'm really glad that Halladay is getting this prime chance to pick up a ring. He has been EASILY the best pitcher in MLB for years now but has been stuck on a nowhere Toronto that failed to build a contender around him.

I hope Texas can finish Tampa (they should) and the Skanks. It would be nice to see a first time WS team. Most of all though I hope we see a competitive WS without the Yankees in it (no Braves would be nice too).

[curlysdame]

Absolutely stellar game from The Gmen tonight.  Timmy with the complete game and 14k - we don't call him 'the freak' for nothing!  And Buster... I'd be very surprised if he doesn't win The NL ROY.

[falsealarms]

Absolutely stellar game from The Gmen tonight.  Timmy with the complete game and 14k - we don't call him 'the freak' for nothing!  And Buster... I'd be very surprised if he doesn't win The NL ROY.

That place seemed like it was ready to come down during the 9th. Timmy had it going to say the least, but at the same time, that Atlanta lineup is pathetic for a team in the playoffs. I'm not sure how many teams could have hit Timmy tonight, but ATL had absolutely no chance.

TB had the top pick in the 2008 draft and chose Tim Beckham, a toolsy HS SS some saw as the next Barry Larkin. Beckham hasn't developed much at all and is looking like a bust. Tampa considered but passed on Posey, a rare miss for a team with a good track record in the draft.... and that was a major miss, considering Beckham's lack of development, Posey's quick ascension, and Tampa's starving offense. The Rays front office was torn on Beckham-Posey at the time and it increasingly looks like they took the wrong guy.

"According to BA’s sources, the Rays’ scouting department prefers Georgia prep shortstop Tim Beckham, the kind of toolsy, middle-of-the-diamond athlete the Rays have drafted repeatedly—the kind of athletes that have put the Rays in first place in the American League East as the draft approaches. Others in the organization, such as de facto GM Andrew Friedman, are said to prefer Florida State catcher Buster Posey as the perfect complement to the organization’s impressive current stockpile of talent." - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=286

[falsealarms]

.... and Posey was definitely NOT safe when he "stole" 2B - http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6553/51860783.jpg

Ross then singled him home for the game's only run.

After the game, Posey was quoted as saying "I guess it’s a good thing we don’t have instant replay right now."

[curlysdame]

.... and Posey was definitely NOT safe when he "stole" 2B - http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6553/51860783.jpg

Yeah, I'll say it - he was technically out.  I was actually was surprised he was called safe.  But then again, we've had a number of plays that are blatantly fair when replayed, and had them called against us (i.e Torres' line-hitting double in Sunday's game against the Pads).  So has every other team.  If they ever decide to use instant replay, I think it would considerably change things.

[metaldams]

No "props" to any Yankee (the NY baseball kind of course, not people from the Northeast like myself) for anything. I don't care if they win every WS from now on they will always suck. Well, except Yankee Legends Kevin Brown and Javy Vasquez. 

Javier Vasquez has such amazing powers that even with everything that has gone down over the past five years, I still want to bust out a Johnny Damon chant.  The legend of Javy Vasquez did the impossible this year and grew even greater, so yeah, consider myself a big fan.  He was even kind enough to serve up Ryan Kalish's 1st home run.  What a great guy.

As for Kevin Brown, you really shouldn't be typing bad things about him in public.  He may read this, and then he'll punch a wall and break his hand.

But seriously, Minnesota needs to get the vaseline out of their ass whenever they see pinstripes.  This is getting old.

I unfortunately did not watch the Atlanta/SF game last night, Comcast crapped out on me for a few hours.  Sounds like I missed a good game.  Lincecum struck out 14 and had a 2 hit shutout, so I guess you can say I'm impressed.

Roy Halladay Vs. Don Larsen?  Please.  Larsen had one great game, Halladay has one great career.

[Justin T]

Texas dominated Tampa Bay AGAIN yesterday 6-0, Rays look pathetic out there. 1 run in Two games? Ouch!
They better wake up or they are getting swept this weekend.

I really don't understand why the Twins have such trouble against the Yankees in the playoffs.
Still, Andy P delivered the pitching performance we needed and the offense continues to deliver.
I'm not calling a sweep, they have a shot to win Game 3 so we'll see what happens.

Wow, it really is the year of the pitcher. Lincecum totally dominates the Braves for the 1-0 Giants win. 14 strikeouts,
2 hit shutout in a complete game. Very impressive.

And that blown call at second just adds more fuel to the fire in the Instant Replay debate.

[falsealarms]

Other than Liriano, the Twins starters lack swing and miss stuff. They're strike throwers, finesse types who don't have overpowering stuff. Those kind of guys tend to match up poorly against the Yankees, who seem to get to them in the 2nd, 3rd time through the order.

