2013 MLB Season Thread

[yg17]

1. On the contrary, I enjoy watching pitchers get hits and RBIs to help their own cause and the occasional home run. Not all pitchers in the NL are an automatic out, perhaps it's that way in the AL because they might only bat in one away interleague game the entire season. Plus, there's a lot more strategy in bullpen and bench management without the DH. Look at the box score, in particularly, the lineup cards from a recent 14 inning AL game vs a recent 15 inning NL game. Notice the huge difference. It's a lot easier to manage an AL team when you don't have to worry about if the next guy coming in from the pen would be due to bat soon and do a double switch.

2. I'm not disagreeing, I'm not going to pay to see my team suck it up either. It just seems like in the past couple months, the Pirate fans have been coming out of the woodwork even on the internet where being a die-hard Pirates fan is free. Then again, I don't know what it's like to be a fan of a team with 20 straight losing seasons. I might not want to show my face in public either.

 

[Queen of Spades]

1. On the contrary, I enjoy watching pitchers get hits and RBIs to help their own cause and the occasional home run. Not all pitchers in the NL are an automatic out, perhaps it's that way in the AL because they might only bat in one away interleague game the entire season. Plus, there's a lot more strategy in bullpen and bench management without the DH. Look at the box score, in particularly, the lineup cards from a recent 14 inning AL game vs a recent 15 inning NL game. Notice the huge difference. It's a lot easier to manage an AL team when you don't have to worry about if the next guy coming in from the pen would be due to bat soon and do a double switch.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. I hate NL games with all the switching and so many utility players. And even the best "hitting" pitchers are still crap compared to position players. No thanks. I guess that's why they haven't dumped one for the other yet.

2. I'm not disagreeing, I'm not going to pay to see my team suck it up either. It just seems like in the past couple months, the Pirate fans have been coming out of the woodwork even on the internet where being a die-hard Pirates fan is free. Then again, I don't know what it's like to be a fan of a team with 20 straight losing seasons. I might not want to show my face in public either.

I'm not singling you out, either. Every fanbase likes to live under the delusion that they're somehow better, more knowledgeable, more loyal, etc. than other teams' fans. It's just part of being a fan and also having healthy human egos. But from an objective standpoint, it's crap.

And that phenomenon of fans showing up and being more vocal when their team wins happens in every single sport on the planet. Ever notice how many Miami Heat fans there are these days?

 

[musicjunky]

It's like how I feel after the Giants started winning World Series. Fans come out with the woodwork, yet it becomes less fun as a fan (to me personally) to be a winner, takes away from that fan pining for victory when victory is there. I'm rambling, but I'm just saying.

 

[Yoda3984]

Personally, I just like to admit that I'm a Pirates fan now without the pity that comes along with it.

There's not really much reason to get on the internet and brag on your team when they're in the cellar for 20 years, is there?

 

[alent1234]

i hope the pirates win it all just because they have one of the lowest payrolls in MLB and actually used some strategy instead of spending the most cash

 

[MacNut]

That stupid drum.

 

[ValSalva]

The wild card round is cruel. One and done for one of the teams after a 162 game season. I know it gives one more non-division winner a chance but in baseball a one game playoff is only a little better than a coin flip. So much more incentive to win your division I guess.

 

[maflynn]

Tampa bay is peaking at the right time. I think they'll be giving my beloved Red Sox a run for their money.

 

[ucfgrad93]

The wild card round is cruel. One and done for one of the teams after a 162 game season. I know it gives one more non-division winner a chance but in baseball a one game playoff is only a little better than a coin flip. So much more incentive to win your division I guess.

Agreed. I hate the one and done format for the wildcard when everything else is a series.

 

[ValSalva]

Tampa bay is peaking at the right time. I think they'll be giving my beloved Red Sox a run for their money.

Agreed. When Tampa's pitching gets on a roll they can be hard to stop. They had a roll like that when they briefly took the AL East lead this summer.

Just hoping our scrappy Red Sox can push those pitch counts up and wear them down.

