Baseball, 2009 - May Edition

[silenus]

Ok, things have started to settle down with everybody's favorite teams. So where does yours stand?

As of today, the Dodgers are leading the NLWest by 3.5 games, and have the second-best record in baseball behind the Cards. But our pitching is miserable. We have been scaring up wins by hook or by crook, and if Torre doesn't send McDonald back to Single A ball before Sunday, we are in for a rough month. I don't care who they call up to replace him, but he needs to go back down to where his skill-level puts him. (OK, he can't go that low. He's too old for T-Ball.)

On the positive side, almost everybody is contributing to the hit count. Martin is still in a bit of a slump, but Ethier, Kemp, Hudson and Blake are getting wood on the ball with frequency. Manny is producing as well, hitting #532 last night. The fielding is solid everywhere except left and center. Left is Manny, so what are you going to do? Center is Kemp, where "solid" just doesn't cut it. The man is freaking amazing! Nothing gets past him, and he has a cannon for an arm.

April was good. Now for an awesome May!

[What Exit?]

A-Rod the bad press magnet will be back soon and the Yanks look OK in the meantime. Teix and CC still need to start doing their thing. Wang needs to recover and we could use Brian Bruney back. The guy is great, but I have to say he is very injury prone.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

A-Rod the bad press magnet will be back soon and the Yanks look OK in the meantime. Teix and CC still need to start doing their thing. Wang needs to recover and we could use Brian Bruney back. The guy is great, but I have to say he is very injury prone.

It was nice to see Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlin have back to back good starts. The Yankees are going to need that kind of pitching consistently out of one or both of them to stay in this.

Also it's good to see Melky Cabrera has decided to take some interest in his baseball career again, and Cano is off to a great start.

[silenus]

Ouch! It doesn't get any uglier than last night, when the Dodgers won 1-0 because Martin walked with the bases loaded in the ninth. Oh, well. A win is a win. That makes the Dodgers 8-0 at home, which is their best home start since what, 1947? One more win and we tie the record set in 1946. Kershaw gave us 7 innings of shut-out pitching, which was desperately needed.

Dodger Stadium also got its own zip code this week.

[What Exit?]

Yanks won an exciting and crazy game last night. They were up 4-0 and then fell behind 9-4 and rallied to win 10-9 in the 8th & 9th.

Wow!

[Cluricaun]

The Cubs won last night thanks to a Ryan Theriot grand salami, but overall we are not playing as a cohesive unit at all. Our pitching is roughed up nightly, our offense comes in fitful spurts and never when we need it, super closer Carlos Marmol injured himself badly enough that he's fucked his mechanics up and is easier to hit than broad side of a barn. All in all, we're a hot mess.

Damn.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

Took my kid to the Jays-Orioles game today. Got great tickets from a scalper, behind the Orioles dugout. The Orioles' first baseman tossed my kid a ball (well, he tossed it in my kid's direction, and the cuttin' was done, my guy had it.) And the Jays won in the bottom of the 11th. My guy says today was one of the best days of his life.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

BTW, attendance sucked, despite how well the Jays are doing. I'm seeing a lot of empty seats at the games we watch on TV, too. What's up? The economy? The aftermath of Steroidgate?

[Winston Smith]

Yanks won an exciting and crazy game last night. They were up 4-0 and then fell behind 9-4 and rallied to win 10-9 in the 8th & 9th.

Wow!

Awesome! It will be nice for you to have these memories to sustain you later this season when my beloved BoSox are eliminating your team from the playoffs.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

BTW, attendance sucked, despite how well the Jays are doing. I'm seeing a lot of empty seats at the games we watch on TV, too. What's up? The economy? The aftermath of Steroidgate?

I know there has been a lot of ink spilled over the number of empty seats at the new Yankee Stadium. It's mostly the most expensive seats closer to the field so it is very visible on TV. I hadn't heard there was a problem across the league though. I was suprised how empty the Pittsburgh stadium was when I happened across a night game there a few weeks ago...I live in Boston and the stadium hasn't been that empty since maybe 1992.

