baseball again

[Han Solo]

ANy bets on Clemens getting the Cy Young this year?

[James Ko]

Randy Johnson also have a case too... he has a perfect game, lead the league in KO and if he keeps winning and lower his ERA he has just as good of a chance to win the CY Young.

[Meh]

Originally posted by Lady Zhuge
That's an understatement. Considering how badly the Cubs have been bombarded with injuries thus far this season, I'm almost thankful that they're where they are in the standings.
I'm looking forward to the St. Louis-Houston series this weekend. I hope they beat each other up and give the Cubbies a chance to move up.

How about the Pirates' Wilsons? They've both got very impressive batting averages more than a quarter of the way through the season. Who would have thunk it, eh?

Well, you do have Zambrano and Clement pitching like Prior/Wood, which really helped. Zambrano looks to be awesome if his arm doesn't fall off. I'm not sure Clement can keep up the pace. He might be due for some horrible outings like in the past. The problem for your Cubs is Corey Patterson. The guy looks absolutely clueless at the plate. I've never seen so many bad swings from a so-called star in a while. Heck, Roger Clemens looks better at the plate than Patterson right now.

Anyway, my Astros are stinking up the joint too. Pitchers aren't pitching well except for Clemens. And our offense manages to consistenly out-hit the opponent, but get outscored because they have no power with men on base.

[Lady Zhuge]

Originally posted by Meh
Well, you do have Zambrano and Clement pitching like Prior/Wood, which really helped.

That's true. I can't imagine where we would be right now without the consistency of Carlos and Matt so far.
I wish we would get a reliable closer in place, though. Every time Joe Borowski pitches, I can never relax until the final out is recorded. It kind of reminds me of Rod Beck with the amount of tightrope walking he always seems to be doing. He just doesn't have any overpowering stuff. Hawkins would be a good choice, but then the Cubs would be less a set-up man, which we can ill-afford right now with Remlinger still out of action.

Originally posted by Meh
The problem for your Cubs is Corey Patterson. The guy looks absolutely clueless at the plate. I've never seen so many bad swings from a so-called star in a while. Heck, Roger Clemens looks better at the plate than Patterson right now.

I agree. I'm not sure what Corey Patterson is attempting to accomplish with his swings. It's gotta be mainly psychological. I wish there was some way he could return to the form he was in last season before he got hurt. It just seems like he's always trying to do too much. He needs to understand that the game is not just about hitting homers.

Originally posted by Meh
Anyway, my Astros are stinking up the joint too. Pitchers aren't pitching well except for Clemens. And our offense manages to consistenly out-hit the opponent, but get outscored because they have no power with men on base.

Yeah, I'm rooting for the Astros today. They've just been getting served by the Cardinals in this series. At least you've got Oswalt going this afternoon.

[flyingfox2002]

Didn't REmlinger return a month ago? Frankly dusty waited way too long to replace Borowski with Hawkins.

Berkman should bat cleanup ahead of Kent. Ensburg should play everyday... although I heard he had a bad elbow, that's why 0 homers.

The Reds are incredible, they've been outscored by opponents this yr, yet they are in first. They win every gm by 3 or less it seems, that's why Graves almost has 30 saves already even though he's blown like 5 gms.

[Lady Zhuge]

Haha, yeah. I just realized that Remlinger came off the DL on the 25th of last month. I was out of commission that week. Now Borowski's the one on the DL, but better him than Remlinger.

[Meh]

I agree. I'm not sure what Corey Patterson is attempting to accomplish with his swings. It's gotta be mainly psychological. I wish there was some way he could return to the form he was in last season before he got hurt. It just seems like he's always trying to do too much. He needs to understand that the game is not just about hitting homers.

I'm not sure it's just psychological. Lee's having just a bad season at the plate, yet he only looks like a hitter in a slump. Patterson looks like someone without a clue. It seems now that last year was a fluke. That once pitchers saw that he swings at everything, they've stopped throwing strikes. If I were a Cubs fan, I'm hoping he finds his plate discipline eventually ala Sammy Sosa. Otherwise, he'd just be one of the countless super-prospects who have all the tools except for the all important batting-eye.

The Reds are incredible, they've been outscored by opponents this yr, yet they are in first. They win every gm by 3 or less it seems.

That's why I don't think they can survive. They've been extremely lucky so far cosidering their run-scored/run-allowed ratio. And it's unlikely the pitching can hold together for the entire season, not to mention Griffey. In the end, I still expect everything to come down to the Cubs and the Astros. They're definitely the most talented teams in the division. And eventually I'd expect that talent to win out over 162 games.

