Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2008/08/bru uuuuuuuuuuuuuce.html

At 8/4/09 11:28 PM, Buddhist wrote:

Schmidt tops out at about 85 now, and even recently Chipper Jones said he couldn't honestly tell the difference between Schmidt's fastball and his changeup.

Yeah. Since Schmidt's been back, he's been struggling. I'm honestly surprised Torre's keeping him in the rotation, but it does sound like he has the confidence in him to turn it around.

Jerome Williams is laboring away in the minors for Oakland.

Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long while. I thought he had some promise when he played for the Cubs. Too bad Baker ruined his arm. Now toiling away in Oakland's minor league system, eh? Bummer.

Mark Prior just got released two hours ago from the Padres (the fucking Padres) minor league system, and hasn't pitched in the bigs in three years. Do you have any idea how fucked up your arm has to be to get released from the minor league system of the San Diego Padres?!

I feel bad for Prior. He had so much potential to be one of the all-time great pitchers in the league. Now all these lingering shoulder problems have led to being out of a job now. As a pitcher at age 29, you really shouldn't be out of the league this soon because of injuries. It's sad, really.

Kerry Wood's ERA is the highest it's ever been, his WHIP the highest since 2000, and is laboring in the bullpen as a closer for a team that's arguably the worst in the AL, the Indians.

Everybody thought the Indians had a team to contend for the AL Central. Then it just goes all downhill so quick. Whoops.

And now Volquez.

I seriously hope he can reverse this trend. It just doesn't look too promising at the moment with the way the current trend is.

At 8/6/09 03:37 AM, Gooch wrote:

And now Volquez.

I seriously hope he can reverse this trend. It just doesn't look too promising at the moment with the way the current trend is.

Amen to that - it's a nasty trend to see promising pitchers careers hurt by these potentially career ending injuries.

And tonight, we see round 9 of the Yanks and Sox - it will be interesting to see if we can break the goose egg and also to see if A-Rod can get his 20th Home Run of the season - he's gone a little cold.

Still, it's nice to see that while the main slugger isn't hitting the long ball that his team mates still are. Everyone else seems to have moved up and down the lineup this year - how about swapping Tex and A-Rod, so that Rodriguez hits at three and can possibly get on base, or get more pitches to hit - you know, how old school managers tend to put the hot hitter behind the cooler one, to get him some more pitches to hit.

I heard about how Bill Martin burn out 1980 Oakland's pitching staff

Then he went to do the same to Guidry few years later

my favorite team is the yankees and i like melky a-rod jeter jorge mariano rivera and johnny damon pretty much the whole team :)

Finally, the Yankees give the Red Sox some well deserved payback. Bit of a slaughter tonight, but alas, it's only one game; however, even if the Yankees lose the next three, they'll still be ahead of the Sox by half a game.

At 8/6/09 11:29 PM, MultiCanimefan wrote: Finally, the Yankees give the Red Sox some well deserved payback. Bit of a slaughter tonight, but alas, it's only one game; however, even if the Yankees lose the next three, they'll still be ahead of the Sox by half a game.

Posada started it off and thankfully the Yanks didn't rue his decision not to slide in the second. Fortunately, like Ken Singleton said, he got off his poor road trip and served a little shot over the infield to get going and he really did get himself going last night.

Still looking for A-Rod's 20th Homer of the season. His longest single season streak of at bats without a home run.

At 8/7/09 04:45 AM, Coop83 wrote: Still looking for A-Rod's 20th Homer of the season. His longest single season streak of at bats without a home run.

And its a game winner in the bottom of the 15th to end his drought. What a game holy shit balls

At 8/8/09 12:58 AM, Crashman wrote:

At 8/7/09 04:45 AM, Coop83 wrote: Still looking for A-Rod's 20th Homer of the season. His longest single season streak of at bats without a home run.

And its a game winner in the bottom of the 15th to end his drought. What a game holy shit balls

Tell me about it. I thought they were going to lose after all the chances they wasted. Props to both of them for sticking it out as long as they did.

At 8/8/09 12:58 AM, Crashman wrote:

At 8/7/09 04:45 AM, Coop83 wrote: Still looking for A-Rod's 20th Homer of the season. His longest single season streak of at bats without a home run.

And its a game winner in the bottom of the 15th to end his drought. What a game holy shit balls

I watched the highlights this morning. My god, that was a tense ending. Probably one of the nicest Homers I've seen A-Rod hit. Busting a homerless streak like that is something, but to get a walk off win in the bottom of the 15th with it, it's even sweeter :)

Now to actually pass Killebrew :P

At 8/8/09 05:10 AM, Coop83 wrote:

Now to actually pass Killebrew :P

Speaking of Killebrew, I think he has the coolest name in baseball. EVER.

