2013 Official Major League Baseball Thread.

[lgna69xxx]

Yea, and nobody should know better than red sox fans about proclaiming time to start a parade so early, look no further than to the 2011 preseason thru august from sox fans on here bragging about the "best team EVAH"......... man were they sadly mistaken lol

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when September ends

Much too early for a parade in any city. 4 teams are separated by a maximum of 4 games.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

After last night's game, I got to thinking about style. That's a big difference between the Sox and Yankees. The Sox have style; the Yankees don't. Consider that the teams were both playing in historic ballparks, the House that Ruth Built and Friendly Fenway. So what happened? The Sox renovated and modernized their park. The Yankees knocked theirs down and replaced it with a palace more Disney World than ballpark. And to compound the felony, they built a moat to separate the rich (and their mostly empty seats) and the rest of the world.

The Yankees look like Marines; the Red Sox look like ballplayers. Can you imagine Sergeant Jeter standing in front of a packed house on a late September day in 2001 and telling those assembled, "This is our fucking town..." Nope, I can't either.

The last night after Ron Washington pulled cardinal sin number one in baseball, walking Pedroia (or anyone for that matter) to face Big Papi. One pitch, one pitch is all it took for Big Papi to make them pay. And after he clubbed it, he just stood there for seconds to admire his work. And then the big man took a little trip around the bases. And finally, 28.29 seconds after the ball left Papi's bat, he crossed home plate to a rousing welcome, his teammates ripping the uniform shirt off his back to reveal a t-shirt that read "Boston Strong" on the front and "Famous as F**k" on the back. Can you just see Mark Teixeira wearing a t-shirt with "Famous as F**k" on the back? Neither can I.

Here's a link. There's an animated gif showing Papi taking a little stroll down the baseline prior to his breaking into his trot. The man has style. Boston style.

http://www.overthemonster.com/2013/6/7/4405700/david-ortiz-red-sox-walk-off-homer-rangers

 

[Special K]

The Sox had the 7th overall pick in the 2013 draft beginning last night and they chose LHP Trey Ball out of New Castle, High School!!! The Twins also took a HS pitcher at #4, Is they really supposed to be that good?

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

The Sox philosophy in recent years has been to take the best player available at the time. Ball was considered the best two-way player in the draft, but they took him as a pitcher. Obviously, he's a risky pick as any high school pitcher would be, but his upside is huge. And there's always the possibility of moving him to the outfield if he doesn't pan on the mound.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Congratulations to Jeremy Bonderman
Seattle - Associated Press. It took a long time, a lot of hard work, and the flaccid bats of the light hitting New York Yankees to get Jeremy Bonderman back into the win column after almost three years Friday night.

As special as Friday night was for Bonderman, he tried to keep it like any other outing. This one happened to be his first victory in nearly three years.

"Getting back out on the field and feeling like you can compete and hold your own feels really good," Bonderman said.

Brendan Ryan and Jason Bay both hit two-out, two-run singles in Seattle's four-run fourth inning, Bonderman pitched six sharp innings to win for the first time since 2010, and the Mariners beat the New York Yankees 4-1.

All of Seattle's offense came in one stretch of the fourth inning when six straight batters reached base, capped by the clutch hits from Ryan and Bay off Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda. Seattle entered the night hitting .221 with runners in scoring position but capitalized on the few chances it got against Kuroda.

The surprise was Bonderman's effort, winning for the first time since Sept. 8, 2010, while still pitching for Detroit. He struggled to get through the first two innings but shut down the Yankees from there.

It was a special moment for Bonderman, after enduring right elbow reconstruction in April 2012 and various shoulder problems that have interrupted his career at times. But Bonderman wasn't thrown in the showers and doused with drinks to celebrate. Handshakes and hugs were enough.

"We don't have a ton of time around him, but you know what he's gone through to get here and you see the look in his eye and how competitive he is and everything, it's awesome to see what he did today," Ryan said. "We're happy for him, and I'm sure he feels like it's been a long time coming, but hopefully it was all worth it."

The Yankees have scored in two of 18 innings to open the four-game series in Seattle. New York scored all six runs in the third inning Thursday night, then was shut out after the first Friday.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Seems like the Yankees are now playing as many predicted prior to the season. They've landed back to earth. Vernon Wells is now back playing as the 'corpse of Vernon Wells' and hitting a measely .236.....Youkilis & Hafner both hitting only .247.....Overbay is back being a spare player & barely hitting .250.....Texeira hitting an embarrassing .192.....i expect him to hit the DL soon for season-ending wrist surgery (just a hunch of mine).....and to my great surprise, Robinson Cano is struggling as he's hitting only .276. I'd expect him to be at least 50 points higher by now.

Good thing they have Sabbathia & Kuroda pitching decently among the starters. Hughes is a bum, Phelps is unreliable, and Pettite should retire. Any more starts from this guy hurts his chances at entering the HoF one day. The bullpen has been very good, though.

I now expect the Rays to clinch the division considering how well they've been playing of late. As for the Red Sox, they still have a chance at contending for the wild card as long as Pappi & Pedroia remain healthy. They're carrying this team on their backs right now. Of course, Lester and Bucholz must remain healthy for the Sox to have any chance.

