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What a crazy year for baseball...

Started by pate, October 01, 2014, 04:09:40 PM

I was shocked when the announcers said just before the end of Game 7 that the Official Scorer told them MadBum was going to be given the Win.

The rules are very specific about which pitcher gets credited with the win:  First, a Starting Pitcher must go 5 innings to qualify (which does not come into play for this game).  Next, when a team takes the lead for good, the Pitcher who finished the prior half inning gets the win - unless he was considerably ineffective.  If that is the case THEN the Official Scorer determines the winner.

Affeldt pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, and was the pitcher of record when SF took the lead for good.  Both pitched great, but they HAD to give Affeldt the win. 

One would think an Official Scorer for a World Series game would know that.




phrodo

Quote from: Paper*Boy on November 02, 2014, 02:45:42 AM
The 2 changes I would make to baseball are

1) get rid of the DH.  Completely awful.

2) institute balls and strikes being called electronically - set the machine for the top and bottom of the strike zone by player (the width would always be the same).  It the ball goes through the strike zone it's a strike, if not, it's a ball. 

No more individual strike zones for each umpire, that change from day to day. 

No more calling strikes balls if the ump is mad at the pitcher or catcher, or if the pitcher is having trouble throwing strikes, or if the batter is known for having a 'good eye'. 

No more calling strikes balls if the ump is mad at the batter, or if the pitcher has great control that night, or if the catcher is clever in framing the pitch.

The strike zone is not from the belt to the top of the shoes.  If they want that to be the strike zone, change the rule.

I firmly believe that an umpire calling balls and strikes has long passed any reason to be continued. The technology has been available for years for the bias of an umpire's whims or incompetence to affect the outcome of a game. They could still have an umpire behind the plate to make out/safe calls at the plate ... and for tradition's sake of appearance -- and he could still indicate balls and strikes with an electronic signal or tone in an earpiece letting him know whether to indicate which to relay to the players. 

Quote from: Paper*Boy on November 02, 2014, 07:43:50 PM
I was shocked when the announcers said just before the end of Game 7 that the Official Scorer told them MadBum was going to be given the Win.

The rules are very specific about which pitcher gets credited with the win:  First, a Starting Pitcher must go 5 innings to qualify (which does not come into play for this game).  Next, when a team takes the lead for good, the Pitcher who finished the prior half inning gets the win - unless he was considerably ineffective.  If that is the case THEN the Official Scorer determines the winner.

Affeldt pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, and was the pitcher of record when SF took the lead for good.  Both pitched great, but they HAD to give Affeldt the win. 

One would think an Official Scorer for a World Series game would know that.


I was wondering about that as well. Seemed pretty odd ... and then found out the next day the win didn't go to MadBum.

Gd5150

Heres the George Brett story of when he was in Vegas and shit his pants. One of the funniest stories ever!

http://youtu.be/PseNrUeSmXk

Quote from: Gd5150 on November 02, 2014, 09:21:58 PM
Heres the George Brett story of when he was in Vegas and shit his pants. One of the funniest stories ever!


There it is! Congrats to your Giants again.

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on November 02, 2014, 03:32:29 PM
Fortunately, the WS wasn't ruined by the Fox announcers despite their incompetence and lack of professionalism.  In Game 7, not one of them pronounced "Bumgarner" correctly.  They called him "Bumgartner," "Bumgardner," and even "Bumgarden."  That's inexcusable and they should all be sacked and banned for life from the announcing booth.   >:(

I recommend fox deportes.

Quote from: Gd5150 on November 02, 2014, 09:21:58 PM
Heres the George Brett story of when he was in Vegas and shit his pants. One of the funniest stories ever!

When I was fresh out of high school, I took a job delivering papers for the LA Times.  Not a kiddie paper route; you used your car and delivered about 500 papers in three hours or so.

One night I could feel the rumblings of diarrhea.  Not as dire as Brett's story, but I could definitely feel a typhoon building.  I was hoping I could gut it out as I was miles away from any actual bathrooms at that time of the morning.  Unfortunately, I realized I wasn't going to be able to finish the route without unloading. 

I was on a section of the route that delivered to apartment buildings across the street from a lagoon.  I grabbed a couple of papers and headed down towards the water.  It was pitch black and I moved as close as I dared to the water.  I got into position and laid a section of the newspaper across the pants around my ankles.  My plan was that when a convulsion hit, I was going to force out a stream to get as much of the mess as possible away from me and my clothes.

