2011 MLB Season Thread

[NJTank]

I love that segment of Best thing I ever ate on Food Network that George Brett did

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMBbmCVl1Jo

[pmoehrin]

but... George Brett was a classy player...

.... oh yeah, the pine tar incident...

He was a classy player. One incident does not nullfiy a 20 year MLB career during which he was one of the most liked players in baseball.

I also can't blame him for going completely ballistic like he did either. Alot of people don't talk what led up to the incident. He just hit what was probably going to wind up being the game winning home run with two outs in the ninth inning off Goose Gossage. (and ultimately was when the game was replayed when the league office overuled the umpires decision to disallow Brett's home run) Then he has the home run called back on some obscure technicality rule. Nobody would just say to themselves, well I just hit a home run that will probably win the game but since the umpires called me out on this obscure rule which means we lose the game instead I'll just go back to the clubhouse quietly and we'll get 'em tomorrow. Mahatma Gandhi would have gotten in the umprire's face about it.

[Shumway]

On the contrary to Jeter's milestone HR, Mike Trout had his very first hit tonight -- a bunt single. My god, that kid can fly.

...and Torii Hunter hits his second HR on the night. Maybe he won't break the GIDP record, after all.

[NEW.ERA]

Jose Bautista continues to kill it. Two Homers tonight, bumps his pre-ASG total to 31.

[Don]

Jayson Werth gets booed off the field as he hits into a game ending double play. 6-36 in July. Putrid.

[MC2]

Josh Hamilton is probably the most deserving person to get that walk off home run.

[cameroncrazie07]

Jayson Werth gets booed off the field as he hits into a game ending double play. 6-36 in July. Putrid.

He has been just awful this year, and who really didn't see that coming. I still do not see the reasoning behind that signing. They definitely did not get their moneys werth on that deal. (Come on that one was put on a tee.)

[Don]

Jayson Werth gets booed off the field as he hits into a game ending double play. 6-36 in July. Putrid.

He has been just awful this year, and who really didn't see that coming. I still do not see the reasoning behind that signing. They definitely did not get their moneys werth on that deal. (Come on that one was put on a tee.)

Fans were chanting "JAYSON WERTHLESS" behind the postgame show set.

[NJTank]

Jayson Werth gets booed off the field as he hits into a game ending double play. 6-36 in July. Putrid.

He has been just awful this year, and who really didn't see that coming. I still do not see the reasoning behind that signing. They definitely did not get their moneys werth on that deal. (Come on that one was put on a tee.)

Fans were chanting "JAYSON WERTHLESS" behind the postgame show set.

Damn I was just about to use that joke.

[pmoehrin]

Certain guys just can't handle the pressure of being the guy and I think Jayson Werth is one of them. He was a first round draft pick, and couldn't handle it. He had three different big leagues clubs completely give up on him. The Orioles, Blue Jays and Dodgers.

He goes to Philly a place where he has no pressure to perform under which he excels. Then he gets that big deal and now has pressure on him to perform again. All of a sudden he can't play. He's just with alot of talent but who also has a bad track record of being able to cope with pressure.

I'm willing to bet that when Strasburg comes back and Bryce Harper comes up, there's a good chance you'll see Jayson Werth have a turnaround at the plate.

[raysox]

Well it's one thing to hit 3,000 hits with the Yankees.

It's another thing to hit 3,000 with the Royals.

The Royals were actually a very good team for the better part of George Brett's career.

No, I just said a team that doesn't have a large payroll. He said how it's cool he did it with one team in this era of free agency. But the team is blowing out everyone in the cash category.

[DrAwesomeberry]

Josh Hamilton is probably the most deserving person to get that walk off home run.

[infrared41]

Jesus Christ, some of you guys are annoying.

No kidding. You'd think Jeter tortured and then killed a litter of kittens to get that hit based on some of the reactions around here. As Jigga likes to say, "hatin' is what we do best around here."

[infrared41]

My questioning of the value of 3000 has nothing to do with Jeter or the Yankees. I've done the same thing with other players who hit 3000, or 500 HR, or any other number that's determined to be a "milestone" because it's a nice round number. And I don't really need to re-examine my fandom either. As far as I'm concerned, the greatest accomplishment Jeter arrived at today was passing Clemente on the all time hit list. In a few days when he passes Al Kaline, that will be more impressive to me than hitting his 3000th today, but it probably won't be more than a footnote in the game log that day...

With all due respect, that is one ridiculous post. You're simply being contrary for the sake of being contrary. "Question the value" of 3000 hits? It's a milestone because very few people achieve it. It's a "nice round number" because a "2,987 watch" is just stupid. Much like your argument...no offense.

[scottysprings]

The five animated .gifs are a bit excessive...

[infrared41]

The five animated .gifs are a bit excessive...

I would have agreed sooner, but it took me a while to scroll past all those damn things because they slow down the page.

