2009 MLB Season Thread

[scimini]

Almost happened to the Tigers in 87 or 88. If I recall.

[mania]

Well it was good while it lasted.

[BBTV]

Phils reliever Chan Ho Park out indefinitely with a hamstring "pop". This is not good - initial reports are that it's a major thing.

Chan Ho has been lights-out in the 'pen this year... really an unsung hero. This makes it so much more important that Lidge stops being a vag so that they can keep Madson in the 8th and use Myers in CHP's role. Probably not going to happen though. If they can somehow repeat with all the injuries to the pitching staff, it'll be a miracle.

[ZapRowsdower8]

I didn't want to start a new thread just for this, hopefully this is OK here. It's a funny article from The Onion about Jeter setting the Yankee hit record.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/derek_jeter_honored_for_having?utm_source=a-section

[JayJaxon]

That article was pretty funny. What is also a joke is how much media Jeter gets for that when other players that are so much better than him get jack.

[NJTank]

Derek Jeter is not overrated and is one of the best players in the past decade. Remember HOME RUNS ARE NOT EVERYTHING. Jeter is a solid team leader, he is still one of the better fielding shortstops, and barring injury he has an excellent chance to be one of the top 3 players in basehits of all time, and I for one will not be shocked if he breaks Pete Rose record. He currently has more hits at the age of 35 then Rose did.

Expect him to get his 3,000 hit early 2011. If he plays another 5-6 years after that he will be the all-time leading hitter in MLB history.

[Epiphanic]

[Jeter] is still one of the better fielding shortstops,

Except for the fact that he's not.

http://www.detroittigertales.com/2008/01/ranking-shortstops-2007.html

http://stat.wharton.upenn.edu/~stjensen/research/safe.html

http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1415713.html

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=98

[NJTank]

Sabermatrics is a joke. I know what I see and Derek Jeter is a First Ballot Hall of Famer.

[mania]

Why does it not shock me at all that Tnak would say something like "Sabermatrics is a joke."?

lol.

[oddball]

I'll agree with Sabermetrics being questionable. It's a system devised by someone based on what they think is good and bad. Players like Derek Jeter aren't Hall of Famers because of someone's opinion, they are Hall of Famers because they get the job done in the clutch over a period of years. Derek Jeter is a ball player, not a stat machine. He's not about stats nor ever will be. He plays the game to win and Sabermetrics will never be able to gauge desire, heart, mental toughness, or just plain game intelligence. How many times do you see a manager change pitchers because the numbers tell him to. Numbers in baseball are only part of the solution, the instinct and knowledge of the game and players is something you can't measure in absolute numbers and that is where Sabermetrics will always fall short.

[dfwabel]

Why does it not shock me at all that Tnak would say something like "Sabermatrics is a joke."?

lol.

Only because somebody read this in the morning!

Ken Rosenthal on sabermetrics on Foxsports.com this morning

Portions of the story (Credit foxsports.com):

Joe Mauer is the American League Most Valuable Player.

How do I know?

The sabermetric community, through web sites, message boards and blogs, tells me so.

Here's the problem: Sabermetricians were ignored for so long, they had to shout to be heard. Now they are getting heard ? properly heard in the highest levels of baseball media and front offices. But some continue to shout, dismissing those who disagree as ignorant dolts.

Some sabermetricians contend Mauer should have been voted MVP last season, when he finished fourth, or in 2006, when he finished sixth. Mauer won the AL batting title in both of those seasons but did not hit for great power. Now he is headed for another batting title ? his third in four seasons ? and his candidacy looks almost pristine.

[NJTank]

Well Mauer being a MVP this season is more then just sabermatrics. He has kept the Twins in the playoff race in a year where Justin Morneau has been hampered by injuries. He is a good defensive catcher, and his .366 BA is amazing for any player let alone a catcher, while also showing improved HR and RBI stats.

[dfwabel]

Didn't this happen with the Expos in '02 or '03 to an extent? I don't think the Rangers are going anywhere, but I think that the Expos wanted to call up some players because they were in the wild-card hunt, but got shot down by MLB (who owned the team by then) because of salary concerns or tampering. I really don't remember much about it, so could someone help me out?

Actually, the Rangers could be the second MLB team is such a hole. Remember that while the Padres have a sale in principal from Moores to the Morhad/Aikman group, Moores' wife filed for divorce before the team was put up for sale.

Jays fans, what is occurring with the Jays since the death of Ted Rogers? Is the company going to sell the team?

[JayJaxon]

Jeter is not that great of a fielding shortstop. The guy has kept his nose clean and that's good for him. But the media doesn't need to jump all over his jock strap every time he gets a hit. So he has more hits than any Yankee....WOW. He still hasn't broke any records yet so let's wait til that happens first. For any other player breaking any other team hits record it would have been a footnote. But Jeter gets more than a weeks worth of coverage out of it.

I have always thought that if Jeter played in a place like Kansas City or Pittsburgh then nobody would care about him. But that is just my opinion.

