Post #1291...http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...mages/wave.gif

Everyone wave goodbye to the Cubs. http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...images/bye.gif

Their 2007 season has ended. http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra.../tombstone.gif

He Gone!!!!!
 

Bye, bye Cubbies.

This is M&M right now. http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...s/banghead.gif

:D

Peace

I wonder if the Diamondbacks set a record for most double plays in a playoff game????

Rocktober
 

Rockies sweep the Phillies!

Nice.

Yeah, now watch the other series go 5 games each. Make the NL'ers cool their heels a bit.

Everyone east of the Mississippi looking forward to a Rockies-Angels world series (games to begin at 12 midnight EDT)?

Heck - with all the pre-game BS, that's when we get the first pitch for a 9pm start anyways.

I think they have to cool their heels regardless of the length of the AL series. I just saw this morning that the NLCS is scheduled to start Thursday.

[quote]Everyone east of the Mississippi looking forward to a Rockies-Angels world series?[qUOTE]Obviously not. :p

This is only mildly on-topic to the annual off-topic baseball thread, and vastly off-topic to the existing current topic of choice: the playoffs.

I went to the Jays' last home game of the year, just to get my fix of some baseball. I hadn't been to a game for quite some time, so I looked forward to it. We get to our seats, and instead of sitting in seats 1 & 2, she sits in 2, and I sit in seat 3. IOW, two seats removed from where I was supposed to sit. (Yes, the seat was empty when I got there. :D)

As I was leaving my home, I did think about bringing my glove. Can't hurt, right? But I didn't.

Sure enough, in the 5th inning, a foul ball comes our direction. In fact, I picked my seats because their location is a popular destination for foul balls.

Well, it quickly became apparant that the ball was coming very close to us. The guy that ended up getting the ball was one row up, and the first seat to my left, across the aisle between our sections. IOW, if I was sitting in the seat that I paid for, I would have been about 3 feet from this guy.

I'm quite certain that I would have snagged this foul ball, especially if I had my glove.

Yeah, I kinda upset that I didn't get this ball. It woulda been a bit of a bragging story to say that I picked the seats to get a foul ball, only to follow up on that Jake Taylor-like prediction.

I still don't know what the lesson here is, though. :p

Last year, my son and I went down to St. Louis for a Cub/Cardinal game. I happen to know a fellow official who lives in the St. Louis area, and this guy also pitches batting practice to some of the Cardinals before every home game. We decide to show up early enough for BP. So my son, who is 11, and has only been to 4 or 5 games in his life, and I are standing behind the St. Louis dugout watching BP, when the official I know finishes his part, and comes over to the dugout. He sees us, and gives my son a BP ball and one of the little Gatorade bottles the players use. My son was so excited about the ball, he kept pulling it out of his pocket and looking at it all game. He brought it home and put it one of those ball cases and keeps it in his room. (It is the only Cardinal-related item allowed in the house...)

Me, I've been to many, many games in my lifetime and have never, ever gotten a ball from a game. Not that I'm bitter or anything. :D

Three down. . .

Sox move on to the ALCS. (Jeter just threw away his throw to first. Oops) Schill was terrific, Papi and Manny go back-to-back, and the Sox put up a 7-spot in the eighth; but to be fair, the Angels were playing with less than their full team. Now the Sox wait until Friday night.

Eight to go.

Jeter's errant throw (although not ruled an error) leads to an early run for the Tribe. I'm not gloating; just happy.

Although I'm not happy that King George has basically fired Torre. Even if the Yankees come back and win this series, how eager will Torre be to come back next season after Steinbrenner's ultimatum?

Ok, I'm almost as tired of "Frank TV" commercials as I am of "This is Ouuuuuuuurrrrrrrrr Country", but that joke was kind of funny. John Madden asks why did the chicken cross the road? And the answer is, to get Brett Favre's autograph. :)

"Frank TV"?? I don't have cable so I haven't been watching the games. The ads I enjoyed in the past, but I haven't seen lately are the ones where that quarterback acts like a fan "Can I have your autograph on this loaf of bread? My brother loves you!" "D-Caf!! D-Caf!!" Are they running those?

