Where my Baseball bitches at?

[cpt.mars]

Topics to discuss:

-Sidney "the kidney" Ponson shutting down the Dominican Republic's offense
-The constant battle between the USA and Canada in who will not drive in the most runners in scoring position
-How awesome/awful the World Baseball Classic is
-Where to take A-rod in your fantasy draft

And Moe_Rahn, GO!

[Maddog]

Pirates are going to have a winning record this year!


lololol no they're not

[Moe_Rahn]

i just got back from work and i'm working on a monstrous fucking post (possibly new thread?) about sabermetrics

true story


-Sidney "the kidney" Ponson shutting down the Dominican Republic's offense

that's SIR sidney ponson to you

favorite sidney ponson story: the time that he beat up a judge on christmas

(also a true story)

[cpt.mars]

Pirates are going to have a winning record this year!


lololol no they're not

I simply do not understand how any MLB organization can be that bad for that long. Sure, it may take 5-10 years to set up a good young team (see: Rays, Tampa Bay) but come on... And it's not as though they just don't draft well, they've had a few notable talented players come out of their system, but none that ever achieved nearly the potential they had.

My hopes for the Twins season this year:
-Trade Michael Cuddyer (Likelihood: Doubtful)
-Denard Span doesn't go back to being a floundering prospect like he was previously (Likelihood: probable)
-Carlos Gomez actually learns how to take pitches (Likelihood: None)
-The pitching rotation comes together and produces solid numbers (Likelihood: Plausable, but uncertain)
-At least 2nd in division, barring resurgence from Detroit or Cleveland to their 07 dominance.

[Moe_Rahn]

I simply do not understand how any MLB organization can be that bad for that long. Sure, it may take 5-10 years to set up a good young team (see: Rays, Tampa Bay) but come on... And it's not as though they just don't draft well, they've had a few notable talented players come out of their system, but none that ever achieved nearly the potential they had.
glancing back over the last couple decades, i think some of that looks to be a function of playing in the nl central, which as a whole was pretty shitty for a while

taking second in your division with a losing record (1997), i mean seriously, what the damn

coincidentally, the last year that the pirates had barry bonds (1992) was the last year they were over .500

My hopes for the Twins season this year:
-Trade Michael Cuddyer (Likelihood: Doubtful)
-Denard Span doesn't go back to being a floundering prospect like he was previously (Likelihood: probable)
-Carlos Gomez actually learns how to take pitches (Likelihood: None)
-The pitching rotation comes together and produces solid numbers (Likelihood: Plausable, but uncertain)
-At least 2nd in division, barring resurgence from Detroit or Cleveland to their 07 dominance.
if more than one of those happens i'll eat my fucking hat

[cpt.mars]

I honestly have no idea who can get any better in our division this year. If Carmona can come back and dominate, sure Cleveland has a shot at the division, but the white sox still have just as many questions on their team as the Twins do, Detroit's rotation is laughable until Fredrick Alfred Porcello shows up, and the Royals are still the Kansas City Royals.

I have high hopes for MN's rotation this year, I like just about all of them. None of them are likely ever going to win a Cy Young (barring Liriano's return to dominance, which I'm not holding out for), but I like the fact that they're all solid enough in where they're at to put up at worst a 4.50 ERA, and they're all young enough to still have plenty of room to grow. Think of them as a slightly cheaper version of the 07 or 08 Tampa rotation.

But again, we need to figure our RF shit out... we need speed on the basepaths to win, Cuddyer doesn't have that, but he does have the contract, so he's going to be hard to get rid of.

[Moe_Rahn]

and the Royals are still the Kansas City Royals.

favorite player on the royals: brian bannister (mostly just because he's a huge stathead)

[Maddog]

I simply do not understand how any MLB organization can be that bad for that long. Sure, it may take 5-10 years to set up a good young team (see: Rays, Tampa Bay) but come on... And it's not as though they just don't draft well, they've had a few notable talented players come out of their system, but none that ever achieved nearly the potential they had.


Owners love money. No matter how bad they are they are still able to draw crowds, so who cares? Sign cheap crummy guys, get rid of guys who get good and cost more, and take a dive into the money pool.

about all i know or care baseball related. Pirates have been bad for most of my life and as long as I can remember so I've never been able to get into it.

[cpt.mars]

favorite player on the royals: brian bannister (mostly just because he's a huge stathead)

Mine is either Greinke or Billy Butler. Good lord Butler's ass is humongous. Truest definition of a badonkadonk. And I like Greinke because his curve makes me a tingly in the pants everytime I see it.

[Moe_Rahn]

zack greinke isn't as cool now that he got rid of his crippling psychological problems

also my post about sabermetrics turned into a six-page single-spaced paper about them, largely cribbed from wikipedia articles

really fucking tempted now to make a new thread for it

[Moe_Rahn]

julian tavarez rules (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2009/03/the_nats_love_dont_cost_a_thin.html)
"Why did I sign with the Nationals?" Tavarez said told a group of reporters. "When you go to a club at 4 in the morning, and you're just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J. Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me."
bahahahahaha

[cpt.mars]

Hey, I'd feel the same way if I had to pitch for the Nationals :(

[BAS]

in case you needed any more reasons to hate Beckett

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IFY-XHFoJA

[Walnut]

Ryan Howard is hitting .333 with only 4 strikeouts and 0 home runs so far.

Haha, what? That's like the exact opposite of everything he does.

[cpt.mars]

Ryan Howard is hitting .333 with only 4 strikeouts and 0 home runs so far.

Haha, what? That's like the exact opposite of everything he does.

To quote Matthew Berry, "I hate Ryan Howard."

That is all.

[Moe_Rahn]

albert pujols is on pace for 81 home runs

[BAS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml0O-wPwsVU

[Polish Hill]

Moe, or really anyone here, have you read Moneyball? I only heard about it the other day and picked it up today and am almost halfway through it already (pretty short book at 142 pages). Very interesting topic. I can't get off to Sabermetrics but Billy Beane plus the idea of a team doing more for less which is very businessy to me is awesome. Take a look if you haven't and if you have read it let me know what you think.

[Moe_Rahn]

Hey, I'd feel the same way if I had to pitch for the Nationals :(
it's cool, he's on the natinals now

http://cdn.faniq.com/images/blog/997d8054bdd3614e617cc13f998e08d9.jpg

Moe, or really anyone here, have you read Moneyball? I only heard about it the other day and picked it up today and am almost halfway through it already (pretty short book at 142 pages). Very interesting topic. I can't get off to Sabermetrics but Billy Beane plus the idea of a team doing more for less which is very businessy to me is awesome. Take a look if you haven't and if you have read it let me know what you think.
my copy of moneyball is 317 pages including the index, are you sure you got the right book?


anyways it's probably only one of my favorite books ever. you really don't need to get a boner over sabermetrics the way i do to get into it either, as it's much more the story of beane himself, the a's and the 2002 draft

it's also kind of interesting to look at said draft seven years down the road; three for forty-five ain't bad

[Polish Hill]

Think so, its a pdf version though so I suppose that could explain the differences. My last page has the AL West standings, not sure if thats correct though.

[Moe_Rahn]

Think so, its a pdf version though so I suppose that could explain the differences. My last page has the AL West standings, not sure if thats correct though.
you don't have the whole book for sure, although i don't know how much of it you have since the al west standings appear at a couple places in various contexts

might i recommend actually purchasing the fucking book

it's worth it, i promise

[Moe_Rahn]

manny will be suspended 50 games for positive drug test (http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-manny-ramirez8-2009may08,0,6324894.story)

no official news as to what drug he actually tested positive for, boras is currently in full spin control mode and saying that it was something prescription

[edit] statement from manny, source (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4148907)


"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me," Ramirez said. "Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now.

"I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to [Dodgers owner Frank] McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, [manager Joe] Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation."

[Moe_Rahn]

OH MY FUCKING GOD IT GETS BETTER AND BETTER


Source: Ramirez’s substance a sexual enhancer

By Tim Brown and Steve Henson
1 hour, 7 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES – A source close to Manny Ramirez(notes) said Thursday that the illegal substance for which the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger tested positive was not “an agent customarily used for performance enhancing.”

At least not on the baseball diamond. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the substance is supposed to boost sex drive. It is not Viagra, but a substance that treats the cause rather providing a temporary boost in sexual performance, the source said.

Ramirez tested positive for the substance during spring training, then was administered a second test more recently, and it also was positive. Major League Baseball notified Ramirez of the second positive test after Wednesday night’s Dodgers victory over the Washington Nationals. Ramirez admitted to having taken the substance and declined to appeal. His 50-game suspension begins today.

“The substance is not a steroid and it is not human-growth hormone,” the source said.

Ramirez, the source said, acquired the substance through a prescription from a doctor in Miami for his medical condition. The source intimated that Ramirez might bring legal action against the physician.

Ramirez released the following statement Thursday morning: “Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

The Dodgers, who have won a Major League record 13 consecutive home games to start the season, will be without Ramirez until July 3. Outfielder Xavier Paul was promoted from triple-A to take Ramirez’s place on the roster. The suspension will cost Ramirez close to $8 million in lost wages.



http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ys-ramirezsuspension050709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[cpt.mars]

I love the people that are automatically writing him out of the Hall of Fame over this. So far as the current information says, it's not very much different from the JC Romero situation, so long as the prescribing doctor turns out to be legitimate.

[Moe_Rahn]

I love the people that are automatically writing him out of the Hall of Fame over this. So far as the current information says, it's not very much different from the JC Romero situation, so long as the prescribing doctor turns out to be legitimate.
it doesn't even need to actually be proven that you did anything, just the accusation is enough to keep you out of the hall these days

how much you wanna bet that the number 8 home run hitter of all time has to wait until the vets committee to get in, if even then?

[e] it is in fact very different from the romero situation, being as manny has already waived his right to appeal, while romero fought it from the get-go

[e2] from will carroll on bp:


FINAL UPDATE: Spoke with several sources with knowledge of the tests and it appears that Ramirez is both guilty of offense and of some poor judgement. His doctor checked the list, but apparently the old list — HCG was added to baseball’s banned list this off-season. That said, HCG is a big testosterone booster (up to 100% according to Millard Baker, a steroids expert) and is often used to “kick start” the body’s natural production of testosterone after a cycle of steroids.

So to summarize, Manny Ramirez has been suspended for a banned substance, one that is not a steroid, but does have some performance enhancing and steroid connections. There’s still some unanswered questions, such as the two tests that Yahoo reported, why Ramirez was prescribed the substance, and why he was suspended under 8.G.2 rather than the normal 8.B.1. Thanks to everyone that helped and to the commenters, who (mostly) kept it a smart, reasoned discussion.

[Moe_Rahn]

standings bump


American League
East W L PCT GB E# L10 STRK vs E vs C vs W INT HOME ROAD vs R vs L XTRA 1-RUN RS RA X W-L LAST GAME NEXT GAME
Boston 27 20 .574 - - 5-5 L2 16-6 6-4 4-8 1-2 17-6 10-14 16-14 11-6 2-2 8-8 250 222 26-21 5/27 @ MIN, L 2-4 5/28 @ MIN, LIVE LIVE
New York 27 20 .574 - - 7-3 W1 10-12 10-4 6-2 1-2 14-9 13-11 18-15 9-5 3-3 8-3 266 252 25-22 5/27 @ TEX, W 9-2 5/29 @ CLE, 7:05P
Toronto 27 23 .540 1.5 113 1-9 L9 4-8 16-8 7-4 0-3 16-6 11-17 18-15 9-8 3-3 9-6 257 227 28-22 5/27 @ BAL, L 10-12 5/29 vs BOS, 7:07P
Tampa Bay 23 26 .469 5.0 110 4-6 L4 12-10 5-9 4-6 2-1 11-10 12-16 17-14 6-12 1-2 5-9 281 250 27-22 5/27 @ CLE, L 7-12 5/28 @ CLE, LIVE LIVE
Baltimore 21 26 .447 6.0 110 5-5 W3 10-16 6-3 3-6 2-1 14-11 7-15 15-20 6-6 3-1 5-6 235 276 20-27 5/27 vs TOR, W 12-10 5/28 vs DET, 7:05P
Central W L PCT GB E# L10 STRK vs E vs C vs W INT HOME ROAD vs R vs L XTRA 1-RUN RS RA X W-L LAST GAME NEXT GAME
Detroit 26 19 .578 - - 7-3 W1 2-5 11-9 12-3 1-2 15-7 11-12 16-14 10-5 0-1 5-5 244 196 27-18 5/27 @ KC, W 8-3 5/28 @ BAL, 7:05P
Minnesota 24 24 .500 3.5 113 6-4 W2 5-13 9-8 7-3 3-0 19-10 5-14 17-16 7-8 2-3 5-5 252 239 25-23 5/27 vs BOS, W 4-2 5/28 vs BOS, LIVE LIVE
Kansas City 23 24 .489 4.0 113 4-6 L1 6-5 12-11 4-6 1-2 15-12 8-12 14-16 9-8 2-0 4-8 200 208 23-24 5/27 vs DET, L 3-8 5/29 vs CWS, 8:10P
Chicago 21 25 .457 5.5 112 6-4 L1 5-9 8-9 6-6 2-1 12-10 9-15 13-20 8-5 0-1 4-7 189 217 20-26 5/27 @ LAA, L 1-3 5/29 @ KC, 8:10P
Cleveland 20 28 .417 7.5 109 6-4 W3 10-11 9-12 0-3 1-2 10-11 10-17 14-24 6-4 1-2 7-7 261 270 23-25 5/27 vs TB, W 12-7 5/28 vs TB, LIVE LIVE
West W L PCT GB E# L10 STRK vs E vs C vs W INT HOME ROAD vs R vs L XTRA 1-RUN RS RA X W-L LAST GAME NEXT GAME
Texas 27 19 .587 - - 5-5 L1 6-7 8-10 10-2 3-0 15-8 12-11 17-14 10-5 3-2 10-6 242 223 25-21 5/27 vs NYY, L 2-9 5/29 vs OAK, 5:05P
Los Angeles 24 22 .522 3.0 114 6-4 W1 8-5 6-6 8-10 2-1 13-10 11-12 16-15 8-7 1-2 7-7 219 227 22-24 5/27 vs CWS, W 3-1 5/29 vs SEA, 10:05P
Seattle 22 26 .458 6.0 110 4-6 W1 4-2 5-10 11-13 2-1 12-12 10-14 12-20 10-6 3-2 12-9 180 216 20-28 5/27 @ OAK, W 6-1 5/29 @ LAA, 10:05P
Oakland 18 26 .409 8.0 110 5-5 L1 8-10 2-3 7-11 1-2 11-13 7-13 13-14 5-12 2-4 4-10 194 218 20-24 5/27 vs SEA, L 1-6 5/29 @ TEX, 5:05P

