Official MLB Discussion Thread

[GatorBait19]

I admit they have skill and talent. BUT seriously 30 Million dollars a year?

 

My biggest problem with this is they do what they do because they love it and they are good at it. What about the millions of workers who are doing manual labor and getting paid crap for it?

 

 

All the people struggling to survive and these people make MILLIONS of dollars a year ?

 

Granted they go through a lot physically, but I don't think they are worth 30 MILLION dollars a year.

 

I am not just saying this about baseball players either.

 

Actors, sports players, and all that kind of stuff.

 

I'll have to find the article, but I did read somewhere once that within four years of retirement, players (all four big sports) are bankrupt

[moon_lit_tears]

I'll have to find the article, but I did read somewhere once that within four years of retirement, players (all four big sports) are bankrupt

 

 

Kind of sad isn't it?

[CQI13]

Why sad? The fact that they're not smart enough to manage that is nothing for me to be sad over.

[GatorBait19]

Why sad? The fact that they're not smart enough to manage that is nothing for me to be sad over.

 

I agree.

 

I believe karma plays a part (espically players who hold out for huge contracts)

 

But at the same time, I remember talking to a business man once and he told me that the biggest problems with players is, their need to have top things and going into certain ventures to make more money and how it often times fails more then profits.

 

He told me if they would just take half the salary they made through their career and put it away ( so you make 10 mil through your career put 5 mil away) and let interest grow on it, you could live a nice life the rest of your life, your house would be paid off, you could get a new car every 5 years, you would live nicely

 

but the problem is players don't do this, they spend carelessly

[GatorBait19]

wow big Z to the pen.

 

this is truly interesting, he now his the highest RP and isn't even the closer, smart move? I don't know even with Lilly coming back this is still hard, you pretty much are giving up on him as a starter but not making him the closer. He's been a reliable starter even last year when he struggled he posted a 3.77 ERA which is about his avg. (3.56)

 

I guess the biggest thing I don't get is he's truly only had one bad game (the season opener) and besides that just pitched his best game giving up only 2 ER's over 6 innings

 

I just don't understand this move and persoanlly think they just want to get rid of him, either that or Sweet Lou is losing his mind

 

 

Edit: remember how I said Joe Maddon doesn't make sense sometimes, well tonight against the White Sox's Wade Davis is pitching a gem, and has 86 pitches through 6, but pulls him even though we are up 12-0, doesn't make sense to me, why not let him go into the 7 and see what happens...... oh god what if he gives up one runs but finishes the 7, oh my god, the horror

[BHK1978]

I agree, why over tax your bullpen which you will probably need the next day. I say probably because usually after a team has a blow out game, the next game is very close. So why waste your bullpen if your starter can go a little longer.

 

I also want to add that MLB is talking about realingment once again. From what I can gather, they want to put all of the clubs that they think are going to do good in an elite division, so that we have a sort of Soccer thing going. Where each season a team can move up or down from division. If this crap happens I don't think I will be able to watch my favorite sport again, because this is just stupid.

[Stennick]

They already have that. The only two teams you know are going to do good year in and year out are the Sox and the Yanks these teams are going to rock 150 mil salaries, their going to take their pick of the free agency so if your betting on a world series win these two have got to be in the top five every year.

 

I'm not saying their the only good teams but their the only two teams I know year in and year out for the last ten years are in contention of a world series not just the playoffs.

 

The Mets, the Cards, the Angels, even the Dodgers, Cubs, Rays, Tigers, Whitesox, Twins, A's their all really good teams and have been in the playoffs more years than not in the last decade but time has shown their all able to have that dirty word the Yanks don't have to worry about the dreaded "rebuilding" year. The dreaded "try out the rookies from the minors and see who sticks" year.

 

Realigning the divisions would just make it so good teams like the A's, Angels, Tigers, Twins, Rays that got a shot at the playoffs are snuffed out and you got teams that shouldn't be there squeaking in. I think as it stands every division has two teams that are more than capable of winning their division why screw with that.

[BHK1978]

One writer on Yahoo proposed that both leauges should go back to having just one division each. And have the top four teams in each league make the playoffs.

