OOO Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 Chicago baseball lives to fight another day! Link to post Share on other sites
Gobias Industries Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Is "star pitcher" K-Rod going to blow the series for the Angels? He just walked Lowell to load the bases... edit: never mind, the dude flew out to right, they live another inning, at least. Link to post Share on other sites
tugmoose Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Didn't the Phils and Brewers play again on Sunday? I must have missed the reports. Either that or it was rained out. Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 They played. Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Another King Kaufman article full or reasons why he's the best sportswriter alive. The real reason the Cubs lost: Scoutingfrom *King Kaufman's* Sports Daily - Salon by King Kaufman You know what the Cubs' problem was? Scouting. It was clear for a good while that Chicago was going to have the best record in the National League, and that the winner of the N.L. West, which would have the worst record among N.L. playoff teams, would play them. So the Cubs got good and scouted, and it messed 'em up. It's always something, isn't it? That's how you go such a long time without winning the World Series. It's been at least 12 years or something for the Cubs, I think I heard recently. The scouting theory isn't mine. I stole it from Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, who's been moonlighting as a sideline reporter for TBS during the playoffs. During Game 3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers' sweep of the Cubs, just after Alfonso Soriano -- who ended up 1-for-14 -- made another out, lead announcer Dick Stockton threw it to Verducci for some elucidation. "Normally during the course of the season, Dick, the advanced scouts will sit on a team for a series, maybe two series," Verducci said, "but as Lou Piniella pointed out, the Dodgers have been sitting on the Cubs here for three weeks. They know every single weakness on this team, and when you get into a postseason situation, there are fewer mistakes made by pitchers. Soriano is a great mistake hitter. Haven't seen many in this series." There's actually a technical term for this type of theory, which is Piniella's, not necessarily Verducci's. The term is cockamamie. Because that's all it takes? Three weeks of advanced scouting instead of one? Spend an extra couple of weeks watching an opponent, learning their mistakes, and their great players are rendered helpless? Evidently what the scouts told the Dodgers pitchers about Soriano was not to make mistakes to him. Thanks, scouts! As if there weren't already a book on Soriano, who's had more than 5,000 plate appearances in the major leagues since he broke in nine years ago. If scouting a team for three weeks instead of for a series or two had any real effect, wouldn't every team do it all the time? What would it cost, a couple million bucks a year? Teams spend that on a utility infielder. The Piniella-Verducci theory is one of those attempts to find a complicated explanation for something pretty simple. Those are thick on the ground after postseason sweeps. The simple thing is that for -- in this case -- three days, one team played well and the other didn't. When it happens in June everybody just shrugs their shoulders. When it happens in October, we must find reasons. But it's the same game. The games mean more, but the game is the same. Soriano, like a lot of his mates, had a lousy three games against a pitching staff that had a great three games. Soriano has a pretty poor career line in the postseason -- if you can picture how bad Yankees fans think Alex Rodriguez has been, that's about as bad as Soriano's been -- so one theory is that he's a choker, that he just can't hit when it counts. But he did hit in the 2001 A.L. Championship Series and the 2003 division series, and you might remember a pretty clutchy home run in the 2001 World Series. For all his playoff failures -- a career .213 average, .263 on-base percentage and .299 slugging average -- we're only talking about 44 games, 174 at-bats. That's not enough evidence to say a guy can't do something. After 174 career at-bats, Mike Schmidt had a .218 batting average. And if players don't do well because they choke, how do you explain Jim Edmonds, who had a solid season after signing with the Cubs and came into the series with a .277/.365/.523 line and 13 home runs in 61 postseason games. He's no choker. But he went 2-for-10. The Dodgers are playing as well as any of the playoff teams, maybe pitching better than any of them, though their next opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies, might argue after the way they shut down the Milwaukee Brewers. That's the reason the Cubs got blown away. They just got outplayed for three days. Simple as that. Also, they're cursed. Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I went to game 3 of the White Sox/TB series. The place was absolutely electric. Great game. Danks is awesome and the Sox won without hitting a single home run. Looking forward to today. edit: for those that saw the game, how about Griffey tagging from 1st to 2nd on a routine pop-out to center. I was shocked. Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 As much as sweep would've been nice - I'M GOIN' TO FENWAY TONIGHT!! Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 As a Mets fan who doesnt watch much AL ball, I was particularly interested in seeing K-Rod last night since the Mets are rumored to be going after him. I was really surprised at how many curveballs he threw, and how he nibbled in that inning. An incredibly small sample size, I know, but it struck me that he was pitching scared. Just me? This guy is going to demand 12-15mil/yr as a free agent? Pleeeaaase. Am I just a Mets fan with Mariano Rivera-envy? All these closers seem to be overrated, make-you-sweat hacks. Link to post Share on other sites
rareair Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Am I just a Mets fan with Mariano Rivera-envy? yes. Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 All these closers seem to be overrated, make-you-sweat hacks. Yes. Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I'm sure most of you don't care about VORP, but for what it's worth, here are the relief pitchers with a higher VORP than K-Rod this season: Mariano RiveraScott DownsJoe NathanJoakim SoriaBrad ZieglerHong-Chih KuoJ.P HowellGrant BalfourBrad LidgeJim JohnsonCarlos MarmolJose ArredondoMatt ThorntonRyan MadsonRamon RamirezCorey WadeJohn GrabowJesse CarlsonChad DurbinMike Adams Joba Chamberlain and Justin Masterston had a better VORP too, but I can't find a way to sort out just their relief appearances so I left them off the list, as I don't know how much of that came from their time as starters. Link to post Share on other sites
Duck-Billed Catechist Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Carlos Quentin has been taking BP. He may be back for the ALCS if the White Sox sneak past the Rays. Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Carlos Quentin has been taking BP. He will be back for the ALCS when the White Sox sneak past the Rays.fixed it Link to post Share on other sites
Duck-Billed Catechist Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Well, Ozzie says it's unlikely, but one can hope. (re: Quentin, that is) Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Vibes to the city of Chicago. The Rays look pretty f good.There seems to be a lot of anti-K-Rod talk in the New York media, which makes me think the Mets are talking to reporters "on deep background" to lower K-Rod's fnord asking price, or to prepare Mets fans for another option, which invariably is identified as fnord Brian Fuentes. Link to post Share on other sites
sweetheart-mine Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 red sox. Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 What I'd like to see:Rays over Red SoxDodgers over PhilliesRays over Dodgers What I think will happen:Red Sox over RaysPhillies over DodgersRed Sox over Phillies Link to post Share on other sites
sweetheart-mine Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 What I'd like to see:Rays over Red SoxDodgers over PhilliesRays over Dodgers What I think will happen:Red Sox over RaysPhillies over DodgersRed Sox over Phillies what you'd like to see is what i think will happen, but what you think will happen is what i'd like to see. edit: i hope you're right, though! Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Full disclosure time: in the last three years of fantasy baseball, i have had at least as many tampa players (bj upton, aki and rocco, plus others) on my team than i have had red sox. I never had much respect for the team, but for the players it was a different story. Now it looks like they have gone a long way to turning into an actual baseball team, perhaps even a force to be reckoned with. bring it on. Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Rays are a really great story...worst to first. Link to post Share on other sites
PigSooie Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 So, how was it, Sir Stewart? Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 So long Cubs and Sox..... LouieB Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Baseball separated at birth Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Man Ram's Dodgers vs. BoSox is a World Series I could get excited about even though I wanted the Twins, Cubs, or Angels. Link to post Share on other sites
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