National League
East W L PCT GB E# L10 STRK vs E vs C vs W INT HOME ROAD vs R vs L XTRA 1-RUN RS RA X W-L LAST GAME NEXT GAME
New York 26 20 .565 - - 5-5 W3 13-8 7-5 4-6 2-1 15-8 11-12 20-17 6-3 1-3 8-9 226 198 26-20 5/27 vs WSH, W 7-4 5/29 vs FLA, 7:10P
Philadelphia 25 20 .556 0.5 117 6-4 L1 14-11 5-3 4-5 2-1 9-14 16-6 14-16 11-4 4-1 6-3 249 233 24-21 5/27 vs FLA, L 2-6 5/29 vs WSH, 7:05P
Atlanta 23 23 .500 3.0 114 5-5 L3 12-10 5-7 3-6 3-0 11-12 12-11 12-17 11-6 2-1 8-6 197 207 22-24 5/27 @ SF, L 3-6 5/28 @ ARI, 9:40P
Florida 22 26 .458 5.0 111 4-6 W1 15-8 2-10 4-6 1-2 9-14 13-12 11-20 11-6 5-2 6-3 221 258 21-27 5/27 @ PHI, W 6-2 5/29 @ NYM, 7:10P
Washington 13 33 .283 13.0 104 2-8 L3 5-22 3-5 4-4 1-2 7-16 6-17 9-25 4-8 0-6 5-7 228 290 18-28 5/27 @ NYM, L 4-7 5/29 @ PHI, 7:05P
Central W L PCT GB E# L10 STRK vs E vs C vs W INT HOME ROAD vs R vs L XTRA 1-RUN RS RA X W-L LAST GAME NEXT GAME
St. Louis 28 19 .596 - - 7-3 W2 7-4 17-13 2-1 2-1 17-9 11-10 18-14 10-5 1-3 7-6 217 184 27-20 5/27 @ MIL, W 3-2 5/29 @ SF, 10:15P
Milwaukee 27 20 .574 1.0 115 4-6 L2 6-3 18-10 3-4 0-3 13-9 14-11 20-16 7-4 2-0 9-7 218 202 25-22 5/27 vs STL, L 2-3 5/29 vs CIN, 8:05P
Cincinnati 26 20 .565 1.5 115 6-4 W4 4-7 17-9 3-3 2-1 13-12 13-8 18-13 8-7 1-3 5-7 213 199 24-22 5/27 vs HOU, W 6-1 5/29 @ MIL, 8:05P
Chicago 23 22 .511 4.0 113 2-8 W2 3-1 14-14 6-7 0-0 14-8 9-14 19-19 4-3 1-2 3-6 206 202 23-22 5/27 vs PIT, W 5-2 5/28 vs LAD, 8:05P
Pittsburgh 21 26 .447 7.0 109 5-5 L2 8-5 8-17 4-2 1-2 11-9 10-17 16-21 5-5 1-1 3-5 205 204 24-23 5/27 @ CHC, L 2-5 5/29 vs HOU, 7:05P
Houston 18 27 .400 9.0 108 2-8 L7 2-2 9-20 7-2 0-3 9-15 9-12 14-22 4-5 1-2 5-6 193 232 19-26 5/27 @ CIN, L 1-6 5/29 @ PIT, 7:05P
West W L PCT GB E# L10 STRK vs E vs C vs W INT HOME ROAD vs R vs L XTRA 1-RUN RS RA X W-L LAST GAME NEXT GAME
Los Angeles 33 15 .688 - - 8-2 W3 8-3 1-2 23-8 1-2 18-5 15-10 22-12 11-3 4-1 9-3 276 188 32-16 5/27 @ COL, W 8-6 5/28 @ CHC, 8:05P
San Diego 24 23 .511 8.5 107 9-1 W1 4-2 7-8 13-13 0-0 17-6 7-17 14-15 10-8 5-2 12-6 188 217 20-27 5/27 @ ARI, W 8-5 5/29 @ COL, 9:10P
San Francisco 23 23 .500 9.0 107 5-5 W3 6-4 3-2 13-15 1-2 16-8 7-15 17-17 6-6 3-2 4-7 182 185 23-23 5/27 vs ATL, W 6-3 5/29 vs STL, 10:15P
Arizona 20 27 .426 12.5 103 6-4 L1 5-4 5-8 8-14 2-1 10-17 10-10 15-17 5-10 4-2 7-6 200 231 20-27 5/27 vs SD, L 5-8 5/28 vs ATL, 9:40P
Colorado 18 28 .391 14.0 102 4-6 L3 4-6 3-5 9-16 2-1 7-13 11-15 12-17 6-11 0-2 2-9 225 243 21-25

nothing really shocking, although it's interesting to see san diego a game over .500 (and four games ahead of their pythag) with the third fewest runs scored in the majors (the fact that they're destroying people in 1-run games is helping)

bonus: mark teixeira's crazy eyes from last night

http://i42.tinypic.com/2u79eom.jpg

[cpt.mars]

On the issue of Run Differential thus far:
1-Why does it seem that the NL West always seems to produce a team that's RD is drastically negative when compared to their record?

2-The AL East's RD is out of control, except for Baltimore, for some reason.

Pitching: 1-I'm convinced someone took Gyroball's advice and made Grienke play MVP05 and he then realized how good he is/could be. That and the zoloft.

2-if Cole Hamels' injury isn't his problem this season, then I'm only left to deduce that he was not ready to pitch 262 innings last season

Hitting: 1-Juan "The Cat Burgler" Pierre is actually having an OBP more than .4 higher than his AVG?

2-Pujols is a terminator

Hometown talk: Twins suck on the road, young pitching is non-existent thus far :(

[Moe_Rahn]

On the issue of Run Differential thus far:
1-Why does it seem that the NL West always seems to produce a team that's RD is drastically negative when compared to their record?

doesn't really look like they had anybody last year to fit that description, but the 07 dbacks were like a thousand games over their pythag

2-The AL East's RD is out of control, except for Baltimore, for some reason.

of the al east, baltimore's played the most games within the division, and they've gotten killed in them

Pitching: 1-I'm convinced someone took Gyroball's advice and made Grienke play MVP05 and he then realized how good he is/could be. That and the zoloft.
that asshole needs to goddamn finish that thread

2-if Cole Hamels' injury isn't his problem this season, then I'm only left to deduce that he was not ready to pitch 262 innings last season
i don't really have a joke about cole hamels to put here

Hitting: 1-Juan "The Cat Burgler" Pierre is actually having an OBP more than .4 higher than his AVG?
would you believe that there are people who think he should remain the starting lf when manny comes back

2-Pujols is a terminator
well DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

fun science fact that i dropped on a friend the other day: albert, at the age of 29, has 335 home runs, compared to hank aaron's 342 through his age 29 season. not only is albert's age 29 season not finished yet (and he's on pace for about 52 this year if my math is right), hank began playing at 20, and thus has an extra year on him

Hometown talk: Twins suck on the road, young pitching is non-existent thus far :(
liriano's totally coming back dude

fun liriano fact: if you play mlb 09 he's like the best pitcher in the game


fun fact that i learned from reading joepo's blog: royals catcher john buck has as many triples as oakland

[cpt.mars]

fun liriano fact: if you play mlb 09 he's like the best pitcher in the game


fun fact that i learned from reading joepo's blog: royals catcher john buck has as many triples as oakland

I guess I'm not that surprised that Liriano would be overrated, just that I'd fully expect Lincecum to be the #1 in every baseball game made these days. Fuck I wish I had a ps3 so I could play mlb09 :(:(:(

And after looking at his stats, I refuse to believe that John Buck is only 6'3". The man was a giant on the field when I saw him last September.

[Moe_Rahn]

I guess I'm not that surprised that Liriano would be overrated, just that I'd fully expect Lincecum to be the #1 in every baseball game made these days. Fuck I wish I had a ps3 so I could play mlb09 :(:(:(
i'm playing it on ps2, i can't afford a dang ps3

also "best in the game" is kind of an exaggeration, but when i saw him giving guys like sabathia a run for their money in the cy young voting i did a double take

i'm pretty sure every baseball video game has at least one player than turns out to be massively broken (others that come to mind are dice-k in the original mlb power pros and joba in mlbpp08)

[cpt.mars]

i'm playing it on ps2, i can't afford a dang ps3

also "best in the game" is kind of an exaggeration, but when i saw him giving guys like sabathia a run for their money in the cy young voting i did a double take

i'm pretty sure every baseball video game has at least one player than turns out to be massively broken (others that come to mind are dice-k in the original mlb power pros and joba in mlbpp08)

I still stand by the fact that Brandon Webb is broken in 08. Well, any pitcher that has the "running fastball" is broken. Jesus that thing is a hack against any human player. Not as bad as just about any knuckleball in any game, but still.

[Polish Hill]

Moe, finally got around to purchasing Moneyball ($15 dollars! Should've amazoned it oh well). Very interesting stuff, made doubly so because I couldn't recall how far the A's went that season. Really makes me curious about how the Sox might have performed under Beane.

Very low expectations for the movie adaptation though. This isn't exactly baseball relevant but are there any books like this one regardless of sport or should I look into more of that author's stuff?

[Moe_Rahn]

Moe, finally got around to purchasing Moneyball ($15 dollars! Should've amazoned it oh well). Very interesting stuff, made doubly so because I couldn't recall how far the A's went that season. Really makes me curious about how the Sox might have performed under Beane.

Very low expectations for the movie adaptation though. This isn't exactly baseball relevant but are there any books like this one regardless of sport or should I look into more of that author's stuff?
i haven't read anything else of lewis's besides moneyball, so i can't really give any recommendations there

[Moe_Rahn]

my copy of the baseball research journal came in the mail today i'm soooooooooooo excited


news: two days left to get your all-star votes in, let's take a look at the results so far


2009 MLB All-Star Balloting : American League

1st Base
RANK PLAYER NAME AL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Kevin Youkilis Red Sox 1,915,303
2. Mark Teixeira Yankees 1,875,256
3. Justin Morneau Twins 1,560,530
4. Miguel Cabrera Tigers 1,139,804
5. Carlos Pena Rays 767,088

2nd Base
RANK PLAYER NAME AL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Ian Kinsler Rangers 2,170,100
2. Dustin Pedroia Red Sox 2,163,270
3. Robinson Cano Yankees 1,245,065
4. Aaron Hill Blue Jays 892,006
5. Placido Polanco Tigers 809,976

3rd Base
RANK PLAYER NAME AL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Evan Longoria Rays 2,988,363
2. Alex Rodriguez Yankees 1,354,319
3. Mike Lowell Red Sox 1,136,723
4. Michael Young Rangers 1,134,921
5. Brandon Inge Tigers 667,331

Shortstop
RANK PLAYER NAME AL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Derek Jeter Yankees 3,046,813
2. Jason Bartlett Rays 1,419,499
3. Elvis Andrus Rangers 1,028,157
4. Marco Scutaro Blue Jays 807,199
5. Jed Lowrie Red Sox 576,629

Catcher
RANK PLAYER NAME AL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Joe Mauer Twins 2,851,819
2. Jason Varitek Red Sox 1,399,946
3. Jorge Posada Yankees 1,095,219
4. Jarrod Saltalamacchia Rangers 1,002,391
5. Victor Martinez Indians 867,613

Outfield
RANK PLAYER NAME AL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Jason Bay Red Sox 2,609,913
2. Ichiro Suzuki Mariners 1,802,826
3. Josh Hamilton Rangers 1,635,781
4. Torii Hunter Angels 1,490,800
5. Carl Crawford Rays 1,442,175
6. Jacoby Ellsbury Red Sox 1,355,133
7. Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners 1,204,863
8. Johnny Damon Yankees 1,175,539
9. Nelson Cruz Rangers 1,171,354
10. J.D. Drew Red Sox 1,050,112
11. Adam Jones Orioles 1,022,041
12. Nick Markakis Orioles 850,150
13. Curtis Granderson Tigers 798,786
14. Bobby Abreu Angels 733,329
15. Grady Sizemore Indians 714,902

views:
http://i39.tinypic.com/34y2xk8.jpg

2009 MLB All-Star Balloting : National League
1st Base
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Albert Pujols Cardinals 3,602,765
2. Ryan Howard Phillies 1,644,971
3. Prince Fielder Brewers 1,383,563
4. Adrian Gonzalez Padres 1,105,396
5. Lance Berkman Astros 623,783
2nd Base
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Chase Utley Phillies 3,510,082
2. Orlando Hudson Dodgers 1,277,348
3. Rickie Weeks Brewers 970,229
4. Skip Schumaker Cardinals 898,929
5. Dan Uggla Marlins 604,661
3rd Base
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. David Wright Mets 2,049,487
2. Chipper Jones Braves 1,351,455
3. Ryan Zimmerman Nationals 1,301,577
4. Pedro Feliz Phillies 1,132,441
5. Bill Hall Brewers 991,583
Shortstop
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Hanley Ramirez Marlins 2,026,174
2. Jimmy Rollins Phillies 1,771,917
3. J.J. Hardy Brewers 1,239,195
4. Miguel Tejada Astros 1,020,895
5. Jose Reyes Mets 851,001
Catcher
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Yadier Molina Cardinals 1,846,629
2. Brian McCann Braves 1,458,909
3. Ivan Rodriguez Astros 1,236,476
4. Jason Kendall Brewers 1,175,566
5. Bengie Molina Giants 1,167,336
Outfield
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Raul Ibanez Phillies 2,970,139
2. Ryan Braun Brewers 2,654,061
3. Carlos Beltran Mets 2,085,028
4. Alfonso Soriano Cubs 1,916,598
5. Shane Victorino Phillies 1,642,248
6. Mike Cameron Brewers 1,345,763
7. Manny Ramirez Dodgers 1,343,011
8. Rick Ankiel Cardinals 1,216,858
9. Jayson Werth Phillies 1,201,864
10. Corey Hart Brewers 1,135,038
11. Ryan Ludwick Cardinals 1,128,447
12. Adam Dunn Nationals 866,296
13. Matt Kemp Dodgers 817,970
14. Andre Ethier Dodgers 768,457
15. Justin Upton D-backs 742,585

views: where the fuck did all those brewers who aren't prince and braun come from


also manny comes back on friday

[cpt.mars]

Even though I like him as a sports personality, Jeter REALLY needs to retire so people can stop automatically voting for him for every award possible.

