MLB 2013 Thread

[road doggy dogg]

I'm gonna go on a limb and say that Chris Davis can challenge for the triple crown. Reasons

1 - in Homers, he leads so that..
2 - in rbi he trails Cabrera by 11 57-46..but in a standard buck showwalter lineup he has 3 guys hitting over .300 in front of him (machado,Jones,markakis). Throw in mcclouth when he bats lead off..only team with 4 guys 30+ runs scored.
3 - in avg he trails Cabrera by a lot but no way Cabrera hits .385 or even .350. Davis is hitting .335 and has been pretty good at taking walks. Obviously you could say no way he hits over .300 but I say pft to that Gran

I wouldn't be surprised if he leads the league in one of the categories when it's all said and done, but I don't see him beating out Cabrera at all 3. Remember that Davis had an incredibly hot start to the season (16 RBIs in his first 4 games!) but then kind of regressed back a bit since. All points you make are valid but the same could be said about Cabrera as well. Before going down Jackson was hitting .272 (was over .300 for the better part of April) and Torii Hunter's been batting good this season. Both guys are great OBP guys which obviously helps Cabrera's RBI totals. Plus having Prince and VMart behind him in the order means he doesn't get pitched around nearly as much as a guy won just won a triple crown probably should be. And having those 2 behind also means his run total is pretty big for a poor baserunner.

I like Davis but I don't think he can compete for something like a triple crown this year. Cabrera is just the best hitter on the planet right now.

[Bad News Gertner]

Davis won't maintain that average

[Droford]

He had a 2b and was intentionally walked 3 times yesterday.

[Bad News Gertner]

Chad Jenkins was pitching. Chad Jenkins shouldn't even be in AAA. Kawasaki>Davis

[OssMan]

Oh god the Salute Our Troops thing is going to be unbearably long today

[Skippord]

http://deadspin.com/munenori-kawasaki-hits-walk-off-double-is-a-post-game-509950234

"I AM JAPANEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE"

[The Condor]

Chris Davis won't hit for high avg, never has even if he has a career year and hits .305 or something. The chances of having back to back Triple Crown winners in consecutive years are low enough without including Chris Davis as one of them. .46% chance

[RoXer]

He had a 2b

oh well EXCUSE ME

[RoXer]

No one will match that!

[Skippord]

start building the statue now!

[Droford]

They'll put it next to former triple crown winner frank Robinson's statue

Least we forget Cabrera won the triple crown with a .330 avg, I think Chris Davis could hit .better than .330

[ClockShot]

Any pictures leak or get posted anywhere about this year's Memorial Day caps for the teams?

Interested what the design is for this season.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found one.

http://thebiglead.fantasysportsven.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Yankees-Memorial-Day-hats-look-pixelated-poop.jpg (http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=mlb+memorial+day+hats+2013&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=YErgTVdY7z85YM&tbnid=F3aaOj0V3CptcM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebiglead.com%2Findex.php%2F2013%2F05%2F20%2Fyankees-will-wear-pixelated-camouflage-hats-on-memorial-day%2F&ei=MJ2jUYT2PKT40gGj8oDACA&bvm=bv.47008514,d.dmQ&psig=AFQjCNFnjQFiSvKILs5f2StiW0gCIG-hwA&ust=1369763493626325)

Urban camo with team logos. Fucking nice.

[road doggy dogg]

Oh good, I was beginning to worry that the status symbol of wearing a Yankees cap wasn't douchebaggy enough. The urban camo look restores my faith.

[Adder]

How long before Bret Lawrie is traded? Guy is such a hot head, you gotta think at some point they pull the plug.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Yeah, his biggest pet peeve is people spelling his name wrong.

[OssMan]

Another loss for the Nats today, this time on Baltimore MemOrioles Day

Lots of cliched generic America tributes at the game, and service people getting rounds of applause throughout. Surprisingly the "Welcome Home Troops" thing they do every game was lackluster

This brings my total amount of games watched this year to I think 5... but full games I have watched on tv still remains at 2

[Bad News Gertner]

They'll put it next to former triple crown winner frank Robinson's statue

Least we forget Cabrera won the triple crown with a .330 avg, I think Chris Davis could hit .better than .330

He'll be below .280 by the end of the season.

[Keith]

I hadn't noticed for some reason, but it seems like this is "Interstate/Intercity/Natural Rivals Week".

We had O's/Nats, Indians/Reds, Cardinals/Royals, A's Giants and Marlins/Rays (:heart:).

And tonight we're going to have White Sox/Cubs, Anges/Dodgers and Yankees/Mets.

That's some good shit.

[OssMan]

Is it tangible though?

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Paul Goldschmidt will win 30 games this year.

[Bad News Gertner]

Bullpen finally didn't blow a game for Mark Buherle. Edwin Encarnacion is back on a tear again.

[Emperor Smeat]

:D back to first place for the Red Sox.

Shocked a bit at how good Aceves was today on the mound.

[The Condor]

Padres are fun. Offense much more dynamic than in recent years. Just an observation through Memorial Day. And yes, I know they got shut out today

[screech]

Man, the Phillies offense is bad.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Great game for Niese tonight.</font>

[Bad News Gertner]

How long before Bret Lawrie is traded? Guy is such a hot head, you gotta think at some point they pull the plug.

He's only in his second full season.

[SammyG]

HEY THE DODGERS WON

[Skippord]

gonna go out on a limb and say Ty Cobb will win the batting title

[RoXer]

love baseball X2

[DaveWadding]

Cliff Pennington is the best D'Backs hitter to ever hit below the Mendoza Line.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Darvish is already at 105 K's for the year. Crazy.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>lol @ Mo blowing the save on the same night the Mets allowed him to throw out the first pitch</font>

[The Fraze]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BLa0dQjCYAA3zDp.png:large

She was impressed.

[Bad News Gertner]

Ricky Romero's latest AAA start

.2 of an inning
8 Earned Runs
3 Walks
5 Hits
13 of 32 pitches were strikes




This is absolutely incredible. He was an all-star two years ago.

[Frank Drebin]

Is he still dating ms usa? Maybe she won't let him put it in her butt and he's all "cmon, babe! We've done everything else." She seems like she would have let him do it a while ago though so I'm out of ideas for whats up with Ricky Romero.

[Bad News Gertner]

They broke up last year

[Bad News Gertner]

I never bought him as an ace even when he was pitching better. Always walked too many guys and his defense would bail him out, plus he always got a ton of run support.

[Frank Drebin]

Spot on. His numbers never matched up with the results. It seems like he skirted bad luck for an extended period of time. Still.....he seems to have totally lost it at this point. If something isn't wrong with him physically, hes got the yips and needs to see a shrink.

[Bad News Gertner]

Steve Blass Disease. He looks completely lost out there.

