Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

At 9/23/09 04:43 PM, Crashman wrote: Bobby Cox to coach one more season. I'm going to miss him getting ejected all the time.

Chipper Jones' reaction: "I'll believe it when I see it."

Of course, it's already been announced he's going to take a five-year deal at another position with the club. I don't know. I guess we'll see what happens when the time comes next season. If Chipper really doesn't believe so, I wouldn't put it past Bobby Cox to rekindle the managing mood and go at it after 2010.

Then again, Chipper said he was going to retire in 2010 if he didn't get back to the form he was once in. I wonder if that has any correlation with Bobby Cox's decision?

So yeah. I really wish we could just spent the remaider of this regular season testing out new closing options for the postseason; Brad's lost something again mentally and it's not fucking coming back. I wish Charlie Manuel wasn't all Brokeback Mountain for him so we could actually salvage a few ballgames here and there.

Give me someone, shit. Brad is sucking, Madson isn't fit for the role, Myers was so-so as a closer and isn't close to being ready physically now...put Moyer in the rotation again and get Pedro in as a closer in October; Pedro might not have the dominating speed anymore but I bet you he would be more than able to nail down three outs a night for us, something that's becoming more and more impossible for anyone in our current 'pen to do.

Put Tyler Walker in as a test-out closer for the rest of the regular season; he was a closer in Tampa and San Fran a few years back, and 3 outs every couple nights can't be that hard for him; he's been doing well thus far.

Fuck it. If Chan Ho Park comes back healthy, try him out for a game or two, I don't care. I was against it before, but at this point it's 150% clear that Brad isn't regaining last year's form anytime soon.

Well, one way to solve this closer situation is to build up a big enough lead to not need him. That's what the Phils did earlier to beat Milwaukee in the first of a set of 4. Their magic number is now 4 with 10 to play, 7 of which are at home. And scheduling is good in the fact that the two teams trailing the Phillies have a series against each other starting next week. So hopefully this is all wrapped up by the time I go to next Wednesday's home game against the Astros. I haven't been to a game where they have no pressure to win in a long time. I would like a nice relaxing game, having a few beverages and watching some AAA call-ups and not caring whether they win or lose.

At 9/24/09 06:00 PM, Gooch wrote:

At 9/23/09 04:43 PM, Crashman wrote: Bobby Cox to coach one more season. I'm going to miss him getting ejected all the time.

Chipper Jones' reaction: "I'll believe it when I see it."

Of course, it's already been announced he's going to take a five-year deal at another position with the club. I don't know. I guess we'll see what happens when the time comes next season. If Chipper really doesn't believe so, I wouldn't put it past Bobby Cox to rekindle the managing mood and go at it after 2010.

I think he might get bored taking a different position.

Then again, Chipper said he was going to retire in 2010 if he didn't get back to the form he was once in. I wonder if that has any correlation with Bobby Cox's decision?

It could be so, Jones and Cox have been there together all those years. Jones isn't too old yet to retire but its all his choice. Cox still looks like he loves his job too, but they haven't been in the playoffs since 05' either so. If they do hang in the towel, both are definitely Hall of Famers no doubt.

At 9/23/09 04:43 PM, Crashman wrote: Bobby Cox to coach one more season. I'm going to miss him getting ejected all the time.

I love Chipper's comments on all of this. If Bobby Cox retires at the end of 2010 and so does Chipper, what are the odds of Chipper taking over as Braves skipper? That's got to be worth a $5 bet, surely?

At 9/23/09 11:39 PM, phileeguy wrote: Unfortunately no one has really stepped up to claim the closers role from Lidge this season what with the injuries and the fact that Madson is just as bad, if not worse, in the 9th. I'm holding out hope that when Myers is good, he can steal the spot and run with it. Until then Charlie should just forget Lidge and go with lefty/lefty and righty/righty matchups.

You've got plenty of starting depth at the moment - has anyone thought of Pedro in a John Smoltz style role for the Phillies?

