Baseball 2011

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

It's time for Major League Baseball to take some radical steps to revamp the All-Star Game. Here is my proposal.

If the game is to continue to "count" -- that is, determine which league has home field advantage in the World Series -- steps must be taken to ensure that each league fields the best team possible. That means:

1. Either eliminate fan voting, or shift it so that fans only choose the starters once the rosters have been determined in a different manner (see below). This year, to give one example, Derek Jeter is starting for the American League. There is no reasonable argument that can be made that Jeter is the AL's top shortstop at mid-season.

2. Have more of the roster determined by the players. The players seem to do a very good job of determining who is best among their peers.

3. Limit the number of players the managers can choose from their own teams. For example, while Bruce Bochy can make a strong case that his Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong has a "great story," there is no way that Vogelsong deserves an All-Star spot ahead of several other pitchers in the National League.

4. Once the rosters are determined, allow the fans to vote for the starters at each field position. Leave the pitching to the managers.

5. Most important, eliminate the "rule" that dictates every team must be represented. It is an outrage that Mark Texeira gets left off the team because Matt Wieters of the Orioles has to be selected to make sure a Baltimore player is included. This is but one of many examples.

If Major League Baseball cannot amend the way in which the All-Star teams are selected, we must go back to alternating years for AL and NL home-field advantage in the World Series. Making the All-Star game "count" should either go all the way or none of the way.

I cannot possibly agree with you more about point #1. There is NO way that Jeter deserves to be in the All-Star game. Here are Jeter's numbers after tonight's game

.257 avg, 2 HRs, 22 RBIs, 24 BB, 33 SO, 7 SB, 2 CS, 4 E. His OBP is .321, SLG is .329, and his OPS is .650. Those are NOT All-Star numbers and he does NOT deserve to be there.

[shadows]

What was Kevin Gregg thinking? He throws 3 inside pitches( very inside) to David Ortiz, and he didn't expect him to get a little pissed off? And to top it all off, he then says something to Ortiz while he's going to first base! Gregg's lucky he still has his head attached, as Ortiz is a very large fellow!

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

What was Kevin Gregg thinking? He throws 3 inside pitches( very inside) to David Ortiz, and he didn't expect him to get a little pissed off? And to top it all off, he then says something to Ortiz while he's going to first base! Gregg's lucky he still has his head attached, as Ortiz is a very large fellow!

I can understand the Orioles' frustration. Twenty runs given up to the Sox in two games. It seemed like only a matter of time before someone snapped. Did Gregg have a reputation as a hothead when he was with the Jays?

According to the Boston broadcasters, what he said to Ortiz after the pop-up was something mocking along the lines of: "That's it, run to first base."

Gregg's a large fellow, himself, by the way.

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

I cannot possibly agree with you more about point #1. There is NO way that Jeter deserves to be in the All-Star game. Here are Jeter's numbers after tonight's game

.257 avg, 2 HRs, 22 RBIs, 24 BB, 33 SO, 7 SB, 2 CS, 4 E. His OBP is .321, SLG is .329, and his OPS is .650. Those are NOT All-Star numbers and he does NOT deserve to be there.

It turns out that Jeter is not going to the All-Star game, citing his recent injury and the need to be safe. He joins Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez as scratches. A-Rod's substitute is Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox.

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

What was Kevin Gregg thinking? He throws 3 inside pitches( very inside) to David Ortiz, and he didn't expect him to get a little pissed off? And to top it all off, he then says something to Ortiz while he's going to first base! Gregg's lucky he still has his head attached, as Ortiz is a very large fellow!

Originally Posted by smc

I can understand the Orioles' frustration. Twenty runs given up to the Sox in two games. It seemed like only a matter of time before someone snapped. Did Gregg have a reputation as a hothead when he was with the Jays?

According to the Boston broadcasters, what he said to Ortiz after the pop-up was something mocking along the lines of: "That's it, run to first base." ...

More on the Kevin Gregg story ...

It seems to me that what Gregg said to reporters in the visitors' clubhouse after the game are signs of someone who needs to be taken to a quiet room by his very experienced manager, Buck Showalter, and given a serious talking-to about his future as a ballplayer. Here's what he said in defending his actions:

"I think we showed them we're not backing down, we're not scared of them, them and their $180 million payroll, we don't care. We're here to play the game, we have just as much right to play the game here, and we're going to do everything we can to win."

