# MLB: April 2011 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 1, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712 "2011-04-01T02:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/41 "2011-04-02T20:06:45Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Well I’ve been living with Jorge Posada for the better part 15 seasons now, he is one of the worse base runners I have ever seen. Recently we have had Jose Molina as the backup who is of course one of the slowest players ever. So by comparison, Martin and when he gets off the DL, Cervelli is a huge speed increase and base running increase over what we’ve had. You’re right and so is Munch. A catcher who is even capable of stealing bases should be exciting all on its own. I have nothing against Rod Barajas (and the LA pitching staff seems to uniformly be in love with him as a game caller) but I think having Martin on our team might have spoiled me a bit, even with his recent decline he is still better than a lot of the catchers out there. And like I said, I am a fan, I just feel like the successful steal of 3B was a bit unusual for him. ---
**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 2, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/42 "2011-04-02T20:18:59Z")
Good inning, A.J. !\ ---
**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 2, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/43 "2011-04-02T20:27:48Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A fascinating fact they noted on the telecast today I didn’t know… in 2010, only four American League teams had winning records agains the AL East. Those four teams were all IN the AL East. So, basically, if you look at the big picture, the Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays were pretty even against one another, and everyone in the division beat up on the Orioles. 🙂 (Actually, that’s not quite true; Boston only went .500 against Baltimore. The Blue Jays went an amazing 15-3 against the Birds) Hell, outside the East, even Baltimore wasn’t too far from being a .500 team, but they went 24-48 in their division. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/44 "2011-04-02T21:20:28Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I just feel like the successful steal of 3B was a bit unusual for him. He stole 3B? That I didn’t know - that’s unusual for anyone save for the top thieves in the league. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/45 "2011-04-02T21:37:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > \*\*Jose Molina is slow, but believe me, his brother Bengie was slower. Calling what he was doing “running” seems an overly generous description. Still, he hit for the cycle last year in Boston. A slow guy _who’s paying attention_ can steal third once in a while, btw. ---
**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 2, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/46 "2011-04-02T21:40:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > \*\*Note to What Exit?: \*\*Jose Molina is slow, but believe me, his brother Bengie was slower. Calling what he was doing “running” seems an overly generous description. Good point, Bengie, Edgar Martinez and Boog Powell are the ones I think of first when I think slowest players. Jose comes next tier though. > [@NAF1138](#): > > You’re right and so is Munch. A catcher who is even capable of stealing bases should be exciting all on its own. I have nothing against Rod Barajas (and the LA pitching staff seems to uniformly be in love with him as a game caller) but I think having Martin on our team might have spoiled me a bit, even with his recent decline he is still better than a lot of the catchers out there. And like I said, I am a fan, I just feel like the successful steal of 3B was a bit unusual for him. Fair enough, my bar is set pretty low for catcher running. > [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Good inning, A.J. !\ He is looking good and averaging 17 pitches per for the first 4. ---
**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 2, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/47 "2011-04-02T22:07:55Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Absolutely loving MLB TV. Best $120 a baseball fan can spend, IMO. A couple of things about it do bug the shit out of me, though. First, i can’t watch ANY games online this afternoon, because of national blackouts. I pay $120 a year, and they can’t even let me watch the game on my computer even if (in the case of the SF-LAD and DET-NYY games) i can’t actually see the national broadcast because Fox is showing the SD-STL games locally. To be honest, i don’t think there should be any blackouts even for local games. They can bombard me with ads during the breaks between innings if they want (they do that anyway), and if it’s a matter of local stations complaining, i’d even be happy to be subjected to the same ads as the local broadcast. Another thing i find annoying is that i get subjected to ads when i go to watch the highlights on the main MLB video page. These are short highlight clips that are available to non-subscribers. Often it will make me watch a 15-sec ad between every two highlights that i watch. I understand the presence of ads for non-subscribers, but the website should have the ability to distinguish between a paying and a non-paying customer, and show ads only to the latter. ---
**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 2, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/48 "2011-04-02T22:37:20Z")
Yanks are up 9-3 in the 6th. A very enjoyable game so far. AJ was not great but at least when he got into trouble he did not melt down like last year but dug himself out. Make that 10-3 on a A-Rod homer of the first time pitcher Villarreal. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/49 "2011-04-02T23:11:46Z")
Yankees are a bunch of [cheaters](http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/02/were-the-yankees-cheating-on-opening-day/related). OK, I really agree with Cashman, but I can’t help tweaking fans of the Evil Empire. Hi, Jim! ---
**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 2, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/50 "2011-04-02T23:27:01Z")
Much more importantly, how’s Mattingly looking so far? I want a classic Yankees vs. Dodgers WS this year. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/51 "2011-04-02T23:47:16Z")