Things went according to plan, and a copious stream of malodorous waste rocketed out of my ass.  Just then, a duck started squawking up a storm.   It was going WAAAAAAAAKK -- WAAKK -- WAAKK like they do when they get pissed off.  It startled the fuck out of me because it seemed very close.  What effect I had on the duck I can only guess at, but I realized that I was in a fairly embarrassing position, should a neighbor come out and shine a flashlight around to see what the fuss was all about at 3 am.  So I got myself cleaned up on the double-quick and got the hell out of Dodge.

That poor duck.  I wouldn't tell a story like this publicly, but it's been a long time since this happened and I figure it must be dead by now.

I caught an interview with former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent on MLB Radio's Inside Pitch show tonight.

He took a good bye dig at Selig (who led a committee that ousted Vincent) by saying that the new commissioner (Rob Manfred) would not treat baseball like wrestling, with wrestling's predetermined story line, and would let baseball play out on the field.

The Hall of Fame selections were just announced, and the new inductees are Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio.  Can't argue with any of those choices, although I think Lee Smith belongs there as well.  Once again, as has been the case from the beginning of the HOF, nobody was a unanimous choice, which is incomprehensible in the case of Johnson.   


http://m.mlb.com/news/article/105660410/pedro-big-unit-smoltz-biggio-make-hall-of-fame

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on January 06, 2015, 01:34:54 PM
The Hall of Fame selections were just announced, and the new inductees are Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio.  Can't argue with any of those choices, although I think Lee Smith belongs there as well.  Once again, as has been the case from the beginning of the HOF, nobody was a unanimous choice, which is incomprehensible in the case of Johnson.   


http://m.mlb.com/news/article/105660410/pedro-big-unit-smoltz-biggio-make-hall-of-fame


     April 28, 1990. An unusually warm(95 degrees) Saturday afternoon, 14 year old Coyle being the obstreperous punk he was, throws a half eaten hot dog(my friend making the mistake of putting down) from the right field bleachers into the Red Sox bullpen. It strkes the intended target, the awful portsider reliever Rob Murphy in the shoulder/upper back.

      Murphy was fuming. Lee Smith seemed to enjoy the moment. Oddly enough, he'd be traded for Tom Brunansky at week's end.

      Because Lee Smith laughed at my antics, and his stroll from the bullpen to the mound rarely taking less time than a live version of "Whipping Post" qualifies him for Cooperstown.
   

Quote from: Eddie Coyle on January 06, 2015, 01:46:53 PM

     April 28, 1990. An unusually warm(95 degrees) Saturday afternoon, 14 year old Coyle being the obstreperous punk he was, throws a half eaten hot dog(my friend making the mistake of putting down) from the right field bleachers into the Red Sox bullpen. It strkes the intended target, the awful portsider reliever Rob Murphy in the shoulder/upper back.

      Murphy was fuming. Lee Smith seemed to enjoy the moment. Oddly enough, he'd be traded for Tom Brunansky at week's end.

      Because Lee Smith laughed at my antics, and his stroll from the bullpen to the mound rarely taking less time than a live version of "Whipping Post" qualifies him for Cooperstown.
   

The thing I enjoyed most about watching Lee Smith pitch was the expression on his face when he took the mound.  He always looked as though the opposing hitters thoroughly disgusted him (or else he was smelling something really rancid that was buried under the mound).

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on January 06, 2015, 03:13:53 PM
The thing I enjoyed most about watching Lee Smith pitch was the expression on his face when he took the mound.  He always looked as though the opposing hitters thoroughly disgusted him (or else he was smelling something really rancid that was buried under the mound).

    He looked like a Raiders Defensive End who somehow ended up pitching for the Cubs. I think he's victimized in the voting because he never appeared in a World Series(partially to blame in '84-but Leon Durham should get more) and closers are viewed as overly specialized. Guys like Eckersley and Smoltz benefit from being Cy Young  level starters at certain point of the careers.

Quote from: Eddie Coyle on January 06, 2015, 03:26:01 PM
    He looked like a Raiders Defensive End who somehow ended up pitching for the Cubs. I think he's victimized in the voting because he never appeared in a World Series(partially to blame in '84-but Leon Durham should get more) and closers are viewed as overly specialized. Guys like Eckersley and Smoltz benefit from being Cy Young  level starters at certain point of the careers.

Good point about him not getting into a WS, although he still stands as one of the all-time best closers.  He's third in career saves, and Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman are the only others to post 12 or more 30 save seasons.

