2013 Official Major League Baseball Thread.

[Merlot]

Hey BOYZ,

Yeeeeaaaaaah that's right, the Boston Red Sox are back in FIRST PLACE! Joe, Iggy Beav, DD, mr. cut and paste. :eyebrows:

So what happened to the collapse, Joe. Or are you too busy squirting all over your computer screen over a one game hitting streak to have noticed just who's on top again?

Which consequently means Iggy is all wet. Joe, meant the collapse of his prediction...as always.

For the record, Iggy never worked in a pretzel factory.

You really felt it necessary to make this reply. OMG!!! Hook...line...sinker. :lol:

LESSON #1: DON'T PISS OFF PAPI!!!

That's right, after a brief absence the Boston Red Sox are back in 1st place. One major reason is John Lester and his rock solid performance, the other major reason is David Ortiz who took revenge for a poor call by personally beating the hell out of the Orioles pitching, a team that has been very tough against Boston for the last two years. Of course it was nice that the Yankees finally did their job instead of throwing games like they did last year at the end of 2012, and still it was a matter of 2 inches when a slightly late fielder missed catching a reachable Soriano homer by a very slim margin.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/boston-red-sox-david-ortiz-beat-baltimore-orioles-072813

BALTIMORE (AP)

David Ortiz put his bat to good use, Jon Lester rekindled his dominance of the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox climbed back into first place in the AL East.

All in all, the Red Sox couldn't have found a better way to end a whirlwind weekend.

Lester allowed four hits over seven innings, Ortiz went 4 for 4 with his 20th home run and Boston used a 5-0 victory Sunday to earn their first series win over the Orioles in two years.

As a bonus, the Red Sox took a half-game lead over Tampa Bay, which lost to the Yankees. Boston stood atop the division for 60 straight days before a defeat Friday night ended the run. The Rays visit Fenway Park for a makeup game Monday night.

Mike Napoli had two doubles and an RBI for the Red Sox, who took two of three from the third-place Orioles. Boston had lost six straight series to Baltimore since a four-game sweep in July 2011.

All four hits against Lester (10-6) were singles. He struck out eight, walked two and did not allow a runner past second base. The right-hander improved his lifetime record against the Orioles to 15-2, although he lost his previous two decisions against them.

"They've always been a tough team to pitch against," Lester said of the Orioles. "They've always had a great offensive lineup. Our guys did a good job today with (Orioles starter Jason) Hammel, making him work and giving me a couple of runs, giving me a cushion to work with."

On Saturday night, Ortiz shattered the casing of two dugout phones with his bat after being ejected from the game. On Sunday, he opted to take his swings at Baltimore pitchers.

Ortiz hit a two-run shot off Hammel (7-8) in the third inning to put Boston up 3-0. Big Papi has 12 consecutive 20-homer seasons, the last 11 with Boston. Only Ted Williams, with 16, had more as a member of the Red Sox.

Ortiz also had three singles, tying his season high in hits.

"After taking it out on the phone ... he took it out on the baseball today," manager John Farrell said. "It was good to see."

Ted Williams would have had 21 straight 20-homer seasons if he hadn't spent 5 of his young and best years in the military, which cost his career about 150 home runs for a likely total of around 671.

President Romney...

But that's NOT BASEBALL, Merlot.

Really, 3 of your 4 posts in a row have nothing to do with baseball...sir hypocritus. Just back and slipping right away huh. Be careful.

NOTE: Anyone seen Chercher?

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

The Boomer is gone. RIP.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scottge02.shtml

 

[Joe.t]

YAWOZA boys!!!!, that didn't last too long now did it, back to second place you go, you will never see the light of first place again, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way to third place(very soon).


http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_standings

I hope that they throw the book at that roid rage, ravaged body called David Ortiz, he almost hit his own coach with a flying elbow pad and could have easily injured the Sox best player Pedroia with the childish, temper tantrum, fit that the threw, what a classless bum, can you imagine if Pedroia got hit with the bat, he might have been killed, if he doesn't get suspended then there is something very wrong.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

If Jeter and A-Rod and Granderson and Cervelli all come back soon

Won't be much of the season left when Cervelli's suspension runs out. And A-Rod, don't be holding your breath, young fella.

not to mention the fireballing Pineda, a run can still be made.

