Baseball discussion thread

[TRB]

Hmm, they lost 16-3...looks like they're on midseason form already.

Now for the road part of that home-and-home.

[BonzoEqualsGoodStuff]

Even though I'm an A's fan so by default clearly can't stand Barroids, I feel bad for him. He's not even close to the only big slugger who's juiced, but he gets the most crap. Anyone remember Raffy Palmeiro? He was dangerously close to being the fourth member of the 3000 hit/500 home run club, he tested positive, and there was barely anything said. Sammy, Giambi, etc... It's also pretty obvious that a ton of the pitchers he's faced have been juicing, too.

I think people really underestimate the prevalence of performance enhancers in baseball. I know a guy who pitched for a season at a Pac Ten school a few years ago, and he said that a good half of his teammates were on something.

[solar]

Even though I'm an A's fan so by default clearly can't stand Barroids, I feel bad for him. He's not even close to the only big slugger who's juiced, but he gets the most crap. Anyone remember Raffy Palmeiro? He was dangerously close to being the fourth member of the 3000 hit/500 home run club, he tested positive, and there was barely anything said. Sammy, Giambi, etc... It's also pretty obvious that a ton of the pitchers he's faced have been juicing, too.

I think people really underestimate the prevalence of performance enhancers in baseball. I know a guy who pitched for a season at a Pac Ten school a few years ago, and he said that a good half of his teammates were on something.

For years, I had people who are very baseball savvy telling me, "There's no reason for pitchers to do 'roids." But what they failed to realize is that steroids can help any part of your body -- it's just how you tailor your lifting regime. In other words, pitchers aren't going to be doing a lot of upper body work with weights -- they're doing leg press, squats, dips....getting their lower body strong because that drive from the trunk is what causes pitchers to throw hard. It's a total fallacy to think the arm is what helps a pitcher throw 90-plus. It helps with movement, but if you use your shoulder/elbow too much in your motion, they're prone to blow out faster.

Look at Mark Prior, for instance. He's long been suspected of being a 'roids case, even back to USC (also the alma mater of one Mark McGwire). Anyway, the arm problems he has experienced, through baseball folks I've talked to, come from his lower body being almost too overclocked and his arm not being able to withstand the torque from his motion.

And I've said it for five years now, but the next thing -- and I almost guarantee Bonds was doing it -- is that players will begin abusing ADD drugs like Ritalin to help improve the concentration/focus at the plate. I asked a minor league scout about that last year, and he said he never heard anything about those being abused...then there was a study after the season that said the number of players with prescriptions for ADD drugs more than doubled this season.

It's like the coke use in the late 70s/early 80s, and this is why Congress has stepped into all of this. As much as they say it's for health purposes, it's also unregulated/non-taxed income for drug dealers.

[Mattmc1973]

Well, I went and stood in line at the Comerica Park box office today during lunch, and got pairs of tickets to 10 games.

Sun April 27 vs LA Angels

Mon May 5 vs Boston Red Sox

Sun May 25 vs Minn Twins

Mon June 9 vs Cleveland Indians

Sun June 15 vs LA Dodgers

Wed July 9 vs Cleveland Indians

Sun July 13 vs Minn Twins

Sun Aug 10 vs Oakland A's

Wed Aug 27 vs Cleveland Indians

Wed Sep 24 vs KC Royals

[Mattmc1973]

Article from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal entitled "Tigers Lineup Could Be One For The Ages"...

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7849040...ne-for-the-ages

[Electrophile]

As Matt asked me to post my blog link here, I decided to do it. A few words of warning though.....I don't tolerate blatant trolling, and neither do my regulars. Jason will rip you a new asshole if you try. Secondly, it's geared toward Yankees fans, so if you're so anti-Yankee, the thought of Derek Jeter being set on fire makes you happy, don't bother even clicking the link.

The greatest baseball blog on the internets

[Mattmc1973]

In the case of the Tigers and the Yankees, it'll come down to pitching. Both lineups should be able to score a ton of runs, but pitching and bullpen will be the key. The Tigers' bullpen is suspect, with Joel Zumaya out for 1/2 the season, and Todd Jones being, well, Todd Jones. As far as starting rotation, the Tigers will either be awesome or bad, probably no in-between. Verlander is solid, but then the questions begin...can Jeremy Bonderman get past his first-inning troubles, will Dontrelle Willis be revived by the change of scenery, at 43 does Kenny Rogers have anything left?

It's gonna be a dogfight in the Central with the Tigers and Indians, and you can never count out the Twins.

[Mattmc1973]

Quit beating around the bush. Are you a Braves fan? If so I hope they do well. Iim a long time Orioles fan. I know. Hate the Yankees. But who do you like? I know you like the Red Wings in Hockey, but who is your baseball team?

Spats, is that you?

[Rock Action]

GO GIANTS!!!!!

Now that they have the Bonds stigma off their back, maybe they can concentrate on winning the West!

[Electrophile]

Spats, is that you?

The dude knows what team I root for, he's being obtuse for comedy's sake and it ain't working.

Yes I do agree that for both teams it'll come down to pitching. We have rookies in the #3 and #4 slots, and I'm personally worried about their abilities to handle a full season's workload. They did good in the timeframe they were in last season, but that was what....half a season...maybe less?

[Dzldoc]

Well I'm a RED SOX fan!

I'll explain later, have to hit the sack.

*stepping out of the box from Liz's high inside fastball*

[Electrophile]

I have no problem with Red Sox fans, I know plenty of them. I have a problem with those who look down at fans of other teams and provided you're not one of them.....no fastballs.

