2009 MLB Season Thread

[VandyDelphia Mike]

So ... who out of you saw Papelbon blowing a two-run lead with two outs, bases empty, bottom 9, while Brad Lidge preserved a one-run lead for the save with the tying run @ second and the winning run on first?

[DEAD!]

So ... who out of you saw Papelbon blowing a two-run lead with two outs, bases empty, bottom 9, while Brad Lidge preserved a one-run lead for the save with the tying run @ second and the winning run on first?

Not me.... because I didn't watch either game

[BigEd76]

The Phils game ended at 2:15 Eastern on a Monday morning. F you Selig.

It was a great game and I'm assuming nobody outside Philly or Denver watched it...

[Brass]

For those who did not see the Red Sox losing, obviously and this is being said in hindsight, did not pay attention from the All-Star break on. The Red Sox were what barely .500. They lost what 10 of 12 to the Yankees. Basically, the Red Sox lost their heart. Or as I said a while ago, they are finally paying for selling their soul to the devil to win a World Series or two, and things have finally reverted back to normal as the Red Sox choke away another 100 years and find ways to lose to the dreaded Yankees. If you ask me, this works out well for the Angels, as they'll probably beat New York 4-2. As far as the Dodgers go, if they face the Phils, they'll beat them in 6, if they face the Rockies, they'll beat them in 5. Either way, I see a Freeway Series and it going 7 games.

Really? Why? Because they got swept by the Angels, just like they got swept in 2005 by the White Sox? I don't get that point at all. They aren't going back to their own ways, as much as they're catching the Yankees syndrome - buying talent instead of team chemistry.

[Cujo]

The Phils game ended at 2:15 Eastern on a Monday morning. F you Selig.

It was a great game and I'm assuming nobody outside Philly or Denver watched it...

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what time the Phils and Rockies began, but it was around the 3rd quarter of the Colts-Titans SNF game. Incredibly late. I have no clue why MLB couldn't have moved the Yanks-Twins game a couple up a couple hours.

[NJTank]

I agree bad job by MLB, the Yankee game shuld have started at 4:30, and the Rockies game at 8:00.

[slapshot]

Maybe there was a traffic issue in Denver. I don't know the logistics or proximity to one another, but with a huge game at Invesco at 4:15, maybe giving starting the baseball game at 10 gives the locals more time to get to Coors.

[BaltimoreFan]

I know this sounds crazy but I've always believed closers are pretty easily replaced. And I'd never drop a ton of money on one in free agency. They're rarely as good when they switch teams for some reason.

I totally agree. Look at the Orioles, they "forced" George Sherill into the closer role last season. He struggled at first and alot of O's fans said he should be converted back to a LOOGY. He got the results and made the 2008 All Star Game, but no save was an easy one. Sherill almost always gave up baserunners, I'm not sure if he had a single 1,2,3 ninth inning. Anyway he struggled at the begining of the season. But he became one of the most dominant closers in the league up until he was traded to LA. Now he's dominant for them in the set up role.

I really think almost anyone can become a closer, if a team is willing to allow for the pitcher to have an adjustment period.

[HedleyLamarr]

The Phils game ended at 2:15 Eastern on a Monday morning. F you Selig.

It was a great game and I'm assuming nobody outside Philly or Denver watched it...

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what time the Phils and Rockies began, but it was around the 3rd quarter of the Colts-Titans SNF game. Incredibly late. I have no clue why MLB couldn't have moved the Yanks-Twins game a couple up a couple hours.

MLB and TBS couldn't move up the start times for the games.

At the time when Game 3 was postponed, no series had been completed. Boston had the noon slot, St. Louis had the 3pm slot, Minnesota had the 6:30pm start, and Colorado (being the farthest west locale), had the late 10pm start.

I was just suprised that a relatively low-scoring National League game took over 4 hours to complete, and didn't even go extra innings.

[BrySmalls]

I know this sounds crazy but I've always believed closers are pretty easily replaced. And I'd never drop a ton of money on one in free agency. They're rarely as good when they switch teams for some reason.

I totally agree. Look at the Orioles, they "forced" George Sherill into the closer role last season. He struggled at first and alot of O's fans said he should be converted back to a LOOGY. He got the results and made the 2008 All Star Game, but no save was an easy one. Sherill almost always gave up baserunners, I'm not sure if he had a single 1,2,3 ninth inning. Anyway he struggled at the begining of the season. But he became one of the most dominant closers in the league up until he was traded to LA. Now he's dominant for them in the set up role.

I really think almost anyone can become a closer, if a team is willing to allow for the pitcher to have an adjustment period.

Or another case in point, where a closer (Brian Fuentes) can spend four years, from 2004 to 2008, refining his craft in Denver and in 2009 lead the American League in saves with a "modest" 48 for the Angels.

[crashcarson15]

Am I the only one that feels as if Coors Field swallows up fly balls especially to left?

EDIT: That jump by Dexter Fowler was epic.

[BigEd76]

OMG THIS SERIES

[VandyDelphia Mike]

What a roller coaster ride the late innings of Phils-Rox wound up being!

Nothing more to say, but ...

[Cujo]

If the 2009 version of Brad Lidge is nailing down back-to-back saves on you, then you deserve to be out of the playoffs. Better luck next "Rocktober".

[BigEd76]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The 8th and 9th innings of that game were unbelievable. So much clutch hitting off Madson and Street....I can't believe it. And Lidge saves another one?!

wow

If you didn't see it, you have to catch the highlights on ESPN or MLB Network...

