According to the scoring summary, Dunn wasn't 3-2, he was 1-0. So not quite ultimate

The 2014 schedule is supposedly being released tomorrow. Hopefully the Sox don't have 19 games with anyone after July 9th this time.

Juan Uribe with a great game tonight. 4-4 3 HR's, 4 RBI's, 1 Error.

Wladimir Balentien hit his 54th home run of the season in Japan today. He's one away from the single-season record.

 

Edited September 10, 201312 yr by Noonskadoodle

He has 2 years left on his deal over there. Whenever he becomes available...whether by posting or free agency...he's a guy the Sox should look to sign

Wladimir Balentien hit his 54th home run of the season in Japan today. He's one away from the single-season record.

 

 

That pitch was head high, holy crap.

 

I always knew Balentien had a ton of power, he just struck out a ton.

Balentien can expect his share of skepticism over his performance this season. A scandal erupted earlier this season after the national Nippon Professional Baseball league admitted it had quietly juiced up the official ball for greater bounce off the bat. Players in Japan had unknowingly used the juiced ball in nearly 60 games, with home runs increasing by more than 40 percent from the previous year by the time the changes were revealed.

 

http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2013/0...cal+Baseball%29

 

I'm not impressed.

http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2013/0...cal+Baseball%29

 

I'm not impressed.

 

He's slugging like .850 over 135 games or something. 60 games isn't the difference on that. He still has incredible bat speed and, apparently, good bat coverage. He's probably not much more than a .230-.250 hitter, and there's still questions about his plate discipline, but he could definitely be a 30-40 homer threat

Edited September 10, 201312 yr by witesoxfan

http://deadspin.com/benches-clear-buck-sho...8803?autoplay=1

 

Girardi pisses everyone off

He's slugging like .850 over 135 games or something. 60 games isn't the difference on that. He still has incredible bat speed and, apparently, good bat coverage. He's probably not much more than a .230-.250 hitter, and there's still questions about his plate discipline, but he could definitely be a 30-40 homer threat

 

I'm merely unimpressed with him potentially beating the home run record. Had there not been a "juicing" period he probably isn't approaching that feet. I wish they had game logs to see how many of those HRs were hit during the 60 game period.

 

I'm merely unimpressed with him potentially beating the home run record. Had there not been a "juicing" period he probably isn't approaching that feet. I wish they had game logs to see how many of those HRs were hit during the 60 game period.

 

Was McGwire/Sosa/Bonds less impressive because they were juicing? Steroids or ball juicing, that is a lot of f***ing home runs and somehow nobody else is doing the same thing as him

Was McGwire/Sosa/Bonds less impressive because they were juicing?

Um, Hell Yes.

Was McGwire/Sosa/Bonds less impressive because they were juicing? Steroids or ball juicing, that is a lot of f***ing home runs and somehow nobody else is doing the same thing as him

 

After the fact? Yes it was far less impressive. I don't know what other guys are doing over there but the article I posted said there's been a 40% increase on home runs from last year so the whole league has benefited. He's just the leader of the pack.

Um, Hell Yes.

 

No, those guys still were awesome. You still have to be able to hit it out. The more I think about steroids in the game, the less they bother me. There was tons of juicing going on back then, including the pitchers they were facing. I think the playing field was a hell of a lot more level than people think it was. It wasn't just those three.

 

And if all Balentien is doing is hitting the same juiced ball everyone else is, I'm still impressed. He is hitting titanic shots, not cheapies

No, those guys still were awesome. You still have to be able to hit it out. The more I think about steroids in the game, the less they bother me. There was tons of juicing going on back then, including the pitchers they were facing. I think the playing field was a hell of a lot more level than people think it was. It wasn't just those three.

 

And if all Balentien is doing is hitting the same juiced ball everyone else is, I'm still impressed. He is hitting titanic shots, not cheapies

And I don't know why I should be impressed that their bodies reacted better to the extreme chemical components put through it than other people's did.

And I don't know why I should be impressed that their bodies reacted better to the extreme chemical components put through it than other people's did.

 

You don't have to be. Bury it however you please

Was McGwire/Sosa/Bonds less impressive because they were juicing?

 

Umm....obviously.

Umm....obviously.

 

Thanks for the input, joe

Thanks for the input, joe

 

I apologize for disagreeing with you, sir.

I apologize for disagreeing with you, sir.

 

No problem whatsoever, ace

FWIW Kyle, I agree with you, and, no matter how many steroids he smoked, I will always remember watching Bonds from 01-04 and thinking "I am never going to see anybody play this well again, even if he is on steroids"

FWIW Kyle, I agree with you, and, no matter how many steroids he smoked, I will always remember watching Bonds from 01-04 and thinking "I am never going to see anybody play this well again, even if he is on steroids"

 

Agreed. And when I look back at the 01-04 numbers, especially 2004, they are just unbelievable. .609 OBP, lol.

McGwire / Sosa was still one of the most pleasurable "races" I've ever seen. It's not like they weren't on an even playing field.

 

FWIW Kyle, I agree with you, and, no matter how many steroids he smoked, I will always remember watching Bonds from 01-04 and thinking "I am never going to see anybody play this well again, even if he is on steroids"

It's really worth relatively little, since no one gives a s*** about your silly opinion.

 

 

In all seriousness, however, I think their accomplishments are still incredibly impressive, although the fact that the home run record was eclipsed 6 times by 3 different hitters all within a 4 year span after being relatively unchallenged for the 35 years prior to the late '90's shows just how big of an effect PEDs (especially those PEDs) had on the game. This isn't to say that these particular hitters weren't incredibly talented (we knew this before the late '90's to begin with), but relative to their peers throughout the course of baseball history, I think it is obvious how their PED use affected their performance.

Edited September 11, 201312 yr by iamshack

McGwire / Sosa was still one of the most pleasurable "races" I've ever seen. It's not like they weren't on an even playing field.

 

 

Yeah, that was a lot of fun. Very impressive.