Jordan4life_2007

QUOTE (mcgrad70 @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 07:53 PM) Lately? He's consistently terrible. You guys need to watch some really good baseball teams. You're clueless as to what constitutes a good middle reliefs. The Sox haven't had one since Dennis Lamb in 1983. Pena wouldn't be on most rosters. He wouldn't be on any of the contenders except the Sox. Calm down, killer.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 07:50 PM) It's in deep trouble cause the Twins have an incredibly easy schedule the rest of the way and have a far superior pitching now. What's sad is the offense has been mashing. But other than Edwin Jackson, which is shocking, we don't have a reliable starter at the moment.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 07:47 PM) Pena is just terrible...our bullpen is in total shambles right now. Which is why we so desperately needed Danks to step up. Shame, as C.C. is hardly dominating tonight.

This team is in DEEP trouble with its current bullpen situation.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 07:44 PM) You just illustrated my point. Even average pitchers can have dominant stretches. Please tell me you didn't think that was a serious question?

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 07:42 PM) That start a week ago has overshadowed how awful he's been lately. Unless you're a blithering, homeristic (not sure that's a word) idiot like Hawk, it's easy to see how bad Pena has been all year. His K/BB rate is 1.19. That's beyond pathetic.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 07:42 PM) That's as useless of a definition of a dominant pitcher as you could ever come up with. You mean Carlos Silva wasn't one of the more dominant pitchers in baseball when he was 8-0 for the Cubs?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 07:39 PM) 8 runs, 4.1 IP for D1. Yuck. These types of performances in big games is why he'll continue to remain in the second-tier of AL left-handed starters.

Tony Pena is horrible. I want that trade back.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 03:44 AM) It's already pretty much too late, big russ. The p**** Twins are way ahead simply cause we can't beat them head to head. If it's close when we go to Minnie for that next 3 game series, it's heartbreak time again. We can't beat them. It's too late? Says who?

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 02:42 AM) In this case, the voters don't need WAR. They can look at the normal offensive numbers are recognize that Cabrera and Hamilton are both hitting at a similar level. Then of course, Hamilton obviously has the better reputation as a defender. They can get it right without WAR. You're right. But you do have to admit that you were off when you said "Josh Hamilton blows Cabrera out of the water in just about everything though." All you had to say was that defense is what separates the two and I wouldn't have said a thing.

21? Jesus. Happy b-day.

Jay Bruce had himself quite a night. He had been in hibernation all year until recently. If he gets hot, yikes! I love this Reds team. Took a while. But they have the look of a team that's going to contend for a while. Not just a 1-year odyssey.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 11:55 PM) Jeesh, the Mariners have blown two huge scoring chances, including bases loaded and no one out in the 8th without scoring a run...ouch That what happens when your GM puts together a team more suited to win the UZR title than a division title.

That was very pleasant to watch. Didn't expect Freddy to make it through 4 innings, let alone 7 innings of 2-run ball. The offense is on fire right now. If my math is correct, the Sox offense is averaging 6.45 RPG in their last 11 contests. They're getting it from everywhere. Not just a couple guys. Manny would be so perfect right now. Danks really has to step up tomorrow. These are the types of games (facing Sabathia) that will elevate him from very good to elite. We win tomorrow and I love our chances for a sweep.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 04:44 PM) In those two cases, they beat out everybody else on offense. Well, maybe not in 06 for Howard since Pujols was better than him, but that was the case with Frank. In this case, Cabrera and Hamilton are virtually equal. Hamilton's been a hell of a lot more valuable than Cabrera. 1.5 WAR is quite a disparity. Do you honestly think the voters are going to say to themselves, "Well, it's really close between the two, but Josh has the higher WAR. So I'll vote for him." Don't get me wrong. I totally understand what you're saying. But sabermetrics aren't quite that mainstream yet.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 04:38 PM) Of course you have to incorporate defense if you're talking about who deserves the award. Well you weren't specific. You said Hamilton "blows Cabrera out of the water." And I agree about the defensive aspect. I just don't think it plays much of a role. Barry Bonds didn't win 4 straight from '01 to '04 because of his defense. Ryan Howard didn't win in '06 because of his defense. Hell, even Frank didn't win two of them because of his defense.

