Looking good, mick! Three homers for Dmitri, pitching looked good. Nice start!

The Nationals are playing like, well, like the Expos.

Pedro goes 6 for the Mets and strikes out 10+ for the 100th time.

Turns out the Sox picked up David Wells about 5 years too late. :(

I'm psyched anyway!!! :D

What's baseball?

And who cares? :D

(Go Blue Jays!)

It's a great sport for taking naps. Just turn the game on and find a comfortable chair. You'll be asleep shortly.

Z

Baseball is 20 minutes of action crammed into 3 hours.

I like their heave-ho mechanic though.

Someone should tell Rockyroad that the Mariners are as close to first place as they will be the rest of the season. They lead the Twinkies 3 - 0, bottom 2nd.

HAHA

Baseball can be easily summed up:
1) The BoSox suck
2) Chuck is short

Well, Sexson is worth the money so far 2-2 2 hr and 5 RBI. Ichiro is slumping he is 2-3


Go M's

Ah, yes, it's spring and optimism reigns supreme. Even amongst those who should know better--like Mariners' fans.

Rocky?

Yoohoo, Rocky?

I think he is on spring break this week

"People who think baseball is boring don't understand what goes on between pitches." - Bill Veeck

Does that mean that he's on a beach somewhere in Fla., wearing a bikini and sucking back beer bongs?

Lah me!

Bad Rocky!

Bad, bad Rocky!!

No mercy! :)

<b>
"People who think that what goes on between pitches is entertaining also like to watch paint dry." - Zebraman
</b>

"Those who compare baseball to watching paint dry are being totally unfair - to the paint".
- Canuckrefguy

A recent paper has proven that the time between pitches of a 9 inning basebal game is equal to the time for a Zamboni to drive around in an oval for 28.7 minutes.

11.3 minutes less than a regulation NHL game.

Although the authors do admit it's been a while since anyone could actually prove the NHL exists experimentally.

The American League isn't baseball. In real baseball pitchers hit the ball. And it is played on grass. Outside.

Go Braves!

[Edited by stripes on Apr 5th, 2005 at 10:22 PM]

For some reason the site won't post that pitchers must hit the ball in real baseball.

I saw the Braves in Spring Training. They weren't impressive. Didn't look so hot this afternoon either. Yeesh!

That's just gross...no other words for it, but gross! And the Mariner's are in first place in the division - at least for now. Gotta love that Sexson kid - he grew up here in my town. Reffed him in HS basketball - what an a$$! But now he's a Mariner so all is forgiven!

That's just gross...no other words for it, but gross! [/B][/QUOTE]Gross? Tell me about it.

A vision of you walking down the beach in your thong flashed through my mind.

Thank God for hysterical blindness!!

Btw, I like this year's Mariners' team. Course I'm an Ichiro fanboy anyway.

Is the glass 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
 

By Lynn Henning / The Detroit News
<I>"Sorting through Opening Day's story lines and sidebars on an afternoon when the Tigers looked like division contenders (deflating footnote: they looked great a year ago when they beat Toronto, 10-0, on Opening Day, but finished 18 games below .500)." </I>

Thanks, Chuck.
Dunno yet, if this is next year or not.

[<I>REF: "Wait 'til next year."</I>]
mick

Uuum.......Mick

Didn't really wanna mention this, but Pudge?

He ain't "Pudge" anymore. Call him "Slim" now.

Think Canseco mighta been right about him?

I dunno. You did mention that before.
He lost 29# ???
He was working with a track coach this winter.

But, none of that matters to me.
Not Pudge. Not Canseco. Not McGwire, Bonds, Sosa or Sanchez.
I don't care about asterisks, Babe Ruth, blood doping, testosterone injections or mustaches.

I care about an out-of-control witch hunt and too much government.
That concerns me. :)
mick

It's a long season. They'll be fine. And they play real baseball. The AL sucks!

I'm sorta with Mick on this one. What in the crap is Congress doing spending my tax dollars on 'roids investigation? Like they're really that big of baseball fans. ???

Here's where I differ; If they've been cheating, I don't want their records to count. Even more, the number of times some of these guys have denied is a complete loss of their integrity and of fan's trust.

That's why HS and most college athletics are more interesting to me. They still have something to play for besides a pay check.

Now that you mention it...
 

...That's another thing I don't care about, whether or not an amateur athlete gets a paycheck in the form of a non-existent job, folding money, legal scholarship or using a car.

