Major League Baseball: 2013 Season

[KM964]

Saw that coming. Guy was a strike-out machine this year.

Like Hamilton was last year for Texas? Dude went on a tear the first half, then put himself in the AL strikeout race the second half.

On another note, I'm at the Rangers game tonight with great seats. Yu Darvish is hurling another gem...


AAAAAAAAND it's gone. 🤬

 

[CodeRedR51]

Letting a last place team show us up.

Edit: we're going to lose a 1-0 game. Bull:censored:.

 

[KM964]

I think I should just stop going to Ranger games. Every time I've gone this year, they lost. Yu Darvish took a no-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the 7th inning. He gives up back-to-back homeruns, and he loses the no-hit bid and the lead. Plus, he didn't get out of the 7th.

In the bottom half of the 7th, Craig Gentry hit a one out triple to right field, representing the tying run. But he was stranded. I'm not one who complains alot, but this was just a pathetic game tonight. Our ace pitcher coughs up a 2 run lead yet again to another bad team. Last Saturday, it was the White Sox. Now, the Twins.

And Oakland won. We should have won as well...

 

[JohnBM01]

90 losses for my sorry ass team! Yeah! It was 1-0 in favor of Houston after three innings, and that's all we would get as Seattle spanks us 7-1. Fireworks usually happen at Astros home games Friday nights. Only fireworks came from Seattle's offense. Game 3 of 4 of this SEA at HOU is later tonight since it is after Midnight (Central time) as of the time of this post.


Elsewhere... I thought of the Diamondbacks when I learned of Jason Kubel going to the Indians. Big part of the Snakes' offense gone to another team in the other league. Now, Paul Goldschmidt REALLY has to be the man and that hero for Arizona.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Kubel didn't get much playing time this year because he was doing so badly. Usually when he did play it was to pinch hit and he wasn't of much help there either. Dont give him that much credit.

 

[BobK]

Phillies got three things yesterday we haven't had in too long of a time:

1. Dramatic come-from-behind win (down 5-0 after six, win 6-5).
2. Pinch hit from Kevin Frandsen.
3. Outstanding outing from Papelbon.

 

[Sanji Himura]

All at the expense of firing one of the greatest managers in Phillies History. Yea!

 

[KM964]

Well, I got me an Astros New Era!

I found it on eBay for $25. Most New-Era's are usually $10 more (though this one had a price sticker of $38.99 on it). I saw one at Champs last summer but decided not to get it, as I thought the Astros would change their logos and all going to the AL (and I was right).

 

[JohnBM01]

Nice cap! I'm still trying to find a cool cap bearing the new look Astros colors.

 

[ildd]

Nice cap! I'm still trying to find a cool cap bearing the new look Astros colors.

My favorite is the blue with orange bill, but the 1 I own is the Stars and Stripes.

 

[KM964]

Nice cap! I'm still trying to find a cool cap bearing the new look Astros colors.

Thanks! Though, does nowhere down there sell the on-field New Eras? Every sports store I've gone into up here has them mixed in with their Ranger ones. They have a selection from every team actually.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well, I'm just looking for a simple navy blue one with the orange star and the white "H." And by the way... Astros lost again- 3-1 tonight to Seattle. So the Astros can either get a win tomorrow to avoid getting swept... or pick up loss #92 and extend the losing streak. Keuchel was the loser tonight while Seattle has Sanders winning with a Save from Farquhar.

Still an Astros fan, but I've already moved on to the Texans and to the Rockets at this point.

 

[KM964]

If all else fails, you can always go to eBay. They usually have a nice collection of hats, especially New Eras.

 

[Nicksfix]

Things are just not going well for the Tribe lately. We lost last night to the Tigers 7-2 and are currently losing 10-5 in the bottom of the 8th ... fading, fading, fading farther away from the divisional lead.

Honestly speaking, I think it's time to concede the A.L. Central to Joeys Tigers and make a run for the wildcard ... that is, if we can get a few more wins under our belt.

Gonna be tough.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Walk off! Woo!

First pitch Eric Chavez saw he sent the ball to the wall in left center field with two on and nobody out. Love how teams walk Goldy and the next hitter does the damage anyway.

 

[KM964]

Rangers get a walk-off win. Both pitchers were on their A-game tonight, each only giving up one run. But the Rangers had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. Leonys Martin singled home Alex Rios to win it 2-1.

Travis Blackley takes the mound in the rubber game. Also, rosters expand tomorrow and several players will be activated from the DL either tomorrow or this week...Lance Berkman, Neftali Feliz, Alexi Ogando, and Nick Tepesch are on the list.

In other news, I just read that Michael Young got traded to the Dodgers after waiving his no-trade clause. I don't know how well he will do out in LA, but one thing for sure...he is a great clubhouse guy.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Going to lose 2 of 3 to the last place Giants. Go us.

 

[Villain]

Going to lose 2 of 3 to the last place Giants. Go us.

They might not be in last place for much longer (thanks to the Diamondbacks). SD and SF are tied for last as of yesterday's results. Dodgers/Padres are tied 1-1 in the sixth inning right now. If the Dodgers sweep, Padres will have the basement to themselves.

 

[KM964]

Rangers lose 2 of 3 to the Twins...pathetic.

And, we head to Oakland next, with either a 1 or 2 game lead.

EDIT: 1 game lead. Thanks for the (lack of) help Tampa Bay! And thank you Texas for f:censored:ing around this series.

 

[KM964]

Delete. Hit quote instead of edit.

 

[ildd]

In shocking events, not only did the Astros win today, but shutout the Mariners on 4 hits.

 

[JohnBM01]

This time, we did NOT fail! 2-0 win over Seattle to prevent getting swept in this four-game sweep. I think this improves Oberholtzer's record this season to 4-1. The hero for the Astros was Jason Castro banging in an RBI double. It was a win for Oberholtzer (HOU) and a loss for Furbush (SEA).


