Good game in Pittsburgh today, even though the Pirates lost. I listened to it on the radio. Great pitching from Wacha, and high drama right to the end. On to game five Wednesday.
-Mike
-Mike
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Your MLB team
- Thread starter slobake
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Ditto.
Just another game Wednesday...
Still pulling for a Cards-A's series. Make LaRussa really awkward.
Good win for the Rays last night -tough loss for the Red Sox. Both closers allowed runs to score, unfortunately for the Sox, our guy did it in the bottom of the ninth when the score was tied.
No one here expected the Rays to go quietly into the night - should be a another good game tonight.
As a proud owner of 4 Peavey basses and one Peavey amp, I have to like having a Peavey on the mound for the Sox tonight.
No one here expected the Rays to go quietly into the night - should be a another good game tonight.
As a proud owner of 4 Peavey basses and one Peavey amp, I have to like having a Peavey on the mound for the Sox tonight.
Clutch 2-strike bomb by Juan Uribe to give the Dodgers the win and send the Braves home. Two years ago, Uribe was a fill-in guy at 3rd until one of the minor league prospects was ready for the show. Last year of a contract always brings out the best. 
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the Sox win out over the Rays! Woohoo! Series OVER.
Several days to rest, home field advantage, and the rest of the pack having to play through and travel. Looking good for the Sox!
Several days to rest, home field advantage, and the rest of the pack having to play through and travel. Looking good for the Sox!
Oy. (sigh) Then I heard the voice of Keith Olberman in the post coverage..... and saw his face TV off. :scowl:
Yeah that several days rest helped the Tigers a bunch going into the series last year.
The "rest of the pack" has one game left on Thur, and will have a travel day to get back to their own time zone. Does Boston have an advantage playing at Fenway, no doubt. But the only place where home field REALLY matters in baseball is the World Series where the AL team loses the DH for four games including the first two if they're away.
Do the Sox look good, they had the best record and they are a very good team. I'd still take my Tigers (healthy) over them because of the starting pitching. But there are no clearly superior teams at this stage of the season. Almost all the NL guys had Atlanta wearing rings, and they're out. The playoffs is about who gets hot and when. Last years series winner, barely got in, and had to come back from big playoff deficits to get there. But they came into the series after winning some tough games while their opponent coasted and waited, not really tested in the playoffs.
Good points. The thing about the Sox (this year) is that they make other teams WORK for every single out, every run, every strike out, stolen base.... everything. You might get there. But it won't be easy. A lot of Sox batters will get a pitcher to full count and the shoot a couple into the stands (almost as if for fun) in foul territory. You might strike them out, but it will take you 9 or 10 pitches to do it. And once they get on base, the base running has been pretty hot. There are a lot of good thinkers and hard workers on this team. A couple of years ago I thought the front office had collectively bumped their heads by letting go so many marque players. But it seems they knew what they were doing after all.
This teams looks good, plays hard, and seems to really work together well (and even LIKE each other).
This teams looks good, plays hard, and seems to really work together well (and even LIKE each other).
Clutch 2-strike bomb by Juan Uribe to give the Dodgers the win and send the Braves home. Two years ago, Uribe was a fill-in guy at 3rd until one of the minor league prospects was ready for the show. Last year of a contract always brings out the best.
Yeppers. Braves kaput.
I don't know why they didn't go after a number 1 pitcher like I told them to. They never listen.
It's time to realize sunk costs and get rid of Uggla and the Upton brothers. Gattis cannot play left field.
Pitching wins post-season games.
The Braves need to get real, re-think and re-tool.
The AL has home field this year. I'm not sure who is hurt more by the dh. The AL had a better interleague record this year and the sox were 11-4 in NL parks. NL pitchers should be able to hit and bunt better than AL pitchers, but the guys that dh regularly in the AL must be much better than the random backup that the NL teams throw out there as DH. Ortiz is at least as good if not better at 1B than Napoli, so it usually just comes down to lefty-righty matchups. This is a problem that I truly hpoe that Farrell will have to deal with, but there is plenty of work to do before then.
Teams in odd stadiums tend to have good home field advantages. The metrodome in Minneapolis with its tough visibility was a big advantage fot the twins. Fenway helped the sox against the Rays this series, but it generally doesn't help that much as opposing players seem to enjoy playing here.
Teams in odd stadiums tend to have good home field advantages. The metrodome in Minneapolis with its tough visibility was a big advantage fot the twins. Fenway helped the sox against the Rays this series, but it generally doesn't help that much as opposing players seem to enjoy playing here.
