So is Aramis at the top of the list?

Don't know - I just pulled those from the individual players' stats; I haven't seen a full list. I just remember seeing a mention of his clutch hitting on one of the recent games, so I thought I would look it up. It would be interesting to see if someone has such a list, perhaps showing this season or the past 3 or 5 seasons, to see if the players that give the impression of being clutch hitters (Manny, Big Papi, Vlad, etc.) truly are, or if the ones that give the impression they aren't (A-Rod) truly aren't.

And I'm sure there would be some real interesting surprises (in smaller markets perhaps) we've never thought about or are rarely mentioned too.....

Not a very inspiring performance from Dice-K last night. Somehow, he managed to work out of it with only 3 runs. Rays left a TON of men on base, which kept the Sox in it. Bay does it again, but Papelbon just cannot seem to have an easy outing. He blows the save and takes the loss. Even when he manages to get the save, he is putting a lot of men on base (for a closer).

I haven't even checked the rest of the standings.

Plus, Brady's gone for the year, after 8 minutes of the first quarter of the first game. I can't even think about that yet.

When Armando Benitez pitched for the Orioles we always joked that he seemed to walk the bases loaded and then strike out the side......Frustrating!! A fan killer! :eek:

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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? :eek: I'll be real interested to see if he holds up next year or if they've overused him.

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). :rolleyes:

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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....."

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.)

Tribute to Yankee Stadium was nice yesterday. A lot of nostalgia and a great many memories present and on film. Reggie, Yogi, Whitey, Boomer, Don Larson, Tino the Bambino, Willie Randolph, etc. - a lot of generations represented.......

However, honoring look-alike actors, and family members representing the greats was a bit of a stretch and a bit hokie if you ask me. I mean, cheering for someone in a Ruth and Dimagio uniform number? A standing ovation for Mickey Mantle's son as he ran out to center field? Phil Rizzuto and Catfish Hunter's widows as they took the field? I enjoyed the show and seeing the legends, but, that was a bit much for me.......

Off topic
 

No Tigers? No Problem.
Matt Millen is packing his bags.:)

Is this breaking news, Mick?

BTW, I see the Yankees have been eliminated and Hank has been eating some sour grapes.

It's pretty current news.
Plus, the Tigers took control of the cellar from the Royals!

Sox finally clinch a playoff spot, eliminating the Yankees. (That's just not as much fun to say without Dan around. :( )And Papelbon looked like his old self in getting the 4-out save. Got out of the 8th inning with one pitch and dominated the 3 hitters he faced in the ninth. Okijima also came in with the bases loaded and got out of it without giving up a run. That bodes well.

Did Junior finally get Daddy Ford's attention? I'm surprised it took this long, to be honest. But I kind of liked Millen from his TV days, so I'm a little sad for him that he couldn't do a better job.

The only thing that I can figger is that Millen must have had a picture of Daddy Ford driving a chevvy.

I think if Millen can/could just hold on a little longer and get to the draft he could take either Passmore, of Marshall or Love, of BallSt (both excellent WR's) and all his problems would be solved! :p

Sho'nuff does look that way.

Admittedly, it would much more therapeutic.

A quirky baseball play for Chuck Elias!
 

Dodgers @ Giants
Bottom the 6th, runner on first, one out
Bengie Molina hits a deep fly to right. It hits right at the edge of the brick face and green metal top of the wall. It is called a single on the field, and the Giant have runners at the corners.

The ground rules of the park specify that a ball which hits the green metal is a homerun, so the Giants manager disputes the call. Also in a silly move on his part, he replaces Molina with a pinch runner, Emmanuel Burriss, at this time.

The umpires elect to use video to review the call. The call is overturned and ruled a homerun. Emmanuel Burriss is instructed by the umpires to run from first to home. He does so while laughing.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy now comes out and argues that Molina should be allowed to remain in the game, since the pinch runner was unnecessary after the call was reversed and a homerun credited. The umpires say no. Molina has been replaced and is out of the game. Bochy lodges a protest and the game continues under protest following a seven minute delay.

