2012 MLB Season

[NEW.ERA]

Congrats to Weaver! Good thing the Jays won't see him.

[Cujo]

DREAM WEAVER!

What else but a no-hitter to cap an epic day in the world of sports.

[Funky Bunky]

Yay Weaver! I live about 5 minutes away from Blair Field in Long Beach (Long Beach State's baseball stadium), and my school is right across the street. I used to go watch him when he was in college, and I have always been a giant fan of his.... Very excited for him!

Only 1 walk, too.

[LMU]

Such a great moment between Weavs and his parents after the game. I'm just glad I can finally get up to pee. I'm a little superstitious.

This is why you take the home team discount. Not every player has the chance to achieve a milestone like that with his wife and parents in the building.

Let's just hope the bullpen took some notes so they can turn it around. I was at his CG against the O's a couple weeks back. Weaver is the proverbial slump buster.

[oddball]

AT&T sucks and quite possibly Dish Network! This is one of the games they refused to pick up that was added from local tv to Fox Sports West. I presume lot of people are extremely pissed off. Myself, I'm not pissed off, but I'm going to use the occasion to get something more out of AT&T, because they refused to give me an opportunity to see history.

[Funky Bunky]

[Eye]

Also, Albert Pujols still can't hit to save his life.

Ten-year guaranteed contract? Yeah, pretty sure Puj doesn't give a damn.

He cares. A lot. And at this point that's probably working against him.

He's not who I thought he was, but he's still a good guy and he certainly cares about being a good baseball player. I imagine at some point he will be again, although I legitimately wonder if he'll ever be dominant again. His .300/30/100 days may be behind him for good.

But I'm not even remotely above enjoying it. I wish him no personal ill-will, but if on the baseball field he never hits a home run again, I won't feel even a little bad for him.

What do you base that on?

First off, let me say this. Not being who I thought he was doesn't mean he's not all kinds of good. He's still a good man. He's still a family man. He's still an extremely charitable man. The last thing I want to do is make the guy out to be evil. If I was an outsider to all of this, there'd be little reason to think less of him.

But that's not my perspective.

I thought he was the guy who truly valued his place in an iconic franchise. I thought he meant it when he said as long as the Cardinals franchise is set up to compete than he had no desire to leave for a few million extra per year. In the face of evidence to the contrary, I chose to believe his tantrums and standoffs with the media were him being misunderstood and misreported. I thought he and his family were above needing to be coddled. I thought they were above throwing out the tired refrain of money equals respect.

I thought he was really that one guy that proved all the big money athlete stereotypes wrong.

But he wasn't. He's still a very good man, but he's as prone as any of them that desire for fame. Don't get me wrong, he earned his money. I just thought he wasn't only after it. He had every right to take it. I have every right to hold a grudge.

I'll continue to appreciate what he does off the field. And I'll never wish him ill-will off of it. But I'd be a happy man if he never got a hit and never sniffed a World Series again.

I thought this blog post really captured my perspective. It was written a couple days after he left.

http://www.cardsdiaspora.com/2011-articles/december/open-letter-to-albert-i-love-you-f-you.html

This is sports. So he gets to take whatever contract someone is willing to offer him. And I get to be upset that he left a pretty darn good contract, an adoring fan base, and a great organization behind.

How dare he leave after only winning two world series, right? This is why you're fanbase is constantly being attacked.

You and other Cardinals fans are being ridiculous. You're not Cleveland and this isn't Lebron. You got more out of Pujols than he got out of you as fans. He owes you nothing. Be happy with your two fluke championships and move on.

You're right, it's not LeBron-Cleveland. LeBron situation was completely different. Cleveland reacted differently. There weren't mass jersey burnings in St. Louis. St. Louis took it in stride.

But you're telling me we don't have a right to hold a grudge? Really?

I appreciate what he did here. And I'm upset that he didn't appreciate what he had here enough to stay.

You're right that he owes me nothing. But why do I owe him something, then?

Like I said, we've both got rights. He had his to get as much money as he could. I have mine to begrudge him that.

