2006 MLB Catch-All Thread

[Kyyle23]

Sweeney drilled: Oft-injured Mike Sweeney survived another scare on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

 

During the ninth inning, after Mariano Rivera got one out and gave up a single to Mark Grudzielanek, Sweeney was struck in his right hand by a pitch.

 

Sweeney left the game and had the hand wrapped after the game, but X-rays were negative.

[whitesoxfan101]

Ramirez left the game early limping for the Cubs, to answer some of the questions in here.

 

The guy that hit the grand slam for the Reds is going to be a good one, Edwin Encarnacion (Juan's younger brother).

[Heads22]

I'm glad all these guys that have been gettin ghurt lately dot my fantasy teams. Like they don't suck enough already.

[BigSqwert]

Bronson has as many homeruns as Ken Griffey Jr

I say we trade for him. We need a lead-off hitter.

[jackie hayes]

I'm glad all these guys that have been gettin ghurt lately dot my fantasy teams. Like they don't suck enough already.

Then I hope you have Griffey too. Left the game today with knee "stiffness". I love irony.

 

Edit: Doh! The article used to be titled "Notes: Griffey happy to be healthy". MLB jerks ruined my oh so humorous reference.

Edited April 12, 2006 by jackie hayes

[greasywheels121]

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/wrap.js...t=.jsp&c_id=mlb

 

Att: 8,994.

[Balta1701]

Rockies' reliever Mike DeJean has hit the 15 day DL.

 

Aubrey Huff left the game last night with a knee problem of some sort.

 

Ben Sheets threw 5.2 scoreless innings in a minor league rehab start, and may be back this weekend.

 

Zach Duke supposedly is sporting some obvious flaws in his delivery that the Pirates are trying to correct. Perhaps they should try sending him to Cooper?

 

Matt Lawton's steroid suspension is over.

 

Rangers Rookie 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler is hitting the DL with a dislocated left thumb. Gary Matthews Jr. is coming off the DL to take his place.

Edited April 13, 2006 by Balta1701

[Cali]

Wow do the Royals road jersey's look a thousand times better since they got rid of the black. Very Classy. I like it.

 

[BigSqwert]

Dusty Baker Not Worried About Cubs' Hot Start

 

April 13, 2006 | Onion Sports

 

CHICAGO—Despite their impressive 4-2 start and the fact that their pitching and offense appears to be clicking on all cylinders, Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday that he has "no doubt" that his team will be able to turn things around in time to miss the playoffs.

 

"I know things look good right now, and you hate to see Cubs fans get encouraged early, but I'm certain that things will straighten themselves out and we'll be in third place by early May," Baker said at a press conference Wednesday. "With the talent and drive we lack, it's foolish to think that this team can continue playing at this rate all year."

 

"If it's September and we're still atop the division standings? Then we'll start panicking," Baker added.

 

In their disappointing series sweep of the rival Cardinals last weekend, the Cubs did all the little things right, winning ballgames with a combination of solid pitching, good defense, and timely hitting—fundamentals that Baker says his team will eventually ignore as the season goes on.

 

"The guys are in a bit of a groove right now, but they'll snap out of it," Baker said. "It's early yet. There's still plenty of time to get back off track and give the fans the kind of season they've come to know and expect."

 

"I'd love to go out there and lose all 162 games for this city, but both the players and the fans know that's not possible no matter how bad you are," he added.

 

Longtime Cubs fans have echoed Baker's sentiments, saying that, despite the emergence of Derrek Lee as a triple-crown threat and the acquisition of a top leadoff hitter in Juan Pierre, they still have complete faith that the Cubs have what it takes to make it all the way to October without ever factoring into the playoff picture.

 

"Sure, other teams may look just as awful on paper, but the Cubs have all the intangibles—the inability to play as a cohesive unit, management that always seems to make the wrong moves, a storied history of crushing, tragic defeats despite favorable odds," said Chicago-area resident Matt Grant. "No winning streak can get that lose-at-any-cost mentality out of our Cubbies' heads."