Awesome! It will be nice for you to have these memories to sustain you later this season when my beloved BoSox are eliminating your team from the playoffs.

Pretty bold talk from a guy whose team still doesn't have a home run out of the DH spot.

[Winston Smith]

Awesome! It will be nice for you to have these memories to sustain you later this season when my beloved BoSox are eliminating your team from the playoffs.

Pretty bold talk from a guy whose team still doesn't have a home run out of the DH spot.

The Sox are 15 and 9 on the season, and we've done just fine against the Yankees lately, thankyouverymuch.

[Sami]

The Cubs have now won 2 (2!) in a row. If we can hang on today we get our own website. Geez.

Big Z left with an injury after legging out a bunt in the 5th. These injuries are really starting to pile up.

[silenus]

Dodgers set two team records this afternoon, sweeping the Padres at home for the first time in history and going 10-0 at home at the start of the season. If we can put together 3 more in a row (against Arizona) we'll have the Major League record. Don't think it's gonna happen, though. The D-backs are too good.

The really good thing about this win is that we did it with Manny, Furcal, Martin and Blake all taking a day of rest. Joe just might be onto something. With this kind of depth, we can rest starters and hopefully keep them healthy all season.

Oh, and Billingsley is 5-0 for starts, a league best.

[dread pirate jimbo]

After a decent start, my Padres are slipping right back down to where they belong. I guess Adrian Gonzalez couldn't be expected to hit a bomb per game until the end of the season...

Awesome win for the Mariners last night in extra innings. Ichiro is a flat-out stud. Nice to see them in first place in their division.

And finally, two words: Albert Freaking Pujols.

[silenus]

I hope the Padres perk up before their home stand against the Cubs in 2 weeks. We have tickets. Then they can go back to sucking.

[dread pirate jimbo]

If you get a Peavy start, you should be fine -- he won't have a 4.58 ERA forever -- he's got way too much game for that. Then again, when I saw Peavy and the Padres play the Cubbies in Wrigley last year, they got their asses handed to them. Soriano hit a seed into the bleachers to lead off for Chicago and it just got worse from there.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

Awesome! It will be nice for you to have these memories to sustain you later this season when my beloved BoSox are eliminating your team from the playoffs.

Pretty bold talk from a guy whose team still doesn't have a home run out of the DH spot.

The Sox are 15 and 9 on the season, and we've done just fine against the Yankees lately, thankyouverymuch.

It's a loooooong season my friend.

[Suburban Plankton]

The Giants are playing surprisingly well so far. After their not so auspicious 0-6 road trip a couple weeks ago, a .500 record is pretty satisfying at this point. If they can just stay out of Southern California, they ought to be OK

It looks like Barry Zito might finally live up to his salary. He hasn't managed a win yet, but that's mainly due to the fact that the team isn't scoring any runs for him lately. He's had three really good starts in a row now with nothing to show for it, though the Giants won all three. I'm a bit worried about Randy Johnson lasting the entire season, but relatively speaking Giants fans can't find too much to complain about so far (except the Dodgers and their 11-0 home record.... grrrrrr)

[silenus]

Yeah, that home record is a pisser, ain't it? The Dodgers are freaking on right now. Of course, we have yet to play a game against a team with a better than .500 record, but that's a mere bagatelle. We have a depth I haven't seen in years. All we have to do is hang in there until teams start shedding pitchers, and we can fill the spots in the rotation as needed. Although, with the exception of McDonald, all the starters have been posting some decent numbers.

Go Dodger Blue!

[What Exit?]

Yanks are 0-4 vs. Boston. Needless to say I am far less than happy.

[Julie]

Oh dear, oh dear, my Indians aren't good. If you look at the lineup, they should be hitting the tarnation out of the ball, but no.

One of their younguns got his first MLB hit last night and it was a homer. Watch for the name LaPorta. I think he's going to be good.

[silenus]

12-0. And tonight we play the Nationals.

[What Exit?]

Yanks lost again. Posada is on the DL. The bullpen has lost the two primary setup men to the DL and only Coke really looks good consistently.

Yanks are 0-5 vs. Boston so far.