 

I like this idea much more than the soccer style idea. Hell I am not really that big of a fan of the wild card but I know it has to be there because of the amount of money involved. However, I sort of negates the regular season. I mean what is the point of playing a seaon for 162 games, when it does not matter.

 

You could win 100+ games and a team that wins 80+ games can beat you just because they got hot at the right time. Sorry for that little wild card rant, it is just that I have always hated the wild card.

[GatorBait19]

personally I think they should make it more travel friendly, but that's me

 

You have teams like Marlins playing Mets and Phil's and teams like Texas playing in the West.

 

It could be good for baseball but bad at the same time, a lot of New York and Boston player/fans live in Tampa, in return it helps in attendance for those some odd games

[BHK1978]

I agree and move the Pirates back to the NL East! It makes no sense what so ever to have them in the NL Central. They have natural rivals in the Mets and the Phillies so why not put them back where they belong.

[BHK1978]

Well technically BHK the Yankees have the most championships in history however they have what 27 championships out of a possible 107? That comes out to winning 25 percent of their perspective sports championships.

 

To where as the Montreal Canadians have 23 championships in only 92 seasons. Which brings them to 25 perecnt of their perspective sports championships as well.

 

The Celtics have won 17 championships in 62 years of the NBA Championship. That brings their championship percentage 27 percent of their prospective sports champoinships.

 

 

The Steelers have won 6 Super Bowls out of a possible 44 bringing their total to only 13 percent.

 

Thats just the "americanized" sports. So its easy to look at the Yankees who have the most championships but also have the most years active as a sports team as the greatest team in the history of sports but the only criteria we could use for this is championship wins percentages with a sample size of atleast 50 seasons I'd say that the Celtics have proven to be just as successful if not technically more successful than the Yankees. Not to mention the Canadians had dominated Hockey the same way the Yankees have dominated baseball.

 

Greatest baseball franchise of all time? Absolutely greatest sports franchise of all time? Their in the discussion but I wouldn't say their the clear cut winner. Once you factor in championship win percetanges, decades with championships, multiple year championship wins, strength of league, opponents, etc.

 

Okay I had a whole post written out saying how what I said might have been a bit of a bold statement. And Colt came in and brought up a good point, about how you can't really compare all of the sports.

 

And I talked about how the Celtics winning a title eight years in a row is something that I doubt will ever be done by any pro sports team again. However, the stupid site timed me out so I hope this will be all right.

 

There is one thing that I have to disagree with you on and that is saying the Steelers are the most dominate NFL team in the history of the league. That is just not true. In fact there are four teams that have more championships. Before the NFL/AFL merge, the Steelers were a bit of a joke. Sorry if this makes me come across as a jerk, as it is not my intention.

 

However, I hate the fact that nobody seems to think what happened before the Super Bowl era is important. The Packers are, championship wise, the greatest franchise in NFL history.

[tristram]

Okay I had a whole post written out saying how what I said might have been a bit of a bold statement. And Colt came in and brought up a good point, about how you can't really compare all of the sports.

 

And I talked about how the Celtics winning a title eight years in a row is something that I doubt will ever be done by any pro sports team again. However, the stupid site timed me out so I hope this will be all right.

 

There is one thing that I have to disagree with you on and that is saying the Steelers are the most dominate NFL team in the history of the league. That is just not true. In fact there are four teams that have more championships. Before the NFL/AFL merge, the Steelers were a bit of a joke. Sorry if this makes me come across as a jerk, as it is not my intention.

 

However, I hate the fact that nobody seems to think what happened before the Super Bowl era is important. The Packers are, championship wise, the greatest franchise in NFL history.

 

OTT: St George Dragons won 13 rugby league premierships on end.

[Stennick]

Yeah I kind of like that the NFL is the most "modern" of our sports. Meaning that its entire history can be traced back to our parents. To where as in baseball the stats and what not are so old that sometimes its hard to fully grasp how they played the game.

