caulfield12

I said this in all threads we've had about BA. He has to get his OPS to 740 to be an effective player for us, that's not unreasonable to expect. Second, he has to start driving in runners (at least occasionally) when they're in scoring position, which he hasn't done (he did hit the ball hard but AJ couldn't score from 2nd last night). Right now he's at 701. As long as he's in that 720-760 range, then I'll never have any complaints about Anderson because of his defensive abilities...and I'm sure Ozzie won't have any problems either, even if he's in the 650-700 range, AS LONG AS we're still winning games. DeWayne Wise had a .385 SLG percentage after being taken out of the starting line-up...Brian is still struggling to get close to .300. As I said, we'll have some real numbers to look at with BA after he faces Balt, Toronto and Seattle, especially as those home games will be in cold/er weather with teams sporting pretty solid pitching.

Porcello tears through the Mariners, continuing the Tigers' string of very decent starting pitching...only one ER (homer) in 7 IP. Three way tie for first in the AL Central.

Brent Lillibridge=Jason Tyner Speaking of Tyner, Abreu has seven stolen bases already.

Because Owens has no experience playing RF and Brian has a much better arm...it's logic. Looks like the Indians are finally going to lose to the Yankees and the Twins will sweep the Angels.

BA trailing .646 to Betemit's .669 OPS...Lillibridge almost up to 600.

He was always a good field/no hit guy until recently... July 12,2006 - Traded by Astros with Mitch Talbot to Devil Rays for Aubrey Huff and Cash considerations

It seems like we've led almost every inning (except for 7-8-9 in Game 2) in this series...pretty close to dominance. And the Yankees (hard to cheer for them) have taken the lead over the sorry Indians' bullpen 4-3. But good start by Pavano. Of course, when we face the Angels...it will be against their Top 4 healthy starters. Sucks that Minnesota always seems to get the breaks with scheduling somehow. Perkins with a 1.57 ERA so far on the season.

Prediction...Anderson HR here. Or not. It would have been a homer at the "Little K" in Kansas City, though.

I think it was just that freezing cold weather that messed with Floyd's game Monday. Otherwise, he has fairly decent control, although he did come unhinged a couple of times last year (especially in the 2nd half) where he would just completely lose his touch for the curve. CB Bucknor looks a little bit like Obama.

This game gets scary if they bring in Carrasco or MacDougal at any point today. C'mon Gavin. I'd almost rather he gave up a 3 run homer and got out of the inning than seeing MacDougal anywhere near the game. Longoria has caught Alisayitis.

Lillibridge is a hitting machine. Break up the 1929 Yankees...er Sox Sunday line-up. At least Brent is getting on-base and keeping the ball lower instead of popping up into the outfield. They're our version of the Piranhas. Albaladejo gets out of bases loaded, one out situation for Yankees...still 3-1 Indians leading. Try saying that name fast three times. Cubano is celebrating Michel Hernandez shank into RF, since Alexei has been put on the pine for today.

That was definitely a FO at 2nd and maybe even a double play...BA fortunate that Garza misplayed it and then compounded it with the wild throw. Still, we'll take it. And with Anderson running, it helped cause the wild throw. Attaboy Chris Getz.

Looks like we're going to be catching the Orioles as they're really cooling off. We have Guthrie, but two other starters we should be able to beat for sure. Yep, Gavin's 85 MPH change-up is starting to become a really devastating part of his arsenal, as he has better control of it than the curveball.

He's mixing in more curveballs, but he's primarily going with the two seam sinking fastball at 90-91 MPH. He doesn't really seem like he's dominating, but he's certainly pitching effectively against Pena, who is the one batter you don't want to beat you in their line-up...and it would have been nice had Matt Thornton had the time to study the way they're attacking Zobrist, but he's not as dangerous as a LH hitter. Swisher K's (hat trick) with the bases loaded against Pavano in the bottom of the 6th.

Nick Swisher falling back to earth...hitting .325 and 2 k's today against Carl Pavano, but Yankees threatening.

Lillibridge with Pods 2005 leads...nice to see us disrupting the opposing pitchers a little bit for a change. Brent, you've gotta go there, they have a once a week back-up catcher, have to stay out of DP at all costs.

I guess we have to acknowledge CLE isn't dead after all if they sweep the Yankees in the Stadium. Who'd a thunk Ryan Garko would be a slugging RF? I still don't think Cleveland's middle relief can hold...or the back of their rotation. Lillibridge with the BA/Little League approach of waiting to get walked. That's probably his best idea for his size.

Well...if you're going to get on Betemit, you have to get on Brian Anderson for never picking up a runner from scoring position. But it would have been nice to add a run or two. You don't expect Floyd to pitch a shutout in the Dome.

Harrelson is convinced he (Garza) has diversified his arsenal from just FB and curve to add a decent change-up and slider...leading to newfound success again LH batters. Okay, prematurely jinxing Pavano no-hitter (through 3 innings)...I can't believe he can even get up and down that line-up with no hits, no BB's and 2 K's.

Almost think we'd be better off with Clayton Richard starting and holding back Floyd for the Orioles. That .375 BA of LH batters against Floyd doesn't bode well. Barons game wiped out...probably many in Southern, Carolina and SAL today eviscerated. By the way, it would be very ironic if Carl Pavano beat the Yankees.

chat today? or everyone expects Garza to mow us down and not watching, lol? C'mon Anderson! Wise would have had it, diving all-out and separating his other shoulder.

I guess Mark DeRosa's about the closest thing you can find to Tony Phillips (minus the speed)...or Chone Figgins. When you think about it, he (Phillips) was kind of a hybrid of the two. I was thinking about Billy Hall too, but I'm not sure how his skills would translate to the AL. Wonder if Lillibridge will ever hit a home run...he's the closest we have, though....or Hitless Alexei. That name thing jinxed him.

All those guys end up getting higher ratings because they're run on so much that they have a ton of assists just by the sheer volume of throws they make. However, with Soriano, you would think they might learn, because while he gets bad reads/jumps, he's always been able to throw the ball pretty accurately and without bringing down rain. By the way, has anyone ever contributed more to a team with JUST one hit than Lillibridge has this season?

Carrasco has decent or average stuff for a reliever...91-93 MPH, nothing special, but MacDougal's lost about 5 MPH off his fastball (like Colon) and that slider isn't consistent enough to work backwards from. At least Carrasco knows how to pitch out of trouble...sometimes a lot better than our Big 4 relievers.

Young doesn't fit because he's a "me-first" player. He's a very bad baserunner, a little bit out of shape...and his fundamentals are non-existent. Young was always the best player on the diamond, so he never had to learn how to do anything but hit, and now it's coming back to bite him. When you're not hitting for 20-30 HR power and you're a drag on the team defensively, then you need to do other things to help your team win...Young just has no idea where the strike zone is sometimes (typical for young/er players who are promoted so quickly and don't spend much time in AA/AAA) and he's very susceptible to breaking balls outside of the zone. It's amazing though, all the talent in that system at one point...D. Young, Josh Hamilton, Jonny Gomes, Baldelli, Dukes, I think Toe Nash was even in the Rays' system. Maybe that's wrong.