2009 Baseball Season/Off-Season Discussion

[D]

For Manny to be a cancer, papelbon sure was all over his nuts


I like how Manny quit on Boston but yet was hitting like 320 with tons of HR and RBI's


I bet most teams wish they had a guy who quit like that.


the running out the infield grounder is so overrated.

manny was gonna be out by 50 feet. who gives a fuck if he walks back to the dugout.

[faldor]

It's far more complicated than that D.  The not running out the ground ball was a very small factor. And he absolutely quit on the Sox, there's no doubt about that.  He had a monster start to the season but slowed down production wise and immensely effort wise toward the end of his tenure.  Just look at what he did with te Dodgers, he wasn't anywhere near that in July.

[GeorgeSteele]

It's far more complicated than that D.  The not running out the ground ball was a very small factor. And he absolutely quit on the Sox, there's no doubt about that.   He had a monster start to the season but slowed down production wise and immensely effort wise toward the end of his tenure.  Just look at what he did with te Dodgers, he wasn't anywhere near that in July.

You talking about Manny or Theo?

[faldor]

It's far more complicated than that D.  The not running out the ground ball was a very small factor. And he absolutely quit on the Sox, there's no doubt about that.   He had a monster start to the season but slowed down production wise and immensely effort wise toward the end of his tenure.  Just look at what he did with te Dodgers, he wasn't anywhere near that in July.

You talking about Manny or Theo?

I'm not sure what that's supposed to insinuate.  Please enlighten me, how did Theo quit on the Red Sox?

[D]

It's far more complicated than that D.  The not running out the ground ball was a very small factor. And he absolutely quit on the Sox, there's no doubt about that.  He had a monster start to the season but slowed down production wise and immensely effort wise toward the end of his tenure.  Just look at what he did with te Dodgers, he wasn't anywhere near that in July.

I've been wanting to argue this FOREVER and thank God u just said what u said there at the end.


One name:

CC Sabathia


How come no body gets on this dude's shit?  He absolutely SUCKED for Cleveland but somehow miraculous goes to Milwaukee and is unhittable.

It is called CHANGING leagues.

Going from the AL where every pitcher knows you, to the NL where pitchers don't, allows you to have a monster spike in stats due to them not knowing how to pitch you. same for Sabathia and NL hitters not knowing his tendencies and what he throws etc.

If u go to http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ramirma02.shtml  U will see that in 100 games with Boston last year, he almost duplicated what he did in 130 games the year before. So I don't know how that is quitting.


I know Manny is no saint and did some questionable shit, but Papelbon has no right, calling someone who should be celebrated for all he did to help that city finally win something, a cancer.

[GeorgeSteele]

It's far more complicated than that D.  The not running out the ground ball was a very small factor. And he absolutely quit on the Sox, there's no doubt about that.   He had a monster start to the season but slowed down production wise and immensely effort wise toward the end of his tenure.  Just look at what he did with te Dodgers, he wasn't anywhere near that in July.

You talking about Manny or Theo?

I'm not sure what that's supposed to insinuate.  Please enlighten me, how did Theo quit on the Red Sox?

You don't recall his lame gorilla suit stunt?  In 2005 when he walked out on the team just before the winter meetings?

[faldor]

It's far more complicated than that D.  The not running out the ground ball was a very small factor. And he absolutely quit on the Sox, there's no doubt about that.   He had a monster start to the season but slowed down production wise and immensely effort wise toward the end of his tenure.  Just look at what he did with te Dodgers, he wasn't anywhere near that in July.

You talking about Manny or Theo?

I'm not sure what that's supposed to insinuate.  Please enlighten me, how did Theo quit on the Red Sox?

You don't recall his lame gorilla suit stunt?  In 2005 when he walked out on the team just before the winter meetings?

I don't see how that's comparable to Manny being asked to be traded for all of his 8 years in Boston, and shutting it down sometimes mentally, sometimes physically EVERY season.  Theo had just built the first team in 86 years to win a World Series for Boston and was up for a new contract.

