Baseball

[smc]

Originally Posted by transjen

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
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?

[transjen]

Originally Posted by smc

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?

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

Philliefan Jen

[shadows]

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?

[Talvenada]

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.

[ErosArtist]

Originally Posted by Talvenada

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!

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

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?

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.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

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?

[shadows]

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

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?

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

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.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

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

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.

[smc]

Originally Posted by transjen

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

Philliefan Jen

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.

[shadows]

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!

[shadows]

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.

[smc]

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?

[smc]

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.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

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.