Yanks are rolling along. The offense is relying heavily on the long ball but most of the team is beginning to hit now. Hughes is on the DL and no one knows for how long but Garcia and Colon are making this a lot less painful. The bullpen has had many hiccups already.
Overall the team feels like it is going in the right direction.
King Felix gave up two runs and had 10 Ks in 7 innings, but the M’s couldn’t keep their win streak going. Ichiro lost a ball in the sun in the bottom of the 9th, with the game tied, allowing the runner to be safe and get to 3rd base. Carl Crawford came through to bring him home.
The BoSox were expected to have a potent offense. The M’s were supposed to have a horrible one, but they’re tied in runs scored. If this gets Crawford going, maybe it will save their season.
I am so tired of the Dodgers bullpen. This season was supposed to be different. This season was supposed to be about bullpen depth. This season has turned out to be about a bullpen that is gives away two games to the PADRES in two days. Yeah, the Dodgers got blown out by the Padres, the team who can’t hit. What’s more, the team seems to have Optioned Kenley Jansen back to the minors in order to bring up Hong Chin Kuo. Now I like Kuo, but barring two games, Jansen has been one of the two best pitchers in the Bullpen, while we have dead weight like Lance Cromier sitting around doing nothing at all. The official reason for the move was to give Jansen the time to work on his cutter in low pressure situations, presumably with the eye towards turning him into the clubs closer when he comes back up, but even if that is true I am not sure I like the move. I am also not happy with only Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier (and to a lesser extent Jamey Carroll) providing any reliable offense on the team. Again, we lost to the Padres twice in a row. It’s not like you should have to score that many runs to give your starting pitchers some support and outscore them. But that is a rant for another day.
In other news, Ethier has a 27 game hitting streak going on, 26 games in April, which was an MLB record. He is only 6 games away from the club record. That’s pretty cool.
Royals have rebounded nicely from their losing streak. But can anyone beat those darned Indians? How are we ever going to catch up if they just won’t lose?
Cardinals third baseman David Freese has a broken hand? Of course he does. I should have been expecting it. :mad:
Just once, I’d like to go through a season with a third baseman who stays healthy.
You can have Scott Rolen back, he’s always healthy.
Why, I believe Cardinals 3B Mike Shannon went through a full season healthy once.
Of course, it was 1967…
I wonder if venerable commentators like Vin Scully get a pass on some of the promotional bullshit that commentators often have to do.
I’m watching the Cubs-Dodgers game, and a little while ago they had an AT&T Trivia Quiz, with a trivia question for fans. On most stations, in cases like this, the commentator says something like, “And now for the AT&T Trivia Quiz…”, and i’ve always assumed that this was a required part of the sponsorship.
Scully, though, just said something like, “Here’s a trivia question for you fans out there,” and never mentioned the sponsor at all. It was kind of refreshing, but i bet he only gets away with that because he’s Vin Scully.
Man. I love Vin Scully. The games flow so well with him. Story after story. It flows so well with the action on the field. It’s amazing how well he can do. And, it makes me wonder why every other team insists on having teams working the game and not just one guy with a personality and a penchant for storytelling.
Speaking of broadcasters. really haven’t been enjoying Bobby Valentine on ESPN. yes. He is better than Joe Morgan. But, shouldn’t we have a higher bar set? I don’t find his opinions very valuable, and hearing him talk doesn’t make the game more interesting or exciting. Hersheisher, on the other hand, I love. He will bring up pitching stuff that is really cool and fun, and he seems to be excited to be there and having a good time. The only time I have really enjoyed Valentine’s commentary is when he has brought up stories from when Hersheisher was on his team. Otherwise, he’s been middling to bad in my estimation.
Two spots from last night annoyed me.
He pointed out that the Philly crowd was already booing Raul Ibanez. Which is stupid. Yes, it sounds like booing, but Philly fans have been calling out Rauuuuuul for two full seasons now. It sounds like boos, but it really isn’t. Hersheiser tried to gently correct him, but he didn’t take it. Just a dumb comment.
Second, the game is in extra innings. Fun stuff, right? Not for Bobby V. “Can’t wait for this game to end. My voice can’t take anymore.” I mean, it’s kind of a funny thing to say. But, it’s indicative of the overall spirit he brings. Not one of fun and loving being there, but one of having a job to do and muscling through.
Not a big fan so far.
The only company Vin will shill for is Farmer John. Even then, he doesn’t do it during his “official announcing time.” He’s got his eyes on the game, not on the commercials.
Vin is the God of Announcers Incarnate.
There were rumors that Jon Miller really dislikes saying “AT&T Park”, which makes his job difficult as that’s where his team plays. He does manage to avoid the words, though, often starting a broadcast with something like “here at 24 Willie Mays Plaza on the shores of McCovey Cove”.
Meanwhile, back on topic: the Giants scored 4 runs in 4 games against the freakin’ Nats. And Sandoval, the only Giant hitting his weight (ha!) just went on the DL. I jinxed him last month by mentioning his name in the thread.
And not just baseball announcers, either. I wish he announced for my team. It will be a very sad day when he passes.
Speaking of dead announcers, I missed Dave Niehaus on Opening Day, but I haven’t missed him much since then. Does this make me a bad Mariners fan? I thought he had lost a little of his touch his last few years anyway.
If anyone’s interested, Francisco Liriano is taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning against the White Sox.
And he’s done it! Great job in a 1-0 win.
Woot! I surfed ESPN about the 7th inning and saw a no hitter in progress. Followed to the MLB network to see the end. I grew up in Minnesota, so I’m a big Twins fan. Good on Liriano. He’s had his big ups, and I’m glad to see another one.
Wonder how many no hitters have had 3:1 BB:K ratios.
It wasn’t a masterful pitching performance. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. The defense made many fantastic saves behind him. Hope this will light a fire under these guys, because they’ve looked lifeless most of this season.
The M’s win again, beating the Rangers. There are now only two games separating first from last in the AL West. The M’s broadcasters asked, “To whom do you attribute the M’s recent success?” I give a lot of credit to Justin Smoak. They’ve won all but one game since he got back from the bereavement list. He easily leads the team in RBI, even missing that week. After years of giving away more than what got back in trades, getting Smoak for Cliff Lee might actually pay off. With Pineda, Smoak, and the still young King Felix, the future looks brighter.
Pretty much hate the Dodgers, but have always enjoyed Vin. Truly one of the best ever. Also, after a few years of Torre and Donnie Baseball my rooting against them has softened…