At 9/24/09 10:38 AM, EternitySpent wrote:

At 9/23/09 08:20 AM, Coop83 wrote: See the argument that you presented earlier in the thread, about how much depth the Yanks have, compared to how little the Twins have. If I was Joe Mauer, I'd be there every day, trying to get time at 1st and DH when I wasn't catching. Without Morneau, why not give him extra time at 1st? It beggars belief.

I wouldn't do that because he's a catcher, let him catch. Then when the schedule dictates it, i.e a day game after a night game, or a double header - give him a game off, so he can go out and catch the next game. I understand wanting his bat in the lineup, but the point of giving any player a day off is to rest him, if you plug them in at DH it's not really resting them.

He's a catcher that will inevitably find himself playing either 1st or DH later in his career. I was kind of hoping that you'd go all "Michael Cuddyer" on me, but you avoided it. Curses.

At 9/24/09 06:00 PM, Gooch wrote: Then again, Chipper said he was going to retire in 2010 if he didn't get back to the form he was once in. I wonder if that has any correlation with Bobby Cox's decision?

Well, he's fallen off the pace badly, but when you consider that he's never had a 200+ hit season, we all knew that something like this had to happen at some point

But Bobby Cox is a legendary manager, constantly overshadowed by others - only 1 WS title, coming head to head with the Yanks dynasty in the late 90s a couple of times really derailed that bid. He's 2nd amongst active managers for victories (Tony LaRussa) and 4th all time, the only way that he really gets noticed is the ejections. That's basically the points that Harold Reynolds covered on mlb.com, but I think he's been a great manager and while he hasn't always had the best team, he's certainly been able to get a lot of postseason time for the Braves that other managers would not have achieved. 14 straight postseason appearances is one hell of a record and while some of that may be down to NL East suckage (Mets & Expos / Nats in particular), he's done a very good job.

I'll miss him.

At 9/25/09 01:21 AM, phileeguy wrote: Well, one way to solve this closer situation is to build up a big enough lead to not need him. That's what the Phils did earlier to beat Milwaukee in the first of a set of 4. Their magic number is now 4 with 10 to play, 7 of which are at home. And scheduling is good in the fact that the two teams trailing the Phillies have a series against each other starting next week.

Sounds like you're ready for the postseason then? *makes a note to scratch Hamels*

So hopefully this is all wrapped up by the time I go to next Wednesday's home game against the Astros. I haven't been to a game where they have no pressure to win in a long time. I would like a nice relaxing game, having a few beverages and watching some AAA call-ups and not caring whether they win or lose.

I'm sure you'll have a good time there :)

Rumor is we want to apparently throw Park in the closer's role, since Myers is not healthy enough yet and Walker is good where he is.

I dunno, why not? Park was good as a closer in the WBC, but then again it's the WBC and not the MLB playoffs. I say give it a shot at least; too bad he's DL'd for now.

NEW YORK - With Citi Field attendance during Sunday's matchup barely reaching 70 percent, Mets pitcher John Maine let fans who actually came to see the bottom two NL East teams play shout out pitch requests during Nationals at bats.

"What's that? A slider? I haven't thrown that old classic in a while, but I'll give it a go," Maine said during the fourth inning. "All right, submarine pitch, then a palm ball. That's a weird one, but if you want to see me throw one of those, let's hear you scream!"

Requests were no longer accepted after a teenage boy asked Maine to "throw something faster than 91 miles per hour," to which Maine responded, "Shut the hell up."

At 9/25/09 04:35 PM, Buddhist wrote: Requests were no longer accepted after a teenage boy asked Maine to "throw something faster than 91 miles per hour," to which Maine responded, "Shut the hell up."

Lol.

Ichiro ejected for the first time in MLB. Thats crazy, just over a line. Enough to piss the ump off I guess.
It looks like my wish my come true, A's are closing in on the .500% Wooo. Too bad they got hot at the very end of the year. I have to say though Suzuki has surprised me this year, wasn't expecting 15+ homeruns and 90 rbi's when he first came up.