[GatorBait19]

I am so happy, the Rays have the best record in baseball and they offense, pitching, and defense are all clicking...... heck even pat burrell is hitting

[SHaynes23]

I went to the Cardinals game the other night, let me tell you, it's going to be hard for anybody to beat the Cardinals in a series if their starting pitching keeps up like this. I saw Jaime Garcia pitch the night I was there, he was our only question coming in and he won the 5th spot. He's tearing people up right now with an ERA right at 1.00. Then Penny has an ERA under 1. Wainwright and Carpenter are....well Waino and Carp. I don't see many people being able to match their pitching in a playoff series.

[CQI13]

It's still April. Let's see it hold up past the All-Star Break.

[Stennick]

Carp went seven innings pitched, TWO hits, and 8 K's. He's started out the season 4-0, meanwhile Wainwright is 4-1.

 

Wainwright - 4-1, 38 IP, (7.6 avg per start), 2.13 ERA, average of 5 hits per game.

 

Carp - 4-0, 2.84 ERA, 6 1/2 IP avg, 4 hit average per game,

 

In short with talk of Linceum and Cain, or any other one two rotation punch in baseball Wainwright and Carp deserve some respect. They came in 2 and 3 in Cy Young voting last year and this year they have picked up where they left off.

 

Meanwhile Rasmus is tearing the cover off the ball and Freese has finally found a stroke with 3 homeruns in this last homestand. Ryan's defense is sick, Schu should be finding his swing any time now.

[Remianen]

I went to the Cardinals game the other night, let me tell you, it's going to be hard for anybody to beat the Cardinals in a series if their starting pitching keeps up like this...

...

I don't see many people being able to match their pitching in a playoff series.

 

It's still April. Let's see it hold up past the All-Star Break.

 

I am honestly flabbergasted whenever I see/hear baseball fans making postseason declarations....at the beginning of a season.

 

And Stennick, wanting Cardinals pitchers to be considered equal to Lincecum and Cain is short-sighted and meaningless. If given the choice, I'd guarantee you Waino and Carp would rather be considered equal to Sabathia and Burnett than Lincecum and Cain. Do I need to explain why?

 

Let people run their mouths about how great Lincecum and Cain are in the regular season. Regular season means (richard) when all is said and done, especially if that's all you have to show for a season. Only the hardware with the metal flags (and the jewelry that results from the hardware with the metal flags) matters. Lincecum and Cain can play footsie with the Cy Young while everyone else hoists hardware with metal flags.

 

If at the end, Lincecum and Cain have Cy Youngs and Wainwright and Carpenter have rings, who got the better of that deal?

 

Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of either Lincecum or Cain simply due to their passivity when it comes to their ballclubs. A Schilling or a Johnson would take the Giants to task for half-assing it and not even trying to build a bonafide contender, despite having two of the top five young arms in the game on the roster. Winners want to win, when it counts most. They don't like their teams conceding defeat before the season even starts. Brian Sabean is a coward and the Seattle Mariners make the Giants look all the worse (100-loss season to bonafide playoff contender in two years).

[Stennick]

Well said actually and yeah every pitcher in the big leagues wants to be compared to those two. With Howards contract Pujols is enterting A Rod territory with his next contract.

[GatorBait19]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Stennick" data-cite="Stennick" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26724" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Carp went seven innings pitched, TWO hits, and 8 K's. He's started out the season 4-0, meanwhile Wainwright is 4-1. <p> </p><p> Wainwright - 4-1, 38 IP, (7.6 avg per start), 2.13 ERA, average of 5 hits per game. </p><p> </p><p> Carp - 4-0, 2.84 ERA, 6 1/2 IP avg, 4 hit average per game, </p><p> </p><p> In short with talk of Linceum and Cain, or any other one two rotation punch in baseball Wainwright and Carp deserve some respect. They came in 2 and 3 in Cy Young voting last year and this year they have picked up where they left off.</p><p> </p><p> Meanwhile Rasmus is tearing the cover off the ball and Freese has finally found a stroke with 3 homeruns in this last homestand. Ryan's defense is sick, Schu should be finding his swing any time now.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> lol i would have thrown in Penny and Garcia as well as they have pitched even better than those two lol</p><p> </p><p> but I believe that th Cards, Rays, and Yanks hold the top three rotations. the Red Sox have shown that you can have three top of the line starters but with out some run support and defense (that they said they fixed) it doesn't mean much, I don't care that Jacob and Cam are hurt, you should be able to find people who defense wise can hold over tell they get better.</p><p> </p><p> This is shaping up to be one of the best MLB seasons in awhile</p>

