Major League Baseball: 2008 Thread

[Prosthetic]

Great writing John 👍 +1 air rep


You really seem to like AT&T... Well it is a nice park and a lively crowd. But all that is dieing! Stupid Giants losing. You should sometime go to the Padres park, it's super super super nice. It's also a BIIG park from what I can remember.

One thing... in the Giants Vs. Phillies series all three games went into extra innings... And they all ended up being a one run game. And the first place NL east time had a hard time beating are 3rd place NL west Giants... I think we are just getting unlucky because we have played nothing but close games with everyone.... *sigh*

 

[JohnBM01]

I think the Giants can get better. You can't win the championship in May. Think about it like this- my Astros were going to have a mediocre season until they've somehow got things together to make an impressive run. Who am I to say that the 'Stros are going to make a pennant run at this point? They just have to keep things up much like the San Diego Padres in the NL West, the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, and the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

Now moving to the American League. Toronto and Tampa Bay seem to have become surprise teams in the AL. Kansas City has been the laughing stock of the entire league, but they're doing pretty okay. Too early at this point to decide who'll make that run into October. And hopefully a deep one. What I fear is that when interleague play begins and even the All-Star Game, that the National League may not be up to snuff against AL teams. I am usually impartial to the National League since that's where my Astros play. Speaking of the Astros, I think the Red Sox and Yankees will make their debut(?) playing at Minute Maid Park. Sure like to see how that goes. Hopefully not against us...

 

[Prosthetic]

Zito got moved back into the line-up a few days ago and is making his aperance today... So far he is doing good... even got a strike out... and his pitches have movement now... so looking good so far.


@John Giants HAVE been playing good... but are rook's are making to many base running mistakes which are losing games... Oh well with a healthy Zito it looks like we will start winning games.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros will defend home turf one more time against the Washington Nationals. Coach Cecil Cooper noted that he may start resting up some of his best players just to keep them fresh. Carlos Lee drove in the game-winning base knock to help us win 4-3 over the Washington Nationals. A big key was the base stealing of Kazuo Matsui. Roy Oswalt was amazing racking up strikeouts against the Nationals. Only thing that would have been sweeter is if Roy Oswalt had a complete game no-hitter. After the Thursday night game, the Astros go west to Los Angeles for a weekend series with the Dodgers. They then head to San Francisco to take on the San Francisco Giants in a four game series. The road trip ends in interleague play as the Astros take on the rival Texas Rangers in the Battle for the Silver Boot series. All I know is that I'll attend my own graduation next Saturday. All I can hope for is that the Houston Astros can take care of the Texas Rangers. Though I'm pulling for the Texas Rangers in the AL, I'm still an Astros guy. It's like being a Cowboys/Texans fan in the NFL and rooting against the Texans/Cowboys in their in-state rivalry series.

 

[JohnBM01]

My Astros are heading out to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers. The Astros couldn't close out the Washington Nationals in the final game of their homestand, so they'll hit the road with a 1-game losing streak heading into L.A. It will be a three-game series in Los Angeles. Then on Monday, they'll head up to San Francisco to take on the Giants, which will begin a friendly rivalry between myself and Prosthetic. Hope the Good Guys can get her done out west in L.A. and San Francisco.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros pounded the crap out of the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night and Saturday night, but had trouble Sunday afternoon. We still won. It's the Astros' first sweep of a road game series. Next on the fight card is my Astros trip to hermosa (beautiful) San Francisco. It will be a four-game series against the Giants. As I hear, Monday and Tuesday will be night games while Wednesday and Thursday are day games. I kind of like AT&T Park a bit more in the daytime than deep into the night. It's still the same great city and same lovely ball park. Trouble is, the Giants are in quite a rut. Last I checked, I think the Giants are about eight games under 0.500. Ouch. We're about four games over .500 and just took good care of the Dodgers. Still, it's not like San Francisco is a guaranteed win. We'll see how this goes as a friendly rivalry (my Astros vs. Prosthetic's Giants) is kicked off.

Have I mentioned that the Astros have 10 or so days of action on the road with no break? Next month in interleague play, my Astros get to host the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for the first-time ever at Minute Maid Park. It won't be easy, but getting some wins over these hated rivals would be pretty sweet.

[UPDATE] The Giants did beat the Phillies at home today 4-3. Good job, boys!