At 9/27/09 06:00 AM, Crashman wrote: Ichiro ejected for the first time in MLB. Thats crazy, just over a line. Enough to piss the ump off I guess.

Yeah, I saw that. I mean the pitch was borderline, but Ichiro did take it a bit too far, very unlike him. But yeah, some umps are notoriously bad in terms of ease of tossing someone, or bad strike zones, etc. I can remember one game where home plate ump Ed Rapuano ejected Shane Victorino from center field for just tossing his hands in the air a bit because of a clear strike wasn't called one. Another bad ump that comes to mind is Angel Hernandez. "Cowboy" Joe West gets a bad rep sometimes, but I think he's decent enough.

Don't forget C.J. Bucknor (sp?)

At 9/25/09 10:24 AM, Buddhist wrote: Rumor is we want to apparently throw Park in the closer's role, since Myers is not healthy enough yet and Walker is good where he is.

He can't blow more than Lidge, surely. Got to be worth a try.

At 9/25/09 04:35 PM, Buddhist wrote: Requests were no longer accepted after a teenage boy asked Maine to "throw something faster than 91 miles per hour," to which Maine responded, "Shut the hell up."

Is that even possible for Maine to throw 92+?

At 9/27/09 06:00 AM, Crashman wrote: I have to say though Suzuki has surprised me this year, wasn't expecting 15+ homeruns and 90 rbi's when he first came up.

Another solid performing catcher - he's going to be a useful player for you until his contract expires and you ship him out to another team with more money.

So I think it's time to go ahead and give credit where credit is due. Since the regular season is winding down, I'm going to go ahead and list the players I think made the biggest strides this year, team-style (as in, 1 per position, not counting pitchers & OFs).

C - Close runnings to Pablo Sandoval and Miguel Montero, but this one has to go Joe Mauer. Yes, he was already a stud player before this year, but no one could have forecasted a season like the one he is in the middle of this year. Despite missing the first month, he has not hit under .305 at any point this season, and is more or less singlehandedly leading the Twins towards a postseason berth.

Final Line: TBD, but as of now, .367 AVG/.444 OBP/.602 SLG/1.047 OPS, 28 HRs, 92 RBI, 88 R, 4 SBs

1B - Deserved credit here goes to Billy Butler and Russell Branyan, but this award has to go to Kendy Morales for his breakout year. Having the tall order of replacing Mark Teixeira after his departure for New York, Morales also has had the task of covering in the lineup for the injured Torii Hunter as well as Vlad Gurerro's lost season. Despite all of this, he has propelled the Angels with a monster second half of the season (.325/.368/.608/.976, 18 2Bs, 18 HRs, 56 RBI, 44 R, 1 SB), helping them clinch the AL West.

Final Line - TBD, but currently .303 AVG/.352 OBP/.565 SLG/.917 OPS, 42 2Bs, 33 HRs, 105 RBIs, 83 R, 2 SBs

2B - Props to Ben Zobrist, Alberto Callaspo and Casey McGeehee on breakout years, but this one HAS to go to Blue Jays two-bagger Aaron Hill for his monstrous season. There are no doubts in my mind that Aaron Hill deserves to be called one of the top-5 second baseman in the game after a year like this. All the more incredible is that this comes after a 2008 that was shortened by a fairly severe concussion that knocked him out after 55 games. Combine that with solid defense, and I would slot Hill behind the likes of Chase Utley, Brian Roberts and Ian Kinsler, ahead of fellow AL East 2B such as Robby Cano and Ben Zobrist and tied with Dustin Pedroia.

