American League Baseball

Originally posted by badsymbiote
I see that your ared issatisfied with the Angels' performance of late, so I want to offer a defense or two to make you feel better. #1. Interleague play is partly to blame-it's more difficult to face a team you may face only once or twice a decade. # 2. Reintegrating all the players on the DL into the active rosters is always a m-effer. 3 And #3. Oakland, Anaheim and Texas are so competitive--I won't even mention the Mariners in the same group as the above. If, at the start of July, you're down by 12 games or more, then screw you. You don't deserve to be mentioned with the true contenders. I'm not saying the M's can't make up 12 games, because I've seen them do it in the span of a month. I'm saying that it isn't bloody likely--especially the way the they're being mismanaged and disassembled.
Oh, yes--back to Anaheim. The ALwest is so tight, and there's alot of great ball being played--so don't worry about your guys...they'll get it together. The last 2 or 3 years the Halos are my biggest "respected foe" in the west, replacing Oakland, whom I feared greatly until the end of 2001. But, the way the A's are pitching--especially Mulder, we all have cause for concern.

It's nice to see that both the A's and The Halos are tied for second place. Texas has slow down a bit, but still look menacing and tough. Sweeping the Jays was a sign of confidence for the bullpen. It seems that Bartolo is not having a good year or not getting used to the new team. I might take awhile till Bud Black and Bartolo can develop better communication.

I'm almost ready for the ASG. It was announced this morning that Clemmens will start for the NL. Mulder will start for the AL. The second half of the season is on it's way. If the race in the AL West keeps up is going to be an interesting who ends up in first place.

well they put together a pricey free agent team that fell apart after that it was a stupid idea because you dont build fan support with a team of free agents

tejada won? would of thought.. even broke the record

Originally posted by badsymbiote
Man, do I love baseball, and we're knee-deep in it. Even though there are a ton of distractions with nba and hockey playoffs, baseball always takes a backseat this time of year.
Time to sound off, baseball fans. I want to know who your favorite AL teams are. Do you have a NL fave as well? I'd love to hear you talk about your favorite pitchers or position players, the increasing number of japanese and other asian players entering the u.s. market and their impact, which division features the toughest or tightest competition--you know, that sort of thing. Anything related to baseball, but especially AmericanLeague stuff. How do you feel about the designated hitter? Interleague play? Is the luxury tax an acceptable alternative to a salary cap?
I won't tell you not to whine about A-rods salary, but if you're gonna talk about that stuff with me, you'd better know your stuff. I also don't give a rip about Barry Bonds HR record, unless you want to also discuss how the improvements in equipment, facilities, and the 162 game season factor into the increased no. of players able to hit HRs--I also don't mind getting into the use of steroids and corked bats...
So long as it's baseball, it's all good.

I used to love baseball and football now I dont care for them anymore.Baseball because all these owners dont give a crap about tradition.tearing down old historic ballparks.the new ballparks for the detroit tigers and chicago white sox suck.Plus,free agency is the worst thing to ever happen to baseball because the days od players playing the game for the love of the game are gone now,they just play it for the love of the money,they have no loyalty to their hometown team that drafted them and just go where the money is now.the days of players sticking with just one team their whole career is over with.

The Kansas city royals are my favorite american league team.They got the most beautiful ballpark in the majors.The Chicagoe cubs are my favorite in the national League.oh man my heart was broken last year when they failed to advance to the world series when they were so close. 🙁 I'd say the nationale league east is probably the toughest competition right now.

I like the dh.Its a good thing for the american league.Pitchers cant hit anyways and theres always that danger they could get hurt while running the bases and also it has extended the careers of many players who would not have been able to continue without it such as Hal mc rae and harold reynolds amongst others.As long as they keep it so that the pitcher in NL hits then I like the DH.I hope the DH is here to stay,I dont want it to leave.Interleague play should have happened decades ago,they were stupid to wait so long for that. 😠 No the luxury box is not an acceptable alternative to a salary cap,its a joke.its clear that as long as you have the highest payroll in baseball you will always have the advantage over other teams.the game is going to destroy itself if they dont do things like they have it set up in the NFL.

as far as BARRY BONDS? the message is clear,you go out an do drugs,you are going to be able to hit many many homeruns.that guys should be banned from baseball.pitchers should be throwing at his face the way he shows them up when he hits a home run.He's only the hitter he is because of lack of good pitching these days.if he was hitting in the days of Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver,he would not be the hitter he is.

Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove
How's the stadium? it looks nice on Tv.

Also hears another question what baseball stadiums have people been to?

Heres the stadiums ive been to

Network Coliseum A's- it's okay but since it's also a football stadium the seats are far away from the field and you always have to watch out for some of the left over Raider Nation freaks.

White Sox- I don't remember much about the stadium except it was kinda ugly.

Me and my dad took a baseball trip about two years ago to Boston, New York and Seattle.

Fenway- I have a little story behind this, we stayed at Boston for about 4 days the first 3 days had perfect weather and of course on the fourth day when we had tickets it was like a typhoon outside. The rain was off and on so they weren't sure if they were going to play, so they turn a game on the big screen and of course it's Yankees v Devil Rays and on every strike or out the Boston faithful cheered and every ball or hit they would boo. They canceled the game and then we found out that we had the tickets for the day before's game where the weather was perfect. I loved Fenway for the history but my dad thought it was a dump which was true but it was a historic dump. On a side note if you ever bring a kid to Fenway don't go in the bathroom because there's a lot of Jeter sucks ****, Jeter's a ***** and Yankee's suck on the walls.

Yankee's stadium- You know everybody says that Yankee stadium has a aura about it but I felt more aura in Fenway than I did in Yankee stadium. I guess one of the reason was it was 90 to 95 but New York had huge humidity so it felt like 110. The game I went to Jime Thome hit his 7th or 8th consecutive home run.

Safco Mariners- I like the stadium very cossy, and my dad loves it altougth there's nothing that really stands out.

SBC Giants- I must say that im lucky because my first game ever to a Giants game was Barry's 600 home run and the seats were sick. They were five to six rows behind the Pirates dougout. I have pics so maybe I can scan them.

thats what I have heard about the yankees staduim that its not all that impressive of an old stadium unlike fenway park which I have been to,great stadium,lot of nostalgia,the seats are kinda uncomfortable though being so close together.yeah I was there for a yankees game and I heard the sox fans yelling out JETER SUCKS.

Originally posted by Mr Parker
as far as BARRY BONDS? the message is clear,you go out an do drugs,you are going to be able to hit many many homeruns.that guys should be banned from baseball.pitchers should be throwing at his face the way he shows them up when he hits a home run.He's only the hitter he is because of lack of good pitching these days.if he was hitting in the days of Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver,he would not be the hitter he is.

wow are you mistaken.. mainly the pitching part.. randy johnson, clemons, chilling, pedro, wood, prior, mulder... shall i continue? there are great pitchers.. and they would pitch to bonds more if he wasnt that good.. look there isnt proff he does steriods so im not gonna call him guilty.. and even if he did... so do others and they arnt half the hitter he is how do you explain that? he has the highest BA in the NL (im pretty sure atleast) and hes the best power hitter.. its because he has a great swing fast bat speed and he sees the pitch better then almost anyone.. steriods may help him build strength to hit it a little farther but when you hit it as far as he does you can take 50 feet off most of his HR and they would still be out... all the old greats even said they dont think steriods make a big difference...

lets look at some greats like say Hank Aaron:
G: 3,298
AB: 12,364
BB: 1,402
SB: 240
HR: 755
OPB: .379

Bonds:
G: 2,646
AB: 8,914
BB: 2,201
SB: 503
HR: 681
OBP: .439

the main point here is look what bonds accomplished in less time then aaron did

and currently this season:
Ranks 1st in NL in BA (.365) • Ranks 3rd in NL in HR (23)
• Ranks 3rd in NL in R (71) • Ranks 1st in NL in BB (131)
• Ranks 1st in NL in OBP (.628) • Ranks 1st in NL in SLG (.794)
• Ranks 1st in NL in OPS (1.421)

this is just a few numbers.. but seriously dont talk down bonds with random insults when his number and performance speak for themselves.. he is great and will go down as one of the best

Originally posted by Mr Parker
I used to love baseball and football now I dont care for them anymore.Baseball because all these owners dont give a crap about tradition.tearing down old historic ballparks.the new ballparks for the detroit tigers and chicago white sox suck.Plus,free agency is the worst thing to ever happen to baseball because the days od players playing the game for the love of the game are gone now,they just play it for the love of the money,they have no loyalty to their hometown team that drafted them and just go where the money is now.the days of players sticking with just one team their whole career is over with.

