Our National Pastime: 2015 Baseball Thread

[daydreamer41]

How in the world did they let a bean ball thrower like Pedro Martinez in the Hall of Fame?

I tell you.

[video=youtube;zD5PsaihtH4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD5PsaihtH4[/video]

 

[Merlot]

Honest fans,

Pedro Martinez Believes 60% of MLB Players Were Using PEDs During His Career

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...mlb-players-were-using-peds-during-his-career

Pedro Martinez is one of the most dominant pitchers in modern baseball history, and his accomplishments remain even more impressive because they came at the height of the steroid era. Still, there has long been a debate about just how many of the hitters Martinez faced were juicing.

In an interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Thursday, Martinez put his own number on the issue: 60 percent. The future Hall of Famer, who will be inducted alongside fellow steroid era stars Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio later this month, said he had no regrets despite the competitive balance disadvantage.

"How did I feel like pitching in the juiced era? I wouldn’t want it any other way," Martinez said, per Nightengale. "There's no crying. I know I did it the right way."

The so-called steroid era ran from the early 1990s through 2003, when baseball finally implemented performance-enhancing drug testing. A large majority of that era's best players, most notably Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, have been unable to gain Hall of Fame votes due to their (in some cases alleged and others proven) steroid use.

Martinez, 43, went 219-100 with a 2.93 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across his 18 MLB seasons. His 1999 and 2000 campaigns are among the best for a starting pitcher in history, as he earned back-to-back Cy Youngs and nearly won an MVP award during the height of the steroid era. He was also an integral member of the 2004 Red Sox team that won the World Series, breaking the "Curse of the Bambino" in the process.

The Red Sox announced last month that they would be retiring Martinez's No. 45 on July 28. Not a bad result for a player who was 165 pounds soaking wet during an era of muscle-bound behemoths.

Maritinez achieved an ERA under 3.00 a total of 10 times, not counting the 1st year when he hardly played, and he achieved and ERA under 2.00. twice. For 6 times he was under 2.50, with one other year at 2.57. He achieved a 687% winning percentage going 219 and 100 with a career ERA of 2.98, and 6 times his WHIP was under 1.000. His 1999 season has been called the best season by a pitcher ever, and yet his 2000 season may have been even better according to some.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/12820/the-best-pitching-seasons-since-1960

15. Steve Carlton, 1980 Phillies

24-9, 2.34 ERA, 304 IP, 243 H, 90 BB, 286 SO, 15 HR

The last pitcher to throw 300 innings, Carlton led the NL in wins, innings, strikeouts and SO/BB ratio. He held opponents to a .218 average -- and this despite Greg Luzinski usually behind him in left field.

14. Gaylord Perry, 1972 Indians

24-16, 1.92 ERA, 342.2 IP, 253 H, 82 BB, 234 SO, 17 HR

A great season that nobody remembers, although Perry did win the Cy Young Award. While 1972 didn't see much hitting -- there was a reason the AL instituted the DH rule for the 1973 -- Perry's workload was amazing as he had 29 complete games and averaged 8.5 innings per start. That's a lot of spit. From May 6 through Aug. 5, he started 22 games and averaged more than nine innings per start, all while compiling a 1.55 ERA.

13. Randy Johnson 2002 Diamondbacks

24-5, 2.32 ERA, 260 IP, 197 H, 71 BB, 334 SO, 26 HR

Johnson captured his fourth straight Cy Young Award with one of his many dominant seasons. He allowed two runs or fewer in 22 of his 35 starts and struck out 15 or more four times. He also tightened up when it most counted, holding batters to a .174 average in "high-leverage" situations, with just one home run allowed in 154 at-bats.

12. Zack Greinke, 2009 Royals

16-8, 2.16 ERA, 229.1 IP, 195 H, 51 BB, 242 SO, 11 HR

Greinke hasn't been able to replicate the consistency, focus or, yes, the little bit of magic he had in 2009. He allowed one run or less in more than half of his starts -- 18 of 33 -- but due to lack of run support won just 12 of those 18 games. (Thank you, Royals teammates.) His relative lack of stamina prevents him from ranking higher as he pitched fewer than seven innings in 13 of his starts.

