The Official MERB 2010 Baseball Thread.

[Merlot]

Hello all,

Gentlemen!!! Ask yourselves. Is it worth getting the sports threads closed because of...SPELLING? WHO TF CARES! Please do your part, and forget the other guy's spelling. It ain't worth it.

Red Sox 10, Phillies 2

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Red-Sox-10-Phillies-2-33093041

Daniel Nava hit the first pitch he faced in the big leagues for a grand slam - only the second payer to do it - leading the Boston Red Sox to their second straight rout of the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-2 Saturday.

Nava connected on a fastball from Joe Blanton in the second inning and shortly after being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket. Kevin Kouzmanoff connected on the first pitch he saw Sept. 2, 2006, for Cleveland against Texas, according to STATS LLC.

Only four players in big league history have hit grand slams in their first at-bat...

....With his parents watching from the stands - and father operating a video camera - Nava came to bat with the Red Sox trailing 2-1 in the second. In one pitch he became the 10th player in Red Sox history to homer in his first at-bat, and just the second to hit a grand slam. Rip Repulski hit a slam on May 10, 1960.

He came up with the bases loaded again an inning later and received a standing ovation. But he struck out on a check swing with the crowd on its feet.

Continued...

Goodness, do the Red Sox own the Phillies or what. The last two nights add up to Boston 22, Philadelphia 4. And how about Daniel Nava tonight. One MLB pitch=one grand slam. What was it they said in the movie Bull Durham? "I want to announce my presence with authority". Well, we hear you loud and clear Mr. Nava!

SENSATIONAL,

Merlot

 

[Jman47]

Goodness, do the Red Sox own the Phillies or what. The last two nights add up to Boston 22, Philadelphia 4. And how about Daniel Nava tonight. One MLB pitch=one grand slam. What was it they said in the movie Bull Durham? "I want to announce my presence with authority". Well, we hear you loud and clear Mr. Nava!

Caught this live on the radio this afternoon as it happened...what a great moment for that kid! That's what I love about BB. Only the 4th time ever and 2nd time on the 1st pitch that someone hit a Grand Slam in their first MLB AB.

Congrats Daniel Nava...continued success young man! Keep following the dream kid.

Have fun,

Jman

PS M - relative to the spelling...I can forget...it's an obvious goad by a repeat offender that mods refuse to address. The answer is to discipline the offender (not shut down a thread), and it is never done (hence my reaction)...some posters should just go to smurfland...by style they would be a better fit there. Anyway...when I feel I'm wasting my time here...I'll just stop wasting it

 

[Special K]

Another solid 7 IP for this guy, improving to 6-5 after a horrible start, look out AL if Javy keeps pitching "good enuff" as the Yanks need him to. solid 5th starter in a deep rotation....... meanwhile 4 rbi's for Captain Jeter and Jorge Posada.... GO YANKEES!

Dude...it's the Astros! Too bad MLB favors the Yanks so much and can give them such easy teams to play in Interleague play. Ridiculous! Meanwhile the Sox are 4-1 against a stacked Phillies team.

 

[lgna69xxx]

last i checked the astros had MLB players signed to contracts its PROFESSIONAL Baseball, key word, P R O F E S S I O N A L .

Dude...it's the Astros! Too bad MLB favors the Yanks so much and can give them such easy teams to play in Interleague play. Ridiculous! Meanwhile the Sox are 4-1 against a stacked Phillies team.

 

[Jman47]

Dude...it's the Astros! Too bad MLB favors the Yanks so much and can give them such easy teams to play in Interleague play. Ridiculous! Meanwhile the Sox are 4-1 against a stacked Phillies team.

My sentiments exactly...the only thing standing in the way of the basement for Houston is the Pirates...LOL

 

[Jman47]

Chasin' the dream..What a great story... Red Sox OF Daniel Nava

In case you missed it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPoYFxM8-DA


Get to Know: Red Sox OF Daniel Nava
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Posted By George Winkler 12:29 PM

Every so often a sports story comes along that defies logic and reminds us why our games can be great. Enter Daniel Nava, who became only the second major leaguer to hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the show. (Kevin Kouzmanoff, 2006, Indians was the other.)

But that's not all that made Nava's story special. He had overcome great odds just to get that chance to appear in the Red Sox's lineup yesterday.

Nava weighed only 70 pounds when he started high school before undergoing a growth spurt in college. Now, he's listed at 5-11, 200 pounds.

But wait, it gets better.

Nava was a walk-on player in college at Santa Clara, but was cut and became the team's equipment manager. He returned to Santa Clara after two years playing at junior college but didn't get drafted in 2006 after a stellar senior season.