Final Line - TBD, but currently .287 AVG/.328 OBP/.499 SLG/.827 OPS, 35 2Bs, 36 HRs, 105 RBI, 101 R, 5 SBs

3B - No doubt here, this award has to go to Mark Reynolds for his all-around improvement. Of course, Reynolds still strikes out plenty (record-setting amounts, in fact), but despite that, he has improved across the board, despite playing in a more anemic offense than last year. His defense has improved much as well, leaving the D'Backs with yet another future star on their hands, and he may have not hit his ceiling yet; I wouldn't count out 50 HRs a year or two from now with his prodigious power. Reynolds has hit the longest HR this year as measured by true distance, a 481' bomb against who else but Brad Lidge on July 28th (vid here). Not just that, but he has hit 2 of the 5 longest HRs as measured by standard distance, that one and a 470' monster against the Giants (video here). He has shown he is the most powerful hitter in the league this year when it comes to home runs, as judged by his league-leading average distance per HR, which is a beastly 415.7 feet.

Final Line - TBD, but currently .264 AVG/.355 OBP/.558 SLG/.912 OPS, 44 HRs, 101 RBIs, 95 R, 24 SBs

SS - An interesting crop to pick from here, as Erick Aybar and Asdrubal Cabrera both finally began to meet expectations. However, this position is won out by Jason Bartlett, perhaps the most surprising of any player this year. An afterthought piece in the Matt Garza-Delmon Young trade, Bartlett has combined standout defense at short with a breakout season at the plate. Joe Maddon called him the Rays' MVP for this year, despite the team having Evan Longoria and fellow breakout-year-buddy Ben Zobrist. The Rays may not have met expectations this year, but Bartlett has certainly exceeded his own, with a 30+ point jump in average, a nearly 60 point jump in OBP, a whopping 130-point jump in SLG, and a 185+ point jump in OPS, to go along with career highs in HRs, RBIs, Rs, SBs, hits, doubles, and triples.

Final Line - TBD, but currently .320 AVG/.386 OBP/.492 SLG/.868 OPS, 28 2Bs, 14 HRs, 65 RBI, 87 R, 27 SBs

OF - A huge crowd to pick three out of for this year, thanks to breakout seasons all around. However, my selections go to Justin Upton, Garrett Jones, and Nelson Cruz. Shin-Soo Choo's 20-20 campaign does not deserve to go unnoticed, however, and neither does Rajai Davis's 40-SB season, Chris Coghlan's potential ROY season, Carlos Gonzalez's breakout, or Andrew McCutchen's dazzling rookie year. However, these three have shone above the rest.

We all know (and probably knew) that Justin, the younger Upton, had more potential than his older brother does/did, but after a fairly pedestrian rookie year, I don't think too many people were expecting this 2009 breakout at the young age of 22. Posting a 20-20 campaign in another lousy offensive year from Arizona's lineup, Upton made strides in every dimension at the plate, improving 80 points in SLG, 100 points in OPS, 50 points in AVG, and nearly 20 points in OBP. The Ken Griffey Jr. comparisons are slowly beginning to look merited, and I for one cannot wait to see what JUpton brings to the table in 2010.

Final Line - TBD, currently .307 AVG/.375 OBP/.543 SLG/.917 OPS, 30 2Bs, 25 HRs, 83 RBI, 82 R, 20 SBs

Nelson Cruz for a long time was considered the quintessential Quad-A player: a guy that could rip through Triple-A pitching like it was nothing, but could not hit a lick at the major league level. That changed in the last month of last year, forecasting a big year in 2009 for Cruz. However, not too many people could have expected a campaign such as this one. Despite Cruz's tendency to be red-hot and then ice-cold for extended periods of time, he still buoyed a Rangers outfield that was depleted by the consistent, nagging injuries to Josh Hamilton. His power has always been noted (as was shown off at this year's Home Run Derby), but his accompanying speed was not. He stopped running as much in the 2nd half of the season, likely due to fatigue, but still has posted a 30-20 season. Along with fellow breakout-season-haver Marlon Byrd, Cruz delighted many Rangers fans and helped them to challenge the Angels in the AL West, a surprise for most everyone. 2010 should be a big year and a big step forward for the Rangers, as well as Cruz.