I do believe it gives the NL team an advantage (not that I am in any way blaming it for last years loss). But the reality most good AL teams have DH's who are not particular good position players but are key parts of the offense. Also not only are the NL pitchers better hitters for the most part, even more key they are better bunters. And the ability to manufacture runs in close games at the bottom of the order gives them an edge. The AL teams are built around the 3 run homer for the most part. And having a pitcher bat in the series is a good way to kill a rally inning. I also suspect it undervalues high quality pitchers who can go out and throw a complete game.
If the Tigers get there, expect Martinez to get some time at Catcher. He played Catcher about four games during the season, he's actually still pretty good at it. But there is no way he could take the wear and tear of that position of every day.
5:07PM PDT, game five between PIT/STL. With Wainwirght on the mound, I am nervous for the Pirates, but they did tag him for some runs earlier this year. Maybe Cole can throw another gem for the Pirates. I sure hope so.
-Mike
-Mike
What a great ride the Pirates took their fans on this season. I was so excited to see them finish over .500 that everything else was just a bonus, including taking the Cardinals to five games in the NLDS. THANK YOU!
Wainwright pitched a beauty of a game against the Pirates, wow he looked good. St. Louis is going to be tough to beat.
-Mike
Wainwright pitched a beauty of a game against the Pirates, wow he looked good. St. Louis is going to be tough to beat.
-Mike
I was pulling for the Pirates - tired of seeing the stupid Cardinals win all the time. (Sincerely, a formerly disgruntled NL Centraler, lost in the AL West)
Yeah, sad end to a great season for the Bucs. Kudos to them for getting that 20-year old monkey off their backs.
And hats off to the Cards. Once again, they were clutch in the two big (elimination) games and administered a solid ***-whoopin'...
And hats off to the Cards. Once again, they were clutch in the two big (elimination) games and administered a solid ***-whoopin'...
I was nervous until the bottom of the 8th. A run here and a run there, could've been a different ballgame. Cole looked really good tonight. Kozma had that bonehead move in the 7th or 8th, passing on the easy 3rd out at 2nd and throwing late to 1st instead. Tonight's game makes it an even split, a 12-12 record for both teams on the season.
I hope it's not a fluke and the Pirates make it interesting again next year. If for no other reason than to beat up on the Cubs.
I hope it's not a fluke and the Pirates make it interesting again next year. If for no other reason than to beat up on the Cubs.
There have been 36 World Series with the DH which is probably something like 100 games in each leagues ballparks. That should be enough to have enough at-bats to get a sense as to whether there is an advantage to one league or the other.
On the stats side, maybe comparing the difference between AL and NL pitchers in hitting and moving runners over compared to the difference between the AL and NL DHs.
I do think that the NL clubs do have an advantage in that it is easier to sit a pitcher and have an extra bench player hit than it is for an AL pitcher to gear up to hit and have to sit a guy who is used to playing every day. Baseball players are creatures of habit and losing something that you usually have is a bigger disruption to routine than adding something that you don't usually have. That said, with the introduction of interleague play, AL teams are a little better prepared for the transition than before as the pitchers have to take some batting practice and you can try your DH out in the field and see how he does.
On the stats side, maybe comparing the difference between AL and NL pitchers in hitting and moving runners over compared to the difference between the AL and NL DHs.
I do think that the NL clubs do have an advantage in that it is easier to sit a pitcher and have an extra bench player hit than it is for an AL pitcher to gear up to hit and have to sit a guy who is used to playing every day. Baseball players are creatures of habit and losing something that you usually have is a bigger disruption to routine than adding something that you don't usually have. That said, with the introduction of interleague play, AL teams are a little better prepared for the transition than before as the pitchers have to take some batting practice and you can try your DH out in the field and see how he does.
JV was a monster, 8 IP, 10 SO, 1 BB, 2 H, 0 R, He has not given up a run in his last 33 IP against the A's in the postseason. Not bad for your number 2 pitcher.
The A's played good ball, but I imagine that if they get to the post season again, they are going to say anyone but the Tigers. The Tigers have eliminated them in three playoff series, since 06. Tigers Pitching struck out 58 A's in a five game series, a new Major league record.
The A's played good ball, but I imagine that if they get to the post season again, they are going to say anyone but the Tigers. The Tigers have eliminated them in three playoff series, since 06. Tigers Pitching struck out 58 A's in a five game series, a new Major league record.
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