Nava played with the Chico Outlaws in an independent league and gained notice from Baseball America after a season when he hit .371 and had a 1.100 OPS in 72 games. That led the Red Sox signing him for $1 in 2008 and Nava gradually worked his way up the farm system.


So for $1 the Red Sox got an outfielder who hit a historic homer yesterday. That's quite a return on their modest investment.

As for Nava's fantasy value, it could be fleeting, but AL-only leaguers have a chance to ride the wave while they can. Nava is 27 and is filling in for Jacoby Ellsbury (ribs), whose return keeps getting pushed back. However, Nava will receive competition for playing time from veterans Bill Hall and Jeremy Hermida.

Still, it looks like manager Terry Francona knows a good story when he sees one, because Nava is in the starting lineup Sunday, batting ninth and playing left field.

Nava's minor league batting average over four seasons is .342, and he was hitting .294 at Pawtucket before getting called up. So, who knows, maybe he can have a little success on the big-league level, too? It's hard to count out a player who has shown such perseverance.

 

[Joe.t]

Another grand salami by Posada today, they should have a separate MVP award for players 38 years of age and over as far as I'm concerned, I know I would win it hands down if they had it in my softball league.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Quite a job tonight by AJ Burnett, who, by the way, sucks. His ERA is now a very handsome 4.33. Good thing the Yankees only owe him another $60,000,000.

Also noticed that the New York press is acknowledging what no one in New York wants to mention, the fact that balls off the bat of Alex Rodriguez that used to go out of the ballpark are now dying on the warning track. Good thing the Yankees only owe him another $198,000,000. He's really not having a bad season though. He does have almost as many home runs as Dustin Pedroia.

 

[Jman47]

Quite a job tonight by AJ Burnett, who, by the way, sucks. His ERA is now a very handsome 4.33. Good thing the Yankees only owe him another $60,000,000.

Also noticed that the New York press is acknowledging what no one in New York wants to mention, the fact that balls off the bat of Alex Rodriguez that used to go out of the ballpark are now dying on the warning track. Good thing the Yankees only owe him another $198,000,000. He's really not having a bad season though. He does have almost as many home runs as Dustin Pedroia.

Scientifically proven that the juice gets you that extra 5 - 10 ft. required to achieve launch...Manny is suffering from the same power outage...hmmm...

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Scientifically proven that the juice gets you that extra 5 - 10 ft. required to achieve launch...Manny is suffering from the same power outage...hmmm...

It also causes the body to break down at a younger age. (see: Garciaparra, Nomar) Rodriguez is showing the same signs of deterioration that drove Nomar to an early retirement. I wonder if the Yankees will be paying A-Rod while he's rocking in an easy chair with Cameron on his lap.

Tonight's discussion question: Does Mark Teixeira really suck? Please give detailed analysis with your response.

 

[lgna69xxx]

must be papi went to get some OJ recently then

Scientifically proven that the juice gets you that extra 5 - 10 ft. required to achieve launch...Manny is suffering from the same power outage...hmmm...

 

[Joe.t]

Igna- Must you quote Jman47, I have him on ignore and the only way that I see his fucktard posts is if people quote him, so do me favor and stop quoting him, the less I see of him and his rule breaking fucktard posts the better.

 

[Special K]

Well, after a horrendous start to the season and dealing with a multitude of key injuries, namely Beckett, Ellsbury, Dice-K, etc, the Sox find themselves now trailing the badly slumping NY Yankees and TB Rays by 1 measly game! Some wise gentleman once told me "that's why they play 162!" ;-)

 

[Merlot]

Hello all,

Well, after a horrendous start to the season and dealing with a multitude of key injuries, namely Beckett, Ellsbury, Dice-K, etc, the Sox find themselves now trailing the badly slumping NY Yankees and TB Rays by 1 measly game! Some wise gentleman once told me "that's why they play 162!" ;-)

A simple philosophy seems to be far more effective than indulging in sabermetrics. Shhhhh!

Who was that pitcher? Okay spot start by someone I never heard of named F. Doubront. Atchison was untouchable for 3 innings, and Bard came in firing like a canon. I saw him throw three straight at 99 mph to Manny and finally freeze him for a called strike with a nasty off speed pitch. In the mean time Ortiz, Beltre, and Drew all homered as the offense continues to produce very well.

In other news Brain Cashman has called Bud Selig to ask for a meeting to discuss inter-league play...notably concerning the New York Mets. Said Cashman; "this is so damn embarrassing to keep getting beaten by a team we outspend 2-1. That's bad enough but when it also happens to be our city rivals it's HUMILIATING! No more games with the freaking Mets...ever". Jeter, Cano, Teixeira, and Rodriguez went a combined 2 for 16, with the latter two going hitless.

DOH!!!

