The Official 2012 Major League Baseball Thread

[Merlot]

And you can disagree... thats your opinion and your entitled to it, but so am i and to many baseball fans not just Yankees fans, this is truly NOT home field advantage no matter how you look at it., Even my buddy who is a O's fan said the Yanks got robbed. Oh well, it is what it is.... Just means the Yanks get to win the series at home so all is not lost

,

You didn't make any posts on this issue before the playoffs and your $30 million fading fake struck out to end the game. Now all of a sudden it matters to you. Typical! There's nothing like whining after the fact.

http://hypervocal.com/culture/2012/kkk-rod-espn/

Congratulations to KKK-Rod as ESPN called him. I heard this morning he now has the record for playoff strike outs. One has to wonder why after game 1 when A-Rod did so poorly that Girardi didn't move one of the hottest hitters, Cano, up in the order with Rodriguez doing so poorly. At best he should be hitting 5th, and that's a gift. The failure to adjust the line-up probably cost the Yankees the game last night. DOH!!!

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/harper-a-rod-woes-striking-article-1.1178071

Simply put, they played a sloppy game in the infield and were fortunate Andy Pettitte pitched around errors and misplays to keep his team in the game right to the end. And once again they repeatedly failed to hit in the clutch.

Still, Cano is the only Yankee hitter that truly scares other managers these days, which is why Buck Showalter chose to have a lefty, Brian Matusz, pitch to switch-hitter Nick Swisher with the tying run on third in the seventh inning, intentionally walking Cano rather than go lefty-lefty against him.

“He’s one of the hottest hitters in baseball,’’ Showalter said. “No disrespect to anybody else in that lineup. It’s just a chance we took.’’

Showalter surely would have made the same move, no matter who was hitting behind Cano, but that’s not the point. By hitting Cano behind A-Rod these days, even if it’s only one slot, the Yankees aren’t giving themselves the best chance to win.

And let’s face it, Rodriguez hasn’t looked like a No. 3 hitter for quite some time, as he continues to search for his power stroke.


...and Rose got what he deserved.

Happy ENDINGS,

Merlot

 

[lgna69xxx]

Sour "Grapes" still Merlot? Nobody brought it up before so why does that mean I cant offer my opinion on it now??? :crazy: Haha, cheer up lil fella, the red sox undid the mistake of hiring Bobby V last week so that is a start, and your saying i did not post in here for awhile? Where have YOU been all season? Bwhahahahaahahahahaah,,,, ok pot, or is it kettle?

Rose got shafted and any real baseball fan understands this, what he did on the field deserves to be recognised in the HOF, case closed. He was accused of cheating as a manager, not as a player and had Bart Giamatti not died, he was on his way to putting Rose there, selig will forever be remembered for 2 things, looking the other way on the steroid issue while his pockets were being filled with millons off record sales during those years, when he knew what was going on, and 2, Rose.

 

[Joe.t]

Josh Hamilton a Yankee next year?, good chance.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121009&content_id=39638048&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

[lgna69xxx]

Love "The Natural" Josh Hamilton, big big fan of his, BUT I do not want him if it means we cant keep Swisher and Granderson soon after. Josh is also always one drink/drug away from disaster and in a city like that of the great NYC, temptation is too "high" for him. Let him go to boston or better yet, stay in Texas. I would hate to see him play in a huge rabid market like NY, for his sake.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Yankees will never sign Hamilton for the reasons Iggy mentioned, cost, and his age. It's more likely they will sign Swisher if they can get a hometown discount on a 4 year deal, or Ichiro on a one year deal. Cano and Granderson's contracts are up after 2013 and there is only money to sign one, probably Cano. That money cannot go to Hamilton, or the Yankees could lose both.

By the ways the two youngest free agent outfielders are BJ Upton and Delmon Young who I think are both 28. Of those two I think Upton will get better offers, despite that he has underachieved as much as Young.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Jon Heyman was saying Swisher is the odd man out but what does he know?

 

[EagerBeaver]

Jon Heyman was saying Swisher is the odd man out but what does he know?

He knows shit. Swish could stay in NYC if he takes a hometown discount, and I think he will because he is having too much fun to leave. I personally think he is a very valuable player and I would like him to stay. I am also very impressed with Ichiro and he still has lots of game, but the Yankees need to get younger and Gardner will be back healthy next year. I don't think Ichiro is ready to be a 4th outfielder yet, he still has way too much game.

 

[lgna69xxx]

I also think Swish will be back and at that hometown discount, you dont let the heart and soul guys go without at least trying to get em locked up, and Cashman aint no fool. I can see them offering Ichiro a one yr deal for another "hometown" discount, even tho Itchy has not been in the "boogie down Bronx" for long, he LOVES being a NYY! So i could see him taking a one yr deal in the 5mil range to try to get a ring, hopefully his second ring

 

[daydreamer41]

No to Hamilton. He's 31 and he'll want a long term contract.

I think the Yankees will keep Ichiro, resign Swisher, be glad that Gardner is back. They will resign Ibanez for another seas.

The odd man out will be Andruw Jones. Nunez will be the utility infielder.

I think Girardi's strategy of plateauing players and rotating the DH is a good one. It gives players needed breaks and other backup players playing time.

 

[daydreamer41]

Terry Francona is going to manage the Cleveland Indians.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8...dian-terry-francona-hopes-more-rental-manager

 

[EagerBeaver]

Rose: Jeter Won't Break My Record

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/rose_yankees_jeter_won_break_my_2u52zHlwdyJgLkwbtPr9uL

 

[Doc Holliday]

Pete Rose

I used to believe that he deserves to be in the Hall. At first, i believed him. I thought Giamatti & Vincent were the bad guys & out to get him. And then i began to be skeptical. As time went on, he wrote a book & admitted that he indeed had gambled on baseball. He says that he only did it as a manager. Having once been a compulsive gambler myself, i don't buy it. He's full of shit. He lied before, and he's likely lying again.