[SHaynes23]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Remianen" data-cite="Remianen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26724" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I am honestly flabbergasted whenever I see/hear baseball fans making postseason declarations....at the beginning of a season.<p> </p><p> And Stennick, wanting Cardinals pitchers to be considered equal to Lincecum and Cain is short-sighted and meaningless. If given the choice, I'd guarantee you Waino and Carp would rather be considered equal to Sabathia and Burnett than Lincecum and Cain. Do I need to explain why? <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> Let people run their mouths about how great Lincecum and Cain are in the regular season. Regular season means (richard) when all is said and done, especially if that's all you have to show for a season. Only the hardware with the metal flags (and the jewelry that results from the hardware with the metal flags) matters. Lincecum and Cain can play footsie with the Cy Young while everyone else hoists hardware with metal flags.</p><p> </p><p> If at the end, Lincecum and Cain have Cy Youngs and Wainwright and Carpenter have rings, who got the better of that deal?</p><p> </p><p> Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of either Lincecum or Cain simply due to their passivity when it comes to their ballclubs. A Schilling or a Johnson would take the Giants to task for half-assing it and not even trying to build a bonafide contender, despite having two of the top five young arms in the game on the roster. Winners want to win, when it counts most. They don't like their teams conceding defeat before the season even starts. Brian Sabean is a coward and the Seattle Mariners make the Giants look all the worse (100-loss season to bonafide playoff contender in two years).</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> In the first one I was talking about a season series, not a postseason. LaRussa's big philosophy is not huge streaks, but just make sure you get 2 of 3 from every series you play. With our pitchers going at the rate they are now, there isn't a good chance that a team will take many series from us throughout the year. And it's never too early to look forward to the playoffs, that's the ultimate goal, and that's what this years team is built for, a better playoff showing than they had last season.</p>

[GatorBait19]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="SHaynes23" data-cite="SHaynes23" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26724" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>In the first one I was talking about a season series, not a postseason. LaRussa's big philosophy is not huge streaks, but just make sure you get 2 of 3 from every series you play. With our pitchers going at the rate they are now, there isn't a good chance that a team will take many series from us throughout the year. And it's never too early to look forward to the playoffs, that's the ultimate goal, and that's what this years team is built for, a better playoff showing than they had last season.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> only thing that worries me about Carp is the arm, it's been hurt twice before and you always hold your breathe when he pitches hoping such a talented player doesn't get hurt again</p><p> </p><p> But Cards always seem to find a pitcher if one of theirs gets hurt, think of Jeff Weaver a couple years ago</p>

[The Final Countdown]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="GatorBait19" data-cite="GatorBait19" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26724" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> But Cards always seem to find a pitcher if one of theirs gets hurt, think of Jeff Weaver a couple years ago</p></div></blockquote><p> Heck, Carpenter himself kinda fits that description.</p>

[Stennick]

<p>Jeff Weaver, Joel Pinero, Brad Penny (so far), even guys like Jeff Suppan and Woody Williams performed above and beyond their average career stats for us. </p><p> </p><p>

Thats not to say we've not had our failures Mark Mulder was an expensive and huge one.</p>

[GatorBait19]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Stennick" data-cite="Stennick" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26724" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Jeff Weaver, Joel Pinero, Brad Penny (so far), even guys like Jeff Suppan and Woody Williams performed above and beyond their average career stats for us. <p> </p><p> Thats not to say we've not had our failures Mark Mulder was an expensive and huge one.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Mark's biggest thing is the thing that happens to all A's pitchers, they are used as race horses until they hit the 6 years and there arms have been used then they are casted off. Zito seems to be just hitting form again, Hudson has battled injuries as had Harden, and Mulder couldn't fight back from them</p><p> </p><p> A's are like the Dodgers of the 80-90's trading away top talent that ended up not really being that good of talent for better players (not saying those four pitcher were useless)</p><p> </p><p> Mark did nicely for you his first year if I remember right, until the injuries hit</p>