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#1
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Baseball
The wonderful Hockey thread has had a lot of baseball discussion of late. I suspect there are some members who want to find the excellent updates about matches without having to scroll through me, transjen, and shadows talking about the Red Sox and the Phillies. So, I'm starting this thread for baseball discussion.
I am a baseball fanatic. What I love about baseball the most is what those who "hate" baseball hate the most: its slowness. There's a reason baseball is called "America's pastime." It's not just because of how widely it was played in the 19th century, when it earned that name. It's also because you can pass a lot of time. Unlike clock sports, baseball unfolds at whatever pace a given game has. In between the action of a pitcher throwing the next pitch, for example, a real lover of baseball has the opportunity to speculate/imagine a nearly unlimited number of possibilities. What kind of pitch will he throw? is the batter swinging or taking? Is there a steal on? Should the batter bunt? Should he go for the fences? Is an opposite-field hit in order? Why is the left fielder shading to the right? Should the second baseman or shortstop take a throw to second? Etc. Etc. Etc. My team is the Red Sox. I've been a rabid Sox fan all of my life. I go to as many games as possible at Fenway, and I rarely miss a game on the radio or TV if I'm not at the ballpark. I travel to other cities to see Sox games, and last season went to Sox games in Baltimore, New York, Cleveland, Toronto, Kansas City, and Oakland. Let's have a fun and spirited discussion, just like we've been having about hockey. Go Red Sox!! |
#2
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UPDATE
A.Dawson made it in to the Baseball Hall of Fame today but poor Bert came ever so close missing the needed 75% by uneder 1% And still no love for Ron Santo as the vet comittie put in Cards manger and an umpire And just my opion but PUT PETE ROSE IN THE HALL !!!! Jerseygirl Jen |
#3
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Blyleven belongs, and so does Robbie Alomar, who missed today, too. And yes, Jen, you are absolutely right: put Pete Rose in the Hall!!!!
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#4
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I believe this was Robbie's first ballot and it appears there is some kind snubbury towards first ballot trys so perhaps next year, Barry Larkin was snubbed also
update number 2 Randy Johnson just retired, The last 300 game winner for a long long time Jerseygirl Jen |
#5
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Quote:
but not (ugly) Randy Johnson. |
#6
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The Mariners are going to the playoffs this year! Seriously, I see nobody in the west challenging our team. We aren't even finished building the team yet either.
Randy Johnson was such a great pitcher. Him and Griffey will always be among my favorite players. Sad to see a great career come to an end. |
#7
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Maybe Tim Wakefield could be a 300-game winner. He's only got 111 to go, and if his back holds up he could throw the knuckleball for another 10 years!
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#8
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Beltre is ace defensively. He's had a real shitty time with injuries though and his offense never really picked up in Seattle. I read that he hated Safeco though which couldve been a reason for the lack of power.
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#9
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Wakefield(as smc mentioned) may get there, but I honestly don't see it happening. He has had a lot of injuries the past couple of seasons and I just don't see him keeping it up. Although he does have the advantage of being a knuckleball pitcher, which helps with longevity. Jennifer, do you remember when Randy Johnson hit the bird with a pitch as he was throwing to home plate? The animal lovers wanted him to be charged, but how the hell was it his fault? The bird just happened to fly across as the ball was in motion! Sometimes I think they need to give their heads a shake. |
#10
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Quote:
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#11
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I was never a Randy Johnson fan but you have to give him credit for his great career so i'll tip my cap to him and say he's proably the last 300 game winner as the teams now depend on the bullpen more and more and the 5 and 6 man rotation Jerseygirl Jen |
#12
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Post news from your favorite team
Here's the latest from Red Sox Nation:
Sox picked up Adrian Beltre as the new starting 3rd baseman, which means Mike Lowell will be traded or platooned, Kevin Youkilis will stay at his Gold Glove position across the diamond, and Casey Kotchman will not become the starting 1st baseman. With Jason Bay gone to the Mets, the Sox announced that Jacoby Ellsbury (or "Wonderboy," as I call him) will move to left field and newly acquired Mike Cameron will play center. Ellsbury was reportedly disappointed, but manager Terry Francona makes an excellent point: "The way we're constituted, with [Cameron's] long strides and Jacoby's first-step quickness, it seems that we're set up better that way." Left field is a tough position in Fenway, because you have to learn to read the wall. |
#13
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Baseball-slowness-Cricket
