Tommorow is the first day of the 2010 baseball season and that means
THE YANKEES WIN THE YANKEES WIN

:yes: Philliefan Jen

Jennifer, I thought that you didn't like the Yankees.:confused:

I don't but those are the six words you will hear at the end of the first game played this season
:yes: Philliedan Jen

I think smc will have something to say about that.;):lol:

It looks like you'll be waiting until almost the end of June then. You're going to have to move over here, dauls. It's possible to get hockey, basketball, and football (soccer) right now. Baseball will be shown soon in addition to the previously mentioned sports. You wouldn't miss the Premier League by living over here either. One of the sports channels carries several Premier League games every week.

It's just a guess, but perhaps Jen is just razzing me for taking issue with the attitudes and behaviors of Phillies fans in general (although not Jen in particular). I hope it's not that Jen is going over to another "side of the fence" and embracing the evil empire.

Jen, you do realize that the scumbag Steinbrenners would want nothing to do with someone like you, right? They only want people who have no souls.

And all this time I thought George only wanted poor people so that he could throw millions of dollars at them for doing absolutely nothing.

What a game! The Red Sox -- a team the pundits said would have no offense this season (what with the shift to "run prevention") -- beat the Yankees 9-7, coming back from a 5-1 deficit!

Trouble sleeping?
 

SMC:

Somebody is too excited to get any sleep tonight?

Just a guess. Good game though. Congrats.


TAL

Cool! I was going to check the highlights of the game(it was 8-7 when I checked earlier) but I figured I would check this thread out first. Neither starter was very good, but the offense was alive and kicking!

Good start to the season.;)

Actually, Beckett was great in the 1-2-3 top of the 1st inning, getting three outs on 7 pitches. But his curveball wasn't working at all, which was weird given how effective it was in his last spring training start.

Sabathia was tremendous until the 5th inning.

The highlight for me was Pedroia hitting a 2-run homer. Pedey rules!

Off to sleep now.

Hey Jen, if you come on and read this, is there anything you want to correct about earlier posts? ;)

The local newspaper ran a story about the game. I don't know what the editors were thinking though. The picture that ran with the story showed two Yankees doing a fist bump. I would think that they would have run a picture of a home team player for a season opener. Perhaps the staff at the paper should be given a geography lesson on where Fenway Park is.

I think you should cut the editors some slack, since there is a reasonable chance that they have sold their souls to the Steinbrenner Devil like so many other people around the country who focus only on the Yankees.

:lol: Yeah, they probably caught some of that excess cash that Steinbrenner was throwing around.

Just A Guess
 

ILA:

It might have been because it was the only game for that day.

TAL

You missed what I was saying. I know it was the only game for that day. It was also the first game of the regular season. My point was that the newspaper could have at least run a picture of the home team on the first game. It also should have been a picture of the game action. Two players bumping fists doesn't seem like an appropriate picture for the story.

Brave's fan here...and it's Bobby Cox's last season at the wheel.

I've mixed emotions on that one...Bobby's been, IMHO a good manager based on [I]averages[I], but there are things he habitually tends to do that hurt the team, such as leaving a struggling pitcher on the mound for too long. We'll see what the changes bring.

That said, it's only :respect: in my heart for the old man...

Anyway, the game's one of the reasons I love spring!

I think the Braves are the only team that has a chance of beating the Phillies in the NL East.

Let's hope so. It's a distinct possibility. There's a good bit of new blood on the field.

Opening night against the Cubs, Lowe v Zambrano. What a way to start!

Tacos all around - be here at 7. :)

Damn. I screwed up, big time! :censored:

First pitch was 4pm. Now in the bottom of the 7th, score's 12-5, Braves.

At least there's that...

And your team did not cough up the lead in the bottom of the ninth, like a certain team that I root for.:(

Nice debut as the closer, Frasor. You sucked mightily!:rolleyes:

I will take two positives from this game, however. Wells was 3-4, hit a home run, and had 3 RBIs! Also, Shawn Marcum pitched very well(except for that 3 run inning due to a home run) especially considering how he missed all of last season with Tommy John surgery.

Attachment 156830

Time for a pitching change.;)

smc, this one is for you.:respect:

Attachment 156831

Not to be pessimistic, but time will tell. The trend usually starts just before the All-Star break. It's been a very bad habit of theirs.

