Major League Baseball: 2009 Thread

[JohnBM01]

Even Cecil Cooper said something along the lines of "I'd take my chances putting Valverde out in a 1-run game. And unfortunately, it didn't work." See, this confirms one of my fears with sports teams- teams that do bad for my beloved team(s), and when traded, do much better elsewhere. It's how I felt when Preston Wilson(?) went from the Astros to the Cardinals (World Series champions that year, I believe). It's how I felt when Brad Lidge moved on to Philadelphia (World Series champions last year). Just that reoccuring fear for me just comes back to bite you on the bum.

That game earlier tonight wasn't really pretty by any stretch of the imagination. We didn't have a game like that Wednesday night match at Pittsburgh where we led 4-0 to eventually win 4-1. And our lone run was on a Reds walk delivered to us with the bases loaded. Part of me says that we should have won this game had it not been for Valverde's poor pitches. Then, another part of me says that this match could have gone either way. So my initial reaction was just to put the blame on Jose Valverde since his pitching couldn't prevent us from going to the Bottom of the 9th.



Roy Oswalt, by the way, is now 0-3 this season, including going up against a team he's owned on the mound. Keppinger's former team beat his new team. Game 2 of 4 happens Saturday at 5:30 PM. We're sending either Brian Moehler or Wandy Rodriguez to the mound for Saturday.

 

[Prosthetic]

I feel you John... Coming into this year the Padres haven't scored on Lincecum in 30 innings... He got royally raped. Our whole team was off this road trip and now where back and home and looking good.

Tonight both Haren and Sanchez pitched great games. But with the Sandoval double followed by the rbi single from Molina which gave the Giants the lead in the 4th, Arizona was unable to answer.

Haren gave up 5 hits, 1 run, 0 walks (Giants like to swing the bat ) 6 strikeouts in 6 innings.

Sanchez have up 2 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

Its good to see the strikeouts go down, he went so crazy on the first game he was tired by the 4th inning after striking out 7 against San Diego.

Also Andres Torres hit a big 410 foot bomb in dead center in the 8th inning for some insurance run... But he ran around the basses like he was going for a inside the park home run.

Wilson got his first save, and in fact has yet to even give up a hit in his 4 appearances.

Tommorrow Timmy will pitch against Davis... Timmy who has had some trouble in his first two starts watched the games he pitched and noticed his release was wrong. So apparently he has fixed his pitch and says he is ready for the game.

Also on Sunday The Big Unit will pitch against Arizona and I will likely be going to that game, but I may let my sister go. Or I might go with her... either way I'm looking forward to it.

EDIT: I'm also happy to report that Joe Martinez (Giants reliever) who got hit by a line drive off of Cameron (Brewers) is good and now out of the hospital. He had a concussion and some internal bleeding. Now he just has one big fat black eye. He is going to be out a month though. But we have Justin Miller who is another great reliever taking his place.

 

[TS]

D-Backs need to better at driving in base runners, they've been blowing many opportunities to score runs lately, wasting the efforts of guys at the top of the order Felipe Lopez and Eric Byrnes.

The pitching is phenomenal, but without any runs, we're not gonna win.

 

[JohnBM01]

Astros vs. Reds underway. Wandy Rodriguez is pitching like a mad man (not Lincecum mad, though). Surely Roy O. and Wandy are two of the better pitchers for my Astros. Wandy's doing very well.

I'm not trying to jinx my Astros by giving a score. However, here's the count at the middle of the 3rd:

CINCINNATI: 0|?|0
HOUSTON: 2|4|0
Bottom of 3rd



[UPDATE] The Yankees got their teeth knocked out today, losing 22-4. The Indians put up 14 runs in the Top of the 2nd playing at New Yankee Stadium. A fan on Houston's AM 790 wanted the New Yankee Stadium to be torn down and go back to playing at old Yankee Stadium. I HAVE to know how TopHat felt about this this root canal the New York Yankees got.