Don't you think they'll wait until he can get minor league hitters out on a regular basis?

 

[Doc Holliday]

Just heard that the Sox are sending Peavy to the Sox, while the Sox will ship Iglesias & possibly another player to the Sox in return.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Peavy is indeed coming to Boston and the cost is verrrry low. It's a three way deal with Jose Iglesias going to Detroit. The Red Sox also get reliever Brayan Villareal, a live arm, low command pitcher, who was great last year, sucked in the early going this year and has been at Toledo since April.

The haul for Chicago is the very talented Avisail Garcia, possibly Detroit's best prospect, plus three marginal prospects from the Red Sox lower minors, two live arms and one light hitting middle infielder.

With two of the Sox' top prospects, Marrero and Bogaerts, both shortstops and Bogaerts considered among the top three prospects in all of baseball, there just wasn't much future in Boston for Iglesias' defensive wizardry.

While Brandon Workman has been fabulous as a starter, 5 runs in three starts over 18 innings, he's already within 20 innings of his career high with 1/3 of the season and the playoffs still to go. He'll be a great right arm in the bullpen.

Meanwhile, out on the coast, the light hitting, pitching poor Yankees continue to fade. As they approach .500, two questions loom: 1. Can they hold off the Jays for the AL East cellar. 2. Will they trade Robinson Cano and Hiroki Kuroda before this afternoon's deadline. According to MLBTR, they've been trying to deal Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain but are finding no interest.

In other news, Francisco "Babe" Cervelli is about to become the third member of the 2009 World Champion* Yankees to be suspended for PED use. Who's next? Gardner? Jeter? The admitted user Pettitte? Sabathia? Stay tuned.

 

[Merlot]

Peavy is indeed coming to Boston and the cost is verrrry low. It's a three way deal with Jose Iglesias going to Detroit.

While Brandon Workman has been fabulous as a starter, 5 runs in three starts over 18 innings, he's already within 20 innings of his career high with 1/3 of the season and the playoffs still to go. He'll be a great right arm in the bullpen.

Hmmm,

I wasn't enthusiastic about Peavy before the trade and I'm not sure I like the long term prospect. The Sox have had a number of starters and relievers with serious past injuries the last few years and they generally have not worked out well.

Workman looks very good as a starter. But tends to start slow and a bit unsteady before getting strong as the innings go on. His curve and cutter were devastating at time last night. Unfortunately relievers can't afford to spend an inning working the kinks out.

It's very hard to see Iglesias go. He's very sharp in the field, can play at least three infield positions very decently to great, and no doubt would be solid at first. The guy has worked very hard to develop his bat and now that he seems to have turned a corner there he's gone.

Meanwhile the much heralded rising of the Yankees, heralded only by desperate fanboys, are sinking deeper into oblivion. The oft-predicted resurrection has been entertaining though our local fanboys can't decide whether to stay in their holes under the rock, or stick their heads out for one-win streaks only to crawl back in. The word is remote control granite doors for quick access are the rage in bronxville.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jul/10/biogenesis-yankees-rodriguez-brewers-braun-suspensions

If Jeter and A-Rod and Granderson and Cervelli all come back soon

With MLB suspensions seeming imminent the impact on the Yankees future could be significant, though with A-Rod a suspension would be irrelevant and possibly a bonus.

Rodriguez is looking awful in every possible way as he attempts to get back to the Bronx following his hip surgery, managing a single hit in 12 at bats, striking out three times and being hit by a pitch for Yankees lower minor-league affiliates Charleston and Tampa Bay. The Daily News reported on 26 June that sources believe Rodriguez will say he is unable to perform physically, so he can retire and collect the remaining $114m on his contract. Right now, A-Rod looks bad, but it's still early in a process which consists of 20 rehab games.

