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It's finally here. First pitch in Tokyo in less than an hour.

2012 has been the target Pirates ownership has been pointing to for years. Who knew they were pointing at year 20 of the streak? Keeping K-dro Alvarez on the major league roster is just the kind of boneheaded move that will make "here we go again" the motto of this year's bunch of Buccos.

And yet, none of that will stop me from trying to make as many games in person as I possibly can, or cheering my lungs out when I'm there, in front of the TV, or listening to the radio.

Play frickin' ball!

Why do they have to make it Wednesday?!

I'll be buying MLB.tv later this week (payday tomorrow!).

DarkAudit said:

It's finally here. First pitch in Tokyo in less than an hour.

2012 has been the target Pirates ownership has been pointing to for years. Who knew they were pointing at year 20 of the streak? Keeping K-dro Alvarez on the major league roster is just the kind of boneheaded move that will make "here we go again" the motto of this year's bunch of Buccos.

And yet, none of that will stop me from trying to make as many games in person as I possibly can, or cheering my lungs out when I'm there, in front of the TV, or listening to the radio.

Play frickin' ball!

Click to expand...

Well, at least you got AJ Burnett...

I read today that the Reds signed Joey Votto to a ten-year extension worth $225 million. He's signed through 2023, with a club option for 2024.

What is this, I don't even?

PotaDOS said:

I read today that the Reds signed Joey Votto to a ten-year extension worth $225 million. He's signed through 2023, with a club option for 2024.

What is this, I don't even?

Click to expand...

Plus, he has a full no-trade clause, so he's a Red as long as he wants to be one.

So much for that good start to the season.

Did I mention how much I HATE the Cardinals?

Oof...Verlander goes into the 9th inning with only 81 pitches thrown and just completely melts down. Heartbreaking.

At least hockey is on tonight...? I predict I will be drinking heavily regardless of the Wings/Preds result. Do not bet against this.

And hopefully it will be because of the great pain we will inflict upon you.

Chase it down with some Visene, too, kay?

No, what you REALLY need to do is fire the owner.

And the only way you do that is to STOP GOING TO GAMES.

jwhouk said:

No, what you REALLY need to do is fire the owner.

And the only way you do that is to STOP GOING TO GAMES.

Click to expand...

And what will that accomplish? Will replacing the Nuttings suddenly stop Alvarez from striking out every at bat? How will a change that far up fix this year's Pirates?

Hurdle and Ritchie are supposed to be hitting gurus. Days like today have been the norm since they arrived.

I didn't say it'd fix anything THIS year. You have what's called a "culture issue" in Pittsburgh.

A culture issue doesn't fix the woeful hitting. Ray Searage has done a great job improving the pitching. That looks to have carried over into this year.

The fans have been told over and over that this was the target year. Was the target to be the first Pirates team to be no hit since '71?

Getting rid of the hitting coach for a team that couldn't hit in a t-ball game shows that this is an unacceptable situation.

Well, now, there's your first problem: Ray Searage was part of our "Brew Crud" squad pre-NL.

Okay, there's a 4-way tie for 1st in the AL east, between the Yankees, Orioles, Blue Jays, and Rays. Basically everyone who isn't the Red Sox. That's pretty cool.

jwhouk said:

Well, now, there's your first problem: Ray Searage was part of our "Brew Crud" squad pre-NL.

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And yet with the job he's done here after just one season, people should be tossing rose petals at his feet.

The Red Sox managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, giving up a 9-run lead in the 5th to lose 15-9 to the Yankees. This is after losing the series opener, on the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park, 6-2 to the Yankees. Bobby Valentine's job is already looking less than secure, 2 weeks into the season.

As a Yankees fan, all I can say is WOOOHOOO!

The Giants blew a gift-wrapped opportunity against the Mets today. All it took was putting their nearly-immobile first baseman at second (where he had never played before), then watch as he flails about in a fog of confusion rather than try to turn a double-play.

Thankfully it was only a temporary thing. The shortstop had to lead the game, the second baseman slid over to play short, and the backup shortstop was sick. Still, the backup first baseman is younger and more athletic, and he should have been the one to try playing second.

Null said:

Well, at least you got AJ Burnett...

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Hell yeah! Nice debut for the Buccos, eh?

Null said:

The Red Sox managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, giving up a 9-run lead in the 5th to lose 15-9 to the Yankees. This is after losing the series opener, on the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park, 6-2 to the Yankees. Bobby Valentine's job is already looking less than secure, 2 weeks into the season.