Also, I'll be glad when the voting is over that way I can finally go back to Twins games and not have to explain myself for not filling out 100,000,000,000,000 ballots putting Morneau to start at first. He simply doesn't deserve it over Texieria or Cabrera (too bad that Youk IS going to be starting though since his numbers are significantly lower than the other 3) I'll also be glad when the all-star game is over that way Twins fans will also stop bitching about the ESPN adds that are running for the Home-Run Derby in which they show the winners since 2005, but show Josh Hamilton for last year instead of Justin Morneau. Hamilton should have won, it's just that the derby has stupid rules.

LMAO @ Dr. Salty getting over 1,000,000 votes

Why is Yadier starting ahead of McCann??

And man, Kemp got no love from LA it seems, he should be ahead of several of those players :/


Fuck, I hate the All-Star game for baseball. It's not as useless as the Pro-Bowl, but it certainly lacks the awesomness of either the NBA or NHL's game. Plus, it shouldn't count for shit. I cannot wait for the day that Bud Selig steps down or dies...

[Moe_Rahn]

Even though I like him as a sports personality, Jeter REALLY needs to retire so people can stop automatically voting for him for every award possible.

no shit

TWINS TWINS TWINS
i'm sorry

LMAO @ Dr. Salty getting over 1,000,000 votes
as a whole the rangers aren't doing too bad this year, but their fans voted in droves for everyone no matter how terrible they are

Why is Yadier starting ahead of McCann??
96 OPS+ from a starting catcher in the nl is pretty good, especially considering the amount of playing time he's getting; the only regulars in the NL with more ABs are russell martin (sucks) and bengie molina (also sucks), although i doubt anyone who voted for him was thinking about that

mccann really ought to be in the lead, but outside of him and molina can you think of one catcher in the nl who is any damn good at all this year

considering some of the other options that people are putting out there as starting catchers, i'm more than content with a line of .279/.348/.383 with 5 homers, 24 rbis, a 24/19 bb/k, and 4 sb to 1 cs (second most steals among nl catchers, and the best ratio of anyone that's actually been caught and isn't just 1/0 like a bunch of guys [martin has 7 steals, but has been caught 4 times])

And man, Kemp got no love from LA it seems, he should be ahead of several of those players :/
you know it's hard out there for a kemp

Fuck, I hate the All-Star game for baseball. It's not as useless as the Pro-Bowl, but it certainly lacks the awesomness of either the NBA or NHL's game. Plus, it shouldn't count for shit. I cannot wait for the day that Bud Selig steps down or dies...
looking at the results of the asg from the last six years, and the world series winners from same, it really hasn't counted for shit (pretty small sample size though)

[Polish Hill]

The Moneyball film is dead, long live the Moneyball film

http://gawker.com/5305167/why-did-sony-kill-the-pittsoderbergh-film-adaptation-of-michael-lewis-moneyball

Thank God, I think.

[Moe_Rahn]

and now, your 2009 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR TEAMS

American League

Starters
Pos Player B/T
C Joe Mauer, MIN L/R
1B Mark Teixeira, NYY S/R
2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS R/R
SS Derek Jeter, NYY R/R
3B Evan Longoria, TB R/R
OF Jason Bay, BOS R/R
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA L/R
OF Josh Hamilton, TEX L/L

Pitchers
Pos Player B/T
P Andrew Bailey, OAK R/R
P Josh Beckett, BOS R/R
P Mark Buehrle, CWS L/L
P Brian Fuentes, LAA L/L
P Zack Greinke, KC R/R
P Roy Halladay, TOR R/R
P Felix Hernandez, SEA R/R
P Edwin Jackson, DET R/R
P Joe Nathan, MIN R/R
P Jonathan Papelbon, BOS R/R
P Mariano Rivera, NYY R/R
P Justin Verlander, DET R/R
P Tim Wakefield, BOS R/R

Reserves
Pos Player B/T
C Victor Martinez, CLE S/R
1B Justin Morneau, MIN L/R
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS R/R
2B Aaron Hill, TOR R/R
SS Jason Bartlett, TB R/R
3B Michael Young, TEX R/R
OF Carl Crawford, TB L/L
OF Curtis Granderson, DET L/R
OF Torii Hunter, LAA R/R
OF Adam Jones, BAL R/R
OF Ben Zobrist, TB S/R


National League

Starters
Pos Player B/T
C Yadier Molina, STL R/R
1B Albert Pujols, STL R/R
2B Chase Utley, PHI L/R
SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA R/R
3B David Wright, NYM R/R
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM S/R
OF Ryan Braun, MIL R/R
OF Raul Ibanez, PHI L/R

Pitchers
Pos Player B/T
P Heath Bell, SD R/R
P Chad Billingsley, LAD R/R
P Jonathan Broxton, LAD R/R
P Matt Cain, SF R/R
P Francisco Cordero, CIN R/R
P Ryan Franklin, STL R/R
P Dan Haren, ARI R/R
P Josh Johnson, FLA L/R
P Ted Lilly, CHC L/L
P Tim Lincecum, SF L/R
P Jason Marquis, COL L/R
P Francisco Rodriguez,NYM R/R
P Johan Santana, NYM L/L

Reserves
Pos Player B/T
C Brian McCann, ATL L/R
1B Prince Fielder, MIL L/R
1B Adrian Gonzalez, SD L/L
1B Ryan Howard, PHI L/L
2B Orlando Hudson, LAD S/R
2B Freddy Sanchez, PIT R/R
SS Miguel Tejada, HOU R/R
3B Ryan Zimmerman, WSH R/R
OF Brad Hawpe, COL L/L
OF Hunter Pence, HOU R/R
OF Justin Upton, ARI R/R


uh, there aren't any huge travesties there

right?

pence over kemp what the FUCK

[Moe_Rahn]

The Moneyball film is dead, long live the Moneyball film

http://gawker.com/5305167/why-did-sony-kill-the-pittsoderbergh-film-adaptation-of-michael-lewis-moneyball

Thank God, I think.

holy freakin balls (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/2009/07/moneyball-movie-is-back-on.html)

the moneyball movie is back on, soderbergh out, aaron sorkin in to work on the script

[cpt.mars]

holy freakin balls (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/2009/07/moneyball-movie-is-back-on.html)

the moneyball movie is back on, soderbergh out, aaron sorkin in to work on the script

Excellent.

Also, I can't find out if Jason Werth is going to start ahead of Pence, Upton or Hawpe, or if he's just been put on the roster.

[Moe_Rahn]

asg replacements announced, yay! i'm pretty sure charlie manuel and joe maddon are both going senile this year!


zach fucking duke replaces matt cain, are you fucking kidding me? was there seriously nobody else available to pitch on tuesday?

with this pick the pirates now have more all-stars than the cubs do this year (which i think is totally fair to make up for last year when kosuke fucking fukudome got in)


broxton out hoffman in, but who the fuck cares about that


pedroia out, carlos pena in? apparently aaron hill is going to be playing second for the entire game now

[Moe_Rahn]

haha longo is out and figgins is in

michael young starting at 3rd for the al


don't want to get ahead of myself here, but the nl might just win this bitch

[cpt.mars]

I would be impressed if the NL found a way to blow it yet again.

[Moe_Rahn]

I would be impressed if the NL found a way to blow it yet again.
charlie leaves lincecum in the whole game


i guess in theory figgins can back up hill at second, but he's only played 2 games there this year, and the last season that he played more than 9 there was 2005 (when he played 42 games at second, starting 36 of them)

[Moe_Rahn]

tim lincecum fucking nails jeter


best all star game ever

[cpt.mars]

That really was the best part of the night for me.

Either that or after getting sick and tired of ESPN and FOX (Specifically Berman and Buck) gagging on St. Louis's cock, having their glorious and immaculate fanbase boo the president as he entered onto the field. :huh:

[Moe_Rahn]

http://i29.tinypic.com/2h65b8x.jpg

Either that or after getting sick and tired of ESPN and FOX (Specifically Berman and Buck) gagging on St. Louis's cock, having their glorious and immaculate fanbase boo the president as he entered onto the field. :huh:
fucker wore a white sox jacket, he got what was coming to him

obama in the booth was pretty awesome though

[Moe_Rahn]

i am literally the only person that posts about baseball


is billy beane a magic wizard from space? you (by which i mean cpt.mars, the only other person who posts about baseball) be the judge:

cards acquire matt holliday for brett wallace, clayton mortenson, shane peterson (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090724&content_id=6030782&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb)

this really isn't the godawful trade that a lot of internet cards fans are calling it, considering that mortensen isn't anywhere near our best pitching prospect and wallace honestly wasn't going to stick on the major league club unless he cut his weight in half and/or learned to play the outfield


oh also some guy named mark buehrle threw a perfect game yesterday but who the fuck cares about that

I3Tv3QJTtj0

[cpt.mars]

i am literally the only person that posts about baseball


is billy beane a magic wizard from space? you (by which i mean cpt.mars, the only other person who posts about baseball) be the judge:

MAGIC WIZARD FROM SPACE!!!


this really isn't the godawful trade that a lot of internet cards fans are calling it, considering that mortensen isn't anywhere near our best pitching prospect and wallace honestly wasn't going to stick on the major league club unless he cut his weight in half and/or learned to play the outfield

It's not as lopsided as many other Billy Beane trades, that's for sure. Personally, I love it as a fan of Matt Holliday. With this trade, the DeRosa deal and the shipping of Chris Duncan, I'm only one Rick Ankiel Blowup and/or trade away from becoming a huge Cardinals fan.

oh also some guy named mark buehrle threw a perfect game yesterday but who the fuck cares about that

I3Tv3QJTtj0

I have the MLB Extra Innings package and I still missed that game? FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU :gun::fier::gun::fier::gun::fier::gun:

Also; fuck the phillies. damnit I hate them.

[cpt.mars]

Also, where was I that I missed the entire Erin Andrews fiasco until yesterday?

[Moe_Rahn]

Also, where was I that I missed the entire Erin Andrews fiasco until yesterday?
not watching videos of a naked erin andrews because you a gay, is where

[Moe_Rahn]

It's not as lopsided as many other Billy Beane trades, that's for sure.
considering that the last time we traded with the a's we got a year and a half of mark mulder and all we had to give up was the second best pitcher in the nl right now and some scraps

Also; fuck the phillies. damnit I hate them.
halladay to the phils

[cpt.mars]

considering that the last time we traded with the a's we got a year and a half of mark mulder and all we had to give up was the second best pitcher in the nl until mid-august where he turns awful every. single. year. and some scraps

Fixed


halladay to the phils

Fuck you, not even Pat Burrell saved that organization from my ever-loving hatred, solidified by them beating the Rays last season. And I am a man who fucking loves Pat Burrell.

Warning: Sexiness Inside:
http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/pat_burrell1l-1.jpg

[Moe_Rahn]

Fixed
well his teams haven't been to the postseason since 2006 (and probably won't go this year either) so it's not like that's mattered much

Fuck you, not even Pat Burrell saved that organization from my ever-loving hatred, solidified by them beating the Rays last season. And I am a man who fucking loves Pat Burrell.

Warning: Sexiness Inside:
http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/pat_burrell1l-1.jpg
wanna buy some pat burrell rookie cards

[cpt.mars]

well his teams haven't been to the postseason since 2006 (and probably won't go this year either) so it's not like that's mattered much

Fantasy Baseball is serious business...


wanna buy some pat burrell rookie cards

I'm reserving the spot for my first Rookie card for Trot Nixon's, should I ever get around to buying one.

[Moe_Rahn]

i think i've got all my pat burrells filed away next to the kerry wood ones in the pile of "shit that was totally going to pay for my college fund in 1998"

[cpt.mars]

i think i've got all my pat burrells filed away next to the kerry wood ones in the pile of "shit that was totally going to pay for my college fund in 1998"

lol

[cpt.mars]

Alright, after just watching Lincecum's 15K game, and having only seen him in the "bad" part of his rookie year and the All-star game, I'll just leave it that that boy's change is disgusting.

Damnit, now I'm jealous of the StL fans because you have a great chance at seeing nearly all of the really good strikeout pitchers: Grienke, Linceum, Haren (talked about him already), Johan, Peavy(not this season, lol), Webb (a sinkerballer that gets K's... wut?) Vasquez(never a dominant ERA, but always good for K's)

The only few I can think of that you don't get a chance at seeing every year would be Halliday (going to be traded), CC (fatass piece of shit that he is), Beckett (if he ever tries), King Felix (legit man-crush here), Verlander, Jon "I beat cancer" Lester and the top 3 of the Rays' staff (specifically, Matt Garza and his curveball).

But I'm honestly so bored of AL pitchers that even Wandy "The Magic Wand" Rodriguez looks like an interesting pitcher.

Also; Selig says he's not considering Pete Rose for Hall of Fame, I say he goes in. You can't bet your way into 4256 career hits.

[Moe_Rahn]

Damnit, now I'm jealous of the StL fans because you have a great chance at seeing nearly all of the really good strikeout pitchers: Grienke, Linceum, Haren (talked about him already), Johan, Peavy(not this season, lol), Webb (a sinkerballer that gets K's... wut?) Vasquez(never a dominant ERA, but always good for K's)
*cough*WAINWRIGHT*cough*

huh, had something stuck in my throat there, not sure what that was

oh, also carpenter, once in a while, when he feels like it (i'm pretty sure his best k years are behind him now, but every so often this season he seems to get some of that back)

if the worst thing about the cards right now is that we have to trot out wellemeyer every fifth day i think it means we have a pretty fucking good team

Also; Selig says he's not considering Pete Rose for Hall of Fame, I say he goes in. You can't bet your way into 4256 career hits.
besides, it's not like he ever bet against the reds

of course i also think edgar martinez belongs in the hall of fame (despite my hatred of the very idea of the designated hitter) so what the fuck do i know about anything

[cpt.mars]

*cough*WAINWRIGHT*cough*

Adam Wainwright will never be a good pitcher, ever, in my mind. I cannot explain it, I do not claim it to be correct, it's just the truth that my mind has come to firmly believe in.