A small part of J4L just died.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 11:00 AM) Josh Hamilton blows Cabrera out of the water in just about everything though. He does? Hamilton: .354/.406/.631/1.037. wOBA .444, OPS+ 172 Cabrera: .340/.434/.638/1.072. wOBA 441, OPS+ 184 Then you have to take into account that if you remove Cabrera from the Tigers' lineup you have an offense that would resemble that of the Mariners or A's. Take Hamilton away from the Rangers' lineup you still have Kinsler, Young, Guerrero, Cruz. Hamilton has been fantastic and is every bit deserving of the award. But it was until June 1st that he went nuts. Cabrera has been doing it from day one and has been just a tad better with less favorable circumstances. Now if you're factoring in defense, then Hamilton has the edge. But I seriously doubt defense plays a role in MVP voting. We can't even get the gold gloves right half the time.

QUOTE (J.Reedfan8 @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 01:47 AM) Totally forgot Zack's year was 09. (I was thinking 08 for some reason) I'll take a stab at my predictions. AL Manager - Ron Washington (go figure.. with the off-season stuff) AL Rookie - Austin Jackson (I can see Feliz winning it as well, but his guy has held his own with the bat and glove all year. Plus rating in both UZR and WAR) AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera (I usually agree with the guy whose team is better, but this guy is nearing triple crown numbers [1st, 2nd and 3rd in each.. damn you Bautista and Hamilton, though I could see him catching Josh in average] and beats Hamilton's numbers (except batting average right now) in every stat (not to mention has been Barry Bonds-ed with his 26 IBB to Hamilton's 5) and has no other protection. He is just amazing to watch and makes me want to re-pull up those threads defending his awesomeness. AL Cy Young - C.C. Sabathia (as wite said though, King Felix should get it.. and he will probably get robbed) NL Manager - Bud Black (what a year for that team.. this award is probably the most locked up of them all) NL Rookie - Buster Posey (There is a reason why me and daa say he will be the best player in that 08' draft. Add in an outstanding job at handling the pitching staff as a young player himself in a playoff run. Props to J4L for also giving him love.) NL MVP - Joey Votto (This and the Cy Young are going to go down to the wire with him and Pujols. Both are also near Triple Crowns. Reds being in first place is helping his chances not to mention he has been the main reason statistically) NL Cy Young - Adam Wainwright (He is going to be neck and neck with Roy Halladay down the stretch. Tim Hudson deserves some love as well) He does? He gets none from me.

The two best pitchers in baseball the last month have been Jackson and Hudson. Go figure.

Edwin has been simply dominant in four starts. He's going to have to do it against better lineups from here on out. But I've got nothing but praise for him so far. The offense has been pretty damn potent of late.

AL MVP: Hamilton (though Cabrera would be my pick if the Tigers had a better record). AL ROY: Neftali Feliz (extremely weak year for the AL crop. If Bailey won it last year, Neftali should easily win it this year). AL manager of the year: Ozzie Guillen Ron Washington (could easily go to Gardenhire). AL CY Young: David Price NL MVP: Pujols/Votto (simply can't pick one. Honorable mention for Adrian and Carlos Gonzalez). NL ROY: Buster Posey (and it's not even close). NL manager of the year: Bud black (gotta give some love to Dusty Baker, though). NL Cy Young: Josh Johnson (He's hit a little rough patch. But that was to be expected. As his ERA wasn't going to remain below 2 all year. If he finishes reasonably strong he should win it).

QUOTE (J.Reedfan8 @ Aug 26, 2010 -> 10:30 PM) He'll get robbed again. Lack of wins which is what voters look at alot. I would of gave it to Cliff Lee about a week ago, but it's obvious he's tired (as doc indicated) which is hurting his numbers. Again? As good as Felix was last year, Greinke was clearly better and deserved the award.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 26, 2010 -> 09:07 AM) Padres are tied with Yankees & Rays for fewest losses in MLB. Bud Black, come accept your NL Manager of the Year award. I get the whole Petco Park thing, but they are 38-27 on the road too. They have the 2nd best road ERA in baseball, 0.03 behind the Yankees. Mat Latos is the bomb diggity, but the rest of the rotation is nothing special. Having four bullpen guys with ERA under 2.00 will definitely help though. Best story in baseball by a wide margin. I hadn't really gotten a chance to see much of the Padres, as they're obviously a west coast team. But I got a chance to see them during their recent 4-game sweep of the Cubs. They've got a CY and MVP candidate in Latos and Gonzalez. As you said, the rest of the team isn't really special. But the one thing they do better than anybody is catch that baseball. They've committed the fewest errors and lead all of baseball in fielding%. Then they're first in UZR with an insane 52.5 runs saved (next closest are the Mariners/Rays with 43.7). They're built perfectly for that ballpark. They'll be plenty dangerous come October.