Less important, but not less interesting, is how to score the play. Does Molina get a homerun and two RBIs, but Burriss gets the run scored? Burriss can't get the second RBI as he never batted, right?!?!

Obviously the intelligent thing to do would have been to wait for the outcome of the video review prior to making any changes (similar to the NFHS basketball rule about not granting time-outs while a replacement for a DQ is pending), but neither Bochy nor the umpires went that route. So now we have a nuance to the new video replay rules.

This play reminded me of the homerun last year by a Red Sox player and a runner was injured rounding 2nd base. They had to wait to remove the injured player and put in a pinch runner to finish the play.

Sox are in the playoffs and will get the Angels in the first round. The Angels' history against the Sox in the postseason is not good, so this will be an interesting series.

The Rays win the division, which I still can't believe, even though they've been pretty steady all season, with only a couple weeks where they faltered. They'll Chicago or Minnesota. That's a pretty interesting battle in itself.

Phillies clinched the division yesterday, leaving the Mets and Brewers to fight it out for the wild card. Cubbies finish with the best record in the NL.

Sadly, without Dan -- and the Yankees -- around, this thread doesn't seem to generate the interest that it once did. I'll check in a couple times through the playoffs, especially if the Sox make a run at the World Series, but it may have run its course. Either way, enjoy the October baseball!!

Great Year, For The Red Sox, And All Baseball Fans ...
 

As the season winds down, despite their second place finish in the division, I feel very good about Boston's season. They have the fourth best record in all of baseball despite injuries to Schilling, Lugo, Ortiz, Lowell, Drew, Casey, Matsuzaka, Beckett, Wakefield, and Youkilis throughout the season. The trade of Ramirez didn't seem to hurt the Sox, although there's talk of Manny getting some MVP votes in the National League. Theo did a nice job picking up Bay, Kotsay, and Byrd to fill some holes during the later part of the season. No matter what happens to the Sox in the playoffs, the future looks bright. Youkilis and Pedroia will both get votes for American League MVP. Although he won't win it, Matsuzaka, will get some votes for Cy Young. Several young players have contributed this season: Lowrie, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Masterson, and Lester; and will be back next year.

As a fan of baseball in general, the playoffs have the potential to be very interesting. Will the Amazing Mets miss the playoffs again. Will the Brewers, a small market team, make the playoffs? The Yankees, without Torre, miss the playoffs, while the Dodgers, with Torre, have the potential to go far. Tampa Bay, and the Twins, both with small payrolls, have done quite well. And, how about those Cubs? Maybe this will be their year, as it was for the Red Sox in 2004. Imagine World Series baseball in Wrigley Field, the second best park in the majors. My supervisor is a bigger Red Sox fan than me (a proud fan since 1967), and he said that even he could get excited about a Cubs championship.

Fun !
 

The White Sox slammed the Detroit Tigers 8-2, forcing a one-game playoff Tuesday night (7:37 ET) at U.S. Cellular Field against the Minnesota Twins. - usatoday.com

Let's see, Gardenhire or Guillen ....
Go Twins.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseb...x-tigers_N.htm

From April 3rd's Baseball prospectus.....

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...articleid=7307

Tigers in first, Miguel Cabrera MVP and Verlander Cy Young

:eek:

Well, look at the bright side - your Tigers were involved in the race to the very end.

I might have to agree with you on this one, even though an all-Chicago Series would be fun to watch.

Ok, my Cubbies have made it to the post-season. I'm doing all I can to help - I've got a goat ready to grill. (I hope it tastes better than crow...)

Fixed it for you.

Thanks for the fix. Now I can invite a couple of Cardinal fans over for dinner...

:p

Always glad to help.

I hope that you will be serving that with a nice Chianti!!
I do so prefer Reds.

One Thome run was all it took.