[The Condor]

He's got the yips. He might bounce back like Saltalamacchia or be done like the aforementioned Steve Blass. I just nope nobody claims that he should change like Rick Ankiel because that would be insane. Ankiel was a once in a lifetime sort of athlete

[Droford]

I'm gonna go on a limb and say that Chris Davis can challenge for the triple crown. Reasons

1 - in Homers, he leads so that..
2 - in rbi he trails Cabrera by 11 57-46..but in a standard buck showwalter lineup he has 3 guys hitting over .300 in front of him (machado,Jones,markakis). Throw in mcclouth when he bats lead off..only team with 4 guys 30+ runs scored.
3 - in avg he trails Cabrera by a lot but no way Cabrera hits .385 or even .350. Davis is hitting .335 and has been pretty good at taking walks. Obviously you could say no way he hits over .300 but I say pft to that Gran

Since I mentioned this on Sunday Davis has hit 2 more homers to have 18 and raised his avg from .335 to .350 by virtue of an 8 game hit streak where he's 16-28.

[Keith]

Wait 'til after the ASG.

[Keith]

Ryan Zimmerman has 3 HR's tonight against Dro's O's.

[ClockShot]

Yankees are underestimating the weak teams this season. Came back to bite them big time with this Mets series.

Teixeira and Youkilis are due back on Friday. I don't know if that's gonna help things.

[Droford]

Chris Davis 2nd hr, 4-4 hitting .360 now 19 hr and 50 rbi

9 rbi behind Cabrera and only .010 avg behind him, +4 hr

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Mets win the Subway Series :love: May as well be their World Series, but still</font>

[Keith]

Tampa Bay is 3 games back.

Yeah, buddy.

[Droford]

Tampa also has a player named josh sale that got suspended indefinitely for throwing quarters at a stripper.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/tampa-bay-rays-prospect-josh-sale-suspended-indefinitely-200730126.html

[Bad News Gertner]

Esmil Rogers started a game, followed by Neil Wagner, Juan Perez and Casy Janssen and the Jays pitched a shut out. Can't believe I just wrote that.

[Skippord]

good for Esmil, love him.

[Bad News Gertner]

He's awful in every way

[Boomer]

Well the Braves had a lineup with three guys hitting around .160, and I think that was their 7th loss via a shutout this year. Feast or famine for their offense.

[Frank Drebin]

Wonder if RP got a chance to see Travis Wood's grand slam.

[Droford]

http://nbchardballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/screen-shot-2013-05-30-at-1-42-44-pm.png?w=962&h=741

Replay monitor at an anonymous nl ballpark.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jacoby Ellsbury has set a single game Red Sox record with 5 stolen bases.</p>&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/340283307784814592">May 31, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>HOLY FUCK. Mets sweep the Subway Series for the first time ever.</font>

[Skippord]

the Rockies are about to lose a series to the Astros

so that's where I'm at

[Evil Vito]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BLkAfplCUAA8vlW.jpg

[The Condor]

Bad, bad baseball week.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>The Cardinals and Royals had rain in the middle of the 9th inning, and had to finish the game at 4 AM EST. This happened right after the Royals scored 3 runs in the 9th to take a 4-3 lead.

They couldn't suspend the game because of a rule that states games can't be suspended if two teams aren't scheduled to play again the rest of the season. If they weren't able to complete the game tonight, the score would have reverted to the end of the last full inning, wiping out the Royals' 3 runs for a 2-1 Cardinals win. That rule is beyond terrible.</font>

[Bad News Gertner]

Ugh, R.A Dickey. What compounds it is that Arencibia can't catch him worth shit so the the Jays have Henry Blanco who is a guaranteed out every single time.

Although Arencibia can't catch anybody and might be the worst defensive catcher in baseball.

[Bad News Gertner]

He's got the yips. He might bounce back like Saltalamacchia or be done like the aforementioned Steve Blass. I just nope nobody claims that he should change like Rick Ankiel because that would be insane. Ankiel was a once in a lifetime sort of athlete

Lol Ankiel had one good season and got busted for PED's. He strikes out a ton. How he is still hanging around is a shock.

[Bad News Gertner]

Fuck this team frustrates me. Hoow does Esmil Rogers and two AAA pitchers in the first game shut the Braves out and their supposed ace goes out and the team allows 11.

[The Condor]

Lol Ankiel had one good season and got busted for PED's. He strikes out a ton. How he is still hanging around is a shock.

He's on his third or fourth team and keeps getting chances. I was just saying that He's an athlete that keeps getting chances and there's no chance that just any pitcher that starts falling apart can just swap positions and thrive.

[Frank Drebin]

http://nbchardballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/screen-shot-2013-05-30-at-1-42-44-pm.png?w=962&h=741

Replay monitor at an anonymous nl ballpark.

So this is what Deep Blue has been relegated to in this age of modern tech.

[Frank Drebin]

He's on his third or fourth team and keeps getting chances. I was just saying that He's an athlete that keeps getting chances and there's no chance that just any pitcher that starts falling apart can just swap positions and thrive.

Ankiel was always a good hitting pitcher though. Lots of guys are good hitters at some point in their amateur careers at other positions. (Carlos Marmol was drafted as a catcher, which is comedic to think about) Micha Owings is another example. Brooks Kieshnick switched to being a pitcher after being a left fielder for something like 8-10 years in the bigs. Doesn't mean they are major league regulars though. In Ankiel's case, he is a dominant outfielder with a cannon for an arm and pop in his bat which does qualify him as a 4th or 5th outfielder. Someone obviously thinks they can fix something in his approach to make him a more selective hitter, but that ship has probably sailed.

[The Fraze]

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/166092_10151401996671254_167255906_n.jpg

Say hey.

[Emperor Smeat]

<font color=goldenrod>The Cardinals and Royals had rain in the middle of the 9th inning, and had to finish the game at 4 AM EST. This happened right after the Royals scored 3 runs in the 9th to take a 4-3 lead.

They couldn't suspend the game because of a rule that states games can't be suspended if two teams aren't scheduled to play again the rest of the season. If they weren't able to complete the game tonight, the score would have reverted to the end of the last full inning, wiping out the Royals' 3 runs for a 2-1 Cardinals win. That rule is beyond terrible.</font>

Is this some sort of new or recent rule?

Should have kept the previous thing of taking whatever convenient off day both teams shared as the day to finish the game.

[Ermaximus]

Top of the 3rd inning and the Nationals are already warming up their bullpen. They really have no faith in Strasburg do they?

[ClockShot]

HEY KATE, WHERE YA GOIN'?

[Droford]

Chris Dickerson walk off 3 run hr with 2 out off valverde to win 7-5

Woo

[Skippord]

Todd Helton game tying two run home run in the 9th

yay

Rafael Betancourt giving up two more runs in the 10th

boo

[The Condor]

Pirates lost, and I picked them to swipe a wildcard, but damn they've looked impressive. Just hoping they don't blow their wad early like the past two years.

[ClockShot]

What to do about "The Curious Case of B.J. Upton"?

[Damian Rey]

Read that Freddy Gonzalez talked to Upton about sending him down. We'll see.

I have zero faith the Pirates will hold. Don't think the offense will improve much unless they make a move, and outside of Burnett, I have.zero faith in their rotation.

