2012 MLB Season

[infrared41]

That makes sense that you would have more energy during the game, but I'm kind of talking about something different, though. The point I was trying to make is that, let's say Joe Smith, who is kind of a weak middle infielder, wants to start hitting with more power. He'll have to actually workout to gain that hitting power. The steroids will definitely help him during the game by helping him maintain that energy level, but he's not just going to start hitting with power out of the blue. He'll have to workout to obtain that new power. What the steroids do is help you with energy. It could be energy while on the diamond (like you said), or it could also help him workout more often at the gym and get stronger faster.

The steroids can help Barry Bonds with his energy on the field and at the plate (which in turn helps him hit a few more), and the steroids can also help Joe Smith workout harder and more efficiently, to obtain that extra power to maybe hit a few more home runs.

I'm not saying it isn't going to help the power hitter hit maintain that power even during his fifth at-bat (because it will), I'm just saying that if you don't already have that power, the steroids aren't going to magically turn a weak guy into a strong guy, just like that! They'll help him maintain the power that he already has (and maybe help him use all of his power), but if he wants to get significantly stronger, he'll have to do more than just juice. Why would anybody workout if they can just take steroids and automatically become Arnold Schwarzenegger 2.0? That's what I've been trying to say.

Yeah, I get all that. My point all along is that whatever kind of player you are before steroids will make you a stronger version of that player after steroids. No work outs are necessary to gain the added strength. For example: weak middle infielder Joe Smith will become not as weak middle infielder Joe Smith. Will it make him a better power hitter? No, but it will give him an advantage he did not have before the steroids. Once he's on steroids, those 358 foot fly balls Joe Smith was hitting every once in a great while now have the potential to travel a little further thanks to his extra strength. If he only hits 5 warning track fly balls a season, he now has the potential for those to become home runs. I'm not saying he'll go from 0 homeruns to 20.

I'm saying the extra strength he has can make up the two feet he was short before steroids. So he might go from 0 HRs to 5 HRs based solely on the fact that the extra strength he's getting from the steroids is making up the two feet he lacked before them. He still has to be able to hit the ball. Steroids won't make him make contact more often. What they will do is add some oomph to the contact he makes. He doesn't need to work out to see that improvement. If Joe wants to become a real power hitter then yes, he needs to work to change his game to do that. If all he wants is to hit the ball harder on those rare occasions where he does make good contact, a cycle of steroids will do the trick. Steroids improve strength and endurance. They don't improve ability. And the improvement in strength and endurance only takes a few days.

And with that, I think we've beaten this dead horse to death. I don't know of any other way to illustrate my point.

[TheOldRoman]

Glad the Jays won though, all I care about. Forgot the game was on WGN, I really wanted to hear Hawk cry.

He didn't. They showed replays, and he and Steve Stone pointed out how there were two distinctively different strike zones for the teams, but Hawk more or less laughed at it and said "what can you do?" He was reprimanded for his outburst a month ago after a bull ejection, so he is going to be on his best behavior when he encounters professional wrestling-quality umpiring as he did today.

[Cujo]

Glad the Jays won though, all I care about. Forgot the game was on WGN, I really wanted to hear Hawk cry.

Love it! I said the EXACT SAME THING on Twitter earlier today. Hawk is a total joke. Forget MLB. He should be out somewhere calling an arm wrestling match.

[TheOldRoman]

Glad the Jays won though, all I care about. Forgot the game was on WGN, I really wanted to hear Hawk cry.

Love it! I said the EXACT SAME THING on Twitter earlier today. Hawk is a total joke. Forget MLB. He should be out somewhere calling an arm wrestling match.

Cool story, bro.

[Cujo]

Glad the Jays won though, all I care about. Forgot the game was on WGN, I really wanted to hear Hawk cry.

Love it! I said the EXACT SAME THING on Twitter earlier today. Hawk is a total joke. Forget MLB. He should be out somewhere calling an arm wrestling match.

Cool story, bro.

Glad you liked it, BRO.

[rroy0824]

Justin Verlander named starter for the American League

[Sport]

I hate all of the Pittsburgh sports teams and the ridiculous string of good fortune they've had. That said, I don't really mind the Pirates not completely sucking anymore. They're one of baseball's classic franchises with a ton of history and they have a beautiful stadium and it's nice to see people are actually going to it (even if they're wearing the worst color combination in sports).