But what an opening day for my Braves! 16-5 over the Cubs! :yes:

And the Yankees are still in town. I can smell them when I open the window.

Some random musings about baseball after Opening Day (post-Opening Night):

President Obama threw out the first pitch at Nationals Stadium wearing a Nats jacket and a White Sox cap. Whatever else you might think of the president, you have to give credit to him for "representing" for his favorite team despite the venue.

There was a wonderful moment in the Cardinals - Reds game when the Cincinnati catcher tried to deke Albert Pujols by calling for a fastball and then signaling -- with his head -- that the pitcher should fake shaking it off before throwing the heat. Pujols wasn't buying, and launched the fastball into the stands for a home run.

Does what happened with Jason Heyward of the Braves portend what the Braves season might be like, in Bobby Cox's last year as manager? The rookie hit a three-run homer, not just in his first major-league at-bat, but his first swing. I've said it before in this thread: the Braves are the only team in the NL East capable of giving the Phillies a run for the division title.

The Pirates won on opening day, beating the Dodgers 11-5. The last time these two teams met each other in a season opener, the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. Any guesses on how many more games the Pirates win this year? They've had 17 consecutive losing seasons until now, and I'm of the opinion that Major League Baseball should forcibly oust the Pirates ownership.

Roy Halladay opened for the Phillies. It's nice to see Doc pitch for a team that is likely to give him post-season opportunities.

With regard to Jason Heyward and his first major league at bat and swing, a very similar thing happened with Jeff Francour and his first at bat, only it wasn't a three-runner, if my memory is correct. Still, a homerun in a player's first at bat, first swing in the majors is a rare thing.

It sure as hell set the tone for the season, but will it make a difference in the season? I sure as hell hope so. It be nice to see Bobby's retirement extended by playoffs and series matches.

And our fearless leader. My, my. I saw the video first on YouTube and it wasn't until I saw it on a highlight reel a bit later that I caught the hat trick.

The Pirates will win more than they did last year. More importantly, the current majority owner has only been in charge for two or three years. He has put in place a management team that seems to be doing things right, and the whole organization has been remodeled, based on drafting and developing young talent, rather than overspending on a free agent here and there which didn't help much. Actually, that's the way baseball teams used to do it before the modern era in which the richest teams (Yankees, Redsox, Phillies, Dodgers, et al) merely outspend everyone else. But it is true that even when the pockets are deep you still need to do it with intelligence. For instance, the Mets, and (until the past couple years) the Phillies spent a lot of money and didn't have much to show for it.

While it is true that the Red Sox are one of the richer teams and spend big money on free agents. the team has one of the highest-rated farm systems. Dustin Pedroia (Rookie of the Year and then MVP), Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury ... they all come out of the farm system (and are only a few examples). Three of them are starters for the team, and Lester would be the #1 ace on most teams.

One down, 161 to go...
 

OK, an 11-1 thumping of the Nationals isn't anything to write home about, but a win is a win. And it sounds like the Nationals' pitchers were about as effective as Obama was from the mound.;)

Great first Phillies start for Halladay. Great return to the Phillies for Polanco. And Ryan Howard opens his home run account early and survives six at-bats without striking out!:eek:

Dang. The Yankees won 6-4.:(

Smc, what sort of year do you think Ortiz is going to have? Is he going to have a half-decent year(I honestly don't think that he'll have any monster years like before due to his increase in injuries and the shadow of PED's that he has fallen into) or will he have a horrible season like last year?

The Red Sox really need him to increase his production, especially since Bay left.

Well, on the basis of two games, I would say he's going to have a slow start. He doesn't seem to have much back speed, he's hitting right into the shift, and he steadfastly refuses (or, I should say, Terry Francona, the Red Sox manager, refuses) to bunt down the third base line to teach other teams not to shift so radically on him.

That said, two games are far too few upon which to make such judgments, don't you agree?

Yep. two games are far too few; the Braves had their spectacular opening day, then a day off, and get down to business tonight. (I'm going to check the first pitch time right now to be sure I didn't screw up again - alright, 7:10 tonight, Jurjens v Dempster.) In mid-season, they tend not to do too well from that type of schedule.

A decent indicator, IMHO, of what sort of season a player is going to have is how well said player does the second time he see's a club, particular in early season. So many clubs are still in a 'clean-up' sort of mode now, perhaps the same can be said of the team as a whole...just my HO, of course.

