2011 Baseball Season/Off-Season Discussion

[LongGoneDay]

You would think that the Yanks would want to go into the postseason riding some momentum, but I wouldn't blame them for resting some of their older players.
It's not like they are rolling over for the Rays. These guys have pride, or you would hope so. I'm sure Soriano didn't enjoy giving up the game winning bomb to his former team.

Sox are gonna have to win some softball games. Pitching continues to fail for them time and time again.
If they win tonight, our reward is to watch John Lackey in a 1 game playoff. That's like a sick joke. I'd rather watch Dice K throw left handed gyro balls.

As much as I hate to say it, if I were the Yanks I'd want to face Boston given the choice over Tampa, but I'm not sure I see either team getting out of the first round this year.
Like the Sox, Yanks don't have a championship caliber pitching staff.

Tampa on the other hand could back in to the playoffs and win it all with the arms they can throw out.

IF the Sox go into a 1 game playoff tomorrow, and IF they win...who pitches on Friday at 5 PM?

Beckett on 3 days rest?  Ouch.

Wakefield? Double Ouch.

Then they play again on Sat...and you'll see whichever of the above 2 didn't pitch on Friday.  Triple ouch.

Ouch indeed!

Now way to sugar coat it. Sox are in a terrible spot, but they have only themselves to blame.
Wakefield has no business on a postseason roster, never mind a game 1 start. I'd go with Beckett on short rest since he at least has the stuff to get it done.
He's had a great year, but slumping at the wrong time. The good news is he appears healthy. His velocity isn't an issue, it's execution, and that can be turned around.
Wakfield is just rolling the dice. Love the guy, but even he has no idea where that ball is gonna end up. He can pitch a no hitter through five, and then give up 6 quick ones in he 6th. You just never know.

Long ways away before they have to worry about that, though. Today's game is not a given. Lester has had success in Baltimore, but he's had nothing resembling success at any park lately.

If they are lucky enough to get to the one game playoff with Tampa, it's going to take a mini miracle to eek that one out. Going to have to put up some crooked numbers, because even though the Rays don't have the most potent offense in the game, Lackey has a way of making ALL teams look like offensive powerhouses. Problem for the Sox is, Tampa isn't trotting out John Lackey.

[LongGoneDay]

You would think that the Yanks would want to go into the postseason riding some momentum, but I wouldn't blame them for resting some of their older players.
It's not like they are rolling over for the Rays. These guys have pride, or you would hope so. I'm sure Soriano didn't enjoy giving up the game winning bomb to his former team.

Sox are gonna have to win some softball games. Pitching continues to fail for them time and time again.
If they win tonight, our reward is to watch John Lackey in a 1 game playoff. That's like a sick joke. I'd rather watch Dice K throw left handed gyro balls.

As much as I hate to say it, if I were the Yanks I'd want to face Boston given the choice over Tampa, but I'm not sure I see either team getting out of the first round this year.
Like the Sox, Yanks don't have a championship caliber pitching staff.

Tampa on the other hand could back in to the playoffs and win it all with the arms they can throw out.

The ONLY team in the AL, in the playoffs, that has a championship caliber pitching staff is Detroit...and they have other issues.  Rays are good, not great.  Yanks are....inconsistent.  Sox rotation, right now, just sucks.

Yanks could beat Texas in a short series.  Detroit would be more challenging, but Leyland has said he WILL NOT pitch Verlander on short rest.  I don't know if I believe him..but he's said it.  That would give the Yanks (you'd think) a bit of an advantage.

But there are 2 NL teams that scare the crap out of me....and I don't think ANY AL team can beat them:  Phillies and Brewers.  If St. Louis gets in and advanced to the WS...they're scary, but I think the winner of the AL could put up a good fight. 

I guess Texas and NY are pretty similar with 1 Ace, and good offense.

Yeah the less you have to face Verlander the better. That guy is an absolute freak of nature. I really don't understand how he has been able to maintain his velocity for as long as he has, where it seems no one else in the league can. You don't want to face a guy that's still capable of hitting 98-99 MPH in the 9th inning! His off speed stuff is obviously no picnic. Any lineup with Cabrera and Martinez(wish we could get guys like him) in it scares me.

It's the Phillies World Series to lose you would think, but anything can happen.

[pilferk]

There's a rumor going around that Bucholz might be activated for tonight's game:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/28/the-reds-may-pitch-clay-buchholz-tonight/related/

[LongGoneDay]

There's a rumor going around that Bucholz might be activated for tonight's game:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/28/the-reds-may-pitch-clay-buchholz-tonight/related/

Yeah, they have been planning to bring him back around now, hoping to get him some work if we had clinched.
Tall task to ask someone to come in and be effective in a must win game, but it's all hands on deck now.
I'd be surprised to see anything more than an inning from him, though. If we see him at all.

[tim_m]

We're talking so much about the Sox collapse how about the Braves? We could possibly have two one game playoffs tomorrow. What a nightmare that could end up being for the winners of those games pitching wise.

[D]

Braves brought it on themselves. They have some amazing pitchers at AAA but continue to let Derrick Lowe pitch when he is absolutely terrible.

[tim_m]

That one looks like its headed for the one game playoff tomorrow too.

[sandman]

You would think that the Yanks would want to go into the postseason riding some momentum, but I wouldn't blame them for resting some of their older players.
It's not like they are rolling over for the Rays. These guys have pride, or you would hope so. I'm sure Soriano didn't enjoy giving up the game winning bomb to his former team.

Sox are gonna have to win some softball games. Pitching continues to fail for them time and time again.
If they win tonight, our reward is to watch John Lackey in a 1 game playoff. That's like a sick joke. I'd rather watch Dice K throw left handed gyro balls.

As much as I hate to say it, if I were the Yanks I'd want to face Boston given the choice over Tampa, but I'm not sure I see either team getting out of the first round this year.
Like the Sox, Yanks don't have a championship caliber pitching staff.

Tampa on the other hand could back in to the playoffs and win it all with the arms they can throw out.

The ONLY team in the AL, in the playoffs, that has a championship caliber pitching staff is Detroit...and they have other issues.  Rays are good, not great.  Yanks are....inconsistent.  Sox rotation, right now, just sucks.

Yanks could beat Texas in a short series.  Detroit would be more challenging, but Leyland has said he WILL NOT pitch Verlander on short rest.  I don't know if I believe him..but he's said it.  That would give the Yanks (you'd think) a bit of an advantage.

But there are 2 NL teams that scare the crap out of me....and I don't think ANY AL team can beat them:  Phillies and Brewers.  If St. Louis gets in and advanced to the WS...they're scary, but I think the winner of the AL could put up a good fight. 

I guess Texas and NY are pretty similar with 1 Ace, and good offense.

Yeah the less you have to face Verlander the better. That guy is an absolute freak of nature. I really don't understand how he has been able to maintain his velocity for as long as he has, where it seems no one else in the league can. You don't want to face a guy that's still capable of hitting 98-99 MPH in the 9th inning! His off speed stuff is obviously no picnic. Any lineup with Cabrera and Martinez(wish we could get guys like him) in it scares me.

It's the Phillies World Series to lose you would think, but anything can happen.

i agree with both of you...

pilferk - brewers are very dangerous. they scare me. they are built for a playoff run.

LDG - phillies are the best team, but will they be the best team in october. like you said, anything can happen. no pitcher is unhittable, and the phils offense disappears at times.

this is just incredible. 2 extra innings games and the top seeds are both involved (which is the last thing they wanted); Sox-orioles resuming play....what a night!!

[tim_m]

Nice job Papelbum!

[tim_m]

Goodbye Boston!

[Falcon]

OK, I can break my baseball thread post silence.

Unfuckingbelievable.

Thanks for the help sandman, good luck to you and the Phillies.