 

[JohnBM01]

She's final- Astros picked up their first shutout win, and it was a great one. Mr. Fulchino made his debut as Astros' closer. Now this was more like it! It's a 7-0 beatdown of the Reds. Harang for the Reds was pissed the hell off as he was giving up runs. The final numbers:

Cincinnatti: 0 | 2 | 1
Houston 7 | 13 | 0



Terrible storms ripped through Houston, but the Astros brewed the perfect storm against the Reds tonight. Game 3 of 4 in this series is tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 PM CDT!

 

[mPWRD]

Hmph. Giants dropped another one. What's new? Might was well root for my hometown Cubs. They have a better chance.

 

[Nicksfix]

Way to go Tribe !!!!

This time they were the ones to hand out a butt whipping.Destroyed the pinstripers 22 - 4. Tribe put up 14 runs in the 2nd inning,with the aid of a grand slam by Asdrubal Cabrera.

 

[Omnis]

A fan on Houston's AM 790 wanted the New Yankee Stadium to be torn down and go back to playing at old Yankee Stadium.

Yeah, seriously. Now the Yankees are gonna be cursed for 100 years.

I hope it's the opposite for the Marlins if they get their stadium. But I don't really want them to move anyway. Driving to the Orange Bowl is a PITA.

 

[JohnBM01]

Game 3 of a 4-game tilt begins today. My Astros will send Felipe Paulino
to the mound while Cincinnati will counter with Edinson Vólquez.



Tonight's ESPN Sunday Night Baseball match involves the St. Louis Cardinals at the Chicago Cubs. Enjoy today's games and tonight's nightcap!

 

[TS]

Well it's official, the D-Backs are incapable of scoring runs, only scoring 4 in 3 games against the Giants, losing again 2-0.

 

[JohnBM01]

That game between St. Louis and Chicago Cubs tonight has been cancelled due to inclement weather. The game will be in either mid-June or mid-July as a day-night doubleheader in Chi-town. Meanwhile, my Astros lost 4-2 against Cincinnati. Either Cincy takes the series, or we get a series split when Mike Hampton goes against Bronson Arroyo tomorrow night. After this series, we entertain Prosthetic's severely hated Los Angeles Dodgers.

And some good news for Yankees fans... the pinstripe boys batted around to win 7-3. They got their first win at the New Yankee Stadium.

 

[Prosthetic]

Hmph. Giants dropped another one. What's new? Might was well root for my hometown Cubs. They have a better chance.

After two weeks? How long have you been watching baseball?

The Giants have had one bad road trip, and there big hitters are in a slump and trying to adjust. Winn, Molina, Renteria are all notorious for a slow first half and a big second.

This weekends pitching was good for the Giants....
Jonathan Sanchez- 6.2 IP, 2 H, 4 K's
Tim Lincecum- 8 IP, 5 H, 13 K's
Randy Johnson- 7 IP, 1 H, 7 K's

Sanchez able to control the pitch count (good thing), Lincecum averaged 2 strikeouts per inning for the first 4 innings (good thing), and Johnson was flirting with a no hitter... Awesome. But pitching from Haren, Davis and Scherzer all pitching fantastic... What is bugging me is how bad the Giants are doing with runners on. Ugh. I was pissed with how well Lincecum was pitching and our offense wasn't able to get him a win.


Dodgers beat the crap out of the Rockies 14-2...

I think the Dodgers are going to be last years D-Backs, first half is going to be huge, but falter in the second half. And once they start faltering Manny will get bored and start rolling around in the outfield again.

 

[JohnBM01]

Recent word I heard was that the Red Sox swept the Orioles. They b:censored:slapped them 12-1 at Fenway Park. Varitek landed the only home run for the Red Sox (Bottom of the 2nd).

I just hope my Astros can take down the Reds tonight so we can entertain the Dodgers on Tuesday.


Enjoy tonight's games, and good luck to your favorite teams!

 

[mPWRD]

After two weeks? How long have you been watching baseball?

The Giants have had one bad road trip, and there big hitters are in a slump and trying to adjust. Winn, Molina, Renteria are all notorious for a slow first half and a big second.