 

"This is the year," Grant added. "This is the year we extend our World Series drought to 98 years."

 

Baker cited several other reasons he thinks the Cubs will work into a slump and quickly get back under .500, including his inexperienced pitching staff returning to their usual form, his plan to rush injured stars Mark Prior and Kerry Wood back to action in time to inflame their injuries and cause enough arm damage to make them miss the entire season, and the fact that his son Darren is now older and larger than he was in the 2002 playoffs, and therefore capable of more effectively obstructing the basepaths while his team is trying to score.

 

Although his harshest critics say that the Cubs appear to be doing everything right so far, Baker points to Tuesday's 9-2 drubbing at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds as a clear indication that his team is moving in the right direction.

 

"Tuesday's loss was a prime example of the kind of baseball this team is capable of playing on a regular basis," Baker said of the game in which the Cubs managed to score only two runs while leaving 15 men on base and allowing six home runs. "The key is that this was a balanced attack against us. Any team can allow a big inning—as we did in the five-run sixth that featured a grand slam—but the Reds also scored a run in each of the first four frames. If we can consistently take that kind of well-rounded beating—and if any team can do it, it's us—I truly think we can lose 90 games."

 

Baker said that, although the box scores show that the Cubs won four of the first six games, in reality, they had the opportunity to lose "any or all of them."

 

"Unfortunately, we just happened to get some lucky breaks, some good bounces, and had some calls go our way—over the course of a long season, that's gonna happen to any team a few times," Baker said. "We'll be fine, though."

 

He added: "Talk to me in June."

[iWiN4PreP]

[Kyyle23]

I was flipping through the 600's of my directv channel guide, and I came across the YES network airing the "Jason Giambi's Grand Slam" game. I was not aware that there was a "Jason Giambi's Grand Slam" game. He hit some grand slam homerun in the 14th inning of a game on 05/17/2002. It wasnt even a playoff game, it was a game in May. You would think a team with such a storied history would have better games to air.

[Rowand44]

I was flipping through the 600's of my directv channel guide, and I came across the YES network airing the "Jason Giambi's Grand Slam" game.  I was not aware that there was a "Jason Giambi's Grand Slam" game.  He hit some grand slam homerun in the 14th inning of a game on 05/17/2002.  It wasnt even a playoff game, it was a game in May. You would think a team with such a storied history would have better games to air.

That was the game that supposedly made Giambi a yankee, blah blah blah. It was against the Twins and he was really struggling in his first year there, he hit that granny in like a down pour and then he started to play real well.

[WHarris1]

The A's go back-to-back-to-back. Chavez-Frank-Bradley

[Benchwarmerjim]

I was flipping through the 600's of my directv channel guide, and I came across the YES network airing the "Jason Giambi's Grand Slam" game.  I was not aware that there was a "Jason Giambi's Grand Slam" game.  He hit some grand slam homerun in the 14th inning of a game on 05/17/2002.  It wasnt even a playoff game, it was a game in May. You would think a team with such a storied history would have better games to air.

 

holy cow

just when i got that game out of my mind

 

its known in my circles as 'The Mike Trombley Game'

he was washed up and in AAA

but got called up because someone got injured

he was the last pitcher in the pen

and the 14th inning came

he came in

and bam granny

 

 

it really was one hell of a game

[rventura23]

The A's go back-to-back-to-back.  Chavez-Frank-Bradley

on three pitches, impressive

[3E8]

Another error for Rowand. One more and he matches all of last seasons total.

[greasywheels121]

I'm not digging the phone call additions to BBTN.

