MLB 2007

[bobbob1313]

755.

 

Very nice story regarding 756:

 

Trevor Hoffman's longtime bullpen catcher Mark Marella is fighting cancer, so Trevor said if he caught it, he would sell the ball and then give the money to Marella.

 

Nikolai Bonds, Barry's son, is hoping to get the ball back from the guy who caught 755 and sell the ball and give it to Marella.

 

 

I'm not liking what we are seeing from Bud. Why even be there. You are the comissioner of the game, and no matter what you feel about him, it's not that hard to swallow your pride and applaud. It makes the game look bad. It's so hard being the commissioner. He obviously feels guilty that he all but endorsed steroid use in the late 90's and is now reaping what he sowed.

[MrRain422]

At least he showed up though. He's obviously a bitter old coot.

[Lammycat]

At least he showed up though. He's obviously a bitter old coot.

See I'm not so sure he's as bitter as he is bummed out (good pals with Aaron) and ashamed. He obviously personally wishes he could just distance himself from the whole Bonds issue. Not the steroids issue, per se, but the circus that is Bonds. Of course, as Commish, he can't.

 

Watching the Costas interview with him on HBO last night I couldn't help thinking that he feels somewhat ashamed for being an accessory to the whole steroids issue. He gave generalized answers and passed the buck to the fans making up their own minds when asked direct questions about Bonds. However, part of me gets the sense that I think he believes that he did his best in investigating steroid issues.

 

I think it's two-fold, though. Selig set up a panel/board of go-to guys to investigate claims of steroid use years ago. He says he personally went to all the ball clubs (physically) to dig around, too. However, it seems that the investigative crew he put together was a straw crew. It was more for show and for being able to say that he did something rather than having nothing in place or doing nothing. He left (continues to leave) it to a few select guys to report to him only if they had/have concerns, thereby passing the buck again. It has snowballed on him to the point that damage control is now very difficult.

 

I also think that, overall, Selig is a decent man and genuinely loves the game and wants what's best for it. I think he was pretty naive about the prevalence of steroids and the lingering impact they would have on the game, though.

[MrRain422]

I can understand why he might be disappointed or ashamed, but I also think he doesn't have to be so open about his contempt for Bonds. Selig made his bed and now he has to lay in it. When he's in public, he should be more conciliatory and pretend to be happy about it.

 

Not that I care all that much really. A-Rod's 500th was probably a bigger deal long term. He's 32 years old. Jesus.

[Lammycat]

When he's in public, he should be more conciliatory and pretend to be happy about it.

I agree in a sense, but I also don't think he needs to pretend to be something he's not. He isn't happy about it and everyone realizes this. I think he's trying too hard to tow a line with the media and to save face for whatever legacy he thinks he'll leave/deserve. He's made efforts to be at the games in which Bonds could surpass the record and I think that's all we can expect from him. He'll applaud and congratulate Bonds when it happens and say the "right" things and it'll all be forgotten in a few weeks.

[bobbob1313]

We do have to applaud the Herculean effort that is flying a chartered jet around the country and going to baseball games. It's a tough life.

 

I actually do like Selig, but I think he's handled this thing poorly from the very beginning (the mid 90's.)

[caliber66]

I think Selig's point is (and I'd be willing to cut him some slack regardless who was coming up on the record) that he has other things to do as the commissioner of MLB, and flying around the country for a month waiting for one guy to hit two home runs takes away from his ability to conduct business. Granted, it's a huge part of his job to do this kind of thing, but being away from the office indefinitely is tough on anyone.

[bobbob1313]

I think after basically throwing Barry under the bus the last year and a half, the least Selig could do was be there. He points to the fact that the comissioner wasn't there when Aaron and Maris broke their records, but it was a different time. If you are telling me he can't do whatever business he needs to do from the road, then MLB seriously needs to consider upgrading their equipment.

 

I just don't buy the "he's a busy man" thing. I get missing the game because of the HoF induction, but other than that, he should be there, and he should expect us to stand up and applaud when he shows up.

[benjamin]

Tigers have lost 9 of their last 10? WTFOMGBBQ?!?!

 

Leyland better get a fire started soon!!!