[Jigga]

Yes, Jeter is overrated. He is not currently and never was one of the better fielding shortstops at any point in his career. I don't need sabermetrics to tell me that either. However, Jeter is eventually going to be a Hall of Famer, and he's gonna deserve it, too. Baseball, more than any other sport is about numbers. Look at his hits, post-season numbers, rings, etc. But baseball is also about legend and mystique. Dude has 'em. Hate all you want, but he does. He plays hard, he wins, he's quiet, he's a leader, and he bangs some of the hottest women you've heard of. All the while, you don't hear much negative junk off the field. He's not a saint by any means, but he's like the white knight of baseball.

--------

The Yankee hit record thing is meaningful. I know people love to hate the Yankees and we all love the "if he played in Kansas City or Pittsburgh..." argument, but he doesn't, never did, and probably never will. Plus, hate all you want, but the Yankees matter more than the Royals and Pirates. The Royal and Pirate all-time record books don't look like the Yankee record books. Just look at the history. Look at the giants of the game that spent all or significant portions of their careers in pinstripes. Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, DiMaggio, Berra, and so on. Yeah, the Royals and Pirates can totally match that, huh? The New York Yankees are the all-time greatest team in American professional sports. Period. Whether you love them (which I sure as hell don't) or hate them (close ). That Derek Jeter has managed to do something, anything to top those legends and stand atop those Yankee legends means something.

[JayJaxon]

The Yankee hit record thing is meaningful. I know people love to hate the Yankees and we all love the "if he played in Kansas City or Pittsburgh..." argument, but he doesn't, never did, and probably never will. Plus, hate all you want, but the Yankees matter more than the Royals and Pirates.

Ok...you've got a point. The Royals and Pirates have less significance than the Yankees (put together). I don't like Jeter any more for it though. But when he gets to 3,000, then that is an accomplishment to me.

How's about let's just all like Pujols. I can handle the media covering that guy

[CC97]

Jays fans, what is occurring with the Jays since the death of Ted Rogers? Is the company going to sell the team?

Rogers (the company) insists they are keeping the team, rumours abound that they're planning on bumping payroll up from the current $65mil to $130mil for 2010 but I just can't see that happening.

[BaltimoreFan]

Yes, Jeter is overrated. He is not currently and never was one of the better fielding shortstops at any point in his career. I don't need sabermetrics to tell me that either. However, Jeter is eventually going to be a Hall of Famer, and he's gonna deserve it, too. Baseball, more than any other sport is about numbers. Look at his hits, post-season numbers, rings, etc. But baseball is also about legend and mystique. Dude has 'em. Hate all you want, but he does. He plays hard, he wins, he's quiet, he's a leader, and he bangs some of the hottest women you've heard of. All the while, you don't hear much negative junk off the field. He's not a saint by any means, but he's like the white knight of baseball.

--------

The Yankee hit record thing is meaningful. I know people love to hate the Yankees and we all love the "if he played in Kansas City or Pittsburgh..." argument, but he doesn't, never did, and probably never will. Plus, hate all you want, but the Yankees matter more than the Royals and Pirates. The Royal and Pirate all-time record books don't look like the Yankee record books. Just look at the history. Look at the giants of the game that spent all or significant portions of their careers in pinstripes. Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, DiMaggio, Berra, and so on. Yeah, the Royals and Pirates can totally match that, huh? The New York Yankees are the all-time greatest team in American professional sports. Period. Whether you love them (which I sure as hell don't) or hate them (close ). That Derek Jeter has managed to do something, anything to top those legends and stand atop those Yankee legends means something.

I agree with everything you've said. Those are my exact feelings on Jeter. He's definitely overrated in New York, but he's still a great player and would still probably be a Hall of Famer in Kansas City or Pittsburgh. Also the Yankees hit record is a pretty big deal. Leading the most recognizable sports franchise in America, and maybe even the world, in hits is a pretty big deal even if its only good for 53rd all time. As an Orioles fan, I hate the Yankees as much as everyone else. But I do like to try to take things objectively and give credit where credit is due.

[Jigga]

The Yankee hit record thing is meaningful. I know people love to hate the Yankees and we all love the "if he played in Kansas City or Pittsburgh..." argument, but he doesn't, never did, and probably never will. Plus, hate all you want, but the Yankees matter more than the Royals and Pirates.

Ok...you've got a point. The Royals and Pirates have less significance than the Yankees (put together). I don't like Jeter any more for it though. But when he gets to 3,000, then that is an accomplishment to me.

How's about let's just all like Pujols. I can handle the media covering that guy

I'm sorry, it is not enough to like Pujols. You must worship him. We are all Cardinals.

[JayJaxon]

The Yankee hit record thing is meaningful. I know people love to hate the Yankees and we all love the "if he played in Kansas City or Pittsburgh..." argument, but he doesn't, never did, and probably never will. Plus, hate all you want, but the Yankees matter more than the Royals and Pirates.

Ok...you've got a point. The Royals and Pirates have less significance than the Yankees (put together). I don't like Jeter any more for it though. But when he gets to 3,000, then that is an accomplishment to me.

How's about let's just all like Pujols. I can handle the media covering that guy

I'm sorry, it is not enough to like Pujols. You must worship him. We are all Cardinals.

Oh yea! Some of us more than others though