|
< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 259 OF 914 ·
Later Kibitzing> |
Jul-11-11
 | | perfidious: <Phony Benoni> LOL-I had to do the same thing! |
|
| Jul-11-11 | | Jim Bartle: PB: If you read just Bill James, I think you'll find his type of analysis strong and interesting. It's others who have taken the stat revolution to absurd levels. |
|
| Jul-11-11 | | Jim Bartle: And no warning track in that first picture. I wonder if the slope substituted for the warning track. Otherwise outfielders would constantly be turning around to see how far they're from the wall. |
|
Jul-11-11
| | perfidious: <Phony Benoni> That particular game had two players who died young in auto accidents (Chico Ruiz and Ron Willis), as well as an improbable future batting champion (Alex Johnson), two years later, after being traded to Angels, along with Ruiz. Bill James wrote of Johnson that when he said 'mother', you'd heard half his vocabulary. Guess he was a bit better with the stick than otherwise. Whitey Herzog wrote that Johnson was a brutal outfielder, so platooned him with someone equally bad to get the most from their bats. |
|
Jul-11-11
 | | WannaBe: I know the Houston Astros stadium, currenly named Minute Maid Field (ex-Enron Field) have a sloped outfield warning track, plus dirt path between pitching mound and home plate. The way Houston are playing, the grounds keepers are probably have to put in a dirt path between the dugout to the pitching mound. |
|
Jul-11-11
 | | Phony Benoni: <perfidous> What I found just as interesting was the second game of the doubleheader. In that one, it was St. Louis jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Cincinnati came back to tie the game, and eventually won it 7-6 in twelve innings. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... Both Game 1 starting pitchers were used as relievers in Game 2. Not a good day for Steve Carlton. First he gets bombed for 8 runs in 3.2 innings in the first game, then loses the nightcap. |
|
Jul-12-11
| | perfidious: <WannaBe: ....The way Houston are playing, the grounds keepers are probably have to put in a dirt path between the dugout to the pitching mound.> That team is a nasty combination of young and bad, along with old and bad. It's hard to see them doing much till they get rid of the Carlos Lee contract, among other things. Lee really belongs in the AL as a DH, as he can't even play first. <Phony Benoni> There were a few good days to come for Carlton, though-he was just a keed then. When did Reds start playing at Great American? I was briefly in Cincinnati in August 2003, but don't recall very clearly where they were then. The only thing I remember was driving by Riverfront, which couldn't have got any closer to the river. |
|
Jul-12-11
 | | OhioChessFan: I once saw Tony Perez hit a line drive homer that was about 30 feet higher than the clock in that pic. Another time, I saw a Reds player hit the scoreboard, knocking down a number recording runs. The other team's left fielder walked over, picked the number up, opened the side door you can see in the first pic, and threw it in there. |
|
Jul-13-11
| | WannaBe: Ah, baseball, gotta love it, (but just a hare less than chess.) No pun intended!!! |
|
Jul-15-11
| | Phony Benoni: In 2006, 2007, and 2009, the Tigers were in first place at the All-Star break; in 2010, they were only one-half game out. Each time, they faded in the second half and were unable to win the division. This year, they were back on top again. At least this time it looked like they would start out the second half well, what with Justin Verlander on the mound. The White Sox lead 6-2 in the seventh. I'm just going to save my time and not even bother following them the rest of the year. |
|
| Jul-15-11 | | Jim Bartle: Just saw a confrontation between Pujols and Arnaldis Chapman, throwing serious smoke. I mean really hard. Looooong home run. What a ballplayer. |
|
Jul-16-11
| | perfidious: <Jim> Pujols is the goods-a first-ballot HOFer when his day comes. No taint of the juice has ever attached itself to him, yet he turns out 30 HRs, well over 100 RBI and .320+ seasons with monotonous regularity. He'll soon get his 2000th hit (1984 going into Friday's action). Question for the multitudes: who was the youngest player to get to 2000? |
|
Jul-16-11
| | Phony Benoni: <perfidious> My guess would have been Ty Cobb, and fact-checking shows that might be right. He did it at age 29 in 1916, while a number of others did it at age 30: Rogers Hornsby, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Medwick, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Robin Yount, Alex Rodriguez. Yount and Rodriguez slipped in just under the wire, getting #2000 a few days before their 31st birtdays. Albert Pujols should reach 2000 this year, at age 31; Al Kaline was another 31. Ichiro Suzuki did it in the fewest seasons (9), but his late start made him 36 at the time. Ken Griffey Jr. and Pete Rose were 32. |
