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Official 2011 MLB Thread v.2: The Mets are terrible.

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M

Mr. Enigma

Member
It's going to be funny when the Braves and Red Sox win the Wild Cards tonight with no tiebreakers needed. I predict a big Bud Selig trollface on MLB.Com afterwards.
 
E

eznark

Banned
LJ11 said:
Who's twitter? Terry said it was Reyes' call, he was emotional in the post game.

Who cares, if he went 0-4 and Braun sat then what?
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You think Braun is going to sit with home field on the line? And if that did happen you don't think I'd have a fucking rage-stroke Frank? Really?
 
E

eznark

Banned
Doytch said:
jesus fuck can't wait until the games start and this conversation can end.
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2FKnk.jpg
 
M

Mr. Enigma

Member
Brett Myers is FUCKIN READY:

When asked if this game took on any more importance for him, Astros starter Brett Myers said, "Oh hell yeah it does. I started off this season really poorly but I've got a chance to end it with a bang," Myers said. "I've been throwing really well this month. I've been preparing for this start very hard and hoped I would have a chance to impact this race. This is our World Series Game 7. If we can't go to the playoffs, we're going to do everything we can to make sure the Cardinals don't either. It's going to be fun tonight. Everyone needs to come out for this one."

Myers is a candidate for NL Pitcher of the Month in September. He's 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA in 5 September starts. The Astros are 5-0 in his last 5 starts.
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S

sangreal

Member
• Detek Jeter SS
• Curtis Granderson CF
• Mark Teixeira 1B
• Robinson Cano DH
• Alex Rodriguez 3B
• Nick Swisher RF
• Andruw Jones LF
• Jesus Montero C
• Eduardo Nuñez 2B
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
The Braves Should Give Tim Hudson a Quick Hook said:
Tonight, the Braves are essentially playing for their lives. If they lose and the Cardinals beat the worst team in baseball, their season is over. It’s possible that the Astros could help them out and beat Chris Carpenter, but Atlanta shouldn’t count on it, and thus, they should treat their contest with the Phillies this evening as an elimination game.

That kind of situation requires a different kind of managing. While they have their best healthy starter on the mound, Fredi Gonzalez should still be willing to go to his bullpen extremely early tonight.

This isn’t a slight on Tim Hudson, who is still a very good starting pitcher. His ERA was 14 percent better than league average this year, and his peripherals support the idea that he’s one of the more reliable starters around. However, even a good starting pitcher is generally more susceptible to allowing runs than a good relief pitcher, and their value comes from their ability to produce quantity of innings rather than quality.

For all the Braves struggles this month, they still have one thing going for them – the best bullpen in baseball. For all the talk about Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel being “worn down” and “overworked”, there’s not much evidence that it’s actually true. While Kimbrel has blown a couple of notable saves, his September xFIP is a ridiculous 1.30, so the problems have actually been more about the timing of hits allowed than actual struggles. Venters has been worse than earlier in the season (3.85 xFIP), but his GB and K rates remain strong, and his velocity hasn’t dropped significantly – I wouldn’t read too much into a one month surge in walk rate.

Venters and Kimbrel are two of the very best relievers in baseball, and the odds that the Phillies put up runs while either is pitching is dramatically less than if Hudson is the one on the mound. For comparison, Hudson allowed one run for every 10.2 batters he faced this year, while Kimbrel and Venters allowed one run for every 17.5 batters they faced this year. Even if you want to account for potential fatigue, you have at least a 30 percent decrease in run expectation with those guys on the mound as compared to Hudson.

The Braves can’t count on racking up a ton of runs tonight, so keeping the Phillies offense off the board is imperative – to that end, both Venters and Kimbrel should be informed before the game that they’ll each be going two innings tonight unless the Braves open up a big lead early. Kimbrel hasn’t pitched in four days, and Venters has made one appearance (throwing 13 pitches) in that same span. They’re rested and they’re capable of getting six outs apiece.

Ask Hudson to get through the line-up no more than two times, hoping he can give you five innings of something close to shutout baseball. After one full trip through the line-up, have Eric O’Flaherty start getting loose. It doesn’t take long for a rally to start, and with the left-handed bats in Philadelphia’s order, a critical situation with an LHB at the plate could materialize very quickly. O’Flaherty isn’t just a LOOGY, but he’s lights out against left-handers and good enough to get good right-handers out as well. If Hudson runs into some trouble in the 4th or 5th inning, O’Flaherty is likely a better bet to quench the rally before the Braves find themselves down a couple of runs.

By planning on getting three or four innings from Hudson, an inning or so from O’Flaherty, and two each from Venters and Kimbrel, the Braves can significantly lower the Phillies expected run total and increase their odds of winning tonight’s game, keeping themselves alive to fight another day. Pulling Hudson early also has the side benefit of potentially making him available for an earlier playoff start if the Braves advance to the National League Division Series.

