Baseball Thread...

[MMJ_fanatic]

[size=14]Congratulations Philly on your National League Pennant!  Always happy to see Manny's team go down in flames.  Let's all say a prayer for da Angels now...[/size]

[AMightyCaporal]

[size=14]Congratulations Philly on your National League Pennant!  Always happy to see Manny's team go down in flames.  Let's all say a prayer for da Angels now...[/size]

even danny glover, tony danza, and christopher lloyd can't help the angels now  ;D

[capt. scotty]

It should be a good series. I think the Phils are going to repeat no matter what though.

why is this? last time i checked, NYY are pret-tay, pret-tay, pretty good.

I hope Philly wins, and I think they have the advantage with games 3, 4, and 5 at home (which having 3 games at home in a row IMO makes as much sense as the 1st playoff series only being 5 games), but I find it hard to believe anyone could say theyre going to win "no matter what"

Whoever wins the Lee vs Sabathia duel in Game 1 should have a large impact

[Soulshine]

It should be a good series. I think the Phils are going to repeat no matter what though.

why is this? last time i checked, NYY are [highlight]pret-tay, pret-tay, pretty good.[/highlight]

I hope Philly wins, and I think they have the advantage with games 3, 4, and 5 at home (which having 3 games at home in a row IMO makes as much sense as the 1st playoff series only being 5 games), but I find it hard to believe anyone could say theyre going to win "no matter what"

Whoever wins the Lee vs Sabathia duel in Game 1 should have a large impact

Cap'n is that your LD impression coz I like it

[capt. scotty]

It should be a good series. I think the Phils are going to repeat no matter what though.

why is this? last time i checked, NYY are [highlight]pret-tay, pret-tay, pretty good.[/highlight]

I hope Philly wins, and I think they have the advantage with games 3, 4, and 5 at home (which having 3 games at home in a row IMO makes as much sense as the 1st playoff series only being 5 games), but I find it hard to believe anyone could say theyre going to win "no matter what"

Whoever wins the Lee vs Sabathia duel in Game 1 should have a large impact

Cap'n is that your LD impression coz I like it

mos definitively!

[aMillionDreams]

It should be a good series. I think the Phils are going to repeat no matter what though.

why is this? last time i checked, NYY are pret-tay, pret-tay, pretty good.

I hope Philly wins, and I think they have the advantage with games 3, 4, and 5 at home (which having 3 games at home in a row IMO makes as much sense as the 1st playoff series only being 5 games), but I find it hard to believe anyone could say theyre going to win "no matter what"

Whoever wins the Lee vs Sabathia duel in Game 1 should have a large impact

No matter what as in no matter if they are playing the Angels or the Yankees.  Let's not forget the yanks haven't even won the ALCS yet.  The Phillies are defending champions, they have the best 1-4 hitters in the bigs and Cliff Lee is untouchable right now.  That's why.

[aMillionDreams]

It should be a good series. I think the Phils are going to repeat no matter what though.

why is this? last time i checked, NYY are pret-tay, pret-tay, pretty good.

I hope Philly wins, and I think they have the advantage with games 3, 4, and 5 at home (which having 3 games at home in a row IMO makes as much sense as the 1st playoff series only being 5 games), but I find it hard to believe anyone could say theyre going to win "no matter what"

Whoever wins the Lee vs Sabathia duel in Game 1 should have a large impact

No matter what as in no matter if they are playing the Angels or the Yankees.  Let's not forget the yanks haven't even won the ALCS yet.  The Phillies are defending champions, they have the best 1-4 hitters in the bigs and Cliff Lee is untouchable right now.  That's why.

Still haven't...

[capt. scotty]

Since no one brought it up yet, how the hell does Steve Phillips go down this road. Is marriage that bad? I always figured people in the media did pretty good with the wimmins, but damn, Phillips done caught the swine flu! She looks like Stuttering John or something.