[Kyyle23]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/deluca/cst-spt-deluca16.html

 

BIG-LEAGUE BUZZ

 

# Left-hander Randy Johnson was the only member of the New York Yankees' original rotation in 2005 not to make a trip to the disabled list, but the 42-year-old left his outing Thursday against the Kansas City Royals after five innings and 87 pitches because of shoulder stiffness. Manager Joe Torre said Johnson is on schedule to make his next start.

 

# Beefy left-hander C.C. Sabathia (strained right oblique) will need at least two rehabilitation starts before rejoining the Indians' rotation -- probably in early May -- according to manager Eric Wedge.

 

# Oakland Athletics co-owner Lewis Wolff is nearing a deal to buy land from tech giant Cisco and build a ''baseball village'' that would include a hotel connected to the ballpark, thousands of homes and a major retail complex in East Bay neighbor Fremont, Calif.

 

# Former White Sox right-hander Esteban Loaiza, on his 0-2 start and 11.42 ERA after signing a three-year, $21 million contract with the A's: ''I hope nobody has a curse against me. No little voodoo stuff.''

 

# During his 2-for-12 start -- with no home runs -- San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds consistently swung at pitches outside the zone, something he hadn't done in recent years.

[DBAHO]

I saw Bonds the other day on a Fox Day Game against the Astros. He almost hit 2 homers on 2 fastballs Bucholz threw right down the plate, so he's still got the power, but the announcers kept mentioning how bad his plate discipline has been and how he's been swinging at a lot of balls outside the plate. And unless that changes, he's not going to improve his power numbers in a hurry.

 

And maybe Loaiza should start throwing above 85MPH instead of wondering about Voodoo Curses. You think Billy Beane is re-considering that 3Y/21M deal right about now?

[LosMediasBlancas]

Are injuries and the number of players on the DL up this year??

[Kyyle23]

I saw Bonds the other day on a Fox Day Game against the Astros. He almost hit 2 homers on 2 fastballs Bucholz threw right down the plate, so he's still got the power, but the announcers kept mentioning how bad his plate discipline has been and how he's been swinging at a lot of balls outside the plate. And unless that changes, he's not going to improve his power numbers in a hurry.

 

And maybe Loaiza should start throwing above 85MPH instead of wondering about Voodoo Curses. You think Billy Beane is re-considering that 3Y/21M deal right about now?

 

Bonds basically missed a year of playing, I can understand how his timing isnt on yet. However, his warning track flyball yesterday against the dodgers looked like a ball he would have crushed in the days of yesteryear. He was right on it, it just didnt go as far as we are used to.

 

There could be a couple of things that are bringing Bonds back to earth if you think about it. First and foremost, he is (probably) off the juice. His knees are not the same, and he doesnt get as much lower body drive as he used to. His elbow could be bothering him if he really does have that many bone chips floating around. And almost an entire year off last year could have hurt his timing.

 

Everyone points to the lack of steroids, but it really could be a combination of a couple different things.

[Kalapse]

Guardado looks amazing spotting pitches on the outer half and striking out the first two Red Sox he faces in the bottom of the 9th with his Mariners up 6-5. He gets the Greek God of Walks down 1-2 and makes a nice pitch to him which he shoots back up the middle, the 2B Lopez dives and makes the stop and a good throw to first by Youkliss just beats it out. Mark Lorretta then steps to the plate and I'm thinking atleast there won't be a walkoff seeing how Mark has about no power. He then proceeds to hit a walkoff HR. Gaurdado looked so damn good shame it had to end that way.

[JoeBatterz]

When do we test Shelton for roids?

[Balta1701]

San Antonio has given the Marlins a May 15th deadline to commit to moving there.

 

Ryan Drese, pitcher for the Nationals, will not need surgery but will be out 4-6 weeks with an elbow injury.

 

The Astros have sued the insurance company that denied their $15 million claim on the final year of Jeff Bagwell's contract.

[whitesoxfan101]

Jeff Suppan had a rough night, Cards down 9-2 at Pittsburgh. However Pujols has homered already tonight, #10 on the season. Damn.