So he totally sucks, but Beav says he'll help save the Yankees. Is that how bad the Yankees really are right now. As for the rest, I didn't know a player could retire during a contract and still get paid the full remaining amount. If that is true, if A-Rod-Career-Cheater had any brains at all he'd retire and collect before his guaranteed suspension loses him some of the money he's so eagerly greedy to keep. The guy has to be one of the greatest historical scumbags in sports history.

Farrell Exonerated:

The Toronto Blue Jays were supposed to be the beast in the East with allegedly major trade additions and a new manager that would make them a Series threat. Many had blamed Farrell in large part for how the Jays finished last year. Certainly this year injuries have played a role in their gross under-performance, but injuries have also significantly impacted the Yankees, and Red Sox with 6 pitchers on he DL. Yet Farrell has kept a patchwork team at or threatening to be at the top all year long while the Jays plummet 14.5 games out. In fact, if not for an admitted blown plate call Monday the Sox could be in 1st place now. Injuries aside, it looks more like organizational choices and basic strategies on the field have been the real factor of success. Red Sox chemistry and tactics have worked, the Jays have failed thus far.

In other news, Francisco "Babe" Cervelli is about to become the third member of the 2009 World Champion* Yankees to be suspended for PED use. Who's next? Gardner? Jeter? The admitted user Pettitte? Sabathia? Stay tuned.

Wait a minute, Joe.t and his fellow fanboys say Oritz is dirty. But then Joe is never right. No surprise since all of the Yankees last 5 championship teams have been heavily tainted with dirty players.

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Wait a minute, Joe.t and his fellow fanboys say Oritz is dirty. But then Joe is never right. No surprise since all of the Yankees last 5 championship teams have been heavily tainted with dirty players.

Actually, Ortiz is dirty...in Joe.T's alternate universe. Here in the real world one wonders if their will be any LH Yankees left after the hammer comes down tomorrow or Friday.

 

[Joe.t]

From Fangraphs-

Scrub 0-1 WAR
Role Player 1-2 WAR
Solid Starter 2-3 WAR
Good Player 3-4 WAR
All-Star 4-5 WAR
Superstar 5-6 WAR
MVP 6+ WAR

Jake Peavy - 1.2 WAR

Jake Peavy = Border line Role Player/Scrub according to the Fangraph chart, bottom line, nothing to get too excited about.

This is what Anthony Castrovince from MLB.com had to say on the Peavy deal.

I'll be honest and say I have some reservations about the blockbuster deal the Red Sox made for Peavy. It's hard to give up a young talent who can play a premium position with aplomb, as Iglesias can, and obviously Peavy is an injury risk even among injury risks, given the radical surgery that reattached his right shoulder tendon.

Again, though, this market didn't offer much, especially in terms of starting pitching, and Peavy's bulldog demeanor will fit in well in a revamped Boston clubhouse. Besides, while the Red Sox believe Clay Buchholz will be back in September, the uncertainty surrounding both Buchholz and Ryan Dempster made it clear Boston had to do something to ensure its rotation doesn't take a significant step back -- especially with the way the Rays' arms have been rolling lately. Sometimes you take the best of what's around, as Dave Matthews once sang, and that's what the Red Sox did.

Peavy's 4.28 ERA is nothing to get too excited about, but he'll benefit from the improved offensive and defensive support he'll receive from the Red Sox, who have him under contractual control through 2014. And while giving up Iglesias is tough, Boston was dealing from a position to depth, and the other prospects they yielded in the three-team traded aren't considered blue chippers.


Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Exactly, Joe. Peavy's 1.2 WAR has been earned in 80 innings, or 40% of a season. Over a full year, and certainly not a great one for him, he's having a 3.0 WAR season, or somewhere between Solid Starter and Good Player.