Inconceivable  ;D

[.Walt]

Since no one brought it up yet, how the hell does Steve Phillips go down this road. Is marriage that bad? I always figured people in the media did pretty good with the wimmins, but damn, Phillips done caught the swine flu! She looks like Stuttering John or something.

Inconceivable  ;D

;D

Damn, Steve could've done sooo much better.  

[Taterbug]

Since no one brought it up yet, how the hell does Steve Phillips go down this road. Is marriage that bad? I always figured people in the media did pretty good with the wimmins, but damn, Phillips done caught the swine flu! She looks like Stuttering John or something.

Inconceivable  ;D

;D

Damn, Steve could've done sooo much better.  

Dude looks like a lady.. She looks like John Kruk  ;D

[mjkoehler]

Dude looks like a lady.. She looks like John Kruk  ;D

harsh man. HARSH. Now excuse my whilst I wipe the tears of laughter away.

[Ruckus]

Since no one brought it up yet, how the hell does Steve Phillips go down this road. Is marriage that bad? I always figured people in the media did pretty good with the wimmins, but damn, Phillips done caught the swine flu! She looks like Stuttering John or something.

Inconceivable  ;D

I used to play Dungeons and Dragons with that dude

[TheBigChicken]

Wow. Phillies look TOUGH. Looks like they really missed Pat Burrell this year. :-/ Tampa Bays 16 million dollar BUST.  ;D

[.Walt]

Wow. Phillies look TOUGH. Looks like they really missed Pat Burrell this year. :-/ Tampa Bays 16 million dollar BUST.  ;D

So far he's only been a 8 million dollar bust.

Buddy (Phillies Fan): Pat Burrell he's coming around, he's still a prospect.  
Me: But he's been in the league for like 9 years!
Buddy: Still a prospect.

[Paulie_Walnuts]

I didn't see any of the first two games (on too late over here) but it seems like Cliff Lee is unplayable at the moment. What makes him, or anyone, the best pitcher? Is it speed or variety?

Reading up on the recent performances of Pettite and Hammells I'm thinking this is a great chance for the Yankees to win in Philly.

Anyone know the odds for a Yankees win in Game 3?

[Ruckus]

I didn't see any of the first two games (on too late over here) but it seems like Cliff Lee is unplayable at the moment. What makes him, or anyone, the best pitcher? Is it speed or variety?

This question is a large part of the beauty of baseball.  All other things equal, velocity is important.  For those pitchers with great "stuff" (i.e. - fast and/or sharp breaking pitches), they can get away with average control.  What is equally important and which is what separates the good from the great, is "command" of your pitches.  "Command" is the ability to throw any pitch anywhere you want to on a consistent basis.  This has been what has made Cliff Lee so successful the past 2 years.  Although he throws a curve and a changeup also, it his ability to throw his variety of fastballs on the corners of the plate, in and out, consistently that make him so successful.

This is an epic topic and can be discussed endlessly but hope that was a little help :)

[Paulie_Walnuts]

Thanks. I watched the whole of Game 3 yesterday on replay without knowing the outcome. It is similar to cricket in that the game can ebb and flow so much. After two innings I was convinced that the Phillies were going to win, and Cole Hammells looked on great form. I could hear the commentators talking about his problems this season though and it was difficult for me being a novice to see a discernable difference in what he was doing when it all started to deteriorate. Although I don't yet understand the real intricacies it was enjoyable watching Andy Pettite coming through a difficult start. It seemed like a gutsy performance to me. Or is it all about skill and nothing to do with guts?

What I really would like to do is sit there and watch a whole game with someone who knows what they are talking about (plus a few beers), I'm sure it would be fascinating.

I'm intrigued by this guy Rivera that they keep heaping praise on. I can understand that in pressure situations he can come on, and more often than not close out the game. But if he is so good at doing that, why not let him pitch for a little bit longer i.e. come on a little earlier? Is it his age that means he can't pitch for too long?

