Comments on: Ryan Dempster gets bombed, Rangers win anyway

By: bigmeechy74

bigmeechy74 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 21:11:08 +0000

I have always been a much bigger fan of the NL, but if you are claiming that the NL is just as high quality as the AL then you are delusional.

By: istillbelieveinblue

istillbelieveinblue — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:37:12 +0000

Demp couldn’t keep his splitter down last night. That pitch is devastating when it ends up in the dirt, but when he leaves it up, it gets pounded. He hung a handful of sliders, too. He wasn’t making those mistakes in Chicago. I think he’ll be fine. This isn’t an AL vs NL thing. High School players will crush splitters that come in belt high.

By: bravojawja

bravojawja — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:33:02 +0000

Couldn’t've said it better myself. Brevity is, indeed, the soul of wit.

By: angrycorgi

angrycorgi — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:26:10 +0000

By: angrycorgi

angrycorgi — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:23:02 +0000

Don’t hold it in, tell us how you really feel.

I don’t think MLB can survive without Mike Scioscia. After all, that pathetic “I just got my lunch money taken away from me by a mean ol’ bully” face he projects after ever home plate call he doesn’t like brings me much joy and would leave a void in my soul if removed.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:02:01 +0000

I’m too old to get bombed, but I have been strafed once or twice lately.

By: alexo0

alexo0 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:47:39 +0000

I got bombed last night too. It didn’t work out as well for me.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:36:55 +0000

I am sure that Dempster had a beer or 2 after the game as it was hot out there; however, unlike those Angels fans he certainly did not get bombed.

By: baseballisboring

baseballisboring — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:32:02 +0000

I’m not really talking historically, though. 5 years would probably be a better reference point (kind of arbitrary I guess but I think it works here). In the last 5 years the AL has a 57% winning percentage. Is the DH enough to cover that 7% disparity? Especially when the vast majority of the time at least one of the pitcher’s at-bats gets taken by a pinch hitter who probably isn’t much worse than your average DH? I mean, David Ortiz is a pretty big exception, the DH is just used as positional flexibility for a lot of teams.

I think the pitching+hitting being so evenly matched across leagues is probably more randomness than anything? If you look back at the same numbers over the last few years, I doubt they’re that similar, but I haven’t looked. Either way, 1250 games is a pretty big sample, and there have also been a lot more stars transferring from the NL to the AL than vice versa in the last several years, pitchers and hitters, which I think plays a big part in it.

By: Walk

Walk — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:02:41 +0000

Dempster is a good fit for the rangers park. He strikes out more than your average pitcher and keeps the ball down both of which are big advantages in any hitters park. Well that being said todays results kinda stand on their own.

By: fearlessleader

fearlessleader — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 08:55:32 +0000

After the last two nights, a whole lot of Angel fans are probably getting bombed.

By: fearlessleader

fearlessleader — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 08:52:05 +0000

National League pitching: 3.99 ERA, 1.32 WHIP

American League pitching: 4.10 ERA, 1.31 WHIP

….But the usual response to that is “Yes, but the hitters aren’t as good in the NL!”, which sets up a nice little catch-22. It seems pretty unlikely that the NL’s pitching and offense are so evenly matched in their inferiority as to result in nearly identical stats between the leagues, doesn’t it?

142-110 is lopsided, to be sure. This is getting off-topic, but the interleague DH rules pretty clearly favor the AL teams—not by much, certainly, but probably by enough to account (when combined with the vagaries of chance) for the AL’s historic 52% winning record in interleague play.

Anyway—Dempster’s definitely facing some challenges in his new gig, but I’m more worried about the fact that the Rangers have significantly upped their Ex-Cub Factor in the last week or so. Don’t they know about the curse??

By: billymc75

billymc75 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 08:38:27 +0000

Cliff Lee did the same his first game at Texas, he got bombed.

By: baseballisboring

baseballisboring — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 08:33:17 +0000

I agree that we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions based on one start, I think Dempster is good enough to be solid in the AL. But he will be facing tougher lineups for sure, also in a really tough park. The fact that he doesn’t have to face the Rangers is a plus. But the AL beat the NL 142-110 in interleague play this year. The offensive lines are obviously very similar, but the pitching isn’t as good in the NL. Obviously the NL has plenty of stars, but the middle to back end of most rosters in the NL are considerably weaker.

I don’t know if I’d call it a “hissy fit” necessarily, but whatever happened, he probably did cost himself some money.

By: fearlessleader

fearlessleader — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:50:16 +0000

Perhaps we could refrain from making sweeping generalizations about the AL’s superiority and Dempster’s future based on his first few innings in a brand-new place…..?

Nah, doubt it.

(P.S. American League collective batting through yesterday’s games: .255/.321/.412. National League collective batting through yesterday’s games: .254/.318/.402….look, Ma, no DH!)

By: soundsofsuccess7

soundsofsuccess7 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:42:00 +0000

fucking Scioscia man. this clown has got to go.

By: number42is1

number42is1 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:28:20 +0000

welcome to the big leagues Dempster!

By: beefytrout

beefytrout — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 04:47:47 +0000

Dempster had a bit of Darvish-syndrome… there were times when he looked masterful and other times where nothing he threw worked. Not the greatest beginning to his Rangers time, but let’s give him a few starts to see where it goes.

By: jeffbbf

jeffbbf — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 04:45:04 +0000

Welcome to the AL, Dumpster. Your little hissy fit over the ATL deal will probably cost you $10 million on your next contract. Too bad.