Given the struggles of the rest of the team, I know it’s tempting to give your best starter the ball and ask him to win the game for you. However, the Braves best chance to win tonight – and to keep their season alive – is to let Hudson know that he’s only going to throw 60-75 pitches tonight, and he should plan accordingly. With a trio of relievers behind him that are just more likely to keep runs off the board, the Braves should not ask too much from Hudson tonight. Extending him too deep into the game could be costly, and this isn’t a game the Braves can afford to lose.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/the-braves-should-give-tim-hudson-a-quick-hook/
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should be interesting to see how fredi manages the pitching tonight. With Venters and Kimbrel fully rested, i'd say use them as much as possible.
 
M

Mr. Enigma

Member
The thing with Hudson is that he actually gets better as the game goes on.. Opponent's BA against him actually goes down the second time through the lineup and even more down the third time.

Hudson pitched 7 innings in the game #162 last year. He only gave up 2 hits (which, incredibly, were both 2-run homers; one to Werth, one to Mayberry). Venters started the 8th, but got shaky after an Infante error, and Bobby called Wagner in to the 8th inning. It was the only time he used Wagner in the 8th. Wagner actually allowed 4 runs to score, but kept it 8-7 and threw a perfect 9th.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
AnEternalEnigma said:
The thing with Hudson is that he actually gets better as the game goes on.. Opponent's BA against him actually goes down the second time through the lineup and even more down the third time.

Hudson pitched 7 innings in the game #162 last year. He only gave up 2 hits (which, incredibly, were both 2-run homers; one to Werth, one to Mayberry). Venters started the 8th, but got shaky after an Infante error, and Bobby called Wagner in to the 8th inning. It was the only time he used Wagner in the 8th. Wagner actually allowed 4 runs to score, but kept it 8-7 and threw a perfect 9th.
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well in general after the second time through the order relievers end up being the better option but hudson of course could always be an exception, but is he better than two of the best relievers in baseball after he has gotten tired? Perhaps but i wouldnt count on it. I just hope that if he does start to show signs of fatigue fredi pulls the trigger. This is no time to leave a pitcher in too long lol.
 
M

Meier

Member
Anyone think the Yankees will lay down for the Rays tonight and rest a bunch of starters? Surely they'd rather the Rays make it over the BoSox even if the Sox are struggling.. can't discount October magic.
 
hemtae

hemtae

Member
Meier said:
Anyone think the Yankees will lay down for the Rays tonight and rest a bunch of starters? Surely they'd rather the Rays make it over the BoSox even if the Sox are struggling.. can't discount October magic.
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They aren't resting the position players but they are throwing out a complete scrub for a pitcher
 
P

ProtoCents

Banned
Meier said:
Anyone think the Yankees will lay down for the Rays tonight and rest a bunch of starters? Surely they'd rather the Rays make it over the BoSox even if the Sox are struggling.. can't discount October magic.
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sangreal said:
• Detek Jeter SS
• Curtis Granderson CF
• Mark Teixeira 1B
• Robinson Cano DH
• Alex Rodriguez 3B
• Nick Swisher RF
• Andruw Jones LF
• Jesus Montero C
• Eduardo Nuñez 2B
Click to expand...

No.
 
S

sangreal

Member
hemtae said:
They aren't resting the position players but they are throwing out a complete scrub for a pitcher
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Complete scrub is a bit harsh. He is a top prospect. Only problem is that he is only really at the AA level at this point.

Over/under on 6 walks in 2IP?
 
T

The Frankman

Banned
sangreal said:
They were just talking about that on ESPN.
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Shit, was it on Sportsnation? I missed it.

I swear the Braves could lose the WC and Boston make the playoffs, and ESPN would still cover Boston ALMOST blowing it.



plz let this happen...
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
The Frankman said:
Tito Jackson is a derogatory term for a scrub. Like Dwight Howard and the four Tito Jacksons... one star and a bunch of wanabees riding on the coattails on the star.
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Never heard the term before. Does it refer to a specific team or player or something? I'm not much of a basketball fan, baseball is the sport I love, but I've watched some of it here and there.

But anyway, he's Terry "Tito" Francona, and no, I've never heard any criticism of the nickname in the eight years he's been our manager, not that I can remember at least.
 
T

The Frankman

Banned
A Black Falcon said:
Never heard the term before. Does it refer to a specific team or player or something?
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When LeBron was in Cleveland heard it alot. Can be used with Dwight Howard also.
But anyway, he's Terry "Tito" Francona, and no, I've never heard any criticism of the nickname in the eight years he's been our manager, not that I can remember at least.
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Must've got it in Boston, never heard that name when he was in Philly.
 
hemtae

hemtae

Member
The Frankman said:
When LeBron was in Cleveland heard it alot. Can be used with Dwight Howard also.

Must've got it in Boston, never heard that name when he was in Philly.
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Not entirely sure how he got the nickname, but his father is Tito Francona
 
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