 

[TS]

Have I mentioned that the Astros have 10 or so days of action on the road with no break? Next month in interleague play, my Astros get to host the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for the first-time ever at Minute Maid Park. It won't be easy, but getting some wins over these hated rivals would be pretty sweet.

Good luck to them, my D-Backs just finished up a 10 game series, 3 games against the Mets, 4 against the Phillies and 3 against the Cubs.

We got swept by the Cubs (0-3), had an even series with the Phillies (2-2) and lost the series to the Mets (1-2).

 

[Prosthetic]

Watching the game right now

Bottom of the 3rd Giants up 1-0.

LF Fred Lewis doubled to bring home 2b Emanuel Burriss home. 1 out.


No wait Omar doubled to bring home Fred Lewis, 2-0. Randy Winn up.

 

[JohnBM01]

Sorry for breaking the bad news, but Houston took care of San Francisco 7-3 tonight. I heard it was pretty cold in San Francisco. Either cold or cool. Anyhow, maybe the "what were you thinking?" moment was when I guess the pitcher was trying to pick off an Astro at first base when two runs scored on a bad pitch to First Base. Every win helps us (Astros) stay on top in the NL Central. It's still a long season, but this is a great stretch by the Astros after an almost lethargic start.

 

[JacoJa]

I’ve never seen a game of Major League Baseball my entire life, so excuse my n00bism.
My relatives in New Jersey have bought me a ticket for a Yankees game on the 20th of July at Yankee Stadium (since I’ll be over in the U.S at that time). Very, very excited about the whole thing… and I guess I’ll be supporting NY.

How is the team these days?... Winning any games?

 

[Prosthetic]

I’ve never seen a game of Major League Baseball my entire life, so excuse my n00bism.
My relatives in New Jersey have bought me a ticket for a Yankees game on the 20th of July at Yankee Stadium (since I’ll be over in the U.S at that time). Very, very excited about the whole thing… and I guess I’ll be supporting NY.

How is the team these days?... Winning any games?

Every team wins games, but you can NEVER be sure

I think that the way you are visiting the US is probably the best way to learn about American culture and thats to go to a baseball game and eat some American food

I never get sick of going to ball games, been to 4 this year, most recently this past Saturday against the Phillies! We won too And you should be excited, hell I'm excited every time.

I just looked up the July 20th game, and it will be against the Oakland Athletics (A local team to me, but isn't my team) Should be a good game, both are good teams so the game shouldn't be a let down.

Here is a link to there schedule of that month for the Yankees.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nyy&m=7&y=2008

Tonight Matt Cain is pitching and he is MUTCH better then Zito. On a good night he will throw 8-9 strikeouts... Not as much as Timmeh (Tim Lincincum) but hes good. And tomorrow Timmeh is pitching and he is just an absolute beast, leading the league in strikeouts (53) has 3rd lowest ERA with 1.61 and hes only 23 👍


I won't be here from this Thursday to Monday night so I don't if i can watch the games damn

 

[JohnBM01]

Giants snapped the Astros' winning streak. The Astros just looked completely out of it though it ended 4-2. The series is even at 1-1 in this four-game set.

 

[JacoJa]

Every team wins games, but you can NEVER be sure

I think that the way you are visiting the US is probably the best way to learn about American culture and thats to go to a baseball game and eat some American food

I never get sick of going to ball games, been to 4 this year, most recently this past Saturday against the Phillies! We won too And you should be excited, hell I'm excited every time.

I just looked up the July 20th game, and it will be against the Oakland Athletics (A local team to me, but isn't my team) Should be a good game, both are good teams so the game shouldn't be a let down.

Here is a link to there schedule of that month for the Yankees.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nyy&m=7&y=2008

Thanks for the info about the game... can't wait now
Oh, and the food... looking forward to the food. Hotdogs, Doughnuts, Twinkies (whatever the hell they are), would be great for the game. It's all about blending in with the crowd… I enjoy blending in.

 

[JohnBM01]

I think the Giants led 7-0 over the Astros on an unseasonably warm San Francisco day. However, it wasn't until my hometown team rallied to win. They trailed 7-3 during the game and had a 4-run inning to even it to a football score of 7-7. And if that wasn't bad enough, Lance Berkman took the Giants deep with a long ball that ended up in San Francisco Bay. So we won the series 3-1. God bless Lance Berkman! Our next stop is Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers in my state's rivalry series. I think the Giants will host the Chicago White Sox. Tom Lincecum was pretty tough to take down. Dude is 23 years old, but looks much younger than he is. I thought he was 19. Maybe even 17.