Cheers ya'll,

Merlot

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

A simple philosophy seems to be far more effective than indulging in sabermetrics. Shhhhh!

Yes, we know, Merlot. This is supposed to be yet another dig at me. Unfortunately, all it does is flash a blinding spotlight on your own ignorance. First off, the statement that K quotes has nothing to do with sabermetrics and in no way negates its value. Second, the Boston Red Sox have won two World Championships and, in fact, are the only team in MLB to win two World Championships in this century in large part because they were the first team in baseball to rely heavily on sabermetrics. The man who coined the term sabermetrics and who popularized the use of advanced statistical analysis has been a Special Assistant to Theo Epstein for as long as he's been GM.

Okay spot start by someone I never heard of named F. Doubront.

As for Felix Dubront, any Red Sox fan knows that he's the Sox top pitching prospect in the high minors. As for it being an "OK start," I'd say it was an excellent start. His first five innings were brilliant; he tired and gave up a couple of runs in the fifth. Any Red Sox fan knows that the Sox hold their young starters to four or five innings in the minors. Given the added stress of one's first start in the bigs, his tiring early isn't really a surprise. You also have to consider that his last inning of work followed a long, long seven run inning by the Sox. From PeteAbe "The kid threw strikes with his fastball and changeup, which is good. His curveball needs work. As Francona said, once big league hitters can eliminate a pitch, they feast on young starters.

When the Red Sox sent 12 men to the plate in the fifth, Doubront was in trouble. He had not pitched since June 7 (the Sox shut him down in Pawtucket to limit his innings) and when he came back out, his arm had had enough. Single, double, single, walk and that was that.

But Doubront showed you enough to suggest that he'll be back and someday he'll be back to stay. A 6-foot-3 lefty who's not afraid to throw strikes and can touch 94 is something you can work with." The future shines bright for young Felix Dubront. Perhaps even as bright as that spotlight on your ignorance. You can go back in your hole now.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Well, after a horrendous start to the season and dealing with a multitude of key injuries, namely Beckett, Ellsbury, Dice-K, etc, the Sox find themselves now trailing the badly slumping NY Yankees and TB Rays by 1 measly game! Some wise gentleman once told me "that's why they play 162!" ;-)

Yes, indeed, but the Yankees can always say that they were Wild Card Champion for April and May. Meanwhile, the "pitching and defense" Red Sox continue to lead MLB in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, and slugging. They're second in home runs and on-base percentage. They're sure missing Jason Who?

 

[Merlot]

Hello all,
A simple philosophy seems to be far more effective than indulging in sabermetrics. Shhhhh!

Cheers ya'll,

Merlot

Yes, we know, Merlot. This is supposed to be yet another dig at me.

No, this line was just a little test bait (out of curiosity) to see if I was actually on someone's ignore list, or if he really had the will to ignore. Guess what. Since no one else quoted me on my post, now we know.

Frankly, I find Sabermetrics very interesting and relevant up to a point, but and I have no wish to indulge in it much by analyzing everything statistically, and I am definitely not absorbed in Baseball enough to keep track of any player in the Minors. Anything I ever said about Sabermetrics was just a little needed humor release, like when the Sox were doing so poorly at the beginning of the season despite all statistical indications. Maybe some people could lighten up and not find offense so easily. I'm not feuding with anyone here, and hopefully no else will is compelled to so indulge.

The Red Sox are just one game out and right in the face of those Yankees.

Cheers,

Merlot

BTW...Roger Clemens at Fenway? Broad-minded isn't he.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Congratulations to the Yankees on this afternoon's victory over the Mets. Just goes to prove the old adage, "You can't lose 'em all."

 

[Joe.t]

Another solid 7 IP for this guy, improving to 6-5 after a horrible start, look out AL if Javy keeps pitching "good enuff" as the Yanks need him to. solid 5th starter in a deep rotation....... meanwhile 4 rbi's for Captain Jeter and Jorge Posada.... GO YANKEES!

Tell me something Igna, has there ever been a team that had a Triple Crown(Cano), a Cy Young(Pettitte), a MVP(Cano) and most importantly a World Series winner(Yankees) all in the same year?.

PS- Another solid outing by Hughes today, looks like the Cy will come down to a tight race between Hughes and Pettitte.

 

[Jman47]

It also causes the body to break down at a younger age. (see: Garciaparra, Nomar) Rodriguez is showing the same signs of deterioration that drove Nomar to an early retirement. I wonder if the Yankees will be paying A-Rod while he's rocking in an easy chair with Cameron on his lap.

Tonight's discussion question: Does Mark Teixeira really suck? Please give detailed analysis with your response.

Well, I suppose that all depends on what you want to pay for a sky high .223 BA... definitely a Silver Slumper candidate for 1B...