Thanks a bunch for mentioning 1984.  I still can't decide which Cubs post-season collapse galls me more, 1984 or 2003, although I lean toward the former just because of Steve Garvey.   


Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on January 06, 2015, 03:35:57 PM
Good point about him not getting into a WS, although he still stands as one of the all-time best closers.  He's third in career saves, and Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman are the only others to post 12 or more 30 save seasons.

Thanks a bunch for mentioning 1984.  I still can't decide which Cubs post-season collapse galls me more, 1984 or 2003, although I lean toward the former just because of Steve Garvey.   



      Smith had the career saves record, but that seems completely forgotten now. 478 saves should be HOF worthy.

     The '84 Cubs are my favorite team ever. The first year we had cable, and I'd get home from school at roughly 2:20pm, right in time for first pitch from Wrigley. On my birthday(6/23) was the greatest NBC Game of the Week ever, with Willie McGee hitting for the cycle, and Sandberg homering (twice!) off Bruce Sutter.

      '84 is worse because they destroyed the Padres in Game One and a Tigers-Cubs WS seemed a given as they headed out to Jack Murphy on Oct 5. Then they had a Columbus Day weekend that seemed to presage what would happen to the Angels and eventually Red Sox in '86. Gag jobs beyond belief.

      *That '84 Padres team were unbelievably loopy. Cuckoo Eric Show, AIDS casualty Alan Wiggins, the brawl with the Braves on Aug 12 which is the wildest I've seen in baseball. Sociopathic Garvey.

Quote from: Eddie Coyle on January 06, 2015, 03:58:33 PM

          The '84 Cubs are my favorite team ever. The first year we had cable, and I'd get home from school at roughly 2:20pm, right in time for first pitch from Wrigley. On my birthday(6/23) was the greatest NBC Game of the Week ever, with Willie McGee hitting for the cycle, and Sandberg homering (twice!) off Bruce Sutter.


Same here.  That was the team that should have gone all the way.  The "Sandberg Game" must have been a helluva birthday present and without a doubt the most exciting game I've ever seen, especially since it came at the expense of the Cardinals.  Last winter, the Chicago Comcast Sports affiliate replayed it, and it was fascinating to be reminded how much the game has changed since then, especially the way the Bruce Sutter was used.  He pitched over three innings, which would be unheard of for a closer today.  However, that was pretty much the norm back then.  Managers didn't rely so much on matchups and set-up men.  If a team had a lead, it brought in its closer, even if it was the sixth or seventh inning, because he was the best reliever.  Rollie Fingers earned a lot of three inning saves.

Bart Ell

Tim Raines - 55%? The bullshit continues.
Oh yeah, Selig still sucks.

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on January 06, 2015, 04:29:26 PM
Same here.  That was the team that should have gone all the way.  The "Sandberg Game" must have been a helluva birthday present and without a doubt the most exciting game I've ever seen, especially since it came at the expense of the Cardinals.  Last winter, the Chicago Comcast Sports affiliate replayed it, and it was fascinating to be reminded how much the game has changed since then, especially the way the Bruce Sutter was used.  He pitched over three innings, which would be unheard of for a closer today.  However, that was pretty much the norm back then.  Managers didn't rely so much on matchups and set-up men.  If a team had a lead, it brought in its closer, even if it was the sixth or seventh inning, because he was the best reliever.  Rollie Fingers earned a lot of three inning saves.

       My kid found it on YouTube(after hearing me talk about for years) and he was stunned that a closer would be out there for that long. He thought Herzog must have been punishing him for giving up the first homer. But I told him, look up George Brett's series clincher in '80 off Goose Gossage. That was the 7th inning. It wasn't about "saves", but having your best reliever shutting it down, no matter what inning it was.


     La Russa's micromanaging of bullpens changed the game profoundly. Managers have become slaves to "when to use your closer" orthodoxy.

Quote from: Bart Ell on January 06, 2015, 04:37:43 PM
Tim Raines - 55%? The bullshit continues.

There are a lot of nitwits in the BBWAA who should not be allowed a HOF vote. 

QuoteOh yeah, Selig still sucks.

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aldousburbank

I was a big fan of the Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Sal Bando era A's.

Bart Ell

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on January 06, 2015, 04:51:18 PM
There are a lot of nitwits in the BBWAA who should not be allowed a HOF vote. 

Soon most of them, along with Selig, will be dead. Not soon enough, though.