I don't really think the Cardinals fan base is all that frequently attacked, but if it is it's because it's very large and the team is very successful. Those things make people look for the worst in fan bases. I know it, because I do it to opposing fan bases in other sports.

Doesn't surprise me that you have this opinion, considering you're a bat crazy delusional person who thinks he's part of a professional baseball team and cried when Illinois was not allowed to have some white kid dressed up as Chief Illiniwek do a dance routine.

[STL FANATIC]

Also, Albert Pujols still can't hit to save his life.

Ten-year guaranteed contract? Yeah, pretty sure Puj doesn't give a damn.

He cares. A lot. And at this point that's probably working against him.

He's not who I thought he was, but he's still a good guy and he certainly cares about being a good baseball player. I imagine at some point he will be again, although I legitimately wonder if he'll ever be dominant again. His .300/30/100 days may be behind him for good.

But I'm not even remotely above enjoying it. I wish him no personal ill-will, but if on the baseball field he never hits a home run again, I won't feel even a little bad for him.

What do you base that on?

First off, let me say this. Not being who I thought he was doesn't mean he's not all kinds of good. He's still a good man. He's still a family man. He's still an extremely charitable man. The last thing I want to do is make the guy out to be evil. If I was an outsider to all of this, there'd be little reason to think less of him.

But that's not my perspective.

I thought he was the guy who truly valued his place in an iconic franchise. I thought he meant it when he said as long as the Cardinals franchise is set up to compete than he had no desire to leave for a few million extra per year. In the face of evidence to the contrary, I chose to believe his tantrums and standoffs with the media were him being misunderstood and misreported. I thought he and his family were above needing to be coddled. I thought they were above throwing out the tired refrain of money equals respect.

I thought he was really that one guy that proved all the big money athlete stereotypes wrong.

But he wasn't. He's still a very good man, but he's as prone as any of them that desire for fame. Don't get me wrong, he earned his money. I just thought he wasn't only after it. He had every right to take it. I have every right to hold a grudge.

I'll continue to appreciate what he does off the field. And I'll never wish him ill-will off of it. But I'd be a happy man if he never got a hit and never sniffed a World Series again.

I thought this blog post really captured my perspective. It was written a couple days after he left.

http://www.cardsdiaspora.com/2011-articles/december/open-letter-to-albert-i-love-you-f-you.html

This is sports. So he gets to take whatever contract someone is willing to offer him. And I get to be upset that he left a pretty darn good contract, an adoring fan base, and a great organization behind.

How dare he leave after only winning two world series, right? This is why you're fanbase is constantly being attacked.

You and other Cardinals fans are being ridiculous. You're not Cleveland and this isn't Lebron. You got more out of Pujols than he got out of you as fans. He owes you nothing. Be happy with your two fluke championships and move on.

You're right, it's not LeBron-Cleveland. LeBron situation was completely different. Cleveland reacted differently. There weren't mass jersey burnings in St. Louis. St. Louis took it in stride.

But you're telling me we don't have a right to hold a grudge? Really?

I appreciate what he did here. And I'm upset that he didn't appreciate what he had here enough to stay.

You're right that he owes me nothing. But why do I owe him something, then?

Like I said, we've both got rights. He had his to get as much money as he could. I have mine to begrudge him that.

I don't really think the Cardinals fan base is all that frequently attacked, but if it is it's because it's very large and the team is very successful. Those things make people look for the worst in fan bases. I know it, because I do it to opposing fan bases in other sports.

Doesn't surprise me that you have this opinion, considering you're a bat crazy delusional person who thinks he's part of a professional baseball team and cried when Illinois was not allowed to have some white kid dressed up as Chief Illiniwek do a dance routine.

Willfully wrong and ignorant. But I enjoyed the attack.

[Mings]

Is it so wrong though? Your entire persona on this board is uber-Cards and Illini fan who goes on a warpath when someone talks bad about his teams.

I have a couple classmates just like you and they are the exact same way when you say anything bad about the Cards. Last year they were kissing Albert's ass...this year they hate him. Face it, Cardinal fans are just as bad as Steeler fans, if not worse. You all have that whole delusional "St. Louis is the heart of the Midwest" thing going on too.

