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This is also one of the issues I have against the DH. In the NL a pitcher has to bat so if he intentionally hits a batter he is soon going to have to stand in that batter's box himself. And retribution will come. Maybe not that game (because sometimes that would hurt your chances of winning that game) but it will come - baseball players have long memories.
that is about the only argument against the DH that i agree with, although not nearly enough for me to say the DH needs to go away.
I don't like the DH but that's not important here. What I want to see is one rule on the DH for both leagues. What's to stop MLB from allowing the DH to be in the NL?* The NL teams could use a DH or keep the bat in the hands of the pitcher.
* Probably the CBA....but when it's up for a change, have MLB just erase the rule about it being AL-only and then making it optional.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/Punchsmack/punch.gif) “...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
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i agree with that, it's gotta be one of the dumbest things in sports to have one rule in the NL and it be dif in the AL.
Like what if the NFC allowed instant replay, but the AFC didn't.
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it only seems right and pure that pitchers go up there, but they're so horrible that it makes a slow and dull game even worse
Sad thing is that most of them were probably good hitters early in their careers. Most of them were probably good position players when they weren't pitching in HS.. What is about pitching that makes you stop improving your hitting? Seems silly to me. Hell they should at least be able to bunt and most of them look totally lost when asked to bunt.
yebat' Putin
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my guess is with the weird ways that a throwing arm works.. not worth the risk to practice
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My guess is that a starting pitcher just doesn't hit enough to make it worth the while to practice it. Roy Halladay pitched more innings last year than any other pitcher and had 92 at bats... how much time should he devote to practicing his hitting to try to maximize that 92 at bats over the course of 162 games (or the 31 he pitched in)? Considering that the batting practice is just going to wear him down, risk injury, and probably get him very little return on that time investment? If he was to bat .250, which would be respectable, that's just 10 more hits than the 13 he had... the cost benefit of those 10 more hits spread over the 31 games he pitched in just isn't worth his time to practice hitting much. And for relievers and closers the ratio is probably even worse since they tend to pitch an inning or two at a time...
yebat' Putin
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Tonight has been possibly one of the most boring baseball games I've ever watched...
Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
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Tonight has been possibly one of the most boring baseball games I've ever watched...
our 2 young stars have hit HRs
we've had 5 other baserunners yet no walks (and Santana stole a base)
our 7th starter didn't allow an earned run
we're tied with the Red Sox (who started Beckett) in the 9th
sorry, I respectfully disagree.
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It's been a HR, a passed ball, or NOTHING...
Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
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7 baserunners )counting the HR trots), 11 for them. not a ton and they've been spaced out so that there were not a ton of threats, but i've seen boring games and I don't think this is one of them.
just my opinion of course.
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I will say though, Boston has a mighty fine ball girl on the right side, sitting right next to some mighty fine bosox lady fans...
Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
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your mother smells of ellsbury
stupid jacoby.
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that was a pathetic throw home from Zeke.
Crowded elevators smell different to short people...
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that was a pathetic throw home from Zeke.
You mean throwing it to the opposite side of the plate that the runners coming from is NOT a good idea?
...I never did play baseball in HS so I dunno...
Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
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Back to back walkoff hits for Jacoby Ellsbury. Screw that guy.
4 games out of first now since Detroit won again. I think I hear the fat lady warming up...
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Little early for that given the inability of anyone in the Central to string together consistently good baseball over an extended length of time.
We're still in this thing.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Back to back walkoff hits for Jacoby Ellsbury. Screw that guy.
4 games out of first now since Detroit won again. I think I hear the fat lady warming up...
yeah, Ellsbury just freaking killed us the past 2 nights. That and the inability to get a huge hit when we needed it the most.
4 games is going to be hard to get back. It's not as if this is just a dip. We're in a prolonged fall.
The things going for us.
1. Our young kids are the ones stepping up. Kipnis, Chisenhall, Zeke (big hit last night though it was a rarity), and Asdrubel (i'll count him as young) are the guys who have made the big hits. Sprinkled in with a Pronk hit here and there (more on him later)
2. 12 games vs. Detroit. We now need to go 8-4 in those games to make things even, but it's better to have that chance than to not.
3. Ubaldo Friday. He's not a hitter and it's not like our pitching can get much better, but just the energy of the acquisition and him coming out and pitching well could boost everybody's outlook (wish the game was in Cleveland or that I could drive the 3hrs to see it)
4. The White Sox and Twins are leaving the party. Easier to win a 2 team race than a 4 team race (yeah, the same could be said for us I know, but it'd be worse if they were taking this chance and were ahead of us too)
Things going against us
1. Hitting. Obviously. Our pitchers have to be frustrated with all the quality starts they have thrown since the allstar break and yet we are under .500. That's just terrible.
2. Bullpen. They have been a bit overworked and usually in tight ballgames and we are seeing a dip right now. Not like it's horrible to give up a run or two to the offensive juggernaut of Boston, but we weren't giving up anything to anyone just a month ago.
3. Carlos Santana. Rather than building up and getting better, he's getting worse. More errors lately behind the plate, more strike-outs at the plate, and less walks. He has Grady-disease where he is swinging for the fences and if he doesn't get all of it, he isn't getting any of it.
4. Pronk & the OF. Pronk had a couple timely hits this series, but overall he has lost that hitting mojo he had earlier this season. Not sure where to expect the hits to come from, but I would hope that Pronk and Brantley could be the start of them.
Definitely the Tigers division to lose now, but we still can steal it from them.
