2012 Baseball Season/Off-Season Discussion

[tim_m]

And the umps make an absolutely atrocious call in the NL wild card game.

Bizzarro stuff.

The umps turned a strike out into a 2 run bomb for ATL, apparently made up a new rule -  the "outfield fly" and blew the Chipper call at first in the 9th which would have ended the game but allowed the tying run to come to the plate after Heyward shot the gap.

Beyond the above..

The Braves really threw the ball around, that's what ultimately cost them the game.

Definitely one of the craziest games i've seen. It lived up to being the wild card game.

[tim_m]

Congrats to the O's for advancing to the LDS. Texas really sucked the last two weeks and got exactly what they deserved to go home.

[Falcon]

Congrats to the O's for advancing to the LDS. Texas really sucked the last two weeks and got exactly what they deserved to go home.

They didn't play well down the stretch for sure, not a good possible send off for Hamilton.

[faldor]

Congrats to the O's for advancing to the LDS. Texas really sucked the last two weeks and got exactly what they deserved to go home.

They didn't play well down the stretch for sure, not a good possible send off for Hamilton.

Yeah, I haven't been paying that close attention, but what's up with Hamilton and the Ranger fans?  He was getting booed pretty heavily.  I know he's gone through some pretty bad slumps, and I assume he was in the midst of one.  But the guy still put up some pretty fantastic numbers for them.  You think the fans would be a little more appreciative.  Is there more to the story that I'm not getting?

The Orioles no longer surprise me.  They're good.  The Yankees would've been far better off facing the Rangers.  They were obviously limping along, while the Orioles refuse to go down without a fight.  I expect a very competitive series, and I think the O's will come out on top.  Both teams have solid bullpens, so getting early leads will be important.

[tim_m]

Congrats to the O's for advancing to the LDS. Texas really sucked the last two weeks and got exactly what they deserved to go home.

They didn't play well down the stretch for sure, not a good possible send off for Hamilton.

Yeah, I haven't been paying that close attention, but what's up with Hamilton and the Ranger fans?  He was getting booed pretty heavily.  I know he's gone through some pretty bad slumps, and I assume he was in the midst of one.  But the guy still put up some pretty fantastic numbers for them.  You think the fans would be a little more appreciative.  Is there more to the story that I'm not getting?

The Orioles no longer surprise me.  They're good.  The Yankees would've been far better off facing the Rangers.  They were obviously limping along, while the Orioles refuse to go down without a fight.  I expect a very competitive series, and I think the O's will come out on top.  Both teams have solid bullpens, so getting early leads will be important.

I think a lot of ranger perceived him this year as not trying or seeming like he didn't care.

[tim_m]

Hey, Faldor, it seems Francona is now the manager for the Indians. Thoughts?

[faldor]

Hey, Faldor, it seems Francona is now the manager for the Indians. Thoughts?

I was surprised he was interested in the job to begin with, but apparently he's tight with team president Mark Shapiro and the GM.  So he's choosing comfort over the big market lure.  Obviously he was hung out to dry at the end of his run with the Sox.  They treated him poorly, so he'd rather step into a situation he knows will be enjoyable, at least off the field.  I also heard a report that his reputation may have taken a hit due to the smear campaign the Sox put out on him after he was let go.  The thought is that some teams may have had reservations about hiring him because of the crap that was written about him (prescription drug abuse, marital problems, etc.).  Not sure I buy that, but that's one opinion.  We'll see what impact he has on the field.  Cleveland is a funny team.  They're good one year, bad the next few.  No consistency, but it's not impossible to win with there.

[tim_m]

Hey, Faldor, it seems Francona is now the manager for the Indians. Thoughts?

I was surprised he was interested in the job to begin with, but apparently he's tight with team president Mark Shapiro and the GM.  So he's choosing comfort over the big market lure.  Obviously he was hung out to dry at the end of his run with the Sox.  They treated him poorly, so he'd rather step into a situation he knows will be enjoyable, at least off the field.  I also heard a report that his reputation may have taken a hit due to the smear campaign the Sox put out on him after he was let go.  The thought is that some teams may have had reservations about hiring him because of the crap that was written about him (prescription drug abuse, marital problems, etc.).  Not sure I buy that, but that's one opinion.  We'll see what impact he has on the field.  Cleveland is a funny team.  They're good one year, bad the next few.  No consistency, but it's not impossible to win with there.

It should be interesting. I don't really buy anything that was written about him either. He seems like an overall good guy. I wish him luck with the Indians.

[pilferk]

I disagree wth faldor.

First up, its a tough case to make that the Yanks limped in at the end.  The had a tough August...but seemed to be much better in Sept/Oct.

Second, I would rather face the O's. Yes, the Rangers struggled, late. But the fact is they have a more dangerous line up and rotation than the O's do. Not to mention...the travel makes these practically home games for the Yanks.

Which isn't to say the O's will be pushovers. I doubt the will.