No one questioned the Orioles "right to play the game" at Fenway or anywhere else. The Red Sox did drive Baltimore's starting pitcher from the game after two-thirds of an inning, scoring 8 runs. Are the Red Sox supposed to let up on the offense after a certain number of runs in the 1st inning because of some kind of "slaughter" rule? Should Adrian Gonzalez not try to drive in a run because he's already leading the majors in RBIs and he doesn't need any more? Should David Ortiz not hit a three-run homer because that's just piling on?

Gregg continued, in response to Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett questioning his inside pitching ("You go to the well three times, something's looking pretty bad," Beckett said. "I don't know why they were trying to do that, but it was pretty obvious to me that it wasn't just 'I was just trying to pitch you in'."):

"They're going to whine and complain about it because they think they're better than everybody else, but now, we just as much right to pitch inside as they do."

Perhaps this guy needs to go back to an Instructional League or Single-A, where they teach not only how to play baseball but how to be a baseball player.

[transjen]

I get the feeling my friend SMC may not be cheering this moment in MLB history and while i'm not a Yankee fan but i feel Derek Jeter does deserve the spotlight today for reaching the 3000 hit club
And i will say this for Jeter he started in the riods era and as far as i know he never used riods he did it the hard way so congrats to Derek Jeter today
Philliesfan Jen

[smc]

Originally Posted by transjen

I get the feeling my friend SMC may not be cheering this moment in MLB history and while i'm not a Yankee fan but i feel Derek Jeter does deserve the spotlight today for reaching the 3000 hit club
And i will say this for Jeter he started in the riods era and as far as i know he never used riods he did it the hard way so congrats to Derek Jeter today
Philliesfan Jen

Jen, you could not be more wrong about my feelings. I think Derek Jeter is a great player, well deserving of the spotlight, well deserving of his moment in history, and well deserving of the election to the Hall of Fame that will someday come his way. I do not have any animosity towards the Yankees players for being Yankees. While there are individual Yankees I despise -- Alex Rodriguez, for example -- my hatred (probably too strong a word) is for the Yankee organization and the Steinbrenners.

So, I join you in congratulating Jeter. I think it's awesome that his 3,000th hit was a home run. But I am hoping the Rays come back to win this game, currently tied at 4.

[transjen]

^^^ sorry SMC, i remember from i think it was last years baseball thread that you despised some of the yankees players and i was thinking Jeter was one of em
I'm no fan of A Rod due mainly to his use of steriods
Even with Jeter playing for the Yankees he is a player worth respecting for his longivity staying with one team and playing high caliber ball for his entire career and most of all he did it the rite way without cheating and when everything is said and done he'll godown with the likes of Joe D and Mickey Mantle and a sure fire first year hall of famer
While i hope A Rod ends up with Bonds in the cheaters hall of shame
Philliesfan Jen

[smc]

Originally Posted by transjen

^^^ sorry SMC, i remember from i think it was last years baseball thread that you despised some of the yankees players and i was thinking Jeter was one of em
I'm no fan of A Rod due mainly to his use of steriods
Even with Jeter playing for the Yankees he is a player worth respecting for his longivity staying with one team and playing high caliber ball for his entire career and most of all he did it the rite way without cheating and when everything is said and done he'll godown with the likes of Joe D and Mickey Mantle and a sure fire first year hall of famer
While i hope A Rod ends up with Bonds in the cheaters hall of shame
Philliesfan Jen

No apology necessary, dear Jen. It's a reasonable assumption to make that a Red Sox fan might unthinkingly despise everything and everyone associated with the Yankees. But I am a baseball fan first, and a Red Sox fan second.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by transjen

^^^ sorry SMC, i remember from i think it was last years baseball thread that you despised some of the yankees players and i was thinking Jeter was one of em
I'm no fan of A Rod due mainly to his use of steriods
Even with Jeter playing for the Yankees he is a player worth respecting for his longivity staying with one team and playing high caliber ball for his entire career and most of all he did it the rite way without cheating and when everything is said and done he'll godown with the likes of Joe D and Mickey Mantle and a sure fire first year hall of famer
While i hope A Rod ends up with Bonds in the cheaters hall of shame
Philliesfan Jen

Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are two Yankees that I have respect for. Jeter never found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons(I blame Cashman for his last contract fiasco), and was always classy on and off the field.

Rivera always went quietly about his business and made many a player look foolish with his cut fastball. I hope he breaks the all-time saves record.

A-Roid is already in the cheaters hall of shame(at least in my book). He has already been discovered as having used steroids(HGH, actually) before, and I think that he used it for many years. Plus, he has been a douchebag numerous times on the field.