Warning!! It's Baaaaaack!! Off-topic Baseball Thread '08 !!

[ChuckElias]

14 innings. Great outing by Beckett wasted. Back to 2.5 out in the division. At least we're still 5 up in the wild card. I was a little surprised that Francona took both Veritek and Lowell out of the game for pinch runners in the 7th and 8th. Especially in the 7th, it seemed kind of early to me. And, of course, it backfired, b/c they lost Lowell's bat for 6 more innings.

DJ's Mariners finally had a big win last night!! Unfortunately, it was big for the Angels, as the Texas loss to Seattle allowed the Halos to be the first team this season to clinch its division.

[M&M Guy]

Zambrano injured? Maybe not.

- 1st no-hitter for the Cubs since 1972 - Milt Pappas.

(The following are meaningless bits of info, for those of us into that kind of thing.)

- First no-hitter at a neutral site in the modern baseball era (after 1900).
- First no-hitter ever by a pitcher whose last name starts with Z.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

>>

And A-Rod continues to pad his late year, somewhat meaningless, HOF stats.
BA = .300+
HR = 30+
RBI = 100
Helping his team to the Playoffs and getting a clutch hit when it counts = NOT!

[ChuckElias]

Sox climb into a tie with the Rays. Dice-K gets the win, but again has a short outing b/c of his huge pitch count.

Brew Crew fires their manager with 12 games left in the season. Wow! The Sox did that a few years ago, putting the pitching coach (Joe Kerrigan) in charge for the last 2 or 3 weeks, and it was a disaster.

The Cubbies get a no-hitter and a 1-hitter from their starters in consecutive games, playing in a "neutral" site.

[ChuckElias]

I forgot. Derek Jeter is tied with Joe D. for most hits in Yankee Stadium. The more I think about that, the more incredible it seems. To have the length of career, the health, the prolonged production, and to stay with one team for that whole time just seems more and more amazing.

[ChuckElias]

Another one that I forgot. I was at the IAABO Interpreter's conference over the weekend, so I didn't get to talk about this; but K-Rod (Francisco Rodriguez) of the Angels broke Bobby Thigpen's single-season record for saves. Very impressive, but does anybody remember what happened to Thigpen the year after he set the record? I'll be real interested to see if he holds up next year or if they've overused him.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

.....and to stay with one team for that whole time just seems more and more amazing.

And disappointing too.

Tough sometimes to be a "team fan" when the players have absolutely no loyalty! The Jeter's, Gwynn's and Ripken's of the world are increasingly difficult to find - no matter what the sport (look under Favre in the encyclopedia).

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

Brew Crew fires their manager with 12 games left in the season. Wow! The Sox did that a few years ago, putting the pitching coach (Joe Kerrigan) in charge for the last 2 or 3 weeks, and it was a disaster.

This one really confused me. Granted, I'm a Cubbie fan and I don't mind seeing the Brewers take this step because I don't see any way this will help the team. But as a baseball fan, this one really puzzles me - when was the last time a manager was fired this late in the season while his team was in second place in the division and leading/tied for the wild card? I haven't heard of any peripheral issues, such as fights with players, sleeping with owner's daughter, or whatever, so how does making the change now help vs. making it at the end of the year when everyone knows for sure if they made the playoffs or not?

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

This one really confused me. Granted, I'm a Cubbie fan and I don't mind seeing the Brewers take this step because I don't see any way this will help the team. But as a baseball fan, this one really puzzles me - when was the last time a manager was fired this late in the season while his team was in second place in the division and leading/tied for the wild card? I haven't heard of any peripheral issues, such as fights with players, sleeping with owner's daughter, or whatever, so how does making the change now help vs. making it at the end of the year when everyone knows for sure if they made the playoffs or not?

Owners/Management are looking for the Willie Randolph-like "short-term" bounce. They are gambling that stirring the pot this late in the season will infuse enthusiasm (or scare the team) resulting in a short burst of victories to put them in the playoffs. Certainly a gamble....which they apparently felt was worth taking.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Chuck - thanks for the review!

I've been to a great many parks myself (not as many as you and John though) and concur with: A) your opinion of the Nats Stadium (GREAT HUGE scoreboard, wide concourse, good site lines, friggin ex$pen$ive food like they all have, etc.), and B) your ranking of Camden Yards - one of the first New Generation of Old Time Parks which really does stand the test of time well.