[GeorgeSteele]

It's far more complicated than that D.  The not running out the ground ball was a very small factor. And he absolutely quit on the Sox, there's no doubt about that.   He had a monster start to the season but slowed down production wise and immensely effort wise toward the end of his tenure.  Just look at what he did with te Dodgers, he wasn't anywhere near that in July.

You talking about Manny or Theo?

I'm not sure what that's supposed to insinuate.  Please enlighten me, how did Theo quit on the Red Sox?

You don't recall his lame gorilla suit stunt?  In 2005 when he walked out on the team just before the winter meetings?

I don't see how that's comparable to Manny being asked to be traded for all of his 8 years in Boston, and shutting it down sometimes mentally, sometimes physically EVERY season.  Theo had just built the first team in 86 years to win a World Series for Boston and was up for a new contract.

Manny had a lot more to do with winning that 2004 ring than Theo did; same with 2007.  However often he shut it down, his production was among the best in both leagues while in Boston.

[faldor]

I'm not denying that.  Manny was obviously a key part to those 2 championships.  He earned every penny of the contract he signed, even despite his antics.  The fact remains though that he quit on the Sox last year in his final year of his contract.  He forced the Sox hands to trade him as it was a strong possibility that he could shut it down for the remainder of the season, which he had done before.  So it was either get something for him or take the chance he'd behave.  A chance they weren't willing to make.  There's a reason only ONE team was seriously interested in Manny.  Seems pretty clear to me.

[w.axl.rose]

damn fantasy draft is tomorrow and i know nothing about baseball 

[faldor]

damn fantasy draft is tomorrow and i know nothing about baseball 

You better start studying.  Stick to whatever rankings they give you if you really don't know too much.  Don't be pressured into picking someone just because you know their name.  If they're rated low, they're probably past their prime.  As long as you keep up and set your lineup daily you should do fine.  I've been in so many leagues where people just don't keep up with it and they're out of it by the All Star break regardless of how good or bad their team is. 

[sandman]

the americans had a frustrating run in the WBC. SPs were disappointing. and can anyone explain why the hell Jeter was starting at SS with Jimmy Rollins sitting on the bench as a DH? ridiculous.

my fantasy draft is saturday. i have alot of preparing to do this week. can't believe the season starts in less than 2 weeks.
 

[pilferk]

I've been wanting to argue this FOREVER and thank God u just said what u said there at the end.


One name:

CC Sabathia


How come no body gets on this dude's shit?  He absolutely SUCKED for Cleveland but somehow miraculous goes to Milwaukee and is unhittable.

It is called CHANGING leagues.

You might wanna review his stats in Cleveland from last season.

He had ONE bad month...then got back on track.  He was doing JUST fine before being traded...not a WHOLE lot better than he did in the NL.  He wasn't winning games...but look at the number of runs HE Was giving up after April.  His ERA in May 2.44 and in June it was 1.89.  That was right in line with his stats for the rest of the season.

That 8.0 ERA in his first 2 starts, and Cleveland's inability to score runs, make his Cleveland stats look a WHOLE lot worse than they actually were.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=4553

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?playerId=4553

Going from the AL where every pitcher knows you, to the NL where pitchers don't, allows you to have a monster spike in stats due to them not knowing how to pitch you. same for Sabathia and NL hitters not knowing his tendencies and what he throws etc.

If u go to http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ramirma02.shtml  U will see that in 100 games with Boston last year, he almost duplicated what he did in 130 games the year before. So I don't know how that is quitting.

He refused to play.  That's quitting.  He bailed on his team in some important series, and TRIED to bail on them in the Yankees series.  His "in the field play" was certainly questionable (dropping, rolling around on, and completely missing a ball...then laughing about it), though nobody ever pegged Manny as a gold glover, I guess.  His at bats often looked "lazy".  Sure, his numbers weren't atrocious...but if you were watching the Sox play and thought Manny looked "right", you were either fooling yourself or you were suffering from severe amnesia...especially in the weeks leading up to the trade, which is when everything sort of came to a head (both in terms of effort and in terms of production).

I know Manny is no saint and did some questionable shit, but Papelbon has no right, calling someone who should be celebrated for all he did to help that city finally win something, a cancer.

On that, at least, we agree.  Largely because I believe in the sanctity of the locker room, and in being a professional.  I don't think Papelbon did that very well.

