caulfield12

I think we're all sensing with another Gavin Floyd start looming, the danger of getting swept at home by the Cubs...if you looked at the pitching match-ups coming in, you would have given the first game to the Cubs, the second to Peavy and the third had to be a toss-up with how bad Gavin's been. Hopefully we can rally... And maybe it was the blown scoring opportunity followed by giving away 2 runs to the Cubs that has all the momentum going against us.

Cardinals rallying...Reds have a chance to push across tie-breaking run. I'd like to take credit for "reverse jinxing" Verlander since starting a pattern of calling games Tigers losses prematurely, then they always seem to rally and win. OR NOT.

Sigh. Tyler and Dunn on the same team next year? At least they won't have to run the auxiliary fans to keep the fans cool in the summer.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jun 20, 2012 -> 09:17 AM) Robin? Send him to Germany to get Kobe'd for his back. Or Switzerland to get Magglio'ed for a sports hernia. Almost starting to think things couldn't be worse with Miguel Tejada or Melvin Mora. Can probably cross Vladdy off the list, but not 100% yet.

Bring back Uribe!!! Force Crede out of retirement. Put Aaron Rowand or Brian Anderson there just for attendance purposes. Ozuna? Blum? Anyone?

The hangover from choking away two games to the Dodgers continues. And we still might not give up first place tonight, which is the funniest part about possibly losing 6 of 7.

Long awaited Mitch Mustain (1 IP, 0 runs), Barnum (0 for 2) and DiMichele sightings for Bristol. Dickie Thon's son is playing for the other team. Raul Mondesi, Jr. on another team. GETING OLD. Meanwhile, Micah Johnson (2B speedster, IU) started off well for Great Falls. Whenever I see the name Almonte (AA All-Star game), it makes me think of that kid from NYC who lied about his age for the Little League World Series...I think his name was Danny (not Denny).

You don't move a Gold Glove caliber 2B unless you're replacing him with a comparable player, because then you're creating a hole somewhere else on the infield.

Bring back Vizquel or Ventura should be Don Kessinger.

Maybe Viciedo WOULD be better at 3B if we actually had someone who could play LF competently and ALSO contribute offensively. But still a horrible idea.

There's your run, Jakemeister. Even when the Cubans both do something productive in an inning, the way things are going, it doesn't turn out very well.

Hudson's going to be the death of this team.

Stranger things have happened, but no way Verlander comes unglued again at home with a 4-0 lead. Cincy and Cleve battling 1-1 in the 5th, two control pitchers in Tomlin and ASU's Mike Leake, who was the one of the rare pitchers who went directly to the pros, followed the next year by Chris Sale.

Greg, shouldn't the Royals have released half their pitching staff with that theory? Or maybe more?

He also used to do a lot of Big 12/8 basketball games...not a bad announcer, and quite a few NCAA pairings with Vitale when there was a Big Monday game.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Jun 20, 2012 -> 01:31 AM) if they started drawing 30k a night here on out, they may end up averaging 25k when the season ended. that's middle of the pack, their normal attendance rank. IF IF IF being a huge one. We've only drawn that many, what, 2-3 times all season? And that would still only put us at 23rd in the majors. Middle of the pack now in the majors is low to mid 30's.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jun 20, 2012 -> 02:07 AM) I don't think the rest of the league was high on Danks as much the Sox kingdom and his agent. Wasn't he expecting a big payday elsewhere only to sign with the Sox again while for a long time saying no to a Sox contract? Where's the magic in Don Cooper? He's worked with Floyd and Danks, Thornton for an extended time and there is nothing but regression. Quintana, Humber for 1/2+ season and the PERFECTO, Nathan Jones until the last week, Sergio Santos.... Peavy and Sale aren't pitching magically this season? Dank was hurt. Thornton was ruined by the closer experiment.

QUOTE (Andy the Clown @ Jun 20, 2012 -> 02:19 AM) If true, good. I have no idea if Axelrod can pitch at the major league level, but his AAA numbers have earned him the chance to try. Terry Doyle, Deunte Heath, Veal and Bruney say hello as well. There's more than numbers in judging prospects vs. suspects.

Yeah, that's all we need, to get Gourriel, and we'll be all set.

