2014 MLB Thread

[Jagger69]

Kiner was a close second to Yogi Berra when it came to malaprops and head-scratching quotes. Here are a few:

"It's like watching Mario Andretti park a car." -- How he described Phil Niekro's knuckleball

"If Branch Rickey were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave." -- Talking about the Dodgers and state of baseball in 1999

"Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water, the other third by Garry Maddox."

"You know what they say about Chicago. If you don' t like the weather, wait 15 minutes." -- When temperature at Wrigley Field dropped from 103 degrees to 61 degrees the next day.

"Cadillacs are down at the end of the bat." -- When asked why he didn't choke up

"I don't think we had the pressures then that ballplayers have now, because there was no television."

"All of his saves have come in relief appearances."

"All of the Mets' road wins against the Dodgers this year occurred at Dodger Stadium."

"Darryl Strawberry has been voted to the Hall of Fame five years in a row."

"Now up to bat for the Mets is Gary Cooper."

"On Father's Day, we again wish you all happy birthday."

"Solo homers usually come with no one on base."

"The Hall of Fame ceremonies are on the 31st and 32nd of July."

"The Mets have gotten their leadoff batter on only once this inning."

"There's a lot of heredity in that family."

"Tony Gwynn was named player of the year for April."

"We'll be back after this word from Manufacturers Hangover."

I used to watch and listen to him a lot back in the old WOR superstation days in the 80s when they were the flagship station of the Mets. Quite a character.

 

[bobjustbob]

Sometimes Ralph didn't even know what team they were playing.

In those old days when they had rain delays, they didn't break off to run an old Mets game or Odd Couple reruns. They would drag in some old time ballplayer at the park and sit him down with Ralph. They shot the shit while the rain fell. Lots of good stories.

I've seen the set of Kiner's Korner. 8x10 with 2 cameras. The players could barely fit between the desk and the wall. The guests would get 50 bucks and a Citizen watch. It really wasn't that great a show. Ralph read off the scorecard and the plays ran on the screen. Ralph asks what the player was thinking in the situations and that was it.

Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Kiner would do 2 on TV and 1 on the radio in 3 inning rotations. Ralph got to go downstairs in the 9th to set up the post game. If you know anything about Mets history, they had a reputation of playing some of the longest fucking ballgames in history. They'd take a short cut watching Kiner sitting there for hours waiting to do the show.

 

[TheAdmiral]

 

[bobjustbob]

Cano will not be back in NY. They are committed to the 169 million cap. I don't think Beltran comes back to deal with NY media again. The Yanks already dropped some ticket prices for next season. Jeter gets 12 instead of the 9 in his contract for the option year. Looks like a front office gift to start the Derek Jeter farewell tour.

I was wrong about Beltran but...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/sports/baseball/derek-jeter-to-retire-from-yankees-after-2014-season.html?_r=0

No tickets available for the final home stand against the Orioles or away at Boston.

 

[bobjustbob]

What kind of fucked up schedule are they starting the season with? Dodgers and DBacks in Australia. 4 AM eastern 1 AM pacific. Dodgers home opener a week later and the only scheduled game on a Sunday night. 9 afternoon openers on a Monday.

 

[MMMariah]

greatest play by play in baseball was joe nuxall I listed to him whenever I would go to cincinnati to visit family when I was younger. I caught him at the end of his career but he was so good. Vin Scully is great too but he over talks sometimes but he's one of the best ever.

If the Dodgers dont win 120 games this year then they should move to another city. their team is stacked so deep, even more than the yankees. I think the Rays are going to win the wild card this year ahead of NY I dont see the yankees staying healthy and their bench is shit.

 

[Jagger69]

greatest play by play in baseball was joe nuxall I listed to him whenever I would go to cincinnati to visit family when I was younger. I caught him at the end of his career but he was so good. Vin Scully is great too but he over talks sometimes but he's one of the best ever.

If the Dodgers dont win 120 games this year then they should move to another city. their team is stacked so deep, even more than the yankees. I think the Rays are going to win the wild card this year ahead of NY I dont see the yankees staying healthy and their bench is shit.

