iamshack

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 10:34 AM) Thunderbolt Walks in thread, screams "JAYSON NIX." Bows, Collects Check, Leaves Leave this in the other thread please.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 10:02 AM) The japanese league strike zone is most definitely smaller. They give almost nothing inside, less outside than in the mlb, and they do not call strikes at the letters. Strikes at the letters would drastically cut down on walk rates, which is not the case. Matsuzaka was excited to come to the states to take advantage of the fact that he could work both the inside and outside edges better. I have followed japanese baseball rather closely for roughly eight years now... and for a fact their strike zone being larger compared to ours is just a myth. I have heard from people too close to the game (as in they literally attend the games) say as much to believe otherwise. This is what I thought as well, but I wasn't certain. Don't they call their zone with much more consistency as well (less variation from umpire to umpire)?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 08:57 AM) They have faced nothing like the Yankees offense to this point in the playoffs. Plus they aren't facing a pitcher for the next game at least. The Yankees, in turn, have faced nothing like the Phillies offense to this point in the playoffs either. The two offenses are really not as different as many make them out to be...

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 09:18 AM) Are you saying by rules or by actual calls? Oh, I see what you're saying. You're saying their strike zone is just bigger. I'm not certain. I think it was a bad call, but it was close, and he just wanted to give him the strike for the sake of drama.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 09:14 AM) You have to think of the strike zone in 3D. It may be high at the front of the plate, but in the zone in the back of the plate. Plus it was coming from the same angle as a lefty throwing, so it could have been coming across and in the zone. Plus Japan IIRC has always had a liberal interpretation of the strike zone What I am noting is that there are no fans in the stadium. I think this was a staged deal. Actually it's the opposite. They have a very precise strike zone. Ours is actually far more liberal than theirs is.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 09:02 AM) after watching that video of the pitcher again, wtf is with that strikezone. That ball was high and outside Are you guys kidding me? Is that really the freaking point? You're talking about throwing a football in a general area on a high trajectory. The window you have to place that football is absolutely huge compared to the window you have to place that baseball. I think you guys are plain nuts.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 12:41 PM) Agreed. That throw was amazing. I've tried it.. your either not that accurate or most people just don't have the arm strength to pull that off. Meh.. for someone whose played the game, it isn't THAT hard. I do agree that throwing a strike with it might take you a while, but throwing a small ball 60 feet behind you in a windup.. no it isn't that hard at all. And that was a very generous strike he got. I think throwing a smaller object like a baseball behind your back accurately is a hell of a lot harder. I guarantee you it would take me personally a LOT longer to throw a baseball from that distance accurately than a football. You're talking about throwing a baseball into a 4 foot area versus throwing a football simply into an area where a receiver can catch it. I guess we will agree to disagree.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 01:16 AM) Joey Votto is 26 years old, under team control for 4 more seasons and had the 4th highest wOBA in baseball this season. 1.) Depression issues and Alonso aside he's going nowhere and 2.) you undervalue him greatly, the consensus is that the Sox don't have the bullets to pull of a deal for Prince, right now Votto's trade value would be exponentially higher than even that of Fielder. You're better off fawning over Adrian Gonzalez, at least you know he'll be dealt within the next 400 days or so. Wow, I have not been watching Joey Votto. I had absolutely no idea he put up numbers like this this season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 07:17 AM) One down, now they just need to figure out a way to win without Lee pitching. Well, they have managed to go 4-2 in the games they've played without Lee this postseason. I'm not sure where this perception is stemming from that they are all Lee and nothing else. Granted, he's been amazing, but Pedro and Hamels are no slouches themselves. Really pumped for tonight's game...can't wait to see Pedro pitch on the big stage again.

This game is flying for Yankee standards....Keep it coming, Cliff.

Phillies miss a big opportunity there in the first against CC.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 04:07 PM) Hah! Great call....I love that character...

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 11:38 AM) After finding out that team won 58-0, the throw isnt all that classy by that team, but to throw a football like that behind the back is not easy It's waaaay more difficult to throw a baseball like that 60 feet for a strike!

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 11:19 AM) Is it better than this throw? http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/a-first-high...back-pass-26692 Yeah, I have to say it is....

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 07:00 AM) I remember seeing a research piece about backs who get more than 400 carries in a season falling apart very quickly. Priest Holmes had some serious hip injury, didn't he? Running back is an absolutely brutal position to play physically...the magic number seems to be about 30 years of age when they begin declining...

Ahh, boys will be boys...I don't think we're going to stop a bunch of guys from talking about whether she is attractive or not...men have been having these sort of discussions since speech began. I think what NSS posted is true, but I think it is also convenient to sleep with a woman like he did because he can do it without having to wine and dine her out in public. It's pretty difficult to cheat on your wife when so many people recognize you out in public. Either way, I am disappointed this happened, as I am a big fan of Phillips...but hey, who am I to judge...

As if the idiots who were young teenagers that did this weren't evil enough, there were a few of them in their mid-20's? That's even more disgusting. What kind of sick bastard in their mid-20's hangs around the high school after homecoming?