[The Condor]

Hammel just got blown up in Baltimore

[screech]

Love Todd Helton

[The Condor]

Love Todd Helton

The Condor concurs

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>33% of the Marlins' wins this year have been against the Mets.</font>

[ClockShot]

Have no fear, Home Run Hughes is here.

Kinda wishing Pineda gets back ASAP.

[Emperor Smeat]

:cool: Red Sox beat the Yanks 11-1 today. Doubront pitched well and Nava was amazing tonight.

[The Condor]

Kinda wishing Pineda gets back ASAP.
Even if he does get back soon there is no guarantee of performance from him. Dude has been out so long I simply cannot have faith in him until he proves something

[DAMN iNATOR]

Hammel just got blown up in Baltimore

Can't believe he had the fucking gall to argue the call. Clearly he didn't just accidentally throw an outside breaking ball and happen to hit Tuiasasopo like he and Buck Showalter ridiculously claimed. He was pissed that 3 consecutive of our batters got HR's against him.

I wouldn't even have a problem with the situation had he just left the field, but no, he had to put on a side show for the home crowd. Because of that he should (but likely won't) be fined and suspended by the Commissioner.

Karma bit them on the ass quick enough later in the 4th when Cabbie hit a GS, though. :cool:

[Evil Vito]

http://www.sporcle.com/games/alexandjeremy/mlb-2013-active-players

<font color=goldenrod>Got 30 out of 32 on this one, but it took me the full time. Some of those names shocked me.</font>

[Triple Naitch]

Got em all.

Stuck on Carlos Lee for like two minutes before I got it.

[ClockShot]

I got them all.

Some of the guys you don't hear about anymore got me hung up.

[RoXer]

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/1y0SBLbnLKwzMaOXraLQ4w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2013-06-02/06054570-e3b5-4dd0-a8f2-ac85678575a3_gotmilk.jpg

[RoXer]

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/N4PZXYPUPm44I4Shf40Ciw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2013-06-02/1b425cd1-1389-4ef0-a17b-95d29b7a3379_milk.jpg

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Red Sox win! Three game ALE lead.

[Bad News Gertner]

Sad sight watching Ramon Ortiz blow out his elbow and leave the field crying. Guy is 40 so this was probably it for him.

[Emperor Smeat]

#2 rated prospect for the upcoming Rule 4 Draft got busted for a banned substance. Current MLB rules means he won't be punished or suspended but does have to do more testing once he's actually drafted.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/draft/2013/story/_/id/9338983/top-draft-prospect-jonathan-gray-had-positive-test-adderall

[Droford]

Chris Davis #1 votes at 1b, Adam Jones #2 in OF behind trout, JJ Hardy #2 (10,000 votes back) at SS behind Andrus. Manny Machado is #2 behind Cabrera at 3b but has 1/2 of his 1.5 million votes.

Would be crazy to see Davis, Jones and Hardy start and Machado as a reserve.

[Frank Drebin]

Lol white sox. If they lose this one, good luck against Felix and Iwakuma.

Is Iwakuma getting enough credit for the season he's had so far? Thinking he's one of the more forgotten about guys out there who's putting together an all star season.

[The Fraze]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BL5hNj-CYAAd7gK.jpg:large

Where I consistently sit, no place I'd rather be than in San Francisco watching the ballgame.

[Schlomey]

What to do about "The Curious Case of B.J. Upton"?

They spent a lot of money on him. He's batting, what, .188 or something?
I'd say wait it out...

[Skippord]

the case is that he isn't very good

[Schlomey]

Chris Davis #1 votes at 1b, Adam Jones #2 in OF behind trout, JJ Hardy #2 (10,000 votes back) at SS behind Andrus. Manny Machado is #2 behind Cabrera at 3b but has 1/2 of his 1.5 million votes.

Would be crazy to see Davis, Jones and Hardy start and Machado as a reserve.

McLouth isn't that far behind either and may be there as a reserve as well.

[Schlomey]

the case is that he isn't very good

at the moment.

[Schlomey]

Schlomey rates an old Droford post and mocks him for poor life choices. see below.



American League

East
1. Orioles
2. Rays
3. Blue jays
4. Yankees
5. Red sox

ALL 5 WRONG SO FAR

Central
1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. Indians
4. White Sox
5. Twins


2 OUT OF 5 RIGHT SO FAR


West
1. Angels of Anaheim
2. Rangers
3. Athletics
4. Mariners
5. Astros

2 OUT OF 5 RIGHT SO FAR BUT THIS IS CLOSE

Wild cards
Rays and Rangers

National League

East
1. Nationals
2. Braves
3. Mets
4. Phillies
5. Marlins

1 RIGHT OUT OF 5 AND ITS A BIG DEAL CUZ NOBODY IS CATCHING THE BRAVES IT SEEMS EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN PLAYING SUB PAR .500 BASEBALL LATELY




Central
1. Brewers
2. Reds
3. Cardinals
4. Cubs
5. Pirates

OTHER THAN THE REDS IN 2ND PLACE YOU ARE WAY THE FUCK WRONG HERE


West
1. Dodgers
2. Giants
3. Padres
4. Diamondbacks
5. Rockies

WAY THE WAY FUCK OFF HERE. LOL DODGERS IN FIRST. WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN...

Wild Cards
Reds and Giants

[Droford]

I was lured into picking the dodgers by listening to Ben maller for 10 hours every weekend who is a Dodger fan. Same reason I picked the clippers in the NBA..

[Schlomey]

i'm sorry for your loss.

[DaveBrawl]

Everyone who picked the Rockies to finish last sucks.

[Skippord]

hey I picked the Rockies to finish last

(for jinx purposes)

[DaveBrawl]

Well you are naturally exempt.

[Damian Rey]

JJ Hardy has a fucking 286 on base. He shouldn't be anywhere near the all star game.

I think the Rox having both Tulo and Cargo healthy and in the same lineup is a huge reason they are at the top of the division.

[Droford]

JJ Hardy has a fucking 286 on base. He shouldn't be anywhere near the all star game.

I think the Rox having both Tulo and Cargo healthy and in the same lineup is a huge reason they are at the top of the division.
JJ has the 6th best fielding % (5 errors) of al shortstop but he's also played in every single game.
For those geeks out there his war (1.8) is 2nd to peralta's (2.2)

[McLegend]

So Dom Brown best player ever? I think so.

[Triple Naitch]

JJ has the 6th best fielding % (5 errors) of al shortstop but he's also played in every single game.
For those geeks out there his war (1.8) is 2nd to peralta's (2.2)

He's also the ninth worst in the AL in fielding percentage.

See what I can do with stats?

[Schlomey]

I LOVE MLB.TV. Yeah it's expensive but I'm watching 5 games at once. 4 on the MLB site and 1 on regular TV. Wife is away so I'm in heaven.

[Damian Rey]

JJ has the 6th best fielding % (5 errors) of al shortstop but he's also played in every single game.
For those geeks out there his war (1.8) is 2nd to peralta's (2.2)

So because he's durable, he should make the all star game, despite being abysmal at the plate? Yeah...

