MLB 2007

[bobbob1313]

No, he's a Marlins fan and is trying to pad their hit numbers.

 

Obligatory "The Marlins Have Fans?????" comment.

[redpillbox]

I definitely like last year's A's-Mariners series better. But I'm still excited about tonight's game. It's the first one I get to actually watch this season (stupid work).

 

 

Yeah, that Art Thiel piece is ridiculous. The P.I. is a joke for sports coverage. I do like the sportswriters at the Times (Steve Kelley, Larry Stone).

 

I'll be at the game tonight rooting hard against your A's -- but when the A's make it to the playoffs again this year (Seriously, I look at their lineup EVERY year and say "no way" you can't win with a first baseman by the name of Dan Johnson. I don't understand how they do it, but I've now given myself over to Beane-ball) I will root for them again.

[bobbob1313]

I absolutely cannot get over how much Jorge Julio sucks.

[MrRain422]

You can have Jason Grilli instead if you want.

[MrRain422]

And Barry Bonds hits #1 of '07.

[bobbob1313]

And Barry Bonds hits #1 of '07.

 

:realmad

 

I hope he hits 800, retires and comes out with a line of "Barry's Steriod Brews" and if they don't put him in the hall, fuck it, because he knows he's the best hitter of our generation, and if anyone wants to doubt it, that's their problem.

[bobbob1313]

FUCKING JORGE JULIO!111

 

I'm going to make the Marlins GM a T-Shirt that says:

 

I traded a promising pitching prospect and all I got was the worst closer in the league.

 

I really think most of the bullpen is going to be decent, but if Julio keeps getting important innings, we're not going to fare well. But we've got some really promising young arms there (Messenger, Owens, Lidstrom, Tankersley) who can all be above average relievers. If our bullpen can be league average and we get leage average productioin from De Aza in CF, I think this is a playoff team right now.

 

And the Marlins respond to the criticism that they didn't make any serious moves this offseason by dealing for Jorge Julio. Awesome job, guys!

 

We're rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic... No move is better than this move...

 

It's still only 3 games, but damnit. 1 1/3 IP, 4 ER (and if the Marlins had been the home team today, it would be more like 9 ER, since he was not getting out of that inning alive today), no k's, 2 walks. Unacceptable. I may be overreacting, but it's ridiculous. The guy's been a bum his entire career, save for one good season, and we give up one of our top 10 prospects for him. It boggles the mind.

[Nobody Girl]

 

Yeah, that Art Thiel piece is ridiculous. The P.I. is a joke for sports coverage. I do like the sportswriters at the Times (Steve Kelley, Larry Stone).

 

I'll be at the game tonight rooting hard against your A's -- but when the A's make it to the playoffs again this year (Seriously, I look at their lineup EVERY year and say "no way" you can't win with a first baseman by the name of Dan Johnson. I don't understand how they do it, but I've now given myself over to Beane-ball) I will root for them again.

For what it's worth, the Mariners are my second-favorite team in the division.

 

And for anyone who hasn't heard, Extra Innings will in fact be available through cable.

 

Cable subscribers will once again be able to watch out-of-market Major League Baseball games, ending their fears that the Extra Innings package would become the exclusive domain of DirecTV for the next seven years.

 

M.L.B. and InDemand

[bobbob1313]

Looking over the stats, the 1997 Marlins World Series team probably should not have won that. That was not an impressive squad that year. They had 2 1/2 good pitchers and not a single hitter who slugged over .500.

 

Also, Kevin Brown should've won the Cy Young in 1996. An ERA+ of 214? Thats unheard of. He walked 33 batters in 233 innings. That's Maddux-ish.

 

I do find it funny that he hit half as many batters (16) as he walked (33).

 

Kevin Brown should be a borderline hall of famer, and I think you could argue he deserves to be in. If it wasn't for the fact that he played for some awful teams for the first 8 seasons of his career, he'd have 250 wins and really be a viable candidate.

[Lammycat]

Earl says: "and if they don't put him in the hall, fuck it, because he knows he's the best hitter of our generation, and if anyone wants to doubt it, that's their problem."

 

The whole crux of him being "the best hitter of our generation" (and I assume "our" to mean "your" generation) is based on the fact that he cheated to become that. So it's not like it's fact or anything, or that there'd be reason to question the validity of the "title" you bestow upon him.

 

I just wonder how many other already good sluggers could have come close to becoming "the best hitter of 'our' generation had they abused steroids to reach that pinnacle....

[paul137]

damn i had the afternoon off.

 

Blue Jays-Tigers game postponed by cold weather

 

April 5, 2007

 

DETROIT (AP) -- The Toronto Blue Jays-Detroit Tigers game scheduled for Thursday afternoon was postponed because of cold weather.

 

The game will be made up on Sept. 10 at 7:05 p.m.

 

[cryptique]

Cold weather?

 

 

 

Pussies.

[Spawn's dad]

Earl says: "and if they don't put him in the hall, fuck it, because he knows he's the best hitter of our generation, and if anyone wants to doubt it, that's their problem."