Mattingly is meaningless. The person who will make the difference this year is Davey Lopes. He already has Kemp running. If he keeps everybody on their toes and runs them like they’re being chased by a vengeful ex-girlfriend with pruning shears and PMS, I think we have a chance to eke out some runs. Lord knows we aren’t going to get any from our “power hitting.” Of course, we pay for our first two games by getting shellaced today 10-0. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/52 "2011-04-03T01:06:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Mattingly is meaningless. The person who will make the difference this year is Davey Lopes. He already has Kemp running. If he keeps everybody on their toes and runs them like they’re being chased by a vengeful ex-girlfriend with pruning shears and PMS, I think we have a chance to eke out some runs. Lord knows we aren’t going to get any from our “power hitting.” > > Of course, we pay for our first two games by getting shellaced today 10-0. Davey Lopes is great, but I like what Mattingly is doing too. He used the bullpen well today I think. We lost the game by the 6th inning so he didn’t bring in Broxton or Kuo to try and stop the bleeding he threw out the lesser arms and let the team bleed. I think that was good for the team on a lot of levels. I completely blame Joe Torre for Broxton’s horrible second half last year, so it’s nice to know that Donny isn’t doing everything just like his mentor did. But the Dodgers aren’t making it to the Series this year. They will be lucky to finish with more than 80 wins. Maybe if we make some moves before the trade deadline, and are able to call up a player or two but otherwise…it’s going to be sort of ugly. Not today ugly, we only had three starters playing today, but still ugly. ---
**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 3, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/53 "2011-04-03T01:22:41Z")
Torre was absolute murder on relievers, he got spoiled by Rivera and the fact Nelson and Stanton both seemed to be able to pitch 80+ innings without problems and overworked many very good relievers that just were not as durable. It was his one big flaw as a manager in my opinion. It went on for years as a Yankee Manager and then with LA. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/54 "2011-04-03T01:40:11Z")
We seem to have had several of those over the years. I’ll never forgive Lasorda for the way he destroyed pitchers. But yeah, it’s going to be an ugly year. I’ll catch the team in San Diego next Saturday, but I’ll be wearing a Padres hat when I do. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/55 "2011-04-03T01:57:33Z")
The Dodgers, on day two of the season, started this lineup A. Miles I. Dejesus A. Ethier M. Kemp J. Loney H. Gimenez X. Paul J. Carroll T. Lilly It doesn’t matter who your manager or coaches are if your lineup is only capable of scoring 3 runs a game. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/56 "2011-04-03T05:22:48Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Still, he hit for the cycle last year in Boston. > > A slow guy _who’s paying attention_ can steal third once in a while, btw. I am sure that is true. Has Bengie Molina done this? What does it have to do with the Molina brothers? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/57 "2011-04-03T11:24:52Z")
It means Bengie is not too slow to ever leg out a triple. And he’s one of the brothers. Or did you just want to argue about something? :dubious: ---
**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 3, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/58 "2011-04-03T16:04:48Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > A couple of things about it do bug the shit out of me, though. > > To be honest, i don’t think there should be any blackouts even for local games. They can bombard me with ads during the breaks between innings if they want (they do that anyway), and if it’s a matter of local stations complaining, i’d even be happy to be subjected to the same ads as the local broadcast. I’ve used [Mlb.tv](http://Mlb.tv) or the Extra Innings package on Time Warner to watch the Yankees since I moved to Charlotte 7 years ago. The closest American League team to Charlotte is Baltimore, which is roughly _450 miles away_. So I miss all the Yankee-Oriole games (as well as Braves games.) What’s even worse is that TWC doesn’t carry MASN, the Oriole’s network, so I don’t get the games locally, which is the reason for the blackout rules in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/59 "2011-04-03T16:43:45Z")
Yeah, I wasn’t able to watch the Dodger game yesterday because it was being broadcast nationally, only not in the New Jersey area where they were showing the Yankees game instead. I was able to find the game on a spanish language station and listen to the radio feed, which was ok, but not really ideal. ---
**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712/60 "2011-04-03T18:18:58Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I’ve used [Mlb.tv](http://Mlb.tv) or the Extra Innings package on Time Warner to watch the Yankees since I moved to Charlotte 7 years ago. The closest American League team to Charlotte is Baltimore, which is roughly _450 miles away_. So I miss all the Yankee-Oriole games (as well as Braves games.) What’s even worse is that TWC doesn’t carry MASN, the Oriole’s network, so I don’t get the games locally, which is the reason for the blackout rules in the first place. I thought about getting [MLB.TV](http://MLB.TV) (I live in the UK). I decided not to in the end, as I am simply interested in the game rather than following a team per se and there will be games on every night on ESPN America here in the UK, so I’ll likely get to see more of the season and understand more of what is going on through that. I mention it though because, as I was looking into it, I saw that there are no blackout rules outside the USA and Canada - and location is determined by IP address. Can you not bounce your IP through somewhere/fake it and thus get around the blackout restriction? I don’t know - as it wasn’t relevant to me, I didn’t go to the trouble of working it out… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2011/576712.md?page=4)