The 2011 MLB Thread

[Bloodshot Scott]

For the first time of the year my hope for a Twins postseason has been rocked. I don't know if I see it now.

Isn't it something considering a good half of their starting lineup have been out the majority of the year? Thome, Morneau, Young, Span, Kubel, Nishioka, Nathan, even Mauer all missed a significant amount of time. I have to wonder about what could have been with this team had all these players been 100% the whole year.

It's not over yet, but our pitching (as always) is mediocre at best. There is just no ace. They sign Capps to a 1 year $7 million dollar deal, and for what??? He's horrible. They could have grabbed some serious stuff at least for a year. Anyway, I will no longer bother you with this post.

 

[maildude]

Jered Weaver--contract extension or mega deal-off?

 

[izabelplayer]

hopefully Pujols would get it going because you hate to see him have the worst career numbers in his final contract year. though the numbers he has putting putting up the past 10 years have been ridiculous.

Speaking of the Cardinals, there's been a lot of speculation that Albert Pujols' string of 10 consecutive .300 BA/30 HR/100 RBI seasons will inevitably come to an end this season after a shaky start that had him batting near the Mendoza line for much of April and May and then saw him miss several weeks of action due to a broken wrist in late June. However, after his 3-run shot last night doomed the Reds in Cincinnati, "El Hombre" is now hitting .282 with 20 HRs and 55 RBI. I'd say the RBI goal may be the toughest for him to reach but if he goes on a tear, he could very possibly knock in 45 runs in the last 2 1/2 months of the season. Since this will likely be his last year in a Redbird uniform, I'd love to see him make it 11 straight as a Cardinal before we see him wearing Cubs gear or something just as ridiculous. As much as I'd love to see him finish his career in St. Louis, the Cardinals are nuts if they give him 10 years at $300 million. Dude will be 32 next season so he's already spent his best years in St. Louis but someone is almost sure to be crazy enough to offer him that kind of deal. Still, I hang onto the hope that cooler heads will prevail and he'll stay in the Gateway City for the remainder of his career.

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

Given the Hall of Fame ceremony tomorrow, I thought I would take this moment out of my sad, Blue Jay-fan existence to say that Roberto Alomar was fucking awesome.

 

[STDiva]

given the hall of fame ceremony tomorrow, i thought i would take this moment out of my sad, blue jay-fan existence to say that roberto alomar was fucking awesome.

+1.

 

[izabelplayer]

roberto alomar was awesome before he became a met. after he became a met everything was downhill from there.

Given the Hall of Fame ceremony tomorrow, I thought I would take this moment out of my sad, Blue Jay-fan existence to say that Roberto Alomar was fucking awesome.

 

[izabelplayer]

i thought lance berkman was done after his struggles with the astros and yankees last season but he is having a great season with the cardinals this season.

 

[Elwood70]

given the hall of fame ceremony tomorrow, i thought i would take this moment out of my sad, blue jay-fan existence to say that roberto alomar was fucking awesome.

qft

 

[rodfarva]

given the hall of fame ceremony tomorrow, i thought i would take this moment out of my sad, blue jay-fan existence to say that roberto alomar was fucking awesome.

+1.

+2.

 

[izabelplayer]

mets bullpen blew their second game in the row. prior to these two games, their bullpen had the best era in july.

 

[Jon S.]

Did anyone else see the bullshit call that ended the 19 inning Pirates-Braves game last night? If not, here it is:




I might be a bit biased, but come on!!!!!!! It's pretty bad when even the Braves announcers said he was out! Jerry Meals (the umpire) is a joke! What was it...that it was about 2 am and the clown wanted to go home.....or is he completely blind or something? I say Meals should be at least fined for such a bad call....possibly even suspended/fired even. I'd say a fine would be the most he will get, and I don't see that even probably. :2 cents:

Either way, a hard fought game like that should not end in such a bs manner....and as close as the NL Central is....every game counts & it would be a shame for the Pirates to end up losing the division by a game. If they are going to use replay...which they already do...they should use it on plays that effect the outcome of the game also. :2 cents:

Sooooooo, what does everyone else think?

 

[rodfarva]

Did anyone else see the bullshit call that ended the 19 inning Pirates-Braves game last night? If not, here it is:




I might be a bit biased, but come on!!!!!!! It's pretty bad when even the Braves announcers said he was out! Jerry Meals (the umpire) is a joke! What was it...that it was about 2 am and the clown wanted to go home.....or is he completely blind or something? I say Meals should be at least fined for such a bad call....possibly even suspended/fired even. I'd say a fine would be the most he will get, and I don't see that even probably. :2 cents:

Either way, a hard fought game like that should not end in such a bs manner....and as close as the NL Central is....every game counts & it would be a shame for the Pirates to end up losing the division by a game. If they are going to use replay...which they already do...they should use it on plays that effect the outcome of the game also. :2 cents:

Sooooooo, what does everyone else think?