Better than Tris Speaker, better than Honus Wagner, better than Cap Anson, better than Carlton Fisk, better than Kenji Johjima for fuck's sake. Harmon Killebrew is the epitomy of awesome names.

Ahhh, damn it!

I don't mind the Sox losing the game (Which was awesome, by the way), but seeing A-Rod hit the game winner is just.. Ughh.

Speaking of Killebrew, I think he has the coolest name in baseball. EVER.

It's pretty cool, but when it comes down to it I think Grant Balfour just wins at names; or even a little Rollie Fingers action.

I don't mind the Sox losing the game (Which was awesome, by the way), but seeing A-Rod hit the game winner is just.. Ughh.

Yeah, I actually hate both the Red Sox AND Yankees, but I turned the game on when it was in extras and even without any chalk in the game watching A-Rod hit the winner was still a kick in the berries. I've decided to adopt the Rays as my team for the rest of the year, they've still got to a shot to take a playoff spot away from at least one of these teams.

Also, GG Smoltz. Someone probably will or at least should claim him. If for nothing else then to use him as late inning relief. If he could just let it all hang out for just one or two batters he could still be devastating in sort of a set-up role against predominately right handed batters.

Don't look now Philly fans but the Nationals have won 6 in a row, and are now only leading Philadelphia by 24.5 games in the NL East.

FEAR THE NATS, PHILADELPHIA!

At 8/8/09 05:46 AM, Gooch wrote:

At 8/8/09 05:10 AM, Coop83 wrote: Now to actually pass Killebrew :P

Speaking of Killebrew, I think he has the coolest name in baseball. EVER.

Well, I always thought that Rollie Fingers was a pretty cool name, to be honest.

Not that Killebrew isn't cool at all...

At 8/8/09 11:07 AM, EternitySpent wrote: Also, GG Smoltz. Someone probably will or at least should claim him. If for nothing else then to use him as late inning relief. If he could just let it all hang out for just one or two batters he could still be devastating in sort of a set-up role against predominately right handed batters.

Well, he'll definitely be a good pickup for some teams with playoff aspirations. Texas or Detroit, I just get the feeling about...

I love how Josh Hamilton getting wasted one night in January overshadows the actual news of the day, which is that Alex Rios was claimed off waivers by an unknown team. Apparently it's the White Sox, but no confirmations yet. For a guy that generally goes 20-20, 20-30, and has the capability to go 30-30, to move to a better hitter's environment like US Cellular is a big move. Yet, nobody talks about it.

We'll see how Riccardi plays this one. Probably fumbles and fucks himself over in the end like usual. Rios is owed about $60 million over the next five years, and the Jays obviously want to cut payroll (first BJ Ryan, then Scott Rolen, looking for takers on Halladay, Rios, Vernon Wells, Marco Scutaro), so it makes sense, especially given the ChiSox are freeing up a lot of payroll after this year, with Thome, Dye, Contreras, Octavio Dotel and a couple others being free agents at year's end. However, they also have to go to arbitration with Carlos Quentin, John Danks, and sign Bobby Jenks to a new deal.

If they get Rios, I look at them as a dark-horse candidate in the AL in October. Especially if Peavy comes back at full strength, then you have to look at them as one of the best two or three teams in the AL, with Tampa, LA and NY all in the argument, Boston not being far off either.

also, for those of you who haven't noticed already, SD's Mat Latos is a beast. A BEAST. I'm definitely bringing him on board on several of my fantasy teams next year. Neftali Feliz too, if he's not still in the bullpen.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

At 8/9/09 11:13 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Honestly, I would have been happy with one or two wins, but to sweep like they did, it was incredible.

At 8/9/09 11:13 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Fucking icy :)

Still, it's nice to see the whole unit working nicely as 4 good starting pitchers, backed up well by some flamboyant defence, a good offensive spirit and the big hits where it counted.

Now to take it to the next level against the Blue Jays with Rzepczynski and Mitre going up against one another. My main hope is that Mitre can pitch more innings this time, otherwise we may be looking for yet another fifth starter. Chad Gaudin may be that man, but it's all down to what Joe Girardi thinks.

Since the 15 inning thriller, we've gone quite easy on the pen - 3 1/3 innings of relief pitched since 5 Yanks pitchers combined for 7 1/3 innings of scoreless relief of AJ on Friday. Perhaps Gaudin will be the first long reliever to take over from Mitre tonight, giving him a chance to stake his claim?