The Kansas city royals are my favorite american league team.They got the most beautiful ballpark in the majors.The Chicagoe cubs are my favorite in the national League.oh man my heart was broken last year when they failed to advance to the world series when they were so close. 🙁 I'd say the nationale league east is probably the toughest competition right now.

I like the dh.Its a good thing for the american league.Pitchers cant hit anyways and theres always that danger they could get hurt while running the bases and also it has extended the careers of many players who would not have been able to continue without it such as Hal mc rae and harold reynolds amongst others.As long as they keep it so that the pitcher in NL hits then I like the DH.I hope the DH is here to stay,I dont want it to leave.Interleague play should have happened decades ago,they were stupid to wait so long for that. 😠 No the luxury box is not an acceptable alternative to a salary cap,its a joke.its clear that as long as you have the highest payroll in baseball you will always have the advantage over other teams.the game is going to destroy itself if they dont do things like they have it set up in the NFL.

as far as BARRY BONDS? the message is clear,you go out an do drugs,you are going to be able to hit many many homeruns.that guys should be banned from baseball.pitchers should be throwing at his face the way he shows them up when he hits a home run.He's only the hitter he is because of lack of good pitching these days.if he was hitting in the days of Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver,he would not be the hitter he is.

Welcome to the baseball thread, the more opinions the better and there a couple of things I disagree with you.

No offense but I get absolutely sick of people saying that ballplayers are all about money. Is it their fault the industry is 100 times bigger than in the 1950 now its more of a business. Their are athletes like Mondesi that are all about the money but most players seem to be nice guys that play their guts out. And really im my opinion theres nothing wrong with wanting more money as long as you show up to perform at your best capabilities.

On the DH rule. I think its fine but Ive always prefered no DH because with the pitcher batting it puts a lot more thought into the game for the manager like sending runners, bunting, when to take the starting pitcher out of the game all dictated when the pitcher is coming up.

On Bonds, wheither hes on steroids or not, steroids make your strength go up but it doesn't make you a greater hitter. As bigMac said in a recent interview hand eye coordination is the most important thing. Im sorry but your comment on hes only the hitter he is because of worser pitching is stupid.
Ive seen him hit homers off of Gange the nastiest pitcher in the game who makes everyone else look like tee ball hitters. Ive seen him own Randy Johnson arguably the best left hander ever. I would love to see Nolan Ryan in his prime face Bonds because Bonds would own Ryan like he would own any other great pitchers in history. Barry's the only hitter that I have ever seen that has an advantage over the pitcher in that with the exception of the slider down and away he can hit any pitch anywhere in the strike zone at any speed or movement. If you hate Barry I cant blame you hes not the most likable guy in the world but dont say he isnt as good because of bad pitching because he is as perfect as a hitter can get.

Ooh, this irks me I just typed over a page of responses, and my browser closed without posting it. I'm mad now, 'cuz I'd managed to respond to almost every one of you. Damn.
First, thanks forumcrew--it was you who dug this thread back out, right?

Since I'm mad that I lost all that stuff, and I don't want to just pick one or two of your posts out of all the others, I'll just do this instead. I see that I'm not the only one who hates Bud Selig, so I want to ask.........

What is the one (or 2, or how ever many) thing that Selig has done that has most incensed you as a fan of baseball?
Since we're fairly spread out geographically, I'm interested to see what everyone mentions.

I guess for me, it would be his complete hypocrisy--allowing new ballpark after new ballpark to be built, and approving name changes as often as they occur due to changes in sponsorship, while waxing poetic about the upholding the glory and tradition of baseball in America. The same thing could be said of him when he approved the deal with Sony to advertise Spidey 2 on ML bases, then yanking it immediately when people criticized his decision, and citing that he really had to back out because no one was more passionate about tradition then he.
Then there was that All-Star game a few years ago...

Originally posted by badsymbiote
Ooh, this irks me I just typed over a page of responses, and my browser closed without posting it. I'm mad now, 'cuz I'd managed to respond to almost every one of you. Damn.
First, thanks forumcrew--it was you who dug this thread back out, right?

Since I'm mad that I lost all that stuff, and I don't want to just pick one or two of your posts out of all the others, I'll just do this instead. I see that I'm not the only one who hates Bud Selig, so I want to ask.........

What is the one (or 2, or how ever many) thing that Selig has done that has most incensed you as a fan of baseball?
Since we're fairly spread out geographically, I'm interested to see what everyone mentions.