Nice to see a rational Braves fan. One of my colleagues at work, who is from Atlanta, told me this morning that Jason Heyward was going to hit 55 home runs. I laughed out loud, and he got angry. Then a student who we both have in classes walked by and asked what all the commotion was about. I told him, and had to explain a little bit about baseball to him (he's from Singapore). He then turned to my colleague and said, "Professor, what do you say in class that I shouldn't take seriously?" I laughed so hard I nearly passed out.

Thanks. I suppose I could say I've been called worse! :innocent:

Us southern folk tend to be optimistic, but speaking strictly for myself, falter at predictions of grandeur. Certainly, based upon his opening day performance, Jason Heyward was spectacular, but is it a surety of things to come? Hardly.

no matter the team, opening day is like the wedding and reception; the first two or three series the new team faces, the honeymoon. Then it's time to go to work.

The Evil Empire won again!:no:

At least the Blue Jays played well today and are now 1-1 to start the season. Wells hit two more homeruns today(3 in 2 games now!). Hopefully he can keep up this sort of production for the rest of the season. I am not expecting monster numbers, but I would like an improvement over the past couple of seasons.

Yes, young Skywalker, the force was strong with the Empire in the late innings.

As it was with the Braves...At least Bobby got Jurjens off the mound in time, though his issues weren't necessarily his own, but a lack of run support.

In the end, a homer by Chipper in the 8th took it. Wells v Hanson tonight.

A short while ago, I received an email from a former student of mine who became a baseball lover while studying here in the United States. He's from Algeria, and lives back there now.

After he graduated, he was in DC for a while and became a Baltimore Orioles fan. The email expressed some mock concern over the fact that the Orioles have started the season 0-2. It reminded me of a certain season, many years ago, when the Orioles began the season 0-21, which is still the major league record for the most consecutive losses to start a season.

That spring, I was visiting at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. As the losing streak continued past 10 games, there was a certain DJ on one of the local radio stations who would tell the best Orioles joke listeners had called in during the previous 24 hours. I can remember only two of them, and I thought I'd share the best of those.

What do Michael Jackson and the Orioles have in common?

They both wear a glove on one hand, seemingly for no reason.

I'm now sad for the rest of the night as the NATS beats my PHILS today
:eek: Philliefan Jen

Oh, Jen, don't be sad. Even the best teams have to lose to the Little Leaguers once in a while. It won't happen often for the Phillies.

Another game, another homerun for Wells! Sweet! That gives him 4 already, and he only had a total of 15 last season. It looks like his wrist is fully healed.

Toronto came back to take the game 3-1 in the top of the ninth against the Texas closer(karma for the comeback win by Texas in the opener). Toronto is 2-1, and if not for the lousy game by Frasor in the first game, Toronto would have been 3-0. Not too bad considering that people predicted us to lose a 100 games!

Ricky Romero pitched a gem today. He only gave up one run off a wild pitch. So far I have been impressed with our starters. Marcum, Tallet, and Romero have had 3 straight quality starts.:respect:

Holy crap, shadows, do you actually believe that "karma" in baseball works that quickly? No, it plays out over decades, like the 86 years between the Red Sox winning World Series championships.

That wasn't karma. That was a curse.;):eek:

Karma, as used in Hinduism (from whence it comes), is about causality. Benefits are derived from past beneficial actions. Harmful actions in the past lead to harm in the future.

Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees to finance "No, No Nanette." His harmful action led to future harm -- 86 years worth. The "curse" is just part of the name for this particular example of karma.

(Note: I don't actually believe any of that crap. And speaking of crap, have you ever seen "No, No Nanette"?)

I don't believe I've ever heard of "No, No Nanette" before. I take it he was a player the Red Sox thought would be a good player and he ended up being a bust?

I'm laughing so hard I can barely type. Did you just punk me really, really well? Or do you not really know that "No, No Nanette" is a musical comedy that opened in 1925 in London and from which the famous song "Tea for Two" comes?

Harry Frazee wanted so much to be a Broadway producer instead of a baseball team owner, and wanted to help finance its opening in New York!

