2011 MLB Baseball Thread

shemps#1 · **Reply #701 on:** October 08, 2011, 01:47:36 PM

Not bad for a quick Photoshop from the Post: Teixeira is rocking that Larry hair.

Justin T · **Reply #702 on:** October 08, 2011, 05:13:27 PM

Quote from: metaldams on October 07, 2011, 10:42:18 PM

I only "like" The Red Sox as far as teams I religiously follow and root for. When I say I like the teams involved, I mean the collection of players. For example, how can a baseball fan not like Justin Verlander? How can anybody not find Josh Hamilton's story interesting? Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder have a Manny/Papi like quality to them, and the Cards are Boid Brains team! You know, stuff like that.

I agree, I like Verlander and Hamilton both as players and people.

As long as a AL team wins, I'll be somewhat satisfied.

shemps#1 · **Reply #703 on:** October 08, 2011, 08:46:42 PM

I don't care for Hamilton so much, he's a bit sanctimonious for my taste.

Just what an ALCS already facing low ratings needs: a rain delay in Game 1 with no quick end in sight.

shemps#1 · **Reply #704 on:** October 08, 2011, 09:27:21 PM

Rain delay helps Detroit as they get on the board. If they were to tie things it would be nice.

shemps#1 · **Reply #705 on:** October 08, 2011, 09:37:38 PM

I think it's safe to say that Wilson will mostly likely not return after this delay.

falsealarms · **Reply #706 on:** October 08, 2011, 09:43:48 PM

Ryan Howard, who stumbled down the first base line at the end of game 5, ruptured his achilles. That's often a 6-12 month injury.

And next year is the first year of his ill-conceived 5 year/125 M extension signed in April 2010.

metaldams · **Reply #707 on:** October 08, 2011, 11:25:08 PM

Quote from: falsealarms on October 08, 2011, 09:43:48 PM

Ryan Howard, who stumbled down the first base line at the end of game 5, ruptured his achilles. That's often a 6-12 month injury.

And next year is the first year of his ill-conceived 5 year/125 M extension signed in April 2010.

They better hope it's 6 months. Just got back from being out, so I just tuned into the game now (7th inning). Interesting hearing Tito announce.

shemps#1 · **Reply #708 on:** October 09, 2011, 12:05:12 AM

Well that was a great start to the ALCS despite the rain delays. Hopefully word of mouth will get around and the Series will remain close and go the distance.

falsealarms · **Reply #709 on:** October 09, 2011, 12:19:23 AM

Francona wasn't half bad as an announcer. Joe Buck sounds a little better than he did earlier this year (supposedly has/had vocal cord infection).

Detroit really is going to miss Delmon Young, who clubbed 3 homers in the ALDS. He's out this series with an oblique issue and their lineup seems a little short without him. Other than a few innings vs the Yankees, Verlander has looked rather pedestrian in the playoffs. He gave up 5 ER in his last regular season start as well. Even though he's only 28, you wonder how much he has left in the tank. He threw a major league leading 3,999 pitches in the regular season, including 116 and 120 in his final two regular season starts. Detroit had already won their division by that point. They probably should have taken the gas off Verlander than push him even further.

Austin Jackson is an abysmal leadoff hitter. Leadoff hitters are supposed to get on base, but he had a paltry .319 OBP during the regular season with 181 strikeouts. He's been racking up the whiffs in the playoffs, too. His speed and defense make him an asset, especially in his spacious home park, but he's a #8 hitter for me.

Alex Avila (knee) has to be hurting more than he's letting on. He's been a complete non factor in the playoffs after posting a strong 895 OPS during the season.

shemps#1 · **Reply #710 on:** October 09, 2011, 12:33:56 AM

There are very few constant truths in this world, false: one of them is Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are the absolute worst announce team in baseball history (even worse than the YES crew, which is saying a lot). If Buck sounded any better (I didn't notice it) it was because of Tito. Joe Buck isn't fit enough to be within 500 ft of Jack Buck's microphone.

falsealarms · **Reply #711 on:** October 09, 2011, 12:40:09 AM

Buck and McCarver aren't my favorite team, either. That's probably Cohen-Darling-Hernandez on SNY. The lead TBS team, Anderson-Smoltz-Darling, are pretty good too. I was just observing Buck didn't sound as hoarse.

