MLB 2013!

[Krista]

Reds swept the Phillies. But lost 2/3 to the Pirates.. so maybe they are just really good this season? I hope not... bah. 

[Daddydavek]

Cards lost to Philly yesterday because they have no real closer since Mott went down with an injury.  

[Pete Bruno]

Where are all the Phillie's fans?  We need to keep positive attitudes to help the guys, and just remember it won't be too long until Chooch is back!  That will get things back on track.

[Daddydavek]

Attendance is an interesting factor in MLB.    The Giants are doing really well and as reigning World Champs you'd expect that.   Look at the results tracked on the link below and from there go to the standings link.   Some small market teams do really well and have for years. (Oh by the way, the link below has a choice to look back at the last 10 years.)  Last year the Phillies had great attendance but their post-season ended early.  Atlanta has done well in the standings over the years and are off to a great start, but their attendance has never been all that great.   

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

[Daddydavek]

An excerpt from Bernie's column in today's Post-Dispatch:

 

 

BY BERNIE MIKLASZ bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com

 

Tracking the NL Central ...

REDS: Cincinnati’s top pitching prospect, rookie Tony Cingrani, had a strong debut Tuesday night, even though the Reds lost 4-2 to the Cubs in 10 innings. The lefty went 7 innings and gave up two runs on five hits with no walks and 9 strikeouts. He needed only 12 pitches to strike out the side in the first inning. “Cingrani threw great,” manager Dusty Baker told reporters. “The kid gave us all he had,” … Cingrani was called up from Class AAA Louisville when Johnny Cueto went on the DL with a strained right lat … Reds fans are hollering about LH reliever Manny Parra, who took the loss Tuesday. He has an 8.10 ERA and has allowed 15 hits in 6.2 innings.

 

BREWERS: When the Crew avoided a three-game sweep by coming back to beat the Cardinals’ bullpen for an extra-innings win on April 14, the triumph ignited a nine-game winning streak that’s moved Milwaukee into 2nd place. How did this happen? Several reasons: Power; the Brewers have slammed 15 homers in the nine wins including five from Ryan Braun and three each from Jonathan Lucroy and Yuniesky Betancourt. Yes, Betancourt _ who has driven in 13 runs during the nine-game streak…the Milwaukee bullpen has settled down nicely with a 1.21 ERA during the 9-0 run. New closer Jim Henderson is 5 for 5 in save opps this season, and the demoted closer John Axford is rebounding in a setup role, having made five consecutive scoreless appearances during the winning streak… No. 1 starter Yovani Gallardo has recovered from a rough beginning to go 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his last two starts … and Kyle Lohse has pitched very well, even though he may miss a start because of a dislocated finger on his non-throwing hand.

 

CUBS: Chicago Tribune beat writer Paul Sullivan notes that the team has gone 24-56 since last season’s July 31 trade deadline; that includes a lurching 6-13 start to 2013. When GM Jed Hoyer showed up on the team’s current road trip it led to some buzzing over manager Dale Sveum’s job security. But Hoyer told reporters Sveum has nothing to worry about. Hoyer put the blame on himself and baseball CEO Theo Epstein: “It's on Theo and it's on me. We have to figure out ways to get better. We're not the most talented team in the league right now. We're trying to build to get there, but as we get there we can't continue to make the kind of mistakes we've been making,” … the Cubs’ rebuilt rotation has been effective, posting a 3.04 ERA. But the bullpen is horrendous, with a 4.70 ERA and six blown saves. The Cubs have lost eight games already this season when leading after five innings.

 

PIRATES: They’re 11-9 and a three-game sweep of Atlanta raised the morale. The pitching has been outstanding, with a team ERA of 3.14 which include a 1.86 bullpen ERA. But the Pirates need to pump up the offense; they’re batting only .231 with a .299 onbase percentage and .367 slugging pct. The Pirates are averaging 3.6 runs per game and have scored 3 or fewer runs 11 times … CF Andrew McCutchen is off to a slow start, batting .243 and going 4 for 20 with runners in scoring position … Pirates’ No. 5 hitters have combined for only 6 RBIs and a .229 average … enigmatic 3B Pedro Alvarez is batting .150 with 23 strikeouts in 60 at-bats.

 

Thanks for reading…

— Bernie

[Krista]

Attendance will be crap until the summer. Most games are played in the evenings and the evening games get cold as the innings progress. Also, schools are still in session. I don't attend Baseball games until July or later for that reason. It does suck though that teams are doing so well and there's only a fraction of the crowd there to watch...