This is the first time in 127 years the Phils won a playoff series in back-to-back years!

[infrared41]

Sorry, I just had to post this. It's from a Boston fan on some website called "Bar Stool Sports." And these people wonder why there is a sizable portion of sports society that can't stand them.

We're in October of 2009. The decade is rapidly coming to an end. And unfortunatly so is our decade of dominance. I mean there is no other way to look at it after the tragic events of yesterday. I mean a day like this would have been unheard of a couple years ago. Tom Brady getting outplayed by Kyle Orten? Papelbon giving up 5 runs while only getting 2 batters out and blowing the season? (I don't count the guy he picked off as him getting an out) Bottomline is we haven't won anything since the Celtics two years ago. Sure our teams our still competitive but it's no longer a forgone conclusion that we'll be having a parade at some point during the year. In other words we've just become like everybody else. Mortal. But in typical Boston fashion we ended the greatest run any city has every seen in the history of sports with a day so horrific that it was almost awe inspiring in a weird kind of way. Like watching a tornado tear through a small town or something. And in the end I'm not sure whether I should go into Cabo and party like crazy and remember the good times or just sit in my hotel room and cry.

Wow. What a bummer dude. "Tragic events?" Are you -ing kidding me? Oh and learn the difference between our and are douchebag. Spell check might not be the worst idea either.

Spare me.

[JayJaxon]

What a series that was. I was looking forward to what Game 5 would have brought. But now it's time to take the next step towards a LA-LA World Series!

[ZapRowsdower8]

So do you think Bud Selig can sleep tonight, or is he like a kid on Christmas night? The Yankees, both LA and Philly.

[Still MIGHTY]

I'm a day late but so what...

OMG Vlad Guerrero. Bout time he had a meaningful hit in a playoff series.

Lackey and Weaver were dominant. Kaz was good, but of course the amazing comeback.

Torii Hunter pushed this team forward last year, and Bobby Abreu completed it. His plate discipline and overall game and attidtude have put a different and important dynamic into this Angels line-up.

Now I know the Angels have owned the Yanks in recent years, but the Sox owned the Angels too.

I have a feeling this could be an epic series for all-time.

GO HALOS!

(And I hope the Big A is fixed by now. They were upgrading the lights and scoreboard on the Big A and the actual halo so it wasn't working the last week of the season and the Red Sox series.)

[gingerbreadmann]

Sorry, I just had to post this. It's from a Boston fan on some website called "Bar Stool Sports." And these people wonder why there is a sizable portion of sports society that can't stand them.

We're in October of 2009. The decade is rapidly coming to an end. And unfortunatly so is our decade of dominance. I mean there is no other way to look at it after the tragic events of yesterday. I mean a day like this would have been unheard of a couple years ago. Tom Brady getting outplayed by Kyle Orten? Papelbon giving up 5 runs while only getting 2 batters out and blowing the season? (I don't count the guy he picked off as him getting an out) Bottomline is we haven't won anything since the Celtics two years ago. Sure our teams our still competitive but it's no longer a forgone conclusion that we'll be having a parade at some point during the year. In other words we've just become like everybody else. Mortal. But in typical Boston fashion we ended the greatest run any city has every seen in the history of sports with a day so horrific that it was almost awe inspiring in a weird kind of way. Like watching a tornado tear through a small town or something. And in the end I'm not sure whether I should go into Cabo and party like crazy and remember the good times or just sit in my hotel room and cry.

Wow. What a bummer dude. "Tragic events?" Are you -ing kidding me? Oh and learn the difference between our and are douchebag. Spell check might not be the worst idea either.

Spare me.

I think it says more about you that you scour random Boston sports websites looking to ridicule a blog comment by a random fan proclaiming, basically, little more than that he is a Boston fan and his disappointment that two Boston teams lost very important games yesterday, and using hyperbole which may or may not be sincere (Unless you frequent the Barstool for the daily smokeshows, which I couldn't really blame you for). Do you want me to go on YouTube and find a comment from a random Boston hater like yourself stating that Boston is only home to a bunch of rich, ignorant racists and that Tom Brady is worse than Ryan Leaf? Because I could. And I could post it here, sarcastically asking why people who hate Boston make such unfounded, mindless judgments. I could also point to about 15 people off the top of my head just from this very site who probably also disapprove of Boston sports who have a much worse grasp on the English language than this guy, and a few with little to no knowledge of the existence of the caps lock button. And frankly, I'm kind of disappointed. I would think you would be praising this guy as the most rational Boston fan there is because he actually recognizes and publicly admits that Boston sports teams will not remain dominant forever and is not denouncing the rest of the nation in the name of almighty Boston, King of Sports. In fact, you, not him, are the one who descends to using an uninitiated personal attack. Do you know why I don't do the things I mentioned above? It's because there are people who hate in all corners of the nation. There are people who can't spell, and don't always exhibit grammar, in every single state. There are ass-holes who are fans of every single team in existence, but it's the ass-hole who is the fan of the teams which are winning who receives the most attention and hate because he becomes the tiny minority as all the other people band together to hate him. They go be ass-holes together, to each other, and to other random people, and all the while the world keeps spinning. This, I have learned, is an unexciting fact of life and is not exclusive to any one area of the country or even the world. And you know what? In this case, the guy in question isn't even an ass-hole.

You are.