Baseball

[smc]

Originally Posted by oldawg

I totally disagree. I think its a HUGE can of worms...Baseball has its own rules for not changing results (official scoring obviously is changed the next day sometimes, but not removing official at bats). If they begin to change results like this after the fact I foresee a mess of requests & demands for Selig to deal with.

You say there are precedents?

Yes, lots of precedents for dealing with perfect games and no-hitters. Keith Olbermann, one of the great historians of baseball, discussed this at length last night on his broadcast, and was joined by Ken Burns, the documentarian of baseball. Burns believes the game will be declared "perfect," but it will not happen immediately. Write to me if you want more info on the precedents; right now, I'm checking the Forum quickly before leaving for commencement!

[smc]

With hockey and now basketball done, and not withstanding World Cup fever, it's time to bump up the baseball thread and get the discussion going again.

In the AL East, where my team (GO RED SOX!!) resides, things have gotten very interesting. The expected decline of the Blue Jays (sorry, shadows), who held third place for a while, has happened, but not to the extent expected. They have suffered more from the good play of their division rivals. Meanwhile, the Red Sox -- who looked "done" early -- have surged, thanks in large part to David Ortiz coming alive after a dismal April, and also to some very good pitching despite losing Beckett and Matzusaka. The Yankees continue to go strong, but not as strong, and the Rays can't seem to keep up the amazing start from April. So, waking up this morning, we find the Rays and Yankees tied for first place but with the Sox only one game behind.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

With hockey and now basketball done, and not withstanding World Cup fever, it's time to bump up the baseball thread and get the discussion going again.

In the AL East, where my team (GO RED SOX!!) resides, things have gotten very interesting. The expected decline of the Blue Jays (sorry, shadows), who held third place for a while, has happened, but not to the extent expected. They have suffered more from the good play of their division rivals. Meanwhile, the Red Sox -- who looked "done" early -- have surged, thanks in large part to David Ortiz coming alive after a dismal April, and also to some very good pitching despite losing Beckett and Matzusaka. The Yankees continue to go strong, but not as strong, and the Rays can't seem to keep up the amazing start from April. So, waking up this morning, we find the Rays and Yankees tied for first place but with the Sox only one game behind.

No need to apologize, because the decline has stopped. Toronto actually has a 3-game winning streak going on and they are only 4.5 games out of first place in the East, and only 4.5 games out of the Wildcard spot(3.5 games behind Boston). So it is fair to say that Toronto is by no means out of the picture. And considering how this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jays, I can honestly say that I am impressed with how they are playing.

As long as they are still playing meaningful baseball in the latter days of the summer, I will be happy.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

As long as they are still playing meaningful baseball in the latter days of the summer, I will be happy.

There is the big unknown. The Jays have too often had a tendency to quit playing baseball in late summer.

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

There is the big unknown. The Jays have too often had a tendency to quit playing baseball in late summer.

True, but you must understand that as the opening of hockey season looms they are called upon to teach their city-mates, the Maple Leafs, their work ethic.

[smc]

Apropos of the Toronto Blue Jays, and on a more serious note than my post above, it is worth noting that soon the team's management will find itself at the proverbial fork in the road. Specifically, in what shadows correctly identified as a "rebuilding" year, the trading deadline of July 31 looms. Does the team decide that it is hopelessly out of contention and choose to keep building its arsenal of young players by trading a few veterans (Overbay, Bautista, Gonzalez, and McDonald come to mind), or does it go for broke and try to bring in some "rented" players to help make a run at the Wild Card in the American League. It is an unenviable position in which to be.

[ila]

^ I would like to see Toronto make the playoffs legitimately rather than make it in because of the wild card spot.