At 8/9/09 12:23 AM, Buddhist wrote: If they get Rios, I look at them as a dark-horse candidate in the AL in October.

WHOA WHOA WHOA. Let's not get hasty here. Rios is no Matt Holliday, even if a change of scenery does him good, he's still going to be a mediocre outfield who is getting paid like a star. Plus Riccardi is too big of a tool to spring a decent trade and with his job on the line, I don't see him just letting Rios walk and getting nothing in return; as he his still somewhat of a fan favourite here for whatever reason. I remember in the midst of the Halladay hubub, SportsCentre had a poll where 74% of respondents said they wouldn't attend another Jays game this season if Halladay was moved. Rios wouldn't be as big a deal, but would still cause a big enough splash to bring "J.P's" incompetence out of the closet and into the limelight.

Now to take it to the next level against the Blue Jays

lol? The only redemption the Jays have right now is there like 15 man rotation; Halladay, McGowan, Marcum, Litsch, Jansen, Romero, Richmond, Ray, Cecil, Rzepczynski, Tallet, even Purcey or Mills.

Other than Baltimore or Kansas City, there is probably no easier team to play in the American League right now. If the Yankees play even half as well as they did against Boston it wont be much of a series, I don't think they'll have much trouble taking 2/3.

At 8/10/09 12:04 PM, EternitySpent wrote:

At 8/9/09 12:23 AM, Buddhist wrote: If they get Rios, I look at them as a dark-horse candidate in the AL in October.

WHOA WHOA WHOA. Let's not get hasty here. Rios is no Matt Holliday, even if a change of scenery does him good, he's still going to be a mediocre outfield who is getting paid like a star.

20-20 to 30-30 is above average, not mediocre. Vernon Wells is more mediocre than Alex Rios.

Plus Riccardi is too big of a tool to spring a decent trade and with his job on the line, I don't see him just letting Rios walk and getting nothing in return; as he his still somewhat of a fan favourite here for whatever reason.

WHOOPS!

lol? The only redemption the Jays have right now is there like 15 man rotation; Halladay, McGowan, Marcum, Litsch, Jansen, Romero, Richmond, Ray, Cecil, Rzepczynski, Tallet, even Purcey or Mills.

For now, but that's with several injured (Casey Janssen, Dustin McGowan, Sean Marcum); plus, they have a lot of pieces to work with and trade with, which helps, since next year the rotation appears to be looking like Brett Cecil-Mark Rzcepczynski-Scott Richmond-Ricky Romero-Jesse Litsch...

also, Rick Porcello showed Youkilis how you bitch fight. JERSEY STAND UP!

Pedro tomorrow night. Should be interesting.

At 8/12/09 01:12 AM, Buddhist wrote:

Pedro tomorrow night. Should be interesting.

I hope he's rusty for his debut, but the way the Cubs have struggled as of late, I wouldn't be surprised if he struck out twelve in six innings of work.

Also, fuck you Kevin Gregg. Fuck you.

At 8/12/09 04:01 AM, Gooch wrote: Also, fuck you Kevin Gregg. Fuck you.

On the other side of that, I want to say I love you Alexi Ramirez. Like...a freakin' lot.

At 8/12/09 01:12 AM, Buddhist wrote: 20-20 to 30-30 is above average, not mediocre. Vernon Wells is more mediocre than Alex Rios.

Yeah but Rios isn't a bonified 20-20 guy. His career high for home runs is 24 and his career high for steals is 32, but they didn't come in the same season, so he has never actually been a 20-20 player. He has the potential to do so, yes - but I think this season speaks for itself in proving that you don't always reach your potential. I mean other than those 2 peak years he has never reached the 20 mark in either of the two categories. There's also certain non-statistical intangibles that make him seem very mediocre. For instance, his fielding; I mean he's not terrible but he seems very lackadaisical out there. He makes the routine plays just fine, but I can never remember seeing him make a real spectacular play. He makes poor decisions sometimes too; like while running the bases and especially when playing caroms off the wall or gauging line drives. Long story short, I'm not Rios' biggest fan; though I do hope he fairs better in Chicago and gets a fair shake because despite everything I believe he has the potential to be a much better (maybe above average) player than he was for the Jays (mediocre).

Oh and no question; Wells sucks much harder than Rios.

I don't see him just letting Rios walk and getting nothing in return

WHOOPS!

I know right - fail.

Brett Cecil-Mark Rzcepczynski-Scott Richmond-Ricky Romero-Jesse Litsch...

