Major League Baseball: 2013 Season

[Villain]

Be honest, Villain... did you REALLY expect your Dodgers to be on this kind of roll right now at this point of the season? It has to be a pleasant surprise.

Of course it's a surprise. I never counted the Dodgers out, I've always felt that they are the best team in a bad division. I knew that most of the early struggles were due to injuries and in fact the team is still missing some huge pieces (try two starting pitchers and an NL MVP runner up).

So, to describe my reaction: I'm not surprised that the team put itself together as it got healthy (Hanley Ramirez and Zack Grienke returning from the DL). I'm not surprised that the Dodgers are in first place and currently running away from the division.

I always felt that the Giants would be the number one threat in the west even though their offseason was laughably bad. I'm very surprised that their starting rotation has fallen apart. Lincecum, Zito, Cain, Vogelsong... terrible.

Where I'm surprised is at the extent of the run that they've been on. I did not expect this team to rebound so dramatically. I did not expect Yasiel Puig to keep up his production for so long. I also didn't expect other guys like Paco Rodriguez to be dominant in relief and Juan Uribe to put together a mediocre season (that is an upgrade from last year and it shows).

It was never smart to count out the Dodgers in May or June. Sure, things weren't going well, but when you still had two starters dealing--Ryu and Kershaw--and you've got Carl Crawford looking better than he was in Boston, Adrian Gonzalez healthy and happy at first, existence in what I thought was the weakest division in baseball (I think the NL East has proven itself to be the NL LEAST), and two-thirds of the season left to play... It was premature for the fairweather guys to quit.

TL/DR; I'm not surprised to see them winning and in 1st place, however I did not expect them to go on these winning streaks of historical proportions.



------------------------
Oh, and an UPDATE on Greinke: 1ER over 8 dominant innings, his ERA is now 2.91 on the season.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Reds had an 8-0 lead after 4 innings, and the lead's now been cut down to 8-6 in the 8th. TV has been turned off. I can't stand to watch us blow it.

 

[KM964]

I'm calling Dodgers/Red Sox in the World Series.

 

[Nicksfix]

Final .... Tribe 3, Angels 1.
That's the way to end a road trip, by getting a sweep. (sorry Patrick)

Detroit (73-52) is still leading the pack in the A.L. Central, up by 5 over the Tribe (69-58). Coming home for a 3 game stint against Justins Twins, then back on the road we go.

Holding pace - but looking for help.

 

[KM964]

Scheppers...what the actual f:censored:k. 2 wild pitches, 2 runs, and 2 hit batters.

 

[ildd]

Scheppers...what the actual f:censored:k. 2 wild pitches, 2 runs, and 2 hit batters.

I hope stassi is alright. Looks like he took it straight to the nose...
Dat Lo <3

 

[KM964]

I hope stassi is alright. Looks like he took it straight to the nose...
Dat Lo <3

Me too...looked nasty.

 

[KM964]

RANGERS WIN!!! On a walk-off sac fly!

Texas was cruising when Derek Holland took a liner off of his throwing arm, causing him to lose command and load the bases. Joakim Soria came in and got out of the inning with just one run crossing the plate.

Tanner Scheppers came in in the 8th, and had severe command issues. 2 runs, 2 wild pitches, and 2 hit batters.

But in the bottom of the 9th, the bases were loaded with 1 out, when Elvis Andrus hit a sac fly, scoring Adam Rosales to win the game.

The Rangers have a day off tomorrow before heading to Chicago for 3 with the Sox. Oakland lost to the Mariners, which gives Texas a 2.5 game lead. Oakland travels to Baltimore for 3.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Reds had an 8-0 lead after 4 innings, and the lead's now been cut down to 8-6 in the 8th. TV has been turned off. I can't stand to watch us blow it.

Nothing to worry about.

 

[BobK]

A 90mph fastball to the head has gotta hurt. Broke his jaw in two places, I understand.

I don't think it'll affect the Braves all that much as far as pennant races go; the Nationals, Mets and Phillies are all pretty much incompetent this year (the remaining team in the division, the Marlins, aren't "pretty much" incompetent; they're totally incompetent this year). It may affect the won-loss record though, and therefore possibly seeding in the playoffs.

There's also a question of how effective Heyward will be coming off a 4-6 week layoff.

In any case, here's wishing for a speedy recovery.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Todays game feels like one of those close, low scoring games that goes to the last inning or two and then we end up losing.

Edit: And what do you know....

 

[Blitz24]

Todays game feels like one of those close, low scoring games that goes to the last inning or two and then we end up losing.

Edit: And what do you know....

Sometimes it seems like you will your team to lose.

 

[ildd]

Sometimes it seems like you will your team to lose.

Well when your team is the Astros...

 

[Blitz24]

Well when your team is the Astros...

R1600 is now an Astros fan? That would be confusing and shocking news to me. Odd time to jump ship from a disappointing franchise to a pathetic franchise.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Sometimes it seems like you will your team to lose.

Got that way from experience.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Another close one today. I'm pleasantly surprised we took the series. Like I said, I was really expecting a split at best.

 

[BobK]

So the Phillies have managed to do something they haven't done since early July -- win a series. They went 3-1 against the Rockies at home, with the last two games being ninth-inning walkoff wins. This from a team noted for not scoring after the fourth inning.

And Ryno is now above .500 at 4-3.

However the Diamondbacks will be in town tonight, so a reality check might be forthcoming.

