**2012 Baseball talk thread**

[Cruzer 1,992]

Line up just released - nothing out of the ordinary, top 8 as has been against lefties. Will see Hamilton in left field and Gentry in center. Napoli will play first and Young will dh.

[WahooJim 4]

I know Kinsler has been struggling a little, but isn't he hitting like .350 against lefties this year? Career 10 for 24 against Saunders with 2 doubles and 4 homers. I don't think I'd be moving him to 8th in the lineup.

 

Cruz is hitting .309 against lefties (.244 against righties). Career 6 for 20 with 2 homers off Saunders. Suprisingly, Mike Napoli has been terrible against lefties this year.

 

I think I'd stick with the top 5 of Kinsler, Andrus, Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz in this matchup. Michael Young is kind of the hole in the lineup, but Washington continues to run him out there. Although he hits lefties well too.

 

This matchup SHOULD setup REALLY well for Texas the way they hit lefties facing a average lefty in Saunders.

 

I'm a believer in track record/splits/matchups too, but sometimes you are so freaking worthless (cataclysmic stretch regardless of splits) that you just need to stay home. That's where Kinsler is now.

[ZeroTolerance 582]

Chipper choke, Atlanta infield choke, ump choke, Atlanta fan choke. Awesome start to the playoffs.

[cbfalcon 824]

Chipper choke, Atlanta infield choke, ump choke, Atlanta fan choke. Awesome start to the playoffs.

 

Much much worse call than the Seahawks TD.

[Stewburtx8 67]

That was the worst call I've ever seen. I can't believe Freddy Gonzalez didn't stay on the field until he was tossed.

[remote controller 133]

Bye Chipper you little pvssy!....er....ugh.... I mean .....tuff luck!

[cbfalcon 824]

Only Josh Hamilton has a way of getting so out of sorts at the plate that he actually looks like he is trying to miss the ball on purpose with each swing, in order to get the at bat over with as past as possible.

[cbfalcon 824]

Yu Darvish isn't overpowering. He just simply seems "better". He, and he alone, gives me faith in Texas winning this game.

 

Bigger picture, he is 26 years old I believe. I don't think there are 5 pitchers I would rather have locked up for the next 5 years right now, as I expect him to just keep getting better.

[cbfalcon 824]

Speaking of...there was no reason in the world to take Darvish out to bring in Holland. Motherfocker.

 

The only reason I'm not throwing things is because I don't think our offense is good enough to have scored a 2nd run anyway. But that extra run is on Wash's head.

 

Fucck.

[CantTouchThis 23]

I'm a fairly big baseball fan and that rule confuses me. I do know that it was a bad call, but it was the Braves who beat the Braves yesterday, not the ump.

 

Jesus. Orioles and Cardinals. Cool I guess.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Speaking of...there was no reason in the world to take Darvish out to bring in Holland. Motherfocker.

 

Fucck.

WTF was that? Omg, I was freaking pissed - Yu was at 91 pitches and throwing great. Not his fault our guys couldn't hit their way out of a paper bag that night.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

Watch out for the Nats. Gio pitched one very poor inning that would have melted most guys, but was lights out other than that. They could have failed 50 ways yesterday and walked away with a win. Nats are 19-8 after winning a 1 run game this year. Series over.

[Voltaire 4,563]

It's cool how even though Detroit had the worst record of all the playoff teams, we still ot the easiest team to play against in the first round. Let the Yankees and Orioles have at each other.

[Big Blue 06 195]

It's cool how even though Detroit had the worst record of all the playoff teams, we still ot the easiest team to play against in the first round. Let the Yankees and Orioles have at each other.

 

I have a feeling that the Yankees/Orioles series isn't going to be as difficult as people expect. New York is peaking at the right time and I see no way that we avoid a Yankees/Tigers ALCS.

[Voltaire 4,563]

I have a feeling that the Yankees/Orioles series isn't going to be as difficult as people expect. New York is peaking at the right time and I see no way that we avoid a Yankees/Tigers ALCS.

 

Yeah the Yankees all got healthy at the right time. If that happens, ideally the Tigers win in 3 or 4 against the K's to save Verlander for Game One vs the Yankees again. Baltimore has fight in them though and it's a game of inches.

[Birdseed 1]

Watch out for the Nats. Gio pitched one very poor inning that would have melted most guys, but was lights out other than that. They could have failed 50 ways yesterday and walked away with a win. Nats are 19-89 after winning a 1 run game this year. Series over.

