2011 MLB Catch-All Thread

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

How about Brian Sabean's comments. He basically said he hopes Cousins never plays another MLB game.

 

If that had been Eli Whiteside blocking the plate, Sabean wouldn't even think twice. If it had been the Marlins catcher blocking the plate, and Posey was trying to score, he would have done the same thing.

 

Those comments are garbage. Cousins, from what I heard, was in tears about this. Sabean can go f*** himself, and I hope he gets fined.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Buster Posey refused to accept Cousins' apology? f*** you, Buster.

 

+1

 

Lost a lot of respect for Buster. Cousins did nothing except play the game the right way. Shut the f*** up and deal with your unfortunate injury as a man.

 

How about Brian Sabean's comments. He basically said he hopes Cousins never plays another MLB game.

 

If that had been Eli Whiteside blocking the plate, Sabean wouldn't even think twice. If it had been the Marlins catcher blocking the plate, and Posey was trying to score, he would have done the same thing.

 

If anything happens to Cousins now, the SF pitcher and manager should be HEAVILY suspended and the SF organization should be severely fined. And then I hope whoever the Marlins pitcher is drills Sandoval in the back right after.

[southsider2k5]

Buster Posey refused to accept Cousins' apology? f*** you, Buster.

 

That is pretty immature.

[southsider2k5]

+1

 

Lost a lot of respect for Buster. Cousins did nothing except play the game the right way. Shut the f*** up and deal with your unfortunate injury as a man.

 

Well said.

[LittleHurt05]

Here are some of Sabean's comments

 

Sabean, on his weekly KNBR radio program, said Cousins' hit was "malicious" and "unnecessary," adding that photographic evidence showed Cousins veering to his left to hit Posey, shoulder to shoulder, in a "premeditated" act.

 

The GM's harshest statements in the lengthy interview came when co-host Ralph Barbieri noted that Posey had no desire to hear from Cousins.

 

"I don't blame the kid," Sabean said of Posey. "Why not be hard-nosed? If I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn't play another day in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy."

 

Sabean did not back down when asked shortly thereafter if his comment was a bit harsh.

 

"No," Sabean said. "He chose to be a hero, in my mind. If that's his flash of fame, that's as good as it's going to get, pal. We'll have a long memory. We talked to (former Giants catcher) Mike Matheny about how this game works. You can't be that out-and-out overly aggressive.

 

"There's no love lost and there shouldn't be."

 

[Steve9347]

+1

 

Lost a lot of respect for Buster. Cousins did nothing except play the game the right way.

I was under the impression that if the catcher is giving you part of the plate, you're supposed to take it.

[Steve9347]

Here are some of Sabean's comments

Premeditated? Take it easy Sabean. You're just lucky you backed into a world championship, because you are one awful GM.

[Balta1701]

Premeditated? Take it easy Sabean. You're just lucky you backed into a world championship, because you are one awful GM.

For being an awful GM, that franchise keeps producing a ridiculous amount of young talent.

[SoxAce]

For being an awful GM, that franchise keeps producing a ridiculous amount of young talent.

 

Ya. Completely sucking for 4 years and being able to draft Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and Posey had nothing to do with it. And where is this young talent your finding? Other than Kung Fu Panda (who they signed as a 17 year old) and the others mentioned, everyone else on that team other than Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford (who aren't even regulars and who I wouldn't consider studs like those mentioned) are 28 and older (unless you consider 28 "young"). Now I will say this. SF does have a very good scouting department (had a good one for a while), and even with high picks like they've had, you still have to make the right decisions and they have done that. (unless you trade a young talent like Liriano away at the time like that one GM's name that is slipping my mind right now did....)

[Steve9347]

For being an awful GM, that franchise keeps producing a ridiculous amount of young talent.

I'd chalk that up to good scouting and draft positioning from sucking. Sabean is still the guy who doled out big contracts to the wrong players. They drafted well for a run, and got hot at the right time after winning a putrid division. It happens.

[Balta1701]

Ya. Completely sucking for 4 years and being able to draft Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and Posey had nothing to do with it. And where is this young talent your finding? Other than Kung Fu Panda (who they signed as a 17 year old) and the others mentioned, everyone else on that team other than Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford (who aren't even regulars and who I wouldn't consider studs like those mentioned) are 28 and older (unless you consider 28 "young"). Now I will say this. SF does have a very good scouting department (had a good one for a while), and even with high picks like they've had, you still have to make the right decisions and they have done that. (unless you trade a young talent like Liriano away at the time like that one GM's name that is slipping my mind right now did....)

