# MLB: August 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796 "2010-08-01T15:34:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**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:** [August 26, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/221 "2010-08-26T20:46:31Z")
I think **LOUNE** just meant Greinke won on a bad team. But Cy Young voting it not the same as MVP voting. Thanks on the TAv explanation. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/222 "2010-08-26T23:14:36Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > COLOSSAL battle between the Reds and SF baseball Gints. Reds, already victims of a 2 game plastering to the tune of 27 runs in two games, stake an 8-1 lead going into the middle innings and almost give it away only to scrape out a win in extras 12-11 in the 12th. Worse than that; it was 10-1 going to the bottom of the 4th. Giants took an 11-10 lead in the 8th, and coughed it up. The Giants had never (ie, ever, in 128 years) come from 9 runs down to win. They came back from 9 runs down yesterday…they just forgot to win. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/223 "2010-08-27T01:21:53Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > > [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > > > Hey, if Greinke can win the Cy young last year… > > What? Are you implying that there was something undeserved about Greinke’s Cy Young? He led all qualified AL starters in ERA, WHIP, RAR, VORP, and WARP, and was 3rd in K/9 and 5th in Innings Pitched. Arguments could be made for a few other pitchers, but anyone who thinks that Greinke didn’t deserve the award is crazy.First, this is a silly measure of MVP anyway. It’s hardly the individual player’s fault if the rest of his team sucks or is awesome. It doesn’t change the player’s ability or his value to the team in terms of wins. > > Second, the Rangers have an 8.5 game lead in the AL West. The BP stats i gave above suggest that Hamilton has, so far this season, been worth almost 8 wins above replacement level for the Rangers. Without Hamilton, things might be a lot tighter for the Rangers in that division, even if they replaced him with someone who was above replacement level.Unfortunately, you are probably correct and the MVP voters will continue to show stupid judgment on this issue.From Baseball Prospectus: > > > [@](#): > > > > True Average (formerly Equivalent Average). A measure of total offensive value per out, with corrections for league offensive level, home park, and team pitching. > > > > TAv considers batting as well as baserunning, but not the value of a position player’s defense. The TAv adjusted for all-time also has a correction for league difficulty. The scale is deliberately set to approximate that of batting average. League average TAv is always equal to .260. No, I was making a reference to Zach Greinke’s awesome year on a shitty team and he still got the (Deserved) Cy Young Award. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/224 "2010-08-27T01:28:56Z")
Dodgers got their first sweep since June. Too little, too late I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/225 "2010-08-27T02:46:53Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > > > COLOSSAL battle between the Reds and SF baseball Gints. Reds, already victims of a 2 game plastering to the tune of 27 runs in two games, stake an 8-1 lead going into the middle innings and almost give it away only to scrape out a win in extras 12-11 in the 12th. > > Worse than that; it was 10-1 going to the bottom of the 4th. Giants took an 11-10 lead in the 8th, and coughed it up. > > The Giants had never (ie, ever, in 128 years) come from 9 runs down to win. They came back from 9 runs down yesterday…they just forgot to win. It was a crazy game. And series. I can’t recall a series this year where the Reds, whom have decent starting pitching, gave up 36 runs in 3 games. That’s just nutty. Anyway, stupid Cardinals! You’re supposed to keep losing to the crappy teams! Yeesh I hope the Nats pull this one out! 10-10 in extras… ---
**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:** [August 27, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/226 "2010-08-27T02:57:33Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > No, I was making a reference to Zach Greinke’s awesome year on a shitty team and he still got the (Deserved) Cy Young Award. Fair enough. My righteous indignation has subsided. 🙂 Had a fun afternoon at the ballpark today, even though the Padres got slaughtered 11-5 by the Diamondbacks. An 8th-inning Grand Slam by Adrian Gonzalez made the scoreline a bit more respectable, but the D-Backs looked like they were taking batting practice, with 16 hits including 2 homers and 7 (!!!) doubles. And most of those doubles were really hit hard. Apart from Gonzo’s Slam, about the only thing that Padres fans had to cheer today was this [rather bizarre double play](http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11406109). I had my camera at the park with me, and i snapped off a few shots from my seat and stitched them together for a [Petco Park panorama](https://jshare.johnshopkins.edu/mhender4/public_html/gen_images/petco.html). ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/227 "2010-08-27T03:01:23Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > > [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > > > No, I was making a reference to Zach Greinke’s awesome year on a shitty team and he still got the (Deserved) Cy Young Award. > > Fair enough. My righteous indignation has subsided. 🙂 > > Had a fun afternoon at the ballpark today, even though the Padres got slaughtered 11-5 by the Diamondbacks. An 8th-inning Grand Slam by Adrian Gonzalez made the scoreline a bit more respectable, but the D-Backs looked like they were taking batting practice, with 16 hits including 2 homers and 7 (!!!) doubles. And most of those doubles were really hit hard. > > Apart from Gonzo’s Slam, about the only thing that Padres fans had to cheer today was this [rather bizarre double play](http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11406109). > > I had my camera at the park with me, and i snapped off a few shots from my seat and stitched them together for a [Petco Park panorama](https://jshare.johnshopkins.edu/mhender4/public_html/gen_images/petco.html). Heh, that was a pretty funny DP. And your pic of Petco is awesome! That’s a nice looking park there! Your seats were great too. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/228 "2010-08-27T03:56:05Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > And your pic of Petco is awesome! That’s a nice looking park there! Your seats were great too. Let’s see…I’m guessing Section 109, Field Box. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/229 "2010-08-27T05:10:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Let’s see…I’m guessing Section 109, Field Box. One section off! Section 111. Those are $44 seats (plus fees, of course), which is more than i usually spend, but a friend invited me and he paid for the tickets, which was very nice. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/230 "2010-08-27T11:17:46Z")
Pujols hits his 400th, and…and…the Cardinals lose to a crappy team _again_! Yay! I don’t understand the Cards. They have some really good players in Carpenter, Pujols, Wainwright, Molina, etc but they keep losing to inferior teams when the games matter more now than they did two months ago. What’s up with them? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/231 "2010-08-27T13:23:44Z")
Cliff Lee continues to suck for the Rangers, giving up our chance to sweep the Twins. I swear I wish we’d have gone after Roy Oswalt instead. :mad: And the worse part is, he’ll end up in New York next year and will be a phenom. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/232 "2010-08-27T13:34:29Z")
The Jays lost ugly, but… Jose Bautista. 41 dingers and counting. Can he set the team record? ---
**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:** [August 27, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/233 "2010-08-27T14:24:56Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Cliff Lee continues to suck for the Rangers, giving up our chance to sweep the Twins. I swear I wish we’d have gone after Roy Oswalt instead. :mad: And the worse part is, he’ll end up in New York next year and will be a phenom. I’m really not so sure about that. Cliff Lee is going to hold out for at least 5 years at at least $20m per year. He is 32 in 3 days. The Yanks have enough age on the team that they will probably shy away from him and I think some other team will step up and pay the price. He really is not Roy Halliday or CC Sabathia if you look over his career. He has had some great years and some not so great years. CC is a lefty and was under 30 when the Yanks signed him. They already screwed up by giving AJ too much for too long but at least that helped (buy) the Yanks one WS. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/234 "2010-08-27T14:30:23Z")
RickJay: > [@](#): > > Jose Bautista. > > 41 dingers and counting. Can he set the team record? What is it now, George Bell’s 49 from 1987? Man, how I wish the Royals could get a hitter that’ll finally break Balboni’s crappy little team record (36, in 1985). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/235 "2010-08-27T14:30:32Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Pujols hits his 400th, and…and…the Cardinals lose to a crappy team _again_! Yay! > > I don’t understand the Cards. They have some really good players in Carpenter, Pujols, Wainwright, Molina, etc but they keep losing to inferior teams when the games matter more now than they did two months ago. What’s up with them? It’s frustrating. As reported [here](http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=300825123), “The Cardinals have fallen into an unusual pattern since the All-Star break: They beat good teams but lose to mediocre or bad ones. They are 12-2 against top clubs but 9-13 against teams that are .500 or own losing records.” Make that 9-14 after last night’s loss. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/236 "2010-08-27T15:58:30Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > RickJay: > > > [@](#): > > > > Jose Bautista. > > > > 41 dingers and counting. Can he set the team record? > > What is it now, George Bell’s 49 from 1987? > > Man, how I wish the Royals could get a hitter that’ll finally break Balboni’s crappy little team record (36, in 1985). Bell hit 47 in 1987, and yes, that’s the team record: 1. George Bell, 47, 1987 2. Jose Canseco, 46, 1998 3. Shawn Green, 45, 1999 If Bautista leads the majors in homers - he’s eight ahead of Pujols so it appears he will do so unless he gets hurt - he will be the first Jay to lead the majors in homers since Jesse Barfield in 1986, and only the third to lead the AL in homers after Barfield and Fred McGriff in 1989. It’s interesting that the Royals have never had anyone hit more than 36, but then then I think the White Sox went their entire history up until the arrival of Frank Thomas without anyone hitting more than 35. And that was Ron Kittle, of all people. The Royals have a long way to go to reach that. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/237 "2010-08-27T16:12:18Z")
In other news, Stephen Strasburg, the National’s saviour, is out for at least a year and likely won’t pitch until 2012: > **[The Washington Post - Breaking news and latest headlines, U.S. news, world...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/)** > > Breaking news, live coverage, investigations, analysis, video, photos and opinions from The Washington Post. Subscribe for the latest on U.S. and international news, politics, business, technology, climate change, health and wellness, sports,... Jesus Christ. You just have to shake your head and wonder how they could allow this to happen. (Aside from the fact that he pitches in Washington, which is baseball’s black hole of suck.) Strasburg had pitching mechanic issues that could lead to this. They brought him (almost) straight to the majors and let him pitch regularly. Why is this a surprise to anyone? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/238 "2010-08-27T16:23:59Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > > [@faithfool](#): > > > > Cliff Lee continues to suck for the Rangers, giving up our chance to sweep the Twins. I swear I wish we’d have gone after Roy Oswalt instead. :mad: And the worse part is, he’ll end up in New York next year and will be a phenom. > > I’m really not so sure about that. Cliff Lee is going to hold out for at least 5 years at at least $20m per year. He is 32 in 3 days. The Yanks have enough age on the team that they will probably shy away from him and I think some other team will step up and pay the price. He really is not Roy Halliday or CC Sabathia if you look over his career. He has had some great years and some not so great years. CC is a lefty and was under 30 when the Yanks signed him. They already screwed up by giving AJ too much for too long but at least that helped (buy) the Yanks one WS. I hope you’re right. But no matter what happens, I hope Texas doesn’t want him back unless he turns something around dramatically. At this rate, I hate the idea of relying on him in post-season play. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/239 "2010-08-27T16:38:46Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > > [@silenus](#): > > > > Let’s see…I’m guessing Section 109, Field Box. > > One section off! Section 111. > > Those are $44 seats (plus fees, of course), which is more than i usually spend, but a friend invited me and he paid for the tickets, which was very nice. I thought I recognized the angle. We always sit in Section 110 Field Box, which the corresponding section on the third base side. Note to all Padres fans: Since FOX decided to feature the Padres in their broadcast schedule, a number of games have had their start times changed. You can still use your tickets, just get there 4 hours earlier. All the Saturday games in September have been shifted from a 5pm start to a 1pm start. Which is a pain in the ass, because I sit where I do to avoid the sun. An afternoon start trashes the shade on the third base side. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/240 "2010-08-27T19:49:04Z")
Your ass gets sunburned? 😉 In other news, Strasburg is getting a Tommy John for his very own. I really didn’t expect it to be so soon, but it’s not that much of a surprise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796.md?page=13)