 

Not so fast. Cardinals b1tchslapped the Nats in Game 2, and now have Carpenter, Lohse and Wainwright scheduled to be on the mound in the next 3.

[nospk 230]

bump for the bay area fans... :overhead:

[Big Blue 06 195]

Yeah the Yankees all got healthy at the right time. If that happens, ideally the Tigers win in 3 or 4 against the K's to save Verlander for Game One vs the Yankees again. Baltimore has fight in them though and it's a game of inches.

 

Yeah, Baltimore is getting on my nerves. Obviously, they are a good, talented team with a lot of heart. However, it's also pretty clear that they've been getting a ton of breaks this season. Nobody goes 30-10 in 1 run games without some luck or goes 74-0 with a lead after the 7th inning, no matter how good you are. Eventually, a bad break here or there will even that out.

 

Having said that, they are a really solid, well run team. I'm just hoping that regression catches up to them sooner rather than later.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Gosh almighty - I swear the Yanks are charmed beyond comprehension. First I'm lauging my ass off and loving A-Fraud getting benched and pinch hit for, then 80-year old Raul Ibanez pulls 2 home runs out of his ass. Got to be kidding me..... And then the pesky A's - are you serious? They will not die, least not until today. They get Verlander and he ain't no joke - if they beat him they really are possessed.

 

 

[naomi 343]

A little bit ago I googled 'sf giants' to check the score (don't have broadcast access), clicked the inning link for the heck of it, and launched this right before Posey hit his grand slam Funny way to see it come in (especially with a slow computer), but better than nothing.

[ZeroTolerance 582]

Gosh almighty - I swear the Yanks are charmed beyond comprehension. First I'm lauging my ass off and loving A-Fraud getting benched and pinch hit for, then 80-year old Raul Ibanez pulls 2 home runs out of his ass. Got to be kidding me..... And then the pesky A's - are you serious? They will not die, least not until today. They get Verlander and he ain't no joke - if they beat him they really are possessed.

On the Yanks: Johnson has single-handedly saved them from being swept by the O's. Tremendous choke job.

 

As for the Tigers...the A's don't necessarily have to beat Verlander. They just have to beat our lineup/defense/bullpen. Just like last night...they didn't beat Scherzer, hell you could barely say they 'beat' Sanchez in Game 3. Unfortunately for as awesome as our rotation is and could be for the rest of the post-season, the rest of the team is doing it's damnedest to make sure we don't make it there.

[ZeroTolerance 582]

And we will have at least three of the four LDS series go the distance. Up to the O's to make it four for four.

[CantTouchThis 23]

VVVVVVEEEEEEEERRRRRRLLLLLLLAAAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

The funny thing is all of us Tigers fans were super pissed about last night, but none of us really thought we would lose game 5. They gave up an opportunity to be able to set up to rotation well and get people(Sherzer) healthy. That is what game 4 did, just fock sh1t up. But none of us really thought the As would beat Verlander in beast mode. I knew if he lost, it would be a 1-0 loss since the offense, until the 7th inning in game 5, was pretty much dead.

 

But now that the Os are taking the Yanks the distance, I guess it doesn't really matter, since now everyone's rotation will be focked up a bit. It does effect the Tigers the most in that it means JV might only get 1 start. Then again, the Tigers are good 1-4 and have the deepest rotation in the playoffs right now.

 

Again, it's the focking bullpen. It seems if someone comes out and gets a 1-2-3 inning, the next person that comes out sucks. They just can't get everyone on their A game at the same time. The Tigers have a talented bullpen that underachieved in the regular season and carried into the playoffs.

 

Even though Valverde has been a very good closer overall since coming here, the dude has 1 decent pitch he can control, and 1 great pitch he can't control anymore. I think he can recover, but if he say blows a game that costs them a trip to the series, I think he's gone and won't be missed. He's on thin ice.