Those things just don't bother me.
Complaining about illegal sporting activities is not done by the winners.
mick

As a Cubs fan...it looks like a different year, same team. Win big one night, lose a close one the next. I must enjoy the abuse. That's about the only reason I continue to follow them. At least this year I don't have to watch Sosa. I'll have to find a new player to complain about. Also, I thought it was nice of the Diamondbacks to have former Cubs Sandberg and Grace turning the ceremonial out at first on opening day. Talk about rubbing some noses in the fact that the Cubs are not loyal. I'm suprised they haven't hired Steve Stone and dug up Harry to call their games with Grace. All right, I'm done venting. Looks like spring training was good. I'm in midseason form already!

Last seven appearances by Rivera against the Sox: 4 blown saves (consecutively) and a 7.87 ERA!

Glad to salvage one from this series, especially against Rivera again. What have the Sox figured out that the rest of the league hasn't?

So that puts him on pace for 324 this year!

It may not be real baseball but at least I don't have to watch pitchers try to bat.
With a few select execptions UGH!

Stoppers usually only have a prime 6-7 year shelf life, at best.

I'm starting to wonder if Rivera has maybe gone past his expiry date.

Of course, if our $100 million third baseman could field a ground ball...........
That one opened the doors. Rivera mighta been out of the inning if he just goes home for the easy out with that one instead of booting the damn thing. That woulda been 2 out, and Ortiz' l'il grounder to first is then out # 3. Final---> 3-2 Yanks and I get to post first.:D

I can see the press conference now. Mariano proclaiming that the Red Sox are his daddy. Wait, wasn't that some other pitcher? I dunno, it all starts to blur together...

The Phone Call

A one act play.

Scene: large, well appointed office. A larger even better appointed elderly gentleman is in his chair behind his desk, back to the stage....

The Gentleman, speaking into a phone: How much longer is he gonna keep me holding, who does he think he...Hello? Hey Randy, how ya doing?...good...great...hey I just wanted to give you a call to ask you not to cash that first check for a coupla weeks...(pulls phone from ear)...whoa cowboy! It's just a joke! Ha-ha-ha-ha....hmmmmmm....wha? well Tino thought it was funny...anyways, everybody fine? Wife...kids...? Good good...great game you pitched Sunday night by the way...speaking of pitching...have you ever considered pitching out of the bullpen, I'm thinking you would do great there as the clo.....hello? Randy??? Hello???!!!!

Curtain closes as the gentleman is seen wiping his brow.

That's the same vision I had - which is why I said gross...and will say it again - gross, gross, gross!

M's looked good for the first day...nice to see Boone crank one on his b-day...

Since this is the off-topic baseball thread, I am going to do some bragging.

For those in the now regarding high school baseball Toledo (Ohio) Start H.S. is one of the top high school baseball programs in the country.

Today our oldest son started his H.S. baseball career at first base for Start H.S.'s freshmen team. Start H.S. defeated Perrysburg H.S. 7-4. Mark, Jr., went 1 for 4, with a double, 1 RBI, 1 run scored and on defense he had 2 assists, 8 putouts and ONE ERROR because he let the ball play him. I am in hog heaven.

MTD, Sr.

Really? Tell me the last time the NL won the World Series. BTW, when was the last time the Braves won the WS?

I'm a NL fan and FWIW, at least we have a team that makes it to the World Series every year. :-) That's pretty big in itself.

I usually try to live in the now, but every once in a while I get kinda nostalgic & spend some time thinking about the past.

Congrats to your son and remember to err is human, forgiveness is something he needs to go to his mother for. :)

...And Sparky, thank your son for me. ;)
mick

The pitchers may not be the greatest hitters, but that requires the managers to manage (that makes the game more interesting.) I would rather watch pitchers hit than some guy who can't catch who gets out of the dugout 4 times a game and hangs on too long. Also pitchers have to be careful who they throw at because they have to get in the box too.

Braves won in 95. Marlins won in 2003. Braves in the postseason every year since 91. Every other time has to wish they were that consistent. 5 WS appearances since 91. Only the Yankees have been better in that department. The NL is still more interesting to watch.

Joe Torre was a better mgr for the '79 Mets or '90 Cards than he was for the '98 Yanks?

No, he just had to work harder with the Mets and Cards. I think I could manage the Yankees and their super-sized payroll to the playoffs. ;) I know it is a tough job, but those guys never have to double switch and there are always plenty of pinch hitters available. It simply isn't as hard to do as the NL.

But based on the WS results since '73 the AL mgrs seem to be a little better at it than the NL mgrs, don't they?

The opening series for each team is done. There are only two undefeated teams -- Cinci and Milwaukee -- and two winless teams -- Mets and Pittsburgh. Interesting that all are in the NL.

