# Baseball Thread September 2008 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 4, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994 "2008-09-04T15:20:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/281 "2008-09-29T01:21:09Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Congratulations to Mike Mussina who finally won 20 games in a season, at the ripe old age of 39. Sure, the Yanks missed the playoffs, but Mussina seems like a good guy and I’m happy for him. Yeah for Moose! Now get him back for another year. ---
**Author:** ![Iolanthe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7bcc69/32.png) [@Iolanthe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iolanthe)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/282 "2008-09-29T02:14:18Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Oh, gods, no! > > I’ll take the Dodgers losing in straight games against the Cubs before I’ll take a Dodgers/Red Sox World Series. Anything but that. I love my wife, and I would like to remain married to her for as long as possible, thank you very much. Yeah…I wouldn’t worry too much about that. "We’ll have a complete story coming up, but the Red Sox are going to make an announcement following tonight’s game about the health status of righthander Josh Beckett. Beckett, according to a source, has suffered an oblique injury and may not be able to face the Angels in the Division Series." (Per Buckley at the Boston Herald.) [http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/red\_sox/index.php/2008/09/28/beckett-could-be-out-for-postseason/#comments](http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/red_sox/index.php/2008/09/28/beckett-could-be-out-for-postseason/#comments) Excuse me while I curl up and rock for a bit. Gee, guess _that_ solves the 4th starter question, eh? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/283 "2008-09-29T02:20:35Z")
Dodgers/Angels would be a ratings disaster for FOX. Hmmmm… Trying to see a downside… ---
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/284 "2008-09-29T02:27:00Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Dodgers/Angels would be a ratings disaster for FOX. > > Hmmmm… > > Trying to see a downside… No that would just be bad, Brewers vs. Twins would draw a lower rating than Hockey. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/285 "2008-09-29T02:59:05Z")
CUBS!!! Series will be Cubs beating the Angels. I’d prefer the Cubs against the Sox, which would have a much more old school feel, but frankly, the Angels are quietly the best team in baseball, and they will be there at the end. Too bad it will be a losing effort on their part. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/286 "2008-09-29T03:07:22Z")
> [@Iolanthe](#): > > Excuse me while I curl up and rock for a bit. Gee, guess _that_ solves the 4th starter question, eh? Not really. The Wednesday-start schedule did. But now it would simply become the 3rd-starter question. (The answer is Byrd, btw - Wakefield is too inconsistent anymore) I was already worried about the lineup they’d actually be able to put on the field, with Lowell and Drew hobbling and Ortiz playing through an injury already. It’s still possible to repeat, but frankly I wouldn’t bet on the Sox doing it even with Beckett. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/287 "2008-09-29T03:54:18Z")
Update: It’s not a big deal Beckett will pitch Game 3 instead of Game 1. Tito is notoriously overprotective of his players’ health, so even that much of a rest is likely overkill. ---
**Author:** ![Dosipede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dosipede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dosipede)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/288 "2008-09-29T04:03:44Z")
Far out for the Brew Crew, man. I was born the last year they were in the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/289 "2008-09-29T04:10:02Z")
Hi. I’m Cubsfan. I’ll bet you can’t guess which team I root for, but I want to say that IF my team doesn’t make it I hope the Dodgers do. I would love to see Torre give NY a big FUCK YOU after the way he was treated for not getting them through the post season. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/290 "2008-09-29T04:16:09Z")
Fun rally at Dodger Stadium tonight. 10,000 fans showed up, which, based on how they initially had things laid out, was way more than they were expecting. Tommy Lasorda, at 81 years of age, is still a hell of a character, and he knew how to get the fans riled up. Telling stories about hatred of the Giants and the Angels and now the Cubbies…good stuff. 😃 And shaking Maury Wills’ hand and getting his autograph was pretty damn cool, too. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/291 "2008-09-29T09:50:41Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > shaking Maury Wills’ hand You touched the hand that touched Kim Novak’s hoo-ha? My man! ---
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/292 "2008-09-29T12:50:16Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Hi. I’m Cubsfan. I’ll bet you can’t guess which team I root for, but I want to say that IF my team doesn’t make it I hope the Dodgers do. I would love to see Torre give NY a big FUCK YOU after the way he was treated for not getting them through the post season. Yeah, it was really shitty to only offer him a contract worth more than any other manager was making and more per year than he got from the Dodgers. Damn, if you are going to hate the Yankees, please do it for real reasons and not false ones. ---