 

But I'd rather watch them on television, you can't see how good they look in uniforms unless you pay for the really good seats.

[Conner]

So here's a tongue-in-cheek question!

 

Last week, the Blue Jays and Rays split a 4-game series in Tampa Bay.  The Rays won game 4 in the 10th when the Toronto pitcher walked the batter with the bases loaded.

 

Can we call that a walk-off walk? 

[Daddydavek]

I think I would call it incredibly embarrassing.   Baseball is like that, spectacular plays followed by clueless foul-ups.  My Cards are doing great, but they have made some stupid mistakes as well.  Like the pitcher fielding an infield grounder and throwing the ball to the second baseman when the short stop was covering second and it would have been an easy out for the lead off runner.  Instead it was no out at all.

[Krista]

I'd call it a walk off... lol.  Of the worst kind.

 

Reds are on a bit of winning streak  of 6 games and Cueto is coming back Monday!  

[Daddydavek]

The Cards, the Reds, the Rangers, and the Pirates sit a top all of baseball standings in that order as of Sunday morning.   Who'd of thought the National League Central would be so dominant through the first third of the season?

[Krista]

Don't jinx them.. err.. you can go ahead and jinx the Cardinals.. Last year the Pirates were in the thick of it and then faded terribly... hopefully the NL Central stays that dominate. 

[Daddydavek]

I find it interesting that the three National League teams are all relatively small market clubs and yet are fielding some of the best baseball in the majors.  I think one player on the Yankees (A-Rod) makes more than the entire Pittsburgh pitching rotation including relievers and the closer.    

[Krista]

I find it interesting that the three National League teams are all relatively small market clubs and yet are fielding some of the best baseball in the majors.  I think one player on the Yankees (A-Rod) makes more than the entire Pittsburgh pitching rotation including relievers and the closer.    

 

Makes you like them more, yes?

 

And.. What are y'all feeding them dudes in St. Louis? My goodness.. I was hoping Texas would beat them around a bit.. but no luck.. lol. 

[Bill W]

I think it's time for the Braves to start a new dynasty, like the one resposible for the 14 straight Division titles from 1191 tp 2005.  I know we no longer have Bobby Cox, but Go Braves! 

[Daddydavek]

The Braves are doing well Bill!   

 

For the first third of the long season we have several teams in the National league doing well including my Cardinals, the Reds, the Pirates and the Diamond Backs as well.  

 

With a bit of luck, a few less injuries and continued good pitching we should be ok.  

[Bill W]

Yes, I just hope we don't have a collapse down the stretch.  I'm having fun watching them right now. 

[Bill W]

Sure.  Me and my big mouth.  Since I made that last comment, about hoping the Braves don't collapse, they gone into a tailspin.  They lost so many games since then that they must consider me a jinx. 

[Daddydavek]

Well my best team in baseball lost a series to Miami and tonight lost to the Cubs.  That's baseball!

[Conner]

Considering the talent (especially pitching) the Blue Jays brought in during the off season, they have had the most dismal season.  However, they have won 7 in a row   , including a 4-game sweep of the Rangers.  I best enjoy it while I can. 

What changed?  I don't know.    As Dave says, "That's baseball."

[Daddydavek]

Cards lost three in a row in inter-league play against the Rangers.  Thank heavens the Astros are up next!

[Krista]

Goodness the Reds' road trip is killing me.. late games.. Aaron filling up the swear jar.. and them LOSING.. sucks. 

[Daddydavek]

The Pirates are leading the National League Central Division and the Cards lost 2 of 3 to the Oakland A's.  Bummer!

[Bill W]

Will this be enough to discourage the use of performance enhancing drugs?

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9464246/ryan-braun-refused-answer-mlb-questions-biogenesis-clinic-sources-say?icid=maing-grid7%7Caim%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D341805

[Krista]

You'd think penis shrinkage would be deterrent enough.  But yeah, when they start popping the word, "banned," and actually follow through with it then people might take notice.

 

I've seen some people do really well whilst on it... then fall to shit when they are caught or there are questions surrounding them... it's obvious the enhancement out weighed true talent...

 

Big Brown in horse racing. They took him off of his.. borderline illegal stuff and he might as well have been a Mule instead of a true Triple Crown contender. After blowing out the field in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness... he didn't even finish the Belmont.. and never recovered to race again. If they had left him on them, we would have had a triple crown winner... then hundreds more foals born with his cheapened genetics.

 

I hope for our sake people start getting really tired of these frauds so we can start weeding them out of all sports, not just baseball.

[Bill W]

Now here's a pitcher fielding his position. 

 

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