When your list basically finds a way to exclude Lincecum, Cain, Bumgartner, Posey, Belt, etc., you've sorta made my point for me.

[LittleHurt05]

How many playoff berths in the early 2000s would Sabean have had if he Bonds didn't get jealous of Sosa/McGwire and became the monster he was?

 

Also, I don't remember Sabean complaing about catcher collision when J.T. Snow plowed into Pudge at the end of the 2003 NLDS.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Ya. Completely sucking for 4 years and being able to draft Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and Posey had nothing to do with it. And where is this young talent your finding? Other than Kung Fu Panda (who they signed as a 17 year old) and the others mentioned, everyone else on that team other than Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford (who aren't even regulars and who I wouldn't consider studs like those mentioned) are 28 and older (unless you consider 28 "young"). Now I will say this. SF does have a very good scouting department (had a good one for a while), and even with high picks like they've had, you still have to make the right decisions and they have done that. (unless you trade a young talent like Liriano away at the time like that one GM's name that is slipping my mind right now did....)

 

You did forget about Jonathan Sanchez. I believe he was a 25th round pick. Whether that was good scouting or just plain luck is unknown. Otherwise, good post.

[LittleHurt05]

When your list basically finds a way to exclude Lincecum, Cain, Bumgartner, Posey, Belt, etc., you've sorta made my point for me.

 

3 of those guys were top ten picks (Posey was #5). Yes, drafting that high doesn't guarantee success as the Pirates & Royals keep proving, but you can get only so much credit for a pick that high in the draft.

[SoxAce]

You did forget about Jonathan Sanchez. I believe he was a 25th round pick. Whether that was good scouting or just plain luck is unknown. Otherwise, good post.

 

He is 28. Yes I know, it seems like yesterday he was in the minors.

 

When your list basically finds a way to exclude Lincecum, Cain, Bumgartner, Posey, Belt, etc., you've sorta made my point for me.

 

And what point would that be? You said they keep "producing ridiculous amount" of young talent. Well, it's not that hard to do when your picking in the top 10 (Cain excluded as he wasn't top 10) of draft picks for 4 years in a row. Belt was the only guy not drafted in the first round and he doesn't even sniff those guys as players. (and I LOVE Belt, not to mention I haven't even counted #6 overall pick Zach Wheeler yet either) Like I said earlier, you still have to make the right picks as well. So kudos to their scouting department.

Edited June 3, 2011 by SoxAce

[Steve9347]

You did forget about Jonathan Sanchez. I believe he was a 25th round pick. Whether that was good scouting or just plain luck is unknown. Otherwise, good post.

Sanchez? Really? He gets a lot of strike outs, but he still walks way too many guys and is 28. I imagine had the Sox ever gotten him like they wanted he'd be a mess in the American League.

[southsider2k5]

Looks like Sabean might have said too much...

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6622575

 

Joe Torre, who oversees baseball operations for Major League Baseball, plans to call Brian Sabean regarding comments the San Francisco Giants general manager made in a Thursday radio interview, a source told ESPN on Friday.

 

Sabean called the much-discussed May 25 collision at home plate between the Florida Marlins' Scott Cousins and Buster Posey, which resulted in a season-ending injury to the Giants catcher, "malicious" on KNBR of San Francisco. Sabean said he did not blame Posey for refusing to return an apologetic phone call.

 

"Why not be hard-nosed?" Sabean told the radio station. "If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy."

 

Sabean did not back down later in the interview; rather, he left little doubt that the Giants are planning on exacting some on-field revenge against Cousins.

 

"He chose to be a hero, in my mind, and if that's his flash of fame, that's as good as it's going to get, pal. We'll have a long memory," Sabean told KNBR. "Believe me, we've talked to (former catcher Mike) Matheny about how this game works. You can't be that out-and-out overly aggressive. I'll put it as politically as I can state it: There's no love lost and there shouldn't be."

 

Posey suffered three torn ligaments in his ankle and broke a bone in his lower left leg when Cousins collided with him at the plate in San Francisco's 12-inning loss to the Marlins.