Elsewhere...

* Congratulations to Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies on picking up his 2,500th hit. Can he possibly be part of the 3K Hit club?

* Man... San Francisco slaughtered some Diamondbacks. 8-2 was the score for the San Francisco Giants over Arizona in Phoenix.

* How do you silence a pack of Tigers in the Tigers' Den? Put a Grand Slam on them. That's what the Cleveland Indians did, winning 4-0 in Detroit.


My Houston Astros will have some Minnesota Twins problems next here in Houston. Three-game set coming up with the first game starting tomorrow afternoon against the Twins. Then after that... TWO LATE GAME SERIES! It begins A four-game set at Oakland next weekend (yay...) followed by a three-game set at Seattle. But those are the series after our three-game set vs. the Twins.

 

[Villain]

As the Dodgers swept the Padres and the Giants took the weekend series from the Diamondbacks, the Giants have now moved out of last place. SFG are now sitting in 4th Place, 14 games under .500

 

[Nicksfix]

* How do you silence a pack of Tigers in the Tigers' Den? Put a Grand Slam on them. That's what the Cleveland Indians did, winning 4-0 in Detroit.

Miracles really do happen .

 

[JohnBM01]

Standings coming up along with an assessment. Here are standings heading into today's games:


--- American League ---
AL EAST: Boston (82-56), TB (75-60), BAL (72-63), NYY (72-64), TOR (62-75)
AL CENTRAL: Detroit (80-57), CLE (72-64), KC (70-66), MIN (59-76), CHW (56-79)
AL WEST: Texas (79-57), OAK (78-58), LAA (63-72), SEA (62-74), HOU (45-91)

--- National League ---
NL EAST: Atlanta (83-53), WAS (69-67), NYM (62-73), PHI (62-75), MIA (50-85)
NL CENTRAL: St. Louis and Pittsburgh (79-57 each), CIN (76-61), MIL (59-77). CHC (58-78)
NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers (81-55), ARI (69-66), COL (65-73), SF (61-75), SD (60-76)

--- Wild Card ---
Only the top two will qualify for the Wild Card. This is the current race:

AL WILD CARD: Oakland (78-58), Tampa Bay (75-60), BAL (72-63), CLE and NYY (72-64)
NL WILD CARD: St. Louis and Pittsburgh (79-57), CIN (76-61), ARI (69-66), WAS (69-67)


--- Other Observations... ---
RECORDS...
...Best Home: Atlanta (49-19)
...Best Away: Texas (40-28)
...Worst Home: Houston (22-47)
...Worst Away: Miami (21-46)

CURRENT STREAKS...
...Longest Winning: Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers (4 straight wins each)
...Longest Losing: Tampa Bay Rays (4 straight losses)

CURRENT TEN-GAME STRETCH:
...Best 10-game stretch: Boston (8-2 last ten games)
...Worst 10-game stretch: Miami (2-8 last ten games)


This all can change between now and playoffs time. So everyone has to play as hard as possible moving forward.


If you would like to assess your team(s) at this point, feel free to do so. Here's mine.

All the Houston Astros can do is get as many wins as they can to keep their heads up for 2014. We are only going to be challengers when the talent consistently delivers and can play winning baseball. I still think the Astros were fast learners adjusting from the National League to the American League. Remember- the Astros were thrust into this move from the NL Central to the AL West to even out the leagues. The Astros will just have to learn to adjust and find out how to play much better and win more ball games. They currently have a 45-91 record. Reaching 50 wins is very possible; surpassing 55 or 56 is a bit less possible, but doable. But again, the Astros at this point are just playing for pride and playing to finish a vastly disappointing 2013.

Even though the season has been disappointing, I have been excited for the Astros that the return to the navy blue and orange would help develop a new mentality for the Astros. I sometimes believe a new mentality and a new look can improve someone's image. The Houston Astros either need better talent or find ways to more consistently win games. People like José Altuve, Jason Castro, Chris Carter, and others have helped to make the Astros strong. Even a low payroll team can have priceless talent. It is going to take about maybe 3-5 years until the Astros may even have a chance to deliver more consistently and perhaps challenge for a playoff berth.

But one last time... all we can do is just limp our way to the finish line while getting as many wins as possible. Nothing to play for but pride.


Good luck to all of your teams moving forward. Those still in the playoff race... keep fighting hard. And happy Labor Day!

 

[CodeRedR51]

Really interested in the Rangers vs A's series. Hoping since they are in Oakland the A's will win the series.

 

[Villain]

Yea, I was looking at the Sept. schedule for Oakland and Texas, it's still anybody's division. IIRC, they still have 6 games left against each other.

Should be fun.

 

[KM964]

I hope Texas can pull this one out. We sure need it. Last time Texas took 2 of 3. And last time Derek Holland (today's starter) took the mound in Oakland, he pitched 8 scoreless and racked up 10 K's.

Also, the pitcher we're facing today, we've lit him up plenty this year.

 

[KM964]

This game is pathetic already...2-0 Oakland. We're making Dan Straily look like Cy Young, and the umpire has a stupid strikezone.


EDIT- TIE GAME!!! David Murphy launched one to dead center with a runner on first!

AAAAAAAND it's gone.

I think it's safe to say Texas wants to choke away the division for the second straight year. Derek Holland is done after 4 2/3. 4 runs, and no bats to help him out. Pathetic. Lose a series to the f:censored:ing Twins at HOME then go to Oakland and probably lose a huge game.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros were up 5-1, then 6-4, and ultimately lost 10-6 to Minnesota. Eight losses away from 100 as the baseball gods keep s:censored:ing on my Houston Astros. We are 45-92 now.