Each time, I pick the Twins to beat the Yankees but I never learn.

[metaldams]

I really don't understand why the Twins have such trouble against the Yankees in the playoffs.
Still, Andy P delivered the pitching performance we needed and the offense continues to deliver.
I'm not calling a sweep, they have a shot to win Game 3 so we'll see what happens.

The Twins have no shot to win game 3.  It's Yankee stadium, and I don't care what the pitching match up is, somehow, someway, the Yankees will win.  Minnesota cannot beat The Yankees, period.  The Kubel grand slam earlier in the year was the fluke of all flukes.

Even when they play each other in spring training, bats leave Twins hands, fly into the stands, and smack their own mother's on the chest (I'm not joking in case you don't remember the Denard Span incident).  Minnesota has no luck against the Yankees, forget what they can do against the 29 other teams.

[metaldams]

Other than Liriano, the Twins starters lack swing and miss stuff. They're strike throwers, finesse types who don't have overpowering stuff. Those kind of guys tend to match up poorly against the Yankees, who seem to get to them in the 2nd, 3rd time through the order.

Actually, soft tossing lefties usually match up pretty well against the Yankees...unless if they are in a Twins uniform.

Heck, on the Red Sox, while he's certainly not a soft tosser, the only pitcher who owns the Yankees, starter or reliever, is Jon Lester, and he's our tough lefty.

[metaldams]

An interesting article on the umpire situation I came across.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2010/10/umpires_becomin.html

[Justin T]

The Twins have no shot to win game 3.  It's Yankee stadium, and I don't care what the pitching match up is, somehow, someway, the Yankees will win.  Minnesota cannot beat The Yankees, period.  The Kubel grand slam earlier in the year was the fluke of all flukes.

Even when they play each other in spring training, bats leave Twins hands, fly into the stands, and smack their own mother's on the chest (I'm not joking in case you don't remember the Denard Span incident).  Minnesota has no luck against the Yankees, forget what they can do against the 29 other teams.

Normally I would agree, but I'm just trying not to be too overconfident for a change.

[falsealarms]

Of course after getting no hit, Cincy goes yard to lead off game 2.

[metaldams]

A Roy Halladay no-hitter has single-handedly prevented this round of playoffs from being boring so far.

Sorry Curlysdame, I'm pulling for Atlanta tonight.  We need at least one series to be tied at 1.  For the past four or five years, results aside (some good, some bad), the majority of playoff series have been an incredible bore.

[shemps#1]

Geez, all of the DS' are turning out to be busts competition-wise. I am jumping on the bandwagon of the "One more Wild Card team" group: at least we would be guaranteed one "all or nothing" game (and give more of a penalty for not winning your division in the process).

[shemps#1]

...and right after I typed that Atlanta ties it with the Giants. Jinx!

[falsealarms]

It would be a shame if Wagner's career ended like that.... left with some sort of problem with his side.

[metaldams]

It would be a shame if Wagner's career ended like that.... left with some sort of problem with his side.

Yeah, seriously, that was awful, I really hope he's alright.  That would be a terrible way to end his career.  If the Braves do need another closer, that kid who pitched the 8th and 9th was nasty.

Well, we got a 1 - 1 after all!  That's the Ramon Ramirez I know.

[curlysdame]

...and right after I typed that Atlanta ties it with the Giants. Jinx!

Ugh!  I don't wanna talk about it.  I need a moment alone.    

[falsealarms]

Brooks Conrad = the 21st century's Buckner, albeit in less important (but still very important) circumstances? And that was his THIRD error on the day. Cox should have started Glaus at 3rd and Infante at 2nd, something I thought was obvious even before the game. Cox would be senile to use Conrad in game 4.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12801795

For ATL to lose that game after Hinske's HR.... wow.

But hey, we got a game 5 between TEX-TB... which I thought would happen before the series, but not so much when TEX went up 2-0 heading back home.

[curlysdame]

For ATL to lose that game after Hinske's HR.... wow.

Unbelievable.  That's a game Giants fans are gonna be talking about for a while.  When Romo gave up the 2 run homer, I really thought The Braves had it - after all ATL has the best at-home record in MLB.  And then to rally in the 9th... damn.  We've been saying this all season in SF:  IT'S TORTURE INSIDE.

[falsealarms]

And Hisnke's HR -- probably the shining moment of his career -- kind of becomes a footnote in a game the Braves ended up losing. Kinda like Endy Chavez' wall-leaping catch in the 2006 NLCS, a terrific moment but in a game his team ended up losing.