Final Line - TBD, currently .263 AVG/.335 OBP/.530 SLG/.865 OPS, 21 2Bs, 33 HRs, 76 RBI, 75 R, 20 SBs

And perhaps the biggest surprise of any surprise, Garrett Jones. Cast away by the Twins organization, he came to the Pirates' minor-league system. Not expected to be a major piece in the Pirates plans by any stretch of the imagination, Jones burst onto the scene in July, conducting a ridiculous three-month campaign so good that it forced his manager to play him every day. While many thought he would eventually cool off, Jones has stayed fairly consistent all-around, in fact, hitting for a better average in September than any other month. He gives the Pirates a new piece to their ever-enduring puzzle, and could potentially be a powerful lineup staple in 2010. His moderate speed is just an added bonus.

Final Line - TBD, currently .305 AVG/.380 OBP/.596 SLG/.975 OPS, 20 2Bs, 21 HRs, 44 RBI, 42 R, 10 SBs

DH - Another no-doubt here, this one goes to the Jays' Adam Lind. Another player stuck with the Quad-A label, Lind also broke out this year in a big way for the Jays, improving their lineup by leaps and bounds over past years. Though he was called up for three short stints in the past three years by the Jays, he never showed anything; this year, Lind has shown what he can do when given a full season to hit.

Final Line - TBD, currently .304 AVG/.367 OBP/.545 SLG/.912 OPS, 46 2Bs, 34 HR, 113 RBI, 92 R, 1 SB

At 9/27/09 07:30 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Don't forget C.J. Bucknor (sp?)

Ah, you mean C.B. Bucknor. Yeah he's garbage too.

Anywho, Phils solved the 2009 Astros team after losing their first 5 to them. And along with the Braves losing (finally) to the Marlins, the Phils magic number to clinch is down to 1. And it just so happens that I'm going to tomorrow's game. Pedro seems to have his neck issues resolved and goes against an 8-11 Brian Moehler. I'm not saying the Phils are going to win, because God knows they seem to find a way to not hit the pitchers they should, but clearly Pedro is the better pitcher here and the Phillies are a better hitting team.

So there's a good chance I'll be at the Division clinching game 2 years in a row. And as much as that could be fun, I'll stick by my previous statement of rather being at a somewhat meaningless game at this time of the year with the Phils having already clinched.

phileeguy, tell me you saw the ump's dance last night after Yorman Bazardo stumbled backwards off the mound.

it was fucking amazing. i laughed so hard at the replay online.

Just met Chuck Knoblauch recently, what's up with him?

At 9/30/09 09:36 PM, Buddhist wrote: phileeguy, tell me you saw the ump's dance last night after Yorman Bazardo stumbled backwards off the mound.

it was fucking amazing. i laughed so hard at the replay online.

Ya that was something else. I got a chuckle at that myself.

Anywho, so it turns out I was at the NL East clinching game for the second straight year. Fun times, and although I wasn't in a box, so no champagne, it was still fun. I thought the game itself would've ended rather anticlimactically with the Florida/Atlanta game progressing faster than the Phils/Astros, as they were an inning ahead of us with Florida leading. But they ended up slowing down, and the Phils pitching staff sped up and both games ended mere moments apart as both Philly and Florida both won. So, even though technically Florida won a few minutes before the Phillies did, due to different exact starting times and the delay to put the final on the Phillies scoreboard it was pretty simultaneous, so when the Phils won we celebrated then, and not beforehand.

At 7/13/04 09:39 PM, The-Redangleprince wrote: I just realized that there was no MLB club!!

Well, here it is. Join up, post your favorite teams and players. Discuss trades and playoff hopefuls. Dream teams, past games, and anything else that pertains to Baseball past present and future.

My favorite Team is the Cincinnati Reds And Barry Larkin is the greatest shortstop ever!!

I thought I'd reply to first post O_o - easier
Can I join? xD
Ima huuuuuuuuuuge Blue Jays fan.
So happy I found this club!