I now have pitching to talk about. Brandon Webb improved to a 9-game winning streak in taking down Colorado. That's impressive for the National League. The American League has a much different story as the Cleveland Indians saw their 44.3 successive shutout inning streak ended on a throwing error in the second inning. They still won 4-2 over the Oakland Athletics.

This weekend is Interleague play. I wish your favorite team to win, and your least favorite team to get beaten. I'll certainly look for my Astros to do well against an improving Texas Rangers squad. Enjoy Interleague action!

 

[Prosthetic]

Giants relief really blew that game...

Giants doing so bad right now... it makes me cry... Hopefully we will start digging themself out... plenty of season left... Besides Giants usually start tearing it up after the all-star break.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Yankees and Tigers have been struggling this season. The big story from the Sunday Night game was a controversial foul ball when it looked like an absolutely fair ball. Still, the Yanks and Tigers aren't really having great seasons. Who do you think pulls it together as this season is still young?

 

[Prosthetic]

I was watching that Mets and Yankees game... I was rooting for the Mets... I hate the Yankees.

 

[JohnBM01]

I love (hate) how Houston teams can't seem to win games on National TV or (especially) on ESPN. Chicago's Cubs beat the crap out of us. We had a chance to pull closer down 4-2, but the Cubbies just belted out three more runs to beat us 7-2. And as one of the "Top Plays" on ESPN, that inside-the-park home run here at Minute Maid Park.

Let it be known that I hate ESPN and how they love putting down Houston teams. Just goes to show that my hometown is a wonderful city no matter who says otherwise. Just go back to seeing the Yankees lose 20-0 (like a few years ago).

 

[TS]

The Yankees and Tigers have been struggling this season. The big story from the Sunday Night game was a controversial foul ball when it looked like an absolutely fair ball. Still, the Yanks and Tigers aren't really having great seasons. Who do you think pulls it together as this season is still young?

ESPN showed replays of that ball being totally fair, it bounced off the foul pole, the 3rd base umpire had the call right originally calling it a 3 run homer, but the homeplate umpire (who was also the crew-chief) reversed the decision.

I think once A-Rod and Posada come off the DL I think their hitting will get better, their pitching is good, especially Chen Minh Wang (spelling?).

 

[JohnBM01]

I thought it was "Chen Ming Wang." Don't know too many Chinese with "Minh" in their names, but you may never know.

Tuesday's edition of PTI (Pardon the Interruption) had Lance Berkman as the Five Good Minutes guest. A joke was made that PTI ruined Berkman because he was on a 17-game hitting streak. And because of this, he went 0-4 in Game One against the Cubs. Co-host Tony Kornheiser attacked Minute Maid Park asking why there's a hill at Minute Maid Park.

My Astros did much better in Game 2 as the Astros got all of their runs on a Hunter Pence Grand Slam in the Bottom of the 4th. We won 4-2 after the Cubs had a 2-run lead earlier in the game. The rubber game is tomorrow night. We'd want to have a good end of this series as we host the Phillies starting Thursday.

 

[JohnBM01]

Ever played "Major League Baseball 2K8?" I rented this for my PS2 over the weekend, and the presentation is amazing. Jon Miller and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan has the call for every virtual game. The commentary is amazing and most of the ballparks look very nice. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan can be heard on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball I set up a demo match between the Chicago Cubs at the Houston Astros. Some of the graphics aren't too outstanding, but still very nice.

I even tried out some Interleague Action as I set up (well, I could have had Astros/Rangers) the Oakland Athletics at the San Francisco Giants. Is it okay to call them cross-town rivals though Oakland is across the bay? The pitching matchup for this demo match was Matt Cain for San Francisco and Rich Harden for Oakland. I couldn't set it up so that Tim Lincecum goes to the mound for the Giants.

This is the first time I've ever played a baseball game as I'm more accustomed to football and basketball games. Try it out if you have a system to play MLB 2K8.

 

[TopHat]

The 2K series have always been good. I haven't picked one up since 2k7 though.


Anyways, my Yankees have been doing pretty ok since A-Rod came off the DL. Too bad he got robbed of the dinger the other day.


Also we seem to be short a one J. Girardi. Suspension!

 

[TS]

Yay for Doug Davis!