WAR is great, but it's, as Brian Kenny states, an approximation, not a be all end all. Hardy's WAR is where it's at because he's playing a position that is thin on talent league wide and he's slugging over 400, at the moment. If you put Miguel Cabrera back at first base, or keep Trout in left field, their WAR will likely dip because it's easier to find first baseman (Fielder, Votto) and left fielders (Braun, Upton) who put up similar numbers to those two in otherwise historic type seasons. Nice try, though.

Hardy's an automatic out. He doesn't get on base. Because he doesn't get on base, he doesn't give his team a chance to score runs, and because he doesn't give his team a chance to score runs, he's not a particularly good player. His batting average, and more importantly, OBP, is below league average. His OPS is below league average. And, at 30 years old, he's slugging 30 points over his career number, which is league average over the course of his career. You expect a guy who can't spell the word "walk" to continue blindly running into homeruns? I don't, because, logically, it doesn't make any sense.

But then again, your touting a guy who's a below league average player as a leading all star candidate, so making sense must not be your specialty.

Speaking of Downtown Domonic Brown, where the fuck is screech so I can yell "I TOLD YOU SO" at him after a mini convo we had last year where I backed Brown. WHERE YOU AT, SCREECH!!!! :rant:

[Emperor Smeat]

According to ESPN's Outside the Line report, MLB is ready to suspend A-Rod, Braun, and anyone else who's names showed up on the Miami clinic list. They finally were supplied with enough proof/evidence that any appeal would likely be rejected or a waste of time.

The official outing of players is expected to occur next week and suspensions the following week.

Major League Baseball will seek to suspend about 20 players connected to the Miami-area clinic at the heart of an ongoing performance-enhancing drug scandal, including Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, possibly within the next few weeks, "Outside the Lines" has learned. If the suspensions are upheld, the performance-enhancing drug scandal would be the largest in American sports history.

Tony Bosch, founder of the now-shuttered Biogenesis of America, reached an agreement this week to cooperate with MLB's investigation, two sources told "Outside the Lines," giving MLB the ammunition officials believe they need to suspend the players.

One source familiar with the case said the commissioner's office might seek 100-game suspensions for Rodriguez, Braun and other players, the penalty for a second doping offense. The argument, the source said, is the players' connection to Bosch constitutes one offense, and previous statements to MLB officials denying any such connection or the use of PEDs constitute another.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9301536/major-league-baseball-suspend-20-players-including-alex-rodriguez-ryan-braun-part-miami-investigation

[Damian Rey]

Fuck me, Everth Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal are both on that list. Cabrera has been a huge contributor this year. Losing him as starting shortstop for 50 games would be devastating. There's no one in the system to come up and replace his production, either.

Grandal already served his 50 games, so I don't see why he'd get another suspension.

I hope to holy hell Braun gets suspended. That fucker was guilty and he should have served his suspension the first time.

[Schlomey]

Watching the Pirates/Braves game and they mentioned Braun and A-Rod. Interested to hear who the other 18-20 are. They said it best during the broadcast: In this day and age and knowing all that players know after seeing all the other men fall from grace....why??? and just how stupid can you be?

[Schlomey]

Oh I saw the list.....Only ray of light is that Gio only got "legal" drugs.....He's one of my favorite guys right now.

[Triple Naitch]

Not sure if everyone would get 50 games. Isn't that for failing the league substance drug test? Technically they didn't fail a drug test.

[Droford]

So because he's durable, he should make the all star game, despite being abysmal at the plate? Yeah...

WAR is great, but it's, as Brian Kenny states, an approximation, not a be all end all. Hardy's WAR is where it's at because he's playing a position that is thin on talent league wide and he's slugging over 400, at the moment. If you put Miguel Cabrera back at first base, or keep Trout in left field, their WAR will likely dip because it's easier to find first baseman (Fielder, Votto) and left fielders (Braun, Upton) who put up similar numbers to those two in otherwise historic type seasons. Nice try, though.

Hardy's an automatic out. He doesn't get on base. Because he doesn't get on base, he doesn't give his team a chance to score runs, and because he doesn't give his team a chance to score runs, he's not a particularly good player. His batting average, and more importantly, OBP, is below league average. His OPS is below league average. And, at 30 years old, he's slugging 30 points over his career number, which is league average over the course of his career. You expect a guy who can't spell the word "walk" to continue blindly running into homeruns? I don't, because, logically, it doesn't make any sense.

But then again, your touting a guy who's a below league average player as a leading all star candidate, so making sense must not be your specialty.

Speaking of Downtown Domonic Brown, where the fuck is screech so I can yell "I TOLD YOU SO" at him after a mini convo we had last year where I backed Brown. WHERE YOU AT, SCREECH!!!! :rant:

Yeah, jj not getting on base is totally killing the orioles offense which as it stands now is ranked 1st or 2nd in every offensive category. 12 homers and 30+ rbi for a guy that's been hitting in the 6 or 7 hole most of the season is terrible..he had 30 homers for the O's in 2011 in 129 games...

[Damian Rey]

Because there's immense amounts of money involved. Melk Man got a two year, $18 million deal out of it. If you knew taking a substance would not only make you better at you're job, but would offer financial opportunity and security that could potentially set you up for life, and maybe your family, would you not at least contemplate it?

I know I would. Not to mention, look at all the weight loss supplements that are out there for general consumption. Fat burners, muscle builders, testosterone boosters, workout powders for endurance. We're always trying to put something in our bodies to get that extra step. Pro athletes are no different, they're just dealing with incredibly high stakes.

[Schlomey]

Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates = He gets a LOT of shit and a lot of heat from the Pirates fans. He's batting 188 to 199 BUT the dude leads the team with homers and comes in there and steps up and hits in the power spot that is sorely lacking otherwise.....Fans are dumb.

[Schlomey]

He hit a homer as soon as I finished typing that.

[Emperor Smeat]

Not sure if everyone would get 50 games. Isn't that for failing the league substance drug test? Technically they didn't fail a drug test.

Sounds like MLB is going for a hybrid punishment to ensure everyone gets hit with something. 50 games for the roid penalty (regardless of 1st or 2nd strike) and another 50 for lying.

Someone could pull a "Braun" and weasel out of the roid punishment but still be hit with the lying punishment.

[The Condor]

El Toro is one dimensional but he is the dimension they need most offensively

[Droford]

The astros stadium is depressing me..

[Schlomey]

The astros stadium is depressing me..

sure it's not the team?

[Droford]

No..its too quiet..

[Schlomey]

Best crowd I have heard all year is the fans in Baltimore. Ole Ole chants and tons of interaction....I want to see a game there some day.


Pirates crowds blow as well. Beautiful stadium but it's filled with douchebags and crickets.

[Damian Rey]

Yeah, jj not getting on base is totally killing the orioles offense which as it stands now is ranked 1st or 2nd in every offensive category. 12 homers and 30+ rbi for a guy that's been hitting in the 6 or 7 hole most of the season is terrible..