|
Jul-16-11
| | OhioChessFan: Pujols is a fabulous player. I can't stand his team and manager, but I can't think of a single negative about Pujols himself. |
|
Jul-17-11
| | perfidious: <Phony Benoni: ....Ichiro Suzuki did it in the fewest seasons (9), but his late start made him 36 at the time.> Think Suzuki makes Cooperstown, with his numbers in both worlds? With only his accomplishments in MLB, he'd likely be a borderline case, but I should think he has enough when selectors count what he did in the JL. |
|
Jul-17-11
| | Phony Benoni: <perfidious> I think Ichiro Suzuki has done more than enough for admission to the Hall of Fame. In the minimum 10 years, he has averaged 225 hits and 38 steals while batting .331 and playing a Gold Glove right field. He's been a dominant player from day one who has caught the imagination of the fans (both in the U.S. and Japan) and has the respect of his peers. How many other leadoff hitters are there who average fifteen intentional walks per year? Now I don't want to exaggerate this point, but I have the impression that Suzuki has been a kind of "Jackie Robinson" for Asian players. There were random examples before him, but he has definitely shown that Asians are capable of starring in American major league baseball. There's not a big influx, but at least they get more serious consideration than in the past. So he's a first-ballot guy for me. Of course you can pick holes in his resumé, and it looks like he is finally be slowing down a bit and may not even reach 3000 hits. But I think he's done more than enough, with class and without a trace of scandal. |
|
| Jul-17-11 | | Jim Bartle: Ichiro is a clear Hall of Famer. The only question about him is, does he play for the team or for himself and his stats? |
|
Jul-18-11
| | perfidious: Marathon in progress now...
Red Sox-Rays, going to the 16th, 0-0.
Not even the longest scoreless game in Red Sox history, though. |
|
| Jul-18-11 | | cormier: A Adly vs Ivanchuk, 2011 |
|
| Jul-18-11 | | Jim Bartle: Damn, fell asleep watching that game. I think the problem was it was on a channel where I didn't have the option to switch to the English-language announcers. Meanwhile, Jim Thome hit his 596th home run. |
|
Jul-18-11
| | perfidious: <Jim> The 16th was the end, as Red Sox finally scraped out a run. <Phony Benoni> The longest scoreless duel in Sox history was a home tie with Browns on 14.07.16-17 innings in all. The Browns pitcher went the distance in that one. |
|
Jul-21-11
 | | keypusher: <Jim Bartle: Ichiro is a clear Hall of Famer. The only question about him is, does he play for the team or for himself and his stats?> I don't think there is a difference. If you play well, you get good stats and you help your team. |
|
| Jul-21-11 | | NakoSonorense: <Ichiro is a clear Hall of Famer. The only question about him is, does he play for the team or for himself and his stats?> I would say he plays more for the team than for himself. I guess it all boils down to what's more important, hits or home runs. I heard someone say that if Ichiro tried to hit home runs, he would be getting at least 35 a season, although his batting average would obviously decline. I'm not sure how you can play for yourself in baseball while not helping the team. I can think of many examples in other sports (e.g., soccer, basketball), but not in baseball. I favor regular hits slightly over home runs, but not by that much. |
|
| Jul-21-11 | | Jim Bartle: I would disagree with that, KP. A player can constantly hit for singles, looking for a high average, when hitting for more power may be better for the team, even if it loses a few points off the average. The opposite may be more common: the guy who can be a high average singles hitter, but keeps trying to hit 15 homers a year rather than 10. Willie Wilson was known for giving up what he did best, hitting it on the ground and running like hell, after Whitey Herzog left the Royals. Oops, just read NakoSonorense's post, which makes largely the same post. |
|
| Jul-21-11 | | Jim Bartle: Just saw something I'd never seen before in a baseball game. The Rockies tried a suicide squeeze against Atlanta. Fastball, the batter missed the bunt completely, the catcher dropped the pitch, and the runner scored standing up. Officially a steal of home. |
|
 |
|
|
< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 259 OF 914 ·
Later Kibitzing> |
Kibitzing