I've been a Toronto Rock season ticket holder since 1999 and only last year did I catch a T-shirt that they throw during quarter time.

"That quarterback"....
That's cute. :)

Speaking of quarterbacks, I have only two words for Packer fans:

DA BEARS


http://www.michaelmontalto.com/img/C...Bears-Logo.jpg

Back in the late 1950s (yeah - I know most of you weren't born yet, in fact for some of you, your parents weren't even born yet), I got two home run balls in the same game at Comiskey Park. One was hit by Minnie Minoso and I think the other was hit by Larry Doby. I didn't "catch" either of them, but chased them down by being faster than a bunch of other kids.

Obviously, I wish I still had them (and obviously, I wish I was still that fast).

I don't dare commit myself as to which Manning it is. Just not that detail oriented.

It's Peyton.

And, even as a Pats fan, I agree that they're fantastic commercials.

http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra.../tombstone.gif

I guess the Yankees are done too. ;)

Peace

The Yankees weren't suppose to loose. They were suppose to win the whole thing. The world is going to hell now.:eek:

Whew. I spent the last 24 hours really worried.

Best team won. If the Yankees do make a change, anybody but that dickhead LaRussa.......

Yep, their pitching did 'em in -- along with not being able to score runs with the bases loaded. :mad: I was switching between this game and the Cowboys - Bills. At least 1 of my favorites won, even though they probably should not have. Geezzz, 5 interceptions + a fumble, and they win on a field goal with 2 seconds left! Hard to get up this morning after staying up so late.

I see the Yankees letting go of not only Torre, but also Rivera. They are going to give the closer role to Joba and he deserves it.

Plus with all that money that they won't be using on Clemens again next year, they can go out and try to sign Santana or some other top starting pitcher. That is their biggest weakness. I think that Mussina will also depart and Pavano will be let go too.

On the hitting side, I would be surprised to see Giambi or Damon there next season.

They will keep Alex Rodriguez.

CUT - THAT - MEAT!! CUT - THAT - MEAT!! :D

Yup. That's why I was hoping the Yankees would pull it out. I'd rather face Mussina and Clemens than Sabathia and Carmona.

We heard a lot of Torre going bye-bye last night, but what about Cashman? He put this team together, and converted the dugout to a old-folks home. Is his job in any danger? It probably should be. If it is, then your worries might be justified, JR. With Walt Jocketty on the market this winter, if George hires him, LaRussa might just tag along.

Hard to win in the NFL when your offense only scores 3 points all night. Bills got 2 TDs from their defense and 1 TD from a kick return, and lost 25-24.

Lah me......:rolleyes:

Rivera isn't going anywhere. He'll sign for 2 years.

Howinthehell can anybody sign Johan Santana? He's under contract to the Twins for next year. The only way that he could go anywhere is through a trade.

And the only way that Mussina and Pavano could depart is under a trade also. They're both under contract for next year, and there's nobody stoopid enough in the Bigs to trade for either of them given the money they're making--- about 13 & 10 mil respectively. Pavano will be on the DL all of 2008 anyway. Whointhehell would want him?

Giambi and Damon are also under contract. The Yanks would love to get rid of Giambi, but they'd have to pay most of his salary to do so. Roidboy is toast anyway; he has minimal trade value. And Damon isn't going anywhere except to DH and part-time outfielder.

If the Yankees sign LaRussa, then I'm going into a <i>beisbol</i> "time-out" until he leaves. I'll be going back to my first love- full contact synchronized swimming. It's true, it's true.......

Why does he deserve it? He only pitched 24 innings in 19 appearances in the regular season. Granted he pitched well in those outings, with a very low ERA, but that doesn't seem to be enough of a showing to know that he can handle full-time closer status for an entire season. And he only pitched 3.2 innings in the playoffs, and they weren't good. He gave up 3 hits and 3 walks and 2 earned runs.