But that's not the point. Whether or not he gambled as a player or manager, he's still dirty. And he has since admitted to this. He compromised the game & caused many fans to question it after his recent revelations.

I once met Pete Rose during one of my trips to Vegas. He was at a signing show @Caesar's Palace. They had Ernie Banks there, other sports legends. Where was Pete Rose, i asked? It turns out that they had 'hid' him on the 3rd floor, away from all the others. They were embarrassed to have him there. I felt sorry for him at the time, but today, i regret even going up there to meet him and shake his hand. I didn't pay for an autograph, but did get a picture taken of him.

Pete Rose is a corrupt individual. He was a great player, and later a so-so manager. But he hurt the integrity of the game. He lied about his innocence at first, then eventually came clean only when there was money to be made by writing a book. People like him do not belong in the Hall. He's even worse than the cheaters, a.k.a. Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Raffy Palmeiro & countless others who tainted the game.

Go O's!!!!!! :thumb:

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Pete Rose is a corrupt individual.

Pete Rose is a scumbag. If Ty Cobb is the Dick Cheney of baseball, Pete Rose is the George W. Bush

Go O's!!!!!! :thumb:

You bet. Wotta story.

 

[lgna69xxx]

My point EXACTLY! Everyone has their demons, but the man played the game with integrity and hustle on the field 100% of the time, as a PLAYER, when on the field he respected the game whether anyone cares to believe it or not. what he did off the field is not on trial here but what he did on it. If he was betting while a player, which has never been proven or admitted to, it probably made him even better a player cause the guy gave his all every second.

Never said he is a "good" guy, but was a fantastic baseball player, one of the best EVER and thats what the hof is about, great "players" not just great "guys" and honoring what they did "on the field", which few ever did it better.

Pete Rose

He was a great player

 

[Doc Holliday]

Sure, he was a great baseball player. But he broke the cardinal rule: YOU DON'T BET ON BASEBALL. He admitted it while being an employee of Major League Baseball, while wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform. Once a compulsive gambler myself, it's likely that he gambled as a player. You just don't become a compulsive gambler from one day to the next, for example "Alright, now i'm the manager of the Reds, so it's okay for me to start gambling on baseball now!" And since he lied to millions with a straight face for years about how deep his addiction was, like any addict, the chances are he was lying about not gambling as a player. In my heart, i'm almost 90% sure he gambled as a player. It only makes sense.

Most people would have lied had they were in his shoes. But they still would have thrown away their chances of ever entering the Hall the minute the gambled on baseball while being employees of MLB.

He not only destroyed his own reputation, but he also hurt the game's integrity in so many ways.

If Pete Rose is allowed to enter the Hall, then why have rules such as no betting on baseball? Everyone else would do it if a gambling addict like Rose is allowed to get in.

Sorry Pete, but you knew the rules. You got caught lying about your addiction, and finally you admitted to gambling on baseball games on a regular basis. You snooze, you lose!

 

[Doc Holliday]

If he was betting while a player, which has never been proven or admitted to, it probably made him even better a player cause the guy gave his all every second.

What????????

 

[EagerBeaver]

Pete Rose is a scumbag, but he was an excellent player. I think he was originally a second baseman but ended up shifting to 3rd base when the Reds got Joe Morgan and eventually to 1st base when he went to the Phillies. The Phillies never won anything until Rose got there.

I can still remember his fight with Bud Harrelson in the 1973 NLCS. The Reds should not have lost that series nor should they have lost the 1972 World Series to the Oakland As. There were some bad baserunning mistakes that caused the latter loss. In 1975 and 1976 the Big Red Machine won it all despite not having a great pitching staff. In fact the only good starting pitcher they had was Don Gullett who later played for the Yankees but got hurt (rotator cuff tear I believe). The rest of their staff was average.

I remember Rose's 44 game hitting streak in 1978 which nobody has matched since then.

Strictly as a player, he was great and very smart also, which is somewhat surprising because he sounds like a trailer trash kind of guy in interviews. But he knew how to play ball and when he was at 3rd base in the mid 1970s with Concepcion at SS, Morgan at second base, Tony Perez at 1B and Bench at catcher it was one heck of an infield.

 

[Doc Holliday]

In 1975 and 1976 the Big Red Machine won it all despite not having a great pitching staff. In fact the only good starting pitcher they had was Don Gullett who later played for the Yankees but got hurt (rotator cuff tear I believe). The rest of their staff was average.

Don Gullett was a hell of a pitcher & it's a shame he wound up getting injured. He had the stuff it took to get to the HOF. But i also remember a terrific young reliever during those series: Rawley Eastwick. I also believe he wound up with arm problems later in his career, which also ended prematurely.

By the way, i agree with everything you said about Pete Rose's character. A fucking asshole, but also a fucking great ballplayer. He should have played Ty Cobb in the movie!

The Big Red Machine had some great players, including the ones you mentionned but also a great homerun hitter at the time: George Foster.

Go O's!!! :thumb:

 

[lgna69xxx]

EB, your dead on about Jeter, the guy just fouls off balls until he gets his pitch, dare i say he is on his way to being a top 10 player of all time before his 1st ballot hof career is over? Top 5 maybe? GREAT Player, GREAT YANKEE!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Girardi has a big pair of testicles hanging between his legs to pinch hit Ibanez for A-Rod! Guts!