Comments on: And That Happened: Monday’s scores and highlights

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:12:39 +0000

Cuddyer will probably never pitch again, but I bet that he had fun while it lasted.

By: feartherallythong

feartherallythong — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:38:46 +0000

Jonny,
You should hear the Bay Area sports radio callers – “We will surely beat the Phils in the NLCS, because we beat their starters last year!”. This is followed by a 10-second pause, whilst the radio show host collects himself, goes to his happy place – then patiently explains to the hapless callers how just because we beat 3 excellent starters last year is no actual guarantee of victory this time.

How about let’s get there first, then see what happens. Pretty sure that’s why they play the games – and btw this weekend’s series should be fun!

By: The Dangerous Mabry

The Dangerous Mabry — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:55:57 +0000

I was replying to the “Every couple of months one of the aces has their bad game” statement, though it didn’t come across clearly since the reply was so far down the page. The point was simply that Cliff hasn’t been the guy you could count on who just had his big outlier game. He’s given up 5 runs or more in 20% of his starts this season, and while on the whole he’s certainly been an asset (especially during his epic June) it’s not right to pretend he’s been Mr Reliable. Halladay (one 5+ run outing) and Hamels (2 5+ run outings, both against the Mets) have fit the mold of “a bad game once in a blue moon”, but Lee hasn’t quite been that guy.

On another note, is Hamels vs the Mets just a small sample size fluke, or is it possible they’ve noticed something that the rest of the league hasn’t seen? He did have a 7 inning, 2 run outing against them in between the two clunkers, so at the very least they don’t have him completely figured out, but he’s been so good against the rest of the league that it at least raises the question.

By: wlschneider09

wlschneider09 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:50:27 +0000

Besides, Cuddy is only good for four shutout innings against the M’s

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:01:01 +0000

In front of 11,000 fans who basically napped through the first 6 innings, the A’s pulled off one of their best wins of the season. The game started off like an ordinary A’s game, with the A’s behind 4-2 after 5. We’re kind of used to the opposition bullpen slamming the door at that point, but this time, it didn’t happen, it was the A’s bullpen doing the slamming, allowing no runs in the final 4 innings.

And for one glorious evening, the A’s offense played within itself, getting a walk here and a double there, 10 hits and 7 walks total, one of the hits a Pennington homerun. And despite the obligatory 2 errors by the A’s, the strategy of pitching around Longoria paid off as Joyce, Upton, and Kotchman followed him in the lineup by doing nothing. Jackson, DeJesus and Willingham we’re all in full-on “trade me now” mode, with Crisp playing hard in an effort to find a better situation.

Maybe the A’s should play all their games right before the trade deadline.

And Matsui was named AL layer of the Week. It’s almost too much goodness.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:46:07 +0000

Everyone’s streaky, but the hot streaks are as meaningful as the cold. You find out more about a player by looking at larger samples, not excising samples.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:41:28 +0000

Zito is a total roller coaster: very good or very bad. That’s going to be a fabulous series, though.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:39:06 +0000

80% empty? Have you seen any A’s games the last 4 years? They tarp off the top deck of the stadium and pretend those empty seats don’t count, so when 10,000 show up its 25% full. Last night at the Rays game I swear I heard crickets for the first 4 innings.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:33:32 +0000

But the Dwarves aren’t the Mutts.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:32:36 +0000

Selective stat comparisons? Why compare them at all, aside from trying to skew the numbers to support your point?

By: The Dangerous Mabry

The Dangerous Mabry — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:29:38 +0000

It’s a good thing for Cliff Lee that he had June.

Lee in June: 5-0, 0.21 ERA
Lee, rest of the season: 4-7, 4.19 ERA

The NL on the whole has an ERA of 3.82, so outside of June, he’s actually been a below-average pitcher, run-wise.

Without that crazy June, you have to ask yourself what all that money is for. Can he put up some more June-like performances, or is he going to be no more than a #3 starter type?