You nailed it. A great pickup for Ben Cherington, GM of the Year. Only your analysis was off base, but what's new.

BTW, Joe, are you familiar with the phrase "Quite While You're Ahead"? May I gently suggest that you quit while you're behind?

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Here you go, Joe:

Jeff Passen, Yahoo Sports:

"WINNERS
Boston Red Sox: The best player on the move was Jake Peavy, and he went to the team that needed him most. Between Peavy joining the Red Sox's rotation and Matt Moore hitting the disabled list for American League East-leading Tampa Bay, it was a fruitful 24 hours for the Red Sox, especially since they didn't give up any of their best prospects."

Keith Law, ESPN:

"The Red Sox get Peavy and Villarreal for a modest return, giving up a potential everyday shortstop and three long-shot minor leaguers, none of whom is likely to come back to bite them. Peavy is one of the league's top 10 starters or so when healthy.

He's a rare bird as a pitcher who uses six pitches, including both a four-seamer and sinker, with a cutter becoming his main secondary weapon this year -- a White Sox specialty -- and above-average command and plus control. He's more than just a Clay Buchholz replacement -- he's giving the Red Sox a slightly better arm at the top of their rotation, and helping boost the top three for the playoffs as well.

He's under team control next year at $14.5 million, with a player option triggered if he throws 320 innings between now and the end of next year, which may happen if the sun rises in the west tomorrow morning. They also pick up a hard-throwing but erratic reliever in Villarreal, who's 92-98 with a below-average (but very hard) slider, a project guy who's about a grade-and-a-half of control from being a useful bullpen arm. Even if it's just for a year and change of Peavy, this is a good deal for the Red Sox, given their place in the standings and uncertainty about Buchholz."

Want more, Joey boy?

 

[daydreamer41]

From Fangraphs-

Scrub 0-1 WAR
Role Player 1-2 WAR
Solid Starter 2-3 WAR
Good Player 3-4 WAR
All-Star 4-5 WAR
Superstar 5-6 WAR
MVP 6+ WAR

Jake Peavy - 1.2 WAR

Jake Peavy = Border line Role Player/Scrub according to the Fangraph chart, bottom line, nothing to get too excited about.

This is what Anthony Castrovince from MLB.com had to say on the Peavy deal.

I'll be honest and say I have some reservations about the blockbuster deal the Red Sox made for Peavy. It's hard to give up a young talent who can play a premium position with aplomb, as Iglesias can, and obviously Peavy is an injury risk even among injury risks, given the radical surgery that reattached his right shoulder tendon.

Again, though, this market didn't offer much, especially in terms of starting pitching, and Peavy's bulldog demeanor will fit in well in a revamped Boston clubhouse. Besides, while the Red Sox believe Clay Buchholz will be back in September, the uncertainty surrounding both Buchholz and Ryan Dempster made it clear Boston had to do something to ensure its rotation doesn't take a significant step back -- especially with the way the Rays' arms have been rolling lately. Sometimes you take the best of what's around, as Dave Matthews once sang, and that's what the Red Sox did.

Peavy's 4.28 ERA is nothing to get too excited about, but he'll benefit from the improved offensive and defensive support he'll receive from the Red Sox, who have him under contractual control through 2014. And while giving up Iglesias is tough, Boston was dealing from a position to depth, and the other prospects they yielded in the three-team traded aren't considered blue chippers.


Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I say Scrub, so Peavy fits in with the rest of the Red Sox pitching staff.

 

[daydreamer41]

Actually, Ortiz is dirty...in Joe.T's alternate universe. Here in the real world one wonders if their will be any LH Yankees left after the hammer comes down tomorrow or Friday.

Ortiz is dirty, e.g. recent dugout phone busting Roid rage.