 

[JohnBM01]

Let me chat about a few games I've either seen or seen highlights of.

* My Astros took care of the Phillies in magical fashion earlier tonight. An Astro was out to catch a fly ball out in left field. As one Phillie charged towards home to tie the game, the Astros threw to Home plate and robbed Philadelphia of tying the game! So the Astros win 4-3 and have a chance to win the series Sunday Afternoon.

* I knew my AL favorite, the Texas Rangers, were in for a fight at Cleveland against those dangerous Cleveland Indians. The Rangers ended up losing 5-2 against the Indians.

* A game I got to see most of was Arizona at Atlanta. I think Atlanta led 1-0 until the D-Backs tied things up later in the game. A game-clinching home run by the Braves sealed the deal 2-1 at Turner Field. This matchup was shown on FOX.



There was talk about how the Yankees and Tigers were struggling. Well, there was another AL team that was down in the dumps, and that's the Seattle Mariners. Last I checked, they were 18-30 or something like that. The only MLB team in the Pacific Northwest has a lot of bleeding to patch up if they want to make a run in at least the AL West.

 

[JohnBM01]

John Smoltz will require some surgery and will possibly miss the rest of the season. I love John Smoltz. He's a quality pitcher. He says he'd like to come back someday, but it's still going to be tough for Smoltz.

As for my Astros, they had a sorry road trip losing five straight... until a trip to PNC Park. There was some rain outside in Pittsburgh when the Astros took on the Pirates. But as you all may know, I love AT&T Park on the West Coast... and PNC Park on the East Coast. Astros won 2-0 to end their five-game losing streak. Is something really wrong with Pittsburgh?

Chase Utley for Philadelphia and Josh Hamilton for Texas are two of the hottest players right now. Most of you know I am a fan of Chase Utley, so I'm sure he'll be the "diamond general" (if you will) for the Phillies in making a pennant run. The Texas Rangers can belt out some runs in the AL. I'm sure the boys from Arlington will make their own pennant run if they keep up the good work.

 

[TS]

Smoltz did say if he needed any major surgery for an injury he would retire rather than rehab to get back on the mound. He had a good showing as the closer the other night against the Marlins and he did say today he would like to start or relieve once more.

Did anybody happen to catch the Brewers/Diamondbacks game last night? Randy Johnson made a little history by getting strikeout #4673, passing Roger Clemens for 2nd most K's all time.

 

[JohnBM01]

Interleague play kicks off. My Astros will have this schedule:

6/13 - 6/15: Yankees <<< first-ever trip to Minute Maid Park
6/17 - 6/19: @ Orioles
6/20 - 6/22: @ Rays
6/24 - 6/26: Rangers
6/27 - 6/29: Red Sox <<< first-ever trip to Minute Maid Park(?)

I'm behind my Astros all the way, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't at least one series. The American League is just so stacked from top to bottom, and we're not a good team right now. Good luck to your favorite AL/NL team in taking on teams from the NL/AL.

 

[TS]

I'm very surprised how Willie Randolph is still the manager of the Mets, he keeps Wagner on the mound after blowing his 2nd straight save against the d-backs and 2nd blown shut out game that went to extra innings. (Mets won the first, D-Backs won the 2nd)

This last road trip has been very brutal for the Diamondbacks, we got swept in Milwaukee, split the series against the Pirates, but at least we go back to Chase Field with a 2 wins against the Mets as they will host the Royals this weekend, the A's next week, then we head to the Metrodome to take on the Twins and then our bout with interleague ends at Fenway Paaahhhhhk.

 

[JohnBM01]

Hank Steinbrenner's Yankees took care of my Astros (especially on Sunday with a 13-0 beating of my 'stros. More of a story was how Hank talked about how the National League should "join the 21st Century." It's hateful to me since I'm partial to the National League because of my Astros, but what do you all make of Steinbrenner's rant?

 

[TS]

Steinbrenner sounds like the spoiled brat he is, he's had everything handed to him on a silver platter and expects everything to be his way in order for it to be right. And the fact that the DH rule has only been around since the late 1970s while the National League has been around since the 1870s (give or take a few years).

IMO I really don't like the DH rule, the pitcher has usually been the most athletic player of the bunch and I think he should have an opportunity to swing the bat just like the other players, even if it means sacrificing himself to move the base runners, which is what most pitchers do.

Unless if your Dan Haren, in which he'll clear the bases and have himself in scoring position.