**Author:** ![AndyPolley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@AndyPolley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyPolley)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/293 "2008-09-29T13:06:02Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Damn, if you are going to hate the Yankees, please do it for real reasons and not false ones. To be fair, Torre was given a take it or leave it offer, with no room for negotiation. That wasn’t the fairest treatment to a guy who took you to 6 WS appearances. It would have been better for the Yanks to just come out and say “We’re going in another direction.” Of course, it looks like a kindness compared to how the Mets fired Willie. Speaking of the Mets…Is there no one else who wants to talk about how they were at Shea yesterday Sheaing goodbye to the stadium, the season, and a little bit of their souls? It was cool to have Tom Seaver thow the ‘final’ pitch to Mike Piazza. All & all, it was a nice ceremony. Too bad the 2008 Mets couldn’t have helped make it a party instead of a funeral. BTW, I hate the Yankees for 2000. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/294 "2008-09-29T13:12:13Z")
> [@AndyPolley](#): > > To be fair, Torre was given a take it or leave it offer, with no room for negotiation. That wasn’t the fairest treatment to a guy who took you to 6 WS appearances. It would have been better for the Yanks to just come out and say “We’re going in another direction.” Of course, it looks like a kindness compared to how the Mets fired Willie. > > Speaking of the Mets…Is there no one else who wants to talk about how they were at Shea yesterday Sheaing goodbye to the stadium, the season, and a little bit of their souls? > > It was cool to have Tom Seaver thow the ‘final’ pitch to Mike Piazza. All & all, it was a nice ceremony. Too bad the 2008 Mets couldn’t have helped make it a party instead of a funeral. > > BTW, I hate the Yankees for 2000. You have a point, but the Yankees made Joe Torre a very rich man. No matter which way you parse it, he failed in the mission for 7 straight seasons. I was honestly amazed he was not fired after 2004. The old George would have fired him in an angry public way during the World Series. I think Torre was made a fair offer if not in the fairest way. They may have taken advantage of his pride but the offer was fair and it has been spun into the worse light possible. I think Joe G. did very well with more problems than Torre ever had as a Yankee skipper and that he did succeed well in the area where Torre was weakest, handling a bullpen. I look forward to seeing Joe grow in the job and in the meantime I wish Torre luck, but I am rooting for the Cubs and then the Rays. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/295 "2008-09-29T18:21:35Z")
> [@Dosipede](#): > > Far out for the Brew Crew, man. I was born the last year they were in the playoffs. I was still in med school at that time! And not in Milwaukee, either. ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/296 "2008-09-29T19:21:36Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Hi. I’m Cubsfan. I’ll bet you can’t guess which team I root for, but I want to say that IF my team doesn’t make it I hope the Dodgers do. I would love to see Torre give NY a big FUCK YOU after the way he was treated for not getting them through the post season. Dude, your handle is “Cubs Fan.” The Cubs had a remarkable year, and the best record in the National League. The playoffs haven’t even begun yet, and you’re already saying, “If we get knocked out…?” I’m not criticizing, it’s just a little odd to me. Maybe you’re just conitioned to the Cubbies breaking your heart. (By the way, I’m certain my Phils are going to knock the Cubs out in the NLCS, but, like I said, I’d just expect a little more confidence on your part. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/297 "2008-09-29T19:46:01Z")
Bah! They stopped playing baseball yesterday at just after 5:00PM. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/298 "2008-09-29T19:57:02Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > Bah! They stopped playing baseball yesterday at just after 5:00PM. Is it true that poor Scott Schoeneweis had to be snuck out of the city? Seriously, can he be anything but booed next year if he remained a Met? ---
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/299 "2008-09-29T21:07:58Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > You touched the hand that touched Kim Novak’s hoo-ha? > > My man! I’ll have to confess that didn’t exactly cross my mind at the time. I also confess I had to look up who Kim Novak was… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994/300 "2008-09-29T21:09:52Z")
Fun facts about the Cubs-Dodgers series: The teams have never played in the postseason before, but have split 2024 regular season games. That’s right, 1012-1012! The Cubs have never won a postseason game played west of Chicago. Nonetheless, the Cubs will win this series. OK, if you want to nitpick, that last one is not technically a “fact” as of this moment. I wonder what would be the worst “nightmare” World Series matchup possible this year, from the POV of fans of some particular team. I’m thinking of how Dodger fans must have hated the Giants-Angels matchup in 2002, and Cubs fans were staring into the soul-destroying void of Cardinals-White Sox in 2005 until God took a tiny measure of mercy on us. I think the worst (which is to say best) outcome this year would be if the Cubs and Twins met in the Series. The only thing better would be if all White Sox fans were required by law to be strapped into one of those Clockwork Orange chairs and prevented from blinking during the entire series, including pregame and postgame reports and extended renditions of “Go Cubs Go”. On the other hand…Sox-Brewers? :eek:The very idea fills me with horror (the Sox may already have been eliminated as I write this, though; can’t check from work). I wonder if White Sox fans still hate the Brewers and vice versa from the Brewers’ time in the AL? If so, Cubs-Sox would be a painful matchup for the Brewers…but then, isn’t being a Brewers fan pretty much all pain, all the time? I can’t think of any particular team that would have real rivalries with both sides of any of the other 17 possible matchups offhand. Bring on the playoffs, already!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-thread-september-2008/461994.md?page=16)