[Moe_Rahn]

Adam Wainwright will never be a good pitcher, ever, in my mind. I cannot explain it, I do not claim it to be correct, it's just the truth that my mind has come to firmly believe in.
which is really fucking weird, because it's not like he's ever had a bad year (2005 doesn't count because he pitched like two innings in september)

he was down a little in 07 when he converted to a starter but he was never terrible or anything

[Moe_Rahn]

as a bonus here is an image of alex rodriguez throwing up from tonight's game

[Polish Hill]

Quick which is the hardest position in baseball?

C
SS
CF

Those are the only options

[Moe_Rahn]

c:crab:

[cpt.mars]

Quick which is the hardest position in baseball?

C
SS
CF

Those are the only options

CF if it's at MinuteMaid Park

Otherwise, I'd probably go with C. Too much is riding on you, and as a sign, that position isn't expected to produce offensively nearly as much as any of the others because of it's difficulty and importance. The same was true of SS and 2B 30+ years ago, so it might change. But for now, between catching every pitch, calling for every pitch, being hunkered over for 1/2 the game, throwing out runners and managing to keep your pitchers cool all while getting the least credit of any other position? Yeah, I'd say that's the hardest position.

Of course, fuck that hill in Houston. Seriously.

[BAS]

congratulations cleveland for giving away the reigning cy young winner. twice. in a row.


fuck

[Moe_Rahn]

hell cleveland ain't doing anything much these days, why not

[Moe_Rahn]

Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on 2003 Doping List (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/sports/baseball/31doping.html?_r=3&ref=sports)

In 2007, Ortiz said that he used to buy a protein shake in the Dominican Republic when he was younger and did not know if it contained a performance-enhancing drug.

"I don't do that anymore because they don't have the approval for that here, so I know that, so I'm off buying things at the GNC back in the Dominican Republic," Ortiz told The Boston Herald. He added: "I don't know if I drank something in my youth, not knowing it."

[BAS]

I dont understand how this list from 6 years ago keeps pooping out a name or 2 every few months. why dosent someone just release the whole fucking list.

[Moe_Rahn]

I dont understand how this list from 6 years ago keeps pooping out a name or 2 every few months. why dosent someone just release the whole fucking list.
because then all the drama gets out at once and we can't have that

also the mythical "lawyers with knowledge of the results" are just digging their own graves deeper by doing it bit by bit because the list is a sealed document and every separate leak is probably another violation, which means that if any lawyer names make it out, those guys are getting fucked in the ass with a jackhammer

[cpt.mars]

lol jake peavy

Also; red sox get Kasey Kotchman for Adam LaRoche? Yes plz.

[BAS]

victor martinez gets traded.


god. DAMN IT


I am seriously about fucking done with the Indians at this point. If they get rid of Sizemore I'm gonna abandon all hope.

[cpt.mars]

victor martinez gets traded.


god. DAMN IT


I am seriously about fucking done with the Indians at this point. If they get rid of Sizemore I'm gonna abandon all hope.

Your team was going nowhere :/ and instead of continuing to try and resurrect the 07 team you guys had, they decided to blow up the team as is and get an influx of younger players to build for the future.

Give up on them now and for two or so more years if you must, but barring the Indians going full Pittsburgh Pirates and selling these young players for even younger ones, you guys will be fine in that amount of time.

Maybe you thought they had a chance this season, I don't know. Personally, I would've done the exact same thing if I were Mark Shapiro.

[BAS]

I'm just pissed that the most popular player in Cleveland since Omar Vizquel is gone.

[cpt.mars]

Moe, I don't know if you've seen this or not, but it's worth sharing...

http://greggzaun.com/

I don't know whether to lol or :(

[Moe_Rahn]

you'd think that whoever was in charge of gregg zaun's website would update it once in a while, he's two teams removed from the jays at this point


speaking of the blue jays, they just let alex rios go to the white sox for nothing

jp riccardi: not a very good gm?

[Moe_Rahn]

john smoltz goes to the cards

so what if smoltz lets lefties tee off against him, he's at least good the other half of the time, which is more than can be said about wellemeyer

[Moe_Rahn]

joe mauer: a beautiful animal

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2009 26 MIN AL 94 415 363 73 139 21 1 25 77 3 1 46 47 .383 .448 .653 1.101 193 237 7 1 0 5 5

albert pujols: a destroyer of worlds

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2009 29 STL NL 119 519 420 94 135 30 1 39 105 11 3 88 48 .321 .441 .676 1.117 191 284 18 6 0 5 36

[cpt.mars]

joe mauer: a beautiful animal

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2009 26 MIN AL 94 415 363 73 139 21 1 25 77 3 1 46 47 .383 .448 .653 1.101 193 237 7 1 0 5 5

albert pujols: a destroyer of worlds

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2009 29 STL NL 119 519 420 94 135 30 1 39 105 11 3 88 48 .321 .441 .676 1.117 191 284 18 6 0 5 36

Mauer's GIDP's are lower, therefore he's hurting his team less.

That is how that works, right?

...right...?

[Walnut]

Mauer's GIDP's are lower, therefore he's hurting his team less.

That is how that works, right?

...right...?

I think Pujols' HRs and RBIs kind of outweigh that.

[cpt.mars]

I think Pujols' HRs and Slugging Percentage kind of outweigh that.

Fixed.

But, but, but... Mauer missed a month!

I fully acknowledge that Albert Pujols is the best hitter in baseball, and that Mauer probably isn't even #2 or 3, I simply wish to be as obnoxious as possible, if only to lightly annoy Moe

[Walnut]

well Cliff Lee has been a pretty good pickup for the Phils

[Moe_Rahn]

cliff lee does a better job of owning the mets than fred wilpon


zing

[cpt.mars]

cliff lee does a better job of owning the mets than fred wilpon


zing

mang, even I don't get that one...

Also, I'm currently reading Moneyball and I can only ask how I had never read it before... And I lawl every time Nick Swisher is brought up.

[Moe_Rahn]

Fred Wilpon is a baseball executive and the owner of the New York Mets. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
...
Wilpon was one of the investors who lost money when Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed in December 2008.

around 700 million dollars to be precise, not that far off from what the mets themselves are worth

meanwhile


August Tm Opp Rslt Inngs Dec DR IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA BF Pit Str StL StS GB FB LD Unk GSc IR IS SB CS PO AB 2B 3B GDP WPA aLI Entered Exited

Aug 24 PHI @ NYM W,6-2 GS-7 W(12-9) 4 7.0 6 2 0 0 5 0 0 2.62 26 113 83 23 8 10 11 3 0 66 0 1 1 25 2 1 0 0.19 0.94 1b start a 3 7b 3 out a3

[Moe_Rahn]

but nick swisher is pretty awesome?


Texsual Healing baby. Do it Tex. Huge bomb.2 more to go
6:14 AM Aug 15th from mobile web

[cpt.mars]

but nick swisher is pretty awesome?

Oh, Nick Swisher is incredibly awesome as well has hilarious. But iirc, he hasn't put up a good season since leaving oaklan- oh... right. They tend to do that. I forget.

[Moe_Rahn]

Oh, Nick Swisher is incredibly awesome as well has hilarious. But iirc, he hasn't put up a good season since leaving oaklan- oh... right. They tend to do that. I forget.
except swisher's putting up a season that's basically on par with his last two years in oakland? (123 OPS+ in 09 compared to 125 and 127 in 06/07)

his slugging right now is only eight points off of what he put up in 06 (a career high of .493), and that was the year he hit 35 dingers. plus he's still as good at getting on base as he ever was (.371 OBP currently, .372 in 06 and .381 in 07)

he really stank up the joint last year in chicago but even then he still walked a shitload


if we're gonna compare him to, say, jason giambi, it should probably be noted that giambi was four years older when he left (he turned 31 before the 2002 season, his first with the yankees, while swish was just 26 when he was traded to the white sox), and coming off a couple of positively bondsian seasons; he had virtually nowhere to go but down

and while i'm going down the moneyball list, tejada played better in baltimore than he ever did in oakland, chad bradford basically continued to be chad bradford regardless of location, jason isringhausen had more good years than i give him credit for before falling off a fucking cliff in 08, tim hudson has had a few decent season with the braves, and yeah okay fine i fucking know about mark mulder all right and also there's a bunch of random guys who i'm not gonna count like ray durham and ted lilly because they only played like a half season or so in oakland but anyways they stayed good too

ricardo rincon actually got worse after coming to oakland, although he was also on the wrong side of 30 at the time

[cpt.mars]

except swisher's putting up a season that's basically on par with his last two years in oakland? (123 OPS+ in 09 compared to 125 and 127 in 06/07)

his slugging right now is only eight points off of what he put up in 06 (a career high of .493), and that was the year he hit 35 dingers. plus he's still as good at getting on base as he ever was (.371 OBP currently, .372 in 06 and .381 in 07)

he really stank up the joint last year in chicago but even then he still walked a shitload


if we're gonna compare him to, say, jason giambi, it should probably be noted that giambi was four years older when he left (he turned 31 before the 2002 season, his first with the yankees, while swish was just 26 when he was traded to the white sox), and coming off a couple of positively bondsian seasons; he had virtually nowhere to go but down

and while i'm going down the moneyball list, tejada played better in baltimore than he ever did in oakland, chad bradford basically continued to be chad bradford regardless of location, jason isringhausen had more good years than i give him credit for before falling off a fucking cliff in 08, tim hudson has had a few decent season with the braves, and yeah okay fine i fucking know about mark mulder all right and also there's a bunch of random guys who i'm not gonna count like ray durham and ted lilly because they only played like a half season or so in oakland but anyways they stayed good too

ricardo rincon actually got worse after coming to oakland, although he was also on the wrong side of 30 at the time

Damnit, I forgot about Izzy completely and Tejada's 04 season with Baltimore. All I could think of were Hudson and Harren. But, to be fair, you also forgot Zito, who is just finally starting to get good again.

And upon actually looking at Swisher's stats, he's having a good year for what he does, you're right.

Now, as a means of disguising my inadequacies, I simply ask; who looks more like they were separated at birth? Dave Trembly/William Shatner or Bob Brenly/Bill Cower?

[Moe_Rahn]

i was gonna try and see if there was a correlation between moneyball guys who sucked after leaving the a's and moneyball guys who were over 30 when they left the a's but i'll be damned if there looks like there's any relationship there, at least upon first glance

for every giambi there's a bradford, for every swisher there's a mulder (would you believe that he's only 32 right now? god damn he is just irreparably broken)

[cpt.mars]

would you believe that he's only 32 right now?

No. No, I would not.

[Moe_Rahn]

http://j.photos.cx/79215517603709383070422332917901-6f8.jpg

http://j.photos.cx/3879390837164322c1fc-ef3.jpg

comically large batting helmets (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4433534), discuss

e: more pictures

http://i29.tinypic.com/20k6kqr.png
http://i27.tinypic.com/15hdjb6.png
http://i32.tinypic.com/igenwi.png
http://i27.tinypic.com/2m3i4h5.png
http://i29.tinypic.com/11sk0uu.png

[DasHuhn]

Aren't those the helmets that are supposed to withstand 100 MPH hits?

Seems like something needs to be done from the helmets that can only withstand 60 now-a-days (or was it 70? D: )

[cpt.mars]

http://heystupid.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/dark_helmet_angry.jpg

lawl

[Moe_Rahn]

(R)A(PE)-ROD ASSAULTS LADY COP (http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=6457581)

http://j.photos.cx/628527ed778cccc1c562574c4a74781422a59db1-7c2.jpg

[cpt.mars]

oh man I wish I lived in NYC....:(

[Moe_Rahn]

it's official, the pirates are the worst team in the history of anything, ever

bring back bonds, it's the only thing that can save them

[cpt.mars]

bring back bonds

I'm Capt.Mars, and I endorse this message.

[Moe_Rahn]

actually i support bonds coming back as long as he also brings back this mustache

back in the days when he was jovial, before he started roid-raging, and hating white people, and hating most other people

[skolapper]

Well we got an MLB team in Canada too Toronto Blue Jays and we are killing the Detroit Tigers 4-0 right now. I love baseball, I try to get to a bunch of games in Toronto every year.

[Moe_Rahn]

can't wait to see halladay in pinstripes come 2011

[Maddog]

it's official, the pirates are the worst team in the history of anything, ever

bring back bonds, it's the only thing that can save them
http://theburghblues.mlblogs.com/assets_c/2009/06/3657931093_aaf96bc8a0-thumb-500x321-1284471.jpg

who i guess are champions of suck now. Its a shame that such a beautiful ballpark gets the pirates

[Moe_Rahn]

Derek Jeter Honored For Having Fewer Hits Than Harold Baines (http://www.theonion.com/content/news/derek_jeter_honored_for_having?utm_source=a-section)

the onion has been on the damn ball with their baseball articles this season

[cpt.mars]

Moe, please just tell me that it's the Yankeesfags that are convinced that Texieria's going to win the AL-MVP and not Mauer...