This is not good.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

Yanks lost again. Posada is on the DL. The bullpen has lost the two primary setup men to the DL and only Coke really looks good consistently.

Yanks are 0-5 vs. Boston so far.

This is not good.

If you had told me Joba was going to have 12 strikeouts and 2 walks in 5+ innings but still lose the game I would have said you were crazy. His stuff after the disastrous first inning was electric.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

Carl Pavano, of all people, now a starter for Cleveland, beat the Red Sox last night.

As a Yankees fan I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[silenus]

Boom-shaka-laka-laka, boom-shaka-laka-laka!

13-0 . New modern-day major league record. Now we go for the one set in 1880!

Go Big Blue!

[Julie]

Carl Pavano, of all people, now a starter for Cleveland, beat the Red Sox last night.

As a Yankees fan I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Pavano has been pitching pretty well at times. He's had some bad outings and some bad luck, too.

[Cluricaun]

And CNN is just reporting that Manny has been suspended for 50 games due to a positive drug test. No word yet on what drug it was.

[Suburban Plankton]

And CNN is just reporting that Manny has been suspended for 50 games due to a positive drug test. No word yet on what drug it was.

From espn.com:
"Scott Boras, Ramirez's agent, told ESPN's Peter Gammons that his client did not test positive for steroids, but for a drug that was prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition."

Err, yeah...sure...

As a Giants fan, this news couldn't come at a better time. Luckily for me, schadenfreude isn't listed as one of the 7 deadly sins...

[silenus]

Suspend, hell. Ban his ass, if it turns out that he knew what he was taking and that it was banned.

[silenus]

That's more like it. Stults goes 9 innings and gets a complete game shut-out against the Giants. He even got an RBI.

Who knew Pierre could hit? He and Castro both got 3 hits and a couple of RBIs.

[dread pirate jimbo]

That's more like it. Stults goes 9 innings and gets a complete game shut-out against the Giants. He even got an RBI.

Who knew Pierre could hit? He and Castro both got 3 hits and a couple of RBIs.

Pierre is a career .301 hitter, which is pretty damn solid in most people's books. He's never going to drive in a bunch of runs, and he'd do well to take a walk now and then, but he'll find a way on, steal a bunch of bags, and score runs for you. And he's a HUGE upgrade defensively on Manny.

[silenus]

Great. Now we win a series against the Phillies. We couldn't do it last year when it mattered.

Oh, well. We'll take it however we get it. Let's see what we can put together against Florida after Manny comes clean with the team this morning. The way Pierre is playing lately, Manny just might find himself a bench player when his suspension is over.

[What Exit?]

Well thanks to another good game from CC Sabathia and some cluth hitting from Jeter and Matsui in there first games back and surprising offence from kid Catcher Francisco Cervelli the Yanks took 2 of 3 from the Jays. Better yet, Boston lost there last two and so the Yanks .500 again but only 4½ out.

The injury list is wonderful:
RP Brian Bruney Elbow DL
RP Phil Coke Back Questionable
RP Damaso Marte Shoulder DL
C Jose Molina Quadriceps DL
RF Xavier Nady Elbow DL
C Jorge Posada Hamstring DL
SP Chien-Ming Wang Hips DL
3B Cody Ransom Quadriceps DL

The good news is the Coke is nearly ready and Bruney is getting very close and should be back next week.

Wang may be close, he pitches in AAA (Scranton) this Sunday and if it goes well and his sinker sinks, he could return.

[Winston Smith]

<snippity-snip>

Better yet, Boston lost there last two and so the Yanks .500 again but only 4½ out.

I think Ortiz' slump is costing us big time, as far as morale and momentum go. Youk is listed as returning 'possible late May', which is also a bummer. And Lugo has a great bat, but makes a lot of errors (in other words, a normal SS).

[Rube E. Tewesday]

The Jays losing the series to the Yankees does not make me happy. I don't know where our batting went the last couple nights, but I hope it comes back for the White Sox.

[Julie]

For the second time this season, the Indians won two games in a row. My goodness, they aren't good. But there are signs, small quivering signs, of life.