At 10/4/09 07:24 AM, DivineLiberation wrote: Ima huuuuuuuuuuge Blue Jays fan.
So happy I found this club!

Welcome to the gang.

Nice to see that A-Rod learned how to hit for power in October at long last. Let's hope that he;s just starting to heat up as either Detroit or Minnesota head into town. We've got to wait and see who comes through to work out what we're doing for the ALDS. One thing is for sure - CC will take the hill for the Yanks and it will most likely not be against Verlander if it's the Tigers we're up against. Is that a good thing?

Also, apologies to A-Rod, I seriously didn't think that he was going to manage 30 Homers this year, nor 100 RBIs. Hang on... he did this in less games than Mauer and he got better numbers than Mauer for these categories...

A-ROD FOR MVP!

roflcopter.

so yeh. A-Rod.

unheralded today, King Felix Hernandez (likely a future Yankee too; they like to add fat guys to their rotation) won his 19th, tying him for the league lead with CC Sabathia and Adam Wainwright.

AL Cy Young argument: Zack Greinke, King Felix, CC, Justin Verlander, Roy Halladay (dark horse)
NL Cy Young argument: Tim Lincecum, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, Matt Cain (last 3 are darkhorses)

I think Greinke more or less runs away with the Cy in the AL, as he rightfully should...NL is a tough call. look at the best 3 pitchers:

Bold - League Leader

Lincecum - 32 starts, 225.1 IP, 15-7, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 2.48 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, .205 BAA, 261 Ks : 68 BBs (3.83 K/BB, 10.4 K/9), 10 HR
Wainwright - 34 starts, 233 IP, 19-8, 1 CG, 0 SHO, 2.63 ERA, 1.21 ERA, .244 BAA, 212 Ks : 66 BBs (3.21 K/BB, 8.18 K/9), 17 HR
Carpenter - 28 starts, 192.2 IP, 17-4, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 2.24 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, .226 BAA, 144 Ks : 38 BBs (3.79 K/BB, 6.74 K/9), 7 HR

tough shit to call. Any of the three would be an understandable decision.

What a way to end the season. Seven straight loses, I can't imagine Geren coaching another year.

At 10/4/09 05:52 PM, Coop83 wrote: Nice to see that A-Rod learned how to hit for power in October at long last.

You know, I was going to make some wise-crack about how A-Rod could always hit for power in games played in October, as long as they just didn't happen to be playoff games. But I did the research, turns out he stinks in those games as well with a batting average under .240.

Let's hope that he;s just starting to heat up as either Detroit or Minnesota head into town.

Something tells me that Detroit will bring their "A" game Tuesday and they won't let the division slip away. Then again, they will be playing at a tough dome in Minnesota.

We've got to wait and see who comes through to work out what we're doing for the ALDS. One thing is for sure - CC will take the hill for the Yanks and it will most likely not be against Verlander if it's the Tigers we're up against. Is that a good thing?

Well, who knows, Leyland could send him out on 3 days rest if they win Tuesday. But then again, CC hasn't really delivered in the playoffs in his career, so who's to say how that game will fare?

Also, apologies to A-Rod, I seriously didn't think that he was going to manage 30 Homers this year, nor 100 RBIs.

Well, to be fair, the fact that he plays in that stadium with that line-up around him sure didn't hurt. You can make up some serious ground in some categories if you played in that stadium that leads the bigs in HRs hit. Really, how did the designers mess that up?
Hang on... he did this in less games than Mauer and he got better numbers than Mauer for these categories...

A-ROD FOR MVP!

roflcopter.

did somebody say roflcopter?!

At 10/4/09 07:59 PM, Buddhist wrote: so yeh. A-Rod.

Come on, I'm allowed to sing when we're winning :P

unheralded today, King Felix Hernandez (likely a future Yankee too; they like to add fat guys to their rotation) won his 19th, tying him for the league lead with CC Sabathia and Adam Wainwright.