I miss hearing Jon Miller on ESPN's Sunday night game. Joe Morgan, not so much.

shemps#1 · **Reply #712 on:** October 09, 2011, 02:04:07 AM

The lead TBS team is good, as well as the secondary announce teams of Don Orsillo (Boston) and Buck Martinez (Toronto) who covered the TEX/TB series and Dick Stockton (various sports for Turner) and Bob Brenly (CHC) who covered PHI/STL.

I always liked the tandem of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan.

The attendance figures are in! Here are the top and bottom 10 teams in average attendance this year (home seating capacity).

Top 10 MLB Average Attendance 2011
10. Texas Rangers 36,382 (49,171)
09. Chicago Cubs 37,258 (41,160)
08. Boston Red Sox 37,703 (37,493)*
07. Milwaukee Brewers 37,918 (41,900)
06. St. Louis Cardinals 38,196 (46,861)
05. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 39,090 (45,389)
04. Minnesota Twins 39,112 (42,035)
03. San Francisco Giants 41,818 (41,915)
02. New York Yankees 45,107 (52,325)
01. Philadelphia Phillies 45,440 (43,651) *

*maybe people were stacked on top of each other in the cheap seats?

Bottom 10 MLB Attendance 2011
10. Chicago White Sox 24,705 (41,432)
09. Pittsburgh Pirates 24,255 (38,362)
08. Seattle Mariners 23,411 (48,052)
07. Cleveland Indians 22,726 (43,441)
06. Toronto Blue Jays 22,445 (49,260)
05. Baltimore Orioles 21,943 (46,593)
04. Kansas City Royals 21,289 (40,055)
03. Florida Marlins 19,007 (38,560)
02. Tampa Bay Rays 18,878 (42,735)
01. Oakland Athletics 18,232 (35,067)

falsealarms · **Reply #713 on:** October 09, 2011, 03:44:07 PM

Game 2 of the ALCS PPD til tomorrow due to rain.

More bad news for DET - Ordonez out for the rest of the postseason with an ankle injury.

shemps#1 · **Reply #714 on:** October 09, 2011, 04:57:00 PM

Not watching the NLCS because the Pats/Jets game is on but I was looking at the low attendance figures and thinking Tampa and Oakland could both use a move (Florida got a new stadium and will be called the Miami Marlins). A prime spot for a move would be Tennessee, either Nashville or Memphis. There is no baseball team within reasonable driving distance but they have supported hockey, basketball and football. If you move Tampa there that would give the TN folks good exposure to the big money teams like Boston and NYY and since they are already a good team it could very well work.

shemps#1 · **Reply #715 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:45:36 PM

Caught the last half-inning and we are one step closer to a Brewers/Rangers "first time" World Series winner.

falsealarms · **Reply #716 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:46:28 PM

I don't think Memphis is an option. The AAA Memphis Redbirds are pretty well entrenched there and their 14,000 seat stadium was just built about a decade ago. Hard to believe that city could finance another, bigger stadium now. Nashville doesn't even deserve the NHL team they have. They've been bottom third in average attendance the five or six years (didn't find data beforehand). Nashville is a long-standing AAA city in baseball. That's probably best for them.

Tampa-St. Pete is the 19th biggest metro in the country and saw a 16% increase from 2000-2010. They should draw more than they do even if their ballpark is a dump. I just don't think that's a viable major league baseball market. It's also hard to see that a new stadium will suddenly get lots of people interested in the Marlins, who routinely play in front of next to nobody.

