# MLB: March/April 2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 28, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055 "2012-03-28T16:17:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/101 "2012-04-07T19:54:37Z")
The generous Jays are playing another extra-inning game. Cleveland is about to bat in the bottom of the 11th. When was the last time a team started the season with two games that went to extras? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/102 "2012-04-07T20:52:07Z")
The Blue Jays won, so they’re 2-0 and have played 28 innings. ---
**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 7, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/103 "2012-04-07T21:15:01Z")
What about the Indians? They’ve played 28 innings, gone deep into their bullpen twice, and have nothing to show for it. Winning those extra-innings games is really nice, and losing them hurts even more than losing in 9. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/104 "2012-04-07T21:32:37Z")
Game 1: Manny Acta pulls his starter pitching lights-out for his closer who was out most of the spring with an oblique injury. Game 2: Manny Acta puts in a reliever who dominates RH batters to face two lefties, promptly gives up a home run. What’s on tap for Game 3, Manny?! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/105 "2012-04-07T21:49:51Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > What about the Indians? They’ve played 28 innings, gone deep into their bullpen twice, and have nothing to show for it. Ah, right. With some of this weird scheduling, I forgot that both games were Blue Jays-Indians. And now that I look closer I see the Jays won both games by the same score. I wonder how many other teams won two straight extra-inning games to start the season and who’s played the most total innings in similar situations. Meanwhile Price Fielder has hit his first and second home runs as a Tiger, both solo shots, and Miguel Cabrera has also gone deep twice. The Tigers lead the Red Sox 7-0 after five innings. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/106 "2012-04-07T21:58:08Z")
Cubs are of to a strong start blowing two late game leads to the nationals. Soriano needs to shut the fuck up and stop sucking and looking like such a prick all the time. Nationals are my number two team though so at least they won. ---
**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 7, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/107 "2012-04-07T22:39:41Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Ah, right. With some of this weird scheduling, I forgot that both games were Blue Jays-Indians. And now that I look closer I see the Jays won both games by the same score. I wonder how many other teams won two straight extra-inning games to start the season and who’s played the most total innings in similar situations. I’m pretty sure Tom Hamilton said during the game that it was the first time two teams had started the season with two extra inning games, unless I misheard him or misunderstood him. Maybe he meant those two teams in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/108 "2012-04-08T00:08:26Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Soriano needs to shut the fuck up and stop sucking and looking like such a prick all the time. No, he needs to continue until management gets tired of his whining, underperforming ass and trades him for what now appears to be the Cubs’ most desperate need: late-inning relief pitching. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/109 "2012-04-08T00:14:35Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > On Rivera, he’ll be done when he says he’s done. Not that he can control it, but that he’ll know and then retire. So he’ll be fine this year in my opinion. Pretty much the same way that Babe Ruth and Willie Mays knew they were done? Of course, one blown save in the first game of the year is not an indicator, but neither is a player’s belief that he can still play. You know better than that. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/110 "2012-04-08T00:17:13Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > Seattle and, I believe, Oakland have tomorrow off. Those two teams already played two games that count, in Japan. I assume this is to get scheduling back in sync. ---
**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 8, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/111 "2012-04-08T01:10:56Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Pretty much the same way that Babe Ruth and Willie Mays knew they were done? > > Of course, one blown save in the first game of the year is not an indicator, but neither is a player’s belief that he can still play. You know better than that. I’m thinking more like Joe DiMaggio actually or Moose or Paul O’Neill as far as lesser talents go. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/112 "2012-04-08T01:30:33Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’m thinking more like Joe DiMaggio actually or Moose or Paul O’Neill as far as lesser talents go. Your point? What makes you believe that Rivera is capable of recognizing that his career is over? ---
**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 8, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/113 "2012-04-08T01:33:33Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Your point? What makes you believe that Rivera is capable of recognizing that his career is over? Watching and listening to him for his entire career. What makes you think he is not capable of it? They’ve been calling him nearing the end for 9 seasons now. So to see one blown save and questioning if he is done strikes me as silly. ---
**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 8, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/114 "2012-04-08T01:36:29Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Your point? What makes you believe that Rivera is capable of recognizing that his career is over? By the way my point is you brought up a pair of Hall of Famers that stuck around too long so I offered up another Hall of Famer that like Rivera was cut from a very different cloth from the ultimate man-child Ruth. The other pair were very good players that retired on high notes and recently that Mo played with. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/115 "2012-04-08T01:41:20Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > They’ve been calling him nearing the end for 9 seasons now. So to see one blown save and questioning if he is done strikes me as silly. Certainly, it is. I said that in my first post on this subject. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > By the way my point is you brought up a pair of Hall of Famers that stuck around too long so I offered up another Hall of Famer that like Rivera was cut from a very different cloth from the ultimate man-child Ruth. The other pair were very good players that retired on high notes and recently that Mo played with. So what? That’s as equally nonsense on your part. Rivera knows when he’s no good, and he will retire rather than earn millions of dollars for one more year. That’s your argument. ---
**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 8, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/116 "2012-04-08T01:46:04Z")
Why do you think Mo will push an extra season? Have you listened to him in interviews since 1995? I have, he is not a typical ball player. I believe when he is done, or even before he is, he will walk away and retire. He has a different mental make up from most ball players I have heard over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/117 "2012-04-08T02:03:16Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Why do you think Mo will push an extra season? Have you listened to him in interviews since 1995? I have, he is not a typical ball player. I believe when he is done, or even before he is, he will walk away and retire. He has a different mental make up from most ball players I have heard over the years. What makes you think that the ballplayer can recognize when he is done? For Pete’s sake, I’m certainly not arguing that Rivera is done based on one blown save in one game. I am simply arguing that he is no more capable of acknowledging that he is done than I am. Even less so, considering his stake. ---
**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 8, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/118 "2012-04-08T02:07:02Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > What makes you think that the ballplayer can recognize when he is done? For Pete’s sake, I’m certainly not arguing that Rivera is done based on one blown save in one game. I am simply arguing that he is no more capable of acknowledging that he is done than I am. Even less so, considering his stake. I gave you 3 examples where the players did know. 2 are relatively recent and teammates of his. He sounds like someone who gauges his own ability each year and won’t try to push it. I’m not sure why you think it is so unlikely when plenty of players do walk away before they have that season they shouldn’t. Now if you tell me Jeter will try to push it too long, as much as I love him as a player, I won’t tell you I don’t think he will play one season too long. He seems like the type prone to it. Mo reminds me of Moose much more. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/119 "2012-04-08T02:16:59Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I gave you 3 examples where the players did know And I gave you examples when two of the very best players in baseball history didn’t know they were done. Ruth with the Pirates, and Mays with the Mets. I give up. You’re not even attempting to recognize my point. You merely reiterate that the only person who can possibly know when Rivera is done is Rivera himself. That is, as so often been proved in baseball history, bullshit. ---
**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 8, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055/120 "2012-04-08T02:22:46Z")
Ruth was a Brave in the end for the record, never a Pirate. You’re funny, I offer up why I think Rivera will be one of the exceptions and that is frustrating to you. Meanwhile, the Yanks are off to a terrible start with both starters giving up 5 or more runs so far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2012/617055.md?page=7)