I'm a classicist when it comes to baseball. So I prefer the style of play in the NL. I like the running game, the double switch, and that all players have to play defense.

It would interesting for someone to look up how the WS games in the NL parks have gone. Is the NL or the AL better in games without the DH over the last twenty years? I recall that in the Braves/Twins series in 91 as well as the Yankees/Diamondbacks in 01 the home team won every game.
While in one Braves/Yankees series, Atlanta won the first two in NY and then lost the next three at home, plus game 6 in NY.

So who knows?!?!
But I do believe that the Braves are going to do quite well again this year with that pitching staff.

I'm an AL fan and we have a team that not only makes it to the WS, but wins it quite often -- except for the total meltdown last year. My son is a huge Braves fan.

Well, today was a lot more fun than last week! :)

And 86 years and 6 months from now will be even more fun.

Unless they still follow the 1/century rule.

I know you think nothing happened before you were born in 1920 :p , but the Sox actually collected 5 in the last century. Not 26, for sure. But not exactly one per century, either.

I humbly stand corrected.

We'll go with the 1/86-year scenario then.:D

Messin' with the Big Boys
 

CLUB BAT
Kansas City .288
Detroit :) .287
Boston .276
New York .275

CLUB W L ERA
Oakland 3 3 2.94
Detroit :) 3 3 3.67
New York 3 3 4.67
Boston 2 4 6.08

Hey Chuck...my M's and your Sox are currently tied for last place in the entire American League!! Looking good!

Still hangin' with the big Boys.
 

TEAM WON LOST

BALTIMORE 9 5
TORONTO 9 6
BOSTON 8 6
NY YANKEES 5 9

CHI WHITE SOX 10 4
MINNESOTA 8 6
CLEVELAND 6 8
DETROIT 6 8

Re: Still hangin' with the big Boys.
 

Hey!!! Seattle 7 7
Just finished a road trip at 5-3...didn't happen at all last season!

Yo, Chuckie........

Tsk, tsk, tsk,.....

Another former BoSox icon comes crashing down. Trade the guy away, and then all of a sudden he's right up there with the Boston Strangler. Check this story out. It's called "Nomar the Juicer".

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...d_garciaparra/

Hmmmmmm.......

How come none of these revelations were ever given the light of day during the golden years when Nomar was still being hailed as Mr. Red Sox? :D

Because (1) there is no evidence whatsoever of steroid use by Nomar and (2) there really are no revelations in that article.

What a hatchet job of sports "journalism". He's been injured a lot in the last 5 years. He musta been juiced before that. How often do steroids cause wrist injuries? I admit that I was a Nomar flag-waver and was sorry to see him go, even when he was pouting and sitting out. But I don't think there's any reason to give this guy's comments any credence at all.

If Nomar's injury keeps him out for the season, it does make one thing perfectly clear however. The Cubbies will finally win the World Series! :D

Just trying to keep this thread alive. :)

Go BlueJays!

What a great catch by that kid from Wichita State!

Now I don't know jack about baseball rules, but I had this thought. If that catch had been over the outfield fence in fair territory instead of in foul ground down the line, is it an out or a homerun?

The kid makes the catch but lands over the fence.

As I understand it, if you catch the ball before it hits the ground, and demonstrate control, it is an out. Where you are standing, or rolling, or tumbling, makes no difference to that rule.

In this case, it makes no difference as long as the fielder doesn't last touch (leave the ground) from dead ball territory (other side of the fence) before the catch. ;)

So you are where you were until you get where you're going? ;)

:) The player is in that place, but the ball is different.
It relates to the planes and not merely the line.

So you can't hop over the fence, and for an out, catch a fly ball that would otherwise hit 20 feet past the fence?

I don't like that.

I can't?
Yer right.

Of course, it also depends on an individual's jumping ability and/or what the specific sandlot rules are. :)
mick

Ha ha, mick..... :D

So what's the deal with Bernie?!?! Is this his last year?

I'm used to hearing King Georgie spouting off, but I was surprised to see Cashman making comments in public about the Yanks' play.

Bernie? Who cares? He's a yankee.


I'm wondering who is going to win the Cy Young in each league.
NL
1. Pedro looks soooooooooo much better than I thought he would for the Mets.
2. Mulder has been fantastic in some starts, no so good in others.
3. Old man Clemens is pitching great, but not getting any run support, thus few wins.
4. Ditto for Smoltz.
AL
1. SANTANA is on fire again this year.
2. Halladay could be returning to his form of a couple of years ago. He gave up five to the O's last start, but carried a shutout into the 8th and threw a CG shutout against NYY in the start prior to that.

