MLB 2009

[Erik Lund]

Ahhh it's nice having the Joshy-Josh of old this year (at least so far) - 10 Ks in 7 innings! Hooray!

[Enforcer]

Same old Tigers. Bullpen brutal, wasting a terrific start by Edwin Jackson.

[Jesse]

Down 5-4 in the 9th with 2 outs, Casilla's first hit lifts the Twins over the Mariners.
Ichiru out with a bleeding ulcer.
The dreaded 81 home game video montages, retro unis and wacky Dome doings stories have begun.

[jon abbey]

Same old Tigers. Bullpen brutal, wasting a terrific start by Edwin Jackson.

at least they still have Jurrjens.

seriously, what a slew of bad, expensive moves your boys have made, yikes. they have a ton of guys with pretty much unmovable deals, I was thinking about it earlier, Sheffield was just the tip of the iceberg.

let me ask you: if they have a bad first 40 games or so, say 15-25, would you consider moving Granderson to NY for 3 or 4 prime pitching prospects? that would be a move I could see Cashman finally dealing quality young pitching for, and they have a lot of guys to choose from. maybe you could get NY to take Magglio's deal also (which vests for two more big money years with I think 400 ABs this year), that might work for both teams.

[Harold Baines]

Rob Neyer channeling Yoda on the Royals leaving Farnsworth in:
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0- ... eater.html

[Mo Noyz]

I'm already longing for the triumphant return of Buddy Bell.

Hillman is...just...fucking...awful...

[Mo Noyz]

let me ask you: if they have a bad first 40 games or so, say 15-25, would you consider moving Granderson to NY for 3 or 4 prime pitching prospects? that would be a move I could see Cashman finally dealing quality young pitching for, and they have a lot of guys to choose from. maybe you could get NY to take Magglio's deal also (which vests for two more big money years with I think 400 ABs this year), that might work for both teams.

Are there any other great players out there that you're forgetting? Surely the Yankees don't have the top 25 players in the league just yet. Why stop until you get there?

And still not make the World Series...

[jon abbey]

well, we don't have Farnsworth anymore.

[Mo Noyz]

Yeah, thanks a lot for that.

He's something like the third or fourth highest paid cat on our team, none the less. Just a horrible decision. I have never liked that motherfucker, and never will.

We let Nunez and Ramirez go, and then drive a truckload of money to Farnsworth's doorstep? My faith in Moore is on a serious downhill slide.

[surfer]

Cahill didnt look great last night, esp in the first few innings, lots of hard hit balls, stranded baserunners, but he escaped with a decent looking line of 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 BB (1 intentional), 1 K. He kind of got squeezed a little by the ump, and his control wasnt the best, but he's still got nice movement, and good velocity. He needs to work on his "out" pitch, whether that's his slider or curve (which wasnt really working last night). He should have had the win if not for Cust's error.

A's pound out 16 hits, 12 of them singles, 4 doubles. Not too much power yet.

[crawjo]

could be, and their defense is probably better than NY's. of course, then there's the whole pitching staff thing...

The pitching is going to be atrocious. If Baltimore were going with the guys who could best produce right now, their starting rotation would be Guthrie, Uehara, Matusz, Tillman, and Arrieta. And Wieters would be catching. But free agency clock issues and not wanting to rush their best pitchers mean we get Adam Eaton and Mark Hendrickson instead.

Adam Jones looks like he's "filled out" a bit over the offseason (I've often thought that "filling out" was code for roiding up, but whatever.) If he stays healthy I think he'll hit 25 to 30 home runs. When they play Pie in left, and with Izturis at short, the defense will be much much better than it was last year.

With Teixeira at first I think the Yankees defense is pretty good now, depending on how much range Jeter has this year and how many brain farts Cano produces. I don't know much of anything about either Gardner or Nady's defense though. And then there's Posada, who has always been erratic with balls in the dirt but with his shoulder healthy at least he should be able to hold his weight in that department.