I'm trying not to be a homer, but the man's numbers are simply better than Texieria's:

Mauer: .366/.441/.594, 178 OPS+, 10.5 RC/G, 7.9 WAR
Teixeira: .294/.383/.569, 146 OPS+, 8.0 RC/G, 5.4 WAR

[Moe_Rahn]

if the al mvp/cy don't go to mauer/greinke then i'll

well okay i'll probably just bitch about it on the internet for a day or two

i'll be honest i really couldn't give that much of a fuck about the al awards, even if i had two big handfuls of fuck to give, the al award races might get like, the little bits of a fuck that slip out between my fingers

hell, you could make nearly as good of a case for jeter this year as you could for tex


picks for the nl mvp/cy are pujols and waino, one of those is as good as a lock and the other is still up in the air (if lincecum didn't have the giants hitting in front of him he'd probably be able to pull even more votes; right now he's kind of backed into the same corner as greinke because he just doesn't have WINS WINS WINS despite his excellent peripherals. not to mention the fact that carp will probably swoop in and pull some sympathy votes)

the only way pujols doesn't win the nl mvp again is if the voters forget what fucking decade we're in and get the idea in their heads that they can't vote for someone who just won it, never mind the fact we're not even half a decade removed from bonds winning four straight


also, as mentioned earlier, the onion is killing it this season: 'Billy Beane Of Office Softball' Profiled In Book 'MoneySoftball' (http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/billy_beane_of_office)

[cpt.mars]

if the al mvp/cy don't go to mauer/greinke then i'll

well okay i'll probably just bitch about it on the internet for a day or two

i'll be honest i really couldn't give that much of a fuck about the al awards, even if i had two big handfuls of fuck to give, the al award races might get like, the little bits of a fuck that slip out between my fingers

I feel the same way about the NL :p



picks for the nl mvp/cy are pujols and waino, one of those is as good as a lock and the other is still up in the air (if lincecum didn't have the giants hitting in front of him he'd probably be able to pull even more votes; right now he's kind of backed into the same corner as greinke because he just doesn't have WINS WINS WINS despite his excellent peripherals. not to mention the fact that carp will probably swoop in and pull some sympathy votes)

the only way pujols doesn't win the nl mvp again is if the voters forget what fucking decade we're in and get the idea in their heads that they can't vote for someone who just won it, never mind the fact we're not even half a decade removed from bonds winning four straight

I really want Lincecum simply because I want the bragging rights of drafting the AL/NL MVP and Cy Young award winners in my Keeper's league. That and again, I don't know why I don't like Wainwright, I'm just allergic to him or something.

Also, is there something I'm missing that Carpenter shouldn't be winning the award?

Wainwright: SPLITS G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO W L P/GS WHIP BAA ERA
Season 33 33 1 0 227.0 211 72 65 17 64 204 19 8 106.8 1.21 .244 2.58
1st in NL in W (19) 2nd in NL in IP (227.0) 4th in NL in SO (204) 3rd in NL in ERA (2.58) 10th in NL in WHIP (1.21) 4th in NL in W% (.704)

Carpenter:
SPLITS G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO W L P/GS WHIP BAA ERA
Season 28 28 3 1 192.2 156 49 48 7 38 144 17 4 95.4 1.01 .226 2.24

2nd in NL in W (17) 1st in NL in ERA (2.24) 2nd in NL in WHIP (1.01) 1st in NL in W% (.810) 3rd in NL in CG (3)

I get the IP argument, but K's really shouldn't be a factor in the Cy Young as they don't necessarily correlate well into pitching well (for the best example, look at Javier Vasquez the last few seasons, or his AL Counterpart, AJ Burnett). Wins are kind of a joke stat now as well. Then again, I'm a whore for WHIP, let alone when a guy nearly goes sub 1.00 over 190+ innings.

also, as mentioned earlier, the onion is killing it this season: 'Billy Beane Of Office Softball' Profiled In Book 'MoneySoftball' (http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/billy_beane_of_office)

I read a shit ton of Onion articles after you posted that Derek Jeter one the other day. I had forgotten how awesome they were at Baseball.

[Moe_Rahn]

you're thinking about this a little too critically, what you're forgetting is that the people who vote for these awards are largely dumber than a bag of hammers

I get the IP argument, but K's really shouldn't be a factor in the Cy Young as they don't necessarily correlate well into pitching well
and playing for a team that goes to the postseason shouldn't be a factor in mvp award voting, but hey, here we are in a world where albert pujols hasn't won the last four straight nl mvps

Then again, I'm a whore for WHIP, let alone when a guy nearly goes sub 1.00 over 190+ innings.
i really wish baseball-reference or anywhere else tracked WHIP in their game logs, so that i could find out how long carp's was below 1, because it was a really fucking long time

for reference, there have been a total of 203 qualifying player-seasons (http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/whip_season.shtml) with a WHIP below 1.00 (and 3 more with exactly that), and like 80 percent of those are from the deadball era; pedro martinez has done it seven times out of 18 seasons (okay one of those was his first where he only pitched like 8 innings but still), which really underscores how fucking incredible of a pitcher he was, especially from 1997 to 2003 when everybody and their dad was launching baseballs into low earth orbit

[Moe_Rahn]

dear theo epstein,

let me love you (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2aN4S2fGoA)

sincerely, me

[cpt.mars]

pedro martinez has done it seven times out of 18 seasons (okay one of those was his first where he only pitched like 8 innings but still), which really underscores how fucking incredible of a pitcher he was, especially from 1997 to 2003 when everybody and their dad was launching baseballs into low earth orbit

Everytime I load up Baseball Mogul, I'm always tempted to see if I can't get Pedro to go into RAEP-MODE for several seasons the way I've seen other players do it. Then I remember that every single incarnation of Pedro I've come across has been a guy with ~15 wins and a +4.00 ERA every season :gun:

I'm a man who fucking loves Pedro Martinez, if for nothing else, he trolled the shit outa Don Zimmer.

[cpt.mars]

dear theo epstein,

let me love you (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2aN4S2fGoA)

sincerely, me

I hate JD Drew because he replaced Trot Nixon, my favorite player of all time.

I hate a lot of baseball players for no reason. Hideo Nomo is another.

[Moe_Rahn]

chris carpenter (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091005&content_id=7334122&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb) and aaron hill (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091005&content_id=7334270&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor), your 2009 comeback players of the year

dig the nl voting results

[cpt.mars]

chris carpenter (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091005&content_id=7334122&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb) and aaron hill (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091005&content_id=7334270&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor), your 2009 comeback players of the year

dig the nl voting results

It's not as though there was going to be any doubt in the NL for that, though. Johnson is the only one I would accept someone voting for, but even then he's hardly a "comeback" considering he was around for most of the 2nd half last season.

[Moe_Rahn]

It's not as though there was going to be any doubt in the NL for that, though. Johnson is the only one I would accept someone voting for, but even then he's hardly a "comeback" considering he was around for most of the 2nd half last season.
well, people on the internet (mostly rockies fans) thought helton had a good shot, even though what he came back from was "being league average while hurt", as opposed to carpenter, who i think was on the verge of being declared legally dead by the team of retarded apes that is the cardinals medical staff

[cpt.mars]

Lol, play-in game.

Fanboy Mars picks Yankees in 4.
Logic picks Yankees in 1.

[BAS]

lol fuck the tigers

[cpt.mars]

Don't worry Moe, I still love you :(

Also, I'll share your pain tomorrow when the Yanks steamroll the Twins again.

[Moe_Rahn]

fuck this gay baseball earth

http://i34.tinypic.com/r0ntc9.jpg

[cpt.mars]

Hey Philly, fuck you asshats! :D

[Moe_Rahn]

Hey Philly, fuck you asshats! :D
:gun:
fuck this gay baseball earth

[Moe_Rahn]

tim lincecum smokes weed, world continues turning

[Polish Hill]

http://deadspin.com/5398256/tim-lincecum-cited-in-least-surprising-pot-bust-ever

[Moe_Rahn]

1st 2nd 3rd Points
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants 11 12 9 100
Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals 9 14 7 94
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals 12 5 15 90
Javier Vazquez, Atlanta Braves 1 3
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks 1 1

[Moe_Rahn]

like anyone thought this wouldn't happen


Albert Pujols 32 448
Hanley Ramirez 15 5 3 3 2 3 1 233
Ryan Howard 6 8 7 5 1 3 1 217
Prince Fielder 5 9 7 3 1 3 1 3 203
Troy Tulowitzki 3 6 5 5 5 1 1 172
Andre Ethier 2 3 2 5 4 5 3 113
Pablo Sandoval 1 2 5 5 6 1 4 89
Chase Utley 2 2 1 5 4 3 1 84
Derrek Lee 1 3 3 2 2 5 66
Matt Kemp 2 1 2 3 1 1 2 49

[cpt.mars]

lol ops over 1.1 :( :( :(

True Triple Crown for Mauer though, first player since George Brett in 1980 to do it.

Also; lol 1st place vote for Miguel Cabrera.

[Moe_Rahn]

True Triple Crown for Mauer though, first player since George Brett in 1980 to do it.

oh, you mean in the junior circuit

Also; lol 1st place vote for Miguel Cabrera.
and it was a guy from seattle that did it

[cpt.mars]

oh, you mean in the junior circuit

I'll give no argument that pitching is harder in the AL, but hitting in AL is not easier by the same amount, especially considering we had several players who were easily as effective at the plate as some NL Pitchers.

[Moe_Rahn]

basically all i meant was that larry walker did it in 99 (coors lol), todd helton did it in 00 (coors lol), and then bonds twice (02 and 04; in 03 he led in OBP and SLG but an upstart youngster name albert pujols beat him in BA)

i really wasn't trying to start an AL/NL debate, but since baseball is officially over now, why not roll with this

I'll give no argument that pitching is harder in the AL, but hitting in AL is not easier by the same amount, especially considering we had several players who were easily as effective at the plate as some NL Pitchers.
how many of them are everyday starters though

even tony pena jr, he of the -33 OPS+, a man widely regarded as one of the worst players in the history of anything, hasn't been a regular since 2007

imagine if every AL team had to bat a TPJ in their lineup, every game

oh wait it'd look a whole lot like the NL

[cpt.mars]

how many of them are everyday starters though

imagine if every AL team had to bat a TPJ in their lineup, every game

oh wait it'd look a whole lot like the NL

You're not familiar much with the Minnesota Twins, are you?

Nick Punto, Alexi Casilla and Carlos Gomez are all atrocious hitters and we keep them around (except for gomez, thank god lolol) because of their defense. I'm not saying that every, or even most, pitchers from the NL would put up better numbers for the entire season, but there are a few that would.

[Moe_Rahn]

gotta make like a month's worth of "fuck baseball" posts fit into this one so here goes


halladay to the phils, so, strictly speaking, i was correct with my "halladay in pinstripes" prediction

cliff lee to the mariners for prospects, milton bradley to the mariners for dog shit, jack z is a genius

brandon league also goes to mariners, must now edit or cover up hilarious back tattoo of own name and jersey number

jason marquis to the nationals, putting the jason marquis good luck charm to the ultimate test

yankees trade melky, prospect, and garbage to braves for javy vasquez and garbage, plan to make fourth best pitcher in nl their new #3 starter

in closing, fuck the yankees and fuck baseball

edit: i forgot about the curtis granderson deal, which is hilarious

yankees get: granderson from tigers
tigers get: phil coke, austin jackson from yankees; max scherzer, dan schlereth from d'backs
d'backs get: ian kennedy from yankees; edwin jackson from tigers

joe girardi gets: to steal #28 from granderson and wear it himself, symbolizing the team's "drive for its 28th world series championship"

in closing, fuck the yankees and fuck baseball

[cpt.mars]

in closing, fuck the yankees and fuck baseball

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

1- I love the people saying the silva/MB trade was even. Even if Bradley doesn't hit for power this season, adding his career .370obp to the Mariners is nothing but a good thing for a team that is struggling to find a groove for its offense.
2- I love the granderson trade if I'm a yankeesfag, like it if I'm a tigersfag and abhor it if I'm a D'backsfag.
3- Lee to the Mariners? LOL
4- Matt Holliday went to the one team I can't cheer for him. FUUUUU-
5- and finally, what the hell are the Yankees going to do in the OF?

[Moe_Rahn]

1- I love the people saying the silva/MB trade was even. Even if Bradley doesn't hit for power this season, adding his career .370obp to the Mariners is nothing but a good thing for a team that is struggling to find a groove for its offense.

bradley hasn't really hit for a ton of power in any season (personal high of 22 homers, albeit in 509 PAs), why would he start now

my personal hope is that milton bradley gets into tickle fights with ichiro and junior and completely turns his public persona around

2- I love the granderson trade if I'm a yankeesfag, like it if I'm a tigersfag and abhor it if I'm a D'backsfag.
looking at the d'backs part of that trade i really have to wonder why they were even involved

"hrm yes we get one garbage and one pretty good pitcher, and all we need to give up is one of our own garbage pitchers and a young pitching phemon WHERE DO WE SIGN"

e: holy crap edwin jackson is only 25 to max scherzer's 24? i must have thought either he was older or scherzer was younger, since ejax has been pitching for a bunch of years already

either way it's still scherzer for jackson at the heart of it, not really sure why the yankees needed to dump kennedy on them but whatever

3- Lee to the Mariners? LOL

the best thing about the lee part of that gigantic retarded monster deal is that it totally didn't need to happen at all, like there is no logical reason why it should have gone down, and why the phillies don't have the best top three in the nl if not all baseball right now

basically what i'm getting at is that i think jack z toggled "force trades" to "on" before this offseason started

4- Matt Holliday went to the one team I can't cheer for him. FUUUUU-
no that's halladay

matt holliday is currently in limbo, although the cards have at least made him an offer so there's still a glimmer of hope

5- and finally, what the hell are the Yankees going to do in the OF?
start four guys out there like in rec league softball

real answer: it's actually pretty easy to figure out now that nady, melky, and matsui are all gone

gardner/granderson/swisher

fire damon into the sun (alternately, just don't re-sign him)

more than half the god damn yankees lineup is going to obp .400+ next year it's going to be so god damned retarded

[Moe_Rahn]

actually i forgot the real best part of the offseason, which is the part where omar minaya goes crazy and tries to flush as much money as he can into the hudson

on the anniversary of the shooting death of henry blanco's brother, he signs with the mets to be their fourth catcher, backing up omir santos, josh thole, and chris coste (who had been signed just a few days prior)


e: oh my god the mets just signed r.a. dickey


also the marquis deal is confirmed as 2/15 and garret atkins just went to baltimore for 1/4.5, although those aren't as exciting

[cpt.mars]

bradley hasn't really hit for a ton of power in any season (personal high of 22 homers, albeit in 509 PAs), why would he start now

He's had a couple of good slugging seasons with the jays and rangers, not great, but good.

my personal hope is that milton bradley gets into tickle fights with ichiro and junior and completely turns his public persona around

DO WANT

no that's halladay

matt holliday is currently in limbo, although the cards have at least made him an offer so there's still a glimmer of hope

Oh thank god. That's the 2nd time I've made that mistake. As long as he doesn't go the phillies, I can like him. I do hope that the Mariners find a way to land him, though. I just want to see how much that team can improve in one offseason.



brett gardner

I like to forget about him.