I guess for me, it would be his complete hypocrisy--allowing new ballpark after new ballpark to be built, and approving name changes as often as they occur due to changes in sponsorship, while waxing poetic about the upholding the glory and tradition of baseball in America. The same thing could be said of him when he approved the deal with Sony to advertise Spidey 2 on ML bases, then yanking it immediately when people criticized his decision, and citing that he really had to back out because no one was more passionate about tradition then he.
Then there was that All-Star game a few years ago...

You know, Bud had said and done some dumb things, but I think he has done more good than bad for the game.

This isnt aimed at you badsymbiote but I get sick when theres something wrong with baseball, like a work stoppage or the Yankees having almost a 200 payroll, it is always Buds fault from the general public but when baseball going good youll never hear his name by anyone.

Hey, man, I have no problem with that, and you have totally earned my respect anyway, so no big woop. And I agree that it's too easy to blame "the man" for everything that we, as fans don't like about the game. But frankly, I still harbor alot of resentment about his proposal for contraction. To want to eliminate a couple of teams is one thing, but to specifically mention which teams you consider to be on the proverbial chopping block just reeks of childish ultimatum. Here--we create the Marlins--they have a couple mediocre seasons, then they win a pennant, then a couple more lame seasons, and after they are targeted for contraction, they manage to win another one. The Canadian teams are as big an issue for me. I hate the fact that the Expos and Blue Jays were singled out too. He shouldn'ta mentioned any names--it was just pointless and tasteless. Now the issue of contraction is all but dead.

Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove
but when baseball going good youll never hear his name by anyone.

this is true with anything though not just baseball

And that's just how I prefer it. No news is good news.

this is a game some of the guys on espn do im sure some of you have seen it..

over/under

simply stat whether you think the player or team will end the season over or under the number ill list a few we can start with:

Bonds 50 homeruns
Clemons 20 Wins
Rollen 150 RBIs
Pudge .350 BA

i say.. under cause of walks and he only hit 42 last year when they still kinda pitched to him
under or maybe right at 20 astros have not been playing well laitly
rollen over the cardinals are great this year and a ton of great hitters... i think they stay hot all season
Pudge...over if he stays 100% but catching everyday is very tiring (i used to do it) hes hitting .367 now so hopefully he can sustain it.. tigers winning games?! its a strange season

under
under
over
over

Under - Bonds wont get enough pitches so he will probably be around 40.

Over

Under- he might get their but I hate the Cards so im hoping he slumps.

Over

under
over
over
over...and i'm gonna say the tigers will make the playoffs this year and it will be about time 😱

as for selig...i'm not a fan of his but the thing that really annoys me is how he caters to the big market teams like the yankees and sox plus it bothered me when he tried to get rid of the teams that were makin any profits like the marlins and expos but made sure that the brewers stayed around coz his daughter owns the team..any other thing is him flirting with pete rose...put him back in baseball or dont (i personally think he shouldnt be)...and he bugs me cause...ya know what i could go on all night but i'm gonna quit while i'm ahead

did anyone see the cubs/cards game last night...that game was awesome.... who the hell is zambrino to go lou pinella on edmonds like that? 1st he beams him than edmonds hits a home run and he was talkin shit to edmonds while edmonds was roundin 3rd than he strikes out edmonds and talks more shit but than rolen took him deep that was classic but next time edmonds was up he beamed him again and went straight to showers he didnt even stick around to see if there was gonna be a fight.....i thought for sure there was gonna be a bench clearer

i watched the beginning but then the phillies came on so i watch them. i saw the highlights though.

Originally posted by wuTa
did anyone see the cubs/cards game last night...that game was awesome.... who the hell is zambrino to go lou pinella on edmonds like that? 1st he beams him than edmonds hits a home run and he was talkin shit to edmonds while edmonds was roundin 3rd than he strikes out edmonds and talks more shit but than rolen took him deep that was classic but next time edmonds was up he beamed him again and went straight to showers he didnt even stick around to see if there was gonna be a fight.....i thought for sure there was gonna be a bench clearer

I saw most of it too, good stuff. I just wonder what Edmonds did to piss Zambrino off so bad because I didnt see anything.

cards cubs good again pujols 3 home runs..

go ichiro 4 for 5 with 4 SB even though the M's still lost.. but it was respectable considering it was vs boston