Way to use what his team is doing as a collective as an argument for him. You're talking about the all star game, where individuals who are at the top of the game at their positions are showcased. Hardy is no where near the best shortstop in the American League. Whatever the Orioles are doing as a unit has zero to do with his case as an all star.

Nor, outside of his homeruns, does he have anything to do with scoring runs because he's not creating situations for them to do that. Throw that RBI shit out of here. McClouth, Machado, Jones, Markakis and Davis have been excellent at getting on base. Any asshole with as many opportunities as Hardy regularly gets could drive in that many runs hitting 6th and 7th. He's hitting 240/308/379 with RISP. He's tallied the RBI because of number of opportunities, not because he's any good.

Getting on base is important. When you get on base, you don't make outs. Outs are bad. Hits and walks are good. How you cannot process that and put it together that Hardy making lots, and lots, and lots of outs does not constitute him being a good player, let alone an all star, is beyond me.

McClouth has been good. Jones, Davis and Machado have been good. Go toot your homer horn for them, because they deserve it. JJ Hardy does not. He's one of their two weakest regulars, i.e., one of their worst starting players. How is that an all star again?

[Schlomey]

I enjoyed him as a Brewer. Not so much as a Oriel at the moment.

[Damian Rey]

Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates = He gets a LOT of shit and a lot of heat from the Pirates fans. He's batting 188 to 199 BUT the dude leads the team with homers and comes in there and steps up and hits in the power spot that is sorely lacking otherwise.....Fans are dumb.

Think fans are tired of him being an auto out. He has tons of pop, but hitting 201/267/414 isn't very good. Like, at all. He's literally not doing jack shit when he's not going yard. I get why they get on him.

[Schlomey]

Think fans are tired of him being an auto out. He has tons of pop, but hitting 201/267/414 isn't very good. Like, at all. He's literally not doing jack shit when he's not going yard. I get why they get on him.

I get what you are saying and I sometimes cringe when baserunners are on and he comes up. I just read too many nasty comments on how he sucks when after looking at the numbers he is one of the few guys that somewhat consistently go yard. (or river in this case)

[Damian Rey]

It's because he makes a fuck ton of outs. Mark Trumbo is pretty bad at the on base thing, but he tallies just enough hits and walks that it's worth running him out there every night. He's not a centerpiece guy or someone you want to build around, but Trumbo is productive enough in between homeruns to be valuable.

Pedro hasn't been. At least this year. But his avg/obp/slg last year was right up there near Trumbo's last season, so I wouldn't be shocked to see him pick it up in between homeruns as the season goes on.

[Droford]

Way to use what his team is doing as a collective as an argument for him. You're talking about the all star game, where individuals who are at the top of the game at their positions are showcased. Hardy is no where near the best shortstop in the American League. Whatever the Orioles are doing as a unit has zero to do with his case as an all star.

Nor, outside of his homeruns, does he have anything to do with scoring runs because he's not creating situations for them to do that. Throw that RBI shit out of here. McClouth, Machado, Jones, Markakis and Davis have been excellent at getting on base. Any asshole with as many opportunities as Hardy regularly gets could drive in that many runs hitting 6th and 7th. He's hitting 240/308/379 with RISP. He's tallied the RBI because of number of opportunities, not because he's any good.

Getting on base is important. When you get on base, you don't make outs. Outs are bad. Hits and walks are good. How you cannot process that and put it together that Hardy making lots, and lots, and lots of outs does not constitute him being a good player, let alone an all star, is beyond me.

McClouth has been good. Jones, Davis and Machado have been good. Go toot your homer horn for them, because they deserve it. JJ Hardy does not. He's one of their two weakest regulars, i.e., one of their worst starting players. How is that an all star again?
I'll take JJ hitting .260 with 30 hr and gold glove calibre defense over most of the scrubs teams are trotting out at SS. The O's worst players are the DH and 2b platoons..and unfortunately Weiters who is also 2nd in AS voting. Wieters value anymore comes from his defense..

[Schlomey]

I watch 95% of Pirates games and as many other games per week as I can....I hope to one day be able to hold an intelligible conversation with Damian Rey away from Pirates lore.

[Droford]

I watch or listen to every o's game live except when they play 10pm west coast games and I have to get up at 4 am next day...

[Schlomey]

I watch or listen to every o's game live except when they play 10pm west coast games and I have to get up at 4 am next day...

I catch as many O's games per week as I can. The MLB At Bat subscription has this awesome thing where you can watch a 16-20 minute condensed game the next morning so I get up an hour before I have to start moving so I can watch a few games that way.

They are fun to watch this year especially when they are playing the Yankees!

[Damian Rey]

I'll take JJ hitting .260 with 30 hr and gold glove calibre defense over most of the scrubs teams are trotting out at SS. The O's worst players are the DH and 2b platoons..and unfortunately Weiters who is also 2nd in AS voting. Wieters value anymore comes from his defense..

He's hit 30 homers once his entire career. Gold gloves don't mean jack shit. It;s an award voted on by managers who are literally guessing and playing favorites more times than not.

I don't count the O's DH or 2b spots because there was no clear regular there prior to the season started. I don't think anyone was counting on poor Brian Roberts. Hardy was a regular going into the season.

Weiters isn't that good defensively to defend. He's not Yadier Molina. I think he's heavily underperforming. Shouldn't be near the ASG either.

You can take Hardy all you want. Never said you were wrong for liking him. I've liked less than stellar players a plenty. Just don't act like an ass, toting him around like an all star when he's clearly not, and clearly is one of the worst everday guys on the squad.

[ClockShot]

So the Inquisition finally begins. Now we wait to see what the Yankees do with A-Rod. We all hope they proceed with voiding the contract, but the Union's gonna have their say.

Cervelli being on that list will hurt us since we're getting Steward who's less than your average catcher and Romine who's still getting his sealegs. Which makes me wonder if we're going catcher shopping when the trade deadline comes around.

[Schlomey]

Damian Rey - Thoughts on Brewers shortstop Jean Segura? please and thank you.....I think if he was on a better team he would have a shot at the All Star Game.

[Damian Rey]

I watch 95% of Pirates games and as many other games per week as I can....I hope to one day be able to hold an intelligible conversation with Damian Rey away from Pirates lore.

You could always PM me, sweetheart.

[Damian Rey]

Damian Rey - Thoughts on Brewers shortstop Jean Segura? please and thank you.....I think if he was on a better team he would have a shot at the All Star Game.

I think he's a fucking stud. Brewers raped the Angles on that trade.

Definitely should be there. I don't think he's going to be hitting 350 all year, but as of right now, he's been the premier shortstop in the national league. Shame where he plays and his teams standings can hurt his chances.

[Damian Rey]

So the Inquisition finally begins. Now we wait to see what the Yankees do with A-Rod. We all hope they proceed with voiding the contract, but the Union's gonna have their say.

Cervelli being on that list will hurt us since we're getting Steward who's less than your average catcher and Romine who's still getting his sealegs. Which makes me wonder if we're going catcher shopping when the trade deadline comes around.