C'mon now, you should know you don't serve red wine with fowl.

And there ain't nothin' more foul than a Cardinal... :p

If you would've told me the White Sox were only going to score 1 run, I would've told you it was going to be an easy Twins victory, especially when they started showing some of the lifetime stats of some of the Twins players against Danks. But that's why baseball is such a great game.

The White Sox were the first team in history to win the final three games of the season against three different opponents.

Also, this is the first time since 1906 that both Chicago teams are in the post-season at the same time. That was the year Susan B. Anthony was born, the Panama Canal was being contructed, and Jurassic was finally graduating from high school, I believe.

He graduated? :confused:

The stone tablets are a little unclear about that, but I just made the assumption he did.

The archaeological digs support your assumption.

For all the long suffereing Cubs Fans.....are other's worse off?
 

From Today's USAToday (excerpt below)

".........After all, the Cubs are in the playoffs for the fourth time in 11 years. They've at least made it to the NL Championship Series three times. They've fallen short in painful fashion, but have sports fans in other cities suffered more even if not longer?

How about followers of the Milwaukee Brewers, who went 26 years without even a playoff appearance before this year? Or those in Washington, D.C., who have had their October calendars clear every year since 1933. Not only have they lost two teams in the interim, the franchise in town now hasn't been to the playoffs since 1981, when it was in Montreal.

And maybe it has been worse for sports fans in San Diego, Cleveland and Buffalo, who have not celebrated a world championship in any major professional sport in more than 40 years......."

Entire article is at: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseb...Cubspain_N.htm

Well, that used to be the line from all the experts. Now, that is no longer etched in stone. It's all about the wine, the food, and how they relate. Wines depending on the varietal and style used to produce that wine are more important than the old rule of thumb - whites with white meat and reds with red meat. I suggest that you try a nice light pinot or maybe a soft merlot with your dish.

More stadiums...
 

In the closing weekend of the season, I made a trip up north to take two more stadiums off my list. For the season, I have visted ten different stadiums.

Over the weekend, on Saturday I saw the Indians do battle with the White Sox at US Cellular Field. Fairly nice pack, and I enjoyed my time there.

After the game, we headed up to Milwaukee for Sunday's action. I saw the Cubs and Brewers iron it out at Miller Park. In addition, I was able to see a pitching clinic put on by CC Sabathia.

Miller Park is an extremely nice place!! If you get a chance, I would suggest going.

It does not look like this is the year. :D

Peace

The Leafs not winning the Cup since '67 is a bigger story, imho.

I don't see any celebration topping that one when it happens.

From the Article, "Or those in Washington, D.C., who have had their October calendars clear every year since 1933. Not only have they lost two teams in the interim, the franchise in town now hasn't been to the playoffs since 1981, when it was in Montreal." (and we lost 100 games this yr! Wahoo!! NOT)

Let's go NATS! :( It's gonna be a long, long time for us.

We can only hope for our CAPS!

The Leafs? Is that a NASCAR family like the Pettys or Earnharts?

I'm really surprised at these first two games have gone for the Sox. (And for the Cubs, but for different reasons.) I'm trying not to get too excited. They can't play that well for another 9 games in a row.

Typical Dice-K, by the way. 5 or so innings, 100+ pitches, force the bullpen to work for it. Fortunately, the bullpen did the job (although, technically, Pap gets a really tough blown save) and Drew provided the power in the 9th. (Not that I saw it. I was asleep at 11:15.)

CUBS fans...
 

will have to wait til next year! :(

So Chuck, how do like that West Coast baseball? :D

I'm rooting for the Dodgers just to mess up the TV schedule on the East Coast. :p

Speaking of staying up late to watch a game. Game 3 last night was in the
7th inning was over 3 hours and thirty minutes when I went to bed. That's ridiculous, I love baseball but I've got to believe many more people were watching the NFL game then the ALDS. The catchers seem to go to the mound every time there is a runner on second base. They have got to clean that up somehow as well as fixing up your batting gloves between every pitch. I could go on.