11. Greg Maddux, 1995 Braves

19-2, 1.63 ERA, 209.2 IP, 147 H, 23 BB, 181 SO, 8 HR

The shortened season cost Maddux a few starts, otherwise he'd rank even higher with the additional innings pitched. He allowed 39 runs (38 earned) in 28 starts and had a remarkable 0.81 WHIP. His .224 OBP allowed is the second-best since 1960 and his ERA+ is third-best (he ranked even better in 1994, although he did allow nine unearned runs that year.) Maddux allowed more than two runs just four times and more than three runs just twice. He painted the corners, got grounders, didn't give up home runs and dominated without just blowing batters away. Some say he also had a few extra innings off the plate to work with thanks to the kindness of the umpires.

10. Tom Seaver, 1971 Mets

20-10, 1.76 ERA, 286.1 IP, 210 H, 61 BB, 289 SO, 18 HR

The only season on our list not to result in a Cy Young trophy, as Seaver lost out to Fergie Jenkins, who went 24-13 with a 2.77 ERA for the Cubs. The vote actually wasn't a travesty; once you adjust for Shea Stadium and Jenkins' 39 more innings pitched, the seasons are close in value. However, Seaver did outpitch Jenkins by quite a bit on the road: 1.63 ERA versus 2.70 ERA, so I rate Seaver's season as better. Seaver's 9.1 K's per nine led the league, at a time when the league average was 5.4, a ratio of +69 percent. In 2011, the NL average is 7.2 K's per nine; a rate of +69 percent would equate to 12.2 K's per nine.

9. Ron Guidry, 1978 Yankees

25-3, 1.74 ERA, 273.2 IP, 187 H, 72 BB, 248 SO, 13 HR

My buddy Bish is going to punish me for not ranking Louisiana Lightning her, but this is a tough field. Guidry, all 160 pounds of him, threw 16 complete games and tossed nine shutouts. Guidry didn't lose until July, and in September, with the Yankees battling the Red Sox for the AL East title, he went 6-1 with a 1.19 ERA. He went 3-0 in four starts against the Red Sox. Can we have a re-do on that AL MVP vote?

8. Pedro Martinez, 1999 Red Sox

23-4, 2.07 ERA, 213.1 IP, 160 H, 37 BB, 313 SO, 9 HR

Pedro's second of three Cy Young reasons resulted in an opponents' batting line of .205/.248/.288, as he allowed just nine home runs while fanning 13.2 per nine, the second-highest total ever for a starter. He fanned 15 batters four times, 16 once and 17 once. He allowed more than four runs just once, a nine-run disaster after his All-Star start that landed him on the DL. In fact, that's the only strike against this season: He made just 29 starts. Well, that and these gloves he wore during the playoffs.

7. Randy Johnson, 2001 Diamondbacks

21-6, 2.49 ERA, 249.2 IP, 181 H, 71 BB, 372 SO, 19 HR

And if you want to give him extra credit for winning three games in the World Series, please do so. Johnson struck out 10 or more in 23 starts, including a record-tying 20 on May 8 against the Reds. His 13.4 K's per nine is the best ever for a starter, left-handed batters hit one home run off him all season and you didn't dare dig him against him: he also hit 18 batters. Yes

6. Sandy Koufax, 1966 Dodgers

27-9, 1.73 ERA, 323 IP, 241 H, 77 BB, 317 SO, 19 HR

You could flip a coin between any of Koufax's three Cy Young seasons (1963, '64, '66). His strikeout and hit rates were better in 1965 than 1966, but he also allowed 14 more runs in the same number of starts. He threw 11 shutouts in 1963, but had a big home park advantage that year. In 1966, he had 1.52 ERA at home and 1.96 on the road, his most even split, so I give '66 the nod. This was his final season, as he pitched in so much pain doctors were injecting steroids directly into the elbow joint, according to Jane Leavy's "Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy." Down the stretch, with the Dodgers battling for the pennant, he started seven times over the final 26 days, posting a 1.20 ERA.

5. Steve Carlton, 1972 Phillies

27-10, 1.97 ERA, 346.1 IP, 257 H, 87 BB, 310 SO, 17 HR

If you want to argue that Carlton's season was the best ever, I won't mount much of a disagreement. Carlton famously won nearly half of his team's 59 wins as he completed 30 of his 41 starts and threw eight shutouts. He held batters to a .207/.257/.291 line while making 31 starts on three days' rest. He allowed one home run to a cleanup hitter all season. And did you check the innings pitched total? The National League OPS that year was .680, not far below the .704 so far this season. Carlton's 12.2 WAR ranks No. 1 on Baseball-Reference's list since 1960.