You can debate who the greatest announcers of all time were (are) until doomsday and never get a consensus. It's extremely subjective. Personally, I think Marty Brennaman was better than Nuxhall but no question they made a great tandem. However, on my list, neither of them are "the best".

No way do the Dodgers win 120 games. No team will win 120 games. Everyone will win 60, everyone will lose 60. It's what a team does with the remaining 42 games that separates the winners from the losers. It's just the nature of a 162-game schedule and the fact that all of the players who make it to the big leagues are seriously talented baseball players. Still, your point is well made....the Dodgers are loaded with talent all the way around and should win their division handily. They are a serious contender to win the NL for sure.

The Cardinals, Braves, Nationals, Reds and Pirates all present formidable obstacles for them however. Some other teams, like the D-backs and Brewers, may surprise as well. It all starts very soon....can't wait for opening day!!

 

[bobjustbob]

Broadcasters are so hard to put into a pecking order. I didn't think Harry Kalas was so great till I saw him doing the local Philly games. There he was a charm and a treat to watch. I'm shaded off Vin Scully since I only have gotten to see him on the nationals and just can't stand him. Joe buck is on the bubble for me since he is tolerable on the nationals but never seen him do his local Cardinals games. Bob Murphy was the middle stooge to Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson but on radio he was so smooth. Never missed a pitch and kept the airways full. Not easy to keep people listening to a Mets game. Tim Mc Carver should have stayed a Mets broadcaster. He doesn't know when to shut up which is good for a Mets game but horrible on the national games. Jon Miller I can listen to doing any national game. I listen to lots of track announcers too and the same debate is there too. Ken Warkentin has been the voice and face of The Meadowlands for 20+ years. But Sam McKee is by far the better race caller there.

Don't get me started on the Mets. The whole fucking franchise was being sold as David Wright and Matt Harvey. 2014 is shut down because of injured Harvey. Sure he has 10ks per 9 innings with a 2.39 era. But that's in 2 years with 36 games under his belt. We were told they were building for 2014 so what else were they doing? They've got 2 1st basemen battling it out to start that each struck out 100 times last year. A SS that hit .202 last year. A 2nd baseman with an OBP pennies over his batting average. Go fill up those luxury boxes in the new stadium. I've been to Queens and the best thing to see there is the 7 train home.

 

[MMMariah]

My point is that the dodgers are deep in every position and have a great bench. their pitching is the best in baseball and you can expect some strong moves before the trade deadline. I am friends with some people with the Rays and there is rumor that they are going to make a strong play for David Price.

They probably wont win 120 but its the point I was making that they are very solid in every position with superstars in 6 of them. Hanley, Kemp, Crawford, Gonzalez, Puig, Ethier and Uribe is clutch and a good glove at 3rd and they have a ton of speed with Dee Gordon and Crawford not to mention Grenke, Haren, Kershaw, Beckett and Billingsley on the mound. I challenge you to say who has a better lineup in the national league.

 

[John_8581]

My point is that the dodgers are deep in every position and have a great bench. their pitching is the best in baseball and you can expect some strong moves before the trade deadline. I am friends with some people with the Rays and there is rumor that they are going to make a strong play for David Price.

They probably wont win 120 but its the point I was making that they are very solid in every position with superstars in 6 of them. Hanley, Kemp, Crawford, Gonzalez, Puig, Ethier and Uribe is clutch and a good glove at 3rd and they have a ton of speed with Dee Gordon and Crawford not to mention Grenke, Haren, Kershaw, Beckett and Billingsley on the mound. I challenge you to say who has a better lineup in the national league.

The problem with the Dodgers is their manager, Don Matttingly. In some games, Donnie Baseball can't even manage his way out of a paper bag. Yes, he's really inept especially with use of the bullpen. In those bad months of April through June of last year, when they went 29-40 he was using setup man Brandon League as his closer. He finally got smart and finally started using Kanley Jansen. Their setup man in the eighth inning , Brian Wilson, a Giant retread, will be a big distraction along with his talking to himself, and in the third person, expect him either to breakdown and/or fail. As for the other starting pitchers, are Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley finally healthy? Or do they breakdown once again? Dan Haren is not what he was when he was with Oakland and Arizona. He was not really a good pitcher for the Washington Nationals last year.