As a Yankees fan, all I can say is WOOOHOOO!

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I turned it off in the 4th damn it.

White Sox hat comes in the mail same day Humber throws a perfect game. COINCIDENCE!? Yeah, but still pretty funny. Also, I want to start following baseball again, and especially the White Sox, but NOW I CANT

You're in DC, start watching the Nation...ahahahahahahahhahaha

>: I

(although the cheap tickets are pretty awesome)

ElJuski said:

>: I

(although the cheap tickets are pretty awesome)

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At least you have a hometown team. I pull for the Yankees because they're my grandfather's team, plus my whole family is from NY originally (I've been in NC longer than I ever lived in NY though). It's why I'm a Giants fan. Funny enough though MLB considers the Orioles and the Nationals home market teams for my city.

/me makes note to go watch the Durham Bulls more this year.

Well, the Giants' Pablo Sandoval ends his hitting streak to start the season at 20 games. Not bad, Pablo. Not bad at all.

DA just loves Josh Harrison about now.

Doesn't do anything for the 12-strikeout one-hit shutout by the reigning AL MVP, though.

Don't be so sure about that. The pirates had four guys in the starting lineup hitting .200 or lower. That's unacceptable. A no-hitter would get more folks' attention that the hitting coach needs to go.

Unfortunately, it's not getting much better. The Pirates' AAA team in Indy hasn't scored in 40 innings.

...Wait, I thought the Pirates were a Triple-A team?

Did they not watch any Cowboy games last season?

Aaron Rodgers has better form on the mound. Only problem is his rather strange delivery...

Yo, Tony Plush...

Pirates fans get annoying when they actually win a game or two.

Thankfully, they don't do that very often.

And also thankfully, there aren't too many Pirates fans out there, either.

Hey, Dodgers! Look in the rear view mirror. Someone's getting closer...

Matt Cain = PERFECTION!!!!!

What's more notable is, it's the first in Giants history. Think about that for a while. Over 120 years of great pitchers - Christy Mathewson, Carl Hubbell, Juan Marichal, Amose Rusie, Joe McGinnity, Gaylord Perry, Rube Marquard - and the Giants didn't have a single pitcher throw a perfect game before last night.

He has to be one of the most deserving guys ever. For starters, he's a nice guy that people love around the clubhouse. Cain has also been one of the league's best pitchers for years, but his record looks awful do to nonexistent run support. I don't know how many times he's pitched 7+ innings and lost 1-0, or 2-1. Lincecum is the one with all the fame and accolades (and he truly earned them), so it was nice to see Cain get the spotlight for once.

I'm also excited that the Giants finally hit some homers at AT&T Park. That was getting embarrassing.

Geez, isn't this like the sixth or seventh time the M's have been on the bad side of a pitching performance?

Even after the disaster in Baltimore, the Pirates are still over .500. Time to go to Cleveland and see if it lasts.

I fucking HATE interleague baseball.

Giants complete a 3-game total shutout sweep of the Dodgers and are now tied for the NL West lead. Life is good.

Should have a bunch of zeroes being swept away with that.

I'm amazed (and a little disappointed) there are no Dodger fans on this board.

The Giants complete four shutouts in a row and are now in SOLE possession of first place in the NL West!

Did Mike diMuro call him out on the play?

The question always is that, are umpires really this bad, or is it just that every game is televised now and the mistakes are magnified where they weren't in years past?

Well, the Giants scoreless inning streak ended pretty quick there.

Yeah, Matt Cain's having an off night. Oh well, it was an awesome streak while it lasted.

Wow, nothing makes people complain more than when an All-Star roster is announced. Even the teams with the most players still find time to complain about how this player or that player was snubbed.

Can you imagine how much worse it would be if they didn't require each team to have one representative on the squad?

jwhouk said:

Can you imagine how much worse it would be if they didn't require each team to have one representative on the squad?

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How many years was Burnitz the only Brewer at the ASG?

I don't know, why don't you ask Lloyd McClendon how many times he was the only rep for the Pi-rates at the ASG?

(Pot, kettle, black, buddy.)

jwhouk said:

Can you imagine how much worse it would be if they didn't require each team to have one representative on the squad?

Click to expand...