But so help me if terrible towels start to show up at PNC.

[CS85]

Glad the Jays won though, all I care about. Forgot the game was on WGN, I really wanted to hear Hawk cry.

Love it! I said the EXACT SAME THING on Twitter earlier today. Hawk is a total joke. Forget MLB. He should be out somewhere calling an arm wrestling match.

Cool story, bro.

edit: not worth it

[NJTank]

Tony LaRussa sucks that is all. Ifg he screws over R.A. Dickey and does not let him pitch because whinny catchers dont want to catch a knuckleball I hope the NL gets hammered. It is a joke Dickey is not starting. A flat out joke.

[rroy0824]

Tony LaRussa sucks that is all. Ifg he screws over R.A. Dickey and does not let him pitch because whinny catchers dont want to catch a knuckleball I hope the NL gets hammered. It is a joke Dickey is not starting. A flat out joke.

Agreed. Dickey has been the best in the NL this year. He deserves it.

[infrared41]

Tony LaRussa sucks that is all. Ifg he screws over R.A. Dickey and does not let him pitch because whinny catchers dont want to catch a knuckleball I hope the NL gets hammered. It is a joke Dickey is not starting. A flat out joke.

Why is LaRussa even involved? I know he managed the NL pennant winner last season, but he also retired after last season. I realize that technically he's supposed to manage the NL. What I don't understand is why he's bothering with it. Why not just say no thanks and let the next active manager in the line of succession have the gig?

I agree with this guy...

After winning the 2011 World Series, La Russa was given a moment to embrace the spotlight and walk away from the game in a moment of glory. I would have applauded. He was a genius in the dugout and a shoo-in Hall-of-Famer.

But he chose not to. He could have humbly stepped aside and let current Cardinals? manager Mike Matheny manage the National League roster in Kansas City, but that?s not Tony La Russa?s style is it?

La Russa always has a way of making things about himself. He angered Reds? manager Dusty Baker by not selecting deserving All-Star candidates Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips because of a 2010 brawl with the Cardinals.

And so on...

[Cujo]

Tony LaRussa is a selfish prick. Why is he managing this game? He is no longer associated with the St. Louis Cardinals or the National League. You think he gives a flying if the NL wins this game and home-field in the World Series? Hell no. All he cares about is being seen. The spotlight, just like old times.

[pmoehrin]

Tony LaRussa sucks that is all. Ifg he screws over R.A. Dickey and does not let him pitch because whinny catchers dont want to catch a knuckleball I hope the NL gets hammered. It is a joke Dickey is not starting. A flat out joke.

Agreed. Dickey has been the best in the NL this year. He deserves it.

The rational makes sense, but I tend to agree that Dickey is easily the guy to start the game. (especially given that Johnny Cueto isn't even on the team, which is a crime)

[Sport]

Cueto is 10-5 with a 2.39 era, but he didn't make the all-star team because he kicked Jason Larue in the head two years ago. Larussa's excuse is that Cueto was getting pitched on Sunday so he wasn't going to put him on the team. Pretty convenient for Larussa if you ask me. Fact is, Larussa didn't pick him because of the brawl and found a tidy excuse to hide behind.

Tony doesn't like Brandon Phillips because two years ago Phillips called the Cardinals "Whiners" (he's still not wrong), plays the game with smile, and tends to grandstand which doesn't fit in with his stern baseball philosophy. Phillips has borderline all-star numbers so that's not as egregious an omission. It's curious that he picked Jay Bruce who's batting .249 this year. I wouldn't be surprised if he picked Bruce to slight Phillips.

I don't know, it just feels like classic Larussa bulls***. You'd think with his resume he wouldn't need to play these games, but it's clear that he isn't.

at least he'll always be 0-4 in world series games against Cincinnati.

[STL FANATIC]

Bitch about La Russa all you want because your players didn't get selected, but ALL of his moves are defensible on the basis of trying to win the game.

You don't think La Russa's trying to do everything he can to win in his last hurrah? Then you do not understand Tony La Russa.

