Topic: 2013 Baseball Thread...

[Shemp_Diesel]

I think this Red Sox team is more than capable of holding the AL East lead. There will be some heat put on them by the Orioles, but whatever happens, I can see 2 playoff teams coming out of the east, same as last year.

[metaldams]

I think this Red Sox team is more than capable of holding the AL East lead. There will be some heat put on them by the Orioles, but whatever happens, I can see 2 playoff teams coming out of the east, same as last year.

There's always a team in the division Boston can't beat, and now it's Baltimore.  A few years back it was Tampa and before that Toronto.  I knew Boston would blow the wild card lead in 2011 when they were 6.5 ahead of Tampa with 7 games left against them.  Boston winning the division depends on if they can solve Baltimore.

[JazzBill]

I see the Texas Rangers signed Man-Ram to a minor league deal. He sucked by the time the White Sox got him a few years ago.

[metaldams]

I'm at my break in work, see Boston down 5 - 1.  My thought was they can come back.  Sure enough, they did.  Never in previous years would I have had that thought.  When a 29 year old career minor league knuckleballer can give you 5 2/3 scoreless of long relief, magic is happening.  Now if Tampa Bay would just lose a game.

[metaldams]

Tim Lincecum up from the ashes to throw a no-hitter.  Good story.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Tim Lincecum up from the ashes to throw a no-hitter.  Good story.

Great accomplishment no doubt, but I wonder if there is going to be some second guessing of Bruce Brochy for letting Lincecum throw 148 pitches, especially if he comes out & gets lit up his next start.

[metaldams]

Great accomplishment no doubt, but I wonder if there is going to be some second guessing of Bruce Brochy for letting Lincecum throw 148 pitches, especially if he comes out & gets lit up his next start.

Keep in mind they're going into the all star break, so Lincecum will have a few more days rest than normal.  I'm sure Bochy took that into consideration.

I think Edwin Jackson threw about 150 pitches in his no hitter and walked about 7 or 8 guys!

[shemps#1]

Great accomplishment no doubt, but I wonder if there is going to be some second guessing of Bruce Brochy for letting Lincecum throw 148 pitches, especially if he comes out & gets lit up his next start.

I would never remove a pitcher from a no-no; he may never get another shot at one.

[JazzBill]

I would never remove a pitcher from a no-no; he may never get another shot at one.

Yeap, couldn't agree with you more. I really feel sorry for that kid Armando Galarrago on Detroit. He has a perfect game with two outs in the 9th and the umpire Jim Joyce blows the call. What are the chances of the kid getting that close again? I believe he's in the minors now.

[metaldams]

Yeap, couldn't agree with you more. I really feel sorry for that kid Armando Galarrago on Detroit. He has a perfect game with two outs in the 9th and the umpire Jim Joyce blows the call. What are the chances of the kid getting that close again? I believe he's in the minors now.

That was beyond a travesty.  At least Joyce manned up and admitted his error, one of the classiest umps in the game.

[JazzBill]

That was beyond a travesty.  At least Joyce manned up and admitted his error, one of the classiest umps in the game.

That he did, I believe he was crying when he manned up.

[metaldams]

That he did, I believe he was crying when he manned up.

LOL.  Yeah, I guess real men can cry.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Well, we're at the halfway point of the season & as far as first half surprises go, I think the Red Sox have to be at the top of the list. Most, including myself had them in the cellar with Toronto, not the best team in the American League (pie on my face).


Chris Davis of the Orioles may be the only thing standing between Miguel Cabrera and another Triple Crown. Will Matt Harvey be as sensational in the 2nd half as he was in the 1st & can the Mets get the poor guy some wins. I've lost track of how many "no decisions" Harvey has accumulated.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Well, the hammer has come down on Ryan Braun of the Brewers, out for the rest of the season & who knows how many more will follow. I know MLB has had A-Rod in their sights ever since this Biogenesis thing started & even someone like Bartolo Colon is under suspicion & I would look at somebody like Colon & say how is this guy ever getting busted for roids. Just goes to show you, in this day & age you never know who is dirty.

[metaldams]

Well, the hammer has come down on Ryan Braun of the Brewers, out for the rest of the season & who knows how many more will follow. I know MLB has had A-Rod in their sights ever since this Biogenesis thing started & even someone like Bartolo Colon is under suspicion & I would look at somebody like Colon & say how is this guy ever getting busted for roids. Just goes to show you, in this day & age you never know who is dirty.