This weekends pitching was good for the Giants....
Jonathan Sanchez- 6.2 IP, 2 H, 4 K's
Tim Lincecum- 8 IP, 5 H, 13 K's
Randy Johnson- 7 IP, 1 H, 7 K's

Sanchez able to control the pitch count (good thing), Lincecum averaged 2 strikeouts per inning for the first 4 innings (good thing), and Johnson was flirting with a no hitter... Awesome. But pitching from Haren, Davis and Scherzer all pitching fantastic... What is bugging me is how bad the Giants are doing with runners on. Ugh. I was pissed with how well Lincecum was pitching and our offense wasn't able to get him a win.

I've been watching the Giants for the last 3 years... and it's been quite frustrating. I'm not doubting their pitching. They have one of the best rotations out there, and it can only get better when Lowry gets back. But... their offense is a different story. Many of their losses have been because their offense is ineffective.

 

[TS]

I think the Dodgers are going to be last years D-Backs, first half is going to be huge, but falter in the second half. And once they start faltering Manny will get bored and start rolling around in the outfield again.

I hope they are too, and then the D-Backs can become last year's Dodgers, get hot after the All-Star break and win the division.

Either that or hope that the Padres can keep their incredible start going through September.

 

[Prosthetic]

I've been watching the Giants for the last 3 years... and it's been quite frustrating. I'm not doubting their pitching. They have one of the best rotations out there, and it can only get better when Lowry gets back. But... their offense is a different story. Many of their losses have been because their offense is ineffective.

Their offense is only ineffective at this point... You should of watched closer to late last year, the Giants had the best record for more of September. When it expands to 40 man roster, the Giants will start to dominate. Guzman, Posey... can't remember how to spell a few others, but it will be awesome...


I have my doubts about Lowry, even if he does get back I don't think he will be back in his older form where he would dominate like Lincecum. When have plenty of pitching prospect to replace him, we will likely have to trade a few for outfield bats to replace Rowand...

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros just lost 4-3 and lost the series against the Reds. Who's to say things will improve when the L.A. Dodgers come to H-Town? Just not enough in the tank for my Astros.

 

[Prosthetic]

Good news for Giants fans... Its likely for Sabean and Bochy to not return next year. The likely person is Sandy Alderson who helped the A's be so dominate in the late 80's and early 90's. He also has a good trade record, he was able to get Young and A-Gone from Texas to the Padres. He also helped get rid of Bochy in San Diego... This is all good news for Giants fans, as he will likely be able to take advantage of our awesome farm system.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros will try and entertain the Los Angeles Dodgers at home tonight. The Astros will send Russ Ortiz (a former S.F. Giant) to the mound up against Texas boy, Clayton Kershaw. I'm sure my friend Prosthetic wants the Dodgers to get swept by my Astros, but we haven't been too consistent this season so far.

Feel free to chat about whatever games are coming up tonight, and enjoy tonight's games!

 

[TS]

D-Backs back home and beat the Rockies, 6-3.

Hoping for a series win and/or a sweep, they desperately need it!

 

[Nicksfix]

Tribe,8 to 7 over K.C. tonight.Aaron Laffey goes 7 strong innings giving up 7 hits,1 run,striking out 3.The sinker ball was his best friend tonight as he induced 5 double plays with it.Jensen Lewis comes in and induces another double play ball.6 double play balls for the Tribe tonight,which tied a franchise record,on the same token 6 double play balls set a franchise record for K.C. A 3 run shot by Grady Sizemore,and a 2 run shot by Victor Martinez ( who also went 4-5) were the keys to this one.

Starting to feel better about the Tribes bats,bullpen is still suspect,as they almost threw away Laffey's work.

 

[JohnBM01]

I thought this game was over. It's 7-5, Astros in the Bottom of the 9th here in Houston against the Dodgers. LAD is going for their 8th or 9th successive win.



[UPDATE] Epic win! Astros ended the Dodgers' winning streak with an 8-5 victory. Even with Bases Loaded, Jose Valverde got two Dodgers to chase a few balls to take a 3-run victory.

The 90 Wins Prediction: 5 down, 85 to go!



And TS, congrats to your D-Backs on a nice win.