Think catcher is the last place they should look. They would probably be better served getting another solid starter.

I'm interested to see how far Selig takes this witch hunt on roids. It would be amazing if Selig and the Yankees could somehow find a way to void that albatross of a contract and send ARod back on the free agent market.

[Schlomey]

Nationals with a killer comeback win. Damn fun 9th.

[Droford]

He's hit 30 homers once his entire career. Gold gloves don't mean jack shit. It;s an award voted on by managers who are literally guessing and playing favorites more times than not.

I don't count the O's DH or 2b spots because there was no clear regular there prior to the season started. I don't think anyone was counting on poor Brian Roberts. Hardy was a regular going into the season.

Weiters isn't that good defensively to defend. He's not Yadier Molina. I think he's heavily underperforming. Shouldn't be near the ASG either.

You can take Hardy all you want. Never said you were wrong for liking him. I've liked less than stellar players a plenty. Just don't act like an ass, toting him around like an all star when he's clearly not, and clearly is one of the worst everday guys on the squad.

Once in his career was 2 years ago in 129 games..and he got that gold glove for only making 6 errors..

[Damian Rey]

BoSox are clobbering the Rangers 15-3 in the bottom of the 7th. Jackie Bradley Jr. looks like he's going to be an exciting player to watch once he figures things out.

Nats need to get it going. It's getting to a point where last year is looking a little flukey. A lot did go right; Ian Desmond, Adam LaRoche having career years, Harper tearing shit up, Strasburgh having a great year, etc.

I know they got a ton of shit for shutting down Strasburgh last year, and, with hindsight being 20/20, got more shit when they blew their chance at the NLDS last year. But that won't be anything compared to the shit storm brewing if they don't even get into the playoffs this year. Playing around .500 ball isn't going to get them there.

[Schlomey]

Went to the Nats vs Pirates game last month. They won 6-2 I think. Sad that Burnett nor Strasburgh were not on the mound. Andy LaRoche got a nice round of boo's every time he came up.

Since that game I've caught a few others. They have potential and heart ....I just can't pinpoint their biggest weakness.....yet.

[Emperor Smeat]

Might also be Dempster's best game so far as a pitcher for the Sox. He's had games with fewer hits but either didn't last beyond 4-5 innings or gave up more runs than tonight.

In regards to the Nationals, looks like the team is treating him similar to what the Rays used to do with Kazmir. In the Rays case, they were really restrictive and cautious towards him pitching a lot but unlike Strasburgh, he didn't have a major injury until after leaving them for the Angels I think. They are struggling a bit record-wise but the big difference is the Braves being a lot better this year than last year.

[Damian Rey]

Once in his career was 2 years ago in 129 games..and he got that gold glove for only making 6 errors..

Not a complete stat my friend. Errors are so rarely made and judged so individually that they're almost needless to this point. Errors also don't tell you how many times an infielder was bailed out by his first baseman making a nice dig, coming off the bag and tagging the runner, or keeping their foot on the bag while stretching to field an errant throw.

If errors were the only measuring stick for gold gloves, David Eckstein and Kevin Kouzmanoff would've won gold gloves when they played for the Padres. Kouzmanoff set the fielding percentage record for third baseman in a single season. It doesn't mean he was the best defender, just means he didn't boot or throw away balls that were hit at him.

If Hardy averaged 30 homeruns a year, you could say, with complete accuracy, you'd take his 30 homeruns per. Problem is, he doesn't. If you said 20 plus, yeah, that's about right. But you're stating it like he's a lock for doing something he's done once in his career, in his late 20s, which was followed by a poor season at the plate. Maybe he hits 30 this year. He's a third of the way there. But don't act like it's business as usual for him, because it's absolutely not.

[Damian Rey]

Might also be Dempster's best game so far as a pitcher for the Sox. He's had games with fewer hits but either didn't last beyond 4-5 innings or gave up more runs than tonight.

In regards to the Nationals, looks like the team is treating him similar to what the Rays used to do with Kazmir. In the Rays case, they were really restrictive and cautious towards him pitching a lot but unlike Strasburgh, he didn't have a major injury until after leaving them for the Angels I think.

Dempster's strikeouts are good. I think he may just be getting a tad unlucky. I'm looking at his stats, and it seems like he's been a little more homer prone than usual. If that normalizes, he'll be fine.

The thing that worries me about Stras, and what makes the Nats look like they new what they were doing is that he keeps running into these little injuries. Also, they did the same with Zimmerman, and he's a stud now. I don't blame them for being cautious.

Went to the Nats vs Pirates game last month. They won 6-2 I think. Sad that Burnett nor Strasburgh were not on the mound. Andy LaRoche got a nice round of boo's every time he came up.

Since that game I've caught a few others. They have potential and heart ....I just can't pinpoint their biggest weakness.....yet.

Number of things. Dan Haren hasn't been as good at the back end of the rotation as Edwin Jackson was last year. Adam LaRoche had a career year last year and has been struggling this year. Ian Desmond, outside of the power surge, has regressed back to his pre 2012 self. Gio has regressed, strikeouts are down, walks are up. Strasburgh hasn't been nearly as dominant. I think these things might change, but it's June. It needs to upswing soon.

[Damian Rey]

David Murphy has just taken the mound against the Sox, who are attempting to score in every inning.

[Bad News Gertner]

Munehori Kawasaki is the best all around shortstop.

Edwin Encarnacion is really heating up. Just hit a bomb for his 17th.

[Skippord]

Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Skippord]

http://goldandorsmith.com/GIFs/DavidMurphyBreakingBall.gif

[Bad News Gertner]

Eric Hinske NEVER made errors at third base for the Jays. He also had the mobility of a slug. Can't make an error to balls you can't get to.

[screech]

Dominic Brown making me eat my words a bit. Hope he keeps it up, but I'm not running out to buy his jersey just yet.

[Damian Rey]

Sorry, Skip. Segura is ONE of the premier shortstops in the nl. Forgive me?

[Droford]

http://goldandorsmith.com/GIFs/DavidMurphyBreakingBall.gif

Eh..he's no Chris Davis

[Skippord]

Oh yeah, I was just TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIN'g because he hit the game winning home run tonight. Love Jean Segura though.

[Droford]

My salvage store I go to has Larry walker starting lineup figure for 75 cents..um sure skippy would liketat

[Damian Rey]

Just looked up Tulo's numbers. Hes literally at 300/400/600. Thats insane. Legitimate MVP right now.

[screech]

I would like that. Love Larry Walker.

[Droford]

I'm convinced it was expos Larry walker not Rockies cause the packaging is wrong for it to be Rockies

[RoXer]

There are way too many posts in this thread in the past 5 hours.

I might close it for the night to give it a cooldown period.

Good lord.

[Schlomey]

It's my fault.

[The Condor]

Schlomey's return has been great.

[Frank Drebin]

Can't wait till the white sox get no hit by Iwakuma tonight and we get another "I AM JAPANEEEEEESSSSSEE!!!!!"

[Emperor Smeat]

Indians closer Chris Perez might be in big trouble with the Feds after his house was raided recently.