[What Exit?]

Things look bright for the Yanks rather quickly. 5 straight win, two against the Jays and three walk-off wins against KC in a row. It was an exciting weekend and included a feel good story.

Yanks are 4½ behind the Jays but only 1½ behind Boston.

Wang pitched a 7 inning shut-out giving up 4 hits and no walks or runs for AAA Scranton. He got 12 of the outs on groundballs and one K. It appears he is ready to return to the Yanks. Bruney may still need a few more outings in AAA but is apparently close. We also got news that Posada is nearly ready to return.


Rookie Brett Gardner visited critically ill children at New York Presbyterian Children's Hospital in Manhattan Friday. He was given a bracelet by a little girl waiting for a heart transplant. She told him, "If you wear it you'll hit a homerun." Well Gardner hit an inside the ballpark Homerun Friday night. He wasn't even supposed to be in the game but went in when Johnny Damon was tossed for arguing strikes. I am still trying to verify it, but to make it better, after a long wait, the girl got her heart transplant and it was successful. The word on the Heart came in either Friday night or Saturday morning.

Newsday confirms that “a replacement heart was found for her and she had successful surgery.”

[Laughing Lagomorph]

Things look bright for the Yanks rather quickly. 5 straight win, two against the Jays and three walk-off wins against KC in a row. .

And by KC of course you mean the Minnesota Twins

That's a great story about Brett Gardner. I was visiting my family in NY and got to see a couple of the Yankees games, for a change.

Red Sox Nation is in a dither about Big Papi's hitting woes this year. People are beginning to think he may be done as a formidable power hitter.

Baseball fans: check out the link in my thread "How a curveball curves (or appears to)":

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2899

[What Exit?]

And by KC of course you mean the Minnesota Twins

That's a great story about Brett Gardner. I was visiting my family in NY and got to see a couple of the Yankees games, for a change.

Red Sox Nation is in a dither about Big Papi's hitting woes this year. People are beginning to think he may be done as a formidable power hitter.

Baseball fans: check out the link in my thread "How a curveball curves (or appears to)":

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2899

Weird mental glitch, the last time the Yanks rattled off three straight walk-off Wins was in August of 1972. Two from KC in a double header and the third from the Rangers. Thus I had KC on my mind.

As far as Papi, do any wonder what drugs he might have been using and stopped using?

I look forward to checking your link tonight.

[silenus]

American League pitcher forced to hit. World doesn't end.

Sonnenstine even drove in Run #7.

The DH is still a disgusting thing. Get in there and bat, ya pansies!

[Laughing Lagomorph]

...

As far as Papi, do any wonder what drugs he might have been using and stopped using?

....

Many people still refuse to believe he is 'tainted', of course most Red Sox fans would have said the same thing about Manny Ramirez a couple of weeks back. As we have discussed here I sadly don't think it is realistic to NOT suspect pretty much any player who played through the Steroid Era.

There is a widely-read Red Sox blog here:

http://www.boston.com/sports/touching_a ... oblem.html

The writer seems to think that the many home runs Ortiz hit after mandatory testing was introduced should clear him. He cites as other possibilities accumulation of effects from injuries, his possibly being older than his official age, and the sudden decline in production we've seen in other large power hitters (Mo Vaughn, Cecil Fielder, even Jim Rice).

Not to accuse anyone in particular but I am cynical enough to believe that there are players who have figured out how to use steroids and not get caught in the tests.

[What Exit?]

American League pitcher forced to hit. World doesn't end.

Sonnenstine even drove in Run #7.

The DH is still a disgusting thing. Get in there and bat, ya pansies!

The DH rule is going no where. I've given up on the idea of it going away. I never liked it and I hoped it would be phased back out. The positive is it gives older players a way to stay in the game.

Many people still refuse to believe he is 'tainted', of course most Red Sox fans would have said the same thing about Manny Ramirez a couple of weeks back. As we have discussed here I sadly don't think it is realistic to NOT suspect pretty much any player who played through the Steroid Era.
...
The writer seems to think that the many home runs Ortiz hit after mandatory testing was introduced should clear him. He cites as other possibilities accumulation of effects from injuries, his possibly being older than his official age, and the sudden decline in production we've seen in other large power hitters (Mo Vaughn, Cecil Fielder, even Jim Rice).