A curse? in 67 you just had the misfortune to run in to the Cardinals who were a better team then in 75 you ran in to THE BIG RED MACHINE agian a better team the in 86 you ok that team may have been cursed right thru Buckners legs
:eek: Philliefan Jen

Gee, Jen, I wrote something nice to help alleviate some of your sadness about the Phillies losing today to the Nationals, and you reward me with this miserable trip down memory lane?! What's next? Are you going to come up here and scratch my eyes out? ;)

Nope. No punking this time. I have honestly never heard of it before until this thread.:) I did make up the part about being a baseball player, but the rest was legit.

At least I now know what it is.;)

Sorry but i never brought in to the whole curse thing but think of the great achivements those years in 67 Yaz won the triple crown in batting in 75 the sieres is consided one of the greatest ever and Lynn won rookie of the year plus another rookie came up that year also a guy named Rice and in 86 a guy named Clemens struck out 21 Mariners in one game and you also had a hitting machine named Boggs

:yes: Philliefan Jen

I am not certain, but wasn't 1986 the year that Roger Clemens got himself ejected by mouthing off at the home plate umpire during a playoff game?:confused:

Braves? starting pitching
 

Tip O? The Cap, aka In My Opinion:

Braves? starting pitching


This is my first or basic part of this opinion, and there will be a numerical look to follow in another article. Conventional wisdom says their pitching is considered to be the best in the division, but I?m not totally convinced they are with the trade of Javier Vasquez. I?m not saying...

for more go to isportsweb.

Agreed; they look good on the averages. Great as a team. But, as demonstrated last night, they can really struggle as individuals. Hanson had control issues early on. IMHO, tip o' the cap to Bobby for pulling him quickly.

And on that note, it's a tip o' the cap from me to each of you guys and girls, at least for a little while. Gotta be on the road, and accessing the great intraweb abyss is going to be an infrequent possibility.

Have fun!

I never bought into the curse thing, either. But here in Red Sox Nation, it was practically an industry. And as such, it has meant that the success of the Red Sox since 2004 has been the equivalent of a major industry completely collapsing, with all that implies.

This trip down memory lane, Jen, is much sweeter, although Wade Boggs -- while a great hitter -- is a miserable excuse for a human being. Roger Clemens, too, come to think of it.

No, that was 1990. It was the final game of the ALCS against Oakland, and Clemens was tossed in the second inning. He was also suspended for the first five games of the 1991 season and fined.

Thank you for the correction.:)

What did Boggs do that made him such an awful human being?:confused:

Wow! The Jays had their second come-from-behind victory yesterday.:eek::respect: They are now 3-1 and are in first place(hey, I will take that while I can!;):lol::p).

Toronto ended up beating the Orioles 7-6. Brian Anderson of the Orioles left the game with a pulled abdominal muscle(sliding into second base during a stolen base attempt), which isn't good for the Baltimore team that is trying to rebuild just like the Jays.

Boston lost again. Wakefield pitched well for the Red Sox, going 7 innings and only allowing 2 earned runs. He allowed only 1 walk and had 6 strikeouts. Unfortunately the bullpen could not hold the lead and the Red Sox lost 4-3 to the Kansas City Royals.

On a positive note, the Yankees got clobbered by the Tampa Bay Rays(I still prefer the name Tampa Bay Devil-rays) 9-3! Good! Mark Teixeira went 0-4 again and has not gotten a hit yet. This is not a surprise as he has always been notoriously crappy in April(and sometimes May). I can only hope it ends up being a season-long slump and he takes A-Roid down with him!

I noticed that we have an Atlanta Brave's fan here. Kudos to you! My sister also followed them for a few years, but has not watched them recently. Unfortunately, the Braves lost 5-4 in 13 innings to the San Francisco Giants. The Giants are now 4-0.

The Phillies humiliated the Houston Astros 8-0! Houston has been awful this year!

Are there any other baseball teams that are followed by anyone here?:)

Yes, please provide thorough daily updates for the following:

Greenville Drive
Lowell Spinners
Pawtucket Red Sox
Portland Sea Dogs
Salem Red Sox

Thank you kindly, sir.

Surprisingly I follow the Jays (the only Toronto team that I do cheer for). I do occasionally watch out for Minnesota, but I'm not a dedicated follower.