4. Roger Clemens, 1997 Blue Jays

21-7, 2.05 ERA, 264 IP, 204 H, 68 BB, 292 SO, 9 HR

While the AL was batting .271/.340/.428 in 1997, Clemens dominated with a .213/.273/.290 line. He won the pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts while allowing zero runs or one run in 20 of his 33 starts. Clemens had many great seasons -- seven Cy Young Awards, seven ERA titles -- but 1997 stands out as his best. Red Sox fans just punched the wall in disgust.

3. Dwight Gooden, 1985 Mets

24-4, 1.53 ERA, 276.2 IP, 198 H, 69 BB, 268 SO, 13 HR

He allowed just a .201 average and .270 slugging percentage. Left-handed batters had a lower OPS off him than right-handers. In September, with the Mets fighting the Cardinals for a division title, he went 4-0 in six starts with a 0.34 ERA. His strikeout rate of 8.7 per nine may not appear to stand out now, but that's 58 percent better than the NL average. He even hit .226. And he did all this at 20 years of age while partying with Darryl Strawberry.

2. Bob Gibson, 1968 Cardinals

22-9, 1.12 ERA, 304.2 IP, 198 H, 62 BB, 268 SO, 11 HR

Yes, 1968 was the Year of the Pitcher, but even in a league where the league ERA was 2.99, Gibson's 1.12 ERA ranks as fourth-best ERA+ since 1968. He threw 13 shutouts (meaning he was just 9-9 if he didn't throw up a zero). You can find areas to nitpick: He allowed nine unearned runs, he averaged just 7.9 K's per nine (although that was second-best mark in the NL). But this is what stands out most to me: He pitched seven innings his first two starts of the season ... and then at least eight every start after that. The man literally didn't have a bad game all season.

1. Pedro Martinez, 2000 Red Sox

18-6, 1.74 ERA, 217 IP, 128 H, 32 BB, 284 SO, 17 HR

Can a guy who pitched 87 fewer innings than Gibson have had a better season? (Vote in the poll!) Pedro's opponent batting line is just sick: .167/.213/.259. Absolutely incredible. He was throwing 95-mph Wiffle balls that year, unhittable heaters and changeups and curveballs with precise location. The AL ERA in 2000 was 4.92, giving Pedro the best adjusted ERA since 1960. I think I answer it this way: If I wanted one of these guys pitching at his peak in a game to save the future of mankind, I'd take 2000 Pedro Martinez.

So opponents had .167 BA, .213 OBP, .259 SLG all in the height of the steroid era by a guy who weighed only 167...that is FREAKING SICK.

The Red Sox and Mets made the list twice though the Mets had two different pitchers do it, while the Sox had Pedro Twice.

MAGNIFICENT :thumb:,

Merlot

 

[Merlot]

Honest Fans,

Don Zimmer on Pedro about the fight: "He didn't do nothin wrong".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObKTIDwdWD8

Bravo,

Merlot

 

[daydreamer41]

Honest Fans,

Don Zimmer on Pedro about the fight: "He didn't do nothin wrong".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObKTIDwdWD8

Bravo,

Merlot

Who you talking to straw man? lggy, Joe, Smuler and myself? You're not including yourself in the honest camp if you are truly honest. :nod:

 

[Merlot]

Honest fans,

Red Sox pitching has been decent in two games. Miley was awesome carrying on his streak of steady performances that could have been a win, but run support was gone on Friday. Yesterday Porcello managed to cut his usual abundant fireworks display in half only giving up 3 runs, yet again there wasn't any run support. Was it opposition pitching? Richards is pretty darn good but Wilson is a .500 pitcher right now. The Sox are still leaving many runs on the bases and making stupid errors. That has been one of their biggest problems from the start. Straighten out what was disastrous pitching for 6 weeks and there's still very poor defense and shaky hitting.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/..._sox/2015/07/red_sox_shut_out_by_angels_again

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Rick Porcello is making progress, but the Red Sox needed better against the Angels last night.

Manager John Farrell was pleased with Porcello’s outing, noting that, “when he’s missed, he’s missed to the extreme rather than the middle of the plate. That’s a major step forward.”