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As a fan of another game of slowness, cricket, it's clear I was always going to be an instant convert to baseball. I just had to learn the rules and jargon of the game. And then try to pick up the various strategies and oddities... why/when attempt to steal, why would a batter intentionally get out (the sac fly), that a pitcher can only enter the game for one batter and possibly only one pitch, when to bunt, etc. But if you think baseball has a nice slow pace, try Test Match Cricket (the five day version of the game). You play roughly 6 hours per day, and after five days you can still have a drawn match. Sometimes, for one team, holding on for the draw actually feels like a win. England clung on for the draw in the 1st Test Match against South Africa just before Xmas, and today they are aiming to do it again in the 3rd Test. Fortunately we thrashed the South Africans in the 2nd Test. In recent years to speed cricket up a bit, a new version of the game was invented, called Twenty20, when batting each team faces a maximum of 120 deliveries. The game should only last approx 3 to 3.5 hours, suitable for fans to watch on a summer evening after work. Note: Less than 100 days until the start of the 2010 regular season. |
#14
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It was a great time. And we did it a few more times over the year. An important point about "slowness": a large part of cricket's slowness is actually "duration." Breaks for lunch, tea, drinks ... those all make the game take longer. No one was slowing the match while waiting for some TV ad to be completed. |
#15
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TV imposing on the game is one thing that appears to be different in England compared with North America. Over here TV doesn't dictate the play of the game and in cricket the TV company has to sneak advert breaks in at the change of ends between the overs bowled or during mid-session drinks breaks. In North America play seems to stop when TV needs it to and won't restart until the ad break has finished. Quite often a hurried return to the cricket happens just after the ball has been bowled, but then there is plenty of time before the next ball to show a replay of the delivery you just missed. The 3rd Test Match has just finished and England have clung on for the draw again. We were down to our last wicket for the final 17 balls. This draw happened in almost an identical manner to the 1st Test where England's last wicket survived for the final 19 balls. The South Africans must be gutted that they have drawn two matches that they were only one wicket (out) away from winning the game. So that leaves England 1-0 up in the Series with only one Test Match to go. So England can't lose the Series now, but a Series win away in South Africa will be a fantastic achievement for England. |
#16
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Special Committee for On-Field Matters
Major League Baseball has announced that Commissioner Bud Selig is going to in a week or so with the Special Committee for On-Field Matters, which has some veteran managers (Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia, and Joe Torre), GMs, club owners, and team presidents. Among the topics are schedules, playoff formats, umpiring, game pace, and instant replay.
I'm hoping they address -- and fix -- the ridiculous postseason schedule, with all the wasted open dates. |
#17
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At the mercy of TV schedules
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The last three years has seen Game 1 of the World Series moved back to Wednesdays to boost sagging ratings. This avoids having a game on poorly watched Friday nights, and means play on both days of the weekend. I suppose the only TV schedule nightmare for comes on Monday when a Game 5 goes head-to-head with Monday Night Football. In the earlier postseason rounds the teams wanted the extra days off for travel. But surely playing baseball in November can't be right. |
#18
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I rarely follow cricket, but am I right to think that it was only a few years ago that India was a dominant force in international cricket play?
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#19
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This ranking system only started in June 2003 and for the first 6 years 2 months Australia were #1. England are only #5, and it will take a couple of years before they have a chance of challenging for the #1 spot. However their Ashes Series win last summer and current 1-0 series lead after the 3rd of a 4 Test Match Series in South Africa will help improve England's ranking. As for One Day International Cricket I those damn Aussies are still #1 in the World. India are #2 and again England are #5. One cricket fact to surprise you is that before England played Australia in the first official Test Match in 1877, the first international cricket match took place 25th-27th Sept. 1844 in Bloomingdale Park, Manhattan, New York between the USA and Canada. The Canadians won the game. 10,000+ people watched it and an estimated $100,000 was bet on the match. Canada also won both a home and an away game against the USA in 1845. Before the American Civil War cricket was by far the biggest sport in the USA. Cricket effectively became a victim of that war. Without the Civil War, would baseball be where it is today? |
#20
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Very interesting,,,, but doubtful.
I really have no clue if cricket was ever played much in the US,, but I seriously hope it wasn't, lol. Some sports should be all nationalistic.. Cricket sure fits for Brits,,,, and Baseball is as Yankee as it gets.... I just can't see any stiff upper lip Brit chewing and spittin' tobaceee....and what a mess it'd make on those fine white uniforms.....
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#21
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I see that the Texas Rangers have hired former Red Sox catcher Bill Hasselman to be a manager in the minor leagues. It cannot be overstated: catchers make excellent managers!
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