The call was blown, you're right. However, I do have to say a few things about your post because some of what you said I disagree with. First of all, despite the announcers protestations, the play was extremely close, the video you posted did not show clear evidence that Lugo was actually tagged. I had to watch a different video before I saw that he was indeed tagged:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?c_id=mlb&content_id=17335331&query=game_pk=288444

The clear evidence came at about the 1:45 mark of that video on the only replay (out of many) that clearly showed Lugo being tagged on the knee. Just to clarify, the player has to tag the runner with the ball or, if the ball is in his glove, with the glove. Just touching him and/or the throw beating the runner is not enough. (I'm sure you know all of this, just wanted to state it).

This was nowhere near the worst call I've ever seen. I can see why the umpire might have thought that McHenry missed the tag. He sort of swept the glove toward the runner and then up in the air and barely touched Lugo's knee in the process, so I can see how the umpire missed that. It was a bad call, and it lost the Pirates the game, but lets not exaggerate it.

As for the announcers for the Braves calling it a blown call... umm... why wouldn't they? It's not condemning nor surprising in any way for announcers to call a blown call a blown call even when it went in favour of their home team. There may be the odd announcers who do report things inaccurately or see things in a biased manner, but part of an announcer's job is to remain impartial and the majority of them do.

Umpires do not get fined. They do not get suspended. I'm not sure if they can or not, but they don't. Even if they could, Meals wouldn't deserve to be for this call. It was a tough call. To suggest that he should be fired was probably a knee-jerk reaction on your part because your team lost the game as the result of this call and you were angry about it. He doesn't deserve to be fired for one mistake and he's not a joke. This is his first (as far as I know) controversial call and he's been umpiring since the early 90s.

I'm all for expanding replay (in any sport). This would've been the type of play that would've been 'challenged' by Clint Hurdle for sure. However, in every sport that uses replay for key plays like this (so football and hockey, essentially) the rule states clearly that there has to be clear evidence in order to reverse the call on the field (or ice). In this case, I don't really think the call would've been reversible. As I said, there was only one replay out of about five that showed Lugo being tagged, and it isn't 100% convincing.

 

[Bloodshot Scott]

The call was blown, you're right. However, I do have to say a few things about your post because some of what you said I disagree with. First of all, despite the announcers protestations, the play was extremely close, the video you posted did not show clear evidence that Lugo was actually tagged. I had to watch a different video before I saw that he was indeed tagged:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?c_id=mlb&content_id=17335331&query=game_pk=288444

The clear evidence came at about the 1:45 mark of that video on the only replay (out of many) that clearly showed Lugo being tagged on the knee. Just to clarify, the player has to tag the runner with the ball or, if the ball is in his glove, with the glove. Just touching him and/or the throw beating the runner is not enough. (I'm sure you know all of this, just wanted to state it).

This was nowhere near the worst call I've ever seen. I can see why the umpire might have thought that McHenry missed the tag. He sort of swept the glove toward the runner and then up in the air and barely touched Lugo's knee in the process, so I can see how the umpire missed that. It was a bad call, and it lost the Pirates the game, but lets not exaggerate it.

As for the announcers for the Braves calling it a blown call... umm... why wouldn't they? It's not condemning nor surprising in any way for announcers to call a blown call a blown call even when it went in favour of their home team. There may be the odd announcers who do report things inaccurately or see things in a biased manner, but part of an announcer's job is to remain impartial and the majority of them do.

Umpires do not get fined. They do not get suspended. I'm not sure if they can or not, but they don't. Even if they could, Meals wouldn't deserve to be for this call. It was a tough call. To suggest that he should be fired was probably a knee-jerk reaction on your part because your team lost the game as the result of this call and you were angry about it. He doesn't deserve to be fired for one mistake and he's not a joke. This is his first (as far as I know) controversial call and he's been umpiring since the early 90s.

I'm all for expanding replay (in any sport). This would've been the type of play that would've been 'challenged' by Clint Hurdle for sure. However, in every sport that uses replay for key plays like this (so football and hockey, essentially) the rule states clearly that there has to be clear evidence in order to reverse the call on the field (or ice). In this case, I don't really think the call would've been reversible. As I said, there was only one replay out of about five that showed Lugo being tagged, and it isn't 100% convincing.

Basically everything rod said.

I had first heard about this on ESPN as "the worst call in MLB history," but then seeing the vid it's actually a little difficult to see an absolute tag out.

For sure he was out but it was closer than what I had suspected.

 

[StanScratch]

Did anyone else see the bullshit call that ended the 19 inning Pirates-Braves game last night? If not, here it is:

I might be a bit biased, but come on!!!!!!! It's pretty bad when even the Braves announcers said he was out! Jerry Meals (the umpire) is a joke! What was it...that it was about 2 am and the clown wanted to go home.....or is he completely blind or something? I say Meals should be at least fined for such a bad call....possibly even suspended/fired even. I'd say a fine would be the most he will get, and I don't see that even probably. :2 cents:

Either way, a hard fought game like that should not end in such a bs manner....and as close as the NL Central is....every game counts & it would be a shame for the Pirates to end up losing the division by a game. If they are going to use replay...which they already do...they should use it on plays that effect the outcome of the game also. :2 cents:

Sooooooo, what does everyone else think?