 

The whole crux of him being "the best hitter of our generation" (and I assume "our" to mean "your" generation) is based on the fact that he cheated to become that. So it's not like it's fact or anything, or that there'd be reason to question the validity of the "title" you bestow upon him.

 

I just wonder how many other already good sluggers could have come close to becoming "the best hitter of 'our' generation had they abused steroids to reach that pinnacle....

 

the flaw in your argument is that there is an equal or greater number of pitchers using the same substances, thus providing a theoretical leveling (or total tilting) of the playing field. if you disallow Bonds, who has never actually failed a test, I contend that you should basically chose an arbitrary cut off year and shut down admission to the hall. Lets say we kick out everyone after Ripkin....but wait, all those games....it's possible, no.....

[Lammycat]

I'm not neccesarily saying "disallow" Bonds anything. I'm saying the validity of him being considered the best hitter of a generation is open to interpretation and is not a fact.

[Spawn's dad]

I think the more valid argument is in comparing this generation against others.

[MrRain422]

I'm undecided on how to judge Bonds, due to the great many other players doing the same thing, and the fact that we really don't know just how much the 'roids helped him. The fact that he never failed a test is completely meaningless though (beside the fact that he did in fact fail a test for amphetimines). The leaked grand jury testimony proves that he did in fact use steroids. The lack of a test means nothing, because we know he was on steroids anyway.

[caliber66]

And the fact that he never failed a steroids test indicates that he knew he was on steroids, and was taking steps to mask that fact.

[cryptique]

Barry Bonds will never be my Home Run King. Fuck that guy.

[Spawn's dad]

Lance Armstrong is no Eddie Merckx

[tongue-tied lightning]

35 degrees at the Red game this afternoon

[bobbob1313]

Earl says: "and if they don't put him in the hall, fuck it, because he knows he's the best hitter of our generation, and if anyone wants to doubt it, that's their problem."

 

The whole crux of him being "the best hitter of our generation" (and I assume "our" to mean "your" generation) is based on the fact that he cheated to become that. So it's not like it's fact or anything, or that there'd be reason to question the validity of the "title" you bestow upon him.

 

I just wonder how many other already good sluggers could have come close to becoming "the best hitter of 'our' generation had they abused steroids to reach that pinnacle....

 

If you believe most of the stats floating around, most of the hitters of this generation, and probably all of the great hitters who played during the 90's (and many of the pitchers) used steroids too, and he was still so much better than all of them. You have to judge players by the context they played in. Sure if Bonds passes Aaron, you can argue that since he played in a more home run happy era where steroid juiced freaks were launching home runs out of the park in record numbers, he isn't the legitimate home run king, or you could use statistics to prove that had he played in Aaron's era he wouldn't have hit as many home runs (just as you could probably prove that had Aaron played in Ruth's era, he may not have passed him), so at the end of the day, you have to judge the hitters of the steroid generation against the other hitters of the same generation, and he was clearly the top one.

 

Steroids were a major part of the game during the 90's and early part of the aughts, just like the live ball dominated the game after Ruth started playing, or the dead ball dominated the game prior to that. The adjustment of the pitching mound and shrinking of the strike zone dominated the game in the years following Bob Gibson's 67 season, when you saw an offensive explosion.

 

As much as we don't want it to be true, this game isn't perfect by any means, and it's got it's flaws, and rather than try to hide from the flaws that for better or worse defined the game, what we need to do is accept the fact that we all did promote this in one way or the other for a long time, and that it is as much a part of the game as any other era. Whether they want to or not, Bond's era will forever be known as the steroid era, so instead of judging players by the performance of the past, judge them against their peers. Had Fred McGriff played in the 60's and 70's, he'd probably be a hall of famer, but he's borderline because of the era he played in.

[Sir Stewart]

Countdown to Dice-K... t-minus 3 outs....

[MrRain422]

It's early, but I'm feeling pretty good about my Grady Sizemore MVP prediction right now.

[Lammycat]

I'm Tivo'ing the Dice-K game, so I may need to avoid this thread the rest of the afternoon so as not to taint (Heh, "taint") my experience after work.

 

B2: Some good points and I agree that the game is in no way perfect. The era will forever be known as the Steroid Era, indeed, and ownership and the Commissioner's office were major factors in allowing it to thrive for the sake of their wallets.

 

However, using steroids when it was declared against the rules still doesn't gibe with me. I'm from the camp that believes that just because a lot of folks are doing something wrong doesn't make doing it right. I'm not trying to sound pious or anything, either, but it does matter to me if players cheat to that caliber. I can't repect it. I can't shrug my shoulders and chalk it up to "the era" no matter how prevalent it was during the era.

 

Awarding Bonds the title of best hitter of an era when the era cited (and the player cited) was rift with abuses to the sport is redundant in my eyes. Bonds and his "accomplishments" become irrelevant, to a large degree, to me. His blatant denial in the face of evidence certainly doesn't help (do people really talk about Giambi juicin' that much anymore?).

 

It's too bad, too. He is a naturally great hitter. He may not have even needed the drugs to accomplish (or at least get close to) what he has while cheating.

[MrRain422]

Pretty much all of Bonds's biggest accomplishments were before steroids were officially against MLB rules.