[McCall]

Is it so wrong though? Your entire persona on this board is uber-Cards and Illini fan who goes on a warpath when someone talks bad about his teams.

I have a couple classmates just like you and they are the exact same way when you say anything bad about the Cards. Last year they were kissing Albert's ass...this year they hate him. Face it, Cardinal fans are just as bad as Steeler fans, if not worse. You all have that whole delusional "St. Louis is the heart of the Midwest" thing going on too.

Everyone here that complains about the Cardinals started doing so on their own. We post Cardinals stuff no more than others post about their teams. But a few here don't like the Cards, which is their prerogative, and it snowballed into being the "cool thing" to do.

[Punch]

I've said it before, but I knew this Twins team was and still is capable of getting no-hit. I wouldn't be surprised if Weaver did it again on Monday against the same team. I know the Target Field fans will be cheering Weaver and booing anything in a Twins uniform.

Twins management needs to take all players and throw them in a garden fire.

[waltere]

Rays-Dodgers-Rangers all are tied for the best record in the league, 17-8 I think!

Also the Rays are 11-1 at home. Neat.

You think correct.

OT but, your new avatar is hypnotising me, I just can't stop watching it

You mean THIS?!

Yes.

The double effect of it as avatar and in your actual post is even more awesome

[LMU]

And completely lost in this thread... Guggenheim now has the reins at Chavez Ravine.

[STL FANATIC]

Is it so wrong though? Your entire persona on this board is uber-Cards and Illini fan who goes on a warpath when someone talks bad about his teams.

I have a couple classmates just like you and they are the exact same way when you say anything bad about the Cards. Last year they were kissing Albert's ass...this year they hate him. Face it, Cardinal fans are just as bad as Steeler fans, if not worse. You all have that whole delusional "St. Louis is the heart of the Midwest" thing going on too.

I think my "persona" is still being judged on when I was at teenager to 20 year old on these boards. I'm almost 25 now, and I almost never talk about my teams on here, and haven't for a long time.

I think this is the first time I've talked about AP on here since he left in December. I don't think I've really posted about the Cardinals all season. I didn't come on here to brag about the World Series. I post about the Rams as it pertains to the lease, and have at times gotten hasty in my defense of the fan base, but even there I've cooled. I don't think I ever post about the Illini. I post about Chief Illiniwek sometimes. Sorry, we all have our hot button topics, Chief Illiniwek is one for me.

That you guys keep coming back to the word "delusional" is unfortunate. It's a great buzz word to discredit me and make you feel good as you look down at the rest of the world, but it's not an accurate word. What you guys are really suggesting is that I've "mischaracterized" a situation. But, (1) that's not a fact, and (2) that's a far cry from a delusion.

(By the way, "Cardinals fans are just as bad as Steelers fans." Never heard those two compared before, but it adds up now. You're a Cincinnati fan. You're jaded towards a couple large fan bases of rival and very successful teams. But that's okay, because I'm the homer. Right.)

And I'm gonna leave it at that. You can get the last word in if you choose, but I'll let this thread get back to 2012 MLB discussion on my end.

[BigBubba]

It's since been edited, but here's the original edit.

On May 2nd, 2012, while umping a Dodgers/Rockies game on acid in Denver, CO, Welke called Scott Hairston of the Los Angeles Dodgers out at first base, even though Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was at least 3 feet away from first base on the play. Welke soon realized his mistake and commented,"WOW, FAR OUT MAN! THE SKY IS BREATHING AT ME!"

I love Wikipedia...

Doc got blown up yesterday, nearly doubling his ERA. Speaking of which, he's 9 wins short of 200. 300 is out of the question, but I could see him retiring with 250+. Just so long as he goes into the Hall wearing a Blue Jays cap, I'll be happy.

[Sport]

Is it so wrong though? Your entire persona on this board is uber-Cards and Illini fan who goes on a warpath when someone talks bad about his teams.