On a different note, Pedroia is really struggling. If the Sox win, it won't be a big deal but should the Angels come back it might be big. Heck if the Angels come back to win, it will be the biggest comeback since the Angles defeated the Saxons.:D

I too love baseball, but concur - the games are getting extremely long due to all the extraneous crap! In my case, that's why the the DVR gods invented picture in piture and DVR's.....and I'm glad the NFL is back....how bout them SKINS?!

Lester is the man! Sox and Rays both win yesterday, setting up a really interesting ALCS. The most exciting thing is that I may actually be able to stay awake long enough to see all of the games! All East coast start times. Woo-hoo!

So back in March, what were the Vegas odds that Jed Lowrie would drive in the winning run, which would be scored by Jason Bay, to advance the Red Sox who would face the Tampa Bay Rays?!?!?! But Pedroia finally broke the slump and hit one off the wall, driving in an important run.

I'm going to wander off to the baseball side now and see if they're talking about the tag and dropped ball by Veritek.

Easy, grunewar. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. The Sports Reporters (at least Czabin) already has the Skins at 7-1. If I remember correctly, the last time they started 7-1, they wound up 9-7, and missed the playoffs. Here's hoping it happens again. :D

I just said - "how bout them SKINS"!" I didn't say anything about a Superbowl, Division Championship or anything - I remain guarded in my optimism....but as you point out, some in this area are already counting their chickens.....

When do you think we'll see a NATS vs O's VRE/Light Rail Series? :D

Probably right around the same time we have another Battle of the Bay between SF and Oakland. ;)

The Rays have done nothing but defy expectations all season long. The team that finished in last place in 2007, has never won more than 70 games in a season, ranks 29th in payroll, and has the youngest roster in the game somehow, someway managed to win baseball's toughest division. - msn.foxsports.com

I dunno....
I like the Red Sox, but what's not to like about a young, lower paid Rays team ?

...And then there's the question of playing real baseball with all it's substitutions and line-up changes, and pitching decisions.

Like others, I like the East time teams.

So did our Tigers, Mick.....:mad:

Who do you think is missing next year and who we getting
?

Pitchers, pitchers, pitchers. ;)

They were missing this year, too.

I'm 65. I don't think I will ever see this series in my lifetime. Not unless I live to be 150.:rolleyes:

BTW, my son is trying to recruit me to "jump on the skins bandwagon". He believes they will be at Tampa. I told him they probably would be there, but they will be spectators. My loyalty has always been, and always will be with America's Team. Yep, I know what happened 2 weeks ago. Doesn't change my loyalty at all.

Good choice. Clinton Portis is having a great year until the injuries start.

As a Phillies fan I would like to thank Manny "for just being Manny" last night.

Twins @ Tigers...
 

...2-3 after two at Ford Field.

I saw that score, Mick, and said out loud, "Jeez, that's a baseball score". I come here to post about the Sox and see you had the same thought. :) Did you see the QB run out of the endzone? Did he do it on purpose? I only saw the highlight once, but it looked like he forgot where he was. I can't imagine that, though.

Anyway, the Sox got the split they wanted, although not the mini-sweep that they would've loved. They don't have Lowell for this series and Beckett is just not himself. I don't think he's really healthy after his DL stint in September. He's trying to gut it out, but he just doesn't have it. Lester goes tomorrow, then either Dice-K or Wakefield. (Ortiz is not himself, either, but that goes back to his wrist injury.)

Yeah I thought that Orlovsky got lost, but I was lost, too.
I thought they played in Detroit, but Orlovsky and I were in Detroit. :)

Before I leave.....

Screw the BoSox!:D

I wonder if Chuck went to bed when it was 7-0.

It's now 7-6.

Should be an exciting finish.

I don't know, but lock the thread...lock the thread!!!!

Chuck is surely to find out before too long!!! ;)

Nice comeback, even though I'm rooting for the Rays. :cool:

"It ain't over, until it's over" Wow!

Actually I went to bed after the 7th when it was 7-4. I know I'm getting old, but 6 am comes really fast when I stay up to watch the ends of these games. At least I got to see Papi get one good swing during this series.

Biggest postseason comeback in 70 years. Biggest postseason comeback in an elimination game ever!!

I can't honestly say that I'm really all that optimistic about coming all the way back, though. Beckett just hasn't been right since the September injury, and except for the last 3 innings last night, the Sox haven't been able to hit at all. They've only won twice in St. Pete all season, and now they have to win 2 in a row? Doesn't seem real likely, but I'll keep watching, obviously. At least last year, they were coming back to Boston for the last two games.

Francona is 8-1 in Sox postseason elimination games. Last night was the anniversary of the only one he's lost. Aaron $%&#@ Boone!! :mad:

EDIT: Last night was the anniversary of the Aaron Boone game, but I just realized that was '03 -- before Francona's arrival. So now I have to dig a little more to remember the elimination game the Sox lost with Francona as manager. Must have been '06. . .

It was the '05 ALDS, when they were swept by the White Sox.

Got 11/2 to take the Sox to win the series when they were down 3-1. :D

Game 7 Sunday night!

Gotta hand it to 'em. Rays beat us up pretty good all season. They had every chance to fold and never did. Congratulations.

A Pedroia home run in the first, and then no more runs. It should've been all over in Game 5. I really thought they were going to get to Garza. :(

Proud, And Still Proud, Red Sox Fan Since 1967 ...
 

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but at least almost does count sometimes. The way I look at it, Jason Bay was still playing left field when Manny was playing golf, or selling his barbecue on Ebay.

And nuclear war... :D

Any love out there for the Phils?

What a bizarre final game - well, at least I could stay up and watch it..... Maybe MLB could make all games three innings! ;)

It's nice to see a National League team win it. (I've noticed several prominent American League fans haven't been around here lately...)

It seemed to be a rather bizarre series overall. But I did like the ending - a 4-inning sprint to the finish. It was exciting, relatively good baseball, and it started and finished at a decent hour where my son could watch the end of it, and see the final celebration.

Yes, right here!!!! I was 16 years old and living in South Jersey when Tug McGraw got the final out against the Royals. Mike Schmidt is still my all-time favorite baseball player.

The one year I rooted for the AL team....

Go figure.

Hey, do me a favor - next year root for the Cardinals, ok?

:D

Won't do you any good. My brother is a huge Cubs fan.

Figures.

Your bother's name isn't Bartman, is it?

Oh, never mind.

I believe his name is Petty Officer.

The thread has died prematurely, with only a passing mention of the World Series; but I obviously could not pass up posting my congrats to Dustin Pedroia!! MVP!!

Pedroia wins AL MVP!!

Shut up.

Your first and only post so far is to tell one of our most respected and intelligent members to "shut up?"

And you don't even have a silly Chinese shoes website in your sig line.

Edit: I get it now.... you must be a more respected member who just registered under a different, and new, name.

... A long time smirker ?

I guess. It's just an odd time to register and post.

Hey, T&A, are you one of them Texas Ranger fans?

And, Chuck, don't forget to mention one of my Cubbies, Geo Soto, won ROY. To me though, it was surprising Sabbathia didn't win the Cy Young, given his record down the stretch. I wonder if it hurt him in the voting changing leagues in the middle of the season.

And, it looks like my Cubbies might be the first team to play in the new Yankee Stadium. Talk about possible curses...

I knew immediately who this curmudgeon is. Come on Jugs, you gotta be on your toes at all times.

I'll admit that I'm working on other things right now and have payed as much attention to the forum lately. I guess I missed this one.

First time caller?

I'm guessing they raised the taxes in He!!; forcing our avenger to move.

But he already moved once.