[Moe_Rahn]

He's had a couple of good slugging seasons with the jays and rangers, not great, but good.
he's also moving to one of the biggest pitchers' parks in the league

I like to forget about him.
93 ops+ (.270/.345/.379 line) from a 25-year-old in less than half a season (284 PAs) with good-to-great outfield defense GOD WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT

[cpt.mars]

he's also moving to one of the biggest pitchers' parks in the league True, but like I said, even if he doesn't hit for any power, he will still help as long as he stays healthy. And even then, it's not as though they were getting ANYTHING out of Carlos Silva


93 ops+ (.270/.345/.379 line) from a 25-year-old in less than half a season (284 PAs) with good-to-great outfield defense GOD WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT

I wasn't saying I didn't like him, only that I frequently forget about him.

[Moe_Rahn]

I wasn't saying I didn't like him, only that I frequently forget about him.
okay, i took that the other way; i thought you meant it like how i like to forget that the cardinals gave joe thurston 300+ PAs this past year

fun fact: david freese's bac during his recent dui stop (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-cardinals-drunkdriving&prov=ap&type=lgns) was higher than joe thurston's batting average (http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/thursjo01.shtml)

wouldn't be a cardinals offseason without someone getting drunk

[cpt.mars]

wouldn't be a cardinals offseason without someone getting drunk

I lol'd

Also, here's a decently entertaining article on how bad the Pirates really were this decade: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_658484.html

[Moe_Rahn]

my little brother bought me Baseball Between The Numbers and The Book: Playing The Percentages In Baseball so it looks like I'm set for reading material for a little while

[cpt.mars]

Total Baseball; The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball
and a second copy of Moneyball, because you can never have enough of that book.

I'm probably going to re-gift my 2nd moneyball though

[Moe_Rahn]

mets sign jason bay (4yr/$66m, with a vesting option for a 5th), bengie molina (2/something)

giants sign mark derosa (2/12)

meanwhile the cards are bidding against themselves for holliday, latest reports have them offering 8 years at ~$16m per

[cpt.mars]

mets sign jason bay (4yr/$66m, with a vesting option for a 5th), bengie molina (2/something)

giants sign mark derosa (2/12)

meanwhile the cards are bidding against themselves for holliday, latest reports have them offering 8 years at ~$16m per

The MEST sign Bay and then NY Media outlets proceed to praise them as having the best outfield in the majors.

I died a little inside.

[Moe_Rahn]

I lol'd

Also, here's a decently entertaining article on how bad the Pirates really were this decade: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_658484.html

joepos just put up 9,000 words about how bad the kansas city royals were in this decade (http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/01/02/the-royal-decade/)

i read every single one

[cpt.mars]

joepos just put up 9,000 words about how bad the kansas city royals were in this decade (http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/01/02/the-royal-decade/)

i read every single one

Loved the article

[Moe_Rahn]

cards get holliday for 7/120

[cpt.mars]

RIP Randy Johnson :(

[cpt.mars]

Also, fuck you BWAA for once again pulling the greatest cocktease in the world to a man who's probably into that sort of shit; Bery Blyleven.

He was never 1st ballot material, and yes, I'm full of Twins bias, but come on... the numbers are there to get him in by now.

[Moe_Rahn]

Also, fuck you BWAA for once again pulling the greatest cocktease in the world to a man who's probably into that sort of shit; Bery Blyleven.

He was never 1st ballot material, and yes, I'm full of Twins bias, but come on... the numbers are there to get him in by now.

74.2%, bert missed it by five votes

coincidentally, guess how many of the writers submitted blank ballots

also robbie alomar got 73.some%

fuck this gay baseball earth

[Moe_Rahn]

to quote myself from this afternoon, watching the broadcast before going to work; the instant the presenter stated that only one player got in, and called him a five-tool player and former rookie of the year:

"FUCKING DAWSON, FUCK"

i'm pretty sure my neighbors heard me

[cpt.mars]

This is always one of my favorite days of the year: when Fantasy Baseball Mock Drafts are open on Y! and real people start paying attention, unlike mockdraftecentral where nobody leaves and it gets formulaic.

[cpt.mars]

Also, I propose we get anyone who wants to play in on a season together.

[Moe_Rahn]

you know i'm in

our 2-man fantasy league will have the best teams in history



in other news some worthless pothead got like eight billion dollars in arbitration today (2yr/$23m; 2010: $8m, 2011: $13m, plus a $1m signing bonus for each year, so basically 9 and 14)

[cpt.mars]

our 2-man fantasy league will have the best teams in history

We could join a Y! public and proceed to rape face :D


in other news some worthless pothead got like eight billion dollars in arbitration today (2yr/$23m; 2010: $8m, 2011: $13m, plus a $1m signing bonus for each year, so basically 9 and 14)

I'd pay him that much. I have a sweet, sweet man-crush on Lincecum's pitch selection.

Also, I always seem to forget that the Gnats paid Zito an exorbitant amount of money.

[Moe_Rahn]

mark mulder retires; nation confused, assumed he already was

randy winn signs for 1/1.1 with yankees as fourth outfielder


also we found 4 people willing to play fantasy hockey last year ("play" meaning "autodraft and then never look at the teams ever again") so hopefully we can find that many to do the same for baseball

two years ago the guys in my house did a six-man league and our teams were completely and utterly 'tarded

this is mine, which took first place in the regular season but crapped out in the playoffs and finished third overall

http://i50.tinypic.com/wlqf6u.png

[cpt.mars]

also we found 4 people willing to play fantasy hockey last year ("play" meaning "autodraft and then never look at the teams ever again") so hopefully we can find that many to do the same for baseball

Anyone who's interested, start posting! Again, even if this means we crash a Y! public league, I'm okay with that.

two years ago the guys in my house did a six-man league and our teams were completely and utterly 'tarded

this is mine, which took first place in the regular season but crapped out in the playoffs and finished third overall

FUCK YEARGGH MIKE MUSSINA 20 GAME WINNER!!!!!!

[Moe_Rahn]

an outdoor stadium in minnesota? great idea! what could possibly go wr-


http://i45.tinypic.com/rkvss6.jpg

[cpt.mars]

an outdoor stadium in minnesota? great idea! what could possibly go wr-


http://i45.tinypic.com/rkvss6.jpg

*shrug*

I, for one, look forward to the cold-as-hell games. I drank hot cocoa once at Wrigley and it was fucking amazing.

[Moe_Rahn]

yeah, i mean, probably a third of that snow will be gone by opening day

[Moe_Rahn]

baseball starts tomorrow

as a present enjoy moving pictures

if pablo sandoval weighs 245 then i'm about 180

http://i50.tinypic.com/2uysveq.gif


the phillies signed this for ten million dollars a year

http://i35.tinypic.com/15j1qg.gif

http://i27.tinypic.com/28akex2.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/zmfswl.gif

[cpt.mars]

http://i34.tinypic.com/r0ntc9.jpg

[Moe_Rahn]

u mean

[Moe_Rahn]

http://i50.tinypic.com/wl95df.gif

http://i45.tinypic.com/b4jf5v.gif

[cpt.mars]

jj hardy spent the past five years forgetting how to hit fastballs so there's no way he hits 20 bombs again

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=3797&position=SS#pitchtype

don't scroll up and look at his yearly line drive totals if you just ate

(jj hardy argument station)

Well, like I said, he's little more than a glove and a faint glimmer of hope of his former glory in the 8-hole.

i don't really want to start on the twins pitching since it's late except i'll say that they really need everything to keep coming together if it's going to be good (the young guys continuing to develop, joe nathan not needing more elbow surgery after today's scare, carl pavano surviv-bahahaha i couldn't even finish that one)

Not going to argue that one bit, nor would anyone in the organization. Baker got his shit together after the ASB, but still had a disappointing season. Blackburn is a solid pitcher, and will likely be an innings eater with his sinkerballing, but simply isn't an ace. Slowey and Perkins have to get their shit together before Gardenhire performs a human sacrifice on them. Liriano's performed really well in winterball, apparently, but until I see him pitching well in the majors, I simply won't care. Pavano has to find a way to not break. And Anthony Swarzak just needs to find a way to be consistent.


since the al central is the new nl central (don't even try to deny that it'll be a three-horse race at best) you can probably take the division with like 86-89 wins and earn a sweep in the ds by the yankees

I've come to terms with the fact that we're not likely to ever beat the yankees.

we are giving brad penny 7.5 million dollars this year, real american dollars, to pitch for us, in actual baseball games, against other teams

I lol'd. But generally speaking, I don't dump on other organizations I actually like, or ones that I know are doing things right.

[Moe_Rahn]

in other news

cubs give:
milton bradley

cubs get:
http://i50.tinypic.com/2zxxf6x.png

[cpt.mars]

in other news

cubs give:
milton bradley

cubs get:
http://i50.tinypic.com/2zxxf6x.png

I have several friends that are Cubs fans that I've been talking to about this deal. All but 1 loved it when it happened, I laughed at them.

[Moe_Rahn]

b-b-b-but milton bradley is a clubhouse cancerand he's an outspoken black man

and we gave him a bad contractand he's an outspoken black man

and he had a bad yearand he's an outspoken black man

goddamn alfonso piece of shit soriano should have been run out of town before bradley but he never will because he smiles and he's friendly while being bad at baseball, while milton bradley is angry and good at it

also it doesn't help that the cubs signed an oft-injured dh to play in the outfield, and were then somehow shocked at the results

[Moe_Rahn]

joe nathan is Going To Die (http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100307&content_id=8705332&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min) (his arm is) (maybe) (they don't know yet)

[cpt.mars]

joe nathan is Going To Die (http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100307&content_id=8705332&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min) (his arm is) (maybe) (they don't know yet)

I'm not too worried. Neshek and Rauch can probably hold down the fort for a while, and if he ever stays consistently good, Jesse Crain could close as well.

[Moe_Rahn]

joe nathan has a torn ucl (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/breaking-joe-nathan-has-a-torn-ucl.html.php)

current twins plan is to see if he can pitch through it

[cpt.mars]

joe nathan has a torn ucl (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/breaking-joe-nathan-has-a-torn-ucl.html.php)

current twins plan is to see if he can pitch through it

I swear I'm the only person in the world not concerned with this. We need quality starters to even get to the 9th for Nathan, so let's focus on making sure we at least have that, okay?

[Moe_Rahn]

i just think it's fucking hilarious that the team's original plan was "see if he can pitch through an injury that requires season-ending surgery" but nathan himself seems to be trending way more towards the surgery right away option, which is the smart idea

[cpt.mars]

i just think it's fucking hilarious that the team's original plan was "see if he can pitch through an injury that requires season-ending surgery" but nathan himself seems to be trending way more towards the surgery right away option, which is the smart idea

Lots of teams try to pull this shit, I'm not surprised.

[Moe_Rahn]

like, it works if the guy in question is albert pujols, but usually doesn't the rest of the time

[cpt.mars]

Moe, one of my regular Y! leagues will need more players, are you, anyone else, interested?

[Moe_Rahn]

yeah i'm in

[cpt.mars]

League ID#: 308732
League Name: Betzold Ball V
Password: Password
Custom League URL: http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/betzoldball

[Moe_Rahn]

may or may not be able to make the draft since i don't know when i'll be working the 28th yet but i'm in anyways

e- who the fuck plays h2h fantasy baseball

[cpt.mars]

may or may not be able to make the draft since i don't know when i'll be working the 28th yet but i'm in anyways

e- who the fuck plays h2h fantasy baseball

Not my league, but I hate roto so much. I prefer the spontaneity of h2h.

Also, the draft may not be on the 28th anyway, it's likely he just picked an arbitrary date.

[Moe_Rahn]

as long as it's as close as possible to the start of the season i'm good with it

early drafts suck because invariably you will burn an early-round pick on someone who succumbs to a tragic and/or hilarious spring training malady, like the aforementioned joe nathan, or perhaps jose reyes (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/sports/baseball/12mets.html)

[DasHuhn]

So, where would you gentlemen suggest someone who wants to get into baseball to go? I've always followed the baseball thread but have no idea where to go for anything.

Also, this will be the year for the cubs. I can feel it.

[cpt.mars]

So, where would you gentlemen suggest someone who wants to get into baseball to go? I've always followed the baseball thread but have no idea where to go for anything.

Also, this will be the year for the cubs. I can feel it.

I don't know quite what you're asking, but here's a couple of good websites if that's what you indeed were looking for.

http://www.baseball-reference.com - Fantastic source for any player or team's stats
http://www.baseball-almanac.com - Great site for finding specific records
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/ - Great site if you're interested in finding out how much each player is making, for how long, and who else is paying them money.

Besides that, the best way to really get-into baseball is to simply watch as many games as possible, and, honestly, join a fantasy baseball league - you'll pay much more attention to what's going on in baseball from a daily-weekly basis.

[Moe_Rahn]

Besides that, the best way to really get-into baseball is to simply watch as many games as possible, and, honestly, join a fantasy baseball league - you'll pay much more attention to what's going on in baseball from a daily-weekly basis.
as a means to this end, if you've got the scratch to spare, you may want to pony up for mlb.tv (http://www.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/index.jsp), which lets you stream every game that isn't blacked out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_blackout_policy) in your area (which, since you live in iowa is actually a whole lot of games. maybe bud selig just hates iowa). fortunately, mlb will never black out radio streams, and a lot of radio announcers are superior to their televised counterparts.

as for the second part, there's apparently this fantasy league on yahoo that needs people


also dashuhn you should read moneyball, because the impression that i get from your post is that you are essentially a blank slate when it comes to this stuff which means i can bring you over to the dark side (http://forums.otfnation.com/showthread.php?t=55141) that much easier


Also, this will be the year for the cubs. I can feel it.
trading your fourth best hitter for a godawful pitcher = RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

[DasHuhn]

as a means to this end, if you've got the scratch to spare, you may want to pony up for mlb.tv (http://www.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/index.jsp), which lets you stream every game that isn't blacked out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_blackout_policy) in your area (which, since you live in iowa is actually a whole lot of games. maybe bud selig just hates iowa). fortunately, mlb will never black out radio streams, and a lot of radio announcers are superior to their televised counterparts.

as for the second part, there's apparently this fantasy league on yahoo that needs people


I'd love to pay for it, but i'm not going to be in IA for that much longer (moving in june) and i dont have the $120 to spare on something i may or may not be interested in. I'll join the fantasy league, and i'll go steal use my families kindle to go buy the moneyball and read it this weekend.



trading your fourth best hitter for a godawful pitcher = RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

cubs have been trolling cubs players for as long as radio announcers have been announcing games

[Moe_Rahn]

cubs have been trolling cubs players for as long as radio announcers have been announcing games
well there's also the matter of your current gm being a huge fucking dumbass, probably no less than the second dumbest in baseball and one of the top contenders for #1


e- if you've got a playstation of any kind you may want to pick up MLB 10: The Show since it's the best baseball game around and playing video games is as good a way to get into a sport as any (witness me finally getting into basketball this year via NBA 2K10). if you don't have one, then i will begrudgingly recommend buying MLB 2K10 since it's apparently supposed to be not totally shitty this year or something, but still not as good as The Show

[DasHuhn]

well there's also the matter of your current gm being a huge fucking dumbass, probably no less than the second dumbest in baseball and one of the top contenders for #1


e- if you've got a playstation of any kind you may want to pick up MLB 10: The Show since it's the best baseball game around and playing video games is as good a way to get into a sport as any (witness me finally getting into basketball this year via NBA 2K10). if you don't have one, then i will begrudgingly recommend buying MLB 2K10 since it's apparently supposed to be not totally shitty this year or something, but still not as good as The Show

Moneyball so far is pretty good. While waiting to take my midterms i've read half of it. Interesting stuff, though i almost wish they'd stick with why its there first, and what happened to the A's second.