While we're at it, shouldn't Stewart have an MRI or possibly TJ surgery? There's no way he's going to be effective at 88-91 MPH. There has to be SOME reason he's gone from a top prospect (remember, he started more as relief prospect and then converted) who threw 93-96 MPH to what we're seeing out of him NOW.

Between variable/dynamic ticket pricing schemes and the secondary ticket market, tickets should be available at a price that fans think is just. And given that that are several tiers of seating, there should be a “right price” for anyone who is interested in going to a game. Yet, by the looks of it, fans are not buying. In trying to generate ticket sales, teams and consultants have responded with all sorts of programs. These programs basically adjust ticket prices according to daily demand and then variously reach out to both avid and casual fans. This way, with variable/dynamic ticket pricing, team decision-makers effectively end-up reacting in “real-time” rather than having to predict weeks or months in advance what will be the demand for a specific game. This seems rational and is essentially the thinking that the pricing strategies are based on. But it’s worth pointing out that these strategies may have two key design flaws, both of which can be fixed: 1) The first flaw is that there may be too many choices. Conventional wisdom is that human beings prefer to have as many options as possible because its gives us the freedom to choose. (Isn’t it also the American way to have the opportunity to choose, apple pie in hand, to purchase tickets to a baseball game from either an official team website or secondary market websites—and at a price that has been set by the “free market”? The excitement is almost too much to bear.) And that may be the problem. As the psychologist Barry Schwartz has explained, choosing between 175 types of salad dressing tends to paralyze a person’s decision-making and leave that person dissatisfied. Can the same be said for ticket sales, especially when they include a daily (sometimes hourly) fluctuation in price? 2) The second flaw is that the pricing schemes ultimately shift the burden of pricing decision and activity from the franchise (the producer) to the fan (the customer). With variable/dynamic ticket pricing, fans are in a way tasked with trying to determine what is the right price for a ticket and, therefore, are effectively being put to work. Or may be this way of getting tickets is now fully integrated into “the experience.” Also, in the long-run, variable/dynamic ticket pricing may tax franchise personnel more than establishing ticket prices in the off-season and sticking with them for the 162-game slate. The traditional way requires relatively long-range planning, and is grounded in knowing what customers consider value and organizing to anticipate how they might react to the team’s performance throughout a season. Now, with variable/dynamic ticket pricing, the planning has switched to the short-term; the only real long-term consideration is which formula will be used in the season-long pricing strategy. How many successful businesses focused on “making numbers” today while sacrificing the needs of tomorrow—and existed long enough to tell about it? The general point is this: stop making ticket sales so confusing. http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/20...mlb-attendance/ FWIW, White Sox tv ratings were 25th in 2010.

"Dynamic" playing at home is the only solution for this mess, lol. Even then, it's going to take a lot more than that 17-5 run (or 26-5 in 2010) to fully convince anyone to buy in at the prices they're charging. It's almost like they want to DISCOURAGE fans because that will lead to higher media/broadcast and advertising rate revenues if everyone watches from home or MLBTV.com. But I can't imagine the ratings blip from .1 or .2 for a Nielsen share is anywhere close to the difference of 1-2-3,000 fans per night that they're losing out on because of the dynamic pricing and parking prices. That would be a good cost/benefit analysis for an econ student. What are the t.v. ratings so far this year for the Cubs and Sox? Compared to 2011?

If Puig is 21, depending on how quickly things go with his residency(personally, I'll be shocked if he's able to be signed before July 2nd) he's much better off just waiting until he turns 23 and then can receive a Cespedes/Soler/regular FA contract. Which would probably be at least 3-4 times the size of one he'll get under the new IFA rules. Saw this at a Cubs' blogsite. They think they're getting this guy for sure because of Soler and Concepcion. Torres reped Concepcion, and also brought him through Mexico. So the maximum they could spend to sign him would be $2.9 million after July deadline, right?

And yet whatever KC's home record is these days, it won't matter when we play them, right?

The Jays obviously thought enough of him to give him a handful of starts last season when they were still in the division race. That said, he's mysteriously lost 3-4 MPH on his fastball. And Molina's lost the ability to strike out opposing hitters or record a sub 4.5 ERA in a pitcher's haven. Go away, Marco Paddy!