I believe that's entirely up to ARod. If he opts out of his current deal (which I hear is likely), then the Yankees lose a ton of money that the Rangers are still paying them to help cover the contract. That means that the Yankees would have to pony up $25-$30 million of their own money every year to re-sign ARod. It sounds crazy, but I don't think he'll stay in NY for less than his current contract. If he decides that he wants to stay in NY, then he will probably just ride out the contract he currently has. If he decides that he's had it in NY, he'll opt out and go somewhere else (probably even for less money). It will definitely be an interesting story to follow.

To JR,
You have to admit that you would like to see all of those players go though. If the front office has made it such that they are stuck with them, then they have done a poor job and they are the ones who deserve firing not the manager who has to do the best he can with the players that are supplied to him.

To Chuck,
1. See Jonathan Paplebon. What had he done before the Red Sox gave him the closer role?

2. No one else can afford A-rod. There just isn't the kind of money out there that he wants any place else. Plus he had an excellent season, the Yankees are justified paying him to stick around and can afford to do so.

He got thrust into the role when Keith Foulke was hurt. They tried a couple different people and Pap did the best job. But he wasn't given the job over an established closer, based only on 24 innings of work.

That's why I said it's up to ARod. It all depends on whether he wants to stay in NY. If he simply wants to play somewhere else, he'll opt out of the contract and probably take less to play for the Cubbies and be reunited with Lou.

Just gotta sell more pizzas in Detroit.
They need a shortstop cuz Guillen is moving to 1st base. :)

1) I've never liked Mike Mussina. Pavano is gone, no matter what, but the Yanks still haveta give him his 10mil for next year. Giambi hasn't been worth a damn since they started testing him for roids, but nobody wants him at over 20mil per either. Both Rivera and Damon are plus ballplayers. Rivera is still one of the top closers in the game, and Damon could excel as a regular DH imo.

2) Wrong. Both the Angels and the Cubs will go after him if he goes on the market. And both have got the money to sign him.

Agree, except for the "taking less" part. Boras and A-Rod will never take "less", especially after the year that he just had. The Angels or the Cubbies will give him <b>more</b> if the Yankees won't. A-Rod always goes with the money.

Personally? I'd rather see them get rid of A-Rod and sign Mike Lowell. He's your BoSox mvp this year imo. He plays the game like he cares.

He gets about $26 mil this year? (Actually, I just looked it up on ESPN and they report his salary at just over $27.7 mil :eek: ) I can't see the Cubs -- and definitely not the Angels -- giving him $30 mil. And remember that ARod was willing to take less (he'd even already negotiated the deal) to come to the Red Sox in '04 before the players' union nixed the deal.

No argument from me. Beckett might get some consideration, but Lowell has been the guy who has produced repeatedly and consistently over the whole season. The funny thing to me is that we didn't even really want him. The Marlins made us take him as part of the Beckett deal b/c they were trying to dump salary ($9 mil.) and he'd had a sub-par season in '05 (.236 avg and OPS only .658). I hated to lose Bill Mueller, b/c I thought he was the same sort of player (without Lowell's power potential), but Lowell has been terrific over the last couple seasons, no doubt.

Uh, guys, before you get too involved in the off-season: there's still baseball being played...:rolleyes:

Yup, and this year, post season ball is being played in Colorado after it's done in New York.

There is a God. With the Iowa Hawkeye football season unfolding the way it is, I was starting to wonder.

Yeah, but when Cleveland is involved, nobody gives a sh!t.:D

The Iowa Hawkeyes?

The Iowa Hawkeyes?

God is laughing his head off.

Chuck Long (head coach of San Diego State) comes to mind.... :)

HOW 'BOUT THOSE RED SOX!!!!!!!!!

is it me or is the air fresher today?

Yo, Mick......
 

The Tigers just re-upped Pudge for next year...at 13mil. Good move on their part, methinks.

No surprise, given [my view of] the owner/management team.

Pudge didn't have a great year, but 4 years ago, or so, he changed the face of the organization. He went to a team that everyone shunned. One poor year probably due to personal issues, followed by a pennant year, followed by a yearly record attendance, happened because he dared to go.

