MLB Thread

[Myshkin]

And you thought I was gonna go with a Dodger themed subtitle.

Anyway, Dodgers are 9-0 at home so far this year.

Carry on.

[Fatuous]

And you thought I was gonna go with a Dodger themed subtitle.

Anyway, Dodgers are 9-0 at home so far this year.

Carry on.

Umm, yeah. The Dogers have played 22 out of 25 games against teams in the NL West while the Blue Jays have played 3 out 25 games in the AL East. Expect those numbers to change once they face, what's the word, "competition".

[Myshkin]

Dodgers are now 10-0 at home. And I know, I know, once they face "competition" they'll fall flat on their face and lose every game, but for now it's nice to see them playing so well. I mean Billingsley's 5-0 start and 2.21 ERA are just a fluke in scheduling. Same with Ethier's 24 RBIs.

[Myshkin]

Zambrano pulled a hamstring running the bases. My heart is glad.

There is a very short list of people whose injuries I would celebrate and he is on that list.

Prepare yourself for the inevitable tirade about how the NL is stupid for not having the DH.

[Lord O' Bones]

Prepare yourself for the inevitable tirade about how the NL is stupid for not having the DH.

It's a real shame our pitchers are fit enough to, you know, run and stuff.*

The Giants have winning record! The Giants have a winning record! Who's next next? Bring 'em on... Ah, crap.

*Obviously, there are exceptions.

[Arakasi]

Umm, yeah. The Dogers have played 22 out of 25 games against teams in the NL West while the Blue Jays have played 3 out 25 games in the AL East. Expect those numbers to change once they face, what's the word, "competition".

It's not like the rest of the AL East has been tearing it up against the central. Well once you take Boston out, the other 3 are below .500. That being said, I'm not sure how Toronto will do from here on in. Sure they're overperforming offensively, but then again they have two strong starters coming off the DL in less than two weeks (Jensen and Romero) and one more at the end of the month (Litsch). It's possible by the end of the month that the Jays will have the second best pitching staff in the AL East, just behind Boston. Halladay, Romero, Richmond, Jansen and Litsch would be a very solid rotation.

And of course the Dodgers are going to continue to do well. Their division blows, Giants have the pitching but no offense, so pretty much LA is guaranteed a playoff spot.

[Mexal]

It's not like the rest of the AL East has been tearing it up against the central. Well once you take Boston out, the other 3 are below .500. That being said, I'm not sure how Toronto will do from here on in. Sure they're overperforming offensively, but then again they have two strong starters coming off the DL in less than two weeks (Jensen and Romero) and one more at the end of the month (Litsch). It's possible by the end of the month that the Jays will have the second best pitching staff in the AL East, just behind Boston. Halladay, Romero, Richmond, Jansen and Litsch would be a very solid rotation.

And of course the Dodgers are going to continue to do well. Their division blows, Giants have the pitching but no offense, so pretty much LA is guaranteed a playoff spot.

Jensen and Litsch aren't that good. Romero is a rookie. I hardly see that as an overpowering pitching staff. Their staff will never be better than the Yankees or Rays.

I do like Richmond though.

[Arakasi]

Romero is a solid number 2. He is actually a fairly highly regarded prospect, although yes a rookie. As well we got Brett Cecil coming out too, and although he might not be ready (kinda like David Price last year) he can be effective. And while I do agree that the Yankees and Rays have better starters (although not by much) there is no contest in the bullpen. Yankees and Rays have much much worse bullpens.

Staff is not just the starters. Toronto has the best era for relievers in baseball. They had the best era in the pen last year. They were third best the year before. Blue Jays are also a better fielding team than anyone else in the AL east, so that tends to help out their pitchers. Although in that regard I don't know what to do about Ryan when he gets back. Maybe they can leave him as a middle reliever, I feel much more scared with Ryan closing games than Downs or Frasor.

Edit: I can see your point about Jansen, he's not played in a while, but whats wrong with Litsch? In the last 2 years as a starter he's had an era of about 3.7. That's pretty damn solid and considering all we're asking for him is to be a number 4 starter, that's pretty good.

[Mexal]

Romero is a solid number 2. He is actually a fairly highly regarded prospect, although yes a rookie. As well we got Brett Cecil coming out too, and although he might not be ready (kinda like David Price last year) he can be effective. And while I do agree that the Yankees and Rays have better starters (although not by much) there is no contest in the bullpen. Yankees and Rays have much much worse bullpens.

Staff is not just the starters. Toronto has the best era for relievers in baseball. They had the best era in the pen last year. They were third best the year before. Blue Jays are also a better fielding team than anyone else in the AL east, so that tends to help out their pitchers. Although in that regard I don't know what to do about Ryan when he gets back. Maybe they can leave him as a middle reliever, I feel much more scared with Ryan closing games than Downs or Frasor.

Edit: I can see your point about Jansen, he's not played in a while, but whats wrong with Litsch? In the last 2 years as a starter he's had an era of about 3.7. That's pretty damn solid and considering all we're asking for him is to be a number 4 starter, that's pretty good.

I agree with you about the bullpens. The Jays bullpen is very good.

I disagree with you about Romero. The guy has potential but he doesn't have the stuff to be more than a #3 in my view. He's wild and his K rate is nothing to write home about. Though he has been relatively in control so far this year so maybe he turned a corner he couldn't in the minors. Add in the fact that he's a rookie and I see him having quite a few tough games this year.

Litsch is fine for a #4. I think that's his ceiling though.

[Arakasi]

Yeah Litsch to me is a 4. If he can continue doing what he did the last couple years I'll be happy. That leaves Richmond as the 3, Romero as the 2 and a combo of Tallet/Jansen/Cecil as the 5 for now. Overall that's a rotation I'm fairly happy with, fairly comparable to last years. Remember last year Toronto was 4th in run differential in baseball. They just had some brutal luck in close games, but even with that they were an 86 win team.