[pilferk]

the americans had a frustrating run in the WBC. SPs were disappointing. and can anyone explain why the hell Jeter was starting at SS with Jimmy Rollins sitting on the bench as a DH? ridiculous.

my fantasy draft is saturday. i have alot of preparing to do this week. can't believe the season starts in less than 2 weeks.
 

Injuries really took their toll.  I think had Youk, Pedroia, and the rest of the walking wounded NOT been hurt, the results could have been very different.  As it was, the US was left without a lot of offensive firepower in those last 2 games....AND some thin pitching.

And I agree on Jeter.  Look, he's still a VERY good SS (no mater what the ratings say...I can't remember a play I saw him muff recently)..but he's not the best guy in baseball anymore.  Even I, the Yanks fan, think Jeter should have been either the DH, or a sub.  Rollins is clearly better, defensively, IMHO.  That being said...I watched most of the games, and can't think of any real defensive lapses with Jeter playing the position.  Especially any that effected the outcome of the game.  I'll admit, I turned it off last night in the 7th..so maybe something occurred after that?

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb at the game today. 

[sandman]

the americans had a frustrating run in the WBC. SPs were disappointing. and can anyone explain why the hell Jeter was starting at SS with Jimmy Rollins sitting on the bench as a DH? ridiculous.

my fantasy draft is saturday. i have alot of preparing to do this week. can't believe the season starts in less than 2 weeks.
 

  I'll admit, I turned it off last night in the 7th..so maybe something occurred after that?

yup. error by jeter allowed Japan to open the game up in the 8th. hurt any chance of a comeback. 

[pilferk]

yup. error by jeter allowed Japan to open the game up in the 8th. hurt any chance of a comeback. 

Ahh, that explains it.

I think it was still 6-2 when I flipped it off at the end of the 7th.  I was beat, and figured it was pretty much over anyway.

Tough break for Jeter...he's usually pretty sure handed.

On another note:  Why is Lasorda so pissed off that we lost? It's like he's portraying it as a national affront.  This isn't Olympic Basketball.  It's an overglorified exhibition...and one who's timing COMPLETELY sucks, putting the US in about as big a disadvantage as they can get (and lending to it's irrelevance).

I mean...it's not like we ever send our best players.  We send enough "stars" to lend the team some legitamacy, and keep us competitive, but it's not like we send the best of the best.  I find it hard to muster any real outrage given the circumstances.  Sure, it sucks..but it's like having a bad record in spring training.   It's hard to feel any real "sting" from it.

[pilferk]

Well, Yanks tickets FINALLY went on sale.

Picked up single, bleacher seats for June 4th and 18th.

Picked up a pair of field level seats for Toronto on Aug 12th.

The field level seats went WAY up this season...bleachers were still pretty reasonable.

Not sure if I'll be able to do both games in June, but will be able to do ONE of them, so bought both.  I'll stub hub the extra, if necessary, for cost-ish (prolly $30..I'll make a whopping $1.50, after TM fees if it sells).

Can't wait to see the new stadium!

[pilferk]

OK, here's a sticker:

I manged to weasel my way into a free ticket to the opening night (Friday, April 3rd) of Yankee stadium:  The exhibition with the Cubs.

But my ticket is for the Audi club.  I have no fucking idea where it is, but I DO know we're supposed to get fed and boozed up with the ticket.

Does ANYONE have any more info on it?  I don't care where the seats are, or how much of the "game" I get to see...I'm just happy to be there.

Also, anyone from NYC know if the Metro North stop at the stadium is up and running yet (or will be by next week)?  Wondering if I have to go through Harlem and catch the subway or not....

Edit:  This is all I've been able to find, via the Yanks web site:

Audi Yankees Club

The Audi Yankees Club is a membership club located on the H&R Block Suite Level. The club features a cocktail bar and a dining lounge and offers sweeping views of Yankee Stadium from left field. The experience is highlighted by performance-cooking stations, a dessert station and full cocktail service. Membership is available on an annual basis. For more information, visit www.yankees.com. Individual- game tickets are also available.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I'll be uploading my WBC photos in a bit, but for now, here's a sad image.