Running MLB Thread, Part the Fourth, 2007

How the FUCK are they doing it??

Bavasi's deals the past two winters have been so bad it's as if he's trying to get fired. Hargrove has never done anything with a team that wasn't loaded.

I don't get this at all. They should lose 85 games. Maybe they will.

 

Addicting baseball site:

http://www.baseballrace.com/main_racePlayer.asp

 

Correction: It's the Royals, who would probably be in the middle of division races in the NL.

 

Oh, they will BYH. Bavasi makes Isiah Thomas look like Stephen Hawking.

The starting pitching will eventually be the downfall. They managed to tread water thanks to an exceptional bullpen (also a surprise, buttressed by rookie call-ups) and a solid, no-easy-outs lineup.

This is actually the worst-case scenario, what is occuring now. M's are "competitive" but not pennant-caliber. They need to be terrible so the front office purging can begin.

 

I'll defer, since all I know about the 2007 Royals is what I watched the last three days. However, I'll suggest a batting order of guys batting:

.244 / .267 / .266 / .251 / .219 / .279 / .221 / .271 / .375

is not an order that would be in the middle of ANY National League race. Like I told you, the Phils are dog-ass against what should be lesser competition, particularly when they feel good about themselves after a good/great series.

/admits that lineup scored 17 on the Curly Ps

 

And, FWIW, the Phils have now placed Freddy Garcia on the DL. The same Freddy Garcia who experienced a noticable drop in velocity late in 2006, and yet the Phils DID NOT REQUIRE AN MRI when trading for him.

Really think about that one for a second. Let it sink in.

 

That is cool. I watched the 1978 AL East race, the 1995 AL West race and the 1998 AL East race.

My question now is this, the Yankees won the East by 22 games over the Red Sox in 1998 and last place Tampa Bay was a whopping 51 games out. Even crazier is Boston won 92 games that year, which in a lot of years would be good enough to win a division.
Is that the biggest difference between a first place and a second place team ever? And is it the biggest difference between a first place and a last place team ever?

 

You have good points, but do any of them justify why Hudson wasn't ejected the day before? Why weren't the teams warned before the game, especially considering the ump claims to know what was going to happen? And what's so wrong with Renteria getting thrown at the next day, warning both teams at that point and moving on? Soriano didn't exactly get hit in the ankle. You don't fucking toss a starting pitcher in the first inning. Even Smoltz on-air said he felt badly for Lilly. That was pure bullshit, and Barrett should have gotten "mixed up" on Marmol's first pitch (he does it all the time, any way) and given the ump a present.

If Lou had no intentions of losing Eyre yesterday — and apparently he didn't since Dempster threw in the 8th — then Eyre should have been put in to hit Renteria in his second at-bat. Who fucking cares if Eyre gets suspended? Lou doesn't. If that causes a fight, so be it, but with Ramirez already out of the lineup and D. Lee slumping, throwing at Soriano should have caused a fight on the spot. The Cubs shouldn't have put up with that, but they did, because they're pansies. They should have stood up for Fontenot, too, but they didn't. They could have tried a pickoff the next play, and Fontenot could have "forgotten" to catch the ball or "accidentally" tagging him firmly in his face.

 

If a guy hits three home runs the day before, maybe the ump should have "expected" Soriano getting hit and tossing Hudson on the first pitch.

 

No, none of it justifies Lilly's ejection.

That said, your proposals make even less sense. Lou's trying to win -- I don't know what the hell the rest of your team is doing, but Lou's trying to win -- not enact revenge. Revenge is no good if you hurt your team in the process.

 

I agree with you, but why would losing Eyre to a suspension hurt the Cubs? Wouldn't that help?

I think not standing up for your teammates hurts your team.

 

Neat stuff.

I did 1982 to watch my Cardinals rise to the top. It was interesting to contemplate that teams like Philadelphia were right there at the finish.

Perhaps most shocking was seeing Montreal at 86-76. That has to be about the best that the Expos ever finished. I forgot just what a fine team they had in those days with Dawson, Cromartie, Tim Wallach, Gary Carter, a very young Tim Raines and a few other speedsters.