Reward or worth, it doesn't matter, it was a good move by that team and speaks of the value the team places on its players.

Kenny Rogers, if he re-ups, ... same thing thoughts. ;)

You need at least one vet to go with the good young 'uns.

I don't remember who it was that opened a chat room for us to use during the March Madness last spring, but i'm wondering if we could do that again for the baseball games this month? I am developing an interest in baseball, especially since my 9-year-old is interested, and I"d like to hear what various people have to say about the games as they progress, and to ask questions. Besides y'all are fun to converse with, and I enjoyed a lot of the banter, too.

Thanks

Juulie - please tell me you were abducted by aliens and it was an impersonator who said that. Please, please, please. :eek:

Hmmm. There's got to be away to spell "y'all" in metric; just to get under Padgett's skin even more. :)

...

Y.all??

Very good! Or maybe Y.011?

LOL!!

PS Thanks for a very good laugh, I needed it this morning!

Actually, since the last part is "all", to do it in metric it would be a "y", then a dot, then the infinity sign. :p

no, that's not writing it in metric, it's writing it in nerd.

Canadian spelling:

y'aull.

Geek, Adam, geek. Nerd is so last week.

Sorry, I dont' run in those circles, so I wouldn't know. :P

You're more like "so last year?!?"

More like 1999.

Geez, a whole page without off-topic baseball talk ....


Go Tribe!

I thought it was y'all, eh?

New York spelling of y'all is youz guyz

C'est vrai.

I forget about the 'eh part until hockey season starts. And hockey doesn't really start until football is over.

(Yes, Rut, we know you don't care at all about hockey. :p)

What happened to the Yankees? Are they still playing?

Yes.

Next game is sometime next April.

Hey, so is the Cubs' next game.

Coincidence?

But you guys say that every single year. :D

Peace

It may have been a while since I've said this, but:

Shut up.

I hear there's a game in Denver this Sunday.

Sox up 10-3 in the 8th. Manny has 3 RBIs, including 2 bases loaded walks. It's only the second time ever in a postseason game that one player has walked twice with the bases loaded in the game. Tim McCarver tells us the other time was in Game 2 of the 1971 World Series when Jim Palmer did it.

Big Papi has another huge night and has reached base 17 times in 19 postseason plate appearances this October. :)

4 down, 7 to go!!

Rockies go up 1-0.

Are we going to have a chat room for the World Series?

The game was downright boring -- the best kind of boring for Red Sox fans.

11 innings for the Rockies. Up 2-0 and heading back to Denver. First team since 1976 Reds to start 5-0 in the post season.

Football?

Nope, the Broncos have a much needed bye week this Sunday.

Weather ought to be interesting; we're getting some rain tomorrow evening here; so it might just roll into Denver in time to disrupt the Rockies game.

Manny and Lowell go back-to-back, but Trot does in his old team. I'm glad Trot can still play a bit; I just wish he'd gotten it out of his system in the Division Series.

Seven to go, and holding. . .

Maybe, but the Fighting Illini aren't laughing this week.

I'll take what I can get.

All in all, a pretty good weekend. Iowa won, Cowboys lost, Irish lost, Rockies won.

I hate to do this to Chuck, but Cleveland rocks! :D

http://1000smilies.com/tombstone.gif

Kiss the Diamondbacks good bye.

BTW, is this another team that had been to the World Series before the Cubs? :D

Peace

Why is it all about Chuck?

The Cleveland pitching staff rocks. Westbrook did his thing. Jensen Lewis? Who? Betancourt tamed the big boppers last night in the 8th. Even Borowski looked sharp closing last night.

Rock on. :)

Indeed. :D

Game 4
Cleveland 7, Boston 3

It looks as if the Sox will be fortunate to get the series back to Boston.

Now where's my Chief Wahoo? Found it. :D

http://www.clevelandseniors.com/phot...olan/wahoo.jpg

I disagree completely. Have you checked the starters for Game 5? Beckett's going on full rest. We're going back to Boston.