 

[Prosthetic]

Wow!!! Giants had a big night last night! Cain pitched great, 6 innings 2 runs. He wasn't as sharp as normal but he got run support! Which he has yet to get much of in his career.

In the 4th innings Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam off of Jake Peavy, which is the first time he has ever given up one!! Not only that but it was HUUUGE!! About 20 rows up in the left field which make it about 485 foot bomb. Renteria was 3-4 with 5 RBI's, also Ishikawa got his swing back and got a couple of RBI's on a double. Schierholtz had a pinch hit double which was driven in by Ishikawa.

Good night for the Giants as they showed some good defense and showed that they can hit off of Jake Peavy who is one of the best pitchers in the league.

Even better night that the Dodgers lost, congrats on the win to the Astro's, Indians and D-Backs!

 

[JohnBM01]

You're welcome, Prosthetic! We're in the NL Central, so beating the Dodgers doesn't mean anything right now to the NL Central. However, it COULD affect if we get into an NL Wild Card situation later this year.

Tonight, Roy Oswalt tries to get his first win this season. But to do that, he'll have to go up against Randy Wolf of the L.A. Dodgers. Will Roy O. FINALLY get his first win?

 

[Prosthetic]

HOLY KRAPZ!!!

Barry Zito was a beast today... 7 innings, 5ish hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts... And the Padres couldn't touch his curveball!! HAHAHA!! In the last 5 starts out of all the starters, they only have up 2 runs, and that was Cain last night. Sandoval did an amazing job catching to Zito. Wow, I can't believe how well he did. And right now the Giants starting pitching has the best ERA. It's 1.20 or something... Crazy how well the Giants are pitching now.

We have now won 3 games in a row and have tomorrow off, but Lincecum will pitch on Friday against the D-Backs!!!

More good news is that I get to go to two games in a row next week. I'm really excited about that.

The NL West looks like it will be competitive this year which is really cool to see!! And its true, you really can draw a names in order and every possibility can happen. Dodgers look strong but their poor relief pitching will be found sooner or later.

But its really good news for the Giants that we are able to win games now with most of our big hitters struggling!!

 

[TS]

The D-Backs finally win a series, they beat the rockies today 2-0, Dan Haren finally got a win, hard to believe that he would be winless in his first 3 starts with a 1.7 ERA.

 

[JohnBM01]

Roy Oswalt didn't get his first win of the season. However, the winning pitchers are Chris Sampson and LaTroy Hawkins. So Roy O. gets a No Decision. Astros will win the series as they won 6-5 tonight. So 84 more wins needed to fulfill Cecil Cooper's 90-win prediction.

As you may imagine, I'm going to try to follow that 90-win prediction this season. One more game with the Dodgers, then an important (because it's NL Central) series coming up as we host the Milwaukee Brewers. After Milwaukee, we hit the road starting next Monday. We're heading up to take on the Cincinnati Reds (3 games), start off May 2009 with a trip to the Atlanta Braves (3 games), and finish the road trip by taking on the laughable Washington Nationals (2 games).

Way to go, Astros! Keep up the great work!

 

[mPWRD]

WOWZA! This is the Barry Zito the Giants swore they got with $126 million. I've been treed by Prosthetic on the stats, but that was some good performance...

 

[Prosthetic]

WOWZA! This is the Barry Zito the Giants swore they got with $126 million. I've been treed by Prosthetic on the stats, but that was some good performance...

He had his curveball and even his knee high fastball working for him. He looked sharp, to bad he got the Cain treatment (Not run support.)

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros could have swept the series, but we lost 2-0 to the Dodgers. Next up- a three-game tilt with Milwaukee. It's okay to look at the NL Central and not regard my division highly (most dislike the NL West more), but we got some talented clubs. I look for the Brewers to be a tough ticket, as always. So we have to be on top of our game.

Sunday Night Baseball this weekend will feature ESPN's favorite rivalry- Yanks and the [Red] Sox. This series will be the New York Yankees AT the Boston Red Sox. I think this is the first American League match on display in this season of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. I'm sure TopHat wishes the Yanks sweep the Red Sox at Fenway Park.