Baltimore 18 9 .667 -
Boston 16 12 .571 2.5
Toronto 16 13 .552 3
NY Yanks 11 18 .379 8
Tampa Bay 11 18 .379 8

Givin' up 11 runs to TB again!?! Tied for last?!?! Oh well, there's always the Derby for George. :D

I heard somebody (maybe the PTI guys) say that this looks like the '65 Yanks. They won the pennant in '64 but then nose-dived to 6th in '65. And they still had a decent roster with Howard, Mantle, Kubek, Stottlemyre, and Whitey Ford (no Maris, tho). They just all got old at the same time, and maybe that's what's happened here.

Bernie Williams is done.

Kevin Brown has been done for oh, three or four years now.

Tom Gordon is done.

Mariano Rivera looks like he's fast approaching his "best by" date too.

Mike Mussina is over-rated. See Mariano Rivera.

Jaret Wright is where he belongs- on the DL. The worst mistake made by Cashman was signing him and letting Lieber go to Philly.

Tino Martinez is done. He's a backup being forced to play regularly.

Jason Giambi really, <b>really</b> needs to go back on steroids. He ain't a major leaguer without 'em.

The kid that they brought up to play 2B- Cano- doesn't look like he's ready yet. He's lost on defense.

Other than that........

If I was Cashman, I wouldn't be buying any green bananas. George is gonna blame somebody- and it's either him or Torre. I read a story somewhere that Mel Stottlemyre might be next to go- just so George can send a message to Torre.

The soap opera is back.

I hear Cashman's trying to talk Horace Clark, Fritz Peterson and Dale Berra into coming out of retirement.

BREAKING NEWS!!!
 

Yahoo Sports just posted a story saying that the Yanks tonight asked Jason Giambi to go to to the minors for a while.

Probably just long enough to fix that...uh...chemical imbalance that's making him labor. Get him all fixed up and healthy again. Maybe put on a l'il needed weight to get that homerun stroke back.

DoubleA sounds just about right for him.

Maybe him and Barry could rehab together?

Now if we could just find someone dumb enough to take Kevin Brown.......

Pudge is hangin' in 30lbs. lighter. :)


G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
No. Hitters
7 Ivan Rodriguez (C) 28 115 17 33 8 1 3 17 3 23 1 0 .300 .452 .287

That'll probably extend his career too, Mick--having that weight off. Hopefully, anyway. Great, great catcher.

You sure about that?

I spoke too quickly obviously. I still don't know whether he can be a full-time player at his age though. Only time will tell.

Can't get too excited over the Yankees lookin a l'il better lately either. After all, they <b>were</b> playing the Mariners(that one was for Rocky :D).

Just finished reading Canseco's book. What a scumbag. Unfortunately, he's a believable scumbag though.

Next weekend--Pedro pitching against the Yankees at home. Wonder if he'll hit anybody if he has to bat afterwards. Heeheeheehee....

One of the passages that I heard on the radio was that Canseco claims that at one point (while he was with the Yankees, I think) after a rehab stint, he ran a 3.7 (maybe it was 3.9) in the 40 yard dash. In either case, that's almost world-record time. I don't find him believable at all. I think the book is a combo of (1) quick money to cover a lot of debts and (2) revenge for being kept out of baseball, when he felt he still had a chance to reach 500 career home runs (which has traditionally been a "magic number" for Cooperstown).

Pedro
 

I saw Pedro pitch Saturday night at Miller Park.
First MLB game in 40 years.
My last game Earl Wilson and Carl Yastrzemski were in Detroit. ;)
mick

Re: Pedro
 

Yaz was just a youngster back then! Made it to Boston in '61.

You closer to Milwaukee than Detroit? I can't keep all that U.P./L.P. stuff straight.

Speaking of Yaz, he's had it rough lately.

http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/mor...rticleid=81699

Hadn't heard that story. Sad. Teddy Ballgame's kid didn't always seem on the up-and-up either. Shame.

Oh, my!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ChuckElias
[B]When it comes to 'roids.......

Canseco named a buncha names in his book. Ain't <b>nobody</b> suing him. Coincidence?

I don't think so.

Of course, he also said that he spent all kinds of time laying in bed with Madonna and never did boink her. As I said before, he ain't the brightest guy in the world.