[shotsup 832]

4 for four

[Big Blue 06 195]

I was going to say that I was getting sick of the Orioles, but I don't think that would be accurate. More precisely, I'm getting sick of the Yankees chocking their way through games, scoring 1 or 2 runs and hoping it will hold up. ARod is getting most of the flack for the series and is getting booed relentlessly, but let's look at the lineup:

 

ARod: 2 for 16 (.125)

Cano: 2 for 18 (.111)

Swisher: 2 for 15 (.133)

Ichiro: 4 for 20 (.200)

Grandy: 1 for 16 (.063)

 

Overall lineup: 30 for 152 (.197)

 

I know it's the cool thing to do in NY to blame ARod, but he's only one guy, and he's not even the best hitter on the team (Cano). I think the Tigers/Yankees would be the best ALCS possible (I thought that when the playoffs started), but the Yankees had better dent the plate a little bit tonight. Otherwise, there are going to be some big questions to be answered in the offseason and some major names that are not back here next year.

[southcarolina 166]

My God is baseball still going on? I thought the season ended like 2 months ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/disgruntled RedSox fan.

[Stewburtx8 67]

VVVVVVEEEEEEEERRRRRRLLLLLLLAAAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

The funny thing is all of us Tigers fans were super pissed about last night, but none of us really thought we would lose game 5. They gave up an opportunity to be able to set up to rotation well and get people(Sherzer) healthy. That is what game 4 did, just fock sh1t up. But none of us really thought the As would beat Verlander in beast mode. I knew if he lost, it would be a 1-0 loss since the offense, until the 7th inning in game 5, was pretty much dead.

 

But now that the Os are taking the Yanks the distance, I guess it doesn't really matter, since now everyone's rotation will be focked up a bit. It does effect the Tigers the most in that it means JV might only get 1 start. Then again, the Tigers are good 1-4 and have the deepest rotation in the playoffs right now.

 

Again, it's the focking bullpen. It seems if someone comes out and gets a 1-2-3 inning, the next person that comes out sucks. They just can't get everyone on their A game at the same time. The Tigers have a talented bullpen that underachieved in the regular season and carried into the playoffs.

 

Even though Valverde has been a very good closer overall since coming here, the dude has 1 decent pitch he can control, and 1 great pitch he can't control anymore. I think he can recover, but if he say blows a game that costs them a trip to the series, I think he's gone and won't be missed. He's on thin ice.

 

 

Verlander should be available to pitch game 3 and game 7 if necessary at least on normal rest. Obviously the Tigers would of loved to have him for Game 1 and 5, with the possibility in relief in Game 7. But like you said, the Tigers have the deepest rotation. Huge Verlander fan here so I'm rooting for the Tigers I guess.

 

Pretty great playoffs so far with all 4 series going 5 games.

 

As a Phillies fan missing October baseball, it's been pretty tough to watch walkoffs by Ibanez and Werth on back to back nights though.

[Cruzer 1,992]

I know we've still got 2012 baseball stuff to finish this year - but what's the outside world's take on Josh Hamilton? Word out of inside sources with the Rangers - the Cowboys have a greater chance of winning the SB than #32 resigning back with the team. And truth be told, the general vibe is most are okay with that, myself included think it is time for him to go............ So where does he go - does NY have any interest? Boston - LA?

 

 

[southcarolina 166]

I know we've still got 2012 baseball stuff to finish this year - but what's the outside world's take on Josh Hamilton? Word out of inside sources with the Rangers - the Cowboys have a greater chance of winning the SB than #32 resigning back with the team. And truth be told, the general vibe is most are okay with that, myself included think it is time for him to go............ So where does he go - does NY have any interest? Boston - LA?

 

 

 

If the RedSox didnt learn their lesson with Crawford/Gonzalez, i might become a Rays fan next year.

[cbfalcon 824]

I know we've still got 2012 baseball stuff to finish this year - but what's the outside world's take on Josh Hamilton? Word out of inside sources with the Rangers - the Cowboys have a greater chance of winning the SB than #32 resigning back with the team. And truth be told, the general vibe is most are okay with that, myself included think it is time for him to go............ So where does he go - does NY have any interest? Boston - LA?

 

This is obviously not solid info as it comes from a friend who is friends with someone in the Josh inner circle. But I will say the person that is giving me the info is someone that is very connected to that social world.

 

But supposedly Josh is drinking again these last 2 months or so. He had it "under control" in that he is showing up to work every day, but supposedly it's an every night thing. And I guess he is having quite a bit of fun with the ladies as well.

 

It could all be bullshiit as these things often are. But it fits the look of his season. No just at the plate and with stats, but he simply didn't seem like the same person in recent months.

[Cruzer 1,992]

This is obviously not solid info as it comes from a friend who is friends with someone in the Josh inner circle. But I will say the person that is giving me the info is someone that is very connected to that social world.