H-A-L-L-A-D-A-Y. Either he pitches opening day for the Jays or one of the prospects they get in return for him will most likely be in the rotation and I think Marcum is a lock for next year too, if they still had any hope of making the playoffs he would most likely be in the rotation right now.

Pedro tomorrow night. Should be interesting.

Meh even if he's lost like 10 mph off his fastball... he'll still be throwing harder than Moyer was.

At 8/12/09 04:35 AM, EternitySpent wrote:

At 8/12/09 01:12 AM, Buddhist wrote: Pedro tomorrow night. Should be interesting.

Meh even if he's lost like 10 mph off his fastball... he'll still be throwing harder than Moyer was.

Well, it's certainly going to be an education on another starter who may be past it making a comeback to try and extend his future hall of fame career*.

*3,000 Strikeouts and 3 Cy Young awards says to me that he'll get in the hall.

Pedro goes in the hall. Even without the stastical milestones of multiple Cy Youngs and 3,000 career Ks, the pure dominance he had over hitters in the late 90s is merit enough, in the same way that it was for Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. And they pitched with the shoulder and not the wrist, like Pedro did.

Anyway, I really find it hard to believe that Halladay will stay in Toronto until the middle of next season, for a multitude of reasons....Alex Rios being waived was Riccardi's white flag, and I'm sure if they could unload Vernon Wells on someone they already would have, but he'll be making like $24 million a season soon enough so nobody wants that contract. They're dealing with low ticket sales, a dwindling fanbase, and a return to the bottom of the AL East standings. They've already dangled Halladay and gauged his worth, and the more time he spends with Toronto, the less he's worth, as his contract only goes for another year and a half, and he's said he wants to test free agency when that time comes.

I imagine he'll go along the same lines as Johan Santana a couple years ago, albeit for a higher price, as the Santana trade was basically a total fleecing (Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber? oof). I still think he has the potential to wind up in Philly next year as a rental, as they still are the best suitors. However, I think that if LA makes an early postseason exit again this year that they'll have to try and go after him, although that would also likely mean parting with either Broxton, Billingsley or Kershaw + another prospect.

To put it succinctly, his value has already peaked. It's only going to go down from here, day by day. Toronto has the offseason to dangle Roy and still get plenty of value in return, but by midseason the asking price that's reasonable for a trade for a guy like Halladay will drop from a major-league ready player, a prospect or two and potential cash to just a high-level prospect, like Matt LaPorta in the CC Sabathia deal, or Brett Wallace in the Matt Holliday deal.

Also, Wrigley sweep, first in 25 years...smells Winterfresh, na mean?

What were the Dodgers thinking when they traded Pedro?

At 8/13/09 10:17 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: What were the Dodgers thinking when they traded Pedro?

They weren't thinking.

Boston's lead in the wild card is now down to a half game. I'm still waiting for the Rangers to implode.

At 8/13/09 11:24 PM, pepeatumi wrote:

At 8/13/09 10:17 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote:

Boston's lead in the wild card is now down to a half game. I'm still waiting for the Rangers to implode.

I wouldn't count on it anytime soon, as they have one of the best bullpens this year. It may not be enough for them for the rest of the season, but if they can keep a lead going into the late innings against Boston it could quite possibly be lights out, especially since Ortiz hasn't been doing much as of late.

I feel that it'll come down to the wire this year, which always proves to make things very interesting.

At 8/14/09 02:23 AM, MultiCanimefan wrote: I wouldn't count on it anytime soon, as they have one of the best bullpens this year. It may not be enough for them for the rest of the season, but if they can keep a lead going into the late innings against Boston it could quite possibly be lights out, especially since Ortiz hasn't been doing much as of late.

I think they're still suffering from watching the Yanks hold them scoreless for 24 innings last weekend. The thing about a colossal momentum shift like that is that it can set you back a few weeks in your season. Now the Yanks have gelled, to devastating effect. CC Sabathia has pitched more strikeouts in 3 starts during August than he did in the total of 5 starts of either April or June. Now he's starting to look like the big game pitcher that finished the season with the Brewers last year.

I'm still in favour of using him as a pinch hitter on his off days. Seriously, his swing can be deadly and much better than those employed by Ramiro Pena. Sure, use CC to bat and then get Pena to take him off as a pinch runner if he gets on base.

But back to the Boston scenario, it hasn't helped them that they've run into another hot starter at the wrong time. Justin Verlander was lights out and Ellsbury (1), Reddick (1) and Martinez (2) combined to put any hits on the board for the Sox. Tonight is when the action really starts as the Sox play the Rangers in a 3 game set. That will sort the men from the boys, with a decent indication of how September will start to fall into place.