Sweet! Another Jays fan. It will be nice to talk about them with a fellow fan.:cool:

They won again today, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-0! Dana Eveland pitched great for the Jays, only allowing 5 hits in 7 1/3 innings. He allowed 2 walks and had 2 strikeouts. Not bad for basically picking him up from Oakland in February for cash.:)

Toronto is now 4-1 for the season. I will take it while it lasts.:yes:

Boston had a good game as well. They beat a very tough pitcher in Zack Greinke(the Cy Young winner for the AL last season)! Josh Beckett pitched well, allowing 3 runs in 7 innings of work. He allowed nine hits, 1 walk, and had 4 strikeouts. David Ortiz did not play in the game. Greinke now has a very lofty ERA of 3.55! Last season he was 16-8, had 242 strikeouts, only gave up 11 homeruns in 229.1 innings pitched, only gave up 51 walks, and had an ERA of 2.16. Now you know why I called 3.55 a lofty ERA.;) The Red Sox won 8-3.

The Yankees unfortunately creamed the Rays 10-0. At least CC Sabathia lost his no-hit bid. The Rays only ended up getting two hits in total. Ugly game for them. Teixeira finally hit the ball and ended up 3-4. I was hoping for another hitless game from him.

Atlanta beat San Francisco 7-2, handing the Giants their first loss of the season. Jason Heyward was 3-3 with a homerun and 2 RBIs.

Philadelphia beat Houston 9-6. Houston is now the only team without a win, sitting at 0-5 to start the season.

Here's an interesting baseball "factoid" from yesterday's games:

The Tigers became only the second team since 1986 to win a 9-inning game while stranding at least 18 runners. 18!! For Detroit, it's the most men left on base since 1920.

Damn it! The Jays had a 7-6 lead in the top of the 9th and Frasor blew it again! I like Frasor as a pitcher, but I don't think he has what it takes to be a closer.

And how many f:censored:king chances is Gaston going to give Overbay? Randy Ruiz showed last season that he can hit the ball, so why not stick him at first base for a game or two so Overbay can wake the :censored: up!:rolleyes:

Boo hoo! You think your team has problems like this? In a few months, the Jays will be so out of the pennant race that it won't matter if they dig up my grandmother and play her at first base.

My team, though, which will be in the hunt, has the David Ortiz problem and a good substitute DH on the bench. Look at Ortiz so far this season. Frightening.

Boo hoo indeed!:eek: I want my beloved Jays to win as many games as possible before the inevitable collapse and playing Ruiz could help with that.;)

Ortiz could always go ballistic on the reporters again. That seemed to get him fired up so he could go 1-4 each of the next two games.;):p;)

Who wants to bet that Ortiz sets a Major League record for leaving men on base in a single game before Francona benches him?

In this picture, Big Papi is saying, "Please, Manny, come back so that your asinine shenanigans and bad clubhouse behavior can mask my weaknesses at the plate. Please. Pretty please."

What Big Papi needs to do, and probably won't do, is to compensate for the shift that the opposing teams use against him. Unless he does that, he will continually hit the ball right to one of their players. It's not like he can leg out an infield hit or anything, right?;)

He strikes out 3 and 4 times per game, so the only legging out he'll need to do is to get back to the dugout.

At least he has the bat to lean on when he gets short of breath on the way back to the dugout.:lol:

Hey, I've been at Fenway Park when Ortiz actually stole second base (and just to preempt this as a possible retort, I mean "steal" as in run from first to second while the pitcher is throwing to the catcher). The issue isn't whether he can run. The issue is getting the chance to run, including to first base. You have to hit or be hit, not strike out.

Try to keep up, man. ;)

You can still reach first base if you strike out.;)

The Jays will have to be banned from playing at home this year. It was a fantastic start to the season until they played their home opener.

True, you can, but how many times have you actually seen it happen?

Well, they played well tonight. Ricky Romero was mowing the White Sox players like so much chafe! He had a career high 12 strikeouts and was going for a no-hitter! Alas, Rios(of all people!!!!:censored:) hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 8th to ruin it. Romero ended up going 8 innings and giving up only that one hit.

Toronto won the game 4-2 to improve to 6-2. Not too shabby.:yes:

With Big Papi? Never.;):lol:

Maybe he could do it if there was a pizza waved at him from the first base coach.;):p

I know how you feel awhile back when Larry Bowa was managing the Phillies they would be up in the ninth inning with a 3 run lead and Bowa would call for a smuck named Mesa and the Phillies would lose by 2

:hug: Philliefan Jen

I remember watching and/or reading about the "highlights" from those games. Not pretty.:eek::no:

I remember the Miguel Batista era....talk about putrid! The guy always had the "deer in the headlights" look on his face whenever he went out there for a save attempt. I thought he was either going to keel over dead from a heart attack or crap his drawers!