Not to accuse anyone in particular but I am cynical enough to believe that there are players who have figured out how to use steroids and not get caught in the tests.

I agree, I still say the only player I still think is clean for sure is Jeter.

[hawkeyeop]

...

As far as Papi, do any wonder what drugs he might have been using and stopped using?

....

Well, the obvious question would be why did he stop using them right now? More to the point we don't know exactly what steriods due, but we can be reasonable sure that steriods don't turn 5 homeruns into 40. Maybe they turn 35 into 40. There is something else wrong with Ortiz, and if I had to guess his wrist is still bothering him. Wrist injuries can do that to a player.

I agree, I still say the only player I still think is clean for sure is Jeter.

I don't see why Jeter would be any more likely to be clean than anyone else. Because he looks leaderly? Ultra competitive player who had teammates who used. I don't know that he used anything, but he wouldn't exactly be at the bottom of my list of likely suspects. If you must know last on my suspect list is Tim Wakefield.

[What Exit?]

I agree, I still say the only player I still think is clean for sure is Jeter.

I don't see why Jeter would be any more likely to be clean than anyone else. Because he looks leaderly? Ultra competitive player who had teammates who used. I don't know that he used anything, but he wouldn't exactly be at the bottom of my list of likely suspects. If you must know last on my suspect list is Tim Wakefield.

Because I am a Yankees fan of course and Captain Clutch would never stoop to using illegal drugs.

I would tend to agree on Wakefield though.

[hawkeyeop]

Because I am a Yankees fan of course and Captain Clutch would never stoop to using illegal drugs.

I can respect that answer. David Wright is powered by Vitamin C

[What Exit?]

Because I am a Yankees fan of course and Captain Clutch would never stoop to using illegal drugs.

I can respect that answer. David Wright is powered by Vitamin C

Another player Iike. Classy. But then Pettitte really surprised and disappointed me. Let's just say Clemens was not even a minor shock.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

Went to Jays/White Sox with my kid this afternoon. Jays pulled it off, after a bit of a scare. Lot of fun, once again I thought the attendance was lousy -- it was a long weekend Monday, fer cryin' out loud.

And hey, my kid got his paws on another baseball. Life is good.

[Suburban Plankton]

Am I the only one who really doesn't give a rip about steroids in baseball anymore? Sure, I'd like them to disappear, and for all the players to be 'clean', but I just don't care anymore who's on the juice and who isn't. It's pretty clear at this point that a large percentage of players are or were taking illegal performance enhancing drugs. So what? The hitters were juiced, the pitchers were juiced as well (because otherwise they'd be at a competitive disadvantage), the fielders were juiced, so the end result is that the guys with the best baseball skills performed the best, and the guys who were less skilled didn't. When I open the sports page, I want to see yesterday's box scores, not the latest rap sheet.

On a more positive note, the Giants are 17-11 since their 0-6 road trip at the beginning of the month. Not exactly world-beating numbers, but better than most of the experts were predicting. They're still giving up way too many runs, but more often than not they manage to score even more, so at this point I'll take it.

[What Exit?]

Suburban Plankton, I find myself caring less and less. It all sucks and it sucks worst for those honest players that did not use. I have enough nastiness to hope the 'Roids and HGH cheaters all end up paying a severe health price for their cheating but I know it is unlikely.


Silenus, the Mutts giftwrapped you one last night from what I head. Wow.

My Yanks are rolling along, a 6 spot in the first with Back-to-back homers from Teix and A-Rod and then Teix added another homer from the other side for insurance. He is hitting like a superstar since A-Rod returned.

The Yanks have CC on the mound tonight against Baltimore. Bruney is back from the DL and Wang and Posada are close. I hope it is Cash that gets demoted when Posada returns, he is a very poor catcher and can't hit. The kid Cervelli is great in the field and has a great arm and for some reason is hitting though I know that won't last.