[Lady Zhuge]

Originally posted by Meh
I'm not sure it's just psychological. Lee's having just a bad season at the plate, yet he only looks like a hitter in a slump. Patterson looks like someone without a clue. It seems now that last year was a fluke. That once pitchers saw that he swings at everything, they've stopped throwing strikes. If I were a Cubs fan, I'm hoping he finds his plate discipline eventually ala Sammy Sosa. Otherwise, he'd just be one of the countless super-prospects who have all the tools except for the all important batting-eye.

I don't think it's just psychological, but I'm of the opinion that that's a major factor. Having been on such a roll last year 'til he got injured must have had more than just a physical impact. I really hope that Patterson is not a fluke and right now I think it's still way too early to make that call. Derek Lee is notorious for getting off to slow starts. However, we're a third of the way through the season already, so he'd better pick it up.

[James Ko]

Wonder if Astro is goign to get sweep by Mariners... wonder if Clemens will finally loose tomorrow against the worst team in AL.

Ichiro is a hitting machine but no one is hitting him in...

[Meh]

Originally posted by Lady Zhuge
I don't think it's just psychological, but I'm of the opinion that that's a major factor. Having been on such a roll last year 'til he got injured must have had more than just a physical impact. I really hope that Patterson is not a fluke and right now I think it's still way too early to make that call. Derek Lee is notorious for getting off to slow starts. However, we're a third of the way through the season already, so he'd better pick it up.

The thing about Patterson is that he's always been considered to have bad plate discipline. So this is not something new. Even last year, when Patterson was playing well, he did not hit for a high percentage. Nor did he draw many walks. His production came mostly from his power. That's why I don't think it's wrong to call last year a fluke. IMO, if he does work hard with a batting coach and improves his judgement at the plate, then it constitute as a jump forward, not returning to norm.

I don't really worry about Lee, since he's at his prime in terms of age, and has a track record of solid hitting numbers over the years. Although if I were a Cubs fan, I might be annoyed at how well Heep-Soi Choi is doing in Florida. It's like they basically switched similar players, except the Cubs are paying a lot more money after the deal.

Wonder if Astro is goign to get sweep by Mariners... wonder if Clemens will finally loose tomorrow against the worst team in AL.

If the Astros manage to lose all 3 against the Mariners, I just might get pissed enough to stop watching them. There's no way Clemens loses tonight. The only reason the Mariners managed to score last night was because we had Duckworth on the mound. The difference between Duckworth and Clemens is like... well, it's like the difference between Duckworth and Clemens.

[flyingfox2002]

GM's and scouts should pay more attention to plate discipline. Guys like Soriano who can maintain high production without at least decent plate discipline are rare.

Choi was always capable of drawing walks, so I liked his chances in FLA. It's just a matter of FLA being smart and stealing a good player from a team that doesn't value him.

Btw, I realize i said Rem came back a month ago, I meant to say a week ago. I guess I shd doublecheck my posts, making typos left and right hehe. Posting from work, rushing.

Hey, Ken Harvey, Mooo Vaughn Jr. himself, is hitting around .380. But he hurt his wrist on SUN, so a slump could be coming.

[Lady Zhuge]

Originally posted by Meh
The thing about Patterson is that he's always been considered to have bad plate discipline. So this is not something new. Even last year, when Patterson was playing well, he did not hit for a high percentage. Nor did he draw many walks. His production came mostly from his power. That's why I don't think it's wrong to call last year a fluke. IMO, if he does work hard with a batting coach and improves his judgement at the plate, then it constitute as a jump forward, not returning to norm.

Yeah, plate discipline is not exactly Corey's strong area. However, I believe that he did hit around .300 last year before he got injured. I guess you can call last year a fluke, since Corey hasn't done much thus far this season to prove otherwise.

Originally posted by Meh
I don't really worry about Lee, since he's at his prime in terms of age, and has a track record of solid hitting numbers over the years. Although if I were a Cubs fan, I might be annoyed at how well Heep-Soi Choi is doing in Florida. It's like they basically switched similar players, except the Cubs are paying a lot more money after the deal.

I guess the Cubs just weren't willing to continue being patient with Choi. I remember when we got rid of Grace to "make room" for the big guy.

[Meh]

Looks like the Mariners hitters have finally reverted back to their normal selves. Two straight shutouts... I don't think the Mariners fans(hey Yon!) are feeling too good right now. This team got old REALLY fast. The last time I was seeing Boone, Martinez, Ichiro! and Olerud, they were actually awesome.