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i am really tired of seeing austin kearns out there. the guy is a joke. how he is on a major league ballclub boggles the mind.
on a positive note, i really love manny's move to put carrera into the 9 spot, i think he's turning into a pretty good hitter, and i love his speed just before turning over to the top of the lineup.
it looks bad, but if justin can get us a win tonight, a split at fenway is fine by me. if they can find a way to take 2/3 in texas, it will be a very very successful trip.
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Of those 12 games against Detroit, you can subtract the games against Verlander from the losses column. We're not beating him. So it'll be what, 8-1 in the games against all their other starters?
Our youth and inexperience hurt us last night for sure. An experienced team could've knocked Wakefield around for four or five runs. 6 of our batters have probably never seen a knuckleball before.
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first, we don't know we will face him 3 times. we've had series where we completely missed his turn (when we swept Detroit in May).
also, all we have to do is stay even with him until we get him out of the game. easier said than done, yes. but possible.
yes, the only time we have faced him this year (Jun14) he had a complete game shutout only giving up 2hits w/ 12Ks. if he does that everytime, then we are not beating him.
oh, and we are 4-1 vs. non-Verlander Detroit starters so far this year.
(as I said above, it's Detroit's division to lose now. but no reason to completely give up hope at this point either)
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been listening to the Rays v. Blue Jays game today and it has been wild.
back and forth game including game-tying rally in the 8th for Blue Jays, and then the Rays matching them in the 10th and 11th innings.
Bottom of the 12th, the Rays get a 1out triple, Blue Jays intentionally walk the next 2 batters. It makes sense (double-play ball possible, force at home), but I haven't seen a manager actually call 2 straight intentional walks in a long time.
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i have a good feeling about justin masterson tonight.
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i have a good feeling about justin masterson tonight.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........................................
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Masterson just struck out four batters.
...in one inning.
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Gotta love that.  LOL
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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4-game split in Boston. As much as going 2-2 in a series is a "sister kisser", I gotta say, I'm happy. Boston was red hot, were at home and the Tribe has been in a slump. This could have easily been a lot worse.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
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One thing you do gotta love is winning the series finale 7-3.  Santana and Fukadome both had nice games offensively. LaPorta had a pair of hits too. Detroit lost today ... so we move to 3 back. The White Sox are losing late to the Yankees. We need to get back to just winning series and we'll be fine.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Big big win. Just makes me think about how close it came to being a possible series win/sweep. But, I won't complain!
I don't think I'll get to see any of Jiminez's debut tomorrow, so be detailed in your analyses tomorrow please!
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I think that shows how close this team is to being a consistently good team though.
If we just get one bat hot ..... or a couple get just lukewarm, and we could win the majority of our remaining games. Our pitching is now an incredible strength .... both starters and relievers.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Santana had a great night. Maybe he can build on that and get on track. 
[color:"white"]"Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
-- Mark Twain [/color]
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Let's hope so.
If we can get Santana going ..... get decent production from Chisenhall and Kipnis ...... and continue to get good production from Cabrera, Brantley, and Hafner and we've got a pretty damn good team.
Fukadome is a solid hitter. He'll never be a HR machine ...... but he puts the ball in play. Carrera looks like he can be a nice "2nd leadoff" guy in the 9th spot.
If we get to the playoffs, we've got a great rotation. We've got a great bullpen no matter what. I'm still excited about our future .... this year and beyond.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Fukudome is a rental, correct?
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Till the end of this year. He's a "replacement" for Choo right now.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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All Pro
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Fukudome....
That name is so cool.
We're trying to throw the ball downfield and he checked the ball down to Trent Richardson and the Indians on the choice.
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Happy Ubaldo Day Everybody!
Nice way to end the Boston series. Had to figure it wouldn't be a close one after the 2 previous nail-biters. Glad we were the ones on top of it.
And about time Santana has had a night like that. It has been too long. When he's got that swing going, dang he's smooth.
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Santana hit the schnikees out of that HR. Good to see Hafner driving the ball to the deep center-left of the field too; that's when you know he's going good.
We need to find a way to take 2 in Texas.
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We need to find a way to take 2 in Texas.
Jimenez vs. Holland
Carmona vs. Wilson (uh oh)
Tomlin vs. Lewis
Texas is tough as nails at home. They all hit better in that bandbox and in that heat. They have been struggling lately pitching, so hopefully we can take advantage (though we do get their 3 best SP).
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We HAVE to get 2 of 3 here, (Det. goes to KC) or the series against the Tigers may be nearing make or break for the year. Good thing is it looks like we'll miss Verlander. per ESPN Tue, Aug 9 Masterson (9-7) Fister (4-12) Wed, Aug 10 Jimenez (6-9) Penny (7-9) Thu, Aug 11 Carrasco (8-9) Porcello (11-6) Carrasco suspended, I bet Carmona since we have an off day going in.
Last edited by Flap; 08/05/11 11:17 AM.
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I rename this thread "The semi-official Ubaldo 1st Start Prediction thread" until after tonight.
So....predictions on his line. Go. (don't look down if you don't want to see line before you post yours)
5 2/3 innings, 4 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 K, 2 BB (leaves without the lead but gets off the hook for the loss)
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
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thanks for that. hadn't looked that far ahead yet.
i was hoping we'd get a crack at Fister. personally, I don't think he's any better than Scherzer and that they paid too much for him (4 mediocre prospects was too much). i'd like to see the Indians show Detroit just that.
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