[tim_m]

And to think, Papelbum gets that last strike there's a play in game tomorrow. I hope it gets more exciting from here but i'm not sure how!

[sandman]

OK, I can break my baseball thread post silence.

Unfuckingbelievable.

Thanks for the help sandman, good luck to you and the Phillies.

You're welcome! Lol.

Good luck to you and the cards. Should be a great series. We have pitchers who throw strikes which is dangerous against those power hitters. Who pitches game 1....garcia?

What a night. Unreal. I am seriously worried about all red sox fans. What a brutal night. 9/28/11 will be remembered for many years.

And F reyes!

[tim_m]

OK, I can break my baseball thread post silence.

Unfuckingbelievable.

Thanks for the help sandman, good luck to you and the Phillies.

You're welcome! Lol.

Good luck to you and the cards. Should be a great series. We have pitchers who throw strikes which is dangerous against those power hitters. Who pitches game 1....garcia?

What a night. Unreal. I am seriously worried about all red sox fans. What a brutal night. 9/28/11 will be remembered for many years.

And F reyes!

I can't imagine what Faldor is feeling right now. I wonder when we'll see him around here after what happened tonight.

Totally agree about Reyes what a selfish dickhead putting himself ahead of the team.

[Falcon]

You're welcome! Lol.

Good luck to you and the cards. Should be a great series. We have pitchers who throw strikes which is dangerous against those power hitters. Who pitches game 1....garcia?

And F reyes!

Yep, should be fun.

Lohse in Game 1, TBD from there.

And yes, FUCK Reyes!!!!

[pilferk]

And to think, Papelbum gets that last strike there's a play in game tomorrow. I hope it gets more exciting from here but i'm not sure how!

Yeah, BUT....the previous game he got a strike call that OBVIOUSLY wasn't (it was WAY outside).  Had that strike been a ball, there would have been another man on base, and likely that game would have gone to the O's.

Point being:  You gotta roll with the punches and get the outs.  Paps wasn't able to do that, last night.

[pilferk]

WTF just happened?

So, it's 10:15...yanks are up 7-0, Sox are up 3-2...and I'm watching some stupid sitcom while the Sox are in Rain Delay, figuring the Sox are going to eke out their win and the Rays are going home.

Then, all hell broke loose.  Logan and Ayala do their best batting practice pitcher impressions.  O's turn into world beaters.  HOLY CRAP....

And that doesn't even address the Braves/Cards stuff.  It was a bit LESS dramatic because the Cards finished their game up quickly and decisively, but...still.

2 Epic September collapses.  WOW!  What a ride.

Edit: Can I tell you...there are Yanks fans who are ready to fall on swords because the Yanks coughed up a 7 run lead last night?

[pilferk]

OK folks, here are my (completely sacrelidgeous) Playoff picks:

NL:
Diamondbacks vs Brewers: Brewers
Cards vs Phillies: Cards

Brewers vs Cards: Cards

AL:
Tigers vs Yanks: TIgers (and you have no idea how much that hurts)
Rangers vs Rays: Rays

Detroit vs Rays: Detroit

WS:
Tigers vs Cards

[sandman]

i was thinking the same thing about Faldor. hang in there dude.  all of our teams except for one will be eliminated at some point. time to focus all your attention on the upcoming GnR shows.

sabbathia vs verlander friday night to kick off the playoffs?!?! WOW!

interesting picks pilferk. i gotta give it some more thought.

- detroit is a tough matchup.
- i did not want to see the phils play the cards. they are the hot and very dangerous team. their starters have incredible numbers vs the phils too. still, the phillies got doc, lee, hamels, and oswalt (who hit 95 mph the other night).
- TB-texas is a total toss-up for me.
- brewers might be my pick to win it all.     

[LongGoneDay]

Nice catch Carl.
At least I don't have to watch Lackey pitch again this year.
Hopefully never in a Sox uniform again.

Should be some good matchups.
Longoria is peaking at the perfect time.

Verlander vs Sabbathia should be a hell of a game.