[crawjo]

Same old Tigers. Bullpen brutal, wasting a terrific start by Edwin Jackson.

at least they still have Jurrjens.

seriously, what a slew of bad, expensive moves your boys have made, yikes. they have a ton of guys with pretty much unmovable deals, I was thinking about it earlier, Sheffield was just the tip of the iceberg.

let me ask you: if they have a bad first 40 games or so, say 15-25, would you consider moving Granderson to NY for 3 or 4 prime pitching prospects? that would be a move I could see Cashman finally dealing quality young pitching for, and they have a lot of guys to choose from. maybe you could get NY to take Magglio's deal also (which vests for two more big money years with I think 400 ABs this year), that might work for both teams.

Who are the Yankees best pitching prospects these days? It seems like some of the luster has come off Hughes and certainly Kennedy. I don't know much about it.

[jon abbey]

Who are the Yankees best pitching prospects these days? It seems like some of the luster has come off Hughes and certainly Kennedy. I don't know much about it.

yeah, not Kennedy. Hughes is much like Buchholz, seemingly back on track but not being rushed, both are probably the first options in AAA for their rotations, at least until Smoltz is ready for Boston.

anyway, Brackman, Dellin Betances, Zach McAllister, Melancon and Robertson in the pen, the list really goes on and on for NY pitching prospects.

[Harold Baines]

Shutdown night from the Royals' pitchers. Greinke was ahead most of the night. Floyd was almost as good for Chicago, with the good curve working.



Once K.C. got Juan Cruz, I can't see Farnsworth entering a game closer than 3 runs, unless Cruz has thrown for like three straight days.

[Mo Noyz]

Agreed.

Cruz looked really good.

I thought Floyd was pretty damned good tonight. His control came and went at times, but he was solid overall. A.J earned his money tonight.

Interesting stats they flashed when Soria was on the mound tonight. His numbers from last year:

42 saves
38 hits given
36 1-2-3 innings


Pretty impressive.

And Chris, is that looping curve of his (that he sat Dye down with tonight) not a thing of beauty?

As much faith in Soria that I have, I was still sweating a little when Thome came to the plate in the 9th. They had a poll going on FSNKC tonight about who is the biggest "Royal pain", and Thome won with 60%.

Have I mentioned how much I hate that motherfucker? Respect, but fucking hate!

[crawjo]

So how does Koji Uehara look? What does he throw?

[Borat Pri Hagafen]

I only saw about an inning, but this is what the AP story said...

For the most part, Uehara kept New York off balance by mixing his split-finger fastball with a changeup he learned from Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz.

"We didn't hit too many balls off him," Damon said. "His changeup was good and he kept his fastball down. He has a good idea out there."

[Steve Reynolds]

I was excited to watch my first Red Sox game in HD, however....

I forgot how much of a blow hard wind blowing moron Rick Sutcliffe is

almost made me wish Berman or Mike Patrick were doing the game - I know Patrick doesn't do baseball - but he is the standard bearer in blowing drivel..

Bob Davidson should not be allowed to umpire any longer. He called about 20 balls that were all outside strikes and he acted arrogant while doing it. Not saying the Sox deserved even a chance to win the game as their offense is a bit old and slow especially compared to what they had a couple of years back - I mean Rocco Baldelli in the 5 hole VS. lefties when Drew doesn't play? yikes The fact is Kazmir didn't have good stuff and the Sox should have hammered him - good sign was Papi ripping the liner off the wall in the 9th and Youkilis & Pedroia looking just like last year. I worry about Lowell and Ellsbury still hasn't figured out how to turn on the ball.

looks like they will be fine as the pitching should be the best in the league when you add their deep pen to a solid top 3 in the rotation - probably the equal of the Yankee top 3 - maybe better if Beckett is 100%

[jon abbey]

holy shit, Nick Adenhart killed in a hit and run:

http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?show ... try2198656

[surfer]

I just found out about it, that's unbelievably horrible. Just takes all the joy out of a fun win. Condolences to the Angels family and all fans. Senseless, senseless.