Comments on: Settling the Score: Friday’s results

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:29:23 +0000

Due to the lack of offensive punch I doubt if the Angels make it to October baseball, but UYF, my pal, do you honestly believe the Yankees or Sox have starting pitching that can match Weaver, Haren, and Santana?

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:26:23 +0000

My intent was to show just how good a year Michael Young was having. Agreed it won’t be long before Mr. Stanton looks down at his current OPS from dizzying heights.

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 18:11:29 +0000

The same could be said about the Tigers. If you face them in the playoffs, you’re going to have to up against Verlander twice.

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:40:48 +0000

APBA – I certainly wouldn’t discount or underestimate either the Rangers or Angels. But it’s very, very unlikely that both of them will make it into the postseason. And you are 100% correct in a short series anything can happen. Having said that I still don’t think either team matches up well with either the Red Sox or the Yankees. Pitching wise the Angels have 2 may be 3 excellent to very good starters but offensive they are not in the same ballpark (no pun intended) with the Yankees or Red Sox. And if admittedly you only need 3 starters for a short series are they really that much better then 3 starters on either the Yankees or Red Sox. I don’t think so. But, that’s just my opinion. In any case both the Angels and Rangers a very good teams and one or the other could most definitely make waves for the Yankees or Red Sox.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:23:26 +0000

Much as I love the Iron Giant, his OPS still has some growing up to do and I think it’s premature to add him to that list…yet.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:21:55 +0000

3 AM PT, 3AM ET, or 3AM PST?

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:16:40 +0000

Yeah, and for all those Michael Young naysayers he is sporting an .872 OPS, ahead of the likes of Pujols, Stanton, Teixera, Cano, A-Rod and Cruz.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:09:49 +0000

Whatever the reasons for Rasmus’s slow start it was not due to trying too hard. Still isn’t congratulating a player for a good bunt, particularly one who is supposed to be a some day superstar a bit of a reach.

By: pisano

pisano — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:53:30 +0000

The only one of MLB ‘s announcers that’s worth anything is Jim Kaat, I wish the Yes network would have brought him back after he decided to go back to work.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:48:32 +0000

Rasmus went hitles in his first three games with the Jays. This is not surprising as a player who is new to a team usually tries too hard when he joins the team. Since then, he has hit quite well. On the play you mentioned, as far as I could see, he played the hit properly. The third base coach sent him home. A good throw was needed to get him. Did you notice his sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second? It was a well executed bunt and he beat the throw to first to load the bases.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:39:05 +0000

Uyf- The Yanks and Sox are two of the 3 best teams in the AL. But, the more I watch the Angels and Texas get serious about this AL West pennant race, the more I wonder if one of them can sneak into the ALCS and win it.

For the record, I think the Yankees and Sox have improved since last year, and I don’t think Texas is as strong, mainly because Hamilton is not having an MVP year and Texas doesn’t have a Cliff Lee # 1 starter. Also, the Angels have two superb starters but I think too little offense. So the West hinges on these questions:

- can Ervin Santana maintain his recent elite pitching performances?
- can the Rangers offensive stars stay healthy?
- will Ogando fade as his workload climbs past previous levels?

Santana’s given up 4 ER in his last 32 innings over 4 starts. That’s a streak, not even a trend, but it’s the way he’s doing it (superb command, overpowering stuff) that reminds me of his 2008 season when he was “the guy”.

Whichever West team wins the division will have a deeper rotation than the East teams, and in a short series, who knows, especially if the Angels pitch their way into the mix. I don’t discount the Yanks or the Sox for a minute. I marvel at how good those two teams are, how deep their lineups are, and how hard they play (especially compared to the slumbering A’s). Still, I do think the two West teams could have a chance.

By: D.J. Short

D.J. Short — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:24:25 +0000

Forgive me about the shoo-in mix-up. I wrote this at 3 in the morning. Ha.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:21:39 +0000

Not raising the bar real high there my Canadian ami. Rasmus is sporting a .206/.229/.523 with a 7:1 SO to BB ratio, with no steals. Sure he looks good doing it. He always looked good. Plus if he had gotten a better jump, and turned it on earlier he would have beaten the throw home by Reimold.

By: RickyB

RickyB — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:19:43 +0000

Not sure why I’ve seen this so often lately, but it has driven me to the point of insanity. The term is shoo-in, not shoe-in. And I would rather the Yankees be a shoo-in for the division title rather than the wild card. But that’s just me …

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:08:06 +0000

Yesterday’s Yankees/Red Sox game was a match up between in my opinion the 2 best teams in the American League. And yesterday the Yankees were just a little bit better. Running their winning streak to 8 in a row and taking all 5 games this month on the road. With 7 games remaining between these 2 teams the division is very likely to go down to the last weekend of the season in September. Which is probably only fair since these teams seems so evenly matched up.

I will disagree with the writer of the article. Good baseball is always something to get excited about and enjoy even if both teams are apparently bound for the playoffs. At least that’s my opinion.

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 14:37:45 +0000

Watching the game on the MLB network, it’s quite obvious that John Smoltz is still very bitter about losing those World Series to the Yankees. He showed no impartiality whatsoever. I was fully expecting him to start cheering, “Let’s go Red Sox!”. He’s such a tool.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 14:14:47 +0000

Vance Worley really showed me something last night. With all the shenanigans going on, he showed great poise to continue pitching and not retaliate. Also, he had some good giddy-up on the fastball last night. I think Wheels said it best, “There is nothing not to like about Worley.”

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:46:13 +0000

Anibal Sanchez must be praying that the Feesh have him on secret waivers. The guy has pitched his heart out for two months now and his teammates seem determined to give him no or very little support. He pitched another good game yesterday and was rewarded for two runs – a veritable cornucopia by Feesh standards when he’s on the mound, which must be starting to feel like the lone rock from Pincher Martin by now. Yeah, Hanley’s down and Infante is down and Cameron (.177) went down on a sprained wrist last night, taking all that veteran leadership with him leaving only Kindly Uncle Wes (.198) to carry the VLQ load. That almost excuses going 1-for-7 with RISP, including leaving the bases loaded in the 9th (as they managed to produce only one run with the bases loaded and none out the night before) against a rookie fresh from AAA. On the bright side, despite whiffing (gamely) to end the game, the Iron Giant went three for five in the three hole last night while Mantis Morrison struggled on in the cleanup spot all night.

Tonight, the meeting of Nolasco and Carpenter sets up an exciting duel between two guys who can’t win against the other team: neither Carpenter nor Nolasco have taken down their opponent in yonks. Even Karellen doesn’t know if Nolasco has ever beaten the Cardinals.

Well, at least the Feesh – having been flipped from the strange attractor two nights ago – can, if they win tonight, set up the possibility of planting themselves one game beneath it again and setting the stage, at last, for my great fox-and-the-grapes metaphor if they lose again tomorrow. Brace yourselves.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:38:22 +0000

It is difficult to get too excited about the Yankees and the Red Sox once again. The Phillys vs the Giants series has more fireworks.We Canadians will be watching the Jays at Baltimore. Last night, Lawrie had a good start to his MLB career, although the most impressive performance by a Jay was by Rasmus. Rasmus is settling in quite nicely and the presence of Lawrie will take the spotlight off him. For the rest of the month, the Jays play only 6 games (all 6 at home) against teams with winning records. They should have a good month.