You know why Cain is starting over R.A. Dickey? Because Cain and Posey are battery mates. It's smart to ensure they work together.

You know what makes R.A. Dickey's knuckleball that much more effective? Pitching him right after a hard thrower. Pitching another hard thrower after Dickey also helps that third pitcher.

The Reds thing is sad. I discussed that in another post. Cueto probably deserves to be there, but the players didn't pick him first. And with the few picks La Russa had, all of them make sense. The NL didn't need three 2B (especially when they had three SS at the time) and Phillips wasn't exactly a shoo-in, so there's really no need to even discuss whether Phillips got snubbed.

You know you've reached tinfoil hat levels when you suggest that La Russa actually took a Reds player over a more deserving Cardinals player to cover up his "snubs" of other Reds players.

All is made better by the fact that the conspiracy alleges this whole thing started when Brandon Phillips called the Cardinals "whiners" only to have the entire city of Cincinnati flooded with tears over All Star Game selections.

[FiddySicks]

So Cain got the start over Dickey? Well, I don't agree with it, but I'll definitely take it! Four starters for the Giants. Unbelieveable.

[bosrs1]

Looks like Oakland has some competition now if San Jose is denied by MLB in their efforts to land the A's. Since the Maloofs have made keeping the Kings an untenable proposition the city of Sacramento is turning and offering the same site and the same $250 million the Maloofs turned down to the A's should they want if if their SJ dreams fall through. Looks like Oakland's block SJ and do nothing routine has just lost its potency.

Sacramento A's anyone?

[FiddySicks]

Looks like Oakland has some competition now if San Jose is denied by MLB in their efforts to land the A's. Since the Maloofs have made keeping the Kings an untenable proposition the city of Sacramento is turning and offering the same site and the same $250 million the Maloofs turned down to the A's should they want if if their SJ dreams fall through. Looks like Oakland's block SJ and do nothing routine has just lost its potency.

Sacramento A's anyone?

Yes, please.

[pmoehrin]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8144460/reggie-jackson-barred-new-york-yankees-events-sources-say

Looks like the Yankees are trying to get Reggie Jackson to do something he's never done before. Which is shut up.

[infrared41]

Bitch about La Russa all you want because your players didn't get selected, but ALL of his moves are defensible on the basis of trying to win the game.

You don't think La Russa's trying to do everything he can to win in his last hurrah? Then you do not understand Tony La Russa.

You know why Cain is starting over R.A. Dickey? Because Cain and Posey are battery mates. It's smart to ensure they work together.

You know what makes R.A. Dickey's knuckleball that much more effective? Pitching him right after a hard thrower. Pitching another hard thrower after Dickey also helps that third pitcher.

The Reds thing is sad. I discussed that in another post. Cueto probably deserves to be there, but the players didn't pick him first. And with the few picks La Russa had, all of them make sense. The NL didn't need three 2B (especially when they had three SS at the time) and Phillips wasn't exactly a shoo-in, so there's really no need to even discuss whether Phillips got snubbed.

You know you've reached tinfoil hat levels when you suggest that La Russa actually took a Reds player over a more deserving Cardinals player to cover up his "snubs" of other Reds players.

All is made better by the fact that the conspiracy alleges this whole thing started when Brandon Phillips called the Cardinals "whiners" only to have the entire city of Cincinnati flooded with tears over All Star Game selections.

His "last hurrah?" We're talking about a guy with three World Series rings, including a beautiful and improbable run to wrap up his career in 2011. We're talking about a guy who many consider to be one of the all-time great managers in MLB history. He's a surefire hall of famer. Do you really think he sees this ASG as the exclamation point to his career? I sure don't. That said, if LaRussa is the competitor you claim he is and he's taking this game as seriously as you think he is, then why is it so unreasonable to think he still holds a grudge against the Reds?

No offense, but your post comes across an awful lot like nothing more than a guy who pissed that his team's former manager is taking some well-deserved flack. The questions raised about LaRussa's decisions are perfectly legitimate.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8144460/reggie-jackson-barred-new-york-yankees-events-sources-say

Looks like the Yankees are trying to get Reggie Jackson to do something he's never done before. Which is shut up.

I thought what he said about A-Rod was pretty fair.