All this talk of Big Papi and stolen bases.:confused:

I don't believe it, but his stats say he has stolen base TEN times in MLB, the last time was during a 5-2 Red Sox win over the Athletics on Sunday, 3rd August 2008 at Fenway Park. And here's the proof:

Joking aside:
Big Papi came to the plate in the Bottom of the 5th, the Red Sox held a 4-2 lead (2 Outs).
Ortiz Walked on 6-pitches.
On the first pitch to Mike Lowell, Ortiz STOLE 2nd base (P: Santiago Casilla, C: Rob Bowen).
But 6-pitches later Lowell struckout stranding (the exhausted) Ortiz on 2nd.

That's the game I was at. I remember it well, because I ran into a friend outside the ballpark who I hadn't seen since we were 8 years old!

What's with all the innuendo about Ortiz being a fatty? He's big, but not fat. His problem is that he has no bat speed, not his body shape.

^ And, by the way, Ortiz nearly stole second base in this afternoon's game. He was just barely tagged out on the head as he went by the Twins infielder. (Of course, he's also struck out twice so far, and left more men on base.)

No innuendo at all. It's a joke. I am making light of his name, which so happens to be called Big Papi. Sheesh.

I should add that I actually like Big Papi. I truly hope that he can find a way out of his slump.

Maybe the Blue Jays fans need to stop booing Alex Rios. Every time they do, he ends up burning the Jays. You would think they would learn the first 2 times he did it.:rolleyes:

Morrow stunk to high heaven again. Overbay was useless yet again, with his sweet 0-4 night! A nice grounding into a double play to go along with his fearsome .088 batting average.

However, the ugliest thing about the game was the attendance. It was only 10610. That is freaking pathetic! Do the fans want it to be another Expos situation and the team moving somewhere else due to the fans not showing up? Disgusting! Start supporting your team or you won't have a team.:censored::rolleyes::no:

Here are the other scores from the teams that we actually care about(and with the Yankees, despise;)).

1. Boston beat Minnesota 6-3. Lackey pitched a pretty good game for the Red Sox. He issued 4 walks but he kept the damage to a minimum. He gave up 2 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. His ERA is now 1.42.

I really wish that the Jays were able to keep Marco Scutaro. He is a good leadoff hitter as he is showing with the Red Sox. He was 2-5 with an RBI(his second) and has a .320 batting average. I realize that it is just the start of the season, but he was excellent for the Jays before he got his bell rung in the field last season. I am just thankful that he didn't sign with the Yankees.

Another note. Jonathan Papelbon wasn't super sharp in the game, as he issued 2 walks(something that he rarely did last season). I think that this was just an early blip and he will be lights-out like he has been the past 4 seasons.

2. LA Angels beat the Yankees 5-3. A-Roid was 0-3 with 3 strikeouts, which is always nice to see.

3. Philadelphia beat Washington 14-7. Boy, the Nationals like getting early leads and then giving them right back! This was an ugly game for both starters:

Philly Starter Kyle Kendrick: 1.2 IP, 6 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, and only 1 strikeout. He was up to 52 pitches when he got yanked. His ERA ballooned up to 17.47.

Washington Starter Craig Stammen: 1.1 IP, 7 hits, 7 runs, 7 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts. He was up to 53 pitches when his game came to an end. His ERA jumped up to 15.63.

Phillie's offense is amazing, especially considering that Jimmy Rollins was placed on the 15 day DL with a right calf strain.

3. Chicago White Sox beat Toronto 11-1. As mentioned above, the Jays offense was stymied by a very good Josh Danks and the pitching was quite horrible as well. Morrow gave up 7 earned runs in 4 IP.

4. St. Louis beat Houston 2-1. I don't think anyone here follows either team, but I wanted to add this game so I could mention that with this loss the Houston Astros remain winless at 0-8 to start the season.:eek:

In a game that is still being played(currently bottom of the 8th), Atlanta holds a 6-1 lead over San Diego. Jason Heyward is 1-4 and got his 10th RBI(not too shabby!).