My dad has a ps3, i've got an xbox360. If the show is that much better i'd pick it up but again, only here another 3-4 months.

[cpt.mars]

I'll join the fantasy league

Have at. I'm yet to see a league where I've had too many people involved. The info was posted previously.

Moe's Nick Swisher Sweets, I'm The Marv Alberts and everyone else are my friends from real life. Some are quite smart about baseball, others not. It always makes for an interesting league.

[Moe_Rahn]

Moe's Nick Swisher Sweets, I'm The Marv Alberts and everyone else are my friends from real life. Some are quite smart about baseball, others not. It always makes for an interesting league.
my current team name is a placeholder brought back from a largely unsuccessful 2008 team (6th of 10, fairly bad pitching but first by a million miles in steals) and is pending change to another player-name-based pun upon drafting

the best fantasy leagues in my experience are the ones where someone is a huge homer and drafts while drunk and yelling at the rest of you in real life (part of the aforementioned house league)

this team came in 5th of 6 in the regular season (2008) and then beat the shit out of everyone including me in the playoffs to finish 2nd overall

http://i42.tinypic.com/juczl0.png

can you tell what team the owner might be a fan of

[Moe_Rahn]

the draft time for that league is officially perfect and should never change (i get off work at 4:30 on the 28th)

[Polish Hill]

So I'm in a money league for fantasy baseball this year but I don't really watch baseball nor have I ever played its fantasy portion. Any advice? Should I grab up good hitters quick or pitchers or what I am confuse.

[cpt.mars]

So I'm in a money league for fantasy baseball this year but I don't really watch baseball nor have I ever played its fantasy portion. Any advice? Should I grab up good hitters quick or pitchers or what I am confuse.

I typically go for hitters first, since most people tend to overdraft pitching, and because you can always find sleepers in pitching. But by all means, if a pitcher "falls" to your pick, and you like them and what they've done statistically, go get them. Moe may disagree, but that's my philosophy.

[Moe_Rahn]

yahoo lets you do as many mock drafts as you want, if you want to get a rough feel for the process of drafting before your league starts (hopefully that's not like, tomorrow)

I typically go for hitters first, since most people tend to overdraft pitching, and because you can always find sleepers in pitching. But by all means, if a pitcher "falls" to your pick, and you like them and what they've done statistically, go get them. Moe may disagree, but that's my philosophy.
easily the two most overdrafted positions in my experience are closers and catchers. if you're me, you don't even bother to look at either before like the 9th or 10th round in a normal-sized league, unless the catcher you're drafting is joe mauer.

the decline from mauer to even mccann/vmart is such that, if you were to draft the latter two at their yahoo average draft positions (roughly 40th and 33rd overall, respectively), you would be burning a third- or fourth-round pick on the fantasy equivalent of brad hawpe. wait it out and grab a molina in like the 17th instead (as far as fantasy goes, bengie just might be the better option here)

starting pitching gets rushed in the 5th, closers get rushed in the 7th and 8th. for some reason, this is how it always works out. while it will occasionally pay off to grab a "name" starter early on (i actually just took cliff lee in the 5th of a mock as i'm typing this), it will virtually never pay to do the same for closers, due to the far greater volatility of the position (the sudden and sharp declines of guys like brad lidge and jason isringhausen in years past comes to mind) and the fact that closers on bad teams will get as many or more save chances as closers on good ones (witness joakim soria putting up better fantasy stats in '08 than jon papelbon, despite being drafted on average something like 100 picks later, and the red sox winning something like 100 more games than the royals).

grab your starters when everyone else is worrying about closers, and grab your closers when everyone else is worrying about their bench. grab a catcher on waivers the next day when you realize that oh shit i completely forgot hey why the fuck is yadi still available i woulda thought he'd get taken late by somebody welp their loss

also shortstops fall under the same category as catchers (for some reason i am contemplating taking ass-dribble cabrera in the 10tHAHAHAHA SOME RETARD JUST DID IT AHEAD OF ME)

results from this mock when i finish because i know mars needs something to laugh at

e- i just took jorge posada in the 14th. in my defense, i have been drinking.

[Moe_Rahn]

1. Ryan Braun (Mil - OF)
2. Ian Kinsler (Tex - 2B)
3. Pablo Sandoval (SF - 1B,3B)
4. Jayson Werth (Phi - OF)
5. Cliff Lee (Sea - SP)
6. Chone Figgins (Sea - 3B)
7. Torii Hunter (LAA - OF)
8. Matt Cain (SF - SP)
9. Hunter Pence (Hou - OF)
10. Elvis Andrus (Tex - SS)
11. Jason Kubel (Min - OF)
12. Rick Porcello (Det - SP)
13. Huston Street (Col - RP)
14. Jorge Posada (NYY - C)
15. Nyjer Morgan (Was - OF)
16. Trevor Hoffman (Mil - RP)
17. Mark Buehrle (CWS - SP)
18. Michael Wuertz (Oak - RP)
19. Nick Swisher (NYY - 1B,OF)
20. Phil Hughes (NYY - SP,RP)
21. Ryan Franklin (StL - RP)
22. Martín Prado (Atl - 1B,2B,3B)
23. Aroldis Chapman (Cin - SP)

12-man snake draft, choosing 5th, done with yahoo default rosters in mind (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3x OF, 2x UT, 2x SP, 2x RP, 4x P, 5x BN)

things to note:

no backup catcher
or backup shortstop
or a particularly attractive starter at either (sandoval made just 3 starts behind the dish last year, and qualifying for a position in yahoo requires 5)
in a real league, i would immediately start dangling swish, pence, or morgan for an upgrade to one of the above
late-round relievers focused more on ratio stats than counting ones (for what little predictive value last year's stats really have)
my final-round picks are always bullshit ones and this draft's is no exception. (strasburg got taken in the 15th, lol)

[cpt.mars]

First complaint? Too many position players, not enough starting pitching.

[cpt.mars]

Also; how in the HELL did I forget to tell you about the league I was in simply called "Burrell Ball": Batters Stat Category Value
Runs (R) 1
Home Runs (HR) 4
Runs Batted In (RBI) 1
Sacrifice Hits (SH) -25
Stolen Bases (SB) -5
Caught Stealing (CS) -5
Walks (BB) 4
Strikeouts (K) 4
Ground Into Double Play (GIDP) 1

[Polish Hill]

One last piece of information before I begin fidgeting with the preset player rankings. Here's our allotted roster and the stats that will be used for each game. Its an 8 person head to head league.

Roster Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, Util, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL

Batters Stat Categories: Runs (R), Hits (H), Home Runs (HR), Runs Batted In (RBI), Stolen Bases (SB), Strikeouts (K), Batting Average (AVG)

Pitchers Stat Categories: Innings Pitched (IP), Wins (W), Losses (L), Saves (SV), Strikeouts (K), Earned Run Average (ERA), (Walks + Hits)/ Innings Pitched (WHIP)


Anything stand out or seem out of sorts? I'm mostly just wondering if this info would change any of the past advice you've both given me. Thanks again.

[cpt.mars]

One last piece of information before I begin fidgeting with the preset player rankings. Here's our allotted roster and the stats that will be used for each game. Its an 8 person head to head league.

Roster Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, Util, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL

Batters Stat Categories: Runs (R), Hits (H), Home Runs (HR), Runs Batted In (RBI), Stolen Bases (SB), Strikeouts (K), Batting Average (AVG)

Pitchers Stat Categories: Innings Pitched (IP), Wins (W), Losses (L), Saves (SV), Strikeouts (K), Earned Run Average (ERA), (Walks + Hits)/ Innings Pitched (WHIP)


Anything stand out or seem out of sorts? I'm mostly just wondering if this info would change any of the past advice you've both given me. Thanks again.

Outside of having Strikeouts be a stat (which, I love it when leagues do that), it all seems rather standard.

[Moe_Rahn]

Outside of having Strikeouts be a stat (which, I love it when leagues do that), it all seems rather standard.
7x7 is right about where it starts to get unwieldy but other than both hits and average being counted (which seems sort of redundant) it looks pretty good

also i don't know what kind of draft you'll be doing but make sure not to draft ryan z. braun, pitcher for the white sox, but instead ryan (joseph) braun, outfielder for the brewers

[Moe_Rahn]

i'm doing another mock and the stupid draft window didn't load right the first time or some shit so the first three rounds got autodrafted and it's only been downhill from there

highlights:
-first overall pick means you get pujols and then sit around with your thumb in your ass for five minutes before picking again
-the autodraft picked me three first basemen in the first three rounds
-on the plus side, two straight picks can let you create and destroy positional runs as you see fit
-no catcher yet and we are currently in the 22nd round (e- miguel olivo in the 23rd)


1. Albert Pujols (StL - 1B)
2. Adrián González (SD - 1B)
3. Joey Votto (Cin - 1B)
4. Aaron Hill (Tor - 2B)
5. Shin-Soo Choo (Cle - OF)
6. Jon Lester (Bos - SP)
7. Adam Dunn (Was - 1B,OF)
8. Andrew Bailey (Oak - RP)
9. Matt Cain (SF - SP)
10. Yunel Escobar (Atl - SS)
11. José Valverde (Det - RP)
12. Gordon Beckham (CWS - 3B)
13. Francisco Cordero (Cin - RP)
14. A.J. Burnett (NYY - SP)
15. Billy Wagner (Atl - RP)
16. Jorge De La Rosa (Col - SP)
17. Trevor Hoffman (Mil - RP)
18. J.A. Happ (Phi - SP,RP)
19. Rajai Davis (Oak - OF)
20. Cody Ross (Fla - OF)
21. Darren O'Day (Tex - RP)
22. Trever Miller (StL - RP)
23. Miguel Olivo (Col - C)

relievers win ratios

[cpt.mars]

relievers win ratios

More often than not, yes. But it's more complicated when nearly all of the custom leagues I'm in have Holds as a stat.

[DasHuhn]

So I'm going to be out of town from the 28th, is there anything special that I need to do or is it all automatic then?

[Moe_Rahn]

the coolest idea i ever saw for a fantasy league was a points-based one that assigned values based off 1960-2004 run expectancy tables

hitting stats and their point value:
1B 0.46
2B 0.75
3B 1.03
HR 1.40
BB 0.30
IBB 0.17
HBP 0.33
SH -0.09
SF -0.01
GDP -0.78
SO -0.27
OUT -0.23
SB 0.19
CS -0.42

pitching:
OUT .265
HR -1.4
BB -.303
HBP -.33
K .269
WP -.278
BLK -.25
1BA -.46
2BA -.75
3BA -1.03
PICK .228

[Polish Hill]

Here's the second Mock Draft I've done. I was the 6th pick of 8, trying to prepare for what my actual results will be. Not sure how this went but I'd like some criticism since I'll probably only get one more run before the real thing. Was surprised Rodriguez fell and sadly I was none too happy grabbing two high profile Yankees off the bat but oh well. Also, I'm always terrified my pitching is shit which is because I haven't heard of...well a lot of pitchers.

1. Álex Rodríguez (NYY - 3B)
2. Mark Teixeira (NYY - 1B)
3. Matt Holliday (StL - OF)
4. Félix Hernández (Sea - SP)
5. José Reyes (NYM - SS)
6. Dustin Pedroia (Bos - 2B)
7. Johan Santana (NYM - SP)
8. Justin Morneau (Min - 1B)
9. Josh Hamilton (Tex - OF)
10. Matt Wieters (Bal - C)
11. Ricky Nolasco (Fla - SP)
12. Chad Billingsley (LAD - SP)
13. Heath Bell (SD - RP)
14. Shane Victorino (Phi - OF)
15. Carlos Mármol (ChC - RP)
16. Carlos Quentin (CWS - OF)
17. Ian Stewart (Col - 2B,3B)
18. Johnny Cueto (Cin - SP)
19. David Price (TB - SP)
20. Alexei Ramírez (CWS - SS)
21. Álex Ríos (CWS - OF)
22. Max Scherzer (Det - SP)
23. Phil Hughes (NYY - SP,RP)

[cpt.mars]

Initially, I'm inclined to tell you that you drafted too many position players, and certainly that you didn't draft enough pitching. My philosophy behind this is that starting position players on an actual team play just about every game that they're healthy for, starting pitchers only go once every 5 games and the most heavily used relievers may be pitching once every other game. So because of the disparity in playing time, it only makes sense to draft more of the position that plays less and to fill in the spots on a daily basis. My strategy to combat this is to simply draft as many quality starters as possible and plug them in. Moe's seems to be to get relievers to fill the slots on the days that his starters aren't going.

As far as who you took is concerned, you took a couple of guys (Nolasco, Cueto, Price, Marmol) that I'm not terribly fond of, but are certainly capable of having good years.

[Polish Hill]

Having a very mediocre understanding of baseball I honestly would not have known that whole starter/reliever deal. I knew starters got days to rest but I never really put two and two together so +rep for that as it will certainly adjust my thinking. And I definitely need to adjust my strategy a bit.