[tim_m]

Good game by the Nationals today. Both teams had their chances throughout the game but late in the game the Nats made the plays and got the hit when they needed it. I am surprised the A's are down 2-0.

[pilferk]

Nice win by the Yanks last night.  Given the way the O's have played all season...going into the 9th I was not optimistic.  Ditto with the way Johnson has pitched...

The funny thing is...earlier in the game, they walked Granderson to get to Martin.  I said to my wife: That's not a great move.  He's been a much better hitter late this season.

Flash forward a few innings, and he opens the floodgates with that HR.

We'll see how tonight goes.

[tim_m]

Nice win by the Yanks last night.  Given the way the O's have played all season...going into the 9th I was not optimistic.  Ditto with the way Johnson has pitched...

The funny thing is...earlier in the game, they walked Granderson to get to Martin.  I said to my wife: That's not a great move.  He's been a much better hitter late this season.

Flash forward a few innings, and he opens the floodgates with that HR.

We'll see how tonight goes.

We had good clutch hitting when we needed it the most. That's something we've been lacking most the season and most of the scoring was not via homerun. That's very encouraging. Sabathia was also lights out last night.

[pilferk]

Another ugly day with RISP for the Yanks.

St Louis looking dangerous.

[tim_m]

Well what a night of baseball two walk off wins.

[pilferk]

Dragging HARD this morning.

Gutsy call by Girardi to PH for A-rod.  DEFINITELY the right call, considering the way he's swinging the bat.

HUGE AB's/HR's for Ibanez.  Those will go down in Yankee legend (how legendary will likely depend on what happens over the next week or so).

AMAZING come back for the AMAZING A's last night.

Interesting that...not ONE LDS sweep this year.  Good way to start off the playoffs.

Nats and O's playing for their lives today.

[tim_m]

Joe Girardi's father Jerry passed Saturday night at the age of 81. I can't imagine how hard it must be right now for Joe to continue managing. RIP Jerry Girardi.

[tim_m]

What an insane day in the LDS so far. The Giants come all the way back from down 2-0 to win their series. The nats tie their series at 2-2 with a dominant bullpen performance where they struck out 8 consecutive batters. Unreal.

[pilferk]

Yankees offense (and NOT just A-rod, despite the media harping on him) looks to have decided to begin the off-season early.  The middle of that lineup (Cano, Swish, Granderson, A-rod) have been complete no-shows this season.

Also...too much swinging for the fences.  Too little plate discipline. Not a good combination.

Hopefully, they'll show up tonight and CC will pitch another gem.

[faldor]

Yankees offense (and NOT just A-rod, despite the media harping on him) looks to have decided to begin the off-season early.  The middle of that lineup (Cano, Swish, Granderson, A-rod) have been complete no-shows this season.

Also...too much swinging for the fences.  Too little plate discipline. Not a good combination.

Hopefully, they'll show up tonight and CC will pitch another gem.

I could give you 25 million reasons why A-Rod is taking most of the heat for his offensive offensive performance.  YES, I meant to use offensive twice.

You're right though, he's far from the only one.  But it's obviously gotten to Girardi, as he's out of the lineup for tonight.  And let's face it, Alex's role has slipped the last couple of games.  He went from the #3 hitter to getting pinched hit for, to getting dropped in the lineup and pinched hit for again, to now being out of the lineup.  I know people say it's  ballsy move, but I think it's a little cowardly.  Either you stick with the guy, or you turn elsewhere.  Now obviously, he's chosen to turn elsewhere tonight.  But that was clearly on his mind, he just didn't act on it fully for 2 games.  I mean when is the last time a #3 hitter has been pinch hit for in a tied playoff game without health being a factor?  That doesn't happen.  I don't know.  I get it, and I agree with benching A-Rod.  I just think he should've done it in game 3 instead of pinch hitting for him.  He's basically piled on to embarrassing the guy. 

If the Yanks lose tonight, Alex has to come back next season off the heals of yet another disappointing post season and try to win back favor with the fans knowing he's owed an enormous amount of money over the next FIVE seasons.  If they win, he has to try and regroup on the fly for the next series where life doesn't get much easier as the Tigers starting pitching at the very least is equal too if not better than the O's.  He's put himself in a tough spot, but I don't think Girardi has made it any easier for him.

Just a thought.  I've gone through this as a fan of the Red Sox.  Back in 2004 when they played the Yanks, guys like Damon and Millar were struggling mightily and I was screaming for them to shake things up.  But Francona showed faith and solidarity with his guys and left things the way they were.  It ended up being the right decision.  Jerking guys around, doesn't seem like the right decision to me.  It's one way or the other.

[tim_m]

And the Yankees advance to the ALCS. It should be interesting to see how it plays out with Sabathia and Verlander unable to go before game 3. As much as i am happy that the Yankees did win i do feel bad for Baltimore. They've struggled for so long it was really good to see them in this position again. Hopefully they'll be back sooner rather than later.