Re: Re: Pedro
 

YU.P.
about 3-1/2 hours closer to Milwaukee and Minneapolis than to Motown.
27 this morning. Lettuce was unhappy.
mick

Finally, someone on this thread with some class. :D

Being a Cub fan in central IL, I have to put up with Cardinal fans mostly, but this year the Sox fans are coming out of the woodwork as well. Oh well, at least the last time I heard from them it was '59!

And now for something completely different:

Mark, Jr., had two singles, for the first multi-hit game of his H.S. career as his H.S. freshmen baseball team won 10-8 last night.

Oh yeah, the Yankees won their fifth straight last night. Go Yankees!

MTD, Sr.

Now you are teaching your son the proper way to attempt to avoid being hit by a pitch, right? Manny's method of ducking his head into the ball isn't the best.

Manny would rather get hit in the head than the body anyway.. Less chance of getting injured.

That one was for Chuck.:D

Btw, re: Manny.... personally I think that the BoSox are much better manned than the Yankees in left field, catcher and DH. Manny is a hitting machine, Varitek is a real leader and Ortiz just scares the hell outa me every time I see him up with men on base.

Hard to defend that "move". The one thing I can say is that it was a breaking ball that started out at his head. If it had been a fastball (which Manny obviously thought it was), then ducking your head would be the quickest method of getting out of the way.

Course, even in Little League, I was taught to turn away first then duck.

Jr. is like his old man, a hard headed Italian. He knows how to take one for the team.

MTD, Sr.

Random Thoughts From A Troubled Mind
 

Jason Giambi got a hit last night. Single, of course. Brings him up to a .198 BA.

Think it's time to have a benefit for him? Maybe we can raise enough for a trip back to the BALCO labs.

Maybe a concert? We could call it <b>RoidAid</b>.

Deathtongue still around? They'd be perfect.

http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~mortenj/fiml...s/deathtng.jpg



[Edited by Jurassic Referee on May 14th, 2005 at 08:20 AM]

Re: Random Thoughts From A Troubled Mind
 

Also sent one to the track in right that woulda been out of Yankee Stadium.

I like "Billy and the Boingers" better :)

I like "Billy and the Boingers" better [/B][/QUOTE]Here ya go then. Coupla free mp3 downloads for ya.

Enjoy.

http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~mortenj/fimland/boingers/

For Rocky and Chuck:

The <font size = -3>SHORT</font> all-star team:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...ge=list/050525

A fractured elbow for Prior and the Cubs can say goodbye to their season.

Sox aren't looking much better right now. They're just playing horribly.

Well, d'ya think that Theo Epstein is gonna get MLB Executive of the Year honors for letting Pedro walk and signing Wells to replace him?

Of course, if you need a starting pitcher, we might be able to be talked outa Kevin Brown for the right deal. Maybe give us some kid outa Double A- don't matter who. Hell, we'll throw Giambi into the deal too, if it'll keep ya happy.

The Cubs said goodbye to their season around the middle of February. Some absolutely great off-season moves.

Wasn't Prior just about due for his annual 2 month vacation on the DL anyway? It was just a matter of time.

Ryan Dempster should be up next now. He's a walking arm injury too. And Maddux looks like he's maybe going down the slippery slope real fast too. Which is too bad. Zambrano? Isn't that the guy that just blew out his elbow surfing porn on the internet? That leaves Glendon Rusch as your ace, Nevada. :eek:

Of course, that ain't your biggest problem anyway. You got rid of Sosa and Alou in the outfield, along with their power numbers, and replaced them with Tinky-Winky, Dipsy & LaaLaa- with Po coming off the bench. They blaming that one on the EvilStoney too?

The team across town is looking pretty good though, isn't it? :D

Hmm, let's see now - Jason Dubois is batting .260 w/5 HR, he replaced Alou who is batting .266 w/7 HR - not a big drop off. Then there's Jeromy Bernitz, batting .266 w/7 HR, replacing Slammin' Sammy, who isn't burning it up at .258 and 4 HR. Looks like maybe the Cubs already got rid of Tinky-Winky and Dipsy. And to top it off, they just got rid of Po (LaTroy Hawkins) today for two 23 year olds with good arms.

As far as Prior - you can't blame his current arm injury on bad mechanics (unless you count his trying to catch a line drive with his elbow instead of his glove a mechanics problem).

So, right now us Cub fans are only looking for the right Goat's Head Soup recipe. :rolleyes:

Trot makes it an even dozen today. Makes me feel a little better, even if it is only one game. Clement somehow keeps winning without ever looking all that impressive.

On a slightly different subject, I love my XM Radio baseball coverage. Only problem is sometimes (like today), I have to listen to the opposition's radio announcers. Blech. :(