The Phillies played a great football game today as you can see by the score :lol: i have a feeling that when the Phillies play the Cubs this year it will be a 24-21 score
:yes:Philliefan Jen

Dear shadows,

Do I really need to use emoticons :);):cool: in every post to make sure you don't take me too seriously? :yes::rolleyes: I thought our relationship was beyond that.:respect:

Your buddy,

smc

We'll just chalk it up to my anger at the Blue Jays horrific effort last night.;):respect::)

A nice night for the Blue Jays tonight...well, except for Lyle Overpaid of course. The lump of crap was 0-5 with 4 strikeouts! What the heck does it take to sit this bum for a game? Heck, Francona did it with David Ortiz, so I think that Gaston can do it with whiffle-man. It is beyond frustrating!:censored: He now has a sweet .077 batting average. You might as well just stick a bat in the ground at home plate and see if the ball happens to hit the bat, for all the good that Overpaid is doing right now!

Onto the good news for the game. Toronto beat the White Sox 7-3. Eveland had his second straight good game and set a Blue Jays record at the same time. He started off his Blue Jays career with 11 1/3 scoreless innings, which beat the old record of 10 2/3 which was held by Mike Flanagan(way back in 1987!). Congrats Dana!:respect:

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Not a good night at all for Boston. They got smacked around by the Twins, 8-0. David Ortiz was given the day off(Francona said it was due to Francisco Liriano being a tough lefty for Ortiz to face), but it appears that all the bats took the day off.:eek:

There is also some potential trouble for a couple of the Red Sox hitters. It looks like Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Crawford may have to go onto the 15 day DL. Crawford is getting tested for lower abdominal pain(possibly his appendix) and Ellsbury hurt his ribs when he crashed into teammate Adrian Beltre last Sunday.

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Atlanta beat San Diego 6-2. Jason Heyward was 2-3 and got his 11th and 12th RBIs of the season. He is also now hitting .303. Atlanta imroves to 5-4 on the season with this victory.

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In a rare turn of events, it was the Phillie's bullpen that coughed up the lead this time. Philly had a 4-1 lead until the top of the 8th inning. Washington scored 3 times in the 8th and 2 times in the 9th to go ahead for good. Philly got a run in the bottom of the 9th, but it was not enough. They lost the game 7-5.

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Dang. The Yankees won 6-2. It always brings a frown to my face when that happens.:(

I think Ortiz would have been sitting even if he wasn't having troubles this year. It was Lowell's turn to DH; his has been a strong righthanded bat against Liriano in the past.

Two corrections: I think it's a safer bet to say that Beltre crashed into Ellsbury, not the other way around. It was Jacoby's catch to make, and he called off Beltre. Oh, and by the way shadows, I'm guessing the Red Sox had a reasonably good night. Their game, however, was during the day. ;)

I'll try to do better next time.;):p:lol:

So, the Red Sox and Rays had their game suspended in the 9th inning. David Ortiz is the batter, and wouldn't it be sweet after all the trash-talking that has been done to him if he hit a game-winning homerun?

The weather forecast looks to be quite crappy for the entire weekend. You guys might even get some flurries!:eek:

It was about 29-30 celcius Thursday, but it dropped to about 18C Friday. Darn it! I want the nice weather to stick around.;)

A lousy game by the Jays. Marcum did not have a great game, and Lyle Overpaid was a rocking 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. Hey Cito! Why the :censored: are you continually putting him in the 5th position?!?! He is hitting .070 now for crying out loud! The Jays rallied for 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th...and guess who ended the rally with a strikeout? Yep! Lype "Craphead" Overbay! He is my faaavourite player!:rolleyes::censored:

The Jays lost 7-5.:(

MLB rules state that you must complete the first game of a series before the second game can begin, so the Sox and Rays are scheduled to pick up yesterday's game at 7:10 tonight, before game 2. But the rain isn't going anywhere! As for Ortiz hitting a game-winning homer, well ... not if there's an extra .00005 oz. of weight on his bat from the moisture in the air. (I really hope I'm wrong about him!)

Overbay is channeling Ortiz. No, wait. Ortiz is channeling Overbay. No, wait. They're both channeling Mendoza and his famous line!

Phillies 8-6 Marlins
 

:) Win number three for Doc against the Marlins on Friday night. :cool:

The Phillies were leading 8-2 when Halladay left the game after the 8th.

In the 9th there was another wobble by the Phillies bullpen, but fortunately the Marlins only managed to score 4 runs and we held on for the win.

Go ahead, my Forum friends. You know who you are. Pile it on. Help me answer the question: what in the hell is wrong with my beloved Red Sox?