 

[Joe.t]

Still awaiting his suspension by either the Red Sox or Selig, what a stark, raving, lunatic Ortiz is, I was shocked by his behavior, but I guess that's what steroids do to you, poor Jack McCormick must be walking on eggshells, I hope that he has the common sense to voluntarily hand over the free tickets in advance.

 

[daydreamer41]

Still awaiting his suspension by either the Red Sox or Selig, what a stark, raving, lunatic Ortiz is, I was shocked by his behavior, but I guess that's what steroids do to you, poor Jack McCormick must be walking on eggshells, I hope that he has the common sense to voluntarily hand over the free tickets in advance.

Red Sox fans look at Ortiz's behavior and declare it normal, and say that any objectors are living in an alternative world. Isn't it odd how upside down they are?

 

[Merlot]

YAWOZA boys!!!!, that didn't last too long now did it, back to second place you go, you will never see the light of first place again, ...on your way to third place(very soon).

But then Joe is never right.

Cheers,

Merlot

Hey BOYZ,

Did I call it...or...did I CALL IT!!! BACK IN 1ST PLACE AGAIN!!!

Read it and weep Joe. Hurts when the door hits your ass, huh Joe. :nod:

Huge...HUGE....HUGE win tonight. BOYZ.

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=330731102

BOSTON -- Stephen Drew singled in the winning run in the 15th inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners and back into first place in the AL East on Wednesday night.

Dustin Pedroia drew a leadoff walk and took second on a groundout by David Ortiz. Mike Napoli was walked intentionally and Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out. Jonny Gomes then walked, loading the bases, and Drew hit a liner just inside the right-field line as Pedroia scored the decisive run.

Boston moved a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay in the division. The Rays lost 7-0 Wednesday night to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Drew Britton (1-0) pitched two innings for his first major league win. Lucas Luetge (0-2) took the loss.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...er-mariners/ZPUH566I3s33riHwq903kM/story.html

Fenway Park slowly emptied out as the game dragged Wednesday night. By the bottom of the 15th inning, the Red Sox and those hardy fans remaining were looking for a hero.

It proved to be Stephen Drew. His two-out walkoff single gave the Red Sox a 5-4 victory against the Seattle Mariners.

It was the longest game of the season for the Sox and their 10th walkoff victory, the most since 1996.

The Sox have won four of their last five games and are back in first place by a half game as Tampa Bay lost, 7-0, against Arizona at home.

Dustin Pedroia drew a walk off Lucas Luetge (0-2) to start the winning rally. He took second on a groundout before Seattle intentionally walked Mike Napoli. Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out before Jonny Gomes walked to load the bases.

Drew then singled down the line in right and the Red Sox celebrated.


Cheerio,

Merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Toronto Blue Jays were supposed to be the beast in the East with allegedly major trade additions and a new manager that would make them a Series threat. Many had blamed Farrell in large part for how the Jays finished last year.

The beef against Farrell last season wasn't really in how he managed on the field. The criticism came from several veterans, mostly Omar Vizquel, who blamed Farrell and the rest of the coaching staff for their 'laisser-faire' attitude in regards to no one being held accountable for their mistakes, and those same mistakes piling up without the players being disciplined or benched. It was also implied that management's laisser-faire attitude had created an unhealthy atmosphere in the clubhouse due to the fact many veterans didn't like what they were seeing (and the coaching staff not doing anything about it). It also seemed like everyone on the team had the green light whenever they'd get on the basepaths.

Farrell was a player's manager in Toronto. As a person, he was well-liked by nearly every single player on the team. However, his lack of wanting to take-charge pissed off some of the veterans. Most of the observers & media did agree that Farrell's overall performance could not be judged properly due to the astronomical number of injuries to key players during his final stint in Toronto. Not only did he lose all-star Jose Bautista for the entire second-half of the season, but he lost 3 pitchers to Tommy John surgery in less than 10 days. When the pitching staff went down like flies, the team's chances took a nosedive & losing Bautista only sealed their feat.