Portland, Oregon (23rd biggest metro size, 15% increase from 00-10) could be an option. They've had a PCL team forever, but there's not much else out that way to compete with. Portland supports the Blazers well. They've been top 10 in the NBA as far as average attendance the past four seasons with a few top 5 finishes. They could form a good rivalry with the Mariners in the AL West.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas

falsealarms · **Reply #717 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:59:14 PM

Quote from: shemps#1 on October 09, 2011, 06:45:36 PM

Caught the last half-inning and we are one step closer to a Brewers/Rangers "first time" World Series winner.

At this point, I'd be surprised if we didn't see that.

shemps#1 · **Reply #718 on:** October 09, 2011, 07:14:27 PM

Quote from: falsealarms on October 09, 2011, 06:46:28 PM

I don't think Memphis is an option. The AAA Memphis Redbirds are pretty well entrenched there and their 14,000 seat stadium was just built about a decade ago. Hard to believe that city could finance another, bigger stadium now. Nashville doesn't even deserve the NHL team they have. They've been bottom third in average attendance the five or six years (didn't find data beforehand). Nashville is a long-standing AAA city in baseball. That's probably best for them.

Tampa-St. Pete is the 19th biggest metro in the country and saw a 16% increase from 2000-2010. They should draw more than they do even if their ballpark is a dump. I just don't think that's a viable major league baseball market. It's also hard to see that a new stadium will suddenly get lots of people interested in the Marlins, who routinely play in front of next to nobody.

Portland, Oregon (23rd biggest metro size, 15% increase from 00-10) could be an option. They've had a PCL team forever, but there's not much else out that way to compete with. Portland supports the Blazers well. They've been top 10 in the NBA as far as average attendance the past four seasons with a few top 5 finishes. They could form a good rivalry with the Mariners in the AL West.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas

If Memphis were to get a MLB team you better believe they'd move the Red Birds in a heartbeat.

Portland is a terrible sports town and the area is economically depressed. Those stoner college kids don't stay there. The Mariners are more than enough for the PNW.

falsealarms · **Reply #719 on:** October 09, 2011, 07:21:14 PM

The Blazers attendance has been excellent the past handful of seasons.

Oakland wants to go to San Jose, but the Giants have territorial rights, I think.

shemps#1 · **Reply #720 on:** October 09, 2011, 07:29:43 PM

Quote from: falsealarms on October 09, 2011, 07:21:14 PM

The Blazers attendance has been excellent the past handful of seasons.

Oakland wants to go to San Jose, but the Giants have territorial rights, I think.

Good, but not "excellent". "Excellent" is the Red Sox selling out for almost a decade. Either way I amended my statement lol.

Yeah, San Jose is Giants territory.

Lefty · **Reply #721 on:** October 10, 2011, 09:13:14 AM

Quote from: shemps#1 on October 09, 2011, 06:45:36 PM

Caught the last half-inning and we are one step closer to a Brewers/Rangers "first time" World Series winner.

In 1992, 2002, and 2010, there were World Series featuring first-time winners in their current homes. The last World Series with two teams that had never won anything anywhere was in 1980, between a pair of teams that each wore powder-blue road jerseys and played their home games on Astroturf. Oh yeah, and the weekend games were played during the day. It was a "Royal" time for the Phillies.

From 1979-1982, the National League won the Series. They have not won consecutive Series since.

Lefty · **Reply #722 on:** October 10, 2011, 09:21:51 AM

As for MLB attendance, maybe the league should merge the Florida teams and have them play in both cities -- the Tamiami Marrays. Dump the A's, and there can be 14 teams in each league again. The way things are with a number of franchises, expanding to 32 teams with 4 each in 4 divisions in each league ain't gonna happen, even though that would help with the ridiculous scheduling that there is now.

falsealarms · **Reply #723 on:** October 10, 2011, 12:26:20 PM

Delmon Young, the new Willis Reed?

Previously out of the ALCS with an oblique issue, he was added to the roster when Magglio Ordonez was taken off with a busted ankle. Young is starting today despite his oblique issue.

falsealarms · **Reply #724 on:** October 10, 2011, 04:03:12 PM

Detroit failing to cash in early on, already 5 LOB through 2 innings. Down 2-0.