The other thing I find fascinating is the question of how much rest a pitcher needs. It seems that they were discussing the idea of three days rest for a pitcher being generally not enough. In cricket there is huge strain on a bowlers arm, back, ribs, knees and ankles and in the big games they bowl in short spells throughout a whole day, but they come back the next day, and the next for 5 days in total. That makes it seem strange to me that a baseball pitcher needs at least three days rest. I'm not disputing it, but it must be such a different action from bowling in cricket that the strain on the arm must be incredible.

Anyway, I'm so enjoying this post season. Johnny Damon's steal was great yesterday. Can't believe that guy didn't even try to chase him....he doesn't look that quick!

[Ruckus]

Although I don't yet understand the real intricacies it was enjoyable watching Andy Pettite coming through a difficult start. It seemed like a gutsy performance to me. Or is it all about skill and nothing to do with guts?

I'm intrigued by this guy Rivera that they keep heaping praise on. I can understand that in pressure situations he can come on, and more often than not close out the game. But if he is so good at doing that, why not let him pitch for a little bit longer i.e. come on a little earlier? Is it his age that means he can't pitch for too long?

The other thing I find fascinating is the question of how much rest a pitcher needs. It seems that they were discussing the idea of three days rest for a pitcher being generally not enough. That makes it seem strange to me that a baseball pitcher needs at least three days rest. I'm not disputing it, but it must be such a different action from bowling in cricket that the strain on the arm must be incredible.

It's awesome to see an Englishman get into baseball!

There absolutely is such a thing as a gutsy performance and Andy Petitte is renowned for them.  Pitching can be such a mental grind that when a pitcher battles to keep his team in the game even when he doesn't have his best "stuff", it is considered gutsy.  Similarly, a pitcher that goes on short rest and performs well will sometimes be called such.  Petitte has never been known to have great "stuff" and has always been a battler.  He will rarely pitch a shutout or dominate a team but he tends to always keep you in the game.

Baseball has changed dramatically over the years because of the money and one result of that has been greater specialization of players.  Mariano Rivera is considered a "closer".  A "closer" typically only comes in for 1 inning in a game for the team that is winning to finish the game, more often than not in a close game.  In the playoffs, managers are more willing to send their top relievers for more than an inning if necessary but that is again predicated upon the amount of rest the pitcher has had.  Typically a reliever can pitch on back to back days but for no more than an inning.  If he goes 2 innings or more, typically that pitcher would not be used the following day.  In the playoffs, Girardi is willing to use Rivera for 2 innings at a time but no more.  It's definitely not his age.  Rivera is the greatest "closer" in history and what makes him remarkable has been his durability, consistency, dominance and the fact that he has had this extraordinary career by using only one pitch.

As for the rest issue, during the regular season, almost all teams used a 5 man starting rotation and starters get a minimum of 4 days rest in between starts.  Starters need more rest because they usually go 6-9 innings and throw over 100 pitches in a game.  In the playoffs, some managers are willing to shorten the rest so that their best pitchers can pitch more often in a series.  Sabathia is known for his bionic durability and ability to pitch an extraordinary number of innings.  Cliff Lee had never pitched on three days rest in his career I believe.  Though it is the manager's discretion, my friends and I all agreed that it was a mistake for the Phillies to not start Lee in Game 4.

[Paulie_Walnuts]

I thought so too. Surely if he's that good you get him out there whenever you can? If they had evened it up at 2-2 the pressure would have been back on the Yankees (knowing that he might be back for a Game 7 if there were to be one). Now the pressure is off the Yankees against Lee in Game 5. If he dominates them again so what? They still have two home games to finish it off (presumably without Lee pitching). So they can go out there and play with freedom in Game 5.

I just wish I could sit up and watch it tonight. Maybe I will. Screw work the next day!!

[.Walt]

It's awesome to see an Englishman get into baseball!

I agree! You guys are answering the questions great!  8-)