Their starting pitching is comparable to last year (when they get healthy that is), their bullpen is better and their hitting with Lind and Snider and Scutaro in there has also improved. Having Rolen, Overbay and Hill being healthy is nice as well. The point is why is there a huge surprise that Toronto is good? They were good last year, it's not their fault they're in the toughest division in baseball. They should stay in contention for a while, but I agree that I'd be surprised if they made the playoffs in that division. Boston should be a lock and one of NY or Tampa should perform up to expectations.

[Week]

Their starting pitching is comparable to last year (when they get healthy that is), their bullpen is better and their hitting with Lind and Snider and Scutaro in there has also improved. Having Rolen, Overbay and Hill being healthy is nice as well. The point is why is there a huge surprise that Toronto is good? They were good last year, it's not their fault they're in the toughest division in baseball. They should stay in contention for a while, but I agree that I'd be surprised if they made the playoffs in that division. Boston should be a lock and one of NY or Tampa should perform up to expectations.

The starters this year are a pretty big downgrade from having McGowan and Marcum. 2-5 are pretty much all 3 starters at best and probably 4s, they are just hitting on all cylinders right now (similar to the White Sox when they won the WS...3-4 starters all pitching like 1-2s). Scutaro probably hasn't improved and will pull a Bonifacio and fall back down to earth. He's been in the league for far too long to suddenly be above league average. Lind and Snider are completely legit. Having production out of Rolen and Overbay is pretty surprising considering what they did last year, their injury problems, and age. Hill too somewhat, although he is younger...just those head injuries can be tough to bounce back from.

[mcbigski]

If I want to go around calling ARod 'Bitch Tits' for the rest of his career, will that be considered denigrating to women? If so, is 'ACup' an acceptable non-offensive alternative?

[Jaxom 1974]

Zambrano pulled a hamstring running the bases. My heart is glad.

There is a very short list of people whose injuries I would celebrate and he is on that list.

You suck. :P

And I'm miffed he's hurt, not how he got hurt. He plays the game. That's more than you can say about some high paid players. And screw the DH. Hell, in another four or five seasons when he's not pitching anymore, he'll get a job DHing for some AL team... :P

[Caliban]

You suck. :P

And I'm miffed he's hurt, not how he got hurt. He plays the game. That's more than you can say about some high paid players. And screw the DH. Hell, in another four or five seasons when he's not pitching anymore, he'll get a job DHing for some AL team... :P

I am. I feel the same way about this then i do about when he hurt his now throwing shoulder on a head first slide running through a stop sign trying to stretch a double to a triple in spring training last year. Its just fuckign stupid.

Put together a fucking bench that doesnt have you ask your 260 pound 90mil pitcher to drag bunt for a basehit in the 5th inning. I dont have a massive problem with using him a pitch when youve burned your bench and he can add value, but seriously, him missing 2-3-4 rotation turns because of this thing causes more harm then an entire season of using Big Z as a bat off the bench is going to cause a gain. Lets be honest, hes not a good hitter when compared to other hitters. He sucks ass as a hitter compared to hitters.

Sure he can get hurt at any time but this is a massive increase in exposure.

I also hate the way he swings. He takes way too violent of a swing. He could easily tear something in his rib cage or shoulder or whatever with one of those hacks.

Its just not smart baseball. I want him to pitch. If he gets a few big hits, great. But Lou Piniella is the fucking coach and needs to pull the reigns on Big Z, not enable his crazy ass.

So far Lou has had a horrible coaching year. He pinch ran Harden the other day. Just fucking retarded.

ETA: Also this Theriot power surge has been weird. But please dont let a mirage lof slugging success ruin what you do well. Drive it when you can but you are still an opposite field hitter with a high contact rate. Miles sucks ass. Im sick of these fuckign gnats on my baseball teams.

Gaithright. God damnit he sucks so much. ZERO VALUE ZERO UPSIDE.

Looks like we'll beat the Giants tonight, good ballin the last few games, starting to look like a good squad again.

[Lord O' Bones]

Do you two not know there is a game on? Are the Giants that nonthreatening?

Probably.

[Caliban]

Do you two not know there is a game on? Are the Giants that nonthreatening?

Probably.

I referenced the Theriot home run. You did give up a home run to Theriot.

[Jaxom 1974]

I am. I feel the same way about this then i do about when he hurt his now throwing shoulder on a head first slide running through a stop sign trying to stretch a double to a triple in spring training last year. Its just fuckign stupid.

You do realize that Z pulled the bunt on his own, right? And that, despite whether you're right or wrong on the he should just pitch and be content, you know he's a pretty smart ball player? Let him play his game. Not trying to handcuff him is a smart move on Lou's part in my book.

[Lord O' Bones]

I referenced the Theriot home run. You did give up a home run to Theriot.

That two sentence + one word post took me a long time to type, 'cause I was watching the game. Missed the edit.

Oh well, at least they made it interesting. Lincecum tomorrow.

[Caliban]

You do realize that Z pulled the bunt on his own, right? And that, despite whether you're right or wrong on the he should just pitch and be content, you know he's a pretty smart ball player? Let him play his game. Not trying to handcuff him is a smart move on Lou's part in my book.

Not so smart he didnt hit his catcher in the dugout. You dont need to be that smart to bunt when its open for you, 9/10 Z doesnt pull that off. He shouldnt be allowed to be in these situations.

[Myshkin]

Dodgers are now 11-0 at home, and 19-8 overall (best in MLB).

Apparently Jeff Weaver is starting for us tomorrow. Can't say I'm too happy to see him back in a Dodger uniform.