That is a brutal "the umpire wants to go home" type of call (you see those a lot, it seems).
That call, the Galarrago perfect game...heck, even the Garth Iorg "single" in the 1985 World Series are good examples of why baseball needs to take the instant replay a lot more serious. Frankly, as Jim Joyce showed us last year, umpires ARE human, and do make mistakes...some of them will even tearfully admit it. There should be no embarrassment in admitting that you need another look at the play to get it right.
I did see that the Pirates are appealing the game - which is good. What is bad, however, is that with Bud Selig as commissioner, that man will do absolutely nothing about it and the game will stand.

 

[Jon S.]

Yeah, I would agree that calling it "the worst call in MLB history" was likely a knee jerk overreaction (it was a blown call...but the worst ever...meh) caused by the fact that it ended a game that could have been a classic in that it went 19 innings and nearly 7 hours only to end the way it did.

As far as any punishment for Meals, like I said, I seriously doubt that he will be punished (whether or not he should be is debatable anyway) in anyway. I know in the NFL, when a referee/official blows a call, they can and are in fact often fined as a punishment (and it's handled privately). I'm not certain if that is even something that they do in MLB.

Bottom line, it's just a shame for such a hard fought game to end on that note...and given that the powers that be have made so many non-traditional changes to the game already: interleague play, explanded playoffs, divisions, expanded divisions (from 2 to 3 per league), the designated hitter, etc.....I see no reason not to expand instant replay to fully utilize technology to assure that they get things right whenever it's needed and possible. Like I said, it's just a shame that it ended like it did.

That is a brutal "the umpire wants to go home" type of call (you see those a lot, it seems).
That call, the Galarrago perfect game...heck, even the Garth Iorg "single" in the 1985 World Series are good examples of why baseball needs to take the instant replay a lot more serious. Frankly, as Jim Joyce showed us last year, umpires ARE human, and do make mistakes...some of them will even tearfully admit it. There should be no embarrassment in admitting that you need another look at the play to get it right.
I did see that the Pirates are appealing the game - which is good. What is bad, however, is that with Bud Selig as commissioner, that man will do absolutely nothing about it and the game will stand.

I totally agree....I don't even see a "Jim Joyce" moment coming where Meals admits that he blew the call. Like you said, people are human...so it's sad that so few are capable of admitting that they made a mistake....EVER. The fact that it was pushing 2 AM EDT, and the game was nearly 7 hours long made me more suspicious of his call and the possible motivation behind it. I agree that nothing will ever come of the appeal the Pirates filed with the Commissioner's Office.....rarely if ever does anything positive come from those types of appeals....and with Selig in charge....that seems to be doubly likely.

 

[Jagger69]

That was indeed a horrible call but worst call ever? Two words....Don Denkinger.

 

[BAYAMONXXX]

Not official yet but the Mets should be acquiring the Giants top pitching prospect.
Zack Wheeler for Carlos Beltran.

 

[Straight Shooter]

I have a little conspiracy theory that I want to throw out there. The Cards were shopping Colby Rasmus because it's well known that he and LaRussa don't get along. Reports had the White Sox being the team that was most likely to add Rasmus but instead he got sent to Toronto. It's been floated around that the reason Rasmus didn't end up with the White Sox is because there is already a deal in place for LaRussa to become the manager of the Sox after this season and he didn't want Rasmus to be on the team if he was going to end up managing. This story might have some legs as Reinsdorf and LaRussa are very close.

 

[Jagger69]

I have a little conspiracy theory that I want to throw out there. The Cards were shopping Colby Rasmus because it's well known that he and LaRussa don't get along. Reports had the White Sox being the team that was most likely to add Rasmus but instead he got sent to Toronto. It's been floated around that the reason Rasmus didn't end up with the White Sox is because there is already a deal in place for LaRussa to become the manager of the Sox after this season and he didn't want Rasmus to be on the team if he was going to end up managing. This story might have some legs as Reinsdorf and LaRussa are very close.

Awesome deal for the Cardinals as they get 4 immediately-serviceable players for a terrific talent in Rasmus (hate to see him go but his rebellious attitude was not going to work with LaRussa) but also 3 less-than-stellar relievers. Plus, they get 3 players to be named later (or cash) which could prove interesting. Rasmus will be an all-star in a year or two when he matures though so Toronto got a helluva player.

Also, I'll eat a Cubs hat if LaRussa bolts on his deal in St. Louis for the ChiSox....unless Albert signs with them. :eek:

 

[ravendude16]

So my orioles only lost by 14 runs...

And I just saw that we have the same amount of wins, as the Yankees have losses...

Thank god football is back