Like the NHL does (and NFL, but no one gives a shit about the pro-bowl)? It would be horrible. Especially since there's always politics involved in picking the teams anyway.

...Did that really just happen in Milwaukee?

That had to be the worst game I've ever seen played by two teams, and yet somehow the Milwaukee Brewers, on their last at-bat of the game, won it on a homer by Aramis Ramirez.

ZOLTAN!

...and yet the park was only two-thirds full.

jwhouk said:

...and yet the park was only two-thirds full.

Click to expand...

So? When it's 100F or more out, and you're one of the million or so still without power since Friday, where are *you* gonna be?

Plus... it's Houston.

What's that? I can hear you over the wave of excuses.

'Scuse me? Can't hear you when you're all the way down there...

Now that I've looked at the box score, wait a cotton-pickin minute here! 95% is a lot more than 2/3, bub.

To paraphrase the great Leo Durocher: "...Is Seattle still in the league?"

Giants hitters responsible for five of the eight runs in the All-Star game tonight. You're welcome, National League!

Listen, Mets fans. Yes, Wright probably should have started. And you could make a case for Dickey being the starting pitcher. Okay. Fine. But those are relatively minor snubs, especially compared to those deserving players who weren't even selected for the team.

There was absolutely no reason to lose your shit like that.

The fans that started a petition to have Sandoval removed from the game? Go fuck yourselves. The writer on Bleacher Report who called Sandoval "the slowest player in MLB" and kept calling him "Fatty"? You can go fuck yourself too. The twits that trolled SF Giants message boards, talking about how Cain was overrated and didn't deserve to be on the team? The same guys who hoped someone from the AL would break Buster Posey's leg again because he didn't deserve to be there? Guess what, you can fuck right off.

Something about the All-Star game brings out the worst in baseball fans.

Having said that, I was happy to see the Giants play so well on the national stage. It was a fun game (on mute, since those announcers are brain dead).

I'm willing to bet all of the above was instigated by Dodger fans.

Friday is the day the second half of the season begins.

Or, as DA refers to it, "the day the Pirates start their long slide down into second division."

And the Milwaukee Brewers will be there to assist them.

Or as I refer to it: "football seasons a-comin!"

Okay Giants, I'm happy for you, I really am. You ended up winning tonight against the Braves and are now on a 5-game win streak, and that's great! But it's just that . . . CASILLA . . . just . . . AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!1!!!!!!!1! . . . !

Prince got knocked down in the 2nd inning tonight. Instead of charging the mound, he bided his time... then lined one right back through the box.

Cheesy1 said:

Okay Giants, I'm happy for you, I really am. You ended up winning tonight against the Braves and are now on a 5-game win streak, and that's great! But it's just that . . . CASILLA . . . just . . . AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!1!!!!!!!1! . . . !

Click to expand...

If that man ever gets to close another game, I will personally drive over to the stadium and smack Bochy upside the head. They need to limit Casilla to the 8th inning or earlier, and make Romo the closer. This shit is getting ridiculous. He's blown 4 of his last 5 save opportunities! At what point do you realize he isn't the guy?

And fuck you, Brian Wilson's elbow. Way to be selfish.

Um, Wow.

Rich getting richer.

Melky Cabrera: "Run! Save yourselves!"

(shamelessly stolen from deadspin.com)

Welcome to the bigs, rook! Starling Marte homers on the first pitch he sees in MLB.

Wait, this new guy the Dodgers got sucks? He blows saves? That's music to my ears.

Not going to panic... not going to panic...

The chattering classes are demanding a bat, a known quantity bat, in order to make a run at the Reds the rest of the way. I'm not so sure. The pitching has slipped dramatically since just before the Break. Correia has been demoted to the bullpen and has demanded a trade. Mac Donald has been shaky his last few starts, and Bedard just doesn't have it. The bullpen is solid, although Hanrahan is showing signs of overwork. Give me another starter so I'm not tempted to change the channel every time the opponents are at bat.

Don't look at us to leapfrog you. We've already run the white flag up over our bullpen ballpark.

The Giants got Hunter Pence for a steal. That is a massive upgrade for them. Nice work. Now that teams are set, it's time to see what the Giants are really made of. They have all the offensive weapons they need to be competitive. No, they're not an offensive powerhouse by any means, but they've got a solid core of hitters who can get on base and get some RBIs. The starting rotation is still good, and it will be one of the best if Lincecum can pull his head out of his ass. The bullpen is shaky for some reason right now, but they're a talented group who can come together and dominate when everything is clicking. I like the Giants' chances for winning the NL West, but the Dodgers are no pushovers.

Also, fuck ESPN. Fuck their bullshit biased baseball coverage.

*looks at Astros' starting lineup*


*opens up bag containing fucks given about baseball*

*empties all over the ground, burns bag, runs away*

Now Giants need to do something about Casilla. Seriously.

Just make him a setup guy, like he was before Brian Wilson got hurt. He's comfortable in that role. He can excel in that role. Then make Romo or Affeldt close the game. Affeldt's been closing pretty well lately.

Let me take this moment to thank all our resident Yankee fans for A. J. Burnett.

DarkAudit said:

Let me take this moment to thank all our resident Yankee fans for A. J. Burnett.

Click to expand...

Wow, do the Pirates look brilliant after that trade!

And A. J. is just a happier person now that he's in Pittsburgh. He's having fun now, and that fun has rubbed off on the rest of the team. So has the winning attitude.

...and I could still see you guys miss the division, get to the wild card game and lose in extra innings.

jwhouk said:

...and I could still see you guys miss the division, get to the wild card game and lose in extra innings.

Click to expand...

Which meant we still had a better season than Milwaukee and St. Louis.

Considering that Saint Louis might be your opponent....

Really Melky? REALLY?!

Fuck you Cabrera. It took about 20 minutes after the announcement for me to hear about how the entire Giants organization is some evil, corrupt 'roid-dealing empire. We're going to have to hear this shit for a while because of you.

On a happier note, congrats to the Mariners' Felix Hernandez on his perfect game today!

Someone want to pull Gared down from the ceiling? We don't want him to float away after what King Felix did this afternoon.

They should try testosterone. Apparently it's been doing WONDERS for my team this season.

Don't have the numbers in front of me, but how many no-hitters or perfect games have the Rays now had thrown against them? They're the most common victim over the last three or four years, if memory serves.

And amazingly, as bad as the last 20 years have been in Pittsburgh, they haven't been no-hit since Bob Gibson did it in 1971.

Of course, you know what's going to happen to them tonight, right?

Verlander came close...

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=320817106

Miguel Cabrera + Prince Fielder: 4-6, 3HR, 5 RBI

All other Tigers: 1-23, 4Ks

This is why they make ALL the money

I'm getting tired of self-proclaimed experts who pop out of the woodwork to say "I told you so!" about players.

"Oh, Colon got caught? That's no surprise. There have been rumors about him for months. People in baseball know who's using PEDs and who isn't."

Fuck off. If you know someone is cheating, then fucking say it now. Don't wait until they get caught and then claim you knew it was coming. I'm willing to bet you "experts" don't know shit and are just as surprised as the rest of us.

Or, they won't be able to sell people on the idea that they're baseball experts if they don't claim to have known everything beforehand! We can't have that!

(I'm looking at you, Kirkjian. Stick to convoluted stats and stop trying to convince people you know everything that's going on in every locker room.)

Yes, I also look for actual information and analysis rather than rumors and smug declarations of omniscience. We're funny that way, I suppose.

What exactly IS a "statistical abnormality"? And is it strange to anyone that three of the last four players who have been suspended for PED use happen to be from Latin American countries?

jwhouk said:

And is it strange to anyone that three of the last four players who have been suspended for PED use happen to be from Latin American countries?

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Given the huge numbers of Latin players that make up the population of baseball players as a whole, no.

Always a good night when the Giants sweep the Dodgers!

Tress said:

Fuck off. If you know someone is cheating, then fucking say it now. Don't wait until they get caught and then claim you knew it was coming. I'm willing to bet you "experts" don't know shit and are just as surprised as the rest of us.

Click to expand...

When I said this, I didn't mean throw around wild accusations.

Skip Bayless suggested that Derek Jeter is using HGH... with zero evidence to back it up.

Fuck you, Bayless. You're still a worthless moron, and I don't know why ESPN keeps giving you airtime to drool into a microphone. Shouldn't you be off somewhere sucking Tebow's dick?

Responding to an insinuation with an off-color ad hominum is farcical.

NY Daily News's Bob Raissman's piece on the Skip scandal.

I love how the Dodgers are seemingly trying to claim anyone and everyone off the waiver wires. Is that the stench of desperation I detect? Not to mention it's a blatant attempt at buying a championship, because they can't actually develop enough talent.

Having a problem, fellas? Did that Giant sweep make you realize that it ain't gonna happen this year?

Holy shit. The Sox are about to trade away Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers, who will also be taking Nick Punto off our hands in exchange for pretty much all their top prospects and James Loney. How big a salary dump is this? Sox had one of the top three payrolls in the league, and will have a payroll of just over $46 million next season. That's $300 million worth of contracts overall.

More Holy Shit: The Dodgers are going to eat 95% of those contracts. Ben Cherington just pulled off the greatest salary dump/fleecing of a trade partner in the history of the game.

And despite the best efforts of one J. Axford to give the game away, the Buccos have their Jolly Roger shot down yet again.

The salary dump by the Red Sox is enough to pay for the entire budget of Lynn, Massachusetts for FY2012-13.

And in the NL West, the countdown has officially begun!

Dear Pittsburgh, Saint Louis and Los Angeles:

Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.

Sincerely,
TBBC

16 over to .500. Sigh.

20 and counting.

[ETA]Reports from sources close to the front office show an organization that is a complete pile of shit. Guys nose deep in their devices rather than paying attention to what's going on on the field. Former players coming back to help the club are met with "who the fuck are you?" Former players who won RINGS with the club before you were a stain on the sheets, asshole.

If I say I'm done with them before the season is over, naturally, they'll go on a tear and break the streak. If I stand pat, they'll be Astros bad the rest of the way. I have a feeling which of those outcomes is the more likely.

I know one thing. If these front office wastes of space aren't gone after the season, I'm not setting foot in PNC next year. And I'm encouraging anyone willing to listen to do the same.

Fuck this noise.

"Goodbye, Pittsburgh, thanks for playing. Here's a copy of the home version of our game, that you can play all during the off-season. Bye-bye now!"

Save it. I'm in no mood for jokes right now. Check out the comment by "BarryVanBonilla":
http://blog.triblive.com/dejan-kovacevic/2012/09/19/wakeup-call-worst-season-of-all/

I'm ready to pack up all my Pirates gear and hand deliver it to their offices and request it be given to that weasel Stark.

I know we gots Giants fans up in here.

#BREWLIEVE

Raise the white flag.

Fire EVERYBODY.

Gutless. Fucking gutless.

You can only fire people so many times before no one will want to play for you.

Meanwhile, I have completely not expected to be in a playoff race at this time. Less than two games out of the final wild card? You woulda told me that a month ago, I'd have laughed in your face.

It's all but certain the Giants will win their division, and the Dodgers will probably not make the playoffs despite their fanbase being obnoxious douchebags from opening day through August. This makes me happy. Sure, I would love for the Giants to win it all, but if that doesn't happen it will still be a good year.

Suck it, Dodgers!

jwhouk said:

You can only fire people so many times before no one will want to play for you.

Meanwhile, I have completely not expected to be in a playoff race at this time. Less than two games out of the final wild card? You woulda told me that a month ago, I'd have laughed in your face.

Click to expand...

If I'm an agent, I don't let any of my clients sign with the Pirates. Especially not the prospects. I'm not going to let them risk their careers lugging telephone poles on the beach when they're supposed to be working on their changeup.

A drive all the way to Pittsburgh is not an option at present, but I have started the purge of all Pirates gear from my house. Taking the hats and shirts to Goodwill would be far more goodwill than what the club has shown it's fans.

Over 75 years ago, a gentleman from a city on the opposite side of the state made a discovery about baseball fans: they don't attend games when the team is extremely good; they only attend if the team is competitive.

The Pirates have correctly discerned that the way to get people out to their ballpark on the rivers is to be competitive for three-fourths of the season. It got you talking about them back in July, that's for sure. They probably have a lot of season ticket renewals for 2013 already, despite the nose-dive in the standings.

There is only one way for the supporters for ANY team to show their displeasure at a team's actions: stop buying tickets for games and stop buying the team's stuff. Until enough fans do so, some owners will play the Donald Sterling/Bill Bidwell game of just throwing people out there and rake in the profits.

Nice. Three NL playoff berths down, three to go.

So...

Coonelly says everyone is staying.

I'm going. My Pirates gear is headed for the dumpster on the way to work. Every last scrap I can find. I'm putting the team on ignore. No TV, no radio, not going to any games as long as that crew is in charge.

Go Nats.

[ETA]and this...

Great! Just in time to watch your new team collapse over the final week of the season, end up in the Wild Card, and lose to the Cardinals!

And the Giants have eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs.

The sadistic grin on my face is Cheshire Cat sized right now!

Thanks for playing Dodgers! Buh-bye!

So the NL is all set: Braves host the Cards in the play-in game, then winner goes to either Washington or Cincinnati.

Wouldn't it be something if the A's win the division, and Texas ends up having to go to Baltimore for the play-in game? Or worse yet, Yankee Stadium?

I'm hoping for a Bay Bridge Series Part II, wherein the Giants win convincingly and every local A's fan shuts their fucking mouth about what happened back in '89.

Well, the Mariners close out this year's season today, ending below 500 once again. I tell ya, it's been a hell of a rebuilding decade. But hey, now that they've finally decided to move the fences in for next year, maybe we'll be able to recruit some sluggers.

The Oakland A's take the AL West on the last day of the season. THAT was impressive!

And Teddy wins in Washington. FINALLY.

So. We have Atlanta hosting Saint Louis, and Texas hosting Baltimore in the "Wild Card Play In" games.

The two defending league champions playing the equivalent of a game seven to get to the next round.

A friend just gave me my birthday present early:

^

Giants even up their series after being behind by two games. Hope there's enough fight left in them to take it tomorrow.

Shhh... we don't want to jinx anything.

I see the curse of DarkAudit is in full swing: Cards up 2-1 in their series vs. the Nats.

Giants with a 2-0 lead in the fifth, and they're still batting.

And Matt Cain on the mound.

Make your NLCS plans now, Giants fans.


EDIT: BOOM. Posey. Good night, Cincinnati, have a nice winter.

Five outs away.

The last three outs are the hardest to get.

Wow.[DOUBLEPOST=1349989317][/DOUBLEPOST]Goodbye, Cincinnati.

Giants baseball = torture. That's always been the rule.
Now to see if the A's can complete THEIR comeback too.

Nats force game five.

O's take the lead on a Nate McLouth solo shot in the 5th.

Wouldn't it be something if the A's beat the Tigers and the Nats and Orioles come back to win game five - making for a Beltway vs. Bay Area post season?

Cheesy1 said:

Now to see if the A's can complete THEIR comeback too.

Click to expand...

NO.

jwhouk said:

Wouldn't it be something if the A's beat the Tigers...

Click to expand...

NO.

Ah, but you do not understand. I dislike your greedy first baseman to no end.

Go A's. Muck Fichigan.

Hey!

jwhouk said:

Ah, but you do not understand. I dislike your greedy first baseman to no end.

Click to expand...

I Actually do understand this, and I'm sorry. I hate seeing that and it sucks. But at least he has some history in Detroit, no?

Muck Fichigan.

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Yes, have fun with your 2nd place* finish in your division.



Still?! This is very unbecoming of the #5 team in the nation. I really, really hope you guys get to beat up on Oregon in the National Championship game...I am so very sick of the SEC.

Anyway, back on topic...hooray baseball! Thank God the Yankees have to use Sabathia tomorrow. It more than makes up for Verlander having to go tonight. I like our starters top to bottom way more than NYY.


(*really 4th if we're counting suspended teams amirite )

Wow, I can't believe St. Louis pulled that off!

Cardinals Vs. Giants for the NL Championship!

Three of the four teams remaining are the last three World Series champions. The odds are very good that some familiar faces will be hoisting the trophy in a few weeks.

...

Welp, I guess it's the Giants by default, then.

It's NEVER a good October when three of your top ten most hated teams are in the post-season.

And I guess the Dark Audit curse continues...

Tigers pitchers not named Jose Valverde: 28.1 innings, 0 ERA.

Jose Valverde: 1.1 innings, 7 ERA.

There's a lesson here, but I'll be damned if I know what it is. Must be one of those newfangled "saber metric" dealies...

It means Jose Valverde can forget about being offered a multi-million dollar free agent contract from the Yankees or Red Sox anytime soon.

Though it sounds like he'd be perfect for the Pirates' rotation.

Answer: The 1976 World Series.

Question: When was the last time the New York Yankees were swept in a best-of-seven playoff series?

Man... the Mariners' ownership still doesn't freakin' get it. Every year for the past 5 seasons there've been more and more theme nights, give-aways, and nights honoring some past player, all in an attempt to get more people to come to games as attendance plummets because the team has posted losing seasons 7 of the last 10 years. This year's attendance, 1.6 million people, which hit a capacity of only 44.6%, was the lowest in Major League Baseball. So what are they doing to get more people to go to the game next year?

The answer, of course, is obvious. They're raising the ticket prices.

Even the freakin' Cubs aren't raising ticket prices.

What they REALLY need to do is get some players around ol' King Felix. Oh, and a couple of other pitchers who can pitch halfway decent.[DOUBLEPOST=1350939242][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and - GO GIANTS!

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that.

Yeah, I'm not really sure how much we can expect from an ownership that's never been to a single home game, except the one that we played in Tokyo at the start of 2012. The overall trend seems to be "anything but a winning team" to sell tickets. Instead, everything focuses around bobblehead nights, and train set giveaways, and other gimmicky crap. Though, at least this year they didn't give out blankets on Native American appreciation night while we played the Cleveland Indians...

jwhouk said:

Oh, and - GO GIANTS!

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that.

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Indeed. Let's go Giants!

I just don't want to see the Cardinals back in the World Series. And I can actually tolerate the Giants, since Baaaaaaaaary left.

YOUR National League Champions:

THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS!!!!!

Trivia: the Giants and Tigers have never faced each other in the World Series, despite being two teams having played in their respective leagues for over 110 years.

Ultimate Geekery: Giants are 7-5 in interleague play against the Tigers. Giants won the last three-game series against the Tigers, back in 2011.

Everyone seems to think the Giants are going to get destroyed by the Tigers. Good. The Giants do best when they're the underdogs. No one thought they could make it to the WS in 2010, and certainly no one thought they could win it.

Nuh uh, you're not allowed to use "Nobody believes in us." It's too powerful.

The AL Central is a joke; we only won 88 games in the regular season. That's only good enough for the 7th best record in the AL. We have no business being in the playoffs. Our starting pitchers have been great, but there's no way that's sustainable against the Giants. None. Plus, our defense is horrible.

Nobody believes in us!

...please, nobody believe in us?

Dude, we might buy that if it weren't for two things:

* Miguel Cabrera, and
* Justin Verlander.

Aww, hamburgers...

I'm just amused because this is the first time I wouldn't have minded so much if the Yankees won the World Series - so Ichiro could finally get a ring. Aside from that... I'd love to see the Tigers win and bring some pride back to Detroit for at least a little while.

Hey, are you guys watching a baseball game? Because I turned on Fox and they're just showing live coverage of an abortion. Maybe it's a regional coverage thing?

Kudos to Panda though. Holy hell what a game.

Panda panda panda panda PAAAAANDDDAAAAAA!

The question before the court now is - can he make it FOUR?

It's nice to see Panda and Zito do so well, since they were the 2 big names left out of the 2010 World Series.

Dear Lord, is this a good night!

Valverde held Sandoval to a base hit! In your face Panda!

...I need alcohol.

The guy who sang "God Bless America" tonight graduated from my high school! He's the younger brother of a guy in our marching band that we were all friends with!

When crazy bounces go your way, you know you're facing destiny.

Game 2: GIANTS!

Awwww yeah!

Well, that was a bit anti-climactic. It's almost like the AL tried just as hard to win the Series as they did to win the All Star Game.

Average number of games in World Series, 1995-2012 (LDS/LCS era, best-of-five/best-of-seven): 5.33.
Average number of games in World Series, 1985-1994 (LCS era, best-of-seven): 5.89.
Average number of games in World Series, 1969-1984 (LCS era, best-of-five): 5.94.
Average number of games in World Series, 1922-1968 (WS only, best-of-seven): 5.83.

The trend appears to be, the more series you play, the shorter the World Series will be.

Ugh, this is horribly entertaining!:

That is just. Just.

I think we're just about done with this thread; only thing left is the MVP's and CYA's and ROTY's.

My picks:

MVP: Miggy in the AL, Posey in the NL.
CYA: David Price, Jerred Weaver
ROTY: Trout in the AL, Don't really know in the NL.

Posey should be the MVP, no doubt. But if Cabrera doesn't win MVP in the AL then there needs to be rioting in the streets. That Triple Crown's not exactly easy to get.

(Smack)
Geez, what was I thinking? Bryce Harper.

I'm more confident of Miggy getting MVP after Trout didn't even win the gold glove. If you asked me a month ago I would have said it was for sure going to Trout. There was just too much media hype around him.

A final Giants celebration:

Virtually everybody on the Marlins roster making over a million dollars just got shipped to Toronto, with more trades anticipated. Marlins payroll drops from 108 mil to just 40 mil, and could go as low as 30 mil. This comes after Jeffrey Loria fleeced Florida to the tune of half a billion dollars for his shiny, ugly-ass new stadium. This guy gets to own a team - two, actually - he personally oversaw the destruction of the Expos. Yet Mark Cuban, one of the most passionate and driven owners in sports is actively discouraged from owning an MLB team. Bud really should do something this time. Loria's given MLB far too many black eyes over the years.

Two guys with Tennessee ties could end up with the Cy Young Awards by this time tomorrow.

The management and ownership of the Mariners continue to prove, day in and day out, that they have no clue how to run a successful baseball franchise. They've just announced a $10M expenditure this off-season. But they're not buying a second star pitcher, or a star catcher, or a slugger... or any other position player. They're buying the largest 1080p video monitor in the major leagues. It'll be over a city block long, and be able to be split (using special software) to show multiple different things at a single time, like scores, player stats, live feed of the game, and replays. All of this because "fans are more and more interested these days in seeing the stats of individual players." You know what else fans are interested in, Moroners? Winning fucking teams.

It could be worse...

2012 NL MVP: Buster Posey!

Final results:

Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout (AL - LA Angels), Bryce Harper (NL - Washington Nationals)

Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin (AL - Oakland A's), Davey Johnson (NL - Washington Nationals)

Cy Young: David Price (AL - Tampa Bay Rays), R.A. Dickey (NL - NY Mets)

MVP: Miguel Cabrera (AL - Detroit Tigers), Buster Posey (NL - SF Giants)

The only real surprise is Price and the CYA in the AL. I think many fans thought it was going to be renamed the Justin Verlander Award.

Strange thing: Verlander got more votes for AL MVP than Price did.

I really was worried that Miggy wouldn't get MVP right up until they announced it. Thank God there are still old baseball writers. If this same scenario happens 20 years from now, the sabermetrics crowd wins.

Melky Cabrera now signs with the Jays. As a diehard Sox fan, am I unnerved by what's going on in Canada? (And has an American ever been unnerved by anything happening in Canada?) not really. They just picked up nearly two hundred millions dollars worth of losing ballclub, and signed a star who will see a drop in stats provided he plays clean.

Orioles are still the up and comers in the East, and will be the better birds. My team won't have the magic again for at least a few years, but I've waited longer...

As a Giants fan, I say good riddance. They've had enough problems being pegged as 'roided-out cheaters.

Yeah, there was no way the Giants were going to keep him after what he did. They got tired of that crap after the whole Bonds fiasco. I'm actually surprised they still have Mota on the roster too.

Dear Jack Z. What the actual fuck? Do you have a fetish for injury-prone, has-been outfielders? You trade away Trayvon Robinson (who did pretty damn well playing in a reserve capacity last season, one of our few bright spots), for Robert Andino, then fail to offer Andino a contract, then agree to a one-year contract with him, then agree to a one-year deal for a guy whose BA last year was .165, who hit a grand total of 8 HRs and 20 RBIs? And who's been injured almost as frequently as Guti? I know you're better than the last guy we had running the front office, but that stopped being good enough the year after you replaced him. How about you admit you don't have the foggiest fuckin' clue what you're doing and get out?

(Looks at calendar)

Only 72 more days before P&C report.

Damn. Ryan Freel killed himself yesterday.

Really bad day for baseball fans: first, Earl Weaver passes away while on an Orioles Fantasy Cruise; then word comes from Florida that Stan "The Man" Musial passed away.

When I was a kid, the big bully on the block wasn't the Yankees, it was the Orioles. RIP, Earl.

Same here. That's one thing we both have in common, though - we both beat him and his O's once upon a time.

But only once.

jwhouk said:

Same here. That's one thing we both have in common, though - we both beat him and his O's once upon a time.

But only once.

Click to expand...

Twice. '71 and '79.

But I was only old enough to enjoy the second one.

Hmph. We only got him the last time, in '82. And it took us all 162 games to do it.

For any Braves fans in the audience...

They should see if they can get Moises Alou out of retirement. He's only one who could deal with two brothers.