# Baseball Thread April 2008 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [April 7, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306 "2008-04-07T13:24:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/161 "2008-04-25T00:40:54Z")
Quick note: The Big Hurt returns to the Bay Area [A’s agree to terms with DH Frank Thomas](http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080424&content_id=2579522&vkey=pr_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak) ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/162 "2008-04-25T01:16:50Z")
Can someone explain to me while the Yankees continue to carry (and play!) Jason Giambi? He’s clearly nowhere near the player he was when he was juicing. I know he has a huge contract, but what do the Yankees care about that? They’ve eaten worse. What do they think he’ll give them? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/163 "2008-04-25T01:26:10Z")
[QUOTE=Southern Yankee] Can someone explain to me while the Yankees continue to carry (and play!) Jason Giambi? He’s clearly nowhere near the player he was when he was juicing. I know he has a huge contract, but what do the Yankees care about that? They’ve eaten worse. What do they think he’ll give them? [/QUOTE] My theory, they are paying him $20 million in this final year, so they will play him until he pulls another Hammy and then DL him and pull Duncan back up to play first. In the mean time [Shelley](http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Shelley%20Duncan&pos=&sid=t531&t=p_pbp&pid=455167) is hitting .288 with a .406 OBA. He has 6 doubles and 5 homers with 14 RBIs. He has been playing mostly first to get ready. Jim ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/164 "2008-04-25T16:30:47Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] You know a good healthy starter should be able to throw 120 pitches without problems. This 100 pitch count rule of thumb is verging on the silly at this point. I understand we will never see the 300 inning pitcher again, but 120 pitches is not that bad and there is no proof that it increases arm injuries. Jim [/QUOTE] When a guy is having a good game and the manager removes him for pitch count it pisses me off. The point is to win. Bringing in another pitcher is always a question mark. Sometimes they don’t have it. I also think if you are in a pivotal moment of the game ,even if it is the 5th or 6th inning, you should bring in your best closer. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/165 "2008-04-25T16:33:13Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] When a guy is having a good game and the manager removes him for pitch count it pisses me off. The point is to win. Bringing in another pitcher is always a question mark. Sometimes they don’t have it. [/QUOTE] The point is to win 162 games, not one. [QUOTE=gonzomax] I also think if you are in a pivotal moment of the game ,even if it is the 5th or 6th inning, you should bring in your best closer. [/QUOTE] Agreed 100% ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/166 "2008-04-25T17:08:44Z")
I’m going to track my attendance at games this year to see if I can figure out any trends that relate to my being there. Thus far, in regular season games I’ve attended: Overall record: 2-2 Day games: 1-1 Night games: 1-1 Shutouts: 1 Been shut out: 1 Against NL West: 1-2 Games my wife has attended\*: 0-1 Games where I got free tickets: 1-1 No identifiable trends just yet. I’ll keep researching, for the sake of science. \*No offense, dear. The numbers just don’t lie. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/167 "2008-04-26T01:51:09Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Oh, baloney. Thomas has always been highly regarded as far as you or I know. They released him because they don’t want to pay him in 2009 and didn’t have the stones to do it when they should have. Yeah, that dumbass Manny. Funny how his teams have a way of winning, though. [/QUOTE] > **[Yahoo Sports: News, Scores, Video, Fantasy Games, Schedules & More - Yahoo...](https://sports.yahoo.com/)** > > Sports News, Scores, Fantasy Games I looked and found innumerable mentions of clubhouse problems including that he should go to a very laid back clubhouse so he does not cause problems. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/168 "2008-04-26T02:00:31Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] > **[Yahoo Sports: News, Scores, Video, Fantasy Games, Schedules & More - Yahoo...](https://sports.yahoo.com/)** > > Sports News, Scores, Fantasy Games I looked and found innumerable mentions of clubhouse problems including that he should go to a very laid back clubhouse so he does not cause problems. [/QUOTE] And yet according to anyone you care to ask, Toronto’s clubhouse is laid back to a fault. They’re often criticized for it. And just what is this link supposed to prove? It’s a thread about whether Thomas will be left out of the league due to collusion - and it’s already outdated, since he’s with Oakland now. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/169 "2008-04-26T02:06:10Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] > **[Yahoo Sports: News, Scores, Video, Fantasy Games, Schedules & More - Yahoo...](https://sports.yahoo.com/)** > > Sports News, Scores, Fantasy Games I looked and found innumerable mentions of clubhouse problems including that he should go to a very laid back clubhouse so he does not cause problems. [/QUOTE] If you want to link to an actual article or something that demonstrates Thomas’ cluhouse problems, i’d be happy to read it, but there is not a single thing on that page to support your assertion. ETA: beaten to it! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/170 "2008-04-26T03:27:50Z")
You can find endless sites discussing Thomas being a clubhouse problem. But he can hit. Which is why he found a new spot. But Bonds has a trial hanging over his head. and he would likely demand a hell of a lot of money. His situation is different. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/171 "2008-04-26T04:34:33Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] You can find endless sites discussing Thomas being a clubhouse problem. [/QUOTE] Is any of that discussion coming from people who actually know what the hell they’re talking about? No offense, but when some guy on a message board makes a claim about what goes on inside a Major League clubhouse, and offers as evidence a whole bunch of other guys on message boards, it doesn’t make a particularly compelling case. Just about every claim i can find of Thomas being a clubhouse problem comes from baseball discussion forums. I’m not saying these people know nothing about baseball–some of them probably know a lot–but they also seem to make a lot of unsupported assertions about things like clubhouse chemistry. About the only actual media piece i’ve found about Thomas’ clubhouse persona comes from [Jeff Blair of the Toronto Globe and Mail](http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080420.wspt-thomas0420/GSStory/GlobeSportsBaseball/home), who offers the following observation about Thomas’ departure from the Blue Jays: > [@](#): > > So what to make of all this. First, forget about it being an issue in the clubhouse. Thomas was a benign presence on clubhouse life, clearly looking out for No. 1 but not in a bad way - doing it the way all future Hall of Famers have done when they play out the string. He wasn’t a drag on anybody, but neither was he going to go out of his way to light a fire. There are advantages to being Larger Than Life ™, and, well, who among us, right? It’s a big deal if Roy Halladay is angry. Or Vernon Wells or Aaron Hill. Thomas … not so much. Note, too, the title of the article: “Of course it’s about the money.” I’m not saying that Blair is the final word on the subject. And it could be that Thomas is, in fact, a negative influence in the clubhouse. But establishing that will require more than anonymous discussion board postings. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/172 "2008-04-27T04:42:01Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] You can find endless sites [/QUOTE] And yet in your one attempt to link to one, you failed. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/173 "2008-04-27T05:02:30Z")
Incidentally, if there’a a more depressing team to watch right now than the Blue Jays, I’d love to know who it is. They aren’t just losing, they’re losing in really boring and exhausting ways. The release of Thomas has, predictably, solved nothing. They couldn’t hit water falling out of a boat or score in a women’s prison with a stack of blank pardons. Four out of five nights the starting pitcher throws a great game but they lose anyway because either they don’t score, or Bilbo Eckstein makes an error, or both; the fifth night, A.J. Burnett is pitching. 25 games into the season and the team is in very obvious panic mode. It’s not just the Thomas thing; we’re not even in May and they’ve already used 32 players, and only one of those moves was related to an injury. They’re ghastly. The Reed Johnson Update: Reed’s hitting .324 for the Cubs, and has already scored 13 runs. Shannon Stewart is hitting a sizzling .212 for the Jays, and his thunderous stick has produced zero homers. Oh, and Johnson’s playing spectacular D. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/174 "2008-04-27T12:47:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **RickJay** > > Incidentally, if there’a a more depressing team to watch right now than the Blue Jays, I’d love to know who it is. We’re not exactly throwing confetti down in the Bronx… ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/175 "2008-04-27T13:03:01Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] You can find endless sites discussing Thomas being a clubhouse problem. But he can hit. Which is why he found a new spot. But Bonds has a trial hanging over his head. and he would likely demand a hell of a lot of money. His situation is different. [/QUOTE] And there has always been endless amount of vague sources for Manny Ramirez “causing trouble” in the Boston clubhouse, and being hated by the fans. But from every authentic word I’ve heard he’s a great clubhouse guy, and a tremendous fan-favorite for those of us in Boston (although a bit goofy), even during those Ortiz hot streaks. A couple of years ago there were plenty of people who were excited about a Ramirez/Rodriguez trade. Today I think mostly everyone here is happy we still have Manny. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/176 "2008-04-27T13:14:59Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Incidentally, if there’a a more depressing team to watch right now than the Blue Jays, I’d love to know who it is. They aren’t just losing, they’re losing in really boring and exhausting ways. The release of Thomas has, predictably, solved nothing. They couldn’t hit water falling out of a boat or score in a women’s prison with a stack of blank pardons. Four out of five nights the starting pitcher throws a great game but they lose anyway because either they don’t score, or Bilbo Eckstein makes an error, or both; the fifth night, A.J. Burnett is pitching. [/QUOTE] The name of that team is the Texas Rangers. Not only losing, but losing badly. Ron Washington will probably be fired by the end of the month. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/177 "2008-04-28T14:47:48Z")
dalej42: > [@](#): > > The name of that team is the Texas Rangers. Not only losing, but losing badly. Ron Washington will probably be fired by the end of the month. Your cure is on the way: three games against the Royals. All you need to do is score 3 runs, and odds are you’ll come away a winner. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/178 "2008-04-28T14:52:51Z")
Barry Zito is turning out to be the worst flop in free agency in a long time. Looks like he’ll be a very expensive long reliever. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/179 "2008-04-28T15:06:20Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Oh, and Johnson’s playing spectacular D. [/QUOTE] Did you see [that catch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9tJzjlbw7k) Friday night? Holy shit, most guys wouldn’t do that in game seven of the world series, but boom, here comes Johnson at a dead run diving, _diving_ into the wall in center. What did he cover to get that catch, maybe 30, 40 yards? That’s one of the best defensive plays I’ve seen in a month of Chrismasses. ETA- watch the clip twice, once to see that catch and the second time to watch the reaction of Mark DeRosa. He just stands there dumbstruck… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306/180 "2008-04-28T15:21:12Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] Did you see [that catch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9tJzjlbw7k) Friday night? Holy shit, most guys wouldn’t do that in game seven of the world series, but boom, here comes Johnson at a dead run diving, _diving_ into the wall in center. What did he cover to get that catch, maybe 30, 40 yards? That’s one of the best defensive plays I’ve seen in a month of Chrismasses. ETA- watch the clip twice, once to see that catch and the second time to watch the reaction of Mark DeRosa. He just stands there dumbstruck… 😃 [/QUOTE] That kind of stuff is why I love baseball. Fantastic. The reaction of both the hitter and the other fielder are priceless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-april-2008/444306.md?page=10)