Very disappointing last night, tho. 4 no-hit innings and then 7 runs in the 5th. The worst part about that was that the inning could've been over with only 1 run in if Wakefield hadn't deflected the double play ball that was headed right to Pedroia.

First time a team has gone back-to-back-to-back HRs in the ALCS. Big whoop. :(

You're disregarding the "Manny" factor. He pissed the Indians off completely last night with his styling. Methinks they'll be trying just that little bit harder now to stick it up his butt.

Yer funny !
If, if, if. :)

Your Bosox have a chance to stay in the game as long as Beckett's doing his thing. However, Sabathia is going for the Tribe, and he will keep the Indians in the game.

The starters match up well, but what about the bullpens? See you in the 11th?

We should just skip game 5 then. :rolleyes:

Have you checked the starters for Game 5? I wouldn't discount CCs ability to win this game. And I believe he's on full rest too.


Oh yeah, go tribe!

Factoid
 

Sabathia, 27, is a hulking lefty — he's 6-7 and weighs 290 pounds — with a repertoire of fastballs sliders and changeups. - usatoday.com

For those of you who don't know, my college roommate and I visit a couple ballparks each summer, hoping eventually to visit all the MLB ballparks. (I mention this mainly for Dan, who may not have been aware of these trips.)

Anyway, when we were in St. Petersburg this summer, the Devil Rays were playing Cleveland, and Sabathia happened to be starting. Around the 4th inning, when he seemed to be struggling, a Cleveland fan next to me yelled, "C'mon, C.C. Put your gut into it!!" :)

Fine by me. Beckett in Game 6 in Boston? :)

I'm not discounting his ability to win it. It's certainly possible. I just think it's very unlikely, given Beckett's history. C.C. is a good pitcher, no question, but would I have as much confidence in him as in Beckett? Not even close.

I will say this. You guys better win tonight. If we go back to Boston, I think you'll be sweating it out.

It worked!!!! :D :D :D

So he's more bulking than hulking ? :cool:

LOL, no the deal is we skip game 5 and Beckett is done.

Beckett started 30 games with a 20 - 7 record. He pitched 200.2 innings, gave up 40 walks and had 194 K's with an ERA of 3.27. CC started 34 games with a 19-7 record. He pitched 241.0 innings, gave up 37 walks and had 209 K's with an ERA of 3.21. Seems kinda close to me.

Sure, I'll start to sweat it out IF we go back to Boston, but right now it's calm, cool and collected. You?

If he put his gut into it, he'd be a 20 gamer for sure :)

Go tribe!

Noticed, eh?
I think that Chuck is almost in Patriots mode.

You've got no reason to worry. I'm a sox fan and I'm sticking with them, but Cleveland is playing lights-out right now. Starting pitching, bullpen, timely hitting. its the recipe for a trip to the WS.
Although 6&7 are in Boston, i'm uneasy about having Dice pitch a possible game 7.

The statistics already quoted demonstrate your bias: you simply know Beckett and don't know Sabathia. This explains your (misplaced) confidence.

This year, head to head vs. Johan Santana (Cy Young for life, it seems), we have: Sabathia 3, Santana 0.

The advantage Beckett has is that he has shown up for the post-season, and Sabathia has yet to. The Red Sox will not, however, win a series if the only Indians pitcher they can beat is Sabathia.

My prediction is that the ace of the pennant winner will get the Cy Young this year, regardless of who wins tonight.

Did you notice the team that Santana had around him this year? :confused: They finished four games under .500 and Santana finished 2 over .500. So you're psyched about beating a .500 pitcher on a below-average team three times? Hey, good for your guy.

Um, no. . .

This explains my confidence.

I believe that the voting for all MLB's awards (except for those pertaining specifically to the postseason series) is completed by the end of the regular season. The outcome of this (or any playoff) series will have no effect on the Cy Young or MVP balloting. (I think!)

Not that that's a bad mode to get in right now. I know it's early, but who is going to beat the Pats?

I was mildly surprised that Manny Ramirez was saying that if Boston loses, it's no big deal, there's always next year.