I am increasingly dissappointed at the DC crowds though (obvioulsy the same reason you could get your nice seat). Only 29K for a Labor Day game against the Phils yesterday on a beautiful summer day - and 10K of those were Philly Fans!? Bright side of course is, I can always get tickets and "improve" my seats!

Hope you have more happy travels and please continue to report in!

I have been to all 30 current MLB parks and to seven that either no longer exist (Veterans, Busch (old), Tiger, Kingdome) or no longer host ML teams (RFK, Candlestick, Olympic).

I know this sounds like blasphemy, but I dislike the nostalgic "old" parks. For me, old means small seats, small concourses, inadequate restroom facilities and concessions, and usually hard-to-get-to or hard-to-park places.

I've ranked my favorites (at least the top 10, anyway) and almost all are new parks:

(1) PNC Park, Pittsburgh
(2) Petco Park, San Diego
(3) Chase Field, Arizona
(4) Comerica Park, Detroit
(5) Nationals Park, DC (food here is outstanding and local, BTW)
(6) Safeco Field, Seattle
(7) Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia (as a Phillies fan, they could've done more with this park, IMO, although Ashburn's Alley is nice)
(8) Minute Maid Park, Houston
(9) Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City (my favorite "old" park)
(10t) AT&T Park, San Francisco
(10t) Miller Park, Milwaukee (another one they could've done more with)

Camden Yards might make the list, but I haven't been there since 1993, so it's hard for me to give it a spot. I sat in left field for $17 (x2 since I had a girlfriend with me) and thought it was the most expensive ticket I'd ever buy. Ah, memories.

My least favorite parks include: Florida, Tampa, Shea (the worst), Wrigley, Fenway, Yankee (esp. in the upper deck), Minnesota. Looking at these classic parks, I do feel nostalgia looking at the Mons-tah or looking at the ivy in Wrigley, etc., but I'd like the parks themselves if they'd just rebuild the seating areas and concourses to appeal to today's fan.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Owners/Management are looking for the Willie Randolph-like "short-term" bounce. They are gambling that stirring the pot this late in the season will infuse enthusiasm (or scare the team) resulting in a short burst of victories to put them in the playoffs. Certainly a gamble....which they apparently felt was worth taking.

And the owner was looking for a reason to get rid of Yost anyway.

I've umpired one of his sons at the D-3 college level. Talk about body armor and a human rain delay when getting into the batter's box. Sheesh.

[mick]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

Brew Crew fires their manager with 12 games left in the season. Wow!

From what I read, ex-manager was pressuring the *quite* young roster to the point of over-frustration.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I sat in left field for $17 (x2 since I had a girlfriend with me) and thought it was the most expensive ticket I'd ever buy.

Now, if that weren't it would almost be !

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

This one really confused me. Granted, I'm a Cubbie fan and I don't mind seeing the Brewers take this step because I don't see any way this will help the team. But as a baseball fan, this one really puzzles me - when was the last time a manager was fired this late in the season while his team was in second place in the division and leading/tied for the wild card? I haven't heard of any peripheral issues, such as fights with players, sleeping with owner's daughter, or whatever, so how does making the change now help vs. making it at the end of the year when everyone knows for sure if they made the playoffs or not?

From Today's USAToday:

"With a $90 million payroll in a small market, a quarter century of playoff-less history weighing on them and the clock ticking on the time they get to keep stud starters CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, the Brewers felt their fading club needed shock treatment.

There are few moves more shocking than firing the manager of a winning team that's tied in the race for a playoff spot with 12 games left in the season.

In fact, it had never been done....."

[ChuckElias]

One year ago today, the Devil Rays lost their 90th game of the 2007 season. It was the 10th consecutive year that they had lost that many games. They became the only team in big league history to lose as many as 90 games each year over the span of a decade.

But oh, how times change. The Rays have completely turned the tables, as they recorded their 90th victory of the '08 season on Wednesday night against the Sox.

(At least they lost last night to Minnesota. If the Sox can win 2 or 3 in Toronto this weekend, they're guaranteed to pick up ground in either the division or wild card race, as the Twins and Rays are forced to beat up on each other.)