Looks like Prior got shelled today. Is there something physically wrong with him still? As much as I want Cubs to lose, it would suck if Prior gets screwed because they brought him back too early. The guy looked terrible out there against the Pujol-less Cards. That fastball seemed to have faltered at times.

[Lady Zhuge]

I was at work and didn't get to see what exactly happened yesterday. All I heard during my lunch break on the Cardinals radio network was that Mark Prior had just given up a homer to Rolen. The announcer was so damn hard on him, dissing his fastball and all. I'm hoping that Mark's strong first game back against the Pirates was not just adrenaline-driven and that he is fully recovered. If anything is discovered to be amiss with his health, I would hope that the Cubs would look at the long run and not try to cover it up or push him too hard.
In any case, we won the game today and totally shelled the Cards.

[flyingfox2002]

Prior was dominant in his first gm back, so I would just chalk it up as a bad day unless he gets shelled next time out.

Hey, my pick of Greinke for AL ROY lookin' good! (Even though picking KC to win the Central was dumb... oh well I knew it was a long shot)

And don't look now... but A's on top! Yeah! Billy Beane love train, c'mon!

Let's see... I picked OAK KC NYY and BOS (WC), and SD, CHN, PHI and HOU (WC)... I might actually do better in the AL then NL.

My fantasy team's 9th out of 16 teams... Oy vey I really messed up the draft this yr. I picked Klesko, Hinske, Millwood, Kearns, etc. Simply awful. At least I get a higher pick next season... I picked last this yr cuz I won last yr... it screwed me up a bit.

[Meh]

I was at work and didn't get to see what exactly happened yesterday. All I heard during my lunch break on the Cardinals radio network was that Mark Prior had just given up a homer to Rolen. The announcer was so damn hard on him, dissing his fastball and all. I'm hoping that Mark's strong first game back against the Pirates was not just adrenaline-driven and that he is fully recovered. If anything is discovered to be amiss with his health, I would hope that the Cubs would look at the long run and not try to cover it up or push him too hard.

Well, the announcer should be dissing Prior, because he did look bad. His fastball just wasn't blowing by hitters the way it should. It's not so much that he got lit up, which happens to everyone when the location isn't good. But that his pitches looked ordinary. Not your typical "I had a bad day" type of an outing.

Well, they haven't said anything so far, so I'm guessing there's nothing wrong with him physically.

[James Ko]

Originally posted by Meh
Looks like the Mariners hitters have finally reverted back to their normal selves. Two straight shutouts... I don't think the Mariners fans(hey Yon!) are feeling too good right now. This team got old REALLY fast. The last time I was seeing Boone, Martinez, Ichiro! and Olerud, they were actually awesome.

Ya I remember visiting Safeco field and see them live once... and they would be hitting machine.. but now either they are getting old or they are just not good anymore... beside Ichiro who still gets the hits but no one driving him home.

[Lady Zhuge]

Originally posted by Meh
Well, the announcer should be dissing Prior, because he did look bad. His fastball just wasn't blowing by hitters the way it should. It's not so much that he got lit up, which happens to everyone when the location isn't good. But that his pitches looked ordinary. Not your typical "I had a bad day" type of an outing.

Uh, but the analogies the announcer used were atrocious and uncalled for. It's not like Cardinal pitchers have never had bad outtings before. Let's also not forget that this is a guy who just came off the DL quite recently and might be in line for Tommy John surgery sometime in the future.

[flyingfox2002]

It was bound to happen to the M's sooner or later the way the team is organized. Edgar is old, finally age has caught up to him. Boone is off the juice and reverting to his pre-SEA days. Nothing annoyed me more than watch friggin Boone launch 30+ homers on steroids. Aurilia just sucks, it was a dumb move (check out what Carlos Guillen is doing in DET LOL). Olerud is over the hill too. They have 2 decent hitters left - Ichiro and Ibanez. Boone probably will still break 20 homers, but with a .250ish BA. Last place team.

The pitching should be better. Pineiro should improve. Moyer is Moyer. And if Garcia isn't dealt, then that rotation will be pretty dangerous for contenders to go up against down the stretch.

Everyone, hop on the Billy Beane love train. Go A'ssssssssss!!! Theo Epstein's cool too. Go Soxxxxxxxxx! F the Yankz.

[James Ko]

A's have a deadly team too... i didn;'t even know Karros is over there now... when he was a dodger I thought he was underated.
and too bad Chavez is hurt... but they have the best 3 young pitchers in the league... at least that is what i think but most would say Prior and Wood and the cubs have better young pitcher.

Anyone watch the kid from Royals... forgot his name... he does look like a kid out there but man can he pitch.