Bartolo Colon is the most blatant example of a PED user, it was obvious before it was publically outed.  In 2008 he was a washed up has been with Boston, and I'm sure as Jazzbill will tell you he stinks with the White Sox as well.  Then he becomes a Yankee and all the sudden he's great, years after he was worth anything, in his late 30's.  Now pushing 40, the guy is a Cy Young contender with Oakland.  I'm sorry, his career arch does not happen naturally.

Speaking of Boston, they will probably lose first place soon.  They have to be the team with the most wins in the last twenty years with the least amount of division titles to show for it.  The A.L. East is beyond tough, and Tampa is unbelievable now.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Yes, Tampa has been playing great & they have also benefited from a pretty cupcake schedule for about the last month, although I see they are leading the Sox 2-0 right now.

[metaldams]

I don't want to jinx it, but I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, for once Boston might not blow a division lead and win it.  This team has a 4 game lead with 41 to go and have somewhow managed to win 19 of 71 wins in their last at bat.  They've only won one division since 1995, and that was in 2007 when they watched a 14.5 game lead against the Yankees go down to 2 games.  I hope this team can hold on, but they have a different feel to them than past teams.  Of course the reason why they need so many wins in their last at bat is because their bullpen can't hold a lead outside of Uehara, but that's another story.

[JazzBill]

I'm ready to change my Sox. Red's a nice color.   

[metaldams]

I'm ready to change my Sox. Red's a nice color.   

Boston is a better team overall, but one on one the White Sox kill Boston.  Gavin Floyd is 7- 0 career vs. the Red Sox.

[Shemp_Diesel]

It would be a great story if the Pirates could finish the deal & win the NL Central. How long has it been since Pittsburgh had a playoff team to root for? Seems like the drought will end this year.

At worst they will be a Wild Card, but I'm hoping the Reds & Cards end up the Wild Cards, then Cincinnati bounces St. Louis, but maybe that's just me. 

[metaldams]

It would be a great story if the Pirates could finish the deal & win the NL Central. How long has it been since Pittsburgh had a playoff team to root for? Seems like the drought will end this year.

At worst they will be a Wild Card, but I'm hoping the Reds & Cards end up the Wild Cards, then Cincinnati bounces St. Louis, but maybe that's just me. 

The division is too close to call, but it looks like this over twenty year streak of below .500 teams is finally going to end, thank God.  If Boston doesn't win this year, and I think they lack the ace starting pitcher and middle relief to go all the way, then I'd be happy with a Pirates championship.

A friend of mine saw a game in Pittsburgh a few years ago, said it's a beautiful ball park.

[Kopfy2013]

I am from Pitt. Fantastic ballpark. Good eats. Great sightlines. Bridges over the rivers.

The team would dump their good players for so many years that it is hard to get excited about them.  The owner cares only about making money.

I say they finish out of the playoffs

[Shemp_Diesel]

News that should make Lefty happy, MLB Network is reporting that Charlie Manuel is out as the Phillies manager. Don't know what the point is of making this move now, but then again, I don't run a baseball operation.

[Lefty]

News that should make Lefty happy, MLB Network is reporting that Charlie Manuel is out as the Phillies manager. Don't know what the point is of making this move now, but then again, I don't run a baseball operation.

You don't run a baseball operation, and neither do I.  But I can guarantee that neither one of us would have ever let Ruin Tomorrow Jr. be the General Nuisance -- uh, General Manager -- of the team. 

He did a great job with the firing -- waiting until Manuel won his 1000th overall game (Monday), then telling him on Wednesday, and making Cholly keep it a secret until the press conference yesterday, the day of when the team was going to honor him for his 1000 victories.

True, a great manager he was not.  He had lots of help from coaches in the championship season of 2008, and the players back then could just swing for the fences and bludgeon opponents that way.  This team is made up of has-beens and never-weres, and that is the direct fault of the GM.  But Manuel was always being out-managed by the LaRussas and Bochys (Bochies?) of the world, still thinking that the long ball is the way to go.

I think his time had already come, so I am not too sad that he was fired, just the way it was handled by Rube the Boob, whose dismissal would be welcomed by 99.99% of the Phillies' fans around the universe.

[JazzBill]

I'm not a big A-Rod fan, so it was nice to see Boston pitcher Ryan Dempster (ex Chicago Cub) nail him.