 

[Silencio]

It's like how I feel after the Giants started winning World Series. Fans come out with the woodwork, yet it becomes less fun as a fan (to me personally) to be a winner, takes away from that fan pining for victory when victory is there. I'm rambling, but I'm just saying.

I know what you mean, but, having been a Giants fan since the late 70s and seeing an awful lot of ups and downs but mostly unbearable heartache, actually winning World Series (plural!) is something, deep down, I'll probably never come to terms with. I mean, I'm ecstatic that we finally broke our duck in such a convincing way, and I certainly wouldn't say it's less "fun" than what came before, it's just that it still feels... strange.

The "bandwagon" aspect of Giants fandom really took off around the year 2000, when AT&T Park opened. You had to be a diehard to haul yourself out to endure — uh, see games at the Stick, whereas AT&T sold out game after game even in the Giants' recent lean years like 2007-2008.

Oh well, it'll be kind of nice to watch the playoffs again without sweating every single pitch.

 

[MacNut]

Tampa bay is peaking at the right time. I think they'll be giving my beloved Red Sox a run for their money.

Also the Red Sox have been off for a week while Tampa is running on all cylinders. Pitching wise Boston has the edge but their hitters are cold and might take a while to get their swings back. I bet the Sox would of rather played Cleveland and their horrible pitching staff.

 

[Queen of Spades]

Also the Red Sox have been off for a week while Tampa is running on all cylinders. Pitching wise Boston has the edge but their hitters are cold and might take a while to get their swings back. I bet the Sox would of rather played Cleveland and their horrible pitching staff.

Oh yeah, but primarily because their lineup is so, so weak outside of Kipnis.

I was talking to my Dad about how this Red Sox season was so unexpectedly successful and whether or not we'd be satisfied just getting to where they are now. On the one hand, this was supposed to be a transitional year, building toward our younger players while improving on last season's debacle. I don't think you'll find a single Sox fan (or baseball pundit) that had expectations of them winning the division and home field throughout. But this team really got it together quickly, and it's an immensely likable, hardworking group.

I really hope they get past the Rays, as much for them as it would be gratifying as a fan. I think the Rays present a tough matchup for the Sox, perhaps the toughest in the AL, due to their elite left-handed pitching. That said, the Sox were grinders all season and can hit up and down the lineup. The rotation has been really good and Uehara otherworldly. If they can get past the Rays, I really think they can go far. So we'll see.

 

[yg17]

I haven't seen a bunch of Pirates get ****ed that hard since I watched a Pirates of the Caribbean porn knockoff.

 

[MacNut]

I haven't seen a bunch of Pirates get ****ed that hard since I watched a Pirates of the Caribbean porn knockoff.

Burnett strikes again.

So that stupid chant in Atlanta is more obnoxious than the drum in Clevland.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I haven't seen a bunch of Pirates get ****ed that hard since I watched a Pirates of the Caribbean porn knockoff.

Yeah, the Pirates got hammered.

 

[yg17]

Burnett strikes again.

So that stupid chant in Atlanta is more obnoxious than the drum in Clevland.

I was surprised to see him starting today. His ERA at Busch was already above 8 before today, he pitches much better against the Cards at home. Guess you don't have the luxury of setting up your rotation the way you want with the wildcard game.

Yeah, the Pirates got hammered.

FTFY

 

[malman89]

I haven't seen a bunch of Pirates get ****ed that hard since I watched a Pirates of the Caribbean porn knockoff.

As much as I hate to say it knowing a bunch of Cardinals obsessed friends from St. Louis, never count them out. I don't know why they were overlooked in most predictions. They always win come playoff time.

Burnett strikes again.

So that stupid chant in Atlanta is more obnoxious than the drum in Clevland.

The fact that ATL didn't run away with the miserable NL East leads me to expect an LA sweep.

 

[MacNut]

Here we go, the **** is about to hit the fan and I hope it lands right on Selig's face.

Alex Rodriguez is suing Major League Baseball, accusing the entity of interfering with his contracts and business relationships.