 

[JohnBM01]

Bring on another batch of series! Here are some of the many different series this weekend, starting with my just-got-swept-again Astros:

* Toronto Blue Jays at Houston Astros
* Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox
* Arizona Diamondbacks at Philadelphia Phillies
* Oakland Athletics at Baltimore Orioles (this should be good...)
* Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals
* Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco Giants
* Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Seattle Mariners
* Detroit Tigers at New York Mets
* Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers

Wherever your team(s) is/are playing, have a great weekend of baseball!

 

[Blitz24]

Beachy lasted one month about, back to the DL with elbow inflamation.

 

[Villain]

To all baseball fans everywhere: please don't call this weekend a "WORLD SERIES PREVIEW" because it is the Dodgers and BoSox.

 

[KM964]

Don't know if you guys know this, but...Dice-K is pitching for the Mets against the Tigers tonight. Yup, the Indians released him and the Mets picked him up.

After a day off, I'm happy to watch my Rangers play again. This will be the first time AJ Pierzynski and Alex Rios will play in front of their former home crowds. Former Ranger Leury Garcia (who was part of the Rios deal) may get some playing time as well this series.

 

[Sanji Himura]

To all baseball fans everywhere: please don't call this weekend a "WORLD SERIES PREVIEW" because it is the Dodgers and BoSox.

The only series that is worthy of that title is the World Series. No previews necessary.

 

[KM964]

Chris Sale has given up 4 homers tonight, one of which was a controversial inside-the-park homerun to Ian Kinsler. The ball went UNDER the padding near the end of the field-level seats down the third base line. The outfielder couldn't find it, which allowed Kinsler to score. Robin Ventura immediately came out to argue the call, and was tossed after a few minutes.

Our commentators asked someone how that worked while on a commercial break, and they said it was a ball still in play since the outfielder attempted to find it. He also added that if a ball gets stuck in the ivy at Wrigley, the outfielder must put his hands on his head, and it will be ruled a ground rule double. If the outfielder tries to find it, the ball will still be in play.

Link to GIF
http://mlbmemes.lockerdome.com/media/109010886

 

[JohnBM01]

We grounded the Toronto Blue Jays 12-4 here in Houston. Our three-game losing streak was snapped after getting swept at the Texas Rangers. Jordan Lyles picked up the win to go to 6-6. Redmond lost for Toronto. The first time I heard this game, it was 12-4... by the Astros. I was surprised the Astros belted out double-digit runs and maintained a huge lead.


Elsewhere, let me touch up on a few games.

* Congrats to the Texas Rangers on winning 11-5 up in Chicago against the White Sox. Lot of 1's for Texas- 11 runs, 11 hits, and 1 error.

* I wonder how many things haven't been broken or damaged in R1600Turbo's house after Arizona walked in the winning run, letting Philadelphia win 4-3. A win is a win. Papelbon was the PHI winner, and ARI tagged Heath Bell with the loss.

* 3-1 was the score in St. Louis as ATL meet STL. Them danged redbirds won this one in a Complete Game for Adam Wainwright. The ATL loser was Medlen.

* A Grand Slam was part of Baltimore's home victory over Oakland tonight. It was 9-7 in Baltimore as the Orioles kept up their solid form. Francisco Rodriguez won for BAL as well as a Save from Joe Johnson. Cook was the OAK loser.

* The Detroit Tigers took an early lead and never looked back. The kitties from MoTown took down the New York Mets 6-1 in Queens.


Congratulations to all other winners up to and beyond the time of this post.


[UPDATE] I want to show some love to Vin Scully on wanting to announce again in 2014. This will be his unprecedented 65th year as an announcer. It's great that Vin Scully's still going strong after all of these years. Truly one of the most classic voices in all of sports. Cheers, Vin Scully! 👍

 

[CodeRedR51]

Fail, fail, fail.

 

[KM964]

[UPDATE] I want to show some love to Vin Scully on wanting to announce again in 2014. This will be his unprecedented 65th year as an announcer. It's great that Vin Scully's still going strong after all of these years. Truly one of the most classic voices in all of sports. Cheers, Vin Scully! 👍

Same here. I'm not a Dodger fan, but Vin Scully is arguably the greatest announcer in all of sports (no doubt the greatest in baseball). Every time I have MLB Network on and they go into a Dodger game with him commentating, it's enjoyable to listen to him. 👍

 

[CodeRedR51]

Yay for 10.5 games back. Season is over, stick a fork in us. Good thing the rest of the NL West behind us suck too.

 

[BobK]

To all baseball fans everywhere: please don't call this weekend a "WORLD SERIES PREVIEW" because it is the Dodgers and BoSox.

'Specially since the World Series is going to be between the Braves and Oakland.

 

[KM964]

Max Scherzer is going to win AL Cy Young. No question. That dude is a BEAST.

 

[JohnBM01]

Back-to-back wins for the Houston Astros. We won 8-5 here in Houston against the Toronto Blue Jays. I heard the phrase "you're down by three runs" as well as "Toronto down to their final out" the only time I checked into this game. It made me wonder if it was Houston who was down. But... it was Toronto who was in trouble. I'm happy as an Astros fan- just get as many wins as possible and keep building towards being a contender in the future. I'm not happy about the downward spiral the Astros from that improbable World Series run in 2005, but I'd rather a sorry team show improvement than continually being drowned in losing. Peacock won the game along with a Save from Lo. Wang lost for the Toronto Blue Jays. Encarnacion and Pillar banged out homers for Toronto. Jason Castro went yard for the Astros.


Congratulations to all other winners from today's games and tonight's games. That even includes the Chicago White Sox beating Texas 3-2 on a walk-off hit just now as I sent this reply.