And yet the five innings of three-run ball Porcello submitted were far from good enough, especially when the Red Sox were carefully eviscerated by Angels starter Garrett Richards in a 3-0 loss.

Richards was in near-perfect form in his complete game, allowing just two hits to a Red Sox team that has yet to be heard from since returning from the four-day All-Star break.

Porcello needed to be at his best, but he’s been far from it this year. He said his goal is simply to “give us a chance to win every fifth day. That’s it.”

The 26-year-old native of New Jersey toiled in muggy conditions at Angel Stadium, lowering his season ERA from 5.90 to 5.79.

Porcello may have been less than his usual abysmal last night but though he only make $12,500,000 this year (which is high anyway) he's still a $21,125,000 disaster in waiting overall.



Merlot

 

[Joe.t]

Worst pitching in the AL is acting up again.:yield:

 

[daydreamer41]

Worst pitching in the AL is acting up again.:yield:

Honest?

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.j...393&sortColumn=era&sortOrder='asc'&extended=0

 

[Joe.t]

Honest?

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.j...393&sortColumn=era&sortOrder='asc'&extended=0

It looks like the Eduardo experiment is over.:lol:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/inde...me=2015_07_20_bosmlb_anamlb_1,game_state=Live

 

[lgna69xxx]

Honest fans,

the red sox in fact do SUCK

I really hope they make the trade for Hammels or Johnny C of the reds because they will be giving up what little top prospects they do have for a guy that won't help them to a title anyways, let alone help them make the playoffs :lol:

 

[daydreamer41]

Honest fans,

the red sox in fact do SUCK

I really hope they make the trade for Hammels or Johnny C of the reds because they will be giving up what little top prospects they do have for a guy that won't help them to a title anyways, let alone help them make the playoffs :lol:

Honest fans!!!!

The Red Sox just lost 11-1, and their #1 prospect E-rod lasted 1.2 innings, gave up 7 ER, 6 Hits, 3 Walks, (WHIP 5.32) and 0 K. I remember some fan said if E-rod gets past the 4th inning, he can't be beat.

If they throw in e-rod for Johnny C or Hammels, the Red Sox probably would only to give up Betts, Bogaerts, and Holt and a few to be named. :yield:

PITCHERS IP H R ER BB SO ERA
E. Rodriguez(L, 5-3) 1.2 6 7 7 3 0 4.64

Cheers,

...

 

[daydreamer41]

Honest fans,

The Red Sox lost the 2nd game of a doubleheader against the LA Angels. They are 9 games behind the FIRST PLACE NY Yankees.

Do you honestly think you will see another Red Sox fan (except for the obvious) in here posting the rest of the season?

Cheers,

Honest poster

 

[Merlot]

Honest FANS,

I'll underline both words today because both are in question concerning alleged pinstripe lovers. About FANS more importantly, where are they?????????? A "fan" is a follower of a team. While I post about my team honestly, the so-called Yankees (can't call them fans lately) boys aren't saying anything about their alleged team. Even pinky hasn't mentioned them. No posts about the Yankees and how they are doing by the two former Yankees fans left on the board (abandoned by two others) since July 12 while the team has been winning more often than not. Do you guys care how that team is doing or is bitching the real purpose of your presence in this thread? By the evidence the answer is the latter by far. That's not being the fan of a team, that's being nothing but a vulture. Are you guys fans or vultures?

It looks like the Eduardo experiment is over.:lol:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/inde...me=2015_07_20_bosmlb_anamlb_1,game_state=Live

Yes, Eduardo had one of those disaster innings. Farrell and a scout said he was not tipping his pitches this time but they were up and lacked "command". Of course Joe Blow needs to jump in on this. Why would he also show any interest in his own team when he can do his usual vulture dance.

No denying the stop with the Angels was just awful, especially after the Red Sox had shown some good life for two weeks before the All-Star break. Still when I've been hearing all the speculation about whether the Sox should go for a big trade or not to salvage the season I have to laugh. It's been a lost season for quite some time. Honest fans are enjoying individual play, not having delusions about going anywhere this season. So if the debacle in Los Angeles helps stop the nonsense about trading players of the future for the same failed quick fix crap that helped lead to this lost season I'm happy about that.