[c53x12]

Jon Miller just said this on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball:

 

"Lou Piniella told me before the game, Joe, that he definitely is intending to get Wood in the game tonight."

 

[bobbob1313]

Hawt.

[bjorn_skurj]

[gogo]

I'll be at the game tomorrow night (Irish night: we get beanies, and a scoreboard scroll of our band's name!). If I catch #756, I'll offer it to whichever VCer posts the most in this thread between now and then*. Go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*not really

[MattZ]

Congratulations Tom Glavine. Consummate pro.

 

Do people around these parts agree with the generally held belief that Glavine will be the last to 300? I find that hard to believe, but I suppose it's true that pitchers don't win 20 any more.

[Sir Stewart]

Pride of Billerica, MA. Way to go Tommy.

[Lammycat]

Do people around these parts agree with the generally held belief that Glavine will be the last to 300? I find that hard to believe, but I suppose it's true that pitchers don't win 20 any more.

I tend to agree that Glavine may be the last. Randy Johnson has an outside shot if he can come back this year and win a couple more and plays next year and has a good/great season (I think he's 15 games away or so). He's pretty old, though, and injured often.

 

I think with the 5 man rotation (it wasn't that long ago for the 4 man rotation), worries about pitch counts, tendencies to over-protect the expensive starting arms, "specialists" in the bullpen, and the continuous shortening of starter's work on game day (overall as the years go by) that it's already much harder for pitchers to reach the 300 win mark.

 

Nice for Glavine, though.

[tongue-tied lightning]

Santana might have a chance, but he might be the last.

[Sir Stewart]

Just wait til Pedro comes back with his Steve Austin arm. 94 wins in a flash!

[MrRain422]

Pitch count limits shouldn't keep win totals down so much -- combined with better training and nutrition, it may actually increase them by giving guys longer careers (of course it's impossible to really measure this for sure since we can't know how long these guys would have lasted in different eras). But the 5-man rotation is certainly making an impact on individual win totals. It wouldn't surprise me if Randy Johnson keeps playing until he gets his 300th (provided his arm doesn't give out on him all together). There are a few young guys who I think are good enough to have some nice, long careers (Verlander, Peavy, Zambrano), but they're still so far away from it at this point that there are just so many things that could get in the way.

 

All that aside from the fact that wins for a pitcher are pretty meaningless. Sorry, couldn't miss the opportunity.

[cryptique]

Do people around these parts agree with the generally held belief that Glavine will be the last to 300? I find that hard to believe, but I suppose it's true that pitchers don't win 20 any more.

It's possible that he'd be the last. I don't think Randy Johnson will get there.

 

Mike Mussina is at 246, and if you figure he could get to about 250 by the end of the season, he'll probably need at least three, probably four more seasons to get to 300 ... and maybe even part of a fifth season.

 

He's 38 now, and if he stays healthy, maybe.

[bobbob1313]

All that aside from the fact that wins for a pitcher are pretty meaningless.

[Lammycat]

Wins may be meaningless in a pragmatic/philosophical sense, but the W will always equate to the level of eliteness a player has, his contract, and his place in the rotation. For this, I'd say the stat is not meaningless but very relevant.

[bobbob1313]

Wins may be meaningless in a pragmatic/philosophical sense, but the W will always equate to the level of eliteness a player has, his contract, and his place in the rotation. For this, I'd say the stat is not meaningless but very relevant.

 

So, in other words, it has no inherent value in judging a player's ability, but rather has the value we decide to assign to it.

 

That sounds pretty meaningless to me.

[Lammycat]

So, in other words, it has no inherent value in judging a player's ability, but rather has the value we decide to assign to it.

 

That sounds pretty meaningless to me.

No, I did not say that. I do not believe that Wins hold no inherent value. I think a case could be made that shows they carry too much weight, though.

 

And the value that is assigned to it comes from within the game itself, not the stat-head fans/SABRs.

[MrRain422]

You can maybe learn a little bit about a pitcher's longevity from wins, and hey, longevity is definately important in evaluating a pitcher. That being said, you are still learning more about the quality of teams that he's played on. It's not a completely meaningless stat, but really not very helpful in understanding how good a pitcher is.