As for hitting, a big part of last year, second baseman Mark Ellis has left and gone to over to the St. Louis Cardinals. His backup, Nick Punto, has also left for the Oakland A's. The Dodgers are putting big things on the shoulders of Cuban born rookie Alex Guerrero. That's some big shoes to fill. Hopefully shortstop Hanley Ramirez stays healthy. When he was out early in the 2013 season and in the playoffs against the Cardinals, the Dodgers as a team, stunk on dry ice.

Don't expect the Dodgers to go 40-8 during parts of this 2014 season. That's truly an impossible idea. They have the Diamondbacks, Giants, Padres all gunning for them. And as for the Rockies, they've improved also.

The San Francisco Giants seem to win the whole thing every other year. And this is the other year.

 

[Jagger69]

I challenge you to say who has a better lineup in the national league.

OK....the St. Louis Cardinals.

 

[Motor.boater]

Had my first serious look a MLB, with the LA/Arizona games in Sydney. There are so many sports/comps out there, I never really gave a shit about it before. But now that I've had a look at it, I did pick up on the theme of play. It's not so bad. I can see where it holds interest for fans who've grown up with it. I thought the Sydney Cricket Ground, which is a nice looking ground in the first place, looked even better transformed into a legit MLB field.

 

[Ace Bandage]

Yasiel Puig makes me hate the Dodgers. Why? A couple reasons:

1. He's stupid on the bases. Nothing irks me more than selfish base running. Especially when you're costing your team runs by trying to advance when you don't have a chance. This isn't youth baseball.

Puig dashed for second on his RBI single in the third inning. Dee Gordon was held at third base, and Puig was thrown out easily. When a ball trickled away from catcher Miguel Montero in the sixth, Puig broke for third and was out by 10 feet. (Article)

2. He won't practice the fundamentals.

Puig batted .122 in spring training. At times, he seemed unfocused. In one drill, the Dodgers practiced calling for pop-ups. How rudimentary is that? Each of the veterans, including Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier took it seriously, dutifully calling for the ball and waving others off.

When it came to Puig's turn, he jokingly turned in circles in right field and let the ball land in the grass behind him. You would imagine a 10-year veteran might not appreciate that kind of behavior from a player entering his first full season. (Article)

If the veterans on your team are taking the drill seriously, you might want to do the same. Fundamentals are an integral part of the game of baseball. Nobody should be above going through a drill in practice. My 14 year-old players rarely (if ever) drop routine fly balls but we still practice fielding them and calling each other off. Communication is an essential part of playing the field at any level. And if it's not done correctly, people get hurt. Look at the Johnny Damon and Damian Jackson collision. Puig's joking matter in regards to the drill is an annoying sign of immaturity.

3. He's injury prone... or is he? And he has a bad attitude.

Before Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Mattingly playfully compared Puig to the boy who cried wolf, saying he never knows when he is actually hurt because he grabs a different body part every time he strikes out.

After the game, a 7-5 Dodgers win that Puig left in the ninth, there was nothing playful about Mattingly's tone.

"Shoulder yesterday, back today, so I'm not sure if they're going to get him tests or get him to the MRI Monday or a bone scan on Tuesday, maybe," Mattingly said sarcastically. "I'm not quite sure what we'll do. We may not do anything. I'm not sure."

Mattingly benched him a couple of times, semi-publicly. Once, he was late showing up to the clubhouse. Another time, he was so mad over an at-bat, he sauntered out to right field, not exactly delighting the pitcher.

The kid has too much fucking talent to be acting the way that he is. Puig reminds me a lot of Carlos Zambranao. And I think he's going to get into the same situation that Zambrano was in. When you're productive, people will put up with your bullshit. They'll forgive some of what you do as long as you're helping the team. But when you're not producing, your schtick is going to get old really quickly. If you become too much of a detriment to the team, then it's time to cut you loose. It'll be interesting to see how Puig (and the extra 26 pounds that he packed on) does during this season and how long Mattingly puts up with his attitude.