Tim Raines reached base more times in his career than Tony Gwynn. First-ballot, 97.6%-of-the-vote Tony Gwynn.

http://youtu.be/oR9nz0WQX3Q

Quote from: aldousburbank on January 06, 2015, 04:51:31 PM
I was a big fan of the Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Sal Bando era A's.
You must not forget Ken Holtzman.

Quote from: aldousburbank on January 06, 2015, 04:51:31 PM
I was a big fan of the Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Sal Bando era A's.

Likewise!  Have you ever heard Dylan's blues ode to Catfish Hunter, who "used to work on Mr. Finley's farm"?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyhj22_catfish-bob-dylan-rare_music

Speaking of Charlie O., in the early seventies he hired Stanley Burrell, a teenager who hung around outside the Oakland Coliseum and danced for spare change, as his special assistant and honorary team vice-president.  Burrell was given the nickname "Hammer" because he closely resembled a young Hank Aaron, and a few years later would become famous as a flash in the pan singer/dancer in shiny baggy pants known as MC Hammer.

aldousburbank

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on January 06, 2015, 05:27:21 PM
Likewise!  Have you ever heard Dylan's blues ode to Catfish Hunter, who "used to work on Mr. Finley's farm"?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyhj22_catfish-bob-dylan-rare_music

Speaking of Charlie O., in the early seventies he hired Stanley Burrell, a teenager who hung around outside the Oakland Coliseum and danced for spare change, as his special assistant and honorary team vice-president.  Burrell was given the nickname "Hammer" because he closely resembled a young Hank Aaron, and a few years later would become famous as a flash in the pan singer/dancer in shiny baggy pants known as MC Hammer.
What? That is way cool- thanks!


Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on January 06, 2015, 03:35:57 PM
Good point about him not getting into a WS, although he still stands as one of the all-time best closers.  He's third in career saves, and Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman are the only others to post 12 or more 30 save seasons.

Thanks a bunch for mentioning 1984.  I still can't decide which Cubs post-season collapse galls me more, 1984 or 2003, although I lean toward the former just because of Steve Garvey.   



I prefer the 2003 collapse, with Steve Bartman strolling into baseball lore

And Trevor Hoffman - reading a little about the HoF candidates yesterday I had no idea he was anywhere near those stats.  I haven't paid much attention to MLB since the 1994 debacle..



Gd5150

Quote from: Paper*Boy on January 06, 2015, 08:23:08 PM
I prefer the 2003 collapse, with Steve Bartman strolling into baseball lore


The ESPN 30 for 30 on the Bartman game is great!

After this young girl's favorite player, Brett Lawrie, was traded to the A's, this young fan was video taped crying on youtube.
The A's sent her a bunch of gifts to try and make her a fan.
Lawrie was not video taped crying on youtube.
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When I was a kid, the star baseball players seemed so much bigger than life, and the same with the legendary players who came before them.  After those players retired and joined the others at Cooperstown, it seems like most (~80%?) of the players inducted since (those whose careers started after, say, 1980) didn't quite measure up. 

Does that thought cross anyone else's mind when the annual inductees are announced? 

Is this just a case of seeing the players through my eyes as a baseball loving kid, vs seeing the modern players from the perspective of an adult?

Or have longer seasons, more rounds of playoffs, longevity due to better health and training, and the DH position - and staying around in order to chase certain records - allowed the very good but not great players to amass career records that automatically get them into the HoF (for example Eddie Murray and his 504 HRs over a 20 year career)?

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Paper*Boy on January 11, 2015, 04:01:20 PM

Or have longer seasons, more rounds of playoffs, longevity due to better health and training, and the DH position - and staying around in order to chase certain records - allowed the very good but not great players to amass career records that automatically get them into the HoF (for example Eddie Murray and his 504 HRs over a 20 year career)?


    Eddie Murray is a perfect example of a numbers accumulator getting in the HOF because of 500 HRs/3000 hits. Played from 1977-97. Hit 30 homers once after 1985, in the live ball year of 1987(30). Had one 100 RBI season after 1985, having 100 RBI for an awful '93 Mets team. Made 2 All Star teams after 1985( '86 and '91) and basically was a .260/20/80 guy for the second half of his career. But he reached those "milestones" that writers used to rubber stamp for HOF induction.


     A Hall of Famer...yeah, but not an elite player for most of his career.

World Series hero Madison Bumgarner showed up and is ready for Spring Training

Is that the hair you'll be going with this year Maddy?

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