Drug agents are investigating a narcotics delivery to the home of Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez, authorities said Wednesday.

Rocky River Police Chief Kelly Stillman said city officers, a regional narcotics unit and postal inspectors were involved in Tuesday's operation to investigate a delivery to the Perez home in the lakeside Cleveland suburb.

No charges have been filed and the matter remains under investigation. A message seeking comment was left for Perez's attorney.

At a news conference Wednesday, the chief said the operation likely originated with a package that looked suspicious to postal employees. "They took it from there," he said.

Officers with a search warrant took evidence from the Perez house, according to the chief, but the seized items weren't specified.

Whatever was contained in the "controlled delivery of narcotics" must be analyzed at the state crime laboratory, according to the chief, who stopped short of speculating what it was.

"Depending on what it was and how much it was, charges will be filed accordingly," Stillman said.

[Skippord]

Julio Teheran hit Pirates - 2

Pirates hits off of Julio Teheran - 0

[loopydate]

Looks like:

Ryan Braun
Everth Cabrera
Melky Cabrera
Francisco Cervelli
Bartolo Colón
Nelson Cruz
Yasmani Grandal
Fernando Martinez
Jesùs Montero
Jordan Norberto
Jhonny Peralta
Cesar Puello
Alex Rodriguez
Fautino de los Santos

Are the names on the Biogenesis list.

Gio Gonzalez, too, but he apparently only received legal substances according to sources.

[Skippord]

bummer about Fautino de los Santos

[DaveBrawl]

Ryan Braun doesn't stick out like a sore thumb at all on that list.

[loopydate]

Ryan Braun doesn't stick out like a sore thumb at all on that list.

There are only 17 names there and there are supposedly 22 total, so maybe Braun will get some... company.

[Ermaximus]

I take back everything bad I ever said about Julio Teheran. Now Kris Medlen on the other hand, he is fucking awful.

[RoXer]

Matt Carpenter was hit by a pitch 3 times yesterday.

I'm expecting retaliation today. Maybe against Goldschmidt or Didi. Maybe a brawl too, who knows.

[ClockShot]

Yankees sweep the tribe.

Now off on a 10 game road trip to the west coast. I'll be happy if we break even.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

If ya smelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll what the Rockies cookin'

[Frank Drebin]

Damn. Wish I had kept watching the sox/ms game. Turned it off after they plated three in the top of the 14th. Would have loved to hear (not hear) Hawk calling the tying grand slam. Love when he goes silent like his dog just died. Can actually enjoy a sox broadcast that way.

[screech]

Phillies :)

[Skippord]

CarGooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo and also Tulooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Schlomey]

Damn. Wish I had kept watching the sox/ms game. Turned it off after they plated three in the top of the 14th. Would have loved to hear (not hear) Hawk calling the tying grand slam. Love when he goes silent like his dog just died. Can actually enjoy a sox broadcast that way.

I watched the majority of the game. Took a break to see the Oriels get raped in the upper deck nose bleeds for an inning. It was a goof 16 inning game tbh.

[Droford]

Just saw the state that Elvis andrus who leads asg voting at ss has obps of.600 cause his obp and slg are both.300 lol .257 avg and zero homers

[Bad News Gertner]

R.A Dickey. Where has this been all season! Guy was amazing.

[ClockShot]

So the White Sox and Mariners couldn't hit a lick and score a run until the 14th inning yesterday.

White Sox win in 16.

[ClockShot]

So uh, who's watching the draft tonight?

[Schlomey]

So uh, who's watching the draft tonight?

i was going to until I realized it was on MLB tv. Chances are I could find it online but meh. It's not like I have seen or tracked any prospects....

[The Condor]

Have no clue what high schoolers in Arkansas or college sophomores in Minnesota have been up to. Unless its your job it's nearly impossible to follow the MLB draft

[Droford]

Jj hardy goes 4 for 4 now hitting a robust .270

[Skippord]

I am watching the draft

[Droford]

Can't wait for the Os to draft another bust pitcher

[ClockShot]

'Stros took Mark Appel #1.

The question is will he play for them?

[Droford]

http://www.baseballfactory.com/allamerica/alumni/headshots/HunterHarvey12.jpg

Hunter Harvey, future orioles bust pitcher

But he is only 18

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Dominic Smith looks good.</font>

[Skippord]

Tony LaRussa is definitely drunk right now on the draft

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>David Ortiz with his 11th career walk-off HR; 2 shy of MLB record (Jim Thome 13)</p>&mdash; ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/342831369694638080">June 7, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The weird part was Texas intentionally walked Pedroia to face Papi for some strange reason.

[Frank Drebin]

'Stros took Mark Appel #1.

The question is will he play for them?

its them or the Long Island Ducks. He dosent have school as leverage anymore.

[DaveWadding]

Cubs select 3rd baseman Kris Bryant, the next heir apparent to the "Disappointment at 3rd in Wrigleyville" crown.

[CSL]

Yasiel Puig

[Skippord]

Is it racist to give him the nickname "The Black Puig"?

[Skippord]

doesn't work at all written out

I am stupid

[Keith]

Is it racist to give him the nickname "The Black Puig"?

Kobe Bryant is "The Black Mamba", so I guess not.

I like Yoenis Cespedes' nickname, "La Potencia". It feels funny when you say it.

[Bad News Gertner]

Jays FINALLY draft a pitcher with a high upside in Phil Bickford. High 90's fastball, needs to develop a secondary pitch. No more drafting safe picks in the first round with multiple average pitches and 3-4th starter potential (Chad Jenkins, Deck McGuire).

[Schlomey]

Yasiel Puig

This was what, his 4th game? I watched that game last night just to see him. Obviously he did not disappoint. Going to the Pirates vs Dodgers game next Saturday (Blues Traveler plays after the game) and seeing Puig is now an added bonus.....:y:

[The Condor]

Blues Traveler is almost the main attraction for that evening.

[The Condor]

Can't help but feel that if ESPN cared an iota about baseball, or if the draft was covered like it currently is even ten years ago, names like Matt Bush would be equal to JaMarcus Russell rather than just an obscure baseball reference.

[Schlomey]

Can't help but feel that if ESPN cared an iota about baseball, or if the draft was covered like it currently is even ten years ago, names like Matt Bush would be equal to JaMarcus Russell rather than just an obscure baseball reference.

I was JUST complaining to my trainee about ESPN (Sports Center specifically)....I feel they don't give a flying fuck about baseball. All Sports Center covers is baseketball/football I feel they spend maybe 5 minutes a show on baseball and spend the rest of the broadcast about pretty much anything else.

I know baseball has Baseball Tonight but it's never run on repeat in the mornings so its invalid.

[Frank Drebin]

Cubs select 3rd baseman Kris Bryant, the next heir apparent to the "Disappointment at 3rd in Wrigleyville" crown.

Wonder if they see him sticking at 3rd. If so, they can't be high on some combo of Vitters, Castro, Lake, Baez, Villanueva for the long term.

Would be sweet to see guys pan out and get something like Baez at short, Castro at 3b, Lake at 2b, Bryant in right.

[Keith]

I was JUST complaining to my trainee about ESPN (Sports Center specifically)....I feel they don't give a flying fuck about baseball. All Sports Center covers is baseketball/football I feel they spend maybe 5 minutes a show on baseball and spend the rest of the broadcast about pretty much anything else.

I know baseball has Baseball Tonight but it's never run on repeat in the mornings so its invalid.

Maybe if the MLB didn't hold its Draft during the season, as games are happening, it'd be better.

But I do agree that ESPN does push baseball to the side a bit, and favors basketball and football.

Especially football. They'll give the NFL more coverage than baseball and even basketball even when they (the NFL) is in its offseason. It's ridiculous.

But yeah, the MLB doesn't help its case by holding its Draft during the season, and on the MLB Network. If they held it on ESPN it'd get more love from the channel, I think.

[Droford]

Hunter "Hearst" Harvey.

Shame starters don't get music to come out to the mound to

[ClockShot]

Yankees grab 3B Eric Jagielo from Notre Dame as their first pick.

I like how Oppenheimer is thinking of the future but it's roughly 5 years too late. Gonna need to fill in a few spots here and there until some of these guys are ready.

[Emperor Smeat]

Turns out Indians Chris Perez ended up getting busted for pot possession by the Feds. He's claiming its only for medical/personal use while the police found about 2 jars worthy of the stuff in his house.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9352009/chris-perez-cleveland-indians-charged-pot-possession

[Schlomey]

Turns out Indians Chris Perez ended up getting busted for pot possession by the Feds. He's claiming its only for medical/personal use while the police found about 2 jars worthy of the stuff in his house.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9352009/chris-perez-cleveland-indians-charged-pot-possession

fuckin hell

[ClockShot]

CLEVELAND ROCKS!

Another problem for ol' Buddy to deal with.

[Keith]

Does his admission put him in violation of MLB's Wellness Program?

50 games?

[Emperor Smeat]

According to ESPN, pot/marijuana use falls under MLB's drug rehab program and not their discipline program.

[ClockShot]

Chien-Ming Wang opts out of his minor league deal with the Yankees and signed a major league deal with the Blue Jays. He'll be in their rotation next week.

[Keith]

The Dodgers want JJ Hardy.

[Damian Rey]

Hanley is better than Hardy. They need pitching reinforcements and a 3 bagger more than anything else.

[Skippord]

I imagine Hardy would play third or they'd move Hanley over there

also Hanley may be hurt again apparently

[Keith]

http://i42.tinypic.com/2mcfvwn.jpg

[Keith]

Rays come from behind and beat the O's!

[Droford]

The Dodger fans want JJ Hardy.

Fixed..if your source is the yahoo article I just read. The o's wouldn't want ethier anyway

[Droford]

I should call Ben maller tonight and talk about that

[Keith]

Yeah, and talk about how Archie held the O's to just 2 hits, including an 0 for 4 Chris Davis.

[DaveWadding]

I watched some of the O's game on MLB Network yesterday. The O's TV announcers are the only people who equal Dro's homerism. They spent like 2 innings talking about how great Ryan Flaherty and Chris Dickerson are.

[Frank Drebin]

Excited for Zach Wheeler and Gerrit Cole call ups next week.

Poor Dan Hudson. Going the way of Brandon Webb for the dbacks.

[Frank Drebin]

Wondering if the Braves fleeced the Cubs for Paul Maholm.

[Frank Drebin]

Cubs got the better of the Travis Wood / Sean Marshall trade though.

Wonder if Josh Donaldson would have developed into this if he wasn't traded in the Harden deal. Wasn't even the main prospect dealt there.

[Skippord]

Nolan Arenado :heart:

[Skippord]

also, Jesus Christ Yasiel Puig is awesome

I wish some other team had paid a zillion dollars for him

[CSL]

yah, was "keeping track" of the score via smartphoneingness whilst watching a DVD on my Sony Playstation 3 entertainment system and saw he'd homered again and said his name about 15 times in varying tones over the remainder of the film. Then considered buying a Yasiel Puig jersey. Then realized white clothing doesn't work on me

[Skippord]

My favorite thing about Yasiel Puig is how excited Vin Scully gets when he does something good.

[CSL]

lol the way he just strawbed off this apparently slow as shit Dodgers catcher. "Can they score, NO WAY!"

[CSL]

I always enjoy seeing Juan Uribe come up to bat at home just for his walkup songs, appears to have those "Caribbean songs" that every non-American player has but also has random "heavy white guy rock tracks" also

[CSL]

Dodgers celebrating like they won the World Series and Michael Schumacher the pinch runner getting mobbed like he's cured cancer while Randy Newman plays a song

[CSL]

feel like ESPN is in my future ala Michael Stima

[Boomer]

Braves O is sleeping, Bucknor sucks, and the bullpen is showing weakness with the 7th and 8th inning guys out for the year. Rough.

[CSL]

yeah but despite all that, Dan Uggla is still a cool name

[Boomer]

Having three regulars in the lineup under the Mendoza and still being 6.5 up in the division is ok. No idea if any of those three will get their shit together this year though.

[DaveWadding]

yeah but despite all that, Dan Uggla is still a cool name

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m3ZjcUK2Pjg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[CSL]

wowww there is no fucker in that stadium #GiancarloNotMikeStanton

[Skippord]

lol the way he just strawbed off this apparently slow as shit Dodgers catcher. "Can they score, NO WAY!"
Ramon Hernandez may be the slowest person on the planet, for a second I was like 'No of course he can't score, Vin." Then he was like "NO WAY!" and I was like "You got me again, you rascal"

[RoXer]

yah, was "keeping track" of the score via smartphoneingness whilst watching a DVD on my Sony Playstation 3 entertainment system and saw he'd homered again and said his name about 15 times in varying tones over the remainder of the film. Then considered buying a Yasiel Puig jersey. Then realized white clothing doesn't work on me

also he'll more than likely change his number

[RoXer]

also paul goldschmidt

[RoXer]

#GoldschmidtedOn

[CSL]

also he'll more than likely change his number

why would he do this? #MariooooooLeeeeeeee-myewwwwwwwwwww

[RoXer]

66 isn't really a sexy baseball number

Skip Schumaker is a sexy dude though

[RoXer]

I ain't gay

[Skippord]

I've never noticed Skip Schumaker being a sexy dude, different strokes I guess.

[RoXer]

Who do you think is the sexiest player in the league at the moment Skippord?

[RoXer]

I like <S>Michael Bowden and Skip Schumaker</s> vagina.

[RoXer]

Love vagina so much

[Droford]

I watched some of the O's game on MLB Network yesterday. The O's TV announcers are the only people who equal Dro's homerism. They spent like 2 innings talking about how great Ryan Flaherty and Chris Dickerson are.

Too bad you got to hear Jim hunter and mike Bordick and not Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer.

Flaherty has been hitting much better since he spent 10 days down in AAA and Dickerson has been a very good bench player.