Rodriguez, who has been attending grievance hearings related to the 211-game suspension MLB handed down in August, claims in the lawsuit that baseball bought the cooperation of the chief witness against him. The Rodriguez camp alleges that Anthony Bosch, the head of the clinic at the heart of the recent performance-enhancing drug scandal, has been paid $5 million by MLB to help force Rodriguez out of the game, according to the Times.

MLB commissioner Bud Selig was named a defendant in the suit, but the New York Yankees, who would stand to save substantial money if Rodriguez were suspended, were not named.

The lawsuit alleges that Selig and other baseball officials have had one goal: "to improperly marshal evidence that they hope to use to destroy the reputation and career of Alex Rodriguez, one of the most accomplished major league baseball players of all time."

Rodriguez's lawyers argue that MLB is trying to make an example of Rodriguez "so as to gloss over Commissioner Selig's past inaction and tacit approval of the use of performance enhancing substances in baseball (not to mention his multiple acts of collusion), and in an attempt to secure his legacy as the 'savior' of America's pastime."

Rodriguez issued a statement after word of the lawsuit came out. The statement read, in part: "The entire legal dynamic is very complex, and my legal team is doing what they need to in order to vindicate me and pursue all of my rights."

Neither Selig nor other MLB officials were immediately available for comment.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/9768073/alex-rodriguez-sues-mlb-ped-investigation

 

[ucfgrad93]

Yeah, A-Rod, the world is out to get you. When he is done with pulling all of this crap, I hope the original 211 game suspension is upheld.

 

[MacNut]

Yeah, A-Rod, the world is out to get you. When he is done with pulling all of this crap, I hope the original 211 game suspension is upheld.

I think A-Rod has a case here, he never tested positive for a test and gets 210 games based on a criminals word. Where is Braun's huge suspension. He actually failed a test and lied about it. I hope A-Rod makes Selig out to the scum he is.

 

[TSE]

I think A-Rod has a case here, he never tested positive for a test and gets 210 games based on a criminals word. Where is Braun's huge suspension. He actually failed a test and lied about it. I hope A-Rod makes Selig out to the scum he is.

Agreed. If A-Rod deserves a 210 game suspension, Braun deserves a 420 game suspension. A-Rod never tested positive. It's just word against his word.

 

[quagmire]

While I'm not a fan of Selig( I don't buy his anti-steroid stance due to him being fine with it during the roid era), ARod can burn too.


We still need tougher punishments for cheaters. And I don't care if a person didn't fail a test. If there is enough evidence of usage, then they can be suspended as well( which will be brought in front of an arbitrator to decide if such evidence is enough for a suspension). And teams should be able void contracts if the player is caught and confirmed to have used.

 

[Moyank24]

Yeah, A-Rod, the world is out to get you. When he is done with pulling all of this crap, I hope the original 211 game suspension is upheld.

You're reacting exactly how Bud Selig wants you to react. You're allowing your dislike of A-Rod to blind you to the facts.

I think A-Rod has a case here, he never tested positive for a test and gets 210 games based on a criminals word. Where is Braun's huge suspension. He actually failed a test and lied about it. I hope A-Rod makes Selig out to the scum he is.

Exactly. And then there were numerous instances of leaks as well. A lot of this process should have been confidential, but it certainly looks like MLB was trying to turn the public against A-Rod from the beginning.

Bud Selig has been handling steroids the wrong way for years - and now all of a sudden he's using one player as an example in an effort to act like he didn't ignore it for years.

If this was Todd Helton or Chipper Jones or anyone that was more liked, I think this would have been handled MUCH differently.

 

[malman89]

Here we go, the **** is about to hit the fan and I hope it lands right on Selig's face.http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/9768073/alex-rodriguez-sues-mlb-ped-investigation

As much as I dislike A-Rod, good on him.

Where's the proof, MLB?

If there is none, they drug his name through the mud. He lost current and future income from endorsements, it's still uncertain if he might lose any contract money, and his reputation is forever tarnished.

I'll be the first to say he deserves all of it - IF there's proof incriminating him.