No piling it on from me. The Jays are only 7-6 now, and with the loaf named Overpaid on the team, I certainly won't be doing any gloating.:(

Lyle Overpaid at work...

Attachment 158338

I'm surprised that no one posted in this thread since yesterday!

Toronto bounced back from a poor series against the Angels and whupped some Royal ass!;) The Jays won 8-1, and Brandon Morrow had his first stellar game of the young season(his first two were quite putrid to be honest). His pitching line was: 7.0 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts. He lowered his bloated ERA from 12.00 to 7.31(another start or two like this and his ERA will be back to respectable numbers).

As much as I love to bash Lyle Overbay(and rightfully so!), I cannot fault his play today. He was 2-2 and had two walks as well. He average, while still poor, is finally over .100(.115 to be exact). Hopefully this is a sign of things to come and he will start to swing the bat well on a consistent basis.

Jose Bautista was 2-4 with two homeruns(2-run shot and a 3-run shot)! Nice!

Aaron hill should be back from the 15-day DL on Friday, and his return should inject an infusion of offense for the Jays!

In the only other game that involves a team that a member here follows, Tampa Bay beat Boston 8-2. I really cannot fathom what is wrong with Boston right now. I do think they'll pick it up offensively once they get the players back that are currently injured, and they have good pitchers that I am sure will pick their game up soon.

Tampa Bay is playing the best ball of any of the teams in MLB right now, so Boston cannot be blamed too much. Tampa has a 10-3 record and are currently first in the AL East.

Sometimes all a slumping baseball team needs is a little spark, and it can come from the most unlikely place. Will that be the case for Boston going forward? It certainly happened last night against the Texas Rangers.

The Red Sox had no choice but to put two outfielders, Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron, on the Disabled List. Usually, Ellsbury is the team spark. He leads off, steals lots of bases, goes from 1st to 3rd routinely on steals, and goes 1st to home on singles. But he's out after a collision with Adrian Beltre last week.

So, the Red Sox, needing and outfielders, called up Josh Reddick from Pawtucket.

At the end of 5 innings, the Rangers were ahead 6-2. Tim Wakefield had been shaky. In the bottom of the 6th, though, Reddick hit a two-run double that put the team back in the game. It was in the bottom of the 8th, though, that the spark became a fire.

Darnell McDonald had also been called up from Pawtucket, though in a bit less definite way than Reddick (see below). An unlikely hero, and pinch-hitting for Reddick, he launched a homer into the Green Monster seats in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game. The Fenway Faithful, who have had little to cheer about of late, erupted!

McDonald stayed in the game, and he wasn't finished.

Jonathan Papelbon, who has also been shaky, came in to pitch the 9th, and held the Rangers. And then, in the bottom of the 9th, who would come to bat with men on base but Darnell McDonald. He nearly hit another homer, but instead his towering show fell short and scraped the left-field wall just out of reach of Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton. It was all that was needed, and the winning run came home.

The Red Sox have their first walkoff victory of the year, and Darnell McDonald's name is being celebrated throughout Red Sox Nation. He's no spring chicken; he's been a minor leaguer for 12+ years, coming up to "the show" for 17 games in 2004 with Baltimore, 4 with the Twins in 2007, and 47 with Cincinnati last year. But for the Red Sox, he had only been asked to get to town, wait in a hotel, and see whether Jacoby Ellsbury was okay after batting practice. The answer was Jacoby on the DL and McDonald to the ballpark, "just in case."

The rest is history.

Perhaps the spark will stay?

It's a good night to be a Boston sports fan! First, the Bruins win in the 2nd overtime, and just now, the Red Sox just won their second walk-off in a row. Tonight, it took 12 innings, and the hero was Kevin Youkilis. But we'll take wins however they come!

Oh, and by the way, Darnell McDonald (see post just above) started for the Sox in center field, and hit another homer.

It looks like the tonic to cure their ails was a series against Texas.:)

I wish the Jays had taken some of that remedy! They actually came back to tie the game at 3 but Downs left a pitch right down the middle in the top of the 10th and the Jays ended up losing 4-3 in 10 innings. Dang.

I really wish the Yankees would stop winning. At least Tampa Bay is giving them a run for their money(1/2 game back of first).

I really miss Halladay and his 4-0 record and 0.82 ERA.:(