 

[feller469]

Went to the Red Sox - Rays game yesterday. Sox put out a line-up that could start on Opening Day. Rays had maybe four regulars in the lineup. Of course, the Rays pitchers had a no-no into the 7th. Sox pitching must have been getting paid by the pitch cuz they went three balls on everyone. Matt Joyce did crush one for a 3-run homer. It was good to see MLB (Spring Training style).

 

[Jagger69]

Yasiel Puig makes me hate the Dodgers. Why? A couple reasons:

1. He's stupid on the bases. Nothing irks me more than selfish base running. Especially when you're costing your team runs by trying to advance when you don't have a chance. This isn't youth baseball.



2. He won't practice the fundamentals.



If the veterans on your team are taking the drill seriously, you might want to do the same. Fundamentals are an integral part of the game of baseball. Nobody should be above going through a drill in practice. My 14 year-old players rarely (if ever) drop routine fly balls but we still practice fielding them and calling each other off. Communication is an essential part of playing the field at any level. And if it's not done correctly, people get hurt. Look at the Johnny Damon and Damian Jackson collision. Puig's joking matter in regards to the drill is an annoying sign of immaturity.

3. He's injury prone... or is he? And he has a bad attitude.




The kid has too much fucking talent to be acting the way that he is. Puig reminds me a lot of Carlos Zambranao. And I think he's going to get into the same situation that Zambrano was in. When you're productive, people will put up with your bullshit. They'll forgive some of what you do as long as you're helping the team. But when you're not producing, your schtick is going to get old really quickly. If you become too much of a detriment to the team, then it's time to cut you loose. It'll be interesting to see how Puig (and the extra 26 pounds that he packed on) does during this season and how long Mattingly puts up with his attitude.

One of my fondest memories from last year's NLCS was watching Puig posing for a statue in his memory as he watched his massively-struck ball ride the yard....for a triple. He later cost the Dodgers big-time with a mindless throw from right that ended up plating a key run against. And then, of course, Kevin Segrist later made him climb the ladder chasing fastballs in classic form as he struck him out swinging with runners in scoring position.

He's a great talent but seriously undisciplined, both in the field and at the plate. I hope it gets it together but fear he won't. And this is coming from a Cardinal fan....not someone who hates the Dodgers so much as a talent being pissed away through hubris and a lack of respect for the game, his team and, ultimately, himself. I don't know that Donnie Baseball is the guy to make him wake up. So far, it appears not. We'll see as the season develops. I wish him well but he needs to learn that he has to earn his greatness every day....not take it for granted.

 

[feller469]

Donnie Baseball and Adrian Gonzalez will get through to him. I hated the Red Sox trading Gonzalez, but I understood it. Puig may not speak much English, but I bet he understands what "Sit down" means.

 

[Jagger69]

Cardinals bullpen comes up big to make up for 2 errors as Redbirds beat the Reds in the season opener. Wainwright was dominant and pitched 7 shutout innings; Molina's solo homer against Cueto was the difference. Baseball is back!!! Nothing else like it in the world!!

 

[bobjustbob]

Typical Mets, they can always find a new way to lose. Blow 3 leads and strike out 18 times.

 

[Ace Bandage]

Samardzija threw an absolute gem today. It's a shame that the offense couldn't give him any support. 0-14 with RISP is not going to win many baseball games. Bonifacio looked good at the plate with four hits in his Cubs debut. But he's a little reckless on the base path. I enjoyed today's game even if I didn't like the outcome.

Hopefully, we can get a win the next two games of the series. It's great to have baseball back.

 

[feller469]

Kid was sick today, so at 1pm, I flipped on the TV and watched baseball for about 6 hours. Love it. Thank god, baseball is back. Something to distract the talking heads on ESPN from pondering and speculating about possible fifth round draft picks in the up-coming NFL Draft.