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 06:25 PM) Actually, I remember an interview where they said El Duque told Contreras to pitch more like a Cuban by dropping down and changing his angles more. Well I seem to remember him using primarily an overhand slot in 05'. Maybe I am mistaken.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 05:18 PM) I thought he wanted to do it more because that was more of how he worked in Cuba? I didn't see him pitch enough in Cuba to know if that is the case or not. I thought it was Cooper's idea, to be honest with you.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 04:53 PM) By far the worst contract Kenny Williams has ever given out, the new deal he signed after the '05 season started in '07 effectively guaranteeing him 4 years of pay. The Sox got a big pile of suck back on their $29M investment. 08/04/05 - 06/29/06: 25 GS, 17-1, 2.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP (3-1, 3.09 ERA, 0.86 WHIP in the postseason) 07/01/06 - 08/29/09: 87 GS, 27-45, 5.19 ERA, 1.45 WHIP To me, it's somewhat difficult to criticize the contract, despite what a disaster it turned out to be. At the time the deal was handed out, Jose was dominant, with little or no signs of regression. I guess one could cite Jose's age as a key reason why he was likely to regress, but given the way he was pitching at the time (pure stuff), it appeared as though he was defying age at the time anyways. Even had we waited until the beginning of 06', the way Jose pitched in his first several starts indicated that he would continue his dominant stretch, and was deserved of the type of contract he was handed at the end of 05' anyways. Personally, I think the trouble mainly stemmed when Jose was asked to vary his arm slots. I don't recall him doing so during his dominant run in 05', and it doesn't seem like he started battling his control and inconsistency with the forkball until the multiple arm slots began.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 01:19 PM) Before Harris started sucking the line in front of Urlacher was great. Urlacher didn't do s*** in the Super Bowl but this is because the DTs were being blown off the line of scrimmage by the Colts. Yeah, but Urlacher's role, while supposedly was going to be bigger in the Cover 2, has not really been the case in my opinion. Of course, it's tough to truly evaluate, as he has aged and been injured for much of Lovie's tenure here. Now I interpret the role of the mlb to be big in the Cover 2 because he is filling in the main weakness of the scheme, but I personally found him to be a more productive player when he could roam free more. Of course, seeing what happened last week may force me to re-evaluate that position.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 01:08 PM) Ray Lewis is another guy who benefitted immensely from having humungous tackles occupying space in front of him during their superbowl run and following years. He had guys like Goose in front of him taking doubleteams and blockers and he could just go anywhere he wanted. Im not saying those guys up front MADE Ray Lewis, he is still an amazing player, but they allowed him to be that much better, which is what Traylor and Washington did for Urlacher Sorry, Washington. I knew Williams didn't sound right. But when you have linebackers like that, maybe it's best to put them in situations to succeed instead of trying to fit them into situations where their success will be limited.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 12:56 PM) Chisoxfn, as far as your belief that Rivera had creative blitz schemes, I disagree and this was one of the biggest reasons I criticized him while he was still in Chicago. When the line wasn't getting a pass rush (i.e. Harris got hurt) the defense looked totally anemic, and he could not generate pressure. Remember that loooooooong period where Urlacher didn't get any sacks in 2006? That was Rivera's defense. Sending Urlacher straight up the middle, undisguised, yeah of course he's gonna get blocked. Urlacher was most effective when we had Traylor and Williams to keep him clean. Obviously their size keeps personnel such as them from being placed into a Cover 2 scheme, but one would think there would be a hybrid system...

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 12:31 PM) I think you are off. Hamels has struggled against the NL as of late and really looks like a shell of the pitcher he was a year ago. I suspect he's fatigued and a little banged up and its hurting his effectiveness. Pedro has pitched good and he's gutsy, but its one thing to do it in the NL, its another to do it against a premiere AL offense. Burnett and Pettite are much much better at this point (based upon recent performance, etc). Offensively, I think the Phils are solid, but I just think the Yanks are ridiculous. I think Tex and Arod are better than Utley/Howard. The Yanks really have a ridiculous lineup. Phils have a great line-up too, but I really have to point out how legit the Yanks lineup is and it is also pretty well balances as they have plenty of guys that can hit for avg too and almost everyone on that squad gets on base. Yeah, I quite possibly could be. Still not sure how anyone can argue that Burnett and Petitte are much better. The Yankees have faced the Twins and the Angels thus far in the playoffs, and I think the Phillies have a stronger lineup top to bottom than both of them. Heck, I'd argue that the two opponents the Phillies faced in the playoffs have better lineups than those that the Yankees faced. We'll see though...this is why they play the games.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 27, 2009 -> 01:26 PM) I happen to think Ozzie is an upper echelon manager. He might not be the best at the X's and O's of baseball, but I believe he's one of the very best at managing the psyche of the players and I believe he always holds players accountable while still having a good relationship with the team. Ozzie is very underrated on Soxtalk, imo. I like Ozzie a lot as well. One question that has crept into my mind is whether his act works well as the season wears on...I'm getting tired of us always fading in August and the beginning of Sept before finally turning things around when it is close to too late or already too late. Is he putting too much pressure on them? I don't know...