[JTernup]

My questioning of the value of 3000 has nothing to do with Jeter or the Yankees. I've done the same thing with other players who hit 3000, or 500 HR, or any other number that's determined to be a "milestone" because it's a nice round number. And I don't really need to re-examine my fandom either. As far as I'm concerned, the greatest accomplishment Jeter arrived at today was passing Clemente on the all time hit list. In a few days when he passes Al Kaline, that will be more impressive to me than hitting his 3000th today, but it probably won't be more than a footnote in the game log that day...

With all due respect, that is one ridiculous post. You're simply being contrary for the sake of being contrary. "Question the value" of 3000 hits? It's a milestone because very few people achieve it. It's a "nice round number" because a "2,987 watch" is just stupid. Much like your argument...no offense.

It is human nature to create milestones, we all want to make a big deal of things like this because they hardly ever happen. Yes, 2,987 is just as seldom reached but it doesn't sound special. Nobody ever said we humans aren't strange!

[smzimbabwe]

My questioning of the value of 3000 has nothing to do with Jeter or the Yankees. I've done the same thing with other players who hit 3000, or 500 HR, or any other number that's determined to be a "milestone" because it's a nice round number. And I don't really need to re-examine my fandom either. As far as I'm concerned, the greatest accomplishment Jeter arrived at today was passing Clemente on the all time hit list. In a few days when he passes Al Kaline, that will be more impressive to me than hitting his 3000th today, but it probably won't be more than a footnote in the game log that day...

With all due respect, that is one ridiculous post. You're simply being contrary for the sake of being contrary. "Question the value" of 3000 hits? It's a milestone because very few people achieve it. It's a "nice round number" because a "2,987 watch" is just stupid. Much like your argument...no offense.

Not being contrary for the sake of being contrary. I've held this position for a long time. Just as many people have achieved 2,988 hits as 3,000 hits in baseball. So there's no difference there. Why is it more important to celebrate him getting 3,000 hits rather than his 3,001, which moves him past Clemente on the all-time list? Is it more important to just hit a "magic number" than it is to pass another player and move up the ladder? He's the 27th player to hit 3,001, but was only the 28th player to hit 3,000, which one is the more exclusive club?

[dfwabel]

Certain guys just can't handle the pressure of being the guy and I think Jayson Werth is one of them. He was a first round draft pick, and couldn't handle it. He had three different big leagues clubs completely give up on him. The Orioles, Blue Jays and Dodgers.

He goes to Philly a place where he has no pressure to perform under which he excels. Then he gets that big deal and now has pressure on him to perform again. All of a sudden he can't play. He's just with alot of talent but who also has a bad track record of being able to cope with pressure.

I'm willing to bet that when Strasburg comes back and Bryce Harper comes up, there's a good chance you'll see Jayson Werth have a turnaround at the plate.

Earlier this week, Thomas Boswell said it better than I ever could regarding Werth:

Sometimes, baseball is so simple, but people make it so hard. Werth, who signed for seven years for $126 million, and Soriano, who signed for $136 million for eight years after the 2006 season, have identical .832 OPS figures ? that?s slugging percentage plus on-base percentage. That?s who they are. It?s their baseball DNA.

In five years as a Cub, Soriano?s OPS has been .826. With age, injuries have cost him about 30 games a season, but he?s still hit 120 homers. He remains fast, but doesn?t steal anymore ? 53 stolen bases as a Cub after 41 in one season as a Nat. When you sign him at 30, what do you expect? That he?ll always be healthy, never slow down?

But Chicago fans have been miserable with him because they want a $136-million toy that does not exist, rather than an actual player named Soriano.

The Cubs paid a career-year price for Soriano after he had 46 homers, a best-ever .911 OPS and 22 outfield assists as a Nat. Washington wouldn?t touch the $75 million that was considered market price in summer of 2006. Nobody imagined $136 million for Soriano any more than $126 million seemed sane for Werth. But that?s what the Cubs paid him.

Last winter, the Nats became the Cubs: They wanted to make a splash, prove to future free agents and their fans that they would compete. They ?had to have? Werth and thus overbid, just as the Cubs had to have Soriano and were willing to overpay.

Like the Cubs, the Nats paid for a player that did not exist ? or existed for only one season: In 2010, Werth?s slash line was .296/.388/.532.

In reality, Werth, in his 15th year as a pro, is a .266/.362/.470 hitter. That?s him. He strikes out, draws walks, fights off tons of pitches and hits it two miles to all fields when he runs into one. Werth also has 20-steal speed and is a better-than-average right fielder. And he had a great pedigree: a stunning .989 OPS in 10 postseason series as well as a grandfather and uncle who were big-leaguers.

Pressure? Werth had eaten it up, whether from tough Philly fans, the October spotlight or grabbing a World Series ring. In theory, he brought presence beyond his stats, just as Soriano was 40-40 charismatic back then.

[JayJaxon]

Why can't I go one day without getting on here and seeing someone trying to discredit something that someone else did just for the sake of it? I can't stand Jeter and I will probably never like him. But being a baseball person, I see how great of an achievement 3,000 hits is. Why do you feel the need to stir the damn pot when there is no need to?