I have a couple classmates just like you and they are the exact same way when you say anything bad about the Cards. Last year they were kissing Albert's ass...this year they hate him. Face it, Cardinal fans are just as bad as Steeler fans, if not worse. You all have that whole delusional "St. Louis is the heart of the Midwest" thing going on too.

I think my "persona" is still being judged on when I was at teenager to 20 year old on these boards. I'm almost 25 now, and I almost never talk about my teams on here, and haven't for a long time.

I think this is the first time I've talked about AP on here since he left in December. I don't think I've really posted about the Cardinals all season. I didn't come on here to brag about the World Series. I post about the Rams as it pertains to the lease, and have at times gotten hasty in my defense of the fan base, but even there I've cooled. I don't think I ever post about the Illini. I post about Chief Illiniwek sometimes. Sorry, we all have our hot button topics, Chief Illiniwek is one for me.

That you guys keep coming back to the word "delusional" is unfortunate. It's a great buzz word to discredit me and make you feel good as you look down at the rest of the world, but it's not an accurate word. What you guys are really suggesting is that I've "mischaracterized" a situation. But, (1) that's not a fact, and (2) that's a far cry from a delusion.

(By the way, "Cardinals fans are just as bad as Steelers fans." Never heard those two compared before, but it adds up now. You're a Cincinnati fan. You're jaded towards a couple large fan bases of rival and very successful teams. But that's okay, because I'm the homer. Right.)

And I'm gonna leave it at that. You can get the last word in if you choose, but I'll let this thread get back to 2012 MLB discussion on my end.

He's right about the Cardinals and Steelers thing. The self-aggrandizing pomposity of Steelers fans is also present in every Cardinals fan I've ever met. Steelers fans behave as if they're the reason for the team's success and Cardinals fans breathe that too, though you're not nearly as annoying. And while not as large of a bandwagon fanbase, there are a ton of Cardinals fans that I know that have no connection to the city of St. Louis, just like so many Steelers fans have no connection to Pittsburgh.

Plus, both franchise have fluked into a couple championships in recent years and the ball always seems to bounce their way one way or the other.

And despite your "baseball is a business" justification, I still think you're being silly about Albert Pujols. You're more fortunate than 99% of baseball and it was his doing. He should be revered forever in St. Louis regardless of how he chose to leave. The man doesn't have to get buried in a Cardinals uniform.

[infrared41]

To the surprise of no one around here, I am an idiot. I was watching Twins - Angels last night. When the Angels went up 4-0 I decided to switch over to Marlins - Giants. Needless to say, I missed Weaver's no-hitter.

[RedSox44]

Adrian Gonzalez 0 for his last 17. Tis a shame.

Will Middlebrooks looked alright in his debut. 2-3, I think, with an SB.

[Sport]

Reds down 3-0 in the 9th, rally to win it in the 10th over Chicago.

I like what I'm seeing out of this team and I don't all at once. Pitching hasn't been that big of a concern, one could even say it's been good, especially the middle relief, but this team has been so cold offensively it's almost humorous. With the team batting average, it's a Christmas miracle they're 12-12.

That's the thing though. There's no way this group continues to be this bad at the plate for the rest of the season. If they keep pitching well, and start hitting, things will get better.

[floydnimrod]

Reds down 3-0 in the 9th, rally to win it in the 10th over Chicago.

I like what I'm seeing out of this team and I don't all at once. Pitching hasn't been that big of a concern, one could even say it's been good, especially the middle relief, but this team has been so cold offensively it's almost humorous. With the team batting average, it's a Christmas miracle they're 12-12.

That's the thing though. There's no way this group continues to be this bad at the plate for the rest of the season. If they keep pitching well, and start hitting, things will get better.

I think Votto's average will be up around .290 before we know it, he'll most likely be in a range .280 to .310 all year. Bruce always seems to have a hot week or two (he has four MLB Player of the Week awards in his career, tied with Barry Larkin, second to only Eric Davis, with five, for the Reds record) but I expect his numbers to drop, unless his weight loss has helped him figure out some things. I think Phillips' average will increase too - he only has 10 strikeouts, so he's putting the ball in play. Also, Ludwick and Rolen have to contribute more than a "veteran presence" for this team to be successful.