MLB: 2012 Season Thread

brilliantboy

mikemac1 wrote: »

Cracking finish to Mariners and Indians

5-3 Mariners, top of the ninth, bases loaded, one out and Mariners close it out with a double play

Mariners have won 13 out of 14 now and King Felix up tomorrow.
On a great run

Best record in the AL since the All-Star break!

jack presley

Anything the Giants can do, their neighbours across the bay can do too....!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/08/22/Bartolo-Colon-positive-testosterone.ap/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a2&eref=sihp

So whats going on? Are these 2 isolated cases or is Victor Conte right saying a considerable number of players are juicing?

padraig_f

jack presley wrote: »

Anything the Giants can do, their neighbours across the bay can do too....!!!

The penalties seem really light, less than a third of a season. Is there an increased penalty if you're caught a second time?

In hindsight, Cabrera's stats looked suspicious, career batting average: .284, 2012 season: .346.

Coeus

jack presley wrote: »

Anything the Giants can do, their neighbours across the bay can do too....!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/08/22/Bartolo-Colon-positive-testosterone.ap/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a2&eref=sihp

So whats going on? Are these 2 isolated cases or is Victor Conte right saying a considerable number of players are juicing?

These are just the latest 2 caught. Mota, Byrd and Galvis were done earlier in the season and are currently serving their suspensions. There has to be more at it!

padraig_f wrote: »

The penalties seem really light, less than a third of a season. Is there an increased penalty if you're caught a second time?

Mota is serving a 100 day suspension for his 2nd violation...

brilliantboy

Yeah, the suspensions are far too lenient if you ask me.
When you consider a soccer player can be banned for 8 months for cocaine and then be ordered to pay €17 million in damages to his club, it's clear that MLB could be doing more to deter drug use. Teams seem to adopt a see no evil, hear no evil attitude to the whole thing.

smackbunnybaby

Disappointed with Colon, I really liked him.
Do we need a separate drugs thread at this stage?
Someone accused Jeter of taking drugs as well as he hit homered in 3 consecutive games at the age of 38.

mikemac1

smackbunnybaby wrote: »

Someone accused Jeter of taking drugs as well as he hit homered in 3 consecutive games at the age of 38.

Yes but that was Skip Bayless, the troll of sports presenters

The last person in the world to be taken seriously

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8294309/derek-jeter-laughs-skip-bayless-ped-use-insinuation

Coeus

AGone has been claimed off waivers by guess who, yep the moneybags Dodgers.

Looks like the Red Sox might be headed for rebuild mode as Ellsbury and Lester have also been placed on waivers...

jack presley

Coeus wrote: »

AGone has been claimed off waivers by guess who, yep the moneybags Dodgers.

Looks like the Red Sox might be headed for rebuild mode as Ellsbury and Lester have also been placed on waivers...

I think they've just claimed Beckett as well....!!!!

Coeus

jack presley wrote: »

I think they've just claimed Beckett as well....!!!!

Wow, didn't realise he had been placed on waivers aswell. If they could get rid of the Lackey and Crawford contracts then they wouldn't to take such drastic action!

jack presley

A deal still has to be done in both cases so they're aren't definite yet.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Justin Upton has being claimed too but they say a deal is unlikely to happen there.

Coeus

jack presley wrote: »

A deal still has to be done in both cases so they're aren't definite yet.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Justin Upton has being claimed too but they say a deal is unlikely to happen there.

The plot is thicking as ESPN are now reporting that AGone, Beckett, Crawford and Punto are heading to LA and a deal to make that happen is been formed. I dont know if that is ESPN sensationalism or the Red Sox making a major change in direction. I'd have thought they might have given Beckett and Crawford up for nothing!

UCD AFC

Although I'd be happy if the Red Sox rebuilt, they recently gave up their 1B prospect Lars Anderson who was playing in AAA. Could they not have looked into the future a little bit?

Coeus

UCD AFC wrote: »

Although I'd be happy if the Red Sox rebuilt, they recently gave up their 1B prospect Lars Anderson who was playing in AAA. Could they not have looked into the future a little bit?

The package they would be getting back reportedly includes James Loney, that certainly aint looking at future. I think the Dodgers are so desperate to get AGone that they are willing to take some of the Red Sox bad contracts!

UCD AFC

Sox will clear $262.5m if twitter is to be believed, if the deal happens

Coeus

UCD AFC wrote: »

Sox will clear $262.5m if twitter is to be believed, if the deal happens

Beginning to look likely, Loney and AGone have both been scratched from their respective lineups tonight...

smackbunnybaby

Fascinating deal. Red Sox get some great prospects and reduce payroll signicantly.
Is this a massive win for them?

UCD AFC

I believe so. All of us Sox fans will tell you this season can't get any worse. I'm no prospects guru but it seems we will get a nice package in return

mikemac1

Yankees lose, Rays lose, Orioles win

Baltimore in the playoffs maybe? :eek:

Only four games back from 1st place

padraig_f

Vin Scully coming back for another year. I saw the video below last year, before I started watching baseball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WctwM6PhAxs

I was randomly watching a Dodgers-Giants game during the season, noticed the unusual commentary style, and wondered if it was the same guy I'd seen on that funny video, and of course it was.