 

But supposedly Josh is drinking again these last 2 months or so. He had it "under control" in that he is showing up to work every day, but supposedly it's an every night thing. And I guess he is having quite a bit of fun with the ladies as well.

 

It could all be bullshiit as these things often are. But it fits the look of his season. No just at the plate and with stats, but he simply didn't seem like the same person in recent months.

Wow, that would make a lot of sense - certainly has seemed disinterested and out of focus on the field. Was listening to Norm on the Ticket y-day and he said a person pretty connected and inside the organization said there was no way in hell Josh was coming back - that the Rangers would not take him back if he wanted to play for free.

[CantTouchThis 23]

I know we've still got 2012 baseball stuff to finish this year - but what's the outside world's take on Josh Hamilton? Word out of inside sources with the Rangers - the Cowboys have a greater chance of winning the SB than #32 resigning back with the team. And truth be told, the general vibe is most are okay with that, myself included think it is time for him to go............ So where does he go - does NY have any interest? Boston - LA?

 

He is a strange player. Very hot/cold, hit/miss...literally. Obviously we all see what he can do when he is on. He is the best hitter in the league when he is on, but he hasn't had an "on" stretch for more than about a month and a half in his career.

 

Plus, he has a lot of weird injuries and ailments. The whole vision thing because he's drinks too much energy drinks? Had to sit a few games in the heat of a pennant race, and was not effective upon returning. Then the trouble hitting during the day because of his eye color? Even though the Tigers are set, to me these and his history with alcohol and drugs(apparently maybe he fell off the wagon?) are enough to stay away, especially since he will likely demand a 18-20M/year deal. I am think the Sox or Miami.

[CantTouchThis 23]

And I guess he is having quite a bit of fun with the ladies as well.

 

 

Damn dude, wimmen really weaken knees. When JV started his fling with Upton, he seriously had a totally different look to him and it showed on the field. I think he either figured out a good balance, and just stopped it altogether because his last 6 starts he got that scowl and his game back. But, christ, it would be really, really tough to quit a piece of tail like that.

[CantTouchThis 23]

Verlander should be available to pitch game 3 and game 7 if necessary at least on normal rest. Obviously the Tigers would of loved to have him for Game 1 and 5, with the possibility in relief in Game 7. But like you said, the Tigers have the deepest rotation. Huge Verlander fan here so I'm rooting for the Tigers I guess.

 

Yeah, I was thinking about that today with the extra day off and the day off to travel(I think) he'll be on normal rest when it comes back to Detroit for game 3. He will definitely get the 3/7 on full rest, which really works out better now that I think about it. Having Fister in game 1 is definitely not a bad option. Then I think they will go Sanchez, then Verlander, and give Sherzer an extra few days to rest his shoulder and start him game 4.

 

I really want smokes to start sending out Porcello and Smyly for middle relief. I know he is saving them in case one of the starts gets bombed and he needs a long reliever, but I would take either of those 2 over Coke and Benoit.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Just heard - Joe Girardi is benching A-Fraud for 2day's game. Ha, love it.

[ZeroTolerance 582]

Jim Leyland is a goddamned moron. Valverde gave up runs in 8 of 13 appearances in September. He lost you a critical game in the ALDS. And you put him in. He gives up a two run homer. You leave him in. He walks a batter to bring up the tying run, a guy who has hit tying or walk-off homers three times in the last month. You leave him in.

[shotsup 832]

Jim Leyland is a goddamned moron. Valverde gave up runs in 8 of 13 appearances in September. He lost you a critical game in the ALDS. And you put him in. He gives up a two run homer. You leave him in. He walks a batter to bring up the tying run, a guy who has hit tying or walk-off homers three times in the last month. You leave him in.

 

 

HOLY FVCKIN SHIIT

[ZeroTolerance 582]

HOLY FVCKIN SHIIT

I am past the point of human decency. Jim Leyland is long overdue for lung cancer, and the time is now for the Reaper to collect.

[Big Blue 06 195]

Are the Yankees getting paid by the hour? They go to extra innings pretty much every playoff game; my heart can't take much more of this.

[shotsup 832]

Are the Yankees getting paid by the hour? They go to extra innings pretty much every playoff game; my heart can't take much more of this.

 

I am one of the biggest yankee haters out there but I have to say impressed with this Ibanez story !