[Hermit]

I have no problem with Red Sox fans, I know plenty of them. I have a problem with those who look down at fans of other teams and provided you're not one of them.....no fastballs.

yeah,.. cuz Yankees fans are renowned for how they respect, and

how well they treat, fans of opposing teams,.. right Yankee fan Liz?

[Electrophile]

yeah,.. cuz Yankees fans are renowned for how they respect, and

how well they treat, fans of opposing teams,.. right Yankee fan Liz?

Excuse me? I don't identify myself with those people and I don't appreciate you thinking I do. At least Yankees fans don't sell shirts outside Yankee Stadium saying "Ortiz has AIDS" although you can buy many outside Fenway Park that say "Jeter has AIDS". Isn't that nice for the children to see. Both fanbases have assholes. I don't like any of them. I've had shit thrown at me at Fenway Park, my dad has had stuff thrown at him at Yankee Stadium.

Don't even begin to paint the whole fanbase with the same brush.

[Electrophile]

My blog is up to #23 now. Yippee!

[Hermit]

Excuse me? I don't identify myself with those people and I don't appreciate you thinking I do. At least Yankees fans don't sell shirts outside Yankee Stadium saying "Ortiz has AIDS" although you can buy many outside Fenway Park that say "Jeter has AIDS". Isn't that nice for the children to see. Both fanbases have assholes. I don't like any of them. I've had shit thrown at me at Fenway Park, my dad has had stuff thrown at him at Yankee Stadium.

Don't even begin to paint the whole fanbase with the same brush.

Of course any shirt saying a player has AIDS is reprehensible. That's a no brainer. And yes, obviously both (if not all) team fanbases have a-holes; the Yankees fanbase has historically had more, that's all. Apparently you take great offence at the rich history of a-hole Yankees fans.. a history, I might add, that many Yankees fans seem to relish. Hey, afaic.. that's to your credit, babe!

[we'll keep this between us, okay? We won't tell any other Yanks

fans,.. lest they shun you for your respect of fans of other teams. ]

[Electrophile]

Of course any shirt saying a player has AIDS is reprehensible. That's a no brainer. And yes, obviously both (if not all) team fanbases have a-holes; the Yankees fanbase has historically had more, that's all. Apparently you take great offence at the rich history of a-hole Yankees fans.. a history, I might add, that many Yankees fans seem to relish. Hey, afaic.. that's to your credit, babe!

[we'll keep this between us, okay? We won't tell any other Yanks

fans,.. lest they shun you for your respect of fans of other teams. ]

I don't want to be lumped in with the people no one has respect for. Those people make the rest of us look bad and cause this kind of bullshit. The people you're talking about are in the minority and deserve no further attention than they've gotten.

BTW, I've been a fan for 15 years, most of my friends have been fans since they were born.....you don't know anything about our fanbase other than what the idiots show you, so I would ask you not to assume everyone is like that. What I hate more than anything is non-Yankees fans thinking they can wax philosophic about everyone and think they're right.

[Hermit]

I don't want to be lumped in with the people no one has respect for. Those people make the rest of us look bad and cause this kind of bullshit. The people you're talking about are in the minority and deserve no further attention than they've gotten.

BTW, I've been a fan for 15 years, most of my friends have been fans since they were born.....you don't know anything about our fanbase other than what the idiots show you, so I would ask you not to assume everyone is like that. What I hate more than anything is non-Yankees fans thinking they can wax philosophic about everyone and think they're right.

I've been a baseball fan for 37 years; I know plenty about Yankee fans.

You don't have to be one to know about em. Know whatta mean, pumpkin?

Granted, not every Yankee fan is an a-hole. That's a given. But by and large, Yankee fans.. especially those who hail from NYC.. are Yankee fans. We all know what that means,.. don't we, sweetums?

Example: Yankee fans tend to be really uptight.. and crabby.. and humorless.. particularly when it comes to Yankee fans being teased. In that regard, I'm glad to see you're not a typical Yankee fan, Liz.

Aw come on.. don't be upset, dear.

lighten up! erm,.. I mean..

fugetaboutit!

[solar]

Hey E-phile, what do you think: Is Ian Kennedy in or out of the rotation? Something tells me he'll be in, with Chamberlain in the bullpen. Kennedy's a little more mature and has better command of all his pitches, and Chamberlain already has shown he can pitch out of the pen (which is not an easy transition for a young starter). Regardless, those three guys they have will be a hell of a nucleus in years to come, once the dead weight (cough, Mussina, cough) departs.

[Mattmc1973]

Alright enough Yankee fan talk, we're going to chase Elizabeth out of this thread again. Let's talk about baseball, shall we?

[solar]

Alright enough Yankee fan talk, we're going to chase Elizabeth out of this thread again. Let's talk about baseball, shall we?

Hey, I have Kennedy as a minor leaguer in my fantasy league, matt! Ulterior motive -- cash is on the line, bro! Won a grand last year, I'd like to repeat!

[Mattmc1973]

^ Sure, Yankee talk, not Yankee fan talk.

[Electrophile]

Thanks for trying Matt, but my kind is appreciated in this thread.

[Mattmc1973]

Bah, who cares, stick around! We need knowledgeable fans for discussion once the season gets started!

May 5-11 is going to be HUGE here in Detroit. 4 games vs Boston, followed by 3 games vs Yankees. Big week! We're going to the first game against Boston, but the weekend series vs the Yankees is a tough ticket.

[Rock Action]

What? Nobody digs West Coast teams around here? Shit. I'm gonna take my ball and go home.