Really enjoyed his commentary anyway, so glad to get a bit more of a chance to hear him.

Waitsian

padraig_f wrote: »

Vin Scully

An outstanding commentator, one of the best. A fantastic speaking voice, right up there in my opinion with Howard Cosell.

I also love Jerry Howarth and Joe Bowen (who has his critics, even in Toronto), though neither compare to the first two mentioned.

jack presley

I'm going to blaspheme here I think as I am not a fan of Vin Scully. I know he's being broadcasting since the Brooklyn days and as was the situation with Joe Paterno before the scandal broke, he's going to be allowed retire on his own terms.

But at this stage I think he sounds dated and he makes too many mistakes these days. On Sunday in the Marlins game, he basically forgot an out had being made in the 8th inning so kept saying "2 on, nobody out" and he based his analysis on that situation (i.e. the possibility of bunting the runners over etc.). I was surprised there was no one in his ear correcting him but it took 2 pitching changes and another out before he either realised or was told that there were actually 2 out. Just one example I know but does sound tired these days.

jack presley

That was some hit on Yadier Molina last night

http://thenosebleeds.com/josh-harrison-blows-up-yadier-molina-at-home-plate-molina-holds-on/

jack presley

As I'm in a posting video mood, here's another good one from last night

http://cosbysweaters.com/2012/08/28/brandon-crawford-and-pablo-sandoval-team-up-for-catch-of-the-year-candidate/

Coeus

jack presley wrote: »

That was some hit on Yadier Molina last night

http://thenosebleeds.com/josh-harrison-blows-up-yadier-molina-at-home-plate-molina-holds-on/

This game was on live on ESPN America last night. Yadier is as tough as they come in baseball so its no surprise he was able to hold onto the ball. Looked like he was gonna play on aswell until the trainers ushered him off for a concussion test.

Hit looked deliberate but its part of the game. The commentaters (who were bucco) thought the hit was fair, the Cards thought otherwise and Harrison was duely plunked later by Westbrook...

mikemac1

Is that a big thing in baseball? Revenge

I remember earlier this season a Mets batter got hit with the ball and next inning the Mets pitcher walloped the first batter up.

Tit for tat

Why isn't it stamped out or is it just part of the game?
You say deliberate, I say it was a mistake, poor control....

First season watching baseball, I dunno

jack presley

mikemac1 wrote: »

Is that a big thing in baseball? Revenge

I remember earlier this season a Mets batter got hit with the ball and next inning the Mets pitcher walloped the first batter up.

Tit for tat

Why isn't it stamped out or is it just part of the game?
You say deliberate, I say it was a mistake, poor control....

First season watching baseball, I dunno

Yeah. It's fairly common. In fact it's expected. There's a great book called The Baseball Codes which goes into all the unwritten rules that are followed and expected to be followed, like when to hit someone deliberately etc.

There's a great story in it where some hitter showed up a pitcher after hitting a home run or something but that was his last at-bat of the game and he got traded before they could play again so he never got hit as per the code (unwritten rule - do not show off after hitting a home run). Anyway a few years later the two end up on the same team and in Spring training during practice the pitcher throws at him and knocks him down. When the hitter asked why he did that, he was told it was because he showed him up a few years previously and had never paid for it

John Kruk of ESPN also tells a good story of when the hitter before him in some game did a cart-wheel into home plate after hitting a home run so when he came to the plate next he knew he was going to get hit. However he knew the catcher quite well and was asked by the catcher where he wanted to get hit. So he picked a spot that wasn't going to be too painful. The catcher gave the signal to the pitcher and sure enough he took the hit.

UCD AFC

Even earlier this season Youk pointed at his hip region when he was thrown at up at the head level. He was saying if you wanna hit me hit me down here....

jack presley

It's going to be interesting in a couple of weeks to see if the Brewers invoke the code. The no.1 unwritten rule is probably 'if you hit our star player, we're going to hit yours'.

Earlier on this season the Mets hit Ryan Braun (can't remember if it was intentional or not) in the last game of their series in Milwaukee. This meant that David Wright was due to get hit his next time up. When a player deliberately hits someone, he's usually thrown out of the game so the chances are Milwaukee would have brought in one of their less talented arms from the pen to carry out the sentence and as Wright has lost time to concussions in the past, manager Terry Collins didn't want to take a chance of some rookie taking aim at his back but hitting him in the head. So he pulled him from the line up so Milwaukee never got their chance to hit him.

By right then, he's owed a plunking so it'll be interesting to see if they hit him when they play in a couple of weeks.

By the way, that book I was on about which is well worth a read is called The Baseball Codes by Jason Turbow.

Waitsian

UCD AFC wrote: »

Even earlier this season Youk pointed at his hip region when he was thrown at up at the head level. He was saying if you wanna hit me hit me down here....

Oh please! That wasn't deliberate at all. :rolleyes: