Baseball 2003
Posted by: ErikL on 01 June 2003
As the midway point of the season approaches (and I start to pay attention) I'm starting to hope for a few things:
- Roger Clemens is beat up in a game or in the subway, is sidelined, and is stuck on 299 wins all year (especially after donning a cocky "300" patch in his start a few days ago)... and then retires.
- The Expos, the league's best talent developer, win the NL East. Nobody but Ted Turner and his traitor/trolip Jane Fonda likes the Braves anymore.
- The Dodgers set an example, again, for ethnic harmony in America and bring another foreigner onto the team- maybe someone from India... or how about Iraq?
- Red Sox versus Sammy Sosa and the Cubs in the World Series. It would be great for baseball and for two cities of fanatical fans with long droughts.
Any other hopes or predictions?
Posted on: 04 June 2003 by John C
I don't really get a chance to keep up with the baseball these days but check the Redbirds boxscores daily. They have an interesting match up with the Blue Jays at the moment and Matt Morris beat the Canadians last night. I think the Cards will win the National central once Issringhausen is back as closer.
The Blue jays look good offensively this year could pip both the readsocks and yankees. I'm quite sure Cliff Pollite the BJays closer used to be an AA Peoria Cardinal and am trying to remember who we traded him for.
John
Posted on: 04 June 2003 by ErikL
Matthew, it seems you're correct- no cork found in Sammy's 76 other bats. Always nice when media allegations come to a halt to their dismay.
John C- As long as the Blue Jays have man-child Carlos Delgado at 1st they'll be decent offensively. He's the best player the general public hasn't heard of, IMO.
Posted on: 05 June 2003 by matthewr
Good news on Sammy.
I still think the excessive arm protection and body armour should be banned even for people like Bonds wearing it on soem dubious "existing injury" justification. A lot of the facination of baseball is the pitcher and batter going toe to toe and if the batter can stand right over the plate without worrying too much about getting hit it gives him a major and unfair advantage.
In general I think there is too much power hitting these days. I much prefer sides who bunt, and squeeze and sacrifce their way to a 2-1 victory than these 8-5 slugfests that seem to be the norm.
Matthew
Posted on: 05 June 2003 by ErikL
I couldn't agree with you more on the power hitting and the pitcher/batter duels.
It's a major reason I like the Dodgers- pitching and defense come first, creative offense later. Now if only the rest of the league played that way...
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by John C
Cards swept the Blue Jays proving once more the superiority of the senior circuit. Morris and Williams (assuming he continues his current form) is quite a nice double punch. The more I look at the Cards lineup the better it gets.. Pujols is clearly one of the premier players in the league and Renteria is having an outstanding season with the bat.
John
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by ErikL
Renteria is indeed on fire, and Pujols is a keeper.
I wouldn't get too excited when one 3rd-place team sweeps another... and the team ahead of yours has also won 4 straight. More importantly, Houston has played well against Central Division opponents.
The Mariners on the other hand, they've been superior.
[edit] I forgot to add that while Sosa sits for 8 games, the Cards and Astros should have the opportunity to duel for the Central lead.
[This message was edited by Ludwig on FRIDAY 06 June 2003 at 20:39.]
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by John C
Having watched Brett Boone in person many times when he was with the Cincinnata ball club, I can't take the Ms seriously.
John
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by ErikL
Boone is a bit of a weiny, but he's good and the M's did set the AL wins record. No small feat.
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by matthewr
Slightly off topic but can someone explain to me why Cinncinati seems to hopeless at every major sport? Not just lacking in championships but seemingly the worst at every game ever invented?
Matthew
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by John C
Matthew you omit the glories of Pete Rose and the Big Red Machine.
John.
I see Fred Mc Griff and former Cardinal and Falcons stalwart Brian Jordan are leading the Dodgers.Is there a seniors league on the west coast or something?
[This message was edited by John C on SATURDAY 07 June 2003 at 01:19.]
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by ErikL
John, yes, and the old farts have helped the Dodgers to a record better than the NL Central leaders.
Posted on: 06 June 2003 by ErikL
Matthew, I don't know the answer to your question. Perhaps it's just a cyclical circumstance, with the Reds and Bengals loaded with undesirable contracts and players?
Regardless most of the nation couldn't care less about teams in the Midwest (save Chicago).
Posted on: 07 June 2003 by Peter C
Bret Boone : He's putting up decent numbers with the Mariners and they'll be in the playoffs, they are the class act in the West this year.
Blue Jays : They do have a potent offense this year and it would be good to see someone other than the Yankees or Red sox in the playoffs from the AL east.
Posted on: 07 June 2003 by ErikL
Nice to see Roger Clemens fail in his 4th attempt to reach 300 wins. Kerry Wood was phenomenal for the Cubs today.
Posted on: 08 June 2003 by John C
Must try to watch baseball tonight tonight. The current Cards/Orioles (formerly the St Louis Browns!)game is a doozy ...11-7 in the sixth. La Russa really has them set up like an American League team.
John
Posted on: 08 June 2003 by ErikL
Just watched the Mariners/Mets doubleheader... Seattle won 13-1, then 7-0. The Mariners had 11 wins on their road trip. They're clearly the class of the entire league right now.
Meanwhile Dreifort is out for the season for the Dodgers. That hurts.
Posted on: 10 June 2003 by John C
I really like interleague play. Cards v Red Sox rematch of 1967 world series. Bob Gibson pitched 3 complete games!!!
Albert Pujols Rookie of the year 2 years ago. Runner up MVP in his sophomore year. Currently in his third year, .389 avg., 16 HRs, 51 RBIs and 52 runs.
John
Why are the Braves so good again? Pitching I assume?
Posted on: 10 June 2003 by ErikL
quote:
Why are the Braves so good again? Pitching I assume?
The Braves' pitching is mediocre. However, the offense AVG is first in the NL. Sheffield is on fire.
Dodger catching dynamo Paul Lo Duca is swinging the bat at .335 (just behind mentioned Pujols and Sheff).
Posted on: 10 June 2003 by ErikL
All In The Family
The Dodgers have signed several draft picks including Mike Piazza's 21-year-old brother, and Michael Ludwig.
Posted on: 13 June 2003 by ErikL
John C, how fitting that your team was on the losing end of Roger Clemens' 300th win (and 4,000th strikeout).
Meanwhile, the M's beat the Braves in a pitching duel with some great defensive plays.
Posted on: 29 June 2003 by John C
Well that's the redbirds into first for the rest of the season. We also seem to have brought up the rookie of the year in Bo Hart. The July schedule is mainly against the west coasters so we'll see what they are made of.
John
Posted on: 29 June 2003 by ErikL
Given that the
fourth place team in the West has as many wins as the Cards, I wouldn't get my hopes up.
If they're playing the D'backs soon- look out. They've won 10 straight, and Randy Johnson and Kurt Schilling are about to re-enter the lineup.
Posted on: 11 July 2003 by John C
After the all star break well get em!!!
John
Posted on: 11 July 2003 by ErikL
Posted on: 23 July 2003 by ErikL
We split the series, 2-2.
The Dodgers are done until March. IMO so are the Cards unless they swing a deal (look at Houston's Central record, and the Cubs' trade to see why).