And Justin Verlander as well ;)

AL Cy Young argument: Zack Greinke, King Felix, CC, Justin Verlander, Roy Halladay (dark horse)

Right, let's trim this down a little - CC and Halladay can leave the discussion straight away. If CC had won 20, he'd be up for it, but I can't take away from what looks like a three horse race. Smart money is on Zack Greinke, as to win 16 of your team's 65 wins, which is almost a quarter of them and to lead the majors in ERA, be 3rd in Ks and 6th for WHIP, all while on a losing team, you've got to be doing more than a little right.

NL Cy Young argument: Tim Lincecum, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, Matt Cain (last 3 are darkhorses)

I think Greinke more or less runs away with the Cy in the AL, as he rightfully should...NL is a tough call. look at the best 3 pitchers:

tough shit to call. Any of the three would be an understandable decision.

Out of the three, I'd probably go with Lincecum. My reasoning is that you've got a tougher division for Lincecum to pitch in. Sure, the DBacks stunk when they had their off days and Reynolds gave Lincecum a few Ks from his record breaking year, but when you look at the Rox and Dodgers dukeing it out, Tim still managed to get a pretty good record and lots of Ks. Next season could be good for the Giants, if they can get a few bits sorted with offense and the lower rotation / pen.

The Cards are in a much easier division - only the Cubs finished with a record of .500+ aside from the Cards, which says to me that they had an easier time. Not to take away from Carpenter or Wainwright, but it's Lincecum, by a nose.

At 10/5/09 03:38 AM, phileeguy wrote:

At 10/4/09 05:52 PM, Coop83 wrote: Nice to see that A-Rod learned how to hit for power in October at long last.

You know, I was going to make some wise-crack about how A-Rod could always hit for power in games played in October, as long as they just didn't happen to be playoff games. But I did the research, turns out he stinks in those games as well with a batting average under .240.

It doesn't pay to get away from myself here, but I'll take whatever he can provide offence wise when we play against the Tigers or Twins.

Let's hope that he;s just starting to heat up as either Detroit or Minnesota head into town.

Something tells me that Detroit will bring their "A" game Tuesday and they won't let the division slip away. Then again, they will be playing at a tough dome in Minnesota.

We've got to wait and see who comes through to work out what we're doing for the ALDS. One thing is for sure - CC will take the hill for the Yanks and it will most likely not be against Verlander if it's the Tigers we're up against. Is that a good thing?

Well, who knows, Leyland could send him out on 3 days rest if they win Tuesday. But then again, CC hasn't really delivered in the playoffs in his career, so who's to say how that game will fare?

Well, CC never really played for a playoff calibre team - they ground him into the dirt along the stretch and he was mentally tired when it came to game time. Hopefully this time, we've managed him well and he can make use of being well rested.

Also, apologies to A-Rod, I seriously didn't think that he was going to manage 30 Homers this year, nor 100 RBIs.

Well, to be fair, the fact that he plays in that stadium with that line-up around him sure didn't hurt. You can make up some serious ground in some categories if you played in that stadium that leads the bigs in HRs hit. Really, how did the designers mess that up?

Not all that many of A-Rod's homers were hit to right field. He tended to go for left centre, dead centre or left, as I recall for those he hit at home.

Hang on... he did this in less games than Mauer and he got better numbers than Mauer for these categories...

A-ROD FOR MVP!

roflcopter.

did somebody say roflcopter?!

Awesome, I've been looking for that pic for a while *saves*

These one game playoffs are always real exciting, but I think I have to cheer for the Tigers, due to the fact that I think they the far better chance at beating the Yankees. The Twins just don't have the pitching and without Mourneau I'm not sure they have the depth either.

I know its a long shot, but this October I'll be cheering for the Angels and Tigers, because if I have to watch the Yankees and Red Sox play in the ALCS for the UMPTEENTH time, I might just throw up in my mouth.

Also, Cards and Dodgers. How can this not be one hell of a series?