 

[lgna69xxx]

You would be correct Doc, they just wont 4 out of 5.

Seems like the Yankees are now playing as many predicted prior to the season.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Seems like the Yankees are now playing as many predicted prior to the season.

Don't you mean" the light hitting Yankees?"

You would be correct Doc, they just wont 4 out of 5.

The certainly have. They've also won 5 out of 13.:nod:

 

[lgna69xxx]

I think he meant the Yankees who could be in first place in a day or two and also the Yankees that you had written off by now, yea those NYY. Not bad for a team ravaged by injuries all season eh? The red sox should be taking notes to see how it's done lol, then again, lets hope not!

Don't you mean" the light hitting Yankees?"
The certainly have. They've also won 5 out of 13.:nod:

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I think he meant the Yankees who could be in first place in a day or two

or fourth

Not bad for a team ravaged by injuries all season eh?

Yes, but injuries to who? A bunch of washed stars of a decade ago. The only one of their possibly useful players who has been hurt is Granderson. They're better off without most of them. And Granderson is a good player, but no one would call him a star.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Me thinks ole rumpie is jealous of the Yankees success so far this season. Must really suck thinking the Yanks would be out of it by now and here they are poised to take "Ovah" first place in the next few days, again. Get used to it, this team is deep and getting healthier by the day. Pineda's first rehab start got rained out today so he will go tomorrow. Meanwhile that awesome boston pitching gave up another 9 runs and got blown away by the lowly Angels lol.... Cmon LA, sweep the dbl header!

PS. Vintage Pettitte today and Brett Gardner is on fire.....

PSS. Vintage Rivera as well, struckout the side for his 22nd save.....

 

[Special K]

Didn't you say the same thing a couple weeks ago when the Sox were in the Bronx laying the smacketh down on that bunch of misfits? Yea, I thought so. Me thinks the Yanks will find 3rd place before 1st place again!

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Yankees have better pitching depth plain and simple. The Red Sox problem now is the same as it was in 2011. They are top heavy. They are as good or better than anyone 1-10 on their roster but 11-40 sucks. That is why they collapsed in 2011. Everyone is forgetting that Pineda is on the horizon for the Yankees, was supposed to have a rehab start tonight but rained out. Do the Red Sox have anyone even close in talent to Pineda looming down on the farm, should Bucholz end up hurt and on an extended DL? Of course not. Depth is the reason why the Yankees are where they are right now. Having pitching depth helps down the stretch when staff workhorses begin to wear down a little. The Yankees even went with a 6 man rotation a few years ago to rest the top guys down the stretch. Not many teams have the horses to do this. The Red Sox are top heavy and they have ponies, not horses, to provide relief when needed.

 

[daydreamer41]

Congratulations to Andy Pettitte who won his 250th career game on his superb 7 1/3 inning 1-run performance.

Yankees are 1 game back of the Red Sox, and pending tonight's game between Boston and LA Angels can go to a half of a game before the end of the day.

By the way, the Angels are having a bad year so far. They have a lot of good and powerful hitters, i.e. Albert Pujols, Jeff Hamilton, Mark Trombo, Mike Trout, Howie Kendrick. Sometimes teams with good lineups don't hit as well as they should or can.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Congrats also to Mariano Rivera on his AL leading 22nd save, striking out the side in the 9th including Franklin with high cheese for the final out. Rivera is one of a kind and we will never see another closer like him. A one pitch wonder.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Not really, i never doubt a Steinbrenner owned/Cashman led Yankees team, not for a second. I believe in great leadership first and foremost and they give us Yanks fans just that.

Pettittes 250th career win was a gem.... who was chirping for him to retire recently

Didn't you say the same thing a couple weeks ago when the Sox were in the Bronx laying the smacketh down on that bunch of misfits? Yea, I thought so. Me thinks the Yanks will find 3rd place before 1st place again!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Pettittes 250th career win was a gem.... who was chirping for him to retire recently

Pettite now has a career record of 250-145, 105 games over .500. Anyone know how many Hall of Fame pitchers are more than 105 games over .500?

 

[lgna69xxx]

Are you just doing that so rumples or merlot have something to post about after the outcomes of todays games?

Jeff Hamilton, Mark Trombo, Mike Trout, Howie Kendrick. Sometimes teams with good lineups don't hit as well as they should or can.

 

[lgna69xxx]

10 more wins and at least one more in postseason play and he will be a HOF'er for sure. As it stands right now, he may very well be already.

Pettite now has a career record of 250-145, 105 games over .500. Anyone know how many Hall of Fame pitchers are more than 105 games over .500?

 

[daydreamer41]

Not really, i never doubt a Steinbrenner owned/Cashman led Yankees team, not for a second. I believe in great leadership first and foremost and they give us Yanks fans just that.

Pettittes 250th career win was a gem.... who was chirping for him to retire recently

Well, that guy thinks every Yankee a day over 30 should retire and every Red Sox should play until he is 50 (e.g. Andrew Miller ... didn't he walk a batter with the bases loaded today after loading up the bases?)