As for the questionable players that arises from some of the rankings I'm using. Third party so its a risky strategy but I'm hoping for a steal or two for all the busts I'm assured.

[cpt.mars]

As for the questionable players that arises from some of the rankings I'm using. Third party so its a risky strategy but I'm hoping for a steal or two for all the busts I'm assured.

Don't get me wrong, they've all either put up great numbers or have shown the capability of dominating. Personally, I just avoid drafting them because of a bias I have. There's plenty of good reasons to draft them, I just choose not to. :)

[Polish Hill]

A few changes in the league setup but here was today's actual draft results. A few players I was pretty upset to lose (I. Stewart, J. Morneau) but overall it could have gone worse. I've got 3 pitchers on the bench and 3 position players. Any thoughts on the team or how the outfield should look?

1. (5) Chase Utley
2. (12) Mark Teixeira
3. (21) Félix Hernández
4. (28) CC Sabathia
5. (37) Grady Sizemore
6. (44) Mark Reynolds
7. (53) Jayson Werth
8. (60) Dan Haren
9. (69) Brandon Phillips
10. (76) Asdrubal Cabrera
11. (85) Bobby Abreu
12. (92) Heath Bell
13. (101) Ricky Nolasco
14. (108) Miguel Montero
15. (117) Jered Weaver
16. (124) Álex Ríos
17. (133) Francisco Cordero
18. (140) Gordon Beckham
19. (149) Kevin Slowey
20. (156) David Aardsma
21. (165) Carlos González
22. (172) David Price
23. (181) Alfonso Soriano

[cpt.mars]

A few changes in the league setup but here was today's actual draft results. A few players I was pretty upset to lose (I. Stewart, J. Morneau) but overall it could have gone worse. I've got 3 pitchers on the bench and 3 position players. Any thoughts on the team or how the outfield should look?

I'd go with:

C: Montero
1b: Teixeria
2b: Utley
SS: Cabrera
3b: Reynolds
OF: Sizemore
OF: Werth
OF: Abreu
UTIL: Beckham
UTIL: Phillips

and then keep Cordero and Bell in your RP slots as much as possible and fill in your starters.

[Polish Hill]

Yea things got all jiggered around and it turned out specific outfield positions are in use, one less utility, an extra outfielder in play, and four pitchers of your choice in addition to the two SP and RP's. The team is set now and I just wish it was closer to the season so I could see my team's strengths and weaknesses better.

[cpt.mars]

specific outfield positions are in use

As in, LF, CF, and RF? Because I will never understand why people go to that extreme unless it's already a 20-team, AL/NL only league and you're already nuts for playing it in the first place.

That being said, I want in on such a league.

[Polish Hill]

Yea, don't think it altered my draft strategy much and my outfield reads as you listed it anyway but I guess the idea was so people weren't ignoring center fielders or something? I don't know or remember but I don't think it turned out to matter at all because with 8 people it seems impossible for there not to be someone worth while.

[Moe_Rahn]

As in, LF, CF, and RF? Because I will never understand why people go to that extreme unless it's already a 20-team, AL/NL only league and you're already nuts for playing it in the first place.

That being said, I want in on such a league.
everyone should play a retardedly deep league of the sport of their choice at least once in their life

i'm talking like 20 teams, full 25-man rosters, two catchers, the whole fucking nine yards

everybody comes out of the draft feeling like they got fucked, and you spend so much time reassuring yourself over the guys that you did get: "well, so what if i have mark teahen starting at third, it could be emilio bonifacio"

[cpt.mars]

everyone should play a retardedly deep league of the sport of their choice at least once in their life

i'm talking like 20 teams, full 25-man rosters, two catchers, the whole fucking nine yards

everybody comes out of the draft feeling like they got fucked, and you spend so much time reassuring yourself over the guys that you did get: "well, so what if i have mark teahen starting at third, it could be emilio bonifacio"

I got a boner thinking about that.

Now all I need to do is find a league like that which actually exists.

[Moe_Rahn]

I got a boner thinking about that.

Now all I need to do is find a league like that which actually exists.
i can clone myself nine times if you can

[cpt.mars]

I was unaware that JJ Hardy had the best RZR among SS in the NL. He's still in the bottom third for his ability to get to balls, but at least when he gets there he's good.

[Moe_Rahn]

Top Ten Signs Your Fantasy Baseball League Is Too Deep


10. It's not just NL-only, it's NL-Central-Only.

9. You draft Yuniesky Betancourt to be your starting shortstop...

8. ...and the guy after you bitches that you stole his next pick.

7. Your draft finishes the day before the actual First-Year Player Draft starts.

6. Ryan Z. Braun is seen as a legitimate sleeper RP pick.

5. Three catchers.

4. Your keepers from last year are Carlos Silva and Jason Kendall.

3. While prepping your draft board, you find yourself genuinely curious what team Matt Stairs is on this year.

2. Aroldis Chapman goes in the second round.

1. Strasburg goes in the first.


i get bored at work sometimes


(and it's the padres, in case you were wondering)

[cpt.mars]

so that draft was fun.

[Moe_Rahn]

pittsburgh's adjusted mccutchens per 9 (M/9+) is 2900 (pittsburgh leads the league with an M/9 of 2, while the mlb average M/9 is .066...)

of course, this math only works every fifth day

[Walnut]

The league my friend forced me into has FIVE STARTING OUTFIELDERS???, and pitchers get stupidly ridiculous amounts of points.

lol wut i don't even

This is what I did, lol:

1 Tim Lincecum, SF SP
2 Justin Upton, Ari OF
3 Matt Holliday, StL OF
4 Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS
5 Justin Verlander, Det SP
6 Mark Reynolds, Ari 3B
7 Jonathan Broxton, LAD RP
8 Javier Vazquez, NYY SP
9 Kendry Morales, LAA 1B
10 Curtis Granderson, NYY OF
11 Joakim Soria, KC RP
12 Clayton Kershaw, LAD SP
13 Michael Young, Tex 3B
14 Jose Lopez, Sea 2B
15 Vladimir Guerrero, Tex DH
16 Miguel Montero, Ari C
17 Brian Fuentes, LAA RP
18 Rickie Weeks, Mil 2B
19 Tim Hudson, Atl SP
20 Denard Span, Min OF
21 Franklin Gutierrez, Sea OF
22 Gordon Beckham, CWS 3B
23 Cody Ross, Fla OF
24 Daisuke Matsuzaka*, Bos SP

[Moe_Rahn]

BASEBALL IS HERE BASEBALL IS HERE BASEBALL IS HERE BASEBALL IS HERE

god i fucking hope a meteor hits fenway

[Moe_Rahn]

how many teams are in that league and how exactly does the scoring work, because some of those picks are nuts, both the good (reynolds in the 6th?? how the hell did that happen outside of like a six-team league) and weird (jose lopez in the 14th? matsuzaka at all?) kind of nuts, although that could also be chalked up to pitchers being overvalued, and thus being overdrafted

and just to show how differently shit can go

6x6 roto, R RBI HR SB K OPS for hitters, W SV K HLD ERA WHIP for pitchers, two DL spots

i picked 10th out of 12, the round is in parentheses

C: Bengie Molina (14)
1B: Ryan Howard (1)
2B: Aaron Hill (4)
3B: David Wright (2)
SS: Elvis Andrus (9)
IF: Mark Reynolds (3)
LF: Denard Span (7)
CF: BJ Upton (5)
RF: Nelson Cruz (6)
OF: Ryan Ludwick (12)
UT: JD Drew (16)
BN: Mark Derosa (13)
BN: Rajai Davis (20)

SP: Matt Cain (8)
SP: Edwin Jackson (11)
SP: Randy Wells (15)
RP: Heath Bell (10)
RP: Phil Hughes (18)
P: Ryan Rowland-Smith (17)
P: Chris Perez (19)
BN: Matt Guerrier (21)
BN: Barry Zito (22)

[cpt.mars]

how many teams are in that league and how exactly does the scoring work, because some of those picks are nuts

More importantly, how did you get these three back-to-back-to-back?


2 Justin Upton, Ari OF
3 Matt Holliday, StL OF
4 Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS

[cpt.mars]

BASEBALL IS HERE BASEBALL IS HERE BASEBALL IS HERE BASEBALL IS HERE

god i fucking hope a meteor hits fenway

I love how ESPN described today as "Rivalry Day" with the Cavs/Celtics game on ABC and then YAYNKS/SAHWKS this evening. Fuck Boston :(

Although, I really have no grounds to complain seeing as ESPN televised a Twins preseason game on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

[Moe_Rahn]

More importantly, how did you get these three back-to-back-to-back?
for serious, tulo is an early second, maybe even late first rounder in like any other league (he's gone 11th and 13th overall in my two this year)

[Walnut]

It's a nine-team league.

Rules are such that basically you auto-win if you have a bunch of pitchers that don't suck. I forget the exact scoring, but Pujols and Lincecum averaged about the same number of points per matchup in the same league last year.

I drafted first overall. Yes, I passed up on Pujols for Lincecum - partly because of the retarded scoring, partly because one of my friends offered me a six-pack if I let him have Pujols.

So, Upton was last pick of the second round, Holliday the first pick of the third. I have no idea why no one got Tulo before the last pick of the fourth. I assume they're idiots.

Jose Lopez was the top-rated 2B when I drafted him (again, no idea why) and I needed a 2B. Matsuzaka I drafted because he'll be a bench player, and it amuses me. He was also reasonably close to being among the best pitchers left for the last pick of the draft.

[Moe_Rahn]

lopez is like my triple-backup second basemen in me and mars' 8-team league and dice-k is going to die on the mound


also you drafted the rickie weeks experience lol

[cpt.mars]

On Baseball Tonight Tim Kurkjen just said: the Astros have a .271 Slugging % which is the equivalent of facing Nick Punto nine times per game.

I lol'd.

[DasHuhn]

6GIEHPGj9sI

[cpt.mars]

My god Mariano Rivera is amused by that entire thing.

[Moe_Rahn]

so it looks like the angels have a job opening

http://www.hiring.at/angelsbaseball

[Polish Hill]

Someone change Mark Teixeira's calendar so he doesn't realize its the start of the season. Ugh

[Moe_Rahn]

phils extend howard for 5/125 with $23m option/$10m buyout for 6th


in other news, i started hyperventilating from laughter and had to go lie down for a minute

[Moe_Rahn]

http://i40.tinypic.com/2q88qqw.jpg

[Moe_Rahn]

alex reodriguez: "I really don't want to extend his extra 15 minutes of fame he already has."

dallas braden: "eat shit gay-rod" (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/braden_perfecto/index.jsp)

dallas braden you magnificent bastard

[cpt.mars]

It's a shame nobody was around to see that game (~12k in the stands only).

[Moe_Rahn]

roy :)

[Moe_Rahn]

seriously two perfect games and a no-hitter happening in the first two months of the season is fucking incredible

[cpt.mars]

seriously two perfect games and a no-hitter happening in the first two months of the season is fucking incredible

Dead-Ball Era Part 2??

First season with 2 perfect games since 1880 iirc.

[Polish Hill]

Should be 3 perfect games already shit, Jim Joyce becomes one of the bigger umpire martyrs ever I'm sure.

[Moe_Rahn]

ken griffey jr just retired


also kill all umpires already

i'll settle for shooting joe west into the sun as long as it works to put the rest of them in their place

[cpt.mars]

I don't care what the rulebooks say, I'm counting that as the 21st perfect game.

Also, it's going to be weird thinking about the mlb knowing that Griffey is no longer playing within it.

[Moe_Rahn]

Also, it's going to be weird thinking about the mlb knowing that Griffey is no longer playing within it.
who will tickle ichiro now? :(:(:(:(

[Moe_Rahn]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v640/jdl22/galreaction_2.gif

http://i46.tinypic.com/2hcj2xf.png

[cpt.mars]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c208/cptmars/galaraga.jpg

[Moe_Rahn]

response from joyce: acknowledgment of error, apology, followed by tears prior to the start of today's game


response from commisioner bud selig: *crickets*

[cpt.mars]

response from commisioner bud selig: *crickets*

He shouldn't overturn the call, that's for damn sure. I still say we get an extra umpire in a booth, watching the replays as they happen and radioing in when the calls are wrong.

[Moe_Rahn]

He shouldn't overturn the call, that's for damn sure. I still say we get an extra umpire in a booth, watching the replays as they happen and radioing in when the calls are wrong.

one part of this post is correct

[Polish Hill]

I've gotten over hating Joyce and now actually have a ridiculous amount of sympathy for him seeing his reaction after the fact. Fuck Bud Selig if he doesn't overturn this. It doesn't change the games outcome and is a huge deal. But knowing him and MLB there is a .000001% chance that happens.

[Moe_Rahn]

he won't, fuck this gay baseball earth

the advent of the fucking robots can't come soon enough

bud selig's entire career centers around the fact that he doesn't dare do anything that might actually be good for the game (except suspend marge schott for a year, although that should have been a ban. call him about 1 for a thousand)

[Moe_Rahn]

i mean this image pretty much sums up the whole of bud selig's existence

http://i45.tinypic.com/et64ht.jpg


for another perspective on the whole matter, ozzie guillen continues to own forever (http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100603&content_id=10774156&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws)

"This is what I said last night: Why him?" said Guillen prior to Thursday's series finale with the Rangers. "Why can't it be someone we can hate for the rest of his life? Why does it have to be my man?"

[cpt.mars]

one part of this post is correct

I'm still yet to see a solid argument as to why there shouldn't be a booth-umpire who regulates outs and runs. I understand it keeps the game more "organic" but fuck that, we value precision in our society these days.

Unless you were saying that Selig should overturn the call, which is asinine.

[Moe_Rahn]

I'm still yet to see a solid argument as to why there shouldn't be a booth-umpire who regulates outs and runs. I understand it keeps the game more "organic" but fuck that, we value precision in our society these days.

Unless you were saying that Selig should overturn the call, which is asinine.
i've yet to see a solid argument as to why he shouldn't overturn the call

note: "the sanctity/purity of the game" and anything mentioning the phrase "the human element" do not count as such, nor does a slippery slope argument along the lines of "what stops the commissioner from overturning everything" or a claim that now we have to go back and redo anywhere from one specific game to most of the history of baseball (most commonly invoking don denkinger's blown call in the '85 series)

the only thing overturning the call hurts is james gordon's batting average



instant replay on close calls should have been implemented years ago