At 10/5/09 09:58 AM, EternitySpent wrote: I know its a long shot, but this October I'll be cheering for the Angels and Tigers, because if I have to watch the Yankees and Red Sox play in the ALCS for the UMPTEENTH time, I might just throw up in my mouth.

But that's what AMERICA WANTS!... Well, not really, it's more like what MLB wants for ratings. I mean after last year's WS which didn't get the ratings MLB wanted (but who cares? the Phils won it!) what with no Dodgers/Cubs/Yankees/Sox and the fact it was only 5 games, I'm sure MLB would want to cash in this year.

Also, Cards and Dodgers. How can this not be one hell of a series?

All signs point to it being one, but I'm sure people said the same thing about the Cubs/Dodgers in last year's NLDS.

At 10/5/09 09:58 AM, EternitySpent wrote: These one game playoffs are always real exciting, but I think I have to cheer for the Tigers, due to the fact that I think they the far better chance at beating the Yankees. The Twins just don't have the pitching and without Mourneau I'm not sure they have the depth either.

I don't know - the Twins have Pavano and he likes pitching against the Yanks.

I know its a long shot, but this October I'll be cheering for the Angels and Tigers, because if I have to watch the Yankees and Red Sox play in the ALCS for the UMPTEENTH time, I might just throw up in my mouth.

Aaw, didums.

Also, Cards and Dodgers. How can this not be one hell of a series?

Becasue the Dodgers have played sucky baseball for more than a few weeks now. It's almost like watching Joe Torre manage the Red Sox :P

At 10/6/09 04:34 AM, Coop83 wrote: I don't know - the Twins have Pavano and he likes pitching against the Yanks.

I guess, he sure as hell didn't like pitching for them. Still I think if the Twins go into Yankee stadium, it will be a slaughter. Though they may benefit from the home runs that fly out of that place, they are just too depleted. While the Tigers, despite being miserable failures down the stretch have the team make up that if they get hot, might just be able to steal a series or two.

At 10/6/09 04:34 AM, Coop83 wrote:

At 10/5/09 09:58 AM, EternitySpent wrote:

I don't know - the Twins have Pavano and he likes pitching against the Yanks.

Pavano? Pavano, Pavano... Oh yes! The pitcher who pitched(poorly) practically less than 13 games for the Yanks over 2 or 3 seasons and got paid millions? Can't forget that guy.

Phillies take game one with Lee's gem. I thought he was going to have a shutout but couldn't get that last damn out. Nevertheless excellent game for the Phillies.

Yankee's game is intense. Jeter shows why he is captain and A-rod finally broke his RBI slump in the post-season.

Why in the world is Sabathia still pitching? We got what we needed out of him, he performed, bring out the bullpen.

At 10/6/09 10:14 AM, EternitySpent wrote: Still I think if the Twins go into Yankee stadium, it will be a slaughter.

Well, we got October off to a good start. Even A-Rod chipped in with RISP hits. CC was sharp after his early jitters and hopefully we can get win 2 of 11 tomorrow night :)

At 10/7/09 08:07 PM, Crashman wrote: Phillies take game one with Lee's gem. I thought he was going to have a shutout but couldn't get that last damn out. Nevertheless excellent game for the Phillies.

Yeah, Lee looked really sharp. Beginners luck for Lee in his first postseason appearance, or some damned good pitching. I'm believing the latter.

Yankee's game is intense. Jeter shows why he is captain and A-rod finally broke his RBI slump in the post-season.

Well, Jeter's got his eye on keeping going the "Mr. November" tag that he earned in 2001. His numbers haven't been great in that respect, but that might be me getting ahead of myself here. Game 2 first.

At 10/7/09 08:40 PM, MultiCanimefan wrote: Why in the world is Sabathia still pitching? We got what we needed out of him, he performed, bring out the bullpen.

Give it a rest - it's like having a Dream-of-Duke like Yankee fan on board and that would suck balls. Job done, 1-0