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[daydreamer41]

VERY HONEST FANS

I underline, bold and supersize honest fans because the NY Yankees are in first place tonight 5 games ahead of all teams, and soon to be 10 games ahead of the Very Very Bad Boston Red Sox.

And VERY HONEST FANS, why is Merlot the only Boston Red Sox fan left posting here? Hasn't anyone told him HONESTLY, there is very little hope left?

 

[Merlot]

Honest Fans,

How to put more power...into your BAT!

Works for me.

Merlot

 

[Joe.t]

Losing record at home.
Losing record on the road.
Last place in the division.
Worst Team ERA in the AL.
Worst record in AL.:yield:

As we enter another year, I thought I'd kick things off with Ben Lindbergh's analysis of our teams. Note that while the stats project the Yankees to win one more game than the Jays, he thinks the Jays will beat their projection and finish second, while the Yankees will miss theirs and finish last.

His piece is very long and detailed, so I'll just post the Projected Records and Summaries. The complete article is here: https://grantland.com/the-triangle/mlb-2015-al-east-preview-red-sox-blue-jays-orioles-rays-yankees/

Red Sox - Projected Record and Over/Under: 87-75 — OVER. Asked to project the team’s win total on the Red Sox preview episode of Effectively Wild, Providence Journal beat writer Tim Britton said, “There’s what I think this team as currently constituted would do, and there’s what I think this team, if they show a small weakness and try to fix it at the deadline, would do.” That’s a potentially important distinction. To the extent that a buyer’s market can exist in an era when anyone can win, this summer figures to be a favorable time to shop for top-of-the-rotation starters, several of whom will hit free agency at the end of the year.

Even if the Sox can’t sublet a starter, though, their staff won’t be as big a vulnerability as it seems on the surface. Run prevention isn’t all about pitching: The Sox project to have the AL’s second-best defense, by both DRS and UZR,2 and slick fielders — like Dustin Pedroia, whose glove makes him one of the game’s best second basemen even when hand problems sap his power at the plate — make contact-prone pitchers look good. And that’s without accounting for the full impact of Christian Vazquez, whose defensive DNA appears to be Molina-esque. Vazquez projects to save 28 runs thanks to pitch framing over a full season, according to Baseball Prospectus’s Called Strikes Above Average, which puts him one run off the pace for the major league lead. He’s also superb at controlling the running game: In 55 big league games last year, he led all catchers in another BP defensive stat, Basestealing Attempts Above Average. After accounting for pitchers, baserunners, and game states, Vazquez reduced base stealing attempts by 9.2 percent.

In a division full of flawed teams, the Red Sox’s unmatched offense, solid defense, and deep pockets make them the favorite.

:lol:

 

[daydreamer41]

Honest Fans,

How to put more power...into your BAT!

Works for me.

Merlot

Honest fans,

I bet she can hit better than David Ortiz and pitch better than Rick Porcello (which is not saying that is she is any good in baseball).

Cheers

 

[daydreamer41]

Losing record at home.
Losing record on the road.
Last place in the division.
Worst Team ERA in the AL.
Worst record in AL.:yield:



:lol:

You forgot 11 games back from the First Place New York Yankees (I bet that hurts the HONEST Red Sox fan).

 

[Doc Holliday]

The A's traded Scott Kazmir to the Astros for three prospects. He was due to pitch today against the Jays prior to the trade. The Jays supposedly were very close to obtaining him and were very disappointed they lost out.

 

[lgna69xxx]

So barring a miracle and the rouge hosers run off 8 or 9 wins before the trade deadline to give them hope (lol, hey i did say a miracle) who will they dangle as trade bait? A better question might be who would want any of their veterans? I would say perdroia brings in a decent return of draft picks or prospects but that is about it. dAve ortiz would get maybe a 18th round draft pick, napoli and victorino worse picks and maybe that old japanese closer gets something a little better like a 15th rounder but man, what a sad state of affairs that team is in, isn't it just lovely?

Meanwhile, the train in the Boogie Down Bronx keeps picking up steam. Another strong outing by Tanaka today and the Yankees bats pounded out 13 hits. Word going around the rumour mill has the Yanks looking to add another relief pitcher, Chapman from the Reds would be the perfect scenario and solidify the Yanks bullpen as the very best in the game if it already isn't.

 

[Joe.t]

Sabermetrics anyone!!!!.:lol:

Third best team in the AL.