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:26:09 +0000

Chris, remember Cliffy’s first outing in July…against those stinking Canadian blue birds? This is no more than his later summer slump—and hopefully it ends quickly.

And KK vs. Cain—THAT should be pretty.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:15:52 +0000

One of the more frustrating Red Sox games this year.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:14:20 +0000

My favorite weird note from that game: someone got the save.

By: The Rabbit

The Rabbit — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:03:09 +0000

I don’t blame you. I haven’t looked at Qualls’ stats but every time I’ve seen him pitch over the past 2-3 years, he’s been underwhelming bordering on craptastic. IMHO, the Phils have much better available options.
I do think Amaro should look for some additional help in the pen. You really can’t have too much even with quality starters. All it takes is another injury.
Here’s hoping Worley continues his streak tonight and Oswalt comes back healthy soon.

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:50:07 +0000

Colon and Garcia have both been very pleasant surprises. I did not think I’d hear myself say that back in the winter.

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:48:04 +0000

“Revenge is a dish best served cold…”

And with jlapenos. Everything is better with jalapenos.

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:47:57 +0000

spudchukar, my friend. Maybe but that doesn’t explain both guy’s prior outings against the Tampa Bay. That is unless Cuddyer could have had similar numbers against the Rays as well. Regardless I think I’ll stick with Colon and Garcia over Cuddyer unless I were looking for a position player.

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:45:52 +0000

They should close off all the sections except behind home plate- this way it looks packed every time someone is batting.

By: FC

FC — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:30:30 +0000

You have to admire Gardenhire for his gallows humor: “Anytime you let the opposing team spot a zip-code in the first 5 innings you’re in trouble…”

By: losburrosinblue

losburrosinblue — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:26:11 +0000

As an avid Dodger fan, I’m happily rooting for the Phils to sweep. I don’t care if the Dodgers make a run at the division, I just need SF knocked out of contention.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:10:38 +0000

They are at home to the Mariners. Michael Cuddyer would have similar numbers.

By: Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward

Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:31:44 +0000

The Mets have a better chance of catching team-wide herpes.

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:16:11 +0000

Well PL, I think it was a combo actually, and being cheap probably had something to do with it. Now with that said, once you lead in drafting for as long as they have, I find it hard to come up with any good excuse for losing for as much and as long as they have. Yes, bad management is a factor, being cheap is another, but now they are winning, filling the seats, and in a winning position in spite of the fact that they’ve been managed kind of poorly and have been cheap in ways. With the seats becoming full again I feel it’s time to make a statement to their fans and get better this week.

By: FC

FC — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:12:07 +0000

Rumors of their greatness have also been greatly exaggerated. But they get the job done, that’s what counts.

By: FC

FC — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:11:02 +0000

The last time those three were pitching for the Phillies together in a series, Worley and Kendrick won and Hamels bombed… go figure.

By: FC

FC — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:08:49 +0000

Halted the bleeding? LOL! “I stopped the bleeding!” “Only because the patient ran out of blood you twit!”

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:04:10 +0000

Or Hot, it’s going to be in the high 80′s …… Oh, and Worley vs. TIMMAY! You know that can mean it’s about time for Worley to lose one too.

Worley- TIMMAY!
Hamels- Zito
Kendrick- Cain

That looks like it could be trouble for Philly, besides the middle game anyway.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:58:08 +0000

For over a decade, the Pirates primary problem was that they were horribly run. If you can’t compete, and lose fan interest, it is a difficult business model to deal with….just throwing money at players (a la the Cubs and Mets) isn’t a guarantee of improved performance or revenues. I haven’t seen any evidence that the Pirates owner isn’t willing to spend money on the team if they had money to spend, just that they did a poor job of hiring people to run their organization. The Pirates have had some solid drafts recently and were among the top spenders in the draft a couple of times…so, they aren’t just being cheap (I don’t think)….they just didn’t have money or players worth paying to keep.

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:56:12 +0000

It’s funny you mention Qualls. I was praying to all of the invisible deities just last night to keep Qualls away from the Phillies.