 

Posey, the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, had surgery Sunday to repair the torn ligaments in his ankle. He had two screws inserted into his lower leg to stabilize the ankle in an operation that lasted about 90 minutes.

 

The Giants remain optimistic Posey will be ready for Opening Day next season but admit he has a long road ahead.

 

Cousins' agent, Matt Sosnick, said he understood Sabean's anger.

 

"It's an emotional time for the Giants and I understand Brian's disappointment," Sosnick told ESPN.com's Amy K. Nelson. "But his opinion is in the vast minority. It's a play within the rules and I imagine his opinion would be vastly different if Posey ran over (Marlins catcher John) Buck on a legal play and Buck was injured."

 

Sosnick confirmed to ESPN.com Thursday night his client had received death threats since his collision with Posey last week, and MLB's security department was notified.

 

"It's just enough," Sosnick said of the criticism leveled at his client. "Scott can't say (enough) he's sorry that it happened."

 

When reached Thursday night, Cousins declined to comment on anything related to what Sabean said and added, "I've said my piece. I feel horrible for Posey. The aftermath of this has not been fun."

 

Posey hit .284 with four home runs and 21 RBIs in 45 games. Last year, Posey was recalled from the minors in late May and hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs in 108 games.

 

Information from ESPN The Magazine senior writer Buster Olney and ESPN.com staff writer Amy K. Nelson contributed to this report.

[BearSox]

It was a bang bang play, and it obviously wasn't malicious at all. Should Scott have probably been going feet first to open part? Probably. But Posey was in an awkward position, and when he turned, he did seem to block most of the plate.

 

It is unfortunate what happened, but you cant fault Cousins at all. He did what he thought he had to to score the go ahead run on a bang bang play. If anything, I give cousins credit for playing hard and doing whatever he thought he had to do to score.

[southsider2k5]

BNightengale Bob Nightengale

#mlb #Marlins Logan Morrison fires back on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, calling #Giants GM Brian Sabean unprofessional for comments.

 

[southsider2k5]

BNightengale Bob Nightengale

#mlb #Marlins Morrison also criticizes Posey for not taking Cousins' calls to apology, confirming that Cousins is getting death threats.

 

[BearSox]

I'm liking Logan Morrison more and more.

[Milkman delivers]

I'll be the first to say it. I hope Posey never gets completely right again.

 

I'd also like to see Cousins become a mainstay in the league.

[ILMOU]

BNightengale Bob Nightengale

#mlb #Marlins Logan Morrison fires back on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, calling #Giants GM Brian Sabean unprofessional for comments.

 

Sabean deserves several lashings for his stupidity on this situation.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

“This is a very emotional time for the Giants organization and our fans. We lost for the season one of our best players to a serious injury and we are doing everything we can to support Buster Posey through this very difficult time. We appreciate Scott Cousins’ outreach to Buster Posey and to the Giants organization.

 

“Brian Sabean’s comments yesterday were said out of frustration and out of true concern for Buster and were not meant to vilify Scott Cousins. Brian has been in contact with Florida Marlins General Manager Larry Beinfest to clarify his comments and to assure him that there is no ill-will toward the player. He has also reached out to Scott Cousins directly.

 

“The issue of catcher safety is a complicated one. There are a number of differing opinions around the circumstances of last week’s collision and about what baseball should do to prevent serious injuries in the future. This issue goes far beyond last week’s incident as there have been a number of recent collision-involved injuries.

 

“We have been in contact with Joe Torre, Major League Baseball’s executive vice president for baseball operations, and have asked for a thorough examination of this issue for the health and safety of all players.

 

“We intend to move beyond conversations about last week’s incident and focus our attention on Buster’s full recovery and on defending our World Series title.”

 

 

http://www.csnbayarea.com/06/03/11/Giants-...amp;feedID=2796

 

 

This is an explanation/excuse and not much of an apology. Kinda surprised Sabean wasn't required to release his own statement or get fined.

[Balta1701]

http://www.csnbayarea.com/06/03/11/Giants-...amp;feedID=2796

 

 

This is an explanation/excuse and not much of an apology. Kinda surprised Sabean wasn't required to release his own statement or get fined.

They probably asked him to apologize, but not with a threat of firing attached.