Personally, it was hard to fault Farrell for leaving the Jays in order to accept his 'dream job' of managing the Red Sox. Hard to fault a guy for speaking the truth when asked about the Red Sox manager's job opening & if given the choice what would he do. No doubt Farrell learned from his mistakes as a rookie & sophomore big league manager and is partly responsible for the Red Sox' current success. To his credit, he did admit after his first season in Toronto that he had screwed up his managing of the pitching staff in that first year & owed it to his inexperience. In his second year, he wasn't given a fair chance to do so due to all the injuries to the pitching staff i mentionned earlier.

Personally, i believe the Jays miss Brian Butterfield a lot more than Farrell.

As for the recent trade the Red Sox made, it's hard to judge right now since who knows how Peavy will turn out. Personally, i think his best years are behind him, and appears to have become injury-prone. If they didn't have to give up Iglesias, i'd say it's a good trade for the Red Sox since Bucholz might be lost for the rest of the season. However, the kid Iglesias was having a phenomenal year & he may become an all-star for years to come.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Doc, Farrell's been a great clubhouse manager, but only a decent in-game manager. He's made a number of strategic errors, most recently Monday night, pinch running Daniel Nava instead of Jose Iglesias. That move took the Sox out of a big game against Tampa. The real genius behind the Sox this year is Ben Cherington. His roster composition has been nothing short of brilliant. I would imagine that he's also responsible for the astonishing depth in their farm system. The fact that he was able to pick up what many, read the reviews of the trade, regard as one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball for a spare part and three lottery tickets is remarkable.

Jose Iglesias was a spare part. He's probably a better hitter than he's been the last month, but no where near as good a hitter as he was the previous month. He reached base on an astonishing number of seeing eye ground balls and toppers. He has no power whatsoever; one extra base hit in 83 plate appearances in July. If he can hit .240 in the bigs, his glove will carry him. But as far as the Sox are concerned, there was no future for him. Xander Bogaerts could be up any day.

As for Peavy, I really don't know him well, just that everyone, everyone is raving about what a fine pitcher he is.

Here's Jayson Stark: "And among the rotation options that were available for a team with money -- Peavy, Matt Garza and Cliff Lee -- the Red Sox wound up with the guy who best fits their culture, whom they'll also have around for next year and whose cost in cash and prospects represented a steal compared with what it would have cost to reel in Lee."

Here's Keith Law: "He's a rare bird as a pitcher who uses six pitches, including both a four-seamer and sinker, with a cutter becoming his main secondary weapon this year -- a White Sox specialty -- and above-average command and plus control. He's more than just a Clay Buchholz replacement -- he's giving the Red Sox a slightly better arm at the top of their rotation, and helping boost the top three for the playoffs as well. "

Here's Ken Rosenthal: "More than one rival executive thought the Sox got off easy in landing Peavy from the White Sox and reliever Brayan Villarreal from the Tigers — and parting only with Iglesias and three lower-level prospects. As one rival exec noted, unhappily, “The Red Sox parlayed two lucky months from Iglesias into Jake Peavy.” Iglesias’ .244/.296/.292 batting/on-base/slugging line in 916 minor-league plate appearances might be a better indication of his true offensive ability. And let’s not forget, the Sox have a better shortstop prospect coming, Xander Bogaerts.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I say Scrub, so Peavy fits in with the rest of the Red Sox pitching staff.

You say scrub. You say a lot of things. Have you ever considered, even for one second, thinking before you say? No, didn't think so.

Let's compare Peavy's 1.2 war with a few other players. How about Andy Pettitte. What's aging Andy's WAR. How about 0.4. How's about CC Sabathia? Hmm. 0.1. How's about Phil Hughes? How about zero. How about David Phelps? He's below zero at -0.3.

And Peavy's missed 8 starts.

Ooops. You can take your foot out of your mouth any time